#literally either would’ve been great and a good choice

[h0neyfreak]

Choosing a wedding photographer was easily top ten most stressful decisions about how to spend a lot of money on account of all wedding photographers being talented and friendly and fun to talk to and my crippling inability to let people down or reject them. I kind of assumed there would be one natural choice but then there were two and I was ready to call off the whole wedding and fake my death.

#h0ney wedding #I set up meetings with three thinking it would be easy #and one couple just wasn’t the right fit for us immediately #the other one we were immediately friends and got along so well #but they’re just a little less technically skilled than the third guy #who is also a fine art photographer and just has a really excellent eye and we also got along with just not as well #literally either would’ve been great and a good choice #I changed my mind every fifteen minutes about who we should go with it was terrible

[sam24]

Secrets of Spring

Summary: Studying is hard. Especially when your study buddy won't stop talking about Bucky Barnes.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

college au | athlete bucky

_____

“-and then I was like ‘oh my god Bucky, you are like, so funny’ and then he was like-”

You sighed loudly as Kayla continued blabbing, hoping your study partner would get the hint and stop reiterating her 3-second-long interaction with James Buchanan Barnes, the school’s star quarterback and flirt.

“And then my friend Riya was like ‘oh my god Kay Kay, he’s literally flirting with you-”

“That’s great, Kayla, but could we back to the flashcards by any chance-”

“He’s just so goddamn hot!” She squealed as she brandished the stack of notecards around in the air, earning glares directed at both of you from a couple other studious students occupying the library’s tables.

You sunk down in your seat, pretending not to know the lululemon-clad girl in front of you who was basically buzzing with excitement. Of course, studying with Kayla would not have been your first choice, and you definitely weren’t her top pick either, but you two were each others’ only hope, considering the fact that the rest of the kids in your anatomy class were always either high, drunk, or both.

“It should be illegal to look that good,” she said as she looked off into the distance with glassy eyes and fanned herself. Her eyes lit up as she turned her eyes back to you and straightened up in her seat. “And guess what?”

You didn’t have time to guess before Kayla continued rambling on.

“My friend, Lynn, saw him at the gym shirtless the other day and took a picture,” She gushed as she pulled out her phone. “Wait, lemme show you. He looked so sweaty and delicious.”

You grimaced, reaching over to turn her phone off in the middle of her search. “I’m good, thanks.”

“Your loss.” Kayla snapped her gum obnoxiously before her eyes lit up again. “Oh, and guess what?”

You just grumbled in response.

“So you know how my friend’s brother is on the football team with Bucky, right?”

You had no idea who this friend was, much less who her brother was, but you nodded along with Kayla as you felt the headache creeping in.

“She told me that when he came over to her house during spring break to hang out with her brother, he snuck into her room and they both spent the entire night together.” Kayla’s eyes sparkled with a mix of envy and excitement. “In the room right next to her parents.” 

You couldn’t stop the words that vomited from your mouth. “Bucky was at his parents’ house up in Brooklyn with Steve for the entirety of the break, Kayla.”

“Oh.” Kayla’s eyebrows furrowed, and you were glad she was more focused on the discrepancy in her friend’s story rather than your sudden burst of knowledge.

“Sorry,” you cleared your throat awkwardly. “I think your friend lied to you.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Kayla waved her hand with a blinding smile. “This is a good thing!”

You arched an eyebrow at her.

“I won’t be breaking girl code by dating Bucky now, since my friend never actually had anything with him!” 

“Oh . . . okay?” Not like that would’ve stopped you anyways.

Her phone pinged, and she looked at it with a smile, standing up to collect her stuff (which was just her Starbucks drink and a singular highlighter). “Alright, I gotta head back to my apartment and get ready for my date tonight.”

“Oh?” Surely it couldn’t be with Bucky. Right?

"Wow, a date?" you replied, trying to sound nonchalant even as your curiosity piqued. "With who?"

Kayla grinned, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "With this guy I met at the gym last week. He's super cute and really into fitness, just like me!"

That was exactly what you were expecting her to say, but a weight was lifted off of your shoulders anyways.

“Have fun.” You smiled in relief.

“Thanks, babes.” She blew you a kiss. “This study sesh was so great. I learned a ton.”

As she sashayed away, you decided not to bring up the fact that she got through a grand total of exactly three flashcards.

With the shake of your head, you gathered your own belongings and headed out the library as quietly as possible, almost as if you were trying to compensate for the ruckus that Kayla had left behind.

As the cool spring wind breezed through your hair and birds chirped in the cherry blossom trees above you, your phone vibrated continuously in your pocket.

You struggled as you fished out the phone, mentally cursing out all the textbooks you decided to checkout. However, the slight frown on your face was replaced with a grin pulling at the corner of your lips as you brought your phone to your ear.

“Hey, baby.” The familiar low of his voice brought a chill up your spine. And it wasn’t from the wind.

“What do you want, Barnes.” You were certain he could hear the goofy smile on your face.

“Aw, you sound congested, doll.” He coddled you through the phone as you rolled your eyes. “Are you sick? Allergies?”

“I’m sick of hearing about you all day.” You emphasized with a smirk, after taking a moment to genuinely sneeze. Damn pollen.

“Well, can you really blame ‘em for talking about the most charming guy in town?” He laughed on his end of the line.

“Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that, Barnes.”

“What was dear Kayla telling you this time?”

“Just the usual. Something about you being shirtless and glistening in sweat at the gym.”

“Damn. I should start charging her for all the conversation material she’s getting out of me.”

You snorted, but little vines of jealousy stretched around your heart. “You should run your own little side hustle. You’d make thousands.”

“I like the sound of that. Maybe I’ll throw in some autographed headshots as well.”

“I can already picture the line of people stretched around the block.”

Bucky chuckled on the other end of the line, his laughter warm. "Hey, I'll have you know, I've got quite the fan club," he teased, his voice playful.

You couldn't help but smile, despite yourself. "Yeah, well, they clearly don't know how insufferable you are," you replied, your tone teasing.

There was a brief pause before Bucky spoke again, his tone turning more serious. "Hey, I miss you," he confessed softly, and you could hear the sincerity in his voice.

His words tugged at your heartstring. “I miss you too, Buck.”

He seemed to immediately notice the softening of your voice. “You got anywhere to be tonight? I’ll come by later with some pizza.”

“What-” You almost tripped over a crack in the sidewalk. “Barnes, are you crazy?”

“What?” You could imagine his innocent expression through the phone. “Am I not allowed to visit my girlfriend?”

Bucky visiting you wasn’t the problem. The problem was that you lived right between Faith Robinson and McKenzie Gonzalez, the biggest gossipers on campus, not to mention the nosiest neighbors. When one of them would inevitably see Bucky strut down the hall to your door in his tight henley with a box of pizza, the whole student body would hear the news before you could even open the door and let him in.

And having the entire school know about your relationship was the exact opposite of what Bucky wanted.

Right?

“Don’t be a smartass. You know exactly who I live by.”

“I don’t give a damn about who sees us anymore, baby. I just need to see you.”

You took a moment to process his words. You could imagine him holding his breath on his end of the line. “Oh.”

Really? The moment you’ve been secretly hoping for is here, and all you can say is ‘oh’?

“‘Oh’ in a bad way or ‘oh’ in a good way?” Bucky chuckled nervously.

The vines turned into butterflies and fluttered in your chest as you giggled. “‘Oh’ in a . . . surprised way, I guess,” you replied finally. “Yes. Yes, I would love for you to come over.”

Bucky breathed out into a cheeky grin. “Okay.”

“Okay.”

Neither of you were good with words, but you didn’t need them. You understood each other perfectly.

#mcu #bucky barnes #college au #bucky x reader #marvel fanfiction #marvel

[h4lftruths4ndhyperb0le]

I’m not sure still how I feel about Ezra not using his lightsaber this episode. Maybe it’s just me, but the whole “the force is my ally” line, while GREAT, felt like a contrived way to let Sabine still be using the saber, and I don’t like that Ezra being in tune with the force is supposedly somehow at odds with using his saber. I think it would’ve made more sense if he’d just been like “No, I’m out of practice, you use it,” which is true and gets the same result.

THAT SAID, I love the choice to have Ezra be so connected to the Force. It’s clear during the fight that he’s not only a lot stronger when using the Force than he was before but also has practiced these moves. And he’d have had to, because the fighting style is a lot different from rebels Ezra by necessity of rebels era Ezra using either his lightsaber or a blaster and this Ezra having access to neither for ten years. BUT, we also know Ezra’s lightsaber training was mostly Form IV, Ataru, which focuses on offense, and we see that he’s using that principle in this fight, too, his primary goal seeming to be getting in close so he can attack, not just knocking away arms or dodging shots (though he’s doing those, too). Also, I am glad he at least used the blaster at the end of the fight (with some CLEAN shots, too), because come ON, Ezra’s first lightsaber literally had a built in blaster, the boy knows how to use one.

I may not love how we got there, but the details of Ezra fighting this episode were just really good & I like them a lot, 10/10 for powerful Force user Ezra Bridger

#star wars #ezra bridger #star wars rebels #star wars fandom #ahsoka show spoilers #ahsoka #ahsoka show #ahsoka episode 6 #rebels ezra

[sixlane]

tricks up sleeves and all that

rosekiller microfic | 1,180 words | magician Barty, single dad Evan

The first thing Evan thought when his daughter told him she wanted a magician at her birthday party was how did I raise a child who enjoys close-up magic? It wouldn’t have been his first choice, probably wouldn’t have even been his last. He would’ve gone with something classier, more elegant, like a tea party or a day at the museum. Something to live up to the extravagance of previous years. Sure, Eleanor is only seven but that doesn’t mean she can’t enjoy the finer things. 

