#not even opposing ones because they are having two entirely different arguments

[ataraxetta]

Bruce wrote character profiles for each of the Gotham Knights batkids in game and they are all pretty basic 1-2 paragraph blurbs for obvious reasons, but this bit in Red Hood’s lands like a punch. No detail, no context, no mention even of the man who killed him. And I am sure that in many other Batman media this is not the case but gosh even the idea that the official Bat report of Jason’s death is just Bruce’s bottom line, which is entirely unfair to himself and especially to Jason: “Batman failed. Jason was murdered.”

#gotham knights #jason todd #bruce wayne #it is just kind of a nice illustration of their different view points #not even opposing ones because they are having two entirely different arguments #re: how bruce failed jason #jason's death vs. joker's life #etc etc etc #tho I am ://// about the 'repented his extreme methods' noise #idts

[dear-bunnyboo]

❝𝐍𝐎𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐘 𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐒 𝐌𝐄 || 𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐑 𝐙𝐄𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐒❞

I am back!! I apologize for being inactive for a few weeks now, I am with my family on vacation which is why I haven’t been updating any of my fics for a while. This fic has been in my drafts for a while now and decided to take time and polish it for you guys. Hope you guys enjoy this short fic 🤍

first fic for my og baby, z!!!

Pairing: Trevor Zegras x Reader

Summary: You comfort your boyfriend after his outburst for being ejected from his final game of the season.

Warnings: angst, temper tantrum Trevor, sad!trev, angry!trev, hockey fighting, slight argument, yelling, cursing, haters, pressure, negative self talk, comfort, fluff by the end.

NHL Masterlist || Main Masterlist

Chaos

It was a mess.

The fans were screaming and pounding their fists on the glass— they were either screaming in joy and amusement or anger and frustration.

However, you sat up at the premium box where the players’ family and friends were seated— the WAGS notoriously which you were a part of for a long time now.

You remained at the edge of your seat, confused.

You had no idea what had happened.

It happened too quickly that you were sure you had a whiplash.

One minute the two teams were playing and then the next they were in a huge pile pushing and fighting each other— your boyfriend being at the very center of that fight.

Craning your neck up at the big screen to see a close up of what was happening, you see your boyfriend on top of one of the opposing players— the two throwing punches at each other.

Fighting was normal in hockey— it was not something new to see, especially from Trevor but you knew that this was something entirely different by the look on your boyfriend’s face.

He was furious.

You didn’t even know that you were gripping on to your seat so tight as you watched the screen.

The other WAGS were comforting you as you gnawed on your lower lips that you were sure it was bleeding, just like Trevor was.

He was bleeding.

“Son of a bitch.” You muttered under your breath in concern and frustration seeing the cut on your boyfriend’s forehead.

You hated seeing him hurt.

Yet it didn’t end there because even when the two were held back by the referees and their teammates in opposite sides they were still yelling at each other— Trevor more so.

You couldn’t really hear their argument obviously but you could make out a few “fuck yous” and a “you’re a fucking bitch” coming out of Trevor’s mouth.

The referees were not having it and decided the two should be put in the penalty box but as they were being escorted there— Trevor’s mouth kept going and going.

Asking the referee over and over again “what is the penalty for?”, “what did I do?”

And then finally…

“Fuck you! You don’t know shit! I didn’t do shit!”

To the referee’s face.

You knew Trevor was frustrated and angry, he has been for a while now this season but that was downright disrespectful.

Because of his words to the referee, they had announced for Trevor to be ejected from the game— the last game of this season.

You watched stoically as your boyfriend glided out of the ice to the tunnel where he was seen in the big screen throwing his hockey stick against the wall— hitting it again and again.

That was it for you— how can he be so stupid to do something like that?

You jumped out of your seat and headed out of the premium box.

You speed walked down the steps where the fans were seated and headed to the glass next to the tunnel.

You were aware of the stares and greetings the fans were giving you but you couldn’t give two shits at the moment— you nodded your head towards Jamie who was already watching you in concern once he saw the angry look on your face.

As you reached the door to the locker room, you promptly apologized to the security guard who was seen on screen scared shitless because of your boyfriend’s temper tantrum.

Pushing the doors of the locker room, you were greeted by Trevor who was seated on his cubicle— his head down as his hands covered his face, his gear now fully discarded on the floor.

The room was so silent that the only thing you could hear was Trevor’s heavy breathing.

“Trevor, what the fuck was that?!” You said placing yourself in front of him.

He remained quiet, his eyes still trained on the ground ignoring your presence.

“Trevor!”

Finally meeting your furious gaze with an even more furious gaze from him, he then snickered— grinning sarcastically as if what had just happened was a joke.

“What the fuck did you think happened, Y/N? I got checked and got a penalty, then I get ejected for God knows what for–” he started ranting in frustration before I cut him off.

“You both got a penalty for the fight, Trev— I don’t care about any of that. You got ejected for saying shit to the referee! Don’t lie to me, I could read you like a book.” You scolded him as you paced back and forth in front of him with your hands on your hips.

Trevor looked at you equally frustrated that you were frustrated at him.

“I was just asking him why I got the fucking penalty!” He shouted.

“No! You were being disrespectful and desperate— and don’t talk to me like that, Trevor Zegras! You can talk to your teammates and opponents like that for all I care but you do not fucking talk to me like that, you hear me?” You glared at him venom spilling out of your mouth.

With that said Trevor snapped back to reality, the demon that possessed him leaving his body. The anger slowly died down as he stared at you with guilt and sadness— your heart crying out for him.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I yelled at you baby.” He whispered, grabbing you hand as he pulled you to sit on his lap.

You snuggled on his chest as he held you so tight, as if he was afraid you would disappear.

“You we’re right. I was desperate, this season has been the worst one, baby. The pressure from the fans, from myself, the continuous losses, the hate from the media— I just lost it out there cause I knew this was the last game before playoffs and we obviously didn’t qualify. I was desperate, baby.” He sniffled as you let him let out his worries.

You have been dating Trevor for almost five years now and you knew how hard working he was, how much he loved hockey, and how good he was at it— when Trevor loves something, he loves hard which means he feels more, hence why he gets angry easily.

You couldn’t blame him. It’s a tough sport— he has every right to feel the way he feels.

“I know, my love. I’m not mad at you, I’m disappointed. Not because you got in a fight, fights are normal. I’m disappointed because you were being disrespectful. You were being disrespectful to the referee, you said mean stuff and he was only doing his job. Not to mention you scared the security guard when you were throwing your stick.”

Trevor nodded his head from the crook of your neck where he was placing kisses as some sort of silent apology from him.

“You want to be at the finals, I know— it’s your dream but you gotta understand that everyone in league wants it as much as you do, Z . Which is why you do what you do, it’s is why you compete every year for it. But as much as I hate to admit it, baby— it’s not your turn, it’s the harsh truth, you didn’t make it to the playoffs— you can’t keep beating yourself up because of it. You can’t change what already happened. What you can do is to be better not only as a player but as a person.” You told him softly as he rocked you both back and forth, still holding onto you tight.

