#it’s either happening or it’s the BIGGEST FUCKING BAIT IN THE WORLD

[theywontletmebeprincipal]

okay I've watched Fionna and Cake and WOW I enjoyed it a LOT more than I originally thought I would.

I had to sit with the last episode for a while. Trying to decide my feelings on it, you know? My first reaction to how they painted Simon and Betty's relationship was that they did that so the audience could better cope with Simon's choice to move on. Thought about it more and yeah, I was wrong. It just removed the rose-colored glasses. I think the one thing I didn't like was Beth spelling the whole thing out, like yeah I got it. The chose your own adventure allegory worked! I got it. I like the last episode! The part when GolBetty was still protecting Simon when Scarab kept trying to fuck with him got me emotional

Winter King was the biggest tumblrsexyman bait I have EVER seen- selfcest bait and all! Pretty funny, I respect it.

Loved both what Gary and Marshall Lee were doing and what was happening with the main characters. I wasn't sure if I would be too interested in them, but fucking. I got invested in the baking!

BRO THE THEME SONG!?!?! I had only seen the one for the first episode beforehand, so the real intro was a surprise to me! I love it!

Trying to organize my thoughts is hard uuhh just I liked it and will probably rewatch it :]

1. ok the thing about the choose your own adventure allegory isn’t that it’s just that. I thought it was the one weak aspect at first too but in the ending sequence there’s a reveal that totally recontextualizes it

remember the little girl who wanted to be a writer because of ice king’s fionna and cake books? she sketches casper and nova during that sequence. casper and nova isn’t just some random allegory they pulled in — it’s HER BOOK. those are her ocs based off of the stories simon told her about him and betty, and ultimately it was that girl’s portrayal of them, not beth’s explanation, that made him realize what was going on

re: beth, I think it was at least a very interesting dynamic. simon is usually paired with characters either much younger than him or just less worldly than him, and he’s very book/world smart, so I think people tend to forget how immature he can be. ice king was just simon to the extreme after all, not to mention the way simon acts in the earlier episodes (him refusing to run from scarab because he just doesn’t feel like it is a great example). he’s a very smart guy but sometimes he gets so caught up in that that he doesn’t step back to consider anything except surface level logic. pair that with him going slightly mad with worry and I fully understand why beth thought he was shermy doing a bit

simon isn’t childish per se, but there’s a lot of things he doesn’t know because he doesn’t ever really look outside his own perspective, and I like how casper and nova illustrated that. simon has always been this sort of fatherly figure that everyone else admires but nobody else sees the worth in, he’s always trying to shoulder so much for no reason. there’s been this imagery the whole season of simon caring for people younger than him (baby finn, normal finn, fionna, astrid, etc) but he never actually lets himself be cared for. so it makes sense that him being given the grace that a kid would be given and ultimately realizing his wrongdoing after seeing himself through the eyes of a child would be a thing that happens

2. you’re so right about gumlee me too man. the scene where they kissed while pb n marcy were hurtling to their toxic codependent yuri deaths was crazy. holy shit

3. I honestly think there’s a LOT to winter king I have a couple posts worth of analysis on it. I think the idea of simon doing something so wildly unethical is very fascinating I loved watching him spiral into madness. slay

4. the biggest surprise for me I think was cake’s arc? like looking back I totally should’ve seen it coming but it was I think my favorite ongoing plotline from the show. her wishes being at odds with fionna’s presented this really interesting dynamic that finn and jake never had and the way she was a narrative foil to simon was like. ohhhh that was fucking evil of the writers . simon desperately wanting to destroy his mind and cake desperately wanting to keep hers. the way that translates into their dynamic with each other. the terrifying dawning realization that fionna might prefer her non sentient. of course it isn’t true, but it would’ve felt that way, no?

also just fucking. “everybody dies. they should get to die as themselves.” “fionna, I am myself. like this.” what if I spontaneously combusted killing everyone in a 3 mile radius. what then

#sanswers #sorry this is a LOT of text but I have Thoughts #you can tell it’s serious too bc I’ve actually taken the time to write out ‘and’ #adventure time #fionna and cake

[nikkiitalks]

The Reason why porn bots follow you

“Oh I got a new follower... oh no, wait, it’s just another fucking porn bot”

 Does this sound familiar? Let’s take a look at this world of annoying porn bots and why they are so prevalent and what’s the point of them? For this post I found an interview of someone who ran some of these bots and explains why it happens, how, and why they probably won’t be going anywhere soon.

The first thing you may be wondering is... what is the point of a porn bot to begin with? The answer... Clicks. They post links, be it to a website full of ads, video or live sex work chat services, products, and on the rare occasion, viruses. Do people actually click the link from the porn blogs? The answer? Yes. Yes they do. Not nearly as much as years past, but they do still click on them and these people are the reason we still see so many bots here, and why we’ll continue to see them. Why do those clicks matter? They make the bot owner money, of course. 

Back in the magical years before people were spammed constantly by bots, actual users of tumblr in their thousands would be driven to these blogs by automatic follows, building up the bots followers and leading to more clicks on the links they’d usually post under their pictures. The owners of these bots usually have several across Tumblr with the entire goal of getting attention. If they follow, like posts and DM users then there is a chance that their profile will be seen and their links will catch someone’s interest.  

“I think I had about 200 tumblrs under my control at the time. I bought a popular bot that was marketed, plugged the account in, and the bot did the rest. It posted, followed, liked and reblogged. I can’t remember the exact number but I followed around 200 blogs a day per account and pretty quickly, and pretty quickly I started seeing activity on my account. At least that the peak I had over 70k followers on my biggest account. Why did I stop doing it? Well it got too crowded. It was good while it lasted.”

This guy didn’t even think he was the biggest bot manager on the platform, either. There’s every chance there was people running thousands of accounts with millions of followers back in the day. We’ve all seen their posts with the links beneath or in a post, but that wasn’t necessarily their main goal back then. Some time ago, Google changed some things to help their search rankings, using how often a specific webpage is mentioned by others to improve their rankings. So, every time someone liked or reblogged a porn bot’s posts it created a new link back to the porn bot manager’s website and thereby boosting their Google search rankings. 

Both Google and Tumblr got smart to this and changed things and now this is no longer the go to for these bot managers. Nowadays it’s all about those links, and the clicks they can get on them and it’s now DMs getting targeted the most, as it’s a much more personal way of interacting with blogs and baiting users for those sweet, sweet clicks. Usually to a porn site filled with ads. 

Why do they want clicks? Moola of course. Those dollar dollar bills. That cold, hard. cash. How they make that green depends on where their links lead back to.

If it’s a porn site just painted with annoying ads, the owner of that site generally makes a cut (talking fractions of a cent) whenever someone visits their shady site. Now take that fraction of a cent and multiply it by thousands of clicks and the bot/site manager could really rake it in. And that’s not even counting if they have pay-to-view content that actually gets paid for. We’re talking porn, cam girls, etc. 

The most surprising were for people who’s goal was to actually start live conversations with people, either directly or through a link to a chat. These people fall in or near the category of romance scammers. Real people on the other side of the chat who’s sole purpose is to get money out of the victim who clicked the link. Often times building trust before they start asking for money. Needing help with rent, food, or even travel expenses to ‘come and see’ their victim. For cons like these, sometimes all it would take would be one click for the scammer to make significant money.

“These conversations were all psychological. We very specifically targeted people who looked like they had money. We didn’t want to hurt anybody or take money from anyone who really needed it. In some ways we were giving people companionship and nudes. The experience felt real. In retrospect, I do feel guilty.” 

The general consensus by those who had been interviewed, was that porn just wasn’t profitable on tumblr anymore and that people are much more educated on bots. So... why doesn’t tumblr just ban them?

Despite the previous porn ban, Many of tumblr’s most popular search terms are sexual, along with many of their most popular Google search terms. Banning the porn bots now that the nudity ban has been lifted, would mean less traffic to the site. Because, despite their annoying  and sometimes dangerous nature, they do bring in traffic, something Tumblr probably desperately needs these days. Bots look like real users to statistics until they’re flagged as bots. 

In my opinion, it’s a mixture of the overwhelming number and speed in which these bots are created, as well as the implied inflation to tumblr usership, is the reason we’re not seeing much done about them. 

If people, like EVERYONE, stopped clicking on their links, they’d probably start to fall off the site, though that seems like an unlikely thing to happen, so I’m not holding my breath any time soon. Keep flagging and keep reporting as much as you can. If you had twitter, tweet at Tumblr staff constantly, until they block you even. If we’re loud enough, maybe they’ll do something. Even if it’s just because we fucking annoyed them into doing it. 

I know it’s tempting just to say fuck it, and ignore them and their follows. I know it SUCKS having to report dozens of them a day, but in the end we’d be doing our part in helping to clean up the platform we all still know and are still attempting to love despite all the BS. Remind your followers NEVER to click a link sent by a blog you’re not 100% is a real person. Remind them often and loudly, because having no one click their links at all, may be the only way to truly get them to stop. 

Love you, Tumblr fam. Stay safe out there.

#tumblr bots #psa #rpc #rp #indie rp

[hylialeia]

okay, so I re-watched The Force Awakens.

-I wish the title of the movie had been more fitting. Yes, the Force awakens in Rey, specifically, but it would have been more intriguing to see the galaxy as either drained of the Force itself, or have something happen that boosts those with Force sensitivity. Anything to play with the familiar foundations of the worldbuilding and offer us something new and original.

-Lack of originality ends up being a huge problem for me in this film, but not in the way it did for a lot of other people.

-For one thing, I really loved the characters and the actors’ performances here. Yeah, there were plenty of lines and moments that spoke to the larger problems Disney has with storytelling (fanservice, nostalgia baiting, ~witty~ dialogue, style over substance, basically everything that has dragged the MCU into oblivion), but the characters have a pretty instantaneous appeal, whether new concepts or familiar ones.

-I actually enjoy that Rey and Kylo have clear parallels to Luke and Vader, respectively, mostly because they ultimately serve to highlight how different they are at their cores. Rey’s isolation and her desire to cling to her home planet, wanting to remain in familiar stasis, is a sharp contrast to Luke in ANH, and the story quickly reveals Kylo’s demeanor as an attempt to act like Vader, rather than him being a genuine article. It’s also interesting that Rey’s shown as someone running away from her role in the narrative, while Kylo’s someone who’s trying desperately to force himself into a role he doesn’t fit.

-This makes Poe and Finn’s characters refreshing, as they don’t perfectly fit into previous archetypes or roles. We’ve seen stormtroopers and rebel pilots before, but those are just jobs; Finn and Poe’s characters bring their own personalities and goals, and John Boyega and Oscar Isaac genuinely do have amazing character chemistry that brings their characters to life. Overall, it’s a good balance, but would be much better if Poe had been present and able to interact with the rest of the trio for more of the story.

-The issues come in with the actual setting and overarching conflict. It took me a lot longer to get through this movie than I thought it would, and I think most of it is because is doesn’t offer me enough engagement. Granted, when I saw it in theaters, with all the spectacle and excitement of seeing the old actors and revisiting the world, that wasn’t a huge problem. But now, it really, really is.

-Really, the only new things we get are the characters, but since they’re being put through a plot that’s almost identical to what we’ve seen before in ANH, and in basically the exact same setting, I got bored unnervingly fast.

-The biggest problem here is that, unlike with the characters and their parallels to past iterations, I cannot distinguish between the First Order vs. Resistance and the Empire vs. Rebellion. It makes me feel like nothing has changed since Return of the Jedi and it makes me wonder why--only for the movie to never tell me. There’s no effort made to explain any of it; it feels like the movie was so scared of the backlash towards the political focus in the Prequels, that it cut anything that could possibly clarify what the hell was going on in the Galaxy far far away.

-Is the First Order a terrorist group? Why do they seem to have legitimate control of a portion of the galaxy? Why does Hux talk about the Resistance like it’s a rebellion when it’s sanctioned by the New Republic? How on earth did a second Empire spring up?

-None of these things are even alluded to in quick one-liners. Not even in a lazy or dismissive way. No one says anything about Empire fanatics getting funding from, like, crime lords or something, or a split in loyalties after the Empire fell. In fact, the movie actually completely removes the New Republic entirely by blowing up FIVE WHOLE PLANETS.

-AND THEN WE NEVER TALK ABOUT IT AGAIN.

-FIVE PLANETS.

-FIVE. FUCKING. PLANETS.

-Like holy shit, even ANH had political discussions. Imperial officers are concerned about Vader taking Leia into custody because of her political ties. There’s a whole scene where Tarkin announces that the Emperor disbanded the Senate, officially removing the last shred of democracy in the Galaxy. We even get hints about the Jedi Purge when everyone in the room tries to insult Vader’s commitment to the Force. Could we not have slipped anything like this into the Sequels?

-Also, even with our new characters, there’s just no interest for me in seeing “underdog rebellion overcomes tyrannical system” stretched over another three movies, when that JUST happened. Literally everything Leia and Luke and Han did is just undone here, all because the writers didn’t want to come up with something new lest they make the fanbase mad.

-The only risk they actually took was in having Han and Leia split up, which in itself is just a reset; Han is smuggling a bunch of creatures with names I don’t care to remember, and Leia looks like she’s been leading the exact same rebellion for 30+ years. It doesn’t actually feel new.

-I’m not even one of those people who hates the Han and Leia separation, necessarily; I’m not big on how it’s handled, but I could buy it if the film actively worked to sell it to me. It doesn’t.

-But it could have! Emphasize the difficulty Leia had rebuilding after the Empire, how much time she spent working with the New Republic; examine how Han struggled to relate to his Force sensitive son, maybe even that he didn’t want him training to be a Jedi at all. I don’t care about the supplementary materials that could explain everything perfectly, dammit, put it in your movie.