So, in between meetings and phone calls, Evan researched children’s birthday party magicians, and as you’d expect, not much was living up to his standards. After days of sifting through resumes and background checks, he was eventually able to find a well-designed website with good reviews and speak to a representative who promised to send their best.

This is why Evan is so confused when he opens his front door to find a tall, lanky man in ripped jeans and a worn out t-shirt, his look complete with ruffled hair, an eyebrow piercing, and excessive amounts of tattoos. 

“You must have the wrong house,” Evan says. He thinks he should probably close the door but something about this man is intriguing. He wants to look for just a second longer.

The man leans back to check the address beside the door. “You’re Mr. Rosier, right? I’m here for the birthday party. I’m Barty, the magician.” 

Evan raises a brow. “You don’t look like a magician.”

“Were you expecting a full tuxedo? It’s like 95 degrees out.” A tilted grin spreads over his face, showing off a pointy canine. “Here let me show you.” Before Evan can back away, Barty is reaching behind his ear and producing a shiny quarter, flipping it between his fingers confidently. “Ta da.”

“That’s hardly magic,” Evan says, crossing his arms. He better get a full refund if this is the best they had.

“No, you’re right. That’s just the decoy.” He raises his left hand, and between his thumb and pointer finger he holds Evan’s watch, which had previously been secured to his wrist.

Evan’s mouth drops open slightly. He hadn’t even felt it. “That’s not magic either, that is literally stealing.” He snatches the watch back, putting it on.

“It’s the art of misdirection,” Barty explains. “I do a dumb coin trick, and while you’re paying attention to that, I do something more impressive. It’s like, the basis of all magic.”

Evan doesn’t even know what to say. This man has just pickpocketed him on his own front porch and now he wants Evan to let him into his house? 

At the same time Evan is getting ready to slam the door in Barty’s face, Eleanor appears at his hip, smile wider than a mile across her face.

“Is this the magician, Dad?” she asks, tugging at his shirt while she bounces up and down.

“You must be Eleanor,” Barty says, squatting down so they’re at eye level. He’s performing now, Evan can tell. He lights up and his smugness from before is washed away. “Would you like to pick a card?” 

Eleanor nods enthusiastically.

Barty pulls a deck out of his back pocket and starts shuffling. Evan watches the way his fingers move deftly around the cards. Bending and flipping them expertly before fanning them out in front of her.

“Okay, go ahead. But don’t tell me what your card is, just show it to your dad and put it back anywhere in the deck.”

Eleanor does as instructed and shows Evan the card, ace of hearts, before sliding it back in.

“Thanks Eleanor, that’s great.” He starts shuffling the cards again, adding in flourishes here and there. Evan watches intently, trying to track his every move, see where he might be switching cards out or taking a peek, but he moves too quickly for Evan to stay on top of everything. “Now Ellie, can I call you Ellie?” Eleanor giggles and nods her head. “Your dad here,” he tilts his head up at Evan, “has already seen me do a trick similar to this, but I think I can put a new spin on it, what do you say?” 

Eleanor looks up at Evan, affronted. “Dad! You’ve been playing with the magician without me?”

Evan hears Barty try to stifle a laugh and feels the beginning of a tension headache spreading behind his eyes. “I was just making sure he was up to our standards,” he grits out.

“Don’t worry Ellie, your dad was just doing his due diligence.” Eleanor looks appeased and waves her hand in a motion that tells Barty to continue. He does one last shuffle and then reaches behind Eleanor’s ear. When he pulls back, he has the ace of spades in between his pointer and middle fingers. “So Ellie, was this your card?” 

She looks confused and a little disappointed. Evan holds himself back from kicking Barty directly in the face. “Um… close,” she says. “Mine had hearts on it.”

Barty looks at the card. “Huh. You know, sometimes the cards don’t always do what we want them to so we have to shake some sense into them. He starts waving the card quickly back and forth. When it comes to a stop, Barty holds the ace of hearts where the ace of spades had previously been. He smiles in triumph. Evan still kind of wants to kick him in the face.

Eleanor lets out an excited squeal and rushes forward to tackle Barty into a hug. “Can we keep him, Dad?” she screams directly in Barty’s ear. He doesn’t even flinch.

Evan lets out a resigned sigh. He’s really never been able to deny Eleanor anything, so he steps to the side, opening the door wider, a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. “Of course Eleanor. Go gather your friends in the living room. Barty will be right in.” He places a hand on her head as she runs by.

Barty stands up and straightens his pants out, sliding the deck back into his pocket. “Good enough?” he asks, shrugging a shoulder.

Evan scrutinizes him for a second, running his eyes over every inch of the man. The line of his cheekbone, the curve of his neck, the way his thumb rubs a circle into the side of his pointer finger. There’s something about him. Evan hasn’t heard Eleanor scream that loud since Pandora got her a bug collection kit for Christmas last year. 

“I want you to know that I keep a detailed inventory of everything in my home, so if you steal something I will find out, and you won't be happy about the consequences.”

Barty smiles, something mischievous glinting in his eye. “We’ll see about that,” he says brushing past Evan to make his way into the living room. Evan closes the door behind him. Right before Barty turns the corner, he throws something over his shoulder. Without thinking, Evan catches it. His wallet. With the ace of hearts sticking mockingly out of the top.

#this came to me in a dream #idk they make sense to me #like pickpocket barty who goes on to be a children's birthday party magician? #evan hires him for every event after this and always offers to hang up his jacket meanwhile he's seam ripping his sleeves open #trying to figure out where barty keeps everything #then sewing them back up #rosekiller #barty crouch jr. #evan rosier #evan x barty #barty x evan #rosekiller microfic #lane writes #marauders fanfic #marauders #microfic tag

[genichisojo]

Chihiro's Age and Being the Perfect 18 Year Old Protagonist

Today I will be breaking down Kagurabachi's Chihiro’s age and why he’s a great 18 yr old protagonist and acts his age. Please forgive if my current DC brain rot bleeds into this.

I think Chihiro’s core can attributed to growing up being loved and respected by his parents. One of the first conversations is Kunishige telling Chihiro that if he wants to be a blacksmith like him and carry the burden of the role’s consequences, “…If that’s how you feel, all that’s left, is for me to believe in you.”

I think when you grow up with a loving parent like that, that loving voice is always in your head. He reminds me of that joke that the reason Superman is so good is because both of his parents loved him unconditionally. But who do we get when you have loving parents who get killed in a traumatic way in front of you? Batman, hi! Hi, Batman! Hi! AKA “that nut from Gotham city” and Chihiro already has such a reputation. Not as a psycho, but he’s deemed dangerous and strong. He’s someone to keep an eye out for now. He’s been underestimated before this arc because of his age.

I personally think that had Kunishige never been murdered, Chihiro wouldn’t had ever chosen to wield a blade unless it came to a time of war. But he adapted to the idea easily because he’s been preparing himself his whole life to be responsible for deaths as a blacksmith. What’s the difference anyways when you’re the wielder? Probably a lot, but you’re a teenager and want one thing, and it’s the right thing in your mind so let’s just start moving.

He has assigned himself the responsibility to get the katanas back and get revenge, and he’s very set on it in a one track, 18 yr old way. When Char got taken, his mind was on getting her back. When Sojo was doing his shit, his mind was on taking him down. Then he immediately moves back into getting back the katanas, not really taking time to process literally losing a limb after already not fully healing from a hospital visit. He’s reckless with his physical health- typical for his age.

Older characters around him also treat him his age. Shiba doesn’t really leave him out of his sight if we’re real about it. He lets him fight on his own and trusts that Chihiro has a handle on things because he knows him and probably trained him. He would’ve gone in during the first fight with Sojo had Azami not stopped him. He is willing to hop in when things get bad, and he will always be there to catch him, but overall, he knows he’s old enough to handle physical strain. Still, there’s that famous moment in the train at the beginning where Shiba does warn Chihiro all the hatred he’s been carrying is “…gonna break you.”

Chihiro asks in return, “So you wanna stop me?” And neither of them says anything and continue to go about their mission. Shiba respects Chihiro and his choices, understands he’s an adult and this is what he wants, but he looks out for him because at the end of the day, he’s still eighteen. And his best friend’s baby.

We also have Azami who summoned the Kamunabi because although he he’s been told Chihiro can fight, he also knew that he had never fought another enchanted blade wielder before and knew the city damage could get crazy. In a way, I think it was also a way to keep an eye on him because he doesn’t want him to get hurt, either. Azami has been proven to be sentimental with his phone lockscreen. He kept Chihiro’s existence a secret because until KB’s starting point, he was a child. He’s barely an adult, and Azami who hadn’t seen him in a while, is still like I guess he can handle it, if Shiba says and then absolutely not.

My final point is that Chihiro treats children well. He talks to children in a way kids like to be talked to- like real people. Kids say crazy things, but he still took time to feed and talk to Char and take her seriously even before they were attacked. The same thing occurs with Mr. Inazuma. He gets down to their level, listens to them in the way his father listened to him, and he goes along with what they want while making sure they’re not going to die.

Chihiro was shown to have been a responsible child and he had to grow up quick to be able to accomplish his goals. In a way, an indirect goal of his is to protect the innocent- children. He knows what it’s like to be a defenseless child and to have nobody run to your aid, so he acts the most rational when other people’s lives are on the line. And when it all falls on his life, he lets himself get a little bit reckless because that’s just what allegedly blood thirsty 18 yr old boys do. I’ll come back to the allegedly later.