“I know. I’ll be better, I promise— for you.” He looks at you with pure awe and adoration.

“Do it for you, Trev.”

Sighing he cups your face in his hand, caressing your cheeks as he studies your face before nodding.

“I will.” He whispered before clasping his lips onto yours.

His pain, his worries, and frustration all leaving his body as he kissed you.

“I love you so much, Y/N.”

“I love you more, Trev.”

dividers: @cafekitsune

𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @thetortus @groundzerosuki @boobyskeetz @immediatehumor6

ೃ⁀➷ comment or message me to be added to the tag list :)

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ SUBMIT A REQUESTS AND ASK ME ANYTHING!

: ̗̀➛ requests are always open ♡

-𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐲ఌ

#trevor zegras x reader #trevor zegras #trevor zegras x y/n #anaheim ducks #nhl imagine #nhl #nhl blurb #nhl writing #nhl fic #nhl smut #nhl fanfiction #hockey

[notfreetoday]

MPW Ep 6 Subtitle Corrections

Masterlist: EP 1 || EP 2 || EP 3 || EP 4 || EP 5 ||

Y: 正直言って　怖い 近づく度に　心臓が跳ねるから 何なら近寄らないで欲しい 住む世界が違うから 好かれたいとかは思わない ただ。。。 嫌われてしまったら死んでしまうかもしれない 想像するだけで　胃液がせり上がった Y: To be honest, I was scared. Because whenever he came close to me, my heart leapt and skipped a beat. I wished that, if possible, he wouldn't come near me because we lived in different worlds. 'I want him to like me' - I never had a thought like that. It was just... If he ended up hating me then I felt like I might die. Just thinking about it made my stomach turn.

We've seen for awhile that Yoh's fear that Segasaki will one day come to disdain him is what keeps him from voicing his thoughts out loud - but it is in Ep 6 that we truly learn the intensity with which Yoh feels, and come to understand why that fear overwhelms him to the point that he is incapable of hearing Segasaki's love for him.

Or, Yoh sees Segasaki for the first time and literally starts spouting poetry in the way only a visual artist can. Get ready for a lot of interaction breakdowns - this episode tells us quite a lot about these two! Same translation disclaimer applies, Ep 6, let's go!

S: 相変わらず　歩くの遅ぇな S: As usual, he walks so slowly

Y: あのさ　実は Y: 出てくるときにケンカしちゃって M: え？どうしたの Y: お前の仕事なんてどうでもいいって言われた M: 瀬ケ崎さんが？そんなこと言ったの？ Y: どうでもいいって　なんだよ Y: 人が一所懸命やってることに対して* Y: 最低だよ　あいつ* Y: You know... actually Y: When I was leaving we got into an argument M: Huh? What happened? Y: I was told "I don't care at all about something like your work" M: By Segasaki-san? He said something like that? Y: "I don't care at all"... what's with that! Y: To say that about something that someone is giving their all for...* Y: He's the worst, that guy** **Yoh uses あいつ (aitsu) to refer to Segasaki as "that guy". This is again considered rude, though is often used amongst male friends as well (like calling someone an asshole/bastard). He tends to use this word to refer to Segasaki in his head, especially when he's annoyed with him.

*Just like at the end of Ep 5, where Yoh emphasizes that he will become someone who can earn more as opposed to just earning more, here Yoh specifies that he is upset with Segasaki's response to his work, rather than being upset with the response being directed at himself, as the original subs imply. It's a small difference but I think it's important because it fits with his entire character. He has consistently only been triggered by comments about his work, not about him as a person. Yoh is self-conscious and sensitive about his work, because he sees competence as a measure of worth. It's precisely because he ties his self-worth to his work that he falls into such a deep depression in Ep 5, and it is the same reason why Yoh does not understand what good Segasaki could possibly see in him - after all, there is no merit in just being who he is, only in the work that he can do.

Y: いや　それは都合よく受け取り過ぎだよ Atsuya: ダヨ君　言葉って受け取り方が９割だからさ A: 同じ言葉でも　その時の気持ちやコンディションによって A: 違った意味に捻じ曲げちゃうものなんだよ A: ダヨ君が元気な時だったら     もっと甘～く聞こえたんじゃない？ Y: No, that's just over-interpreting it in my favor Atsuya (Man-san's husband): Dayo-kun, they say that about 90% of the meaning words convey comes down to the way we interpret them, so A: Depending on the way we feel, or our condition in that moment, that meaning can end up distorted and warped, even if the same words are used, you know? A: If Dayo-kun you, had been in a happier mood, might it not have sounded a lot sweeter to you?

Y: ん。。。いや、違うんです Y: 俺とあの人って　そういう感じじゃないんで Y: Mm... No, it's not like that Y: That person and I, well... that's not what it's like (between us), you see

Y: あの人を初めて見たとき この星の生き物じゃないかもしれないって思った   少なくとも地球上で見たものの造形の中で 一番きれいだとおもった 耳の形　鼻筋　 下顎角のライン　唇の膨らみ きっと見えない眼球の形状まで きれいなんだろうなって

Y: When I first saw that person I thought that he might not be a living thing from this planet At the very least, out of all the forms that I had ever seen on this Earth I thought he had the most beautiful one. The shape of his ears, the ridge of his nose, The line of the angle of his jaw, the full contour of his lips Even the structure of what could not be seen - the globe of his eyes - I thought for sure that too must be beautiful.

Y: 趣味で漫画は描いてたけど 現実の人間を描くのは初めてだった それに　 男を描きたいと思ったのも初めてだった 今　目に焼き付けて　描きつけておきたい衝動に駆られた たぶん　あの美貌と同じ空間にいた そのせいで　俺は　おかしくなっていた Y: I had drawn manga as a hobby but It was my first time drawing a real live person. And, It was also the first time that I thought "I want to draw a man" In that moment, driven by impulse, I wanted to burn his image into my eyes, to capture his likeness down on paper. Probably, it was because I was in the same space as that beauty. It was because of that, that I began to go crazy.

At 06:44, when Segasaki's green shirt classmate comes in calling his name, you can see that Yoh mouth’s "Mizuki" after he hears it.