-Sorry I still can’t get over it. Five planets.

-They blew up five planets.

-Five.

-Planets.

-This has no consequence in this movie. Shouldn’t that have fucked with the Force? With the entire balance of the universe? That was mass genocide.

-Watching the scene where Rey grabs Anakin’s lightsaber, I genuinely think she was going to end up being Luke’s daughter. That’s also why I think the film doesn’t introduce another Skywalker/Solo child; the next generation was probably meant to be Rey and Ben.

-Likewise, the focus put on Finn and the lightsaber makes me think he was definitely going to be Force sensitive.

-I will say, we do get fulfilling arcs for some of the new characters (save Poe, who again, I think was underutilized and should have stuck with the main trio); Finn goes from wanting to run away to staying and fighting for Rey; Rey goes from wanting to run away to relying on the Force powers that scared her so badly; Kylo manages to finally suppress the light and murders his father (yes this is a negative development, but it’s still development).

-I think these arcs are (at least some of) the reasons why people had so many problem with TLJ. Rey gets a more focused storyline, but for Finn and Kylo, they sort of just repeat their arcs in this movie.

-There are a lot of moments in this movie that I really enjoy, but I’m noticing they’re mostly things that still could have happened in a better, more interesting story. Finn’s introduction, Rey refusing to sell BB8, Snoke’s hologram being genuinely creepy, Hux and Kylo having equal ranking and just fucking hating each other, Rey starting to see Han as a surrogate father, Finn and Rey’s dynamic, Finn and Poe’s dynamic, Han and Leia’s goodbye, Hux’s chillingly fanatic speech to the stormtroopers, Han’s emotional death, the final lightsaber duel with Finn vs. Kylo then Rey vs. Kylo, etc. All enjoyable, and yet...

-All these moments feel so suffocated by just how basic the actual story is. Everything that wasn’t Disney cashing in past nostalgia just felt like them saying “see, we’re not doing what the Prequels did,” then running us through A New Hope but with modern special effects. I don’t feel the stakes the way I should, I never have a deeper connection to the current conflict because I don’t know what exactly these two sides are other than “good versus bad”. Even the potential and intrigue provided by the new characters always feels like it’s being interrupted, lest we spend too much time on something unfamiliar.

-Most of my positive experience in watching this movie is in hearing potentially interesting ideas/concepts that it promises to expand on later... except now, I know they won’t be. The one severe decision this movie makes is in destroying five planets, and that ends up equating to nothing more than set dressing.

-Five planets.

-What the fuck.

-For my last thought: this movie feels surprisingly less meme worthy than most. Other than Kylo destroying random shit when he’s mad, Han’s “that’s not how the Force works,” and “the garbage will do,” idk man. Underwhelming.

#leia watches sw #star wars #disney tried to make meme/joke moments and most of them turned out cringe tbh #this was just so much less fun than all the other ones #and tfa was probably my favorite of all three of them #this bodes poorly for future me #long post #in case the read more doesn't work

[vvatchword]

Kinda feeling strange about big tentpole media, including TMNT. I think I'm going to end up leaving TMNT. Just don't know how yet.

This feeling originated from my general grumpiness about capitalism in general and my hatred of the stream of remakes coming out of big-budget entertainment. Which is weird, really, considering i don't watch shows or movies much. Not sure which came first, the distrust of establishment and disgust at unfettered consumerism, or my disdain of milquetoastery.

Problem one: I'm a completionist. I long to understand everything possible about the things i love. It's fucking compulsory. I've tried not to care, but soon i find myself researching and reading and then I'm gone for months. I love context. It's the second-biggest reason i can't get into Marvel or DC--because the histories are too vast.

That is when i discover that everything is shit and it's shit all the way down--and not the good shit that entertains, either. I also start to see how I'm being manipulated, which i resent. Manipulate me to forget I'm part of the world? Yes! Manipulate me to buy garbage? Fuck off. Manufacture the most carefully bland piece of media to draw in the most people possible, removing nuance for the sake of overseas markets? Fuck off, but twice.

Problem Two: i have a deep aversion to boardroom art. it's the same reason i don't trust corporate Twitter or upper management: separation from real human behavior, needs, and complexity, in a bid to make money. Not to have fun, not to explore concepts, not to understand others or themselves better, just: this is for money's sake. What is human is anathema, messy, and frightening, and such groups/people generally irritate me by the levels they're willing to put between themselves and a genuine human experience.

It's been really hard for me to get back into the IDW run of TMNT because i can so easily see all the tentpole IP criteria and the boardroom decisions. The first-arc plot (up to the final battle between Shredder and, uh, everybody else) is chock-full of callbacks and nostalgia-bait. So chock-full, in fact, that there isn't room for anything else. There's no real human feeling, few long-term transformations that could disrupt the status quo (and those that do occur are essentially meaningless when it comes to character transformation), and worst of all, milquetoastery. Because we don't dare offend anybody in any way at all. (And lest you read this the wrong way: I'm not talking about progressive representation. I'm talking about an IDW series where Leonardo is A Bad Guy but does very little that is Truly Bad, because if he did Real Crime he couldn't come back to the team and reset everything Back to Normal.)

Problem Three: it just reminds me that I've been longing for a very specific kind of TMNT since childhood, and that it's never, ever, ever going to happen. What i wanted was TMNT that grew up with me--except with camp and violence and sex and brokenness and vulnerability and fuckups and Big Angst. But TMNT only had one chance to be that way, and that chance is long gone. Now it's both not allowed to die and not allowed to change. It's been overtaken by a kids' media conglomerate and it will never be for adults again and there will be no long-form evolution because long-form entertainment with stakes is so difficult and risky to do. And since it's easy money, why chance the golden goose?

Problem Four: The quality and output of TMNT material has improved, but the material is so safe that i can't begin to care.

What do i like about TMNT canon? Vanishingly little. Mirage-era TMNT and most films are objectively 99% garbage. The TV shows tend to be good, 1987 aside, but they're also for children, with all the awkward bits that make children's media unpalatable. IDW TMNT is just boring. And if i had to make a choice between garbage and boring, I'd pick garbage every time.

Garbage is actually pretty fun because at least it makes you feel something; at least it's messy, and there's something real and human and confident there, and it's fun to try and figure out what everyone was trying to do and what inspired them. At least someone is standing for something, even if that something is completely misplaced. I still remember the failed joke comic where Raphael runs into aliens, and the one where the boys all become home appliances, and Raphael turning into a dinosaur. I barely remember anything out of IDW. It just kind of exists.

Problem Five: All of this said, i realized that the problem lay with me. Plenty of people like all the stuff i despise. So, since this is all my problem, i decided to interpret myself.

I thought about my relationship with Star Wars since it's a touchstone. In high school, I read tons of Extended Universe novels, owned a book about Star Wars tech with every piece lovingly drawn out in technical detail, and watched the re-releases of the original films in theaters. I was deeply in love with the universe and how it could unfold in complicated glory--a lot of it messy and broken.

And then the prequels happened, and i felt oddly betrayed--surely not the first instance of nostalgia-baiting, but the first time i realized my loves could be manipulated by people who wanted my pocket change. Then i got a little older and i tried to return to the Star Wars EU only to realize that the books were not well written at all, actually. Eventually i realized that i had created an entire meaning for Star Wars that stood completely separate from what Star Wars really was, and it only lived in one place: me.

Every now and then the Star Wars love in me wakes up and kicks--The Mandalorian and Star Wars: Fallen Order most notably stirred something up--where suddenly i love it completely with all my being and i long desperately for a version of it that could only exist for one specific time in my life. It's incredibly painful. Probably why i feel like i have to leave it completely.

I just can't enjoy Star Wars, even when i try to separate only the stuff i like. I realized that just because i liked the OG trilogy, I don't need to be a fan of the whole thing. Except apparently when i leave fandom, i gotta leave everything behind, including the material i do like.

I suspect TMNT will be the same way. As will BioShock, for which I'm feeling similarly, i just now realized. For that matter, i gave up on The Legend of Zelda at Twilight Princess.

Problem Six: My biggest problem is perfectionism. I'm either all in or all out. It's either completely worth it or must fuck right off. And that's just not how life works. I may gravitate to certain fiction, but it wasn't technically made for me, and it's presumptuous for me to expect any fiction to scratch all of my unique itches. A lot of different people can go to different fiction for different reasons, including the og creators of the og works themselves.

I don't really know what to do about this. I don't actually like being a huge snob, but i also seem incapable of controlling what's fun to me. Sometimes i think that what i should do is try and write the fiction i want to see, but I'm such a slow worker...

I think I'll leave TMNT somehow. I actually thought about selling my comic book collection, which is saying quite a lot--it's nearly complete, IDW covers aside. Because if the only version i love is something inside of me, why worry about canon at all? Why worry about what it contains at any point? Why not just delve into private worlds?

#storysnob

[troofless]

update on how i wasted 5h on the new xbc3 dlc story, new grips come to light:

feels a whole lot of the story was hinging on nostalgia bait rather than solving the plot holes in the main story, which is just peachy

matthew is not an interesting protagonist and is only there to represent the family feud in n’s long bloodline of fuckery. i thought matthew and a would have more synergy since they are literally the two faces of the game but they are just surface level friends with banter. a continues holding herself at arms length like alvis does for obvious reasons but this means matthew feels so isolated

nice loredump on xbc1 and xbc2 tho, i like the throwbacks to past places like colony 9 and uraya and prison island

i almost laughed when i saw the joran-looking guy die the first 10 minutes in lmao

the sharla and pandora reincarnations/children were pretty neat ig

shulk’s design in particular looks ugly af come at me bro

was it ever stated what happened to pyra/mythra? did they just die or revert back to the core crystal form? idk i didn’t watch the community stuff. also ig there are multiple green core crystals on glimmer and the fists of the end which is not confusing at all :/

i liked the detail that malos/logos is now the sword of the end and mythra/pneuma is fists of the end which is later noah’s gauntlet thing

confirmed that ghondor is n’s son and no wonder ghondor (main game) was pissed at her name lmaooo

i also liked the throwback to the gem crafting lmao

no explanation for lucky seven because of course

no explanation for riku either

no explanation for how shulk and rex and the others are still unassimilated but some of the other people get sucked into the cycle of reincarnation (i guess z is clumsy ha ha)

some explanation for how the city people don’t get fucked over by the two world merging at the end of main story ig

i literally said ‘what the fuck’ out loud when a said n wasn’t matthew’s enemy. like what the fuck. no.

oh wow imagine trying to justify n’s biggest crime of massacring an entire city of people ha ha wouldn’t it be funny if he didn’t actually murder them, absolving him of all crimes (bruh)

the dlc tried to hard to make n look sympathetic but i ended up hating him more. same for z man. like who invited you to the dlc party gtfo you didn’t even do anything

idk man i think na’el/alpha made a lot of sense in going for the new world esp with what happened in the end of the main story

a: yo but you saw what happened to klaus’s world! they decided to split it up and destroy it like dumbasses! that’s why your plan is bad! she says, literally ignoring that a world of peace is much better than whatever the fuck was the stagnant world of xbc3

also can i question why did alvis. just not leave without matthew. he had to fuck it up by showing himself in his physical form so that everyone could beat him up ten times over. cmon alvis

i feel like nikol and discount mythra could have been taken out of the story and nothing would have changed. what did they do other than be fanservice bait for the xbc1 and xbc2 ppl and have some bullshit ‘i promise to rebuild the city and carry on your legacy, dads :(’ like lmaooo

literally the ending of the main story was them deciding the future for themselves and them not wanting to stay in a stagnant world, something that contradicts the ending of the dlc like wtf

they went all the way, fought the god, just for a conclusion that didn’t matter because the two worlds merged anyway at the end of the game :)

i went into the dlc in the hopes of being able to complain that they locked the best part and best lore of the game behind a paywall but now i’m just disappointed. torna dlc was better. it had better pacing, better protagonist duo with lora and jin, started off stronger, didn’t have stupid flashbacks every three seconds same problem with xbc3 main story, better characters and character-synergy and humour. 

tldr it’s a waste of time not worth it, just play fire emblem engage instead goty fr

#xenoblade mumblings #troofless stuff #troofless plays games

[captaincartervalues]

Not me remembering the supercorp s5 deleted scene where Lena tells Kara she’s not a damsel and how it parallels with Nia telling Brainy she’s not a woman who needs protecting

INCH RESTING

#gdi #I hate this show #it’s either happening or it’s the BIGGEST FUCKING BAIT IN THE WORLD #the parallels are literally endless #supercorp #supergirl #lena luthor #kara danvers #nia nal #Brainy #brainia

[makeste]

some follow-up thoughts on BnHA 306

mostly Deku angst, but also a little Baku angst (and some TodoBaku angst) mixed in for good measure. because there’s plenty of angst to go around.

1. “if I’d only been stronger...”