#kagurabachi #chihiro rokuhira #this was actually for the server but discord acted insane so now everyone gets it

[grumpylia]

i hate to be a hater but here’s a little yap about ep 6 of the pjo tv show

- i was soooo disappointed in this episode! i literally got bored halfway through LMAO and kept getting distracted which was so upsetting!! because the lotus hotel is one of my favourite chapters of the lightning thief!!

- starting from the beginning; i wish wish wish that we’d gotten the ‘you’re my friend, seaweed brain - anymore stupid questions?’ moment because i just love that moment

- but if they weren’t going to give that moment to us surely they could’ve at least given us?? something??

- instead of just luke’s fan service-y ‘old married couple line’

- i also think the whole the trio things tlt is clarisse thing is just?? underwhelming. the show hasn’t done a very good job at making us really understand the stakes here!!! it feels like they’re just fucking around and i don’t like it!! like they literally missed the deadline!! and that didn’t even feel like a big deal!! that should’ve felt earth shattering!!

- also where was the zebra. where was percy being able to talk to the zebra :(

- i wish also that they’d done more with grover in the start of this ep - they could’ve showed us his character rather than just giving us a massive exposition dump

- the EXPOSITION!! i was fine with it in the first few episodes, bc like the book isn’t exactly perfect with exposition either but it’s actually getting to a point where i think it’s taking me out of the story!

- why why why did they skip the lotus hotel stuff??? omg! i can understand some of the other changes (e.g. waterland) but the lotus stuff would’ve translated soo perfectly to screen!! it would’ve been such a good way to build tension without having the characters ohtroght saying to the audience “this is the lotus hotel. time doesn’t move properly here, and if you’re not careful you can forget who you are.”

- i still can’t believe that they didn’t adapt the book this chapter! it would’ve been so perfectly suited for screen! this tv show also has a tension/stakes problem so it would’ve been a great way to help fix that

- also they’re meant to be TWELVE ! ofc they come across a hotel with infinite food and games and money and love it! the whole point is that across the series we’ll see them grow and become more wary of these things! i could understand why they made the change with medusa, but them knowing what they were walking into here just felt like such a boring choice

- and if nothing else the lotus hotel episode should not be boring!!

- also why are we talking about may castellan🤨the reason it has so much impact in the og series is because you’re putting these pieces together and then it all just hits you

- but here it’s just like…

- and hermes’! i don’t have an issue if they wanted to include hermes’ in this scene - cancel me but i think lmm lowkey ate - but i don’t understand why they would do it in this very expositiony way. and are we not meant to think that hermes’ is neglecting luke too?? at least until som?? if i was writing this and i reallly wanted to include hermes’, i feel like there are sooo many different ways to include him that would’ve read sooo much better. still brainstorming what those ways are, but point still stands

- i did think the taxi scene was really funny tho sue me

i hate to be a hater because i really wanted to love this show! and i really did enjoy some specific moments and episodes! but i just wish they’d done a closer adaptation of the book - i think they’re trying to do way too much way too soon and they need to just let the characters and the story breathe for a bit before trying to really go heavy in with all these really in your face themes and exposition

#pjo tv #percy jackson tv series #pjotv #pjo tv show #percy jackson #the lotus hotel and casino #ep 6: ‘we bring a zebra to vegas’

[misrepresentedmorallygrey]

PROPAGANDA

Rose Propaganda

"We saw her character arc in reverse!! We first saw all the good she did and then learned of her terrible actions in the past. If her story was told the other way around, it would have been a great redemption arc. Yes, she did some terrible things, but she had no choice. She did everything she could to stop the colonization of earth peacefully buy nothing worked. Blue and yellow diamond just didn't listen to her and when they did, THEY were the ones who made the zoo and shit. Rose wanted to free them but couldn't get to them after the war! And with the corruption, there's no way she could have known that'd happen. There's so many things she wanted to do but just couldn't. And with spinel, yes it was shitty to leave her alone for so long, but again, between running her court, running the rebellion, dealing with earth, she likely wasn't a very high priority and like with the zoo, there was no way to get to her after the war since the galaxy warp was destroyed. And don't forget, she was practically a child around this time. You're saying you didn't do any stupid, selfish, or harmful things as a kid? She learned from her experiences and grew, we just saw that growth in reverse, leaving us as viewers with a poor perception of her."

"Rose Quartz is Steven Universe’s dead mom. Initially, she’s set up as sort of an ethereal perfect figure who everyone misses and compares him to. Later we get to see more of her backstory and discover that she’s actually like, a person, with flaws, who has done some bad things, but she did those bad things largely in the course of trying to escape an abusive home life and save the people and planet that she fell in love with. It’s very clear that despite her flaws she was trying to do the right thing and that she deeply cared about others. Unfortunately, a woman who was not a Perfect Martyr was way too much for the Steven Universe fandom to handle. She pretty much set off the wave of SU crit blogs because these people were furious either that she had taken violent measures to solve her problems, that she hadn’t taken violent enough measures to solve her problems, or both somehow. Lots of “Why didn’t she just murder her abusive parental figures?” Lots of “She was evil for having a baby even though she knew she’d die in childbirth!” Lots of “She should’ve been able to protect everyone from a magic nuclear weapon with the power of love somehow.” Lots of “She shouldn’t have rebelled (even though not rebelling would’ve meant the destruction of Earth) because her abusers retaliated and that’s her fault.” LOTS of people drawing her as stick thin even though she was fat in the show. People treated her like she was on the same level or even worse than her abusive parental figures who were also the main villains of the show. It was unbearable to witness."

Feferi Propaganda

"While Feferi isn't completely innocent, a lot of people in the fandom only use acknowledge her existence to make her ex look like a pitiful sad boi. He's literally a racist facist that made plans for genocide. She is not a selfish beach who only wanted him to do stuff for her; she dated to save lives and keep him from murdering innocents."

#round 2 #round 2A #females fucked over tournament #steven universe #homestuck #rose quartz #feferi peixes #yes feferi got a new image #it felt off how I used the pesterquest sprites for the humans but the actual webcomic sprites for the trolls #so feferi got upgraded

[sanguinifex]

Y’know the “classic children’s literature” canon is largely pretty fucked up.

C.S. Lewis was racist and homophobic and sexist, not to mention Extremely Christian and trying to convert you (seriously, there are exactly 2 books where the bad guys aren’t women or Muslims by another name, and one of those 2 doesn’t even have an antagonist once Eustace gets un-dragoned)

Roald Dahl was notoriously antisemitic and just kind of misogynistic in general. Keeps trying to sell the idea that ugly people are inherently evil and pretty people are inherently good. Also like the Oompa Loompas are a) canonically black in the books and b) slave labor, and this is promoted as positive? Charlie’s dad would’ve had a job if Wonka hadn’t been literally stealing people to avoid paying workers. Also, like, the nerve of leaving a chocolate factory to a random kid who knows nothing about chocolate except it tastes good, when probably at least a dozen of the Oompa Loompas are qualified to run the place. Like, Dahl is great at giving people nightmares, but the inherent assumptions begin the worlds he builds are not something I want to give to a 10-year-old and tell them it’s Great Literature and something to emulate, the way I was. (Also, I was actually 8, come to think of it.)

JKR. Well. Besides the TERFery and racism/antisemitism. There’s just a complete disregard for bodily autonomy that’s so present in her work that it becomes obvious it’s part of how she views the world? Like, it’s supposed to be a funny joke to slip someone a potion that turns them into a canary. Admittedly the delivery of that line was 109% but like. What if he’d got stuck like that? You can’t just transmogrify people like that without asking them. You also shouldn’t do the “muggle” equivalent like putting Nair in someone’s shampoo. That’s assault, Joanie. I think this also feeds into her transphobia, because she just doesn’t seem to have anything that would hold her back from swapping someone’s gender for giggles if she were able to. It’s not just the HP series, either, it’s her works aimed at adults as well. Like, she’d be the type to barge into the bathroom while you’re peeing and then get offended when you’re upset by this because “We’re all girls here.” But oh it’s a modern classic and you have to read it to understand nerd culture…well, you could make that argument 10 years ago but it’s a bit less solid in 2023. I wouldn’t ban a kid from reading it, but I wouldn’t give them a box set. If they brought it home from the library I’d give a quick talk that I’m not mad at them for reading it but they should be aware that the author is a jerk.

Stephanie Meyer: Completely inescapable if you were a tween girl anywhere between 2005 and 2010. You had to plough through 4 doorstoppers of toxic Mormon heterosexuality just to understand what anyone was talking about. Like, I think it should be shelved with a pamphlet about healthy vs unhealthy relationships in it. Also, like, Meyer profited off the names of Native people and didn’t give them a cent. Also Bella you need a vampire like a fish needs a bicycle, just take some vitamin D supplements and you’ll get over him

Again, I’m not saying “don’t read these books.” Many of them are well-written and have historic and sociological and literary value. This post is about how we tell children that these demonstrably bigoted authors, whose bigotry shines through in their writing because they’re too unaware of it to file it down, that these are Great Writers and suitable to emulate. It’s not just that bigotry could be absored by young readers, it’s also that ir build a false foundation that will crumble under literary analysis, creating a life of doubting one’s own word choices, among other problems!

[dalekofchaos]

Sean and Daniel should have been able to clear their name

Thinking about LIS 2 again and how unsatisfied I am about the endings.

None of the endings are good in my opinion.

Redemption is just soul crushing. Sean goes to jail for 15 years for a crime he didn't even commit. Sean’s life in Prison for 15 years would’ve been an absolute living hell. Not only was 15 years of his life taken from him, but he literally went through hell and there is no telling how brutal his time in prison could’ve been. Especially since he was labeled as a cop killer.