(Btw Green Shirt later wears a Red Jacket, and is played by Nishimoto Maiki, the leader of the group Acchan is in - GENIC. Cute shot of the 3 of them here)

S: 直接何かしてくるわけではないし　別にいいと思うけど S: Well it's not like he's doing anything to us directly... I think it's fine actually

Y: 女の子が相手なら　 一目惚れだとはっきり思ったかもしれない でも　ただただきれいな男だったんで 自分の脳が　そこまで処理しきれなかった Y: If it was a girl Then maybe I would have clearly understood that this was love at first sight But it was just very simply, a beautiful man so My brain couldn't handle processing more than that

Most of this is not subtitled, and it’s a little muffled, but as the group walks over you can hear that Segasaki is the center of their conversation here, though he's not actually participating in it much. It speaks to the group dynamics, so I'm including it here (Segasaki is bolded):

Girl: ええ？ S: ちがうよ Red Jacket: 瑞貴じゃん、ね、今ね？ Girl どうせモテるじゃん S: いやモテない Red:モテるよ瑞貴が Girl: 告白されてるよ　どうせ Red: されてる　されてる Girl: あれ！ぼっちくん*じゃん Red: うわっ　マジだ　ぼっちくんじゃん Boy: いつも俺たちのことチラチラ見てる Girl: ちょっと来なよ　おしゃべりしたげるからさ** Girl: Whaat? S: It wasn't Red Jacket: It was (said to) Mizuki wasn't it, right? Just now? Girl: I mean you're popular anyway! S: No, I'm not Red: Mizuki's popular Girl: Whatever it is, that was a confession (you received) Red: It was, it was Girl: Oh hey! Why, isn't it Little Loner*? Red: Oh snap, you're right! It is Little Loner! Boy: The one who always sneaks looks at us Girl: Come here a bit, we'll talk to you, ok?** *ぼっちくん (Bocchi-kun) - Bocchi is slang for loner, and by adding the suffix "-kun" to it, they've turned this into a diminutive, like a nickname. It sounds cute and friendly, but is clearly meant as a casual sort of insult, so I've translated it as "Little" here. **This is an interesting line to discuss. She tells Yoh to come over, using the phrase 来なよ (kina yo) - this is the same "na" that Segasaki uses in Ep 4 actually, when he tells a drunk Yoh to go sleep in the room. It's the exact same word form, but where it was tender when Segasaki said it, it's highly insulting here - and the reason is because of the context and their (non-existant) relationship. She may be Yoh's senior, but this is the first time they're meeting, and they are nowhere near close enough that this phrasing would ever be seen as appropriate. She then tells him "we'll talk to you", using the colloquial form of "~したあげる (shita ageru)" aka "to do for you" - in other words, she's framing the action of them talking to him as if it were a gift from them to him (this word form also implies they are above him in the hierarchy). She also adds the polite prefix "O" to the word for "talk", which in this context is meant to make her appear sweet and ladylike. In other words, with just one line, she has insulted Yoh not only by talking down to him as if he were a small child or a pet, but also by insinuating that she's a sweet, lovely person who has been so kind as to deign to speak to him.

Y: あの。。。俺*　買ってきます Y: 絡まれてるより１００億倍マシだわ Y: Um... I*... will go and buy it. Y: That's definitely 100 million times better than getting harassed by them *Yoh still uses the masculine pronoun 俺 (ore) for "I" here (the same one he's used in every episode) which is remarkable for the fact that he doesn't switch to the more polite form 僕 (boku). Nowadays, it isn't really expected per se that a junior make this switch - especially since "ore" is usually the go-to pronoun for most male university students - but the switch wouldn't be surprising either, given that they are his seniors. Yoh does acknowledge their seniority when he uses the formal -masu form of the word "to buy" - but in the context of them bullying him, the choice to stick with the more masculine pronoun "ore" suggests that he isn't intimidated by them.

Red: セルフパシリって　すごくね？ Girl: やばいよ Red: He automatically offered to be an errand boy! Isn’t that crazy? Girl: It’s nuts!

パシリ(pashiri) - to be made to run errands - is slang, and it is used specifically to refer to cases where someone with more social power orders another around. It’s almost always linked to bullying or misuse of social power – so by using this word, these guys - they know exactly what they are doing.

Y: クソだよ　あいつら* Y: Those bastards*… they’re trash *Yoh uses the same word あいつ (aitsu) to refer to the gang that he did at the beginning of this episode to refer to Segasaki - once again it is the context that changes the meaning of this word. With Segasaki, it is proof that they share a close relationship. With these upper classmen that he's just met - it's definitely rude.

This is a very common form of bullying in school, and evidently, Yoh recognizes it immediately. The fact that he jumps so quickly to cooperating with it tells us sadly that this is something he's familiar with - he's likely been bullied before. This is unfortunately, unsurprising, because Yoh doesn't adhere to social norms very much. He eats alone, he stares at people, he doesn't greet his seniors properly (that slight bow is not enough, there should at least be a verbal greeting of some sort).

In my post on amae, I talked about how the interdependent self-construal means that one's ability to assimilate is seen as a value. In the same vein, people who do not fit in with the group, or who do not conform, are not looked upon favorably in Japan, because it is often assumed that they simply do not want to. It is not that they are unable to assimilate, it is that they are refusing to make an effort to be part of the group, and thus the fault and blame lies with them. Ostracization of those different therefore, is the expected consequence and punishment that the group metes out. All of us have to do our part to adhere to the rules of the group - what makes you so special that you can do your own thing? If you just did your job of fitting in like the rest of us have, well, then you wouldn't be in this position in the first place, now would you? - This sort of justification is the reason why bullying in Japan can become very, very extreme, and why despite efforts, has been so difficult to eradicate.

S: そんなに　一人で持てないだろうと思って S: 貸して Y: ありがとうございます* S: 行こう S: I thought all of that was probably going to be too much for one person to carry S: Pass it over Y: Thank you very much* S: Let's go

*Yoh uses the full, polite version of "thank you" here, and he will, for the most part, continue to use desu/masu forms with Segasaki, and answer him politely, in recognition of their senior/junior relationship. Similarly, Segasaki uses informal forms with Yoh, though he maintains a friendly demeanor and does not drop to rude forms at all, because they aren't that close yet. Note how he says 行こう (ikou) for "let's go" here - different from his present day "we're going", which leaves no room for argument.

(Also, he took the heavier bag of drinks (´ ▽｀).。ｏ♡)

S: 結構歩くのゆっくりなんだね Y: よく　言われます S: 君　名前は？ Y: あ　葉って言います　あの。。。葉っぱの S: ふーん　葉くんか Y: はい S: 俺は　 Y: 瑞貴...さん S: なんで知ってんの？ Y: あ　そう呼ばれていたので S: よく　聞いてんな Y: はあ　まあ。。。

Let's break this down to look at some social cues and nuances:

S: You walk quite leisurely, don't you? Y: I've... been told that a lot

This is more than just a callback to the beginning of the episode (or a chance to contrast how much more polite and sweet Segasaki sounds here 😂) - This is another way in which we see Yoh does not fit in. Segasaki is his senior, who has gone out of his way to come help him (never mind that Yoh's being bullied), and he should at the very least, be trying to match Segasaki's pace, not making him wait like Yoh does here. Segasaki's comment should be taken as much as an expression of surprise, as it should a cue to catch up - Yoh glances briefly at Segasaki after this line (which seems to amuse the latter) but he doesn't actually apologize outright or walk any faster. He does admit that he's been told this often - which sometimes can work as a concession, because you sort of validate what the other person is saying, but at the same time you aren't quite agreeing either. That said, it can backfire, because it means you've been made aware of your habit and yet have done nothing to change it. Segasaki doesn't seem to mind though, and actually matches Yoh's pace here.