I’ll talk more about Deku later in this post as well, because there’s definitely plenty to talk about; this is the most character development he’s gotten in almost 200 chapters. but for starters, I want to discuss the possible parallels between Deku’s current character arc, and what is arguably the most iconic moment of angst/character development in the series.

remember how this kid, who up until this point had rarely seemed to give two fucks about the world around him, suddenly revealed that he blamed himself for being the downfall of All Might? remember how it came almost out of nowhere? how he’d been hiding it, and trying to suppress it? “but even if I try to forget... sometimes it all just comes rushing back.”

yeah. so anyway, I got to thinking -- if being the cause of one hero’s downfall could affect someone this badly, what about being responsible for the downfall of all heroes?

what if a boy who wanted nothing more than to keep people safe suddenly found himself at the epicenter of a disaster that killed hundreds, possibly even thousands of people?

now obviously, this is not the sole thing that’s troubling Deku right now; this kid has a whole array of traumas as of the War arc. like, you know it’s bad when Society As We Know It Coming To An End Partially Because Of You is the least of your problems. but still, I think this is worth bringing up, because the hero kids blaming themselves for things that aren’t their fault is hardly anything new. and yet, what with everything else that’s been going on -- all of the Todoroki drama, and Vestige revelations, and hospital antics, and political strife -- I feel like it’s easy to forget or overlook this little detail.

the fact is that AFO put this entire plan into motion solely in the hopes of finally obtaining OFA. every single thing that happened at Jakku -- Tomura powering up; Machia waking up and going on his rampage (after being ordered to do so by Tomura); and even Dabi/Touya choosing this moment to finally strike (because he knew this was when the reveal would do the maximum damage -- when people’s faith in heroes was already wavering) -- every last bit of it can ultimately be traced back to AFO’s desire to steal OFA. which, obviously, makes it AFO’s fault, not Deku’s. but then, Kamino wasn’t actually Katsuki’s fault either. it wasn’t his fault the villains went after him (but he blamed himself anyway), and it wasn’t his fault that people got hurt in the ensuing battle to save him (but he blamed himself anyway).

just. I think we’re underestimating just how strong of an impact all of this likely had on Deku. we haven’t really had the chance to see him process it yet. he’s been too busy, and there have been too many other things going on. but I’m telling you guys, that empty look in his eyes in the final page of the chapter? I can all but guarantee you that at least some of that emotional weight is coming from this.

sure would be nice if he had a friend who knew exactly what that was like, and could help him process the guilt and all of the other associated emotions, just like Deku once helped him. unfortunately I’m not so sure things will be that easy this time around. anyways though let’s move on to a couple of other thoughts and speculations.

2. “...and I bullied him.”

one of my least-favorite BnHA fanfic tropes is the one where the rest of class 1-A somehow finds out about Katsuki and Deku’s history -- i.e. that Katsuki bullied Deku throughout most of their childhood. mind you, it’s not the concept itself that I dislike; it’s mostly how it’s used. a lot of times it’s just an excuse to have all of the other kids turn on Katsuki and ostracize him; either because the author thinks that’s what he deserves, or else so that Deku can eventually come to his rescue and defend him and shame the rest of the class for not seeing how much he’s changed. either way, it’s usually pretty awkward to read, and more often than not the characters are pretty OOC (especially Ochako and Todoroki).

however! there’s a big difference between fanfic and canon, and just because I’m not a fan of this trope in the former doesn’t mean it couldn’t be executed well in the latter. and lately I’ve been thinking about this a lot. mainly for three reasons:

the recent (can we still call it recent?? well whatever) scene where Katsuki confessed to All Might that he used to bully Deku is now one of my favorite scenes in the entire series, and proof that this can be executed well.

both Todoroki and Deku have finally had their respective big secrets revealed to the rest of the class. so like, idk. feels like it just might be secret-revealing season now, you know?

and lastly, as a result of Deku’s secret about OFA finally being revealed, the rest of 1-A now either knows, or can extrapolate, that he used to be quirkless.

and from there, I feel like it’s not all that hard to put two and two together with how terrible Kacchan and Deku’s relationship was when they first started at UA. that’s not a terribly difficult puzzle to solve. so I feel like it might come out anyway, and if so, I’d prefer Bakugou telling them himself, and taking responsibility as part of his atonement process. because we know that he regrets it. we know their relationship has changed. we know that he has changed. and so I think I might like to see this.

alternately, if confessing to the entire class is too much, at the very least I could see him confessing to Shouto, because I’ve always felt like this was one of the big things that made Katsuki so resistant to letting Todoroki call him a friend. because I feel like there’s a part of Katsuki that saw the parallels between Endeavor’s abuse of Shouto and his own bullying of Deku, and thought, he wouldn’t be so quick to call me his friend if he actually knew the truth. and so there’s actually been this roadblock wedged between them this whole time that Shouto doesn’t even know about. because Shouto hates Endeavor. and so it’s not such a leap to assume he’d hate Katsuki too if he knew just how terrible he’d been to Deku when they were younger.

not that I think he actually would! actually I don’t think either of those things is actually true (because Shouto clearly doesn’t hate his father either, in spite of everything that’s happened). but the point isn’t what I think -- the point is what Katsuki thinks. and I really do think there’s a good chance he’s worried about Shouto hating him, and it’s one of the things that’s made him so reluctant to accept his friendship. anyway, so I’m really just rambling now, but you get my point. I don’t know if this is actually going to happen, but it’s a scene I would like to see if Horikoshi decides to indulge me.

3. “...so when you wake up, please give him my best.”

and now, as promised, back to Deku.

ngl guys, when I first saw this image, my immediate thought was that Gran must have died. because I mean, hello, leaving U.A.?? donning himself in his teacher’s old cape?? empty, exhausted look in his eyes?? what else were we supposed to think lol.

but maybe that was an overreaction. because when I think about it more, Gran’s death isn’t strictly necessary in order to push Deku over the edge. first of all, there’s already the whole “hero society is in ruins now because of you” thing I mentioned earlier. but also, there are just so many other things. like, let’s just list them here because omg. what a rough couple of days this kid had.

he was forced to battle TomurAFO and was terribly injured in the process (most of which was his own fault, but he wouldn’t have gone that far with OFA unless he felt like he had no choice)

and it wasn’t just him that was injured, either. in fact, even though he tried to act as bait to keep everyone else safe, he wasn’t able to stop three of the people closest to him from nearly being killed right before his eyes

and of course that last one was especially traumatic, because it was Kacchan, and because he had to watch Kacchan nearly die just to protect him. out of all the things that Deku witnessed in this arc, this might be the one that had the biggest impact on him

he was also basically helpless to do anything to protect Shouto and Endeavor when Dabi showed up. so again, we have this running theme of people he cares about being hurt and him not being able to save them

and he also got sucked into the OFA Interstellar Dream Vortex for a brief spell during the battle, during which he learned that AFO had possessed Tomura. more importantly, he learned that Tomura was Nana’s grandson, a fact which was only briefly touched on during that scene, but which I think wound up being the trigger to the whole avalanche that ended with Deku leaving UA. but more on that in a moment

anyway so just to wrap this all up, the battle eventually ended, Tomura got away despite all of their efforts, and then Deku wound up comatose in the hospital for two days. which brings us to the most recent chapters, during which

Deku learns that he will be the last wielder of OFA, whether he likes or not

Deku learns the identity of the last two mystery OFA users

and then at some point, he wakes up and presumably talks to Gran, and winds up with his cape

something happened during these last two scenes which helped to push Deku over the edge. I won’t delve into the matter of the Second or Third users for now, although most of you already know my suspicions regarding that, and I do think that would fit into the general pattern here (that is, the pattern of Deku feeling more and more strongly that he is putting the people around him in danger, and his fear of losing them becoming so overwhelming that it eventually pushes him to leave).

but that’s not what I want to talk about for now. what I want to talk about is Gran. specifically, what it is that Deku discussed with Gran. and this is where we come back to that reveal I mentioned earlier -- that Tomura is Nana’s grandchild.

basically, what I think happened is that Deku mentioned seeing Nana in the OFA Zany Psychedelic Spirit Void, which led to the topic of Tomura, and the fun fact Deku recently learned about him being related to Nana. this, in turn leads to Gran divulging his various regrets about everything that happened with him and Nana and Kotarou. his intent is to apologize to Deku for placing the burden of their failures on him. unfortunately, the part that Deku actually gets fixated on instead is this:

All for One hunted down and killed Nana’s son (and probably her husband as well), and stole her grandchild and psychologically tortured him into becoming a mass murderer, for no other reason than that Nana had once held OFA

in other words, AFO can and will hurt and kill anyone Deku is close to, anyone who has any kind of connection to him at all, without mercy, and regardless of whether it actually gives him any kind of tactical advantage or not. he’ll do it simply to hurt him. no other reason necessary.

I don’t know about you, but for me that would be a terrifying realization. and for Deku, I think it just might have been the tipping point.

so, let’s recap.

Deku learns that AFO is after him

AFO/Tomura very nearly kills several of Deku’s most important people, including Kacchan

and then he learns that this is just the tip of the iceberg, and realizes that all of their lives are still in danger and will continue to be as long as Deku is AFO’s target

and then add to all of this the misplaced guilt about society already being shambles, and the heroes already having more than enough to worry about. they’re barely holding things together as it is. and we already know how Deku feels about being a burden to them:

and so instead, he leaves. of course he does. in hindsight, I think this was inevitable.

the question is, did anyone else also put the pieces together in time to realize what Deku was planning before he actually left? specifically, did Katsuki, who understands Deku’s self-sacrificial nature better than anyone else, see the signs and put two and two together? like he did back at Jakku?

and if he did, would Deku have been willing to accept his help again?

somehow, I can’t help but think it might not be that easy this time.

anyway, so that was a lot of rambling, lol. sorry about that. I JUST HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS about all of this angsty shit. tired nomad Deku needs hugs and comfort and someone to reassure him that he doesn’t have to face this alone, and that everything is going to be all right. HE IS JUST A LITTLE BOY. this is too much, and I cannot handle any of these feels, and oh my god, somebody please help him.

#bnha 306 #midoriya izuku #bakugou katsuki #todoroki shouto #gran torino #bnha meta #deku meta #bakugou meta #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #long post #bakudeku #todobaku

[noteguk]

this extra happens in the same night as the tribulation drabble, in case some of you want to know why Jungkook got into a fight.

warnings; angst, violence (fist fight), mentions of blood, lewd language, major prick behavior, Sehun is pretty misogynistic, drinking, jk is feeling sad, Taehyung tries his best but doesn’t succeed

~

“See something you like?”

Seeing was a strong word to use, considering that Jungkook’s mind was flying miles away from that dirty bar, unaware of the conversation that bubbled around him. He blinked once, twice, realizing that his gaze had gotten stuck in a group of girls across the place, which was the perfect opening for his old “friend” to start pestering him.

Jungkook never liked Sehun, not even when they were kids and there was still a semblance of innocence between the two. He had absolutely no clue why Taehyung still hung out with him, especially after Sehun had decided to put his greasy hands all over the place, trying to piggyback off the money that the Kim family had. But he guessed that Taehyung was a little naive when it came to that, considering that he had disregarded all possible warning signs that his friend was one of the biggest douchebags in the world.

Nevertheless, he would figure it out soon enough.

“I’m not paying attention,” Jungkook mumbled and took another sip from his bottle, the liquid burning like fire on its way down. He didn’t remember how much alcohol he had consumed, and that was never a good sign. But he couldn’t think straight when you were in his mind.

The other man scoffed and turned around on his chair as if to check that the girls were still there. “That’s news coming from you, Jeon. Sure you don’t wanna get a taste of that?”

It was a bait — and Jungkook knew it was. Sehun was the kind of person that liked to see how far people would take his provocations, how long it lasted before they decided to snap. And then he’d know their weak spot. It was a dirty, sneaky little game, and Jungkook refused to be a part of it. That’s why Sehun kept trying, kept pushing.

“I’m with someone right now,” Jungkook said simply. And he wished the conversation had stopped right there.

The other man scoffed, eyeing Taehyung’s worried expression before allowing for his gaze to trail back to Jungkook. He knew he was getting somewhere interesting. “You mean you already have someone you’re fucking tonight? Lucky.”

He could’ve said yes, and ended that issue before it had a chance to reach irreversible levels. But Jungkook was drunk, and Jungkook was down. So he replied, “No. We’re dating.”

Sehun didn’t waste one second before he bursted out laughing, a fry hanging from in between his fingers, wiggling around as he waved his hands, trying to catch a breath. “No way. You?” He exclaimed, sighing before shoving the fry inside his mouth. “Tell me how long that lasts.”

There: the trap was set, and Jungkook was walking right into it. He lowered his bottle on the wooden table, his face impassive when he asked, “Wanna say that again?”

“Jungkook…” Taehyung trailed off, sensing the shift in the atmosphere. He was in damage control mode, and he was pretty sure where this situation would escalate towards. “I’m sure that’s not what Sehun meant.”

And yet, the smile on Sehun’s face only grew wider, more satisfied. He was used to shitting on people with little to no consequence, and he had no reason to believe that things would be any different that night — not when Taehyung always kept his friend on a short leash. “Oh no, I meant that. But I don’t think I lied, did I?” He was looking straight at Jungkook as he spoke, a devilish glint in his eyes almost daring him to curse him back. “Don’t look at me like that, man. You know it’s true. For someone to get involved with you it’s either because she’s just as fucked up, or because she’s trying to fix you.” He shrugged, leaning back on his chair. “Either way, it won’t last.”

Jungkook was surprisingly tranquil, which was probably the biggest, brightest red flag in the world. Taehyung knew his friend, of course, but Sehun only thought he had won that little back and forth. “You sure you wanna say that?” He gave him one last chance to take it back, but pushed his own chair back a little — because he knew the other man wasn’t going to.

Sehun didn’t notice. Taehyung did. Taehyung was ready to intervene when his friend laughed even louder, crossing his arms. “Yeah. Why not? Actually, better question: why are you so worked up?” He scoffed, but his smirk didn’t subside. “Shit, Jeon, you’re making me interested over here. If that chick sucked your dick that well just pass me her number, we can sha—“

Sehun was on the floor before he could finish his sentence, the wooden chair falling beside his head with a deafening bang. His hands were covering his face, a thick splatter of blood all over his crooked nose, lips, his palms. He looked up at Jungkook with fury and confusion mixing inside his eyes, getting back on his feet before spitting, “You fucking dog,” and hitting Jungkook right back.

And it was only a blur from there. As it often was.