For a long time I believed the best endings were Parting Ways and Blood Brothers and thought Redemption did more harm than good. Now I feel like it's the opposite.

Escaping to another country sounds like a good plan, but there is something called extradition treaties; and the US & Mexico has had one for for a long time. More than likely US authorities are waiting on Daniel to turn 18 so that he can't use the "I'm a minor, you can't charge me" defense. No doubt the brothers are about to get raided as soon as Daniel turns 18. They either get to Cuba or they are going to lead a life constantly on the run as every continental country in Central & South America has an extradition treaty as well.

In the case of Parting Ways, Daniel will be under house arrest as they raid Puerto Lobos and extradite Sean while Daniel has to live under house arrest knowing there is nothing he could've done to save Sean.

And Lone Wolf has Daniel treated like a literal villain.

So unfortunately Redemption is the only ending where anyone is close to happy. Sean does his time to protect Daniel and sees Lyla again. Daniel lives a happy life in Beaver Creek and while Sean carries trauma with him, he gets to live and be free.

And don't get me started on how morality plays into the endings.

High Morality ending result in Sean either spending 15 years in prison or the brothers being separated in America. But the low morality ending results in the brothers together as criminals or Sean dead in Mexico? Why is staying in America painted as a moral ending, but choosing to stay in Mexico, the goal of the game is considered the immoral ending? Like, Mexico is not a guaranteed ticket to being a criminal. Wouldn't it make more sense for high morality to lead to Sean clearing his name? Very tone deaf DONTNOD.

But that out of the way, here is why we should've gotten the opportunity to gain the Diaz brothers freedom.

Redemption Ending, while tragic is a good ending. and it got me thinking afterwards about the actual legal implications of Sean's actions, and a 15 year jail sentence (shortened I assume for good behavior) seems quite extreme.

I imagine that it would be very difficult for the prosecution to prove without reasonable doubt that Sean killed the police officer in Seattle. If he surrendered immediately in Chapter 1, he could just say there was an explosion which knocked him unconscious and he doesn't know what happened. The police have no proof or physical evidence linking the death to Daniel and I imagine that any competent lawyer can get the brothers acquitted for the officer's death.

Now I know that Sean was just a kid who watched his father get murdered and panicked, so I understand why he ran, but running away made everything worse. By selecting moral choices, in the end my Sean was really on the hook for destroying the hotel room, grand theft auto, working on a pot farm, and trashing the police station (Karen took the blame for the church fire). I didn't assault the shopkeeper, didn't murder Lisbeth or Merril, and a 15 year jail sentence seems crazy to me and undermined what was otherwise a great ending.

So there are two ways I'd do this.

Having Sean go back after the conversation with Brody or contact Agent Flores when David suggests he turn themselves in.

Option 1.

In my opinion the game should've gave us two paths regarding what you say to Brody in episode 1.

Go to Puerto Lobos. Same game as before

Clear your name. After talking to Brody, he takes you to the police, but still stay at the motel. Sean tells Daniel the truth and in episode 2 is about Sean preparing for the trial. Daniel is sent to Claire and Stephen. Episode 3-4 is the trial and episode 5 is the conclusion. The smoking gun is Brett and Daniel, Brett revealing he was an asshole who got their father killed and Daniel revealing(privately) to the judge, Flores and lawyers his power. Sean is cleared and the choice would be

Return to Seattle

Go to Beaver's Creek

Go to Puerto Lobos

Option 2

Twos scenarios would be given to us. Continue the story we got or take David’s advice and make contact with Detective Flores and tell her he can explain everything. So we have a trial. Tell that their asshole neighbor Brett was harassing Daniel and Sean came to his rescue. After the fight ended badly, the officer came on the scene and explain that when Esteban was trying to defuse the situation, the officer shot their father and this set off Daniel’s powers and caused the incident. Shockingly, Brett is alive and comes forward as a witness. Telling everyone Sean and Daniel are telling the truth and that he was just being an asshole. Then Sean and Daniel requested a private audience with the judge, Agent Flores and the attorneys. Daniel displays his powers and Sean explains that when the officer shot their father it triggered his powers, went off in the hotel, pot farm and other unexplainable events. Everyone is in shock, but the judge requests everyone keeps this under wraps. And it ends with the jury announcing. “We find Sean and Daniel Diaz Not Guilty” Sean cries tears of joy and embraces Daniel and Karen, Claire, Stephen and Lyla all come forward to hug Sean and Daniel. The Wolf Brothers are finally free.

Final ending would be between where we choose to go. Return to Seattle, return to Beaver Creek, return to Away with Karen or go to Puerto Lobos.

Flash forwards shows the brothers returning to Beaver Creek. Daniel growing up happily with Chris and Sarah Lee at his side and Sean reuniting with Lyla. In one of the flashes we would see a big Birthday celebration for Sean and we would see Sean, Daniel, Karen, Claire, Stephen, Chris, Jake, Sarah Lee, Lyla, Finn and Cassidy together celebrating Sean’s birthday. We would also see Sean and Daniel’s individual graduations. And as for the ending I guess we could have either Sean and Daniel living happily and free in Beaver’s Creek, Sean and Daniel returning to Seattle or Sean saying goodbye as he leaves for Puerto Lobos with whoever you romanced and if you romanced no one, Sean would leave with Finn, Cassidy or Lyla to Puerto Lobos(Parkaz is the hill I am dying on)

#Life Is Strange #Life Is Strange 2 #Sean Diaz #Daniel Diaz #Lyla Park #Finn Mcnamara #Cassidy Jones #Karen Diaz #Karen Reynolds #Claire Reynolds #Stephen Reynolds #Chris Eriksen #Parkaz #McDiaz #Fean #Sinn #Sassidy

[crystalelemental]

Unit Teambuilding - Sygna Suit Mina

You know.  I am notoriously anti-Gen 7 at this point, and a major part of that is not really liking the characters that aren’t Aether Fam or Kukui.  Even Hau’s just kinda alright.  And when it comes to characters I feel do nothing for me, Mina’s up there.  So this?  This is a weird choice to me.

General Overview Mina comes in with Tapu Fini as a Fairy-type support.  Her role is setting Fairy Zone on entry and having extension of that effect, which is divine.  She reduces all special damage for the team by 30%, which is kinda nuts, and raises both defenses of all allies by 1 stage when a field effect is set.  Hoping that includes entry.  Her other use is Rain Dance.  So we have a dual-field effect setting support, like C!Calem.   Let's see if this went any better.  Her main use, I think, is the +6 special attack from trainer move if it's raining.  This, combined with Gradual Healing and her Buddy move that applies Damage Guard to the team and buffs defenses, is really nice.  Buddy Protect is hilarious to completely block the AoE Sure Crit moves that flood gauntlet, or to stop an opponent's sync nuke from hitting too hard in CS.  We'll talk those applications eventually.

The oddity of Mina is that she's a support without a specific cause.  No sync pair in the game needs Fairy Zone and Rain.  Her utility is therefore limited to either Zone or Rain, and the other aspect is incidental.  With SS Kris, Mina cannot compete with Rain.  Kris is just the outright better option in literally every team comp imaginable.   Fairy Zone is more Mina’s calling.  And she’s...honestly pretty poor at it.  +6 special attack on turn 2 is nice and all, but Team Sharp Entry as her only crit buffing leaves a lot to be desired.  Among Fairies, this helps Bede and especially Diantha, but it doesn’t cap crit for Valerie, P!Dawn, or P!Serena, and while it’s decent for Summer Lyra’s sync, she isn’t helping with the physical attack that is Lyra’s main source of DPS.  And without any attack boosting, she’s not very useful for S!Marnie, base Mina, and NY!Lisia.  Assisting only two options out of nine in your primary type is...honestly poor performance.  Like girl, that’s insanely bad.

As a result, Mina feels more like a generalist for special attackers with Dire Hit+ than she does a good Fairy Zone support.  And you may note, Mina does not provide stacks of moves up next like Acerola does.  Instead, she gives +1 defenses per field effect, which is really slow acting and rather unimpressive.  But because of this, Mina is not someone who emphasizes taking first sync and powering up DPS like Acerola.  Mina’s good for allies who do want sync.  Which means she works great with Diantha, like all of the Fairy Zone setters do.

Move Level and EX? Like all of the Tapu, the value of 1/5 is actually quite high.  Mina gets a lot of what she wants right away, with 3/5 realistically offering just Team Sharp Entry and application of Fairy Zone every sync.  Both of which are good, but Adrenaline would've been exceptional at 2/5, thanks to taking a turn off to second sync, potentially allowing it to be under Terrain, but instead it's 4/5 as if that'll help.  5/5 doesn't really offer anything of value.  Synchro Healing is fine, but it's...not important.  As for EX, while Mina is a support and it's a good idea, some of her better partners are going to want to take first sync, meaning she won't see a ton of use from it.

Team 1: SS Mina, Diantha, Bede Okay. Right away, I have to caution, this could run into serious gauge issues. Could.  I don't know for sure that it will, but uh.  It seems likely.  That said, Mina and Diantha are wonderful together.  Mina provides much-needed Zone, tops off special attack in a single action under Rain, and has Team Sharp Entry to save Diantha a turn buffing.  By turn 2, Diantha is firing Moonblast.  Bede is chosen because he keeps pace on the special attack debuffs, having AoE that hits -2 each time.   Diantha's sync nuke is perfectly set up in this time.