Speaking of "pace" - "マイペース" or "my pace" is a loan word from English, and is a term used to describe someone who tends to do things, well, at their own pace, or in their own way, and who isn't bother by the people or goings-on around them. Usually meant as a benign, sometimes affectionate comment on someone's personality, it often brings to mind the image of someone who appears to drift during conversations, who might be a little "slow" in social interactions, or who physically lags behind the group. It can have negative connotations, because it means the group needs to make concessions for this person (like looking for them when they've wondered off). Yoh is the epitome of someone who is "my pace", and I'm very sure that the emphasis on his slow walking is not just a peculiar quirk of his character, it's an intentional part of the character design to show how Yoh is different.

S: *You... what's your name? Y: Ah, I'm called Yoh. Um... written with the character for "leaf" S: Hmm~ Yoh-kun huh.. Y: Yes

*Segasaki uses the polite pronoun 君 (kimi) to refer to Yoh here, as opposed to the rougher お前 (omae) that he now uses in the present day.

That little action Yoh does whilst saying "leaf" is him drawing out the kanji character for his name. It's quite common to tell someone which character is used to write your name, because the characters usually mean something, and it helps others to remember. Strictly speaking, Yoh really should be introducing his full name here, but judging by how he's been fiddling with the plastic bag, he's probably just too nervous to realize.

S: I'm Y: Mizuki...san S: Why do you know that? Y: Ah... that's what.. you were called (by them) so... S: You listen closely don't you Y: Ahh.. yea...

Nice save 😂First of all, it's extremely unusual to jump straight to using someone's first name instead of their family name (unless you're still a kid), let alone doing it to an upper classman, though Yoh does manage to tack on the polite suffix "-san" at the back. It's the verbal equivalent of stepping right into someone's personal space and touching their bag or something and then being all "er there was something there...". It's just weird and borderline inappropriate 😂 The fact that Segasaki doesn't scold him for taking such a liberty, or show any sign that he appears weirded out by it (in fact, he actually goes along with it!) tells us that Segasaki is a very kind (yasashii would be the right term here, the same term that appears at the end of this episode) or at least a very tolerant individual though I'd also like to think he just finds Yoh's strange ways a little cute too.

S: いま　楽しい？ Y: え？あ　いえ S: 絡まれて　パシらされてさ Y: ああ。。 S: どう？ Y: いや　たのしくないです Y: 瑞貴さんは？ S: 俺？ Y: はい S: 全然楽しくない S: 内緒ね Y: はい

Continuing with the breakdown:

S: Is it fun? Y: Huh? Ah no-

Segasaki's tone changes here to a more serious one - all he does is stress the final syllables of the word "fun" to indicate he's asking a question, instead of adding any end particles that might give more context, or that might soften the tone. The topic switch is a little sudden, which is why Yoh seems a bit confused. It doesn't help that the words are a little ambiguous - it literally translates to "now, fun?" - except the Japanese word for "now" is often used to mean "just now" as well, because the Japanese concept of time is not quite as linear as it is in West. "Now" doesn't just refer to "this current exact second we are in", it extends from whenever the "current activity" began right up to "this current exact second" - the key is figuring out what the current activity is 😅. Because Segasaki jumps into this topic so suddenly, and without much contextual cues, Yoh can't quite tell whether he means now, as in them walking together, or now, as in, the whole being sent on an errand thing, which is why Segasaki clarifies in the next sentence:

S: Being hassled, and sent on errands? Y: Oh... S: So? Y: No, it... isn't fun.

Segasaki watches Yoh closely whilst he waits for the answer to his question. This is Segasaki checking that Yoh knows he's being bullied, and it's also permission to talk about the topic. Once he confirms that Yoh does know what's happening, he looks away again.

The exchange tells us a lot about Segasaki's character, because often, the reason why bullying goes on for so long is that no one is willing to talk about it. Everyone knows what's going on, but no one acknowledges it. The fact that Segasaki jumps straight into it hints to Yoh that he doesn't agree with what his "friends" are doing (whether Yoh catches that hint or not is a different story). It also tells us, the audience, that he isn't afraid to speak up about things he disagrees with (similar to how he spoke up for Yoh when Yoh was sketching in the cafeteria) - but not to the extent that he'll do something which threatens the harmony of the group outright. This is tatemae/honne, which I talked about briefly in the amae post as well, and linked to this street interview video for real life examples. In short, tatemae is your ability to avoid conflict and smooth over group interactions, and is seen as an essential and positive trait. Segasaki is very good at this, even at this stage in his life, which is part of why he is so well-liked.

Y: What about Mizuki-san? S: Me? Y: Yes S: I'm not having fun at all S: It's a secret, yea? Y: Yes

This is cute, and tells us about Yoh's character too. Firstly, he's still persisting in his use of "Mizuki-san", though he's being really tentative about it, like he's testing whether or not it's okay. Secondly, he's actually asking Segasaki directly to confirm his stand on what his "friends" are doing. Is this Yoh being daring, or just his slightly awkward, somewhat tactless self? I couldn't tell you 🤣 It's likely a bit of both.

In response, you can hear the surprise in Segasaki's voice, but he doesn't hesitate to detach himself from the actions of the group. The way he invites Yoh into his group here, by acting as if he's let Yoh in on a secret, is very charming obviously, and reminds me somewhat of how in Ep 4, he suddenly drops to "Kanami-san" when talking to Man-san too. This again fits with how his "public mode" has been consistently portrayed thus far - nice, charming, polite, good-looking, and obviously popular (Ep 3, the girls in the cafe at the back, Ep 4, the way he talks to Man-san, this Ep, where he's even been proposed to).

Guy: 俺の水がきたかな？　 Red: あいつ覚えてるかな Guy: 確かに　待たせたな S: ごめん　葉くんお腹痛いんだって　だから連れて帰るわ　はい Girl: 瑞貴まで帰らなくてもいいんじゃん S: しんどいのに　一人すんのかわいそうでしょ* S: じゃあ　またね　また　 S: 行こう Red: 優しいな**　瑞貴 Girl: でも　帰っちゃったよ Guy: Is my water coming? Red: Will that guy remember? Guy: Good point, he's really made us wait S: Sorry! Yoh says he's got a stomachache, so I'm gonna take him home. Here! Girl: Huh? But it's not like Mizuki you have to go too right? S: Leaving him all by himself right when he's having a hard time - wouldn't you feel bad for him?* S: So, see you guys later, 'kay! Bye! S: Let's go Red: Mizuki's really kind** isn't he? Girl: But, he's leaving you know!