#bad influence #Jungkook x you #Jungkook x reader #bi extras

[thejudgingtrash]

Annabeth is a good person,but not a nice or pleasant one,IMO.

YES.

That’s it. That’s the post. Pack it up everybody, we just cracked the case and cleared up one of the most compelling fights in the PJO fandom since forever. Good job everybody, clap it out and there’s the door! Don’t forget ordering the drinks at Starbucks, Mitch! They’re on me!

Okay, but on a more serious note: YES. YES EXACTLY.

And before some of you roll your eyes or grab your pitchforks – put your biases aside and hear me out for once. I like Annabeth. She’s my in my top three characters only second to Percy himself. I love Percabeth. It’s my favorite ship in the entire series and to be frank, the only ship that I care about PJO wise. Hell, I spend my time creating my own headcanons or writing my own fanfics with Percabeth being the star in them.

But that is not to say that I’m unable to see how certain things have developed over the years or where they stand now in regard to Annabeth. I’m not here to ignore things that have been said and/or done due to or in the name of Annabeth and I’m not here to vilify anyone that doesn’t like her. And I’m here to admit that I’m guilty of some of the things that may be addressed in this meta essay that you will read in just a second. However, I try my best to assure you, that I’m for once able to recognize my own bias.

Warning: a monster essay lies right upon you.

This should count as a paper of its own.

Back to the statement on top: I would go out even further to reframe your claim, anon:

Annabeth Chase is a good character but not a nice or pleasant person.

Annabeth is a wonderful character but she isn’t a nice one. Or at least not nice to everyone. She is (construction wise if I dare say) the best character out of the series. She has her positive traits (she’s caring, she’s emotional, she’s encouraged and volunteers, she fights for what she believes in, she forgives (even if doing so begrudgingly)) but she also has her negative traits (she’s stubborn, she’s brash, changing her mind takes forever, she is prejudiced, she baits others). That balances things out. She is branded as the intelligent kid but does irrational things (like I’ve just said a) she’s a kid and b) she’s not a robot). She should probably know better, but we all make mistakes and hopefully grow and learn from them. The clouds in the sky do blur and cover our visions sometimes.

Annabeth had clashes with other characters or was about to have fights due to her stubbornness or jealousy (Rachel, Reyna, etc.) and has of course her problems with the mortal world and her family but she also found new friends, some things cleared up throughout the narration and she was/is quite popular in Camp Half-Blood.

The thing is: she doesn’t have to be nice or pleasant (as a character). Or at least not all the time. Her character is humanized. That is what or who she is. Human. She does stand out as a character, not just because she’s the (future) love interest. She feels like someone you could meet in real life and either adore from the top to the bottom or declare as your biggest enemy. And that’s totally okay if you lean either way – liking or disliking her. Or even feeling indifferent about her. Also great!

To say that she has been the best character that Riordan has crafted is easy to say, because she has been sculpted after Riordan’s wife. He had a model he could rub some of real-life events or traits on. That’s not the problem. The problem truly doesn’t lie on Riordan’s side for the most part for once.

The problem is inherently on the fandom’s side. What the fandom does, how it acts and how it treats Annabeth as a character is the problem. The problems vary but it’s mostly the mischaracterization of Annabeth, starting fights and fan/ship wars, internalized misogyny (in some cases) and how some of the Annabeth stans lash out (ha, got firsthand experience in that field among many of my friends and mutuals!). There is a reason why many people are wary of people that have Annabeth or Percabeth related URLs.

The fact that we see Annabeth mostly through Percy’s lens and (until the Heroes of Olympus saga hits) we never really see her in chill everyday situations is essentially Riordan leaving the back door of the house open, ready for all of you asshats to rob his mansion in Boston. Because a frame on a character means that we don’t get to see the character in its entirety (unlike we do with Percy in PJO for the most part). That means a bunch of stuff is left open for interpretation which is the reason why Annabeth gets so many polarized headcanon and opinions tossed around. I think that is one of the true appeals of Annabeth. You can add on stuff and it necessarily doesn’t have to contradict itself.

We have people calling her abusive due to a (n admittedly stupid and unnecessary) judo flip and we have people that act like she’s never done anything wrong. People sorta use this excuse to form and shape Annabeth however they want and distort her characterization.

People in the fandom act like Annabeth is some weird prized possession. We perceive Annabeth mostly through the eyes of others (Percy, Apollo, etc.) and when we had some sort of insight in her ways (MOA, HOH) it felt… weird? Somewhat? Like Riordan left two bullet points of her characterization and told the ghostwriter: aight, fuck it up, gringo, see you on Tuesday and greet Fred the next time you see him for me. 

There have been many posts lately (by Tharini, Simi, Sawasawako, Jewishpercy and Annie I believe?) that HOO Percabeth felt weird. That they felt weirdly constructed, that there was no conflict, no growth. It felt stagnating, like we’re turning back. We had five books prior where we had Annabeth and Percy slowly shifting from disliking to liking and crushing each other. True development. And when we finally got the cake it felt… dissatisfying. Like the cheap box stuff and not the delicious exquisite taste that we were promised.

I said it previously in my Percabeth ship roast, but let me repeat myself: many Percabeth related things are straight up fanon. Some of it is very old fanon so that’s been unable to distinguish unless you’ve read the books recently and subtract nearly 99,9% of things you see on Tumblr (and occasionally the other shitty parts of the fandom like Reddit, IG, Twitter. Although they mostly steal and recycle tumblr stuff oh well. But back to the topic).

The way people treat Annabeth is so strange. She’s either an innocent fluffy smush baby that’s never harmed a fly and all that she wants for Christmas is being Percy’s lapdog or she’s the devil incarnate, broke into your house, killed your parents Batman style, kicked your puppy and didn’t flush the toilet on the way out. I think this is what mostly makes people hate her or the ship Percabeth. And both extremes are wrong and right at the same time? She is multifaceted so both stereotypes are true and untrue and sorta cancel each other out in the same way.

The true reason why people dislike Annabeth is because the stans are doing the most. (The haters as well, don’t get me wrong, but oh boy. Piss of a stan and you’ll know what I mean). That isn’t inherently new. Are you guys old enough to remember the ship wars that have happened cross platform? Perachel vs. Percabeth? Oh boy, oh boy. I saw some kids on tumblr a few months ago trying to infiltrate both tags and start shit (and also fail). The fact that Rachel still gets used as the bitchy (ex) girlfriend in fanfics? It’s 2020 guys. I know this apocalyptic year is far from perfect and over but I think we can let this trope die, right? Right? I thought we’ve established that Rachel is a pretty chill charcter by now… right?

If you posted your stuff on FFN back in 2010-2013 and it wasn’t the typical cutesy Percabeth story (Goode High, the gods read TLT, punk/prep Percabeth, college AU, etc.) people would’ve come for your fucking throat. Not because the story or the narration was shit. But because the pairing wasn’t Annabeth and Percy (in the sense that Annabeth had to be paired with Percy. I mean Percy gets shipped with everyone and their mother but for Annabeth it was strictly Percy. As annoying as this whole Connabeth thing is – the people behind it actually had a point. She never had a different love interest unless it’s a Percy centered story and he goes off dating Athena, Artemis and Zoe at the same time for some odd reason. Yeah, FFN Percy ships are something). Or it wasn’t the action filled canon compliant story or it wasn’t an AU that was popular.

People were really stubborn, snobbish and wanted their stuff in the four five boxes that were the most popular ones and that’s it. People have been bullied off the site in many fandoms, so it’s not a PJO-only thing but it’s still sad that it happened. (Off-note: most of these FFN tropes are still alive and well and thriving on AO3. Don’t be so snobbish and pretend that every piece you’d find there is a holy grail. There’s a lot of trash you have to waddle through. Same with Wattpad, Tumblr or anywhere else where fanfics get posted. Also had this discussion with Annabeth stans. Sigh).

And Tumblr back then? Forget it, wasn’t much better.

That view has sorta changed (at least for people that have been in the fandom for several years or have managed to find a way to navigate through it) but some of the negative sentiment from back in the day has survived. Be it by new fans coming in or from old fans that never let their stance die. The aggression feels differently and somewhat not. (I don’t know if the anon function had been abused that much back in the day. I was an observer not a participant in the fandom).

Crack a joke at Annabeth’s expense (Kal’s famous “Annabeth is a Republican” post or Dee Dee’s and many others “Annabeth has the education of a second grader, chill with the college plans, girlie” stance) and you have people insulting you, making callout posts, unfollowing and blocking you (based on only that? Okay, honey), making aggressive counter-posts, etc. in a minute. If you respond with “It’s a joke, it’s not real” you have a 50/50 chance of either getting blown off or embarrassing them so that they apologize for once.

This isn’t just about jokes. You can make a headcanon that’s not the cozy cute convenient mainstream saga and people would react the same way. Or art piece (no, not including the whole Tannabeth Blackchase shtick done by Viria and others) or fanfics.

People project so much onto the unfinished canvas that is Annabeth Chase that any form of negative sentiment as little as someone not liking her to straight up criticism, regardless of how tiny it may be, seems like an affront. Like an invitation to a fight. Like an insult to them, their character, everything they believe in. Let me state something:

You are NOT Annabeth Chase. Annabeth Chase IS NOT you. Annabeth Chase is NOT real. Her feeling cannot be hurt. Someone criticizing, disliking, joking about her or even insulting her will not bother her. Someone making a statement about her is not an insult to YOU.

Let me repeat that:

Annabeth Chase isn’t real. Annabeth Chase isn’t you.

So think a little before you act? I get it when you’re a kid and new to fandoms or haven’t been up with fan cultures in the past and are back in the scene. But if you’re in your late teens or even older as an adult and you’re unable to understand that you aren’t what you like – you aren’t the extension of a fictional character – I feel incredibly sorry for you. Because that’s just incredibly sad. Someone disliking something you like isn’t an attack of your character. It shows you that you are you and the other person is a human just like you. That they just have different taste. Disliking something you like isn’t a crime, you know? But me feeling sorry for the way some of y’all act won’t mean that that’s even remotely okay. Especially if you’re no longer in the intended audience for PJO age wise and should know better.

This isn’t a “white stans” only thing. I’ve seen and witnessed firsthand how people of color, mainly women of color, act the same or not even worse when it comes to her character. People have projected their problems and real-life occurring events into her character (I’m sure that she isn’t the only character nor that this is the only fandom where this is happening) and in some cases like I’ve said cannot separate their own personality from the fictional world. Fights with woc happened because of Annabeth fucking Chase. So many things have happened in the fandom the past few months, mostly due to people being forced staying at home because of the quarantine but I’d say it’s 10% on quarantine and 90% on people for acting up like this.

So here’s a little story: There was the act of Riordan blowing the fandom up because of his own stupidity and being unable to apologize for his mischaracterization and lack of research (the whole Piper fiasco) back in June (?) and admits the upset fandom, people on Twitter, Tumblr and Discord legit thought that none of that mattered and that the outcry was destroying Annabeth Chase’s birthday. That’s right. People thought that Annabeth Chase’s non-existing birthday because she’s a fictional character had a higher priority than the rupture and prevalent racism in the fandom. Okay. This isn’t a great look, Annabeth stans. And this of course pissed a lot of people off. I made a post about it and someone not only berated three other people on said post but no, we had a mighty argument which had disrupted many friendships in our circle which haven’t recovered until this very day. We both had our parts in it and no one is innocent. But the cause of this still remains Annabeth Chase or how people prioritize her non-existing well-being. Anyway. I’m getting agitated just thinking about it.

Let’s go back to the characterization thing with Annabeth. Let me remind you:

Annabeth Chase is an asshole. There I’ve said it in a post ages ago (too lazy to look it up, sorry) and I’ll say it again. And that’s not me insulting her. That’s me actually loving that about her. Annabeth is one of the very few unapologetic female characters that really showed all young readers across the world that you can be a girl, a badass, smart, strong, standing up for yourself and what you believe in. You don’t have to be nice. You don’t have to hide your feelings. You don’t need a man in all cases but it’s also okay to accept help and defeat.

A large reason why I think she’s an incredibly important character in children’s literature/YA because many other novels (mostly (sadly)) have the “Oh, I’m a white skinny dark-haired girl that likes unconventional things like READING. I’m not like the other girls, that take care of themselves and pamper themselves by enjoying shopping and wearing make-up. No, I’d rather be one of the boys but a sweet cute little boy and not the jock fuck that drank vodka shots out of a filthy shoe once. Despite me calling myself hideous every man in a 10-kilometer radius falls in love with me and tells me I’m oh so sexy and by the way I’m only 16 years old” shit going on for no goddamn reason.

Yes, I do blame Twilight for this mostly in recent years, but this trope isn’t by any means knew. Pretty sure that you could even use classics as Pride and Prejudice and dissect them in the same manner (Bold statement: Lizzy Bennet is the OG Bella Swan. There. Go fight somewhere in the corner, people). The new wave of YA focuses on girls belittling themselves and only starting to believe in themselves because someone else (mostly the male love interest) tells them they’re worth it. And these books hit the mainstream because they’re incredibly bland and picture perfect white.

With Annabeth it’s different. She shows up for the job and is done with it. (Brie Larson would probably be the perfect in real life version of her. You either like or dislike her. Or you really don’t care). That is what is so refreshing about her. Her unapologetic nature. Can it be off-putting? Yes. Is it annoying? Yes! Hell, every time I read The Lightning Thief, I want to rip her goddamn head off. And it’s just so well written. Her shift from mistrusting Percy but secretly still believing in him to her opening up. Wow, Riordan did something right there.

Annabeth Chase isn’t a young character. She has existed along with PJO for 15 years. She’s on her way to the second decade. I’m pretty sure that with the success of Percy Jackson (and Harry Potter) many lives have been warped and shaped.