Team 2: SS Mina, Lodge May/Barry, Lucian/Clemont For Rain, Mina supplements Lodge May fairly well.  Team Sharp Entry is exactly enough to save one of her trainer moves for SEUN later in a match, and +6 special attack means May starts blasting right away.  Rain support is of course valuable for any Water-type striker, while the role compression allows Lucian to debuff special defense and speed up the team.  I'd also like to shout out Barry, who gets the exact special attack needed, and with any speed debuffer, gets his full sync investment going.

Team 3: SS Mina, SS Leon, Anni Raihan Okay, let's talk some fun.  Buddy Protect applies Damage Guard to all allies. Usually, this is consider a quick block of any DPS move.  Great for Gauntlet blocking Sure Crit, but oft forgotten for blocking half of all sync damage.  In CS, that means you can stack -2 and -1 sync cooldown, and guarantee the foe syncs without too much gained from attacks.  Damage Guard practically ensures survival.  Which leads to the big guns.  SS Leon is not exceptional, but gets substantially stronger when the foe has used sync.  Mina saves a turn of his buffing with Dire Hit+, and supplies all special attack needed, allowing Leon to set up his speed and crit to cap for full Inertia sync buffed power.  Anni Raihan is chosen for matched theme skills, potential special defense drops with Mind Boggler, and most importantly, SEUN on trainer move, to really power up Leon's sync to full strength.

Team 4: SS Mina, Giovanni/Gardenia, Bianca/Blaine Fun fact: nothing says she has to stick to her own effects.  While she has skills that emphasize it, it's not essential.  Which means, so long as allies can buff +2 crit, they're in working order, and you can supply whatever needed field effect you want.  So yes, she can operate with someone like Giovanni or Gardenia. Giovanni is an emphasis on "let ally take first sync," while Gardenia lets Mina take it for better DPS.

Final Thoughts I think Mina's odd.  Like, I go back and forth on the ranking for the Tapu, and have kinda landed on “Mina’s the second best,” but largely for reasons associated with her general toolkit rather than her specifics.  As a Zone setter, she’s really kind of awful.  Lack of serious crit buffing and no attack buffs at all leaves the majority of her type unsupported.  And as a Rain support, Kris absolutely destroys her as a special buffer, and Calem at least has the physical options on lock, so she lacks any defined niche.  Which kinda has me feeling like maybe she’s actually worse than Hau.  There’s a legitimate argument for that being the case.  And even I’m not entirely sold on her being better.  I think all the Tapu really wound up seeming more interesting than they actually are.  The more I dig, the more I’m like man.  This seemed really fun for something that has a lot of conceptual weaknesses.

Still gonna pull.  I love me some field effects.

#unit teambuilding #sygna suit mina

[alicent-apologist]

1) Do you think the dance would’ve still happened if Viserys had married someone else instead of Alicent in either the books or the show? A lot of people blame the dance entirely on the Hightowers and their ambition but that never really made sense to me because 1) every noble family whether great or minor in Westeros is ambitious as evidenced multiple times throughout all of Martin’s work and 2) the law at the time was that the firstborn son would inherit and any woman who married Viserys and had a son would expect the crown to go to him over and fight just as the Hightowers did. Would love to hear your thoughts on this!

2) Kinda related but sorta separate. I saw your post about ideas of what would’ve happened if Viserys chose Laena and loved it. I also really loved how you adapted and honored and worked the lore behind House Baratheon into The Targaryen Doe. If you’re taking requests for future prompts, I was wondering if you’d ever write a story where Viserys’s second wife is someone else from an important family (not Alicent or Laena and not from the Hightowers or the Velaryons) and how they would react to 1) becoming the Queen consort of the 7 kingdoms 2) the royal court and all its intrigues and plots and dynamics (like Camyla I imagine this woman was born and raised in her family’s ancestral home and then only came to court for the first time for her marriage) 3) their new in laws (Daemon and Rhaenys) and stepdaughter 4) personally being married to Viserys and all the good and bad that comes with being with him 5) how she will react to the news that Viserys doesn’t intend to make their son his heir. I hate how the show made it seem like Alicent or Laena were the only two choices he had in the world. Also I love politics and background lore/history and worldbuilidng and you did a great job with Camyla and her Baratheon ties so I would love to see how you would write another woman from a different house. I don’t think I’ve ever read a HOTD fic where Viserys has an OC wife so that just really interest me. Thank you!

Sorry it took me this long to answer! I thought about it so much that I would have sworn on my life that I'd already posted a reply!

The Dance became a certainty the second Viserys remarried, had a son and kept Rhaenyra as his heir. There is no house in Westeros that would not take that as an insult. They would have married their daughter/sister to Viserys with the (reasonable) expectation that any sons that resulted from that marriage would be in line for the throne. Otherwise, they would not have offered a woman of child-bearing years. I will grant Viserys that it was a difficult position to be in - when Aemma died (was murdered on his orders while she had no idea what was going on) he only had one child standing between Daemon and the throne and literally no-one wanted Daemon on the throne. Sad for him really, if only he hadn't been impregnating his wife since she was thirteen years old ... I'm not even sure if marrying someone from a really, really minor house would have helped really. The bigger houses would have taken it as an insult that they were passed over, and it's likely that the Great House of the region would also have taken it as an insult when Viserys kept Rhaenyra as his heir. Potentially, another way out of it would be to marry an older, likely widowed woman who would not be able to have more children and marry Rhaenyra to Laenor to appease the Velaryons. It ties together the two contesting claims and it ensures that Viserys won't have any children who could fight Rhaenyra's claim. And then, of course, Rhaenyra does as she did in Fire and Blood and everything goes to hell in a handbasket anyway!

Thank you so much for the lovely words! That would be very interesting! The Lannisters would be very interesting as they felt quite slighted by the crown at that point. Or a Tully! Or a more minor house in the Riverlands! House Mooton might be a good choice, as they're very wealthy and it could be quite fun as the Riverlands are quite fractured so, unlike the Hightowers, they probably wouldn't expect full support from their Kingdom. They're also a 'Bay of Crabs' house which means that they're very close to the Crownlands and the seat of Rhaenyra's support.

#Text #Answered #Anon #house of the dragon #hotd

[alexxmason]

❛ there’s nothing you could have done. ❜ for ariel and edward

😭😭😭 bestie please enjoy this one shot turned thing, and forgive me that it’s literally been months. This actually became it’s own thing and I got a bit into it more than I expected. Also thank you to @hoesephseed for looking this over 💕💕✨✨

Prompt: “There’s nothing you could have done.”

Word count: 1716

Warnings: grief, loss, character deaths, minor violence, probably something else I’m missing.

When she heard on the radio that Carmine Falcone had been apprehended by the Batman, she and all her fellow officers and detectives rushed to the lounge. Only she ran for her own reason.

She took her own vehicle. She couldn’t bear to wait for anyone to join her.

All it took was Falcone in the light; this would all be over, and everything would be exposed.

The corruption and the vileness slowly cleansed after all this time.

But she arrived at the scene, and she was too late. She and others waited too long to join the chaos.

The Riddler shot Carmine Falcone, but he wasn’t fast enough to slip away to the diner as his plan.

Riddler was shot by a rookie officer. His death was instant and painless.

Too good for him, officers would say.

But not Gordon. He saw Edward’s face and recognized it. He’d seen the man before at a Christmas party with one of his detectives, Ariel Herrera.

She called him her boyfriend.

So when she arrived at the scene, it was a terrible wailing that confirmed Ariel knew him.

It didn’t take long for officers to try to console her and keep the detective back from the scene.

She was shouting she had to see him. Ariel had to, but Gordon held her and told her it was okay.

The commissioner made sure to have Ariel arrested or detained for questioning.

Ariel had been sobbing and wailing for hours, inconsolable. Unfortunately, she was too late; maybe she should have hitched a ride with another officer.

It was possible he might’ve needed her to escape if his plan didn’t go well, but she never would've thought some beat cop would shoot the Riddler down.

Now his name exposed and slandered, along with his cause doused in lies.

“Can I see him?” She asked Gordan when he entered the interrogation room and handed her a coffee.

Her mentor was hesitant to answer her. He felt betrayed, and he almost couldn’t look at her, “Did you know about this?”

Ariel didn’t answer his question. Instead, she only repeated her own again. Then when Gordon told her soon, she nodded and said, “Did he suffer?”

“No, Ariel. He didn’t.”

Her deep, brown eyes shut tightly. Still moving her head up and down. It took all her strength to keep in her broken sobs. Ariel’s trembling and frantically shaking hands didn’t stop no matter how much she rubbed them.

Her dark eyes stare at the one way glass. She’s sure that the so-called great Batman was on the other side.

Listening. Judging. He was likely feeling some kind of pride that his adversary was out of the picture.

Edward put so much faith in this caped crusader and believed they were an unofficial team. Though, Ariel knew better. She had observed this Batman during her work with Gordan and when he’d just appeared uninvited to crime scenes. He was stoic and cold, but not afraid to pass judgment on those less fortunate. Those who had no choice but to turn to crime. He likely didn’t understand their world. Her world.

She hated him for that. A level of distrust grew from that resentment. If things were different, Ary and Eddie would’ve been dropheads or petty thieves. Maybe dead.

Or alive, in this case.

Oh, Edward, she thought about him as Ariel eyed her own reflection, there had to be something I could’ve done..

Rapidly blinking her eyes back, fighting the tears back, Ariel asked Gordan again, “Can I see him?”

Before he could shut her down, her hands slammed flat to the table and she bit her lip, “Please, I wanna say goodbye…Please, Jim..”

Either sympathy or pity got the better of him, and he arranged a special trip to the Gotham City Morgue.