*Segasaki does a very small switch up to the polite form here, as he takes the moral high ground by reminding the girl that as Yoh's senior, they have an obligation to take care of him when he's unwell. He's still friendly about it though. **優しい (yasashii) - kind. This word pops up a lot to describe Segasaki, we'll talk about it at the end of this episode.

Y: あの　いいんですか？ S: あそこ戻りたかった？ Y: いえ Y: Um... is this okay? S: You wanted to go back there? Y: No

Y: いつも　友達に囲まれてるこの人が なんでこうして　俺と一緒に歩いてるのかわからなくて 不思議だった Y: This person, whose friends were always surrounding him... I just couldn't understand why he'd walk together with me like this It was a mystery to me.

Y: あの顔が　信じられないほど近くにあった 耳元に届いた声の響きまで　良いものであることに 気づいてしまった Y: That face was... so close to me I could scarcely believe it And it dawned on me then How wonderfully pleasing Even the notes of his voice drifting pass my ears sounded

The scene in the library I've included right at the top, but I'm going to add the conversation that happens during Yoh's monologue, since the subs have them sort of mixed in.

S: 葉 S: 何してんの？ Y: え？えと、あの、本を探せて... S: この本面白いよ Y: え？ Y: ありがとうございます S: また感想教えて Y: はい S: Yoh S: What're you doing? Y: Eh! Um, ah.. I'm looking for a book... (inaudible) S: This book is interesting Y: Eh? Y: Thank you very much S: Tell me your thoughts on it next time Y: Yes

Segasaki's already dropped the polite suffix "-kun" behind Yoh's name here, and doesn't actually bother to let Yoh finish saying thank you before he tells him to report back about the book. Yoh on the other hand, is still using the full, formal and polite version of thank you, and answers him properly. Segasaki's taken the initiative to get closer to Yoh - he's already speaking to him like how he does in the present day (just, not roughly), but Yoh hasn't gotten comfortable enough yet to drop the formalities - or, he simply may not be sure if he can.

Navigating formalities and when to drop them is tricky, and requires some degree of social intuition. Generally speaking, Segasaki dropping a speech level should be a sign that it might be okay for Yoh to drop as well (not to the same level of course, just a little less formal) - but given how Yoh sees them as living in different worlds, and how fearful he is of being hated, it's unlikely that he'd want to touch the status quo.

Y: あの人の気持ち？ Y: That person's feelings?

Yoh's pretty much stuck to the phrase "that person" when referring to Segasaki this whole episode, even during his flashback. He tends to do this when he's feeling some distance between them (like in Ep 2).

On screen messages: Y: What is Kintsuba? S: You don't even know what Kintsuba is? Y: I'm sorry [Yesterday] S: I'll be back late today Y: Understood [Today] (unread) S: Just give the editor some kind of excuse, and come back right now

A: 随分　追い込まれてたねぇ Y: 気持ちを言葉にするとか　あんまりしたことなくて Y: 他人の気持ちなんて　なおさら A: You've pretty much been cornered, huh?* Y: Putting feelings into words and all... I've never really done that myself... Y: Let alone (doing that for) another person's feelings. *This is in reference to Man-san asking Yoh to write out Segasaki's feelings

A: めちゃくちゃにしてやる, めちゃくちゃにして..x10 A: Gonna mess you up, mess you up... x 10

Yes, this does sound like a line straight out of a bad Jp AV 🤣🤣. I mean, we're talking about scenes from Man-san's manga right? That they had to mosaic out? 🤣🤣

Now you know why Segasaki is pissed.

S: 可奈美さんも一緒に仕事してるんですか？ M: すみません！瀬ケ崎さんにご報告もせずに進めてしまって S: いや、可奈美さんのせいじゃないですよ S: Kanami-san, are you also doing your work together with him? M: I apologize! We ended up moving forward without even alerting you about it! S: No, it's not your fault, Kanami-san

You can tell Segasaki has misunderstood here - he thinks Man-san has also been called to work at this Editor's place, and is completely not listening to what she has said, hence her ?? reaction 🤣

S: あ、すみません 急用ができてしまったので葉を迎えに来ました S: Ah, I apologize An urgent matter arose, and so I've come to pick Yoh up.

Segasaki's being quite formal here, but this is not the way to be polite. The "proper" way to request leave to go home early on behalf of someone else would be to first, apologize specifically for the disruption, introduce yourself and your relation to that person, apologize that an urgent matter has come up, regrettably but firmly insist that said person must return home immediately on pain of death, apologize again for all the trouble caused, promise to make up for it, humbly ask for understanding, and then apologize your way out the door.

So yes, despite the polite word forms this is quite rude, and is so far removed from Segasaki's usual "public mode" that it cracks me up. Segasaki's composure is unravelling by the second in these next few scenes - he is pissed and absolutely does.not.give.a.shit. 🤣

From right to left: S: So, this bastard is the famed Editor huh... S: Don't you dare try to deceive and pull tricks on Yoh! S: The hell you doing touching him like that so freely!! A: Who (is this)?

The language gets progressively ruder the more the speech bubbles get pointy and the larger the font gets🤣🤣

M: 瀬ケ崎さん　やっぱ強いわ～ M: Segasaki-san really has a strong presence after all~

Y: 黙っててごめんなさい* S: あのさ Y: はい S: ああいうのがいいわけ？ Y: え？ S: 俺より　あの男のどこがいいわけ？ Y: I'm sorry for keeping this from you!* S: Tell me Y: Yes S: Is that what you like? Y: Huh? S: Compared to me, just how is that guy better? *Yoh uses the full but informal version of "sorry" here - gomen nasai. Making a note of this here so I can come back to it in one of the analysis posts.

Y: え、いや Y: 比べるものじゃないと思うけど。。 S: あるんだろうが　俺より　いいところが S: まあ、納得する理由がない限り俺は認めねえけどな Y: 強いて言えば　優しいかな* Y: 人の話を　ちゃんとじっくり聞いてくれるし Y: Um, no... Y: I don't think it's something that can be compared... S: There is something, isn't there? Some way in which he's better than me S: Though, unless you give me something I think is reasonable I won't accept it Y: Well if I had to say something then... maybe, he's kind?* Y: I mean, he listens carefully and attentively to what someone has to say...

*優しい (yasashii) - often translated as "kind", it encompasses the ideas of "caring", "tenderness", "thoughtful/considerate", "warm/gentle". It's often a trait people say they look for in their significant other.