But when I say the problem lies mostly in the fandom, it doesn’t mean that Riordan’s completely innocent. The only problem that I have with Annabeth lies not truly with her but the fact that Riordan is only able to produce three variations of female characters:

The sweetheart (Hazel, Silena, Calypso, Hestia)

The strong feminist (Annabeth, Piper, Thalia, Reyna, Artemis)

The bitch (Drew, nearly every female goddess in the goddamn Riordanverse next to every female monster)

And these female characters only know three endings:

End up married with a mortgage, three kids, two dogs and a cat somewhere in Connecticut by the age of twelve

Get dumped into the hunt

Chill on Mount Olympus and only come down to be a nuisance and/or give a cryptic message before going back and doing a godly rave party or something

We know Annabeth as the badass strong female first (or the bitchy character we’re supposed to actually like. Choose your approach), the blueprint so to speak, so some of the other characters feel almost pale in comparison and almost not needed? Doesn’t mean that other characters can’t behave similarly, but it feels kind of redundant especially if their character arcs end in a rather anticlimactic way (Thalia, Reyna). The new additions are the much needed woc as the main story with PJO was inherently white (anyway stan black!Percy and Grover, folks). So it’s not to bash on the new characters, it’s more Riordan’s fault more than anything.

Since Riordan only knows three female character arcs it feels like he tried to copy the formula several ways with different nuances. Some more or less successful. This is where fandom actually comes in handy and helps create more distinguished and fleshed out characters in form of headcanons or fanfiction.

But even in these cases people still make it about Annabeth when it’s time for characters of colors to shine. Remember that whole spiel and discussion that broke out when people (Kal, diver-up, Caitlyn, Bee, reynaisalesbian, etc.) joked about or criticized that Annabeth thinks that she’s having it harder because she’s a blonde? In front of Hazel and Piper? If she would’ve been a real person that’s an invitation for getting decked. And then all hell broke loose because Annabeth stans couldn’t accept the fact that in the real world and/or in fictional worlds the woc/coc have it harder? That the white woman wasn’t the victim that needed the coddling? Yeah, that was mad pathetic.

I hope you people get my point?

Well fuck. I wrote so many things and have the feeling I’ve said nothing. Anyway, I hope I made sense. This is way too long.

TLDR: Chill about Annabeth please. She’s an important character but that doesn’t mean that everyone has to like her, regardless of being a character in the books or a reader/fan of PJO in real life. She isn’t nice or a sweetheart all the time. She also isn’t the monstrous asshole that some try to make out of her.

Peace out.

#Mel answers #pjo #percy jackson #Annabeth chase #percy jackson and the olympians #Percabeth #pjo Meta #Heroes of olympus #hoo #trials of apollo #toa #hazel levesque #piper mclean #reyna avila ramirez arellano #rachel elizabeth dare #pjo fandom #coc #rick riordan #riordanverse

[ciggylungz]

Rivals

Summary: Y/n and Harry are both CEO’s of their parent’s companies since they inherited the businesses from them, they’ve been rivals since they were kids- now that they’re professional adults how will their rivalry affect them?   2.2k

 -

It’s no secret that growing up with a workaholic parent is hard for a kid, but for Y/n it was amplified due to the fact both her parents owned one of the most famous fashion companies in the world. This meant during most of her childhood she relied on nannies, private drivers, maids and child minders to care for her in absence of her busy working parents.

Of course having absent parents gave her some perks during her teen years, the ability to throw ragers in the absurdly large mansion they’d bought for the three of them –(well, they were hardly in it so mainly just their daughter)- not having to worry about getting caught when she decided to bring people over to get a quick shag in and the plus of having no one to bother her during her angsty middle school years. Those things were nice, yet you really can’t replace the role of your parents with teenage hookups and parties.

If there’s one thing that she absolutely hated about her parents work, it would be their former business partners cunt of a son. Harry Styles. Y/n had been forced to be in the twats life since they were 10 and his father joined stocks in her parents company before investing fully and becoming business partners. For Y/n that meant being forced to be around their son whenever their parents were too busy crushing numbers or out on boozy business trips clogging their noses with high end coke and buying out their competitors.

Harry was always a good-looking boy, and that only made things worse because he was a total prick. He was arrogant, annoying and always got away with being the biggest pain in the ass y/n has ever experienced in her life. He was insanely competitive, cocky and always found a way to weasel into Y/n’s business just to push her buttons. One’s he knew how to push perfectly to make her want to pound his head off a blacktop.

It was almost as if when it came to Y/n he never matured past being a 12-year-old boy, and now he’s a 23 year old powerful business man who still can’t manage to leave her alone.

Y/n had inherited her parents’ company when they decided to retire, two years before the retirement her parents and Harrys father had severed their ties and he’d gone back to his independent company. And just y/n’s luck, the man passed his roll as CEO down to his son, making the two young adults’ owners of two of the most famous fashion and beauty companies to ever exist.

Make no mistake, Y/n was a strong, independent and ruthless business woman so Harry’s subsequent inheritance didn’t threaten her in a business sense it more so made her worried for her blood pressure since the man couldn’t help but come bother her every chance he got. It didn’t help his dad had a single remaining stock left in the shoe portion of their clothing company giving Harry the perfect excuse to come barging into Y/n’s office to get on her nerves. To Y/n Harrys like a cold sore that won’t go away, just keeps coming back every time you think you’ve gotten rid of it.

___

Today was a busy day for Y/n, she had a meeting with her team that worked closely with her managing profit, stock, inventory, sales and all that stuff. Her team was large, with a company with over two thousand distributors worldwide and thirty-five exclusive stores scattered around the globe that’s to be expected. All in all, Y/n was responsible for making sure all one hundred and fifty thousand employees were running a smooth ship and every participating party was doing what they needed to do. It was a stressful job no doubt, but she never backed down from the challenge.

The meetings were always her least favorite part of her job. All the paper work that had to be read, numbers calculated, sales charted and any complaints or incident reports all had to be verbalized and talked about in detail with documentation of all the important things said as well as much more. Today the meeting took a grueling four and a half hours and the day was far from over.

Once she got out of her meeting it was nearing noon, she had to push her lunch off to phone the companies attorneys because one worker was trying to do a fake insurance claim. The man faked a work accident failing to remember every warehouse and factory was littered with security cameras that caught him in the act, so she had to inform them of the situation so they could sort it out. After that she got sucked into looking at new designs her design team had come up with for the next season, explaining that Chanel and Gucci both wanted to work with them to carry a few exclusive items only for that season.

Finally, at half passed two she made it back to her office, sitting down in her desk chair while taking her hair out of the headache inducing ponytail it had been in since she got there at five that morning. She opened her laptop, planning to send off some emails while she put in her order for lunch to her assistant, getting as much done as she could in the little bit of private time she was able to snag.

A knock sounded at the door, she knew it was Morgan coming in with the food she ordered so she didn’t bother to look up from what she was doing very drawn in to the email she was currently formatting. Only her attention was quickly severed when his voice rang out instead of the one she expected.

“I believe you ordered the chop salad, diet coke and fruit for lunch misses Yln.”

That annoying, cocky voice. You can hear his shit eating grin and teasing eyes simply in his tone, you don’t even have to look up at the jerk.

A prolonged sigh blew out of her lips, a grunt of annoyance following as she looked up at him. He looked nice, as always, she added bitterly in her own mind. She hated the fact someone so goddamn irritating was so undeniably attractive. He wore a dark blue suit, white button up with a black tie and yellow accent pocket square. Yet his fashion and handsomeness seemed a bit overshadowed by his personality that had the same affect on the woman as nails on a chalkboard.

“Harry, to what do I owe the displeasure?” Y/n reached her arm across the desk to snatch the paper bag from his ring clad hands, a sarcastic disapproving finger was pointed at her yet she didn’t take his bait opting to give him the death stare instead.

“Sassy today are we?” The man rested himself on the small leather loveseat that was in her office, propping his head on a throw pillow and putting his feet on the armrest. “You act like you’re not happy to see me, I know yeh missed me.” Y/n rolled her eyes, digging her fork into the salad aggressively. “I don’t think anyone’s ever been happy to see you, and I’m certain no one has ever missed your presence either.”

Harry chuckled slightly, loving how easily he could annoy the girl. Over the past thirteen years he’s learned just how to get under her skin, and he enjoyed doing so.

“Bit feisty today aren’t yeh Y/n? playing hard to get I see.” The man folded his hands on top of his chest, completely relaxing into the comfortable furniture, making himself comfortable for the undetermined amount of time he’d be spending there irritating his childhood ‘friend’.

The difference between Harry and Y/n’s perspectives on their rather odd ‘relationship’, if you could really call it that is Harry never hated Y/n. In fact he was always quite fond of her, he enjoys her company even when he’s forcing it on her and using the shared time to annoy the ever loving shit out of her. He and the woman have always been competitive growing up. In sports, card games, classes, and now business and Y/n took things a lot more seriously then he did. she was always wound a bit tight, she gets it from her mother.

Harry and Y/n had an interesting past. They have a love-hate relationship, seeing as even through the perpetual animosity they’ve carried since they were kids they did have their good moments too. And though Y/n would never admit it, there’s a part of her that does actually care about him even if she loathes that part of her deeply. In their teens they were at each other throats a lot, but in between that they would occasionally have their good days where they would refrain from getting into screaming matches and instead would be able to tolerate being together. Y/n chooses to describe it as tolerating him since she’d never admit she sometimes enjoys his company.

Through their formative years whenever Y/n was throwing a party, she wouldn’t protest when her friends would invite Harry as well. Pretending like she didn’t know he was coming and didn’t want him there when she saw him in the crowd, yet he always had a feeling she was anticipating and secretly wanted him to make an appearance. When he’d plan some sort of adventure with their friends he’d do the same, always slightly relieved when she’d show up but he’d put on the irritating act as soon as he got the chance which ruined her mood, every time. and well, it would be a lie to say the two never found themselves hate fucking each other after one of their parties, drunk and pissed at each other only to pretend like it had never happened.

To Harry, the animosity mixed with a hidden sense of fondness and maybe even a hint of attraction.

The woman ignored his comment, chewing her food before taking a swig of the soda looking back at him with a rather unamused expression. “What do you want Harry? And who the hell even let you in here?” she continued eating and wrapping up her email while he formed his reply. “Told Morgan I’d bring it up to yeh, she’s got a bit of a crush on me so she handed it over without much convincing.” Yet another eyeroll from Y/n was delivered. “She’s like 19, don’t manipulate her into worming into my office just because she can’t see that you’re a much bigger prick then the one in your pants will ever be.”

“First of all, 19 is legal so if she wants to eye fuck me I’ll allow it. Second, don’t be rude. This is a professional setting, do you think it’s appropriate to talk about my genitals in the work place? Might have to report you.”

Y/n couldn’t help the small snort she let out at his antics. As much as he annoyed her, sometimes she did find him a bit humorous. “and for the record, I’m very happy with my package and I don’t appreciate that comment.” He pointed a finger at her, a fake angry look on his face. “Just as much as I don’t appreciate you intruding on what was supposed to be my down time to eat, we’re even shrimp dick.”

Harry gasped at the insult, squinting at her slightly. While Harry was skilled in pressing her buttons, she could do it the same. Making comments on his dick size, sex skills, business deals or things of that nature always got him riled up. That 12-year-old boy mentality rearing it’s ugly head any time she makes a comment about his dick being small. Childish he was, absolutely childish.

“Don’t get smart with me, I’ll whip it out right here to prove my point.” His eyebrow raised and she could see him chewing on his cheek in annoyance. She truly found it funny how peeved she could make a grown man by making fun of his penis. He was ridiculous.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t, I didn’t bring my mental scrub brush to work with me today.” When she had finished speaking the woman tossed her now empty salad box into the trash, taking another sip of her drink and finally sending off the painfully long email.

Harry decided it was time for him to head back to his own office, which was right across the street much to Y/n’s displeasure but of course he couldn’t leave without a final childish jab at the woman.

“Just remember, I’ve had you bouncing on my dick more than once. Don’t hold yourself so high and mighty dear, because we both know I’ll have you like that again.”

And with that a Harry with a cheeky smirk on his face left the office, leaving a slightly stunned Y/n in his wake.

 (eek pt.1 lets see how this one goes.)

#harry styles angst #harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfic #harry styles writing #harry styles smut #harry styles series #CEO!harry #CEO!yn #harry styles concept #harry styles x yn #harry styles x reader

[mymostimaginaryfriend]

Here’s the thing about revealing your greatest vulnerability to your biggest enemy: they don’t tend to forget it.

James had known this day was coming; the writing had been on the wall since that night at the winery. The night they’d unknowingly handed over their leverage to Devon on a silver fucking platter.

He hadn’t put it together yet then—that Devon was CIA. Back then, he had thought going with Devon would mean the standard cartel two-for-one retribution special: death, dismemberment and an unmarked grave. And so, whether he liked it or not, he had sat there in the car like a complete fucking asshole while Teresa squared her shoulders and walked inside to face down his demons.

He had known if anyone could get them out of it, Teresa could, but he couldn’t forgive himself for sending her in blind to bargain for his life, unaware that whatever price she paid would be far too high. After what he’d done in Texas, he wasn’t worth saving. He couldn’t let her lose everything for him.

It hadn’t felt like a risk to tip his cards to Devon, then. If his days were numbered, he could at least die knowing his mistakes were his alone.

He hadn’t counted on Teresa showing her own hand or what exactly it would reveal.

Are you willing to risk your life for this man?

Yes.

That night—the honesty, the intimacy—had felt like a stay of execution. He should have known it was just a brief reprieve.

Like any sicario, he had a lengthy list of reckonings, long past due—reckonings he’d always shrugged off before meeting Teresa.