The buzzing, cruelness of the fluorescent lights were not flattering as they lit about the cold table. A sheet over Ariel’s lover pained her when she nodded and looked down to the still corpose with her red, stiff eyes. She had no more tears, Ariel’s face felt so stiff from all her weeping hours before.

Confirming what Gordan already knew, Ariel confirmed, “Yes,” she choked back a sob, “That’s Edward Nashton.”

The very words tore her up when they spilled out and if not for the mousy and squirrely looking coroner, Ariel would have broken down all again.

His thick glasses looked down to the ground, away from her. Stepping behind Gordon to stay out of the way.

Ariel made the bold choice to take Edward’s cold hand and put a soft kiss to his stiff knuckles. The tears flowed down once more. I should’ve been there.

“I’d like to.. start making arrangements, Jim.”

Gordan scoffed and sneered, and he began to berate her, “No, Herrera. That’s out of the question.”

With a slight whimper, Ariel looked up and glared, “Why not? He’s my only family and I’m not gonna leave him here!” She slammed her hand on a nearby metal tray, “I owe him a proper burial!”

Guilt built up and tears pooled in her eyes, “I should’ve been there. Maybe… maybe I could have done something or helped Eddie.”

“Helped him how? He’s a killer, Ariel. He killed our people. He was sick-”

“You don’t know him! He wasn’t this monster. He actually cared about all this corruption more than anyone. He wasn’t some psycho doing these things for kicks. He had a purpose! Edward was someone worth more than any of those officers..” Her voice cracked and her words were almost like whimpers as Ariel went on, “I should’ve been there. I could’ve.. he wouldn’t be gone..”

Gordon took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes hard when he said, “Do you not understand what’s gonna happen? They're gonna want someone else to burn for this. Ariel, even if he’s dead, your fellow officers are gonna want Justice. These are your people,” he ranted. Referring to her colleagues and coworkers as some kind of family she’s never had.

A lie.

“And they are gonna want someone to pay for this.”

“Someone like him deserved better. He was worth something. I’m just no one. It should’ve been me,” she said. Slowly getting off track with her words.

Gordan only took in a deep inhale. Then, scrunching his nose as he groaned quietly in frustration, “Ariel, stop it! You’d die for a murderer, is that it?”

“He wasn’t just some killer!”

Her frustrated mentor shouted for her to stop, and it was enough. No amount of self pity would change the facts, he told her, “You and I know that everyone’s gonna want someone to answer for this. I don’t want it to be you. You’re a good kid. You have so much to live for. Don’t throw your life away for this.”

Ariel knew what would happen, she’d go to prison for her own crimes. Aiding and abetting Edward, or Riddler. And without him in her world, she was ready to take on his punishment.

“I don’t have a life anymore. It died with him.” She muttered, putting one final kiss to her late lover’s hand, “I failed him.”

A hand on her shoulder made her cringe, squirm away when Gordan said, “There’s nothing you could have done. You can still do good.”

No, I can’t.

Before anything else can be said, there was the sound of a metal trap slamming into Jim Gordon’s head. Knocking the officer unconscious.

The commotion took Ariel by surprise, jumping from the sound. Her heart pounded as she eyed the now untrustworthy coroner; Ariel could still hear his sheepish nature when he said, “I know him. Or knew him.” He pointed to Edward, and when Ariel looked back at the stranger, “I’ve watched his… I watched them.”

It dawned on her that he was talking about Edward’s broadcasts. His propaganda.

Even with her guard up, he reached into his pocket and handed her an envelope with her crudely written name, “This… was in his coat.”

She took it and peeked up, “His coat?”

As if she requested, the coroner was quick to hand her Edward’s belongings. And offered to help her, “I’m sure it’s what he wanted.”

She sees the deep, dark green coat. One she’s held tightly before, his coat. She held it tightly then and to her chest.

Still hesitant, she lets the stranger aid her. And her escape. Quickly taking the Riddler’s body to the coroner’s van and helping Ariel to the vehicle. She doesn’t know where they’re going, it didn’t matter.

Her hand trembled when she opened the letter, its vague. But she understood it. An address. And instructions, “You’ll know what to do. I trust you..”

The location is some small crematorium. Abandoned but it was Edward’s. Inside looked just like his scattered home with news clippings and carefully laid out plans. Handcrafted traps. Another base of operations for Riddler.

Ariel had never been there, but she had no time to explore. She was already looking over his plans to flood the city. And more so, men to help him carry out his plans of anarchy.

She almost couldn’t believe it. He was so careful to hide these plans. But now they’re hers. His operations belonged to her, you’ll know what to do.

The runaway coroner already prepped Edward’s body. Preparing to give him a proper send off, but not before Ariel put her head on his chest. On the dark shirt, sobbing and telling him she wouldn’t fail him again.

Ariel brushed the brown locks of hair from his forehead before putting a kiss to the cold skin, “I’m sorry. I could’ve done something. I will do something.”

After saying her final goodbye, his body was cremated. Stored carefully for her.

But she knew what to do as Ariel slipped the large green coat on, the bright white Riddler mark displayed with grief now. It took her longer than she wanted to wrap the plastic cling around her dark hair. She held Riddler’s mask and Edward’s glasses tightly as she took in a deep breath.

Gordon’s words replayed in her head, “There’s nothing you could have done.”

He was wrong, this is what she could do. She would finish Edward’s work, I know what to do.

#new fit / cult / and new henchmen check #entering her villain era #this has been a real passion project of mine #been sitting in my drafts and finally got around to finishing it 😭 #oc: ariel herrera #Fleetwood fics #prompts: answered #Ariel x Edward #x: scales of Justice

[filmmarvel]

My (Extensive) Thoughts on the School for Good and Evil Movie

Prefaces: First of all, I wasn’t a fan (like at all) so if you don’t want to hear my complaints just keep scrolling. Secondly, This was my favorite series when I was younger, but I’ve kind of forgotten parts of it and haven’t read it in a while. Finally, I consider myself someone who respects the necessary and sometimes creative changes when it comes to book to movie adaptations- in other words, I have no issues with changes when it’s a logical decision that benefits the movie. However, I don’t believe the departures from the source material were beneficial (logically or creatively) in this case, so please don’t attack my criticisms of this movie by saying i’m just annoyed that they changed the book.

Characters and Acting

I don’t like the changes made to Lady Lesso and Professor Dovey. In the books I remember them as being revered in their own ways. In the movie however, they were both kind of ridiculous. To viewers, Dovey isn’t much of an authority figure, and Lesso isn’t actually intimidating. This feels weird to say, but the way Lesso behaves in the movie felt like she was being overdramatic and trying too hard, as opposed to the respect and fear she inspired in the books. Plus, I didn’t like the whole thing with her being in love with Rafal, it was unnecessary and confusing (and touched on so briefly that it made no sense and didn’t at all justify being an addition to the story). And Dovey? She was just annoying. She wasn’t funny or anything, just weird.

In this movie, both Sophie and Agatha were distinctly nicer than they were in the books, and I hate to say it, but it made them a lot more boring, and is just one way in which the movie was distinctly less remarkable than the book. Agatha’s difference from the other Evers was pretty huge in the books, I remember her actually behaving like a Never most of the time (weird and morbid in a good way), whereas in the movie she was literally just an introvert who preferred boots (gasp)! She also seemed to adapt to the Ever lifestyle (and clothing) super quickly. Sophie on the other hand was just annoying. Sophie was always annoying, just in an entertaining, sort of charming way. But in this movie? Just annoying. Not funny, or enjoyable, just overdramatic. I also saw someone point out that in the beginning of the movie, Sophie is made to be a very sympathetic character, whereas in the book it’s clear that she’s a narcissistic person from the beginning (this made the whole school mix up idea seem a lot more sound in the movie, and makes her rather hasty decent into evil a lot more confusing).

Some of the other characters were notably less distinctive as well, including characters like Anadil, who was super unique and interesting in the books, but not really all that compelling in the movie.

To be honest, it just felt like all the development (both character development and romantic progression) happened kind of prematurely.

As for the acting, I didn’t love either of the main actresses. In particular, I don’t think Sofia Wylie was a good choice for the character of Agatha. She just wasn’t a good fit for Agatha’s grumpy persona. Honestly, it was just mediocre acting all around (except for the A-listers, who’s talents were severely wasted) even the side characters were’t good, especially Hester, Anadil, and Hort. It was unbelievably cringy and I felt like I was watching Disney Channel or the CW.

Plotline

I really disliked the choice to change the Trial by Tale. It’s a great part in the books, lots of fun and very exciting, but in the movie it was just all about Tedros and Sophie, which just didn’t make a lot of sense to me. It would’ve been so much better to keep it as a school-wide competition.

(shocker) I also wasn’t a fan of the whole schoolmaster plot, I didn’t like that they progressed that storyline so much. I also just generally wasn’t a fan of that situation. If i remember the books correctly, the schoolmaster was a mysterious figure and no one knew which brother had made it out. If you ask me that’s much more intriguing than what actually happened in the movie. Plus I’m just tired of the whole old guy manipulating teenage girl storyline.

I didn’t like the blood magic thing either, it just felt like an unnecessary step too far in an attempt to make the movie a little more exciting. Speaking of magic in general the movie didn’t really show anything to do with academics (another misstep if you ask me), so we don’t actually know how much about magic in this universe. The movie just makes it seem like once your finger glow is unlocked you can do any magic, but I don’t think that’s the case (and seems a little lazy).

This one’s a little more trivial, but I didn’t like how they swapped the Snow Ball with the general Ever Ball, which had less character. Plus the whole plot hole situation where Agatha was able to attend but without a date, despite the previous statement that you’ll be failed if you can’t find a date.