This word has come up often to describe Segasaki - in Ep 2, Segasaki uses it to describe himself, in Ep 3, Yoh uses it to describe Segasaki's voice, and of course here in Ep 6, red shirt uses it to describe Segasaki again. Even when the word isn't said out loud, a lot of Segasaki's actions would fit this word - In Ep 2, when he picks up after Yoh and comforts him during their not-argument. In Ep 3, when he passes Yoh his gift, and implies there's nothing to be sorry for. In Ep 4, the way he coaxes Yoh. In Ep 5, when he takes care of Yoh. In Ep 6, he speaks up for Yoh in the cafeteria when he doesn't have to, when he goes to help Yoh. The irony of this moment is that Segasaki puts in a lot of effort and probably does pride himself in being yasashii, and he listens to Yoh better than Yoh listens to himself, and yet he hears from Yoh that he isn't yasashii or attentive, which explains the pained expression on his face.

S: あ、そう S: 俺先行くわ* S: Oh, is that so? S: I'm going ahead then* *わ (wa) - this ending particle puts emphasizes one's statement, but is not one that Segasaki usually uses. It's less forceful that his usual speech, because he's quite hurt by Yoh's statements.

Y: かばんに入ってたやつ　戻しといてから Y: The thing that was inside my bag, I put it back so... The way Yoh ends this sentence leaves room for a follow up - it's an invitation to continue the conversation, which we actually have not seen him do with Segasaki, and that's why he looks so dejected when Segasaki rejects that invitation by walking away.

Though it's been hinted at throughout the show, Ep 6 is where we get confirmation that Yoh's just never quite fit in with the crowd, and that Segasaki has always been in the center of it. The stark difference explains why Yoh is so afraid that one day he will do something to make Segasaki hate him, and why he reflexively rejects the idea that Segasaki could possibly love him.

This episode is painful, for both of them. For Yoh, because from the intensity of his monologues, we finally get a sense of how big a presence Segasaki is to him, and therefore, how devastating it would be to lose him. For Segasaki, because for all that he can read Yoh, for all that he has done to try and reassure Yoh of his love, he still cannot make Yoh see, cannot make Yoh hear.

"If he ended up hating me then I felt like I might die."

It is precisely Yoh's love for Segasaki that makes Yoh fear the possibility of losing him, and it is that fear that blinds, deafens and mutes Yoh to the very thing he hopes for. And it is in trying to protect himself, that he inadvertently hurts the very person he loves so much.

#my personal weatherman #taikan yohou #体感予報 #MPW subtitle corrections #mytranslations #segasaki x yoh #Ep 6 has given us a lot of context about these two #and reinforces again that it doesn't matter what Segasaki might say or do #Until Yoh sees the good in himself #he's not going to overcome that fear #Segasaki literally gives up his best ability here #he let's his composure slowly unravel throughout this whole ep #he loses the very thing that triggers Yoh's feelings of inadequacy #and yet Yoh doesn't even notice #ahh this is what happens when you love a “my pace” person

[sminiac]

Piwon after an argument 👉🏾👈🏾 -Kyokopi

💌 — I’m sure it’s just bc I started my period but I’ve been so fucking sad lmao, thought now would be a good time to write a lil angst HEHE

⋆ Y. Keeho

Gen overview — He moves around your space very cautiously, slow in a way, like he’s scared of his presence being fully perceived. I feel it’s one of the very few times he isn’t tackling the problem when both of your wounds are so fresh in fear of further irritating them due to his eagerness that could come off as pushy or bitter. Forces himself to endure the silence, the lack of acknowledging each other’s presence even in close proximity, it hurts but he knows everyone processes things differently, including the timeframe of how long that’ll take.

Reconnecting — Truthfully, normally it doesn’t take very long before either of you come back with a “I’m sorry” at the ready, it’s never a you or him situation, in fact a lot of the time it doesn’t matter, the most essential part is communicating, which also consists of a lot of tears- but there’s something so sweet about being able to let go like that with someone else, sharing another one of your most vulnerable moments with each other, gaining an understanding of how his brain works in a way no one else can.

Remainder of members under the cut!

⋆ C. Taeyang

Gen overview — Forces himself to apologize first because he knows if he doesn’t, it’ll just never come. Puts his struggles to the side for you but that doesn’t mean it’s easy, he goes through with it though, and although the process is sore and sometimes difficult the outcome is always worth it. He’s good with noting his own faults and the crowding of his ego that he has to overcome, it’s just the daunting task of reconciling, what if it isn’t so easy? What if you won’t accept his explanation? Would another disagreement arise? Learns that a simple ‘I’m sorry’ with a genuine sense of humility is worth a lot more than he thought it would have.

Reconnecting — This is where Theo’s feelings really show, fighting can be exhausting, and you can tell by the look on his face- even his body language, that he’s really drained and sad now that there’s no other emotions left to cloud over. The most he asks is just allow him to be by your side. Showers or baths together are usually taken after. You don’t need to shower him in gifts or written letters conveying your regret, but you can wash his hair for him, massage his arms and back the way he likes while he hugs you under the comforting stream of hot water.

⋆ C. Jiung

Gen overview — The quickest to feeling irritated if he deems your behaviour as ‘excessive’, but don’t let that intimidate you, he gradually comes to his senses, just give it a minute or two for the bad feelings to settle down. Opposed to Keeho, Jiung isn’t so quick to feel the need to apologize or talk it out, he puts himself at quite the distance, buries his head in work to keep him distracted from the guilt, or the fear of having over done it this time. Coming back to each other is always the most fragile part, the culmination of all the hurtful moments make for quite the emotional reconnection. Apologies are always mutual, you dissect things with each other.

Reconnecting — Jiung’s typically more on the serious side, but after seeing you so upset it’s like a need to allow his silly side to slip. Puts away any distractions and focuses all of his attention on you! Do you wanna go get a drink? He doesn’t want you dehydrated after all those tears. Crying makes you tired, do you want to take a nap? Crying makes you hungry, do you want to go grab some food? He’ll pay, anything you want. Crying makes your nose stuffy, what about a walk outside?

⋆ H. Intak

Gen overview — Feels his emotions very deeply, they almost overtake his entire being, when he’s frustrated there’s not really a filter there to keep his mouth from running away which splits the two of you off, if you’re reactive he’s like gasoline to your fire. It doesn’t happen often, arguing or the spitefulness, he’s normally good with managing his emotions in a healthy way, so he’s extremely regretful when it gets out of hand and the both of you are upset with the other. Exudes penitence to the fullest extent when he’s coming to you with a tearful apology, holds you, just wants to hold you. The feeling of someone crying while being close to them always makes me emotional, it’s just such a deep, inexplicable connection, and that’s exactly how it is with him.

Reconnecting — Very physical and vocal after you’ve both settled. Intak will remain as close to you as possible without actually touching you, scared that his clinginess will be too much until you’re the one initiating it, and every few minutes he’ll try talk to you about anything that interests you, because if you’re talking then surely you’re okay. He’s so puppy, asking: “That new bubble tea place you’ve been talking about is opened, do you want to go soon?” “What happened to that shirt you’ve been looking for? Did you find it? Should we go get you a new one instead?” “We should go to an aquarium, you can dress all pretty so I can take pictures.”