It was only by being in her orbit that he’d begun to comprehend the gravity of his past choices, their weight growing heavier in tandem with her importance. By Phoenix, the shadow he hauled behind him had taken on the distinctive weight of a dead body. Sometimes it felt like a premonition, like he was dragging his own corpse around.

Or worse, hers.

Everything changed after that night. He couldn’t know that just as he was realizing he couldn’t lose her, she was already being torn from his grasp. They’d only gotten a few short months together; it made everything feel too important. Every touch too meaningful, every argument too painful.

Every kiss felt like the last.

It took Teresa nearly dying in Bolivia and Kelly Anne digging herself into a shallow grave for the pieces to fall into place. Devon was more than he appeared.

Teresa would hate him if she knew he hadn’t pulled the trigger. But Devon was his mistake, a mistake enough people had died for already. He couldn’t add Kelly Anne to the list. His penance would have to be enough for both of them. You couldn’t run from the CIA.

The looming inevitability hadn’t made his departure less difficult but it had made the decision easier. Walking out of her house in Phoenix—their house—had been one of the hardest things he’d done in his life. Only the knowledge that to turn around would consign them both to hell kept him moving forward.

“You’ll come with us, so you won’t be able to drag her down with you.”

And it had worked for a time. Devon was fond of updating him on Teresa’s triumphs without him: her expansion to new cities, her dating life. It didn’t bother him the way Devon hoped. Teresa’s successes meant he hadn’t done this for nothing. That this sacrifice was worth something.

But as it went on, as Teresa’s business grew and grew, he’d felt the change in Devon’s demeanor. His surrender into Devon’s custody had always been more of a stopgap than a permanent solution but he’d hoped Teresa would have more time. He should have known: someone as ambitious and clever as her would fast outgrow the box the CIA preferred her in. Eventually she would need to be convinced of different ways to be useful or risk becoming a liability to their interests.

It just so happened that thanks to that same night at the winery, Devon had first hand knowledge of just how to best convince her.

“The terms of our agreement have changed, Valdez.”

Something told James it wouldn’t be a negotiation.

“Sinaloa, Texas, Phoenix, New Orleans, Atlanta, Miami,” Devon continued and motioned for his driver to pull away from the curb. “Teresa has made some powerful enemies….and some powerful friends.”

“No,” James interjected, flatly, as though he had a choice in whatever question Devon was about to ask.

“Intel has it that she’s got a meeting lined up with the Russians.”

That stopped James cold. The Russians were the top of the food chain. You fucked with them, you didn’t live long enough to regret it. Sinaloa looked like Disney World in comparison. But Devon’s smirk as he said “intel” was the baited hook that caught hold of James’ attention.

They had someone inside Teresa’s organization. 

“Who?” he demanded.

“It doesn’t matter. We need someone with more access. We need you.”

He bit back his automatic refusal, aware that this might be his only chance to get vital information he could use. “Access to what?”

“Teresa’s meetings with Konstantin Volkova.”

Fucking fantastic. Not just a Russian, the most powerful Russian in the North American drug trade. Ratting him out would be a guaranteed way to get them all killed.

“Forget it. I’m not a snitch.”

“We can do this with or without your voluntary assistance, James,” Devon replied, unbothered, confident in his upper hand. “Option one, you get to do what you promised to do—protect Teresa. It hasn’t been all victories this past year. Javier got himself killed. And her godson, what was his name? Tony.”

James knew he was playing right into Devon’s hands but he couldn’t stop himself. “How? Who?”

“Car bomb courtesy of a local judge, I’m told. Lacks a certain sense of sophistication but makes up for in effectiveness.”

Despite the cracked window, it felt like all the air had left the vehicle. James had never allowed himself to question his decision to leave once it was done. He didn’t make room for regrets lest they take over him completely but now he felt the stirrings of doubt or worse, guilt. He’d convinced himself he was doing her a favor, that she’d be better off without him. But would she have lost Tony if he’d been there? Or was that just foolish arrogance?

“You wouldn’t just be helping us,” Devon continued. “You’d be helping Teresa, too. Seems like she needs it. We just want Kostya.”

“And then?”

“Like I said, Teresa will be safe as long as she’s useful to us. Getting Kostya off the board would be….extremely useful to us.”

James shook his head. “You’re forgetting something. Teresa’s never going to go along with this.”

“Then don’t tell her.”

If there was anything the past few years had taught him, he knew one thing for sure. “I won’t lie to her.”

“A valiant effort, Valdez, but we both know you will,” Devon curled his lip in satisfaction as he laid down his final trump card. “She was willing to give up her life to save you once. Should we see how she feels about it now? How long do you think it would take to persuade her? How much of your blood? Because, option two, James… option two is much bloodier. Yours, hers, both. Take your pick.”

Like he said, on a silver, fucking platter.

“When do I start?”

“Good answer. We’re a few miles out from Teresa’s location. You’ll have a car and her GPS coordinates. I don’t care what you tell her, as long as you get back in. Remember, we’ll have eyes on you. You screw this up, it’s the end of the road for you both.”

James tried to use the time he had left to run the options through his head but as Devon’s town car pulled over behind a dark sedan, all he could think of was how he was minutes away from seeing Teresa again, something he thought he'd never get to do. He’d figure something out—some way to deal with the Russians, a way to get the CIA off their backs, a way to keep them all alive. He had to. But hopefully, it wasn't something he'd have to do alone. Hopefully it was something they’d do together.

“And James?” Devon called after him as he turned to open the car door. James didn’t even see the knife before it was buried in his abdomen. “Just in case either or you need the extra motivation."

James clutched his hand to his side but the blood quickly soaked his shirt.

"Clocks ticking James. Don’t let it run out.”

#queen of the south #qots #qots fic #jeresa #*ficbyme #in which usa network posted a promo and i took it personally

[raendown]

Todays follower milestone gift fic is for @sparklemagpie with the prompt word importune. Can you tell I had fun writing this one?

Pairing: ShikamaruTemariTayuya Word count: 1966 Rated: T+ Summary: For the two women in his life Shikamaru will do whatever it takes. As long as they're happy he's happy. When they're not...well, when they're not you get situations like this one.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

KO-FI and commission info in the header!

Just The Right Cherry On Top

Shikamaru would have told anyone who asked that it didn’t start off as begging. No one was really asking, though, and the shreds of pride still buried in the back of his mind somewhere told him that was a problem. If no one was asking questions that usually meant they thought they already had the answers. But they didn’t. They really didn’t. When it came to his two girls Shikamaru was smugly aware that he was usually the only one with answers. 

Well, answers to questions like ‘are you sure they’re not trying to kill each other’ or usually ‘how can you stand to live between that’. The questions about what might be going on in either woman’s mind were ones he didn’t even try to guess at. He knew when to back away from a problem he would never figure out. 

Right now he didn’t so much have a problem as he did have a disaster. He knew very well that relationships took work, that his work would be doubled when he agreed to marry both of the most important women in his life, and since he had not a day went by when he didn’t consider that work so very worth it. For the most part their days were happy. Blissful, even. Shikamaru was as flawed as any other human being but among his flaws pride wasn’t usually the one that tripped him up. Disaster only really happened when pride snuck up on the other two parts of his soul. 

Tayuya, as usual, was the first to start throwing insults. And of course Temari, when faced with a hot temper, flared her own with the kind of heat usually accomplished only with the most deadly katon. Standing on the other side of the kitchen with a frying pan in one hand and his face in the other, Shikamaru briefly wondered if there were any missions available that would take him far away until these two crazy goddesses sorted their own shit out. 

There weren’t. He checked. Discreetly, of course. 

After the first couple days of cold silence it became obvious that this was one of those fights they needed him to bring them back from, when pride and stubbornness and sheer petty spite held both of their lips shut, eyes refusing to meet, tempers refusing to back down. These were the kind of fights that reminded Shikamaru why the three of them really worked as a full unit, one single whole, any weakness in one covered by another. Knowing that never made it any less annoying trying to be the cover to their weakness. They might need him but in those moments they sure didn’t want to need him. 

“What’ll it take this time?” Shikamaru could hear the exhaustion in his own voice but that’s just what happened when he hadn’t gotten more than three consecutive hours of sleep for the past week. 

“Nothing,” Temari snapped. “Maybe this is just it!”

Drawing a hand down his face spoke louder than words how little he believed that. If he looked really close he could see the lines of aching tiredness in Temari’s expression that told him she didn’t believe it either.

“Right,” he murmured. “I’ll just go talk to her then.

And so he did, though it would be hard to express just how unsurprised he was to get a very similar reaction from Tayuya.

“Fuck that bitch and her high horse!”

“You could if one of you would say sorry,” Shikamaru couldn’t help pointing out. 

“Oh no fucking way! Not with a ten foot god damned pole!” 

“What if I said please?”

So that was how it started. Or got to the middle, really. Much to the contrary of what other people seemed to think, Shikamaru was not so whipped as to just fall on his knees and beg any time he encountered the slightest of resistance in their relationship. He had some self respect. In the face of these two boneheads, however, self respect was a concept he was more than willing to throw out the window in favor of a full night’s rest, something he would not be getting until their home saw peace again. 

One instance of saying please did nothing. Twice did little more than that. Somewhere around the fifteen ‘please’ he switched tactics and added a cherry on top. Tayuya rather harshly reminded him that she hated cherries and described in very colorful detail where he could stick his polite words. Clearly another tactic was needed.

As a smart man Shikamaru very carefully ignored all of Naruto’s well meaning suggestions like sending his wives flowers pretending they were from each other. Maybe that would have worked on someone like Hinata who was determined to look at the world and see the best in everyone but Shikamaru had married two people determined to look at the world through a cold lens of cynicism. Gods but he loved it. Loved the both of them. He just didn’t love the fights. Naruto meant well but the one and only time any of them had seen Hinata truly mad had been the middle of a battle against the reanimated body of a dead man handing Naruto his own ass. It was great for the two of them to finally find happiness. When he thought of their calm and sweet relationship Shikamaru sometimes just couldn’t help but wonder how they didn’t get bored with no one around to throw a plate or two. 

Since being nice about it didn’t do much his next step was to try being firm. This time he went to Tayuya first because if he could crack her then honestly he was pretty sure he could crack the whole world. His efforts in this round were about as successful as the first. 

“Go ahead and try to tell me what to do one more time, Nara.” Right up in his face Tayuya was all fire, in her hair and in her eyes and in every move of the arm currently jamming in to his chest. “I’ve had just about enough of being ordered around for one lifetime, you hear me?” Oh he did. He did hear her. He also heard the undertone of heat and it wasn’t until an hour after he left their home in the daze of post orgasmic bliss that he realized he’d been had. Maybe Choji was right and he did think with his dick a little too much. 

Going to see Temari hadn’t exactly had better results - although he’d known better from the start than to consider either one of them ‘better’ than the other in certain departments. After making it very clear how much she both enjoyed and scorned his attempts to law down some kind of law Temari rode him against the nearest walls and sent him off afterwards with a few choice words about how she really didn’t mind wearing only his marks on her skin from now on. Since he hadn’t been the one to bring that up Shikamaru saw through it right away. They missed each other, a blind man could see that. Getting them to admit it was the hard part. 

So that was a bust on trying to put his foot down but if he were honest Shikamaru hadn’t expected any different. The next thing he tried was bribery. After the harsh years both of his wives had experienced it was entirely understandable that they should enjoy being waited on hand and foot. Usually the offer was an irresistible one to them; hence why he didn’t make it very often, a special treat for special occasions when he needed to remind them just how precious they really were. When not just one but both of them turned him down this time Shikamaru had to take a nice long walk through the woods and feed the deer for a while, wondering if maybe the magic offer had lost its touch at last. Or if maybe he was the one that had lost his touch. It took a good long while and three different deer taking curious nibbles of his ponytail before he shook himself and stood up with a little more steel in his spine. 

Clearly this problem was running out of control and that meant bringing in the biggest weapon he had at his disposal. One didn’t spend a lifetime best friends with the Yamanaka heir without picking up some tricks. 

“Please?” 

“No.”

“Please please?”

“I said no, fuck off Shika.”

“Uhhh, please and please and please?”

Tayuya actually stopped walking to round on him with furrowed brows. “You get hit upside the head or something? This is- you’re acting like a damn child!” 

“Maybe.” Shikamaru clasped his hands together and lifted his eyes to the clouds above them. “How many times I gotta say please? Cause I will. Give me a number, I’ll do it.”

“For real?”

“Please, please, please, please, plea-”

Ignoring the baffled looks of anyone passing them by was a lot easier than ignoring the sharp voice that spoke from the doorway, rough at the edges under the heavy weight of defeat and sadness. 

“He might not look like it, but he’s really just a child in a man’s body.” Temari studiously did not look at her wife when Tayuya whipped around to stare at her, missing the ripple of yearning that went through all those well honed muscles. “You probably shouldn’t test it. He really will just keep going.”

“Sounds annoying as hell,” Tayuya ventured. 

Neither of them seemed to notice when Shikamaru fell silent, still, waiting with baited breath. 

“It’d probably be less painful if we just give in. He already did that to me for two hours this morning and I don’t know if I can listen to it for much longer without violence that I’m pretty sure I would regret.” The proud set of Temari’s jaw was that of a queen making concessions. The dark warmth of her eyes when they finally canted sideways was that of a wife who missed the touch of her beloved.

“Good fucking god, two hours? Yeah, hell no. I ain’t listening to that. Let’s just get this over with or something then.”

“For the best.”

Despite that agreement it still took about five solid minutes of staring wordlessly in to each others’ eyes before either of them made any more toward the other. In the end they moved at the same time, reaching out with the same hand, laughing in a fondly awkward way as their fingers entwined. The moment would have been utterly beautiful if Shikamaru hadn’t breathed in very deeply just to let it all back out in one great rush. 