Miscellaneous

The CGI was bad and some of the visuals felt uninspired. This is another region where the book was simply miles more creative. While the visuals weren’t horrible or anything, there were just some missed opportunities there (EX: making the blue forest actually blue, having the snow ball instead of the general ever ball, etc).

I hated the music choices- Toxic, You Should See Me in a Crown, etc. I don’t like the inclusion of contemporary music in fantasy movies, it just kind of ruins it and takes the viewer out of the world they’re trying to create.

Some of the costumes were cool but others were super tacky. Especially the Ever’s dresses, but this applies to some others too. There were certain ones that they absolutely nailed but most looked cheap and bad.

Another change from the books was the lack of uniforms, which has less of an impact so this is more of a personal opinion, when I say I didn’t love that. I recall that contributing a lot to Sophie’s plotline and rebellion, so in the movie that whole thing came off as a lot more trivial, because she literally just put on a different outfit.

General

It honestly just felt kind of soulless and derivative. And sure, parts of the book were a little derivative too, but lots of children’s fiction is, and there were plenty of unique elements to make it stand out and give it a different feel. The movie on the other hand felt like it just threw all the interesting parts of the book out the window and just adapted the derivative stuff. Honestly the whole vibe and tone of the movie was very different from the book, which I find to be fairly common in adaptations, and I don’t see it as a bad thing. However, I remember the vibe of the book being a big part of what made it fun and interesting, whereas there was just… basically no vibe in the movie?? It was just long and kinda boring. The book was funny, as well as thrilling and magical. I didn’t really find the movie to be any of those things.

#sge #school for good and evil #school for good and evil movie #school for good and evil movie hate #sge sophie #sge agatha #sge tedros #school for good and evil movie thoughts

[ladystoneboobs]

ok, my other stark family hot take is that i don’t think sansa was really much closer to robb than jon. we know robb/sansa also had a goodbye hug with the snowflakes in his hair, and that he led her, arya, and bran, into the crypts for his and jon’s cute ghost prank. but literally anything else between them is fanon, not canon. 

yeah, we know sansa thought of her big brothers very differently and would’ve wanted more interactions with robb and valued them more, but the question is what did he think/feel about her? without a pov, the best clue that we have (besides his refusal to trade jaime, which i do think he felt little choice about) is his reaction to sansa’s last letter to wf. where he blames her for the whole thing, not just arya’s exclusion, and needs luwin to point out these must have been cersei’s words that sansa was made to write. which is, um, a not great sign about the state of their relationship imho. my impression is more that sansa admired and idolized him from afar even when they still lived in the same castle. with the 4ishyr age difference and the highly gendered activity structures of their days i just don’t see much time for individual bonding. jon/arya’s first scene happens when arya runs away from her oh-so-important femimine lessons and jon is being excluded from male bonding, neither of which would apply to sansa or robb. sansa wasn’t interested in any “boyish” activities like arya was with all her brothers, and i see no evidence that robb would have interest in whatever more feminine playtimes sansa and her girly-girl cohort would get up to. 

lest anyone misunderstand and think I am perpetuating the myth of sansa an outsider within the stark household, never really one of them, i’ll just add that there is one starkling who appeared to have an equally warm relationship with both sisters and that’s bran. which makes sense since he was the one closest in age to the girls and is known for being a sweet kid who gets along well with most people, as evident from his first chapter. then there’s rickon too, who i’m sure sansa also had a good enough relationship with, but there’s really only so much closeness to be had between a tween and a toddler. (and lbr, rickon/any other starkling is mostly fanon too. all we know of him pre-abandonment is that he liked sweets, which is true of almost every little kid who can eat sweets. the “wildness” he’s primarily defined by was not an intrinsic distinguishing characteristic when the family still lived together, but a new trait developed only after they split as a response to the situation he was far too young to understand.) 

though as much as i’d like more bran and sansa fandom solidarity, it’s not like i’m saying everyone should focus on their relationship either, regardless of personal preference for other characters or fanon, bc that would be obnoxious. 

#asoiaf meta #valyrianscrolls #sansa stark #bran stark #robb stark #i dreamed of bran. i saw him smiling. #Robb will kill you all she thought (exulting) #jonathan snowflake starkgaryen #only her half brother but still ... #rickon stark #wolf pack #(c)lsb #asoiaf #my agenda is twofold: 1) i wonder about fanon and canon bleeding together and are hypocrites about which fanon is allowed #and 2) if sansa's view of jon means theyre not even family at all irrespective of what he calls her then is every 1-sided relash not incest?

[odysseyofemily]

Detecting Christ’s Presence: Christmas Edition

In light of the Christmas season, tonight I decided I would read the Biblical account of the Christmas story from the book of Luke. I started from the beginning of the book, and while I love the “traditional” parts of the Christmas story from chapter 2 (no room in the inn, Jesus in a manger, shepherds being visited by angels, etc.), what stood out to me tonight was what takes place prior to that in chapter 1. 

Luke 1 is all about John the Baptist, whose birth would precede Jesus’ birth by about six months. Just like with Jesus’ birth, John’s birth was prophesied to his parents by the angel, Gabriel. Now, obviously, John was to be no Jesus. They had very different roles. But they certainly were to be connected – get this, even before either of them were born. 

What do I mean? Well, in Luke 1:14-17, we are given some details about some of John’s qualities and characteristics. It reads:

“You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:14-17, NRSV)

What stands out to me here is the part that says “even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.” To me, this normally seems to be glossed over when reading the entire passage because it is so casually mentioned. But, really, it’s actually a big deal... and is kinda crazy. Filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth?! What! How? He wouldn’t even be fully developed before birth, yet he would certainly be developed in the Holy Spirit department. Before learning how to make choices, before problem-solving skills are established, before developing cognitive maturity. 

Honestly, it doesn’t really make much sense to me. How can one be filled with the Holy Spirit first before birth? What is the point? We’re literally talking about a fetus here. They cannot actually think or do anything substantial at that stage in life. And yet, this is what the Bible tells us – John was indeed filled with the Holy Spirit before birth. So, there must have been a good reason. 

The only reason I can muster up is that it is simply so that he would know Jesus, right off the bat. So that he would instantly be connected to Him so deeply that he would not be able to help but to make Christ’s existence known whenever His presence was near. Kinda like one of those metal detectors you see people using in the sand at the beach, searching for precious metals. John was programmed right from the start to know Jesus and to be drawn to His presence. And we see this later in the chapter, after Mary has become pregnant and goes to visit Elizabeth (John’s mother), who had by that time been pregnant with John for about six months:

“In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry. ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.’” (Luke 1:39-44, NRSV)

Now, surely Elizabeth had already started feeling John kicking in her belly prior to this moment in time. I’m currently six months pregnant myself and have been feeling my own baby kick for probably close to two months already. Sure, there are circumstances where some mothers feel kicks later than others, but by six months it’s likely Elizabeth would’ve already been feeling movement. So for her to say that John “leaped for joy,” I’m guessing it must have felt different than the normal movement she’d already been feeling. It was a “leap” so strong that she herself knew Mary was pregnant with the Christ. Mary hadn’t told Elizabeth she was pregnant with Jesus before arriving. Instead, it was John who made it known to her – even from inside the womb. He was so filled with the Holy Spirit and so deeply connected with knowing Christ, even though Christ was probably only a little cluster of cells at that point, that he knew His presence the moment it was there. That is insane amazing.

I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit like that. I want to be able to detect even the smallest bits of Christ wherever He might be present – even if just the tiniest, smallest bit – and to make that known to others around when I find it. I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit like that, even in my spiritual immaturity. I mean, if an unborn fetus can be filled with it, why can’t we? Right?

This definitely wasn’t what I thought I’d land on tonight during my Christmas reading. But it IS part of the Christmas story. And it reminds me to ask the Lord to fill me with His Holy Spirit, so that I might always discern when Christ’s presence is near. 

#Christ's presence #Christmas #Luke 1 #John the Baptist #Mary #Elizabeth

[mishasminions]

Here’s why the Supernatural Series Finale Sucked

(AND IT REALLY ISN’T JUST BECAUSE CAS/MISHA WASN’T IN IT)

First of all, I’d like to state, that this perspective is coming from someone who has watched, invested in, and dissected this show for 15 years. I’ve tried to rationalize and justify every single decision each of the main characters made throughout the years, and I’ve always tried to make sense of each of their story arcs from a “bigger picture” standpoint as each season progressed.

Anyway, before I can properly explain why the finale sucked, let me quickly take you through 15 seasons by segregating them into 3 eras, because you can’t really comprehend what Supernatural is about and what it’s become without going through how it tried to expand its universe.

SEASONS 1-5: THE KRIPKE ERA

Now, we all know that Kripke was always set in wrapping up Sam and Dean’s story in 5 seasons, and he did just that.

So, in this era, Supernatural is about two brothers who set out on a journey to fulfill “the family business”. They hunt mythical monsters that terrorize the world, while battling the monsters within themselves. Their ultimate “big bad” is an apocalypse.

Towards the end of this era, we find out that Sam and Dean are actually a parallel to Biblical characters who are brothers turned rivals. And that Sam and Dean’s destiny is to go up against each other.

However, as a dynamic, they have always been about making their own choices, choosing free will, and having a brotherly bond that can power through against any obstacle at any given day.

So, this era is neatly wrapped up with its finale. The characters grow, and get justified endings.

Dean, a man who thinks of himself as two things: 1. Sam’s older brother and protector; and 2. Daddy’s blunt little instrument.

He’s spent his whole life believing that that was his only purpose, and he knew that the only ending he’ll get would either be a bloody death fulfilling his duty to the family business; or laying his life on the line to save his brother.