⋆ H. Shota

Gen overview — Learning how to be supportive and respectful of each other’s functions is definitely a process, but it makes you all the more closer with Soul. Not being familiar with these intricacies prior to your arrival in his life means that he does struggle with admitting his own feelings. Soul tends to catch the wavelength of your discontent quickly and immediately molds himself to fulfill whatever your needs are, in doing so he unintentionally disregards his own. He’s at your every word, but he also needs someone who will be there for him just as willingly. Apologizing is easy, he’s quick to admit his mistakes and really takes the time to understand you even if he didn’t to begin with, but he is a little hesitant when asking something of you, all he needs is a little encouragement and reassurance that he deserves just the same treatment.

Reconnecting — Things transition back to normal very smoothly, the both of you silently agree to do your best to end the day off on a good note, which doesn’t take a lot, and by the time you’re in each others arms on the verge of falling asleep it’s like nothing ever happened. Soul’s just very.. you can never outright tell what he’s thinking or what he’s about to do, so even as you’re talking it out in the end, your argument is settled once he says or does something silly because once the both of you are laughing there’s no way the seriousness of the situation could be dragged on for any longer. He’ll kiss you with a big pretty smile, adding on a final “I’m sorry stinky”.

⋆ K. Jongseob

Gen overview — He hates nothing more than the tense atmosphere that post arguments have, and the thing that gets to him the most is not being able to approach you like nothing happened. He knows your feelings are hurt. His are too, but god does he ever miss feeling you curled into him, giggling with each other about stupid things no one else would understand. The silence and ignoring each other only ever lingers for so long, usually he breaks it by pulling you into him when you least expect it, quickly subjecting you to his kisses and a near constant reiteration of how sorry he is for being mean. He snaps out of things quite fast, because he can’t bear the thought of your day going sour because of him, so he does his best to make up for it.

Reconnecting — Immediately tells you how silly he thinks it is to be so upset like this in an attempt to wipe away any negative feelings that were left behind, because he wants to be with you until not even the existence of your souls can live on, why dwell on something so trivial? Why feed into it any more than you have to? Seob likes keeping you busy after, is it odd that he suddenly wants to build things together in your Minecraft world? Maybe a little, but it’s hard to say no when he’s suggesting you make a day out of it with snacks and cuddling included.

ᰔ sminiac’s P1Harmony M.list

Update, after listening to my Laufey playlist and writing Seob’s ‘reconnecting’ bit I’m not as sad, just hungry.

ANOTHER UPDATE I ATE AND NOW I FEEL NAUSEOUS ???? I CANNOT WIN.

#kyokopi <3 #p1harmony imagines #p1harmony x reader #yoon keeho x reader #yoon keeho imagines #p1h keeho x reader #choi taeyang x reader #choi taeyang imagines #p1h theo x reader #choi jiung x reader #choi jiung imagines #p1h jiung x reader #hwang intak x reader #hwang intak imagines #p1h intak x reader #haku shota x reader #haku shota imagines #p1h soul x reader #p1h soul imagines #kim jongseob x reader #kim jongseob imagines #p1h jongseob x reader #piwon imagines #piwon x reader

[will-o-the-witch]

Epistemology and Why It Matters for Witchcraft

Epistemology, as one of my professors articulated, is "the study of truth." It's the theory of knowledge, investigating what we consider to be fact/truth and how we decide what constitutes reality. The scope goes way beyond just spiritual/religious belief, but that's what I'll primarily be discussing here.

That's really vague and esoteric, so to give a more concrete example: think about Hell. To many folks, Hell is entirely fictional, just a theory used to scare people into submission. Others believe the existence of Hell is a cold hard fact. To them, taking steps to avoid going to Hell is a very real and legitimate thing to be concerned about, because that's a part of how they perceive reality. Both "sides" have equal conviction, because both consider their belief to be the truth. Epistemology asks why that is. How do we get two equally-strong, opposite beliefs?What makes people consider something opinion vs. fact? What makes people change their mind? How do we decide these ways of measuring "truth" are accurate? How do we decide what's accurate? This keeps going indefinitely. Don't give yourself an existential crisis over it.

A lot of arguments debates pop up in spiritual/religious communities when people butt heads with opposing beliefs, both considered fact by someone. Someone believes that intent is the only thing that matters when practicing witchcraft just as much as I believe that's bullshit. Both of us have our reasons why, also based on things we consider fact. We might even have the same beliefs backing our opinion, just arranged differently. Neither of us have any way to prove our belief is "true."

This is important to keep in mind for many things.

Interacting with the community in general. Is that person an idiot or are they just coming at it from a different perspective? Are you bothered because they're actually being rude, or because it's in conflict with your own beliefs?

Analyzing resources. What beliefs and assumptions does the author hold beyond the specific thing they're conveying here? How is it influencing their take? Is it congruent with how I believe the world works?

Analyzing yourself. What do I believe?How did I form these beliefs, what's behind them? Do I feel like I need to update anything? I'm allowed to decide I was "wrong" about something before. Are my actions in line with these beliefs, or holdovers from an old way of thinking?

Assessing the results of your craft. How do I measure when something was effective? How much faith and skepticism and I comfortable putting into the process? Am I coming to this from a perspective I consider balanced and rational?

It's honestly helpful for way more than just spiritual practices, but it's especially important when dealing with things as esoteric as, well, esotericism, mysticism, the occult, and spiritual practices. It may not be healthy to constantly question yourself and everything you know, but an occasional, compassionate check-in can really elevate a person's work. That's my belief, anyway! What's yours?

#witchcraft #occultism #unreality #tw just in case #epistemology

[sailormoonandme]

Long Rant Incoming!

I am honestly just exhausted with how the Sailor Moon fandom so often bashes the original anime, in particular when they do so by presuming bigotry of any kind on the part of the staff members.

Sure, show me a quote or an interview where they definitively say something and I will listen with an open mind. 

But why does this fandom presume that, for example, AnimeRei’s interest in men was obviously changed from the MangaRei’s more negative attitude because of sexism?

Or that Usagi being naked in the last episode whilst Mamoru was in his Endymion armour was again rooted in sexism?

Or that old favourite that has now become oh so trendy again thanks to Cosmos, that the Starlights were physically male in the anime (as opposed to simply dressing as men and pretending to be men) because the anime staff were being homophobic. More specifically, that this change was implemented so that the UsagixSeiya relationship was ‘less gay’.

Let’s talk a bit about that shall we?

So....

The original 1992 Sailor Moon anime had two men explicitly in a relationship in season 1, Kunzite and Zoisite.

It had two women explicitly in a relationship in season 3, Haruka and Michiru.

It had a character in season 4 who, to my understanding (please correct me on this as I am not overly knowledgeable on the subject), was trans, Fisheye.