“Finally,” he muttered. Both of his wives frowned at him. 

“Wait.” Temari narrowed her eyes as though only now realizing what she’d done. “How did you do that?” She didn’t seem to appreciate the sheer exasperation filling him up in place of all the soft pleading he’d been wearing for days now. 

“You don’t just hang around with Ino for this long without learning how to annoy someone in to giving up.”

Before either of his wives could say anything Shikamaru was spinning on one heel and marching out the door, grumbling under his breath while he rummaged around his flack vest for a pack of smokes. Troublesome women and their troublesome tempers. At times he really did wonder why he put up with it. Two sets of footsteps rushing after him was a good reminder, though he thought he would be well within his rights to make them do a little begging after all the trouble he’d gone through just to bridge the gap between their overinflated prides. Worth it, absolutely worth it, but damn if they weren’t trouble sometimes. 

#rae writes #follower milestone #shikatematayu #shikamaru #temari #tayuya

[rynnaaurelius]

Just Pirated Loki’s First Episode: The Reactions of a Comics Nerd and No-Fun MCU Hater

-Fair warning, I am a Loki fan, but not in the way, um. Pretty much everyone else on this website is

-Bless Tom Hiddleston for being such a fucking delight as Loki but the MCU straight- and cis-washes its Loki so much that I really am exhausted.

-That being said, the shout-out to the Kid Loki comics, also known as the best Loki comics, with the “your role is this” stuff was. . .well. Watch that space.

-Interesting characterization in the MCU! Can’t wait for them to fuck it all up when it threatens to get too interesting!

-God I checked the tags for the show/characters and I remembered why I stay out of the MCU fandom.

-”They killed people!”/”They enslaved a whole town!”/”They tried to take over the world!”/”He told my favorite to shut up!” This is comics, Susan, everyone’s a terrible person on some level. Pick your emotional support war criminal and go. Also, get a sense of humor.

-Lotta people bitching about the time travel logic and TVA logic need to read more comics. Fair warning: this shit’s par for the course. Like, a lot. Marvel’s getting very comics-y with its treatment of the TVA, MCU!Carol Danvers, and the Eternals (re: The whole “They were secretly there the whole time!” thing).

-I’ve seen a lot of yelling over Loki’s characterization/the morality of the TVA and Mobius and IMO it was. . .fine?

-Like, yes, the script wasn’t amazing, but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. Honestly, it’s better than I was expecting, and the actors did their best.

-Loki seemed fairly in-line from what I remember from 2012.

-The MCU retcons itself about everything every three years, but it looks like they’re going with the theory of Loki having major autonomy during the events of The Avengers. Probably.

-My unpopular opinion on this is that while Thanos certainly did a number on Loki to push him over the edge, supplied him with the army, and gave him this particular plan--none of which is exactly small beans--some version of this was always coming from MCU!Loki, barring major intervention.

-After the first Thor, he was always going to make a play for Earth the second Thor and Odin decided humans were all right. Thanos just happened to set the timetable.

-I mean, he’s been villain material for most of his MCU run, and it’s frankly hilarious how Marvel keeps being forced to bring him back because they can’t do villains for shit and how you can tell when they have to with each shift of his arc trajectory.

-Like everyone else in this godforsaken cinematic universe, his lines suffer from being post-Joss Whedon’s directorial and writing contributions as well as Marvel Main Character-itis, which is not unique to this series.

-Mobius is surprisingly interesting compared with his comics-self.

-*Ducks and hides from the Loki fans*

-He’s clearly working towards something with Loki maybe beyond the whole stopping someone who’s clearly not just your common garden Tom Hiddleston!Loki thing

-What with the interesting mix of de-radicalization techniques and interrogation techniques that probably aren’t completely copacetic under the Geneva Convention, anyway.

-He’s not a Loki fanboy in the comics, but after having to sit through MCU!Wanda, I’m just bracing myself here for the changes. It’s not like Mobius is much of a character in the comics, anyway.

-Like, his morality is of the TVA, but his priorities in keeping Loki alive and un-reset go a bit beyond what his comics self would, probably.

-Anyway, Owen Wilson remains as charismatic as ever and is doing a great job as him, so I like him right now, but jury’s definitely still out on his trajectory.

-So, the TVA.

-Despite the whole fan theory mess with WandaVision, I’m not unconvinced the Time Keepers aren’t secretly the Time-Twisters or something. The organization is more or less like this in the comics, but the emphasis on “Sacred Timeline” is. . .hmph.

-They monitor the multiverse in the comics. They’re not trying to avert its creation, and the Time-Twisters destroy realities as their schtick.

-Also, the multi-verse is coming, so I’m assuming that there’s going to be a twist that acts as an impetus for Loki plus Mobius and friends to blow the organization wide open and cause the multiverse (Probably re-forming the organization and giving Mobius the same surprise promotion as the comics, along with an excuse to bring Gugu Mbatha-Raw back).

-*chanting intensifies* mutants mutants mutants

-They’re gonna fuck up Magneto so bad lmao

Ending Conclusions

-. . .The Big Bad of this phase is absolutely either Mephisto or Kang, right?

-I don’t see how they do Secret Invasion at this point as a feasible Big Bad without a lot of changes, Deviants were Thanos, basically, Doctor Doom can’t happen without the Fantastic Four, and anything directly tied to the mutants is out until they’re brought in.

-Think a decent dark horse candidate for the Phase 4 is also Scarlet Witch/Chthon since she’s confirmed to be reading the Darkhold--which is pretty much No. 1 on the list of Stupid Shit To Never Ever Do In Marvel Comics--upholding the fine comics tradition of Wanda being manipulated by someone evil into doing world-breaking shit.

-I can’t wait for them to straightwash Wiccan and for me to die inside, unrelated news

-It’s episode 1, so there’s a lotta ballgame left, but this is now the second show to bait the MCU Devil, which I honestly want to see if only so I can watch the world burn over it.

-Then again, they might simplify things and just make the being behind the Darkhold Mephisto instead of Chthon, which would. . .track with some things mentioned by the WandaVision showrunners about removing important scenes because stop listening to fans theorize online, dammit. It’s the Hamlet written by monkeys hypothesis played out.

-Ahem.

-Anyway. The music was nice, the actors did a great job, production value looked good, and while this episode was 95% info-dump, they made it pretty digestible.

-Also, the ‘70s-style matte painting used for one scene instead of CGI was a nice surprise and the animation was delightful.

Recommendations:

-If you’re a Loki fan convinced the MCU hasn’t done right by him since Dark World and think Taika Waititi destroyed his character, this show is probably not going to make you especially happy.

-*Checks Tumblr tags again*

-*Winces* I’m so sorry, guys.

-If you’re someone like me, who’s not the biggest MCU fan but still loves the characters and wants to see what ditch this drives into, I think the show is promising.

-If you’re an MCU casual, ditto, but without the ditch part.

-Overall: 8/10 blue-teethed French kids

#marvel #loki #loki series #loki spoilers??? #mcu #me bitching about fandom #they should end well #yeah #loki spoilers #loki laufeyson #mobius #agent mobius #loki tv show #time variance authority #tva #marvel cinematic universe #i procrastinate by theorizing

[joshnekuu]

Okay I'm having a Lot of feelings after the final episode of the anime so I'm just gonna dump it all here I guess??

There were a lot of details from the final act of the game that they either changed or left out entirely, and while a lot of the changes I wound up enjoying in their own right, I still feel sad that the original aspects from the game didn't get in because I feel like it subtly changes the tone/vibe of the ending in the game?

I was disappointed that the whole element of Megumi snatching Neku's friends, and then Joshua showing up and getting snatched as well, wasn't incorporated into the anime. I always really loved that part, with Josh just walking through the door and getting snatched up, and smirking, not giving us any time to really process the fact that 'holy shit Josh is back!' before being thrown into boss battle hell. I was also sad that Josh and Megumi didn't get to have their conversation before Megumi faded away, it felt rather harsh to just have him die without getting to exchange those final words with the Composer like in the game.

But... I did really like Neku and Josh's reunion, Neku being so genuinely happy to see him, not realizing what's going on. The way the whole scene was framed, Joshua's movements, Neku's expressions, it was all really good (and painful) to see animated in full, and it was still really impactful to me and gave me feelings... Also a small detail but I love how the animated the guns coming into existence? That was a cool detail that will be really fun to incorporate into fics, I think.

I'm also torn on the showdown. While I was watching it, seeing Neku drop his gun and smile at Josh as he said 'I'll trust you' and holding out his hand... It definitely hurt my heart!!! Seeing that was a lot and gave me a lot of feelings, it felt like something I would expect to see more in a fanfic or a comic or something, but not in a bad way by any means. It was very fulfilling in that way, seeing that moment of Neku making himself completely vulnerable, accepting what was about to come with a smile in spite of the pain because he does trust Josh in spite of everything.

But... at the same time, it kind of changes how that scene felt in the game. Neku's silence throughout the whole thing, his dropping the gun, the impact hits a bit different I think. We don't know exactly what's going on in his head. We just know that he can't do it. He can't bring himself to shoot Joshua. I guess the big difference to me was that in the show it was more overtly a case of Neku choosing to trust Joshua, where in the game is feels more implied, with there also being the tones of not being able to bring himself to kill his friend. And I guess I still prefer the game version more? I loved seeing Neku smile as he accepts his loss, as he tells Josh he'll trust him, but there's something a bit more raw about Neku shakily lowering the gun in silence, only to be shot anyway, knowing what's going to happen but not being able to do the one thing that would save him and his friends and Shibuya. The tension of that scene is still so good... I'm a bit sad the anime wasn't able to capture that in the same way, even if I still enjoyed that moment a lot.

The proper ending also gave me a lot of conflicting feelings. Obviously seeing Neku reunite with his friends was great! I loved it, I loved seeing Shiki (even if they still won't show us her eyes, cowards), and seeing them actually get to walk around and spend time together, seeing that Sota and Nao have been brought back to life too (a headcanon I always had, ty anime for making it real) really warmed my heart ;o; But... they didn't include Neku's final speech!! I was really disappointed about that :/ I suppose that you could argue that you don't really need it, especially in the anime where they already kind of drove home the themes of trust and friendship in this episode, but like... the final monologue really just drives home and cements the themes of the game. Opening up to others, broadening your view and opinions, connecting to others in spite of differences and growing because of it. The whole aspect of how difficult the game was for Neku, but how he learned and grew from it, how he's gained things from it he wouldn't give up even if it was a painful experience too. The 'I can't forgive you, but I trust you' line!!! Asking Josh if he'll come to Hachiko! Not having that whole part there was probably the biggest disappointment I had with this episode.

I also didn't enjoy the exchange with Josh and Mr. H. While it was nice to see them talking more, and I definitely get that they didn't have any other way to fit in some of the info and motivations from the Secret Reports to give more context to Mr. H's actions, part of what makes the Secret Ending what it is is it's briefness? Joshua's silence as he watches Neku and friends, flying off without a word when Mr. H tries to bring up that he seems lonely and that it's Neku and friends' world... The tension between them after Mr. H's choices, the implications of Josh's loneliness and showing that he too sees Neku as a friend and wishes he could join them... The anime's ending just really messed with the feeling of it all.

But...... the headphones with angel wings graffiti ;;;;;;;;; That was so fucking sweet and touching aaaaah ;;

So yeah... I'm very torn! I feel like they left out a lot of important stuff from the game that while subtle really makes an impact, but at the same time the stuff they added was also really nice. I guess overall, as an ending for the anime, it was really good! But as a reflection of the game's ending, it didn't quite do it for me..

Overall though, I did really enjoy the anime, and I'm still so amazed that we even got this. Now I will wait with baited breath for July 27th....

#twewy anime #twewy anime spoilers #twewy spoilers #twewy

[asilentguardian]

My Thoughts on Gotham

My mom and I finished watching Gotham on December 29th, and this analysis has been sitting in google docs since then. Some of this is a bit incoherent, some of it I wrote as I was watching, and some of it I wrote after finishing the entire show. So here it is. 2,000 words or so of rambling about Gotham. 

My thoughts on the show as a whole: Gotham changed my opinion on a lot of Batman’s villains. I used to be indifferent towards Penguin, now I love him. I used to hate Firefly, now I love her. While there were one or two decisions that I disagreed with, the portrayal of these characters was satisfying and the tone of the show as a whole was refreshing. The writing was good for the most part, however there are issues with sexism and homophobia that I personally noticed.

And now I’m going season by season cause I’m a nerd.

Season One

Season one is a bit of a mixed bag for me. It seemed to me that the show writers and the younger actors were still trying to find their footing and decide what kind of world their Gotham was. Some episodes are slow, but overall it’s intriguing and I was invested after a couple of episodes.

The pilot has a lot of moving parts and it still works. They did a good job of intertwining all of these characters before starting them all on their own paths.

I can’t imagine anyone else playing these roles. I am really happy with the casting choices for this show. Jim Gordon, Harvey Bullock, and Bruce Wayne especially.

Fish Mooney is an interesting but welcome edition! To be honest, the first time my mom and I tried to watch Gotham, we hated her. The second time around, however, I LOVED her and her role in the rise of Penguin.

Having Edward Nygma start at the GCPD was a really cool idea! I think they executed his descent into madness perfectly. I wanted Ed to prevail and to be a goodman just as much as I wanted to see the Riddler emerge.

Speaking of the GCPD, the corruption and the conflict within the precinct is very believable and compelling. It’s easy to believe that Jim Gordon is a young and optimistic detective who believes wholeheartedly in doing good. I also appreciate the fact that Jim Gordon doesn’t lose that drive for good throughout the show. I also don’t find it too cheesy, even if it’s a common trope.