Dean gets the ending he thought was never possible for him, something he thought he could never deserve. After years of living and dying for his family, he gets a shot at having an apple pie life--to settle down with a nice girl, raise a kid in a house with a white picket fence. With Sam gone, Dean’s responsibility now is to himself.

Sam, on the other hand, never wanted any part of it, because he wasn’t groomed the way Dean was, and because thanks to Dean, Sam wasn’t traumatized or forced into growing up too quickly the way Dean was.

So Sam aspires for a normal life, and works the cases with Dean so he can maybe get some semblance of it, when everything they set out to kill are laid to rest.

Ultimately, Sam performs a selfless act for his brother, who has given up everything for him, and for their cause--to save the world.

The journey is this: Dean sacrifices everything to save Sam, and Sam sacrifices himself so Dean could live.

Apart from being Dean’s “savior” and guardian angel, Castiel’s role in this era is to serve as a mirror to Dean’s journey. Castiel goes from being heaven’s foot soldier, following “God’s orders”; to an angel who learns to choose and feel for the first time in his existence.

After they realize that they’re both daddy’s blunt instruments, Dean starts choosing his own path for himself, and convinces Castiel to join him. Castiel stops following heaven, and starts following Dean.

In the end, with his newfound understanding of the world thanks to Dean, Castiel goes back to heaven to reform it.

We’ve resolved the biblical arc, and the character journeys.

SEASONS 6-10: THE SPIN-OFF ERA

So this is where the show realizes how vast its universe can be, so it tries to expand it by tapping into uncharted lands and experimenting with it.

They take on heaven, reform hell, explore purgatory, have the angels fall, turn Dean into a demon, and kill Death.

Dean and Sam recognize their codependency, and try to rise above it.

They go back and forth between which brother will risk it all for the greater good every other season.

Dean and Cas strengthen their relationship by recognizing the impact they have on each other’s lives.

Cas structures his life and decisions around Dean (Seasons 6-7), and Dean learns to trust and fight for Cas (Seasons 8-9).

Sam and Cas bond (mostly over Dean) because of their shared rationales in decision-making.

Dean, Sam, and even Cas also forge relationships with the people they work with. The concept of “found family” is introduced here.

This era was heavy on the plot while establishing, reinforcing, and solidifying relationships and dynamics.

At this point, it wasn’t just about the brothers anymore.

If Supernatural had ended in Season 10, the logical finale would’ve been Team Free Will, along with the family that they’ve found, going up against the latest big bad (Death or whoever). Maybe they lose them along the way, maybe they all make it out alive, or maybe they go down swinging, but at least the show recognizes and supports the message they keep saying, “Family don’t end with blood”

SEASONS 11-15: THE REWRITE ERA

This is where the show runs out of ideas and decides to invalidate the seasons that came before it.

From bringing Mary back (basically rendering their whole journey pointless because they’ve literally started hunting because of her death), to changing the stipulations in being Michael and Lucifer’s vessels (another character struggle rendered useless), to God himself breaking the fourth wall by saying that the Winchesters get away with everything because “they’re the main characters in his story and everything they’ve been through was just part of a badly written narrative”.

But what we’re getting from this era is that Sam and Dean, along with Cas (who has also deviated from the story) ARE trying to escape a badly written narrative.

That’s the “big bad” in this era. The writer.

At this point, the characters have picked up so many strays (including those from alternate universes), and have settled into their roles in their “found family”. Dean, Sam, and Cas all become surrogate dads and uncles.

They’ve also graduated from the whole “we’re on different sides” and “going behind each other’s backs” drama. And they just want the whole family together.

They’ve all resigned themselves to the cause, but they’re also tired. Dean allows himself to contemplate about wanting more out of life or at least getting a vacation. Sam, on the other hand, realizes his capabilities as an effective leader. Castiel learns to love another being that isn’t Dean (spoiler: it’s Jack).

However, they also realize that they’ve just been puppets on a string all this time.

So what they want now, is to write their own story, and make their own choices knowing that God/the writer isn’t the one fueling their narrative.

So here’s why the finale sucks:

Andrew Dabb, the current showrunner, said that there would be two finales.

15x19 - The finale to wrap up Season 15, and 15x20 - The finale to wrap up the series by “resolving the characters’ journey”

In 15x19 the boys find a way to de-power God/the writer. For the first time in their whole lives, they are free from the story. Their lives are completely theirs now. They can make their own decisions. There are no more “big bads” to fight

And here’s what happens in 15x20:

Immediately after being freed from their story arc, Dean and Sam go back to hunting the monster of the week.

Dean eats pie, gets nailed (literally), makes a 10-minute speech to Sam because he knows he’s dying, then he goes to heaven.

Dean is greeted by Bobby, his surrogate Dad who he hasn’t seen (fully alive) since Season 7. Bobby’s expository dialogue comprises of him explaining that he got out of heaven’s jail, that John and Mary are next door, and that Jack and Cas fixed the dynamics of heaven off-screen.

The first thing Dean decides to do is go for a long drive in his Impala (as if he hasn’t done enough of that already).

Meanwhile, Sam decides to stop hunting after Dean dies, he gets the apple pie life he hadn’t wanted since Season 8 (while Dean was in Purgatory), and names his kid “Dean” for effect. He grows old and dies.

Dean drove around in heaven for so long that Sam catches up to him.

They hug. The end.

Great, right?

After 15 years of struggling to battle their own respective destinies, going up against big bads and even bigger bads, then finally being able to take charge of their own stories, Dean and Sam regress to hunting the monster of the week, and get killed off by a nail and old age. Okay.

Sam gets to retire and have a family, sure, but they still focus on him and the kid he named after his dead brother. Still just “Sam and Dean” through and through. Nothing to do with found family. Just lineage. Just blood. And it ends there.

See, the problem here is that this ending would’ve been passable in The Kripke Era. But we’re 10 years down the road since, and while Sam and Dean are the original main characters, the show isn’t just about them and their codependent relationship anymore.

So you see, even if you take out the whole “Castiel deserves to be in the finale because he’s also a main character with an unfinished story arc” argument, the finale still does no justice to the series it tried to “wrap up”.

But anyway, now I’ll make the case for the problem with Castiel not being in the finale:

In 15x18, we get a 5-minute rushed confession from Castiel to Dean. The context of which are as follows:

1. Earlier in the episode, Dean had wounded Death with her scythe. We later find out that this wound is fatal.

2. Their friends start to “blip out” in a Thanos-like snap, and Dean thinks that Death is causing it, so Dean seeks her out, and Cas goes with him.

3. Dean and Cas anger Death, apparently for no reason because she didn’t even do the thing they thought she did. She chases them to try to kill them

4. Dean and Cas lock themselves in a room. Dean starts a pity party.

5. As Dean goes through hating himself out loud, Cas decides to inform Dean of the deal he made with The Empty. He then proceeds to explain the stipulation of the deal (that he would get taken once he experiences a moment of true happiness), then discusses his newfound happiness philosophy. Dean is getting whiplash.

6. Cas goes on to imply that the one thing that he wanted that he knew he couldn’t have is Dean Winchester reciprocating his romantic feelings for him. (Don’t even try to fight me on this because Cas already has Dean’s platonic love, and he knows that Dean thinks of him as a brother, so if he really meant this in a “familial” way, then why would he think that he couldn’t have the thing that would make him happy?) So Cas’ realization is that telling Dean about his feelings is enough to make him happy.

7. Cas tells Dean all the reasons why he loves him (thereby combating Dean’s self-deprecation tirade), and all the reasons why he’s worthy of his love. Meanwhile, Dean is still winded from the fact that Cas is about to sacrifice himself for him again.

8. Dean never gets to process anything, because Cas is shoving him out of the way, as he and Death (who busts through the door) get taken by The Empty.

After this episode, Dean never speaks of it. Misha Collins supposes that Dean doesn’t reciprocate. Jensen Ackles says that Dean didn’t really get to process it because it was too much, too fast, and that Dean, still dense as ever, thinks that Cas, a celestial being, doesn’t interpret human feelings the same way.

So what was the point of this confession?

Politics and sensitivities of a 2005 network television aside, what does this do for the story?

Cas proclaims his romantic feelings to Dean, but Dean never acknowledges it, doesn’t even give it a passing thought afterwards. So Cas’ big declaration goes unheard.

Cas cashes in on his Empty deal to kill Death (who was dying anyway), in order to save Dean who dies two episodes after.

Dean makes no effort to save Cas (despite being really broken up about his previous deaths, or even spending a whole year in Purgatory looking for him), even after they’ve beaten God, not even asking Jack (who has all the power in the universe) to bring him back (when Jack has already done it before, with less mojo).

Dean moves on to fight the monster of the week. Somewhere off-screen, Jack rescues Cas from The Empty, but Cas uncharacteristically doesn’t even bother to go to Dean? (Every single time he comes back, Dean’s always the first person he goes to)

And Cas, who apparently helped craft and reform the new heaven, isn’t the one who welcomes Dean and explains the new dynamics of it?

Sure, Jan.

Supernatural, you’ve created a finale that only your casual viewers and people who dipped out after Season 5 can appreciate.

Just goes to show how much you actually valued the people who actually invested in your story and characters, and consistently helped keep your show on the air.

[RT this on Twitter]

#SUPERNATURAL #DESTIEL #15X20 #I KNOW I SAID THAT MY LAST LONG POST WAS MY LAST ON EVER BUT I REALLY DIDN'T THINK THE FINALE WOULD BE WORSE THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE #INSIGHTFUL INSIGHTS #UNTAGGED #PERSONAL