When you go beyond the explicit into merely very obvious subtext, Sailor Moon’s track record for LGBT representation gets even larger. The pair of female animators in episode 21. Fiore and Mamoru’s relationship in the R movie. The fashion designer and his assistant in episode 140. Sailor Lead Crow and Aluminium Siren’s relationship.

Not to mention the UsaRei ship:

Or the MakAmi ship:

It’d be weird for a show with this kind of track record (that was indeed a trailblazer in the context of the time) to suddenly got cold feet over another female-female relationship.

Now there are two counter arguments to this:

a) Most of the above doesn’t apply specifically to Sailor Moon herself, the UsaRei ship being subtextual for this very reason. In other words ‘its okay for side characters’

b) Sailor Stars was under new management. It is entirely possible said new management had very different attitudes towards female-female relationships

Let’s tackle a) first. 

It’s okay to portray side characters in same sex relationships

First of all, Usagi was attracted to Haruka in episode 92. Even after she discovered Haruka was (in her eyes at least) a cis woman she still regarded her as attractive and desirable, usually blushing whenever Haruka flirted with her and being all too happy to dance with Haruka in episode 108. 

Isn’t it a little weird to argue it would be bad for Usagi to be dating another woman when there wasn’t a world of difference between how Seiya in the manga and Haruka in the anime were framed and presented to the audience. 

The main difference was that in the manga Seiya was explicitly pretending to be male and therefore would not have corrected anyone’s presumptions that she was a man, which is exactly what Haruka did at the end of episode 92 when Usagi and Minako discover Haruka is not a cis boy. 

Whilst we might argue that the character of MangaSeiya would have presented herself differently had she not needed to disguise herself, from a narrative POV if the anime had stuck with Seiya being biologically female she would have had to maintain that disguise for the overwhelming majority of episodes anyway. In other words, she would have been presenting herself as a cis male the entire time outside of Sailor Senshi fights. 

Second of all, the anime was still explicitly shipping Usagi and Seiya even after the big reveal in episode 188 where the Senshi and Starlights discover one another’s identities. In fact, episode 189 has Minako explicitly state that the Starlights are in fact girls:

Now, whilst Minako regards this as a dealbreaker for her own romantic affections for the Three Lights, Usagi is still obviously conflicted about her feelings for Seiya. This culminates in episode 194′s famous “Am I not enough?” scene and their conversation in episode 195 where Usagi lets Seiya down backstage and he kisses her goodbye on her cheek.

Before episode 194 the show was going hard on this ‘star-crossed lovers’ imagery and ideas, with the Starlights and Outer Senshi trying to pull the pair apar. Seiya even communicated to Usagi at night whilst she is in her bedroom , which imo is deliberately evoking Romeo and Juliet. Moreover, the animation frankly framing the pair in a romantic light, with plenty of blushes and soft lighting liberally appearing all over the place. 

Sure, on screen you have a biological woman and biological man. But the show has explicitly stated that that Seiya is not a man, or at least from Usagi’s POV that isn’t the case. 

Now one could argue that this is nevertheless reductive. After all, you still have a female role assigned and a male role assigned in the relationship. But again...how different is this really from Haruka and Michiru who are present and as explicitly romantic as ever in Sailor Stars?

In terms of ‘presenting’ as male or female Haruka and Seiya are in the same boat 99% of the time (the 1% is for episodes involving bathing outfits or other forms of partial nudity). Most of the time Haruka visually presents as (for its day) typically masculine until she assumes her Senshi form where she presents as more typically (again, for its day) female. The only difference between the two characters is that the viewer intellectually knows that Seiya has a penis that becomes a vagina whereas Haruka always has a vagina. But since in both cases we never see those particular pieces of anatomy it is a moot point.

So the argument that ‘on screen’ Usagi is not being shipped with a woman is irrelevant. To all practical purposes, from a purely visual POV she might as well have been shipped with someone just like Haruka. It didn’t make it ‘more acceptable’ at all. In particular when you consider the show heavily implies that Seiya’s male body was nothing more than a guise assumed on Earth for the sake of their mission. So, had anyone been extrapolating forwards Usagi and Seiya potentially forming a long term relationship, Usagi would have been in a relationship with someone who was biologically female anyway. 

Third of all, the ‘side character’ argument falls apart when you consider HOW popular Uranus and Neptune were. In Animage’s 1995 poll episode 110 "Death of Uranus and Neptune!? Talismans Appear" was voted the most popular episode. A major reason why SuperS was so unpopular was because the Outer’s were absent, which is why the very first episode of Sailor Stars practically revolves around them. Hell, exempting Usagi, of all the Solar System Sailor Senshi, Uranus and Neptune are the last ones standing, dying in the third to last episode of the entire show. 

This isn’t even mentioning HOW prominent they were in season 3. Like, sure, they weren’t the MAIN characters, but until Hotaru shows up, they were by far and away the most important characters in the show just behind Usagi. Sailor Moon S as a whole is ostensibly one great big ideological debate between Usagi’s idealistic philosophy and Haruka and Michiru’s more hardline realistic philosophy. 

To codify them as ‘side characters’ in the context of season 3 is akin to describing Mamoru or Chibi-Usa as side characters in the manga. That is to say, the difference between them and Usagi is a matter of mere degrees. Are we in all seriousness arguing that those degrees make the difference between how okay it is to present characters as part of female-female relationships? That’s rather ridiculous isn’t it?

Let’s move on to point b).

The new management didn’t like same-sex relationships 

Yes. It is entirely possible that the new management had very different attitudes towards female-female relationships than the people in charge of the prior four seasons of the show. Thus the representation present in the prior four seasons doesn’t excuse season 5 of being homophobic in its decision to make the Starlights biologically male.

You know what else is entirely possible? That there were any number of other reasons for that decision apart from homophobia.

Again, I’m willing to listen with an open mind to anyone that has a statement or an interview or something like that from production staff members that might support the above interpretation. But in over ten years of being a Sailor Moon fan I have yet to see anything that implies this rather damning motivation on the part of the production staff. At which point why is anyone at all just presuming the worst faith interpretation?

Here are some good faith interpretations for why the Starlights were biologically male:

- Making them biologically male could raise a bit of intrigue on the part of the viewers. Even if they figured magic was the reason how they could change from male to female, they’d still be enticed to watch to see the process in action. Which would be even more intriguing compared to four seasons of transformation sequences where girls simply put on new Senshi outfits.

- Making them male made it easier for writers to generate the show’s all important filler episodes and opened up more storytelling opportunities. 

If the Starlights are biologically female it would mean either scrapping episodes or scenes where the Starlights are involved in partial nudity. Case in point, episode 178 where Luna is revealed to have taken a bath with Yaten, episode 183 where the gang vacation at a lake and are in their bathing suits, episode 184 where the gang see Seiya getting out of the shower, or even episode 176 where the Starlights are in dance outfits which naturally