The Batman universe is huge so I was expecting references and easter eggs at every turn, and I was half right. There's plenty of references and cameos but they work and they aren’t essential to the plot which helps casual fans keep up with the story.

A lot of seeds are planted during this first season, and it’s rewarding to see them pay off. I don’t feel as if the first season suffers from the thing that a lot of movies do where they are clearly trailers for the next part in the franchise. 

I think my favorite episode of this season is episode 20 “Under the Knife.” The stakes are high and the story line with the Ogre is definitely unexpected and horrifying but in the best way. Also Ed kills Dougherty and it’s very satisfying.

Season Two

Rise/Wrath of the Villains!

Theo Galavan and Hugo Strange were the big bads of this season and I think they were written and acted very well.

Something I’ve noticed about some of the villains on this show and their interactions with children and Bruce in particular is that they’re... unsettling. I suppose that’s intentional and I definitely think it makes some of the villains more intimidating, but it’s really creepy. There are a lot of adults that are preying on Bruce’s innocence in this show. 

Theo Galavan was not my favorite. He was intimidating for a bit, but I kinda grew bored of him. I did enjoy the nod to Azrael. 

Hugo Strange! I was kinda indifferent to him when playing Arkham City but I enjoy him in this show! Loved when he showed up again in subsequent seasons and you immediately knew some Fucked Shit was happening.

So Mr. Freeze. I’m not too sure how I feel about Gotham’s take on this story. The casting is solid, but killing Nora? Not the move. Actually very angry about that to be honest. The Mr. Freeze episode could’ve been so much more compelling and emotional but instead it was a way to move Lee and Jim’s relationship forward :(

They managed to make Firefly not annoying, but I only found Firefly annoying before because of that stupid boss fight in Arkham Origins. But I liked Bridget.

Penguin and Nygma’s relationship is very fun in this season! More on them later, but at least in season two it’s very enjoyable to watch them learn to trust each other. My mom and I adored their story line.

I LOVE Nygma’s character arc in this season. His interactions with Gordon are some of my favorite bits from this season. They are very rewatchable and I find their relationship to be one of the more intriguing ones in the show.

Overall season 2 was decent. Some of the villains were forgettable, but the relationship arcs and character arcs that were compelling kept me interested.

Episode 15, Mad Grey Dawn, was one of my favorites this season. Seeing the Nygma v Gordon thing play out was so so so fun. I really loved being able to follow Nygma’s logic and feel Gordon’s frustration at being framed.

Season Three

Mad City/Heroes Rise!

There’s A LOT I have to say about season 3. I liked it. There’s a couple of big issues I have with season 3, but overall it was compelling and I enjoyed it.

While I’m not usually one for the “this character has a darkness inside of them” trope, I really didn’t mind it with Gordon. I thought it was believable and interesting enough to be engaging. bounty hunter Gordon was pretty fun, too. And hot. Anyway.

The Mad Hatter v Jim Gordon stuff is intense. Episode 6 where Gordon is forced to choose between Valerie and Lee is where the “dark side” trope lost me a little but I do like that they make a point to have Gordon always make his way back to the light. Valerie’s exit felt very rushed and sudden? I don’t know if the actress was written off for some reason, but it felt very weird.

So. Penguin and Nygma. I don’t know if I would necessarily call it queer-baiting, but it definitely doesn’t sit right with me. Here’s the thing about Gotham’s queer representation: it’s not good, but it’s not bad. There is 100% an issue with making all of your queer characters villains. And there’s a HUGE issue with having Barbara’s attraction to women only be present when she’s a) acting as an antagonist to Gordon’s work at the GCPD (Montoya in season one) or b) on the side of the antagonist and framed as crazy (Tabitha in season two). Also, notice how in season five she’s “sane” when she’s with Gordon. It’s homophobia luv.

However, in the case of Penguin and Nygma, the added layer of Penguin’s love for Nygma makes their arc a little more interesting and compelling (there’s still an issue with queer love being framed as toxic and obsessive in this show, but if I don’t stop talking about that this post will be miles long).

The Ivy thing is certainly a new plot device, but I don’t hate it. Took a bit to get used to, but older Ivy makes sense and to be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of child Ivy. Not that her character was bad, but I personally found her a tad annoying.

SEASON 3 EPISODE 14. THE GENTLE ART OF MAKING ENEMIES. I HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT THIS. Bruce’s character development in this episode made me extremely happy. I haven’t talked a lot about Jerome-Joker yet, but I really like him. Joker is one of those characters you can take a lot of liberties with and it can either really work or really suck (looking at you Jared Leto). Gotham’s version of Joker, while a bit rushed, is a good fucking Joker.

The reason why I like s3e14 so much is THIS is what the Joker vs Batman relationship is about. This is why they are perfect foils. Batman always has a reason, a method. Motivation and a cause. He believes in Gotham and he believes that EVERYONE has the capacity for good. Joker does things just for the hell of it (i.e. kidnapping Bruce). His point is anarchy and chaos. His point is that everyone has darkness and that they are “one bad day” away from giving into that darkness (subtle nods to The Killing Joke, very nice). This is illustrated SO beautifully in this episode. However, I do see an issue down the line of Joker knowing who Batman is instantly, but I digress.

The birth of Riddler! The development of Penguin and Riddler’s animosity! mwah!

Also. Bruce standing above Gotham in an early version of the suit. There’s no ears or cape but my mom and I were VERY excited. I felt so giddy.

Bruce’s vow not to kill was beautifully framed, props to the DP on that one. It felt nice to hear a live action version of Bruce Wayne say that. (Note from the future: yes he breaks it. Sorta. I’m mad about it, but I explain my feelings in depth later).

Season Four

A Dark Knight!

Alright. Season 4. To be honest, it took me a while to warm up to this one.

Scarecrow. Love his costume. Love his escape. Scarecrow is one of my favorites because he’s creepy and cool and terrifying. Well done. The episode where Jim goes after him is really brutal. He goes there alone, not even Harvey by his side, and he is forced to stare his biggest fear in the face. I loved it!

The Pax Penguina. I’m easily won over by references to old literature and history. This show has made me actually like Penguin. I used to find him annoying and didn’t understand why he was people’s favorite, but this show has proved him to be a competent and cunning villain. I love to hate him. It’s fun seeing him at the top of Gotham.

Riddler’s escape and Nygma’s return. His friendship with Lee and Grundy (Grundy!!). Ed and Lee was certainly an interesting choice. I didn’t hate it, it just seemed really odd. I enjoyed Lee’s rise to power though! 

Sofia Falcone. Not really a fan tbh. Didn’t trust her from the start and it was SO satisfying to see her get shot in the head. Talk about a ruthless mastermind. To be fair, I did love to hate her in the beginning, but then she kinda got on my nerves? The actress that played her was really good though!

Captain James Gordon. Yessir. What a legend. One step closer to Commissioner. But also ouchie he had to go behind Harvey’s back. That subplot hurt so good.

Professor Pyg is. A lot. Gotham is a mature show, but it’s hard to like Pyg even as a villain. He’s unsettling and his episodes are a bit too much. I tolerated him but it just got to be gratuitous. I will say that I am relieved that they weren’t heavy handed on the cross-dressing thing. Would prefer not to see that played for a joke anymore, and this show does not need to vilify queerness more than it has.

Jerome and Jeremiah! ahhhhh!!! What wonderful interpretations of the Joker! Jerome was great, but I think I’m partial to Jeremiah. Maybe because his costume looks so much like the Joker from the animated series and Mark Hamill will always be my Joker. Either way, I LOVED their story line in season 4.

Kinda love Barbara being involved in the League. Very sexy of her. Also very sexy of her to not be dead. 

Alright. Here we go. Ra’s Al Ghul and Bruce Wayne. I have mixed feelings about this. So Bruce kills. Technically he’s not Batman yet, and obviously Ra’s didn’t stay dead, but he already took the oath. I have a hard time staying with any adaptation that makes their Batman a killer, but this one wasn’t awful? And then technically Barbara uses Bruce’s hands to kill Ra’s in the finale. I’m upset that they went with a “what if Batman kills” story line in the first place, but the resolution wasn’t too terrible.

Those last three episodes of season 4. Wow. My mom and I couldn’t stop watching. The nods to The Killing Joke were cool but not too on the nose. The stakes felt high and I was so deeply invested because this story line in particular was very well crafted and planned out and it definitely shows. There’s so many loose ends at this finale, and somehow it works and you still have hope. But holy shit, those bridges coming down, the utter panic and confusion as you’re wondering “is X person okay? what happened to X?” wonderful, chefs kiss.

Season Five

Legend of the Dark Knight!

Oh gosh. I have so much I want to say, but I don’t know how to put it into words. I loved this season. I loved the post apocalyptic vibes of Gotham. Loved the rise of the villains into the people who will one day face Batman. Loved Gordon’s leadership and rise to Commissioner. There’s a few things I have issues with this season, but I’m just so in love with that finale. What a beautiful send off.

I loved how the finale was crafted, how we didn’t see the full Batman suit till the end. I did, in fact, cry when that thing was revealed. The score was beautiful. It felt so much like an episode of The Animated Series, yet so unlike any other piece of Batman media. It was so refreshing to have everything wrapped up nicely, so refreshing to have hope and satisfaction in a finale.

Overall, this version of Gotham City feels like a living, breathing thing that is lived in and flawed. It is wonderful. The set designers did wonderfully and it feels so timeless in the way that the Animated Series did as well. I think that’s part of the reason why I loved this show so much. It made me feel the same way that the Animated Series did.

I know I’ve missed a lot of details and plot lines, so if for some reason you are interested in my thoughts on a particular thing in this show, my inbox is open!!

#long post #gotham #my stuff #my writing #aspeaks #meta posts

[escherstrange-ffxiv]

#30: Abstracted

CW: Some sexual descriptions, coarse language.

-

Merlzirn is a lovely person, but he really needs to be stricter about who he allows into his pleasure house.

You know the wealthiest Ul'dahn would rather play a beggar and receive free food than open their purse if they could get away with it. That was how I convinced a Nolan Beck to accompany me for the night; why spend gil on third-rate whores when he could have me for none?

Pinned against a wall on a mound of threadbare cushions stained with sweat and cum, hot breath and saliva trail from my neck to shoulder, I couldn't pull Nolan any closer even if I wanted to, begging him to go deeper, sinking my nails into the soft of his back. It mattered not everyone could see or hear, there was only him and his fevered mutterings probing every inch of me, reaching for a goal, a shared climax.

Even in the throes of ecstasy, the shock of pink hair was visible ten fulms away. The click-clack of heels on scuffed wooden planks, the moans fading with every step as curiosity trumped pleasure, until an alchemist's coat flapped in front of me, behind Nolan, and he cleared his throat.

"Good evening Sergeant Beck, the coroner's report is complete."

Nolan turned and roared, "Strange, what the fuck?!"

"You told me to hand over the report personally as soon as it was complete."

"Are you even aware where you are? How did you even come in?!"

"Yes, and I've seen worse. I assume when I told the doorman I was here on urgent business he thought I meant something else," he deadpanned.

"I'm kind of busy here!" And he was; he didn't pull out the entire time. Perhaps wrapping my legs around Nolan's waist would give a stronger message, but this man was either dense or very determined.

instead the pink Hyur raised his voice loud enough for others to turn and stare at us. "Listen here fuckboy, you barged into the mortuary and demanded this corpse be top priority because 'Brass Blades things'," he curled his fingers when he emphasized the last part. "I've been sleeping at the office for three days and I wanna go home to my husband and kids, so you have another thing coming if you don't want to read about how exactly Momozan Hahazan died in Brass Blade custody right now-"

Nolan snatched the envelope from the alchemist's hands and threw it at the wall, landing beside me with a thud. "There, noted, thank you bye!" The man bowed curtly, turned heel and marched out under the curious and annoyed stares.

The damage was done; our cocks had gone soft, but my curiosity was piqued. A dead Ul'dahn requiring this much attention would surely be valuable information, and valuable information meant someone would be willing to pay for it.

I immediately looped my hands around Nolan Beck's neck, peppering his face with hungry kisses. "Surely you're not going to let one simple fool ruin your night, hmm?" I purred, pressing our chests closer. Smiling, he returned my affection, his cock slowly hardening, sending pleasure up my spine.

He only needed to be distracted long enough to forget about the report; while he dozed curled up against the wall, I took pictures of the report on my tomestone and cast the bait. I got a bite within a bell.

In three days Nolan Beck was sacked from the Brass Blades for 'unlawful assault' and 'abuse of power' and I was eighty thousand gil richer. I never saw him again, but these things happen often in my line of work.

-

I look up the pink man, Strange. I feel like I have to give him his share for his 'contribution'. With the amount of information I gather, he probably has the biggest bullseye painted on his back in Eorzea - no, the world. For someone wanted by the authorities across four city-states he walks with such audacity and confidence that all will be well.

I want to be that.

I want to walk the cobblestones of Ishgard once more, head held high, the my father's shameful decision an adornment, not a burden. I want the nobles to quake in their boots - that House Losstarot, the family of twisted arms and unearthed secrets yet lives, come to deliver a reckoning. I want to walk free, I want to live. And if it must begin with him, so be it.

I bump into Escher in front of the mortuary furiously calculating something on his hands. The fingers do not match the numbers he call out. He lights up at my presence; A hop and skip and he's in front of me, much shorter than I remember. "Ah, you seem like a fellow adventurer. Could you help me pass some money to someone? Need to repay them. I'll pay you for it."

"You will pay me...to pay someone money?"

"Yeah. Simple, right?" He grinned. I blinked. I'd been offered odd jobs in my time; this is new.

But if what everyone says is true, he's always been a strange fellow anyway.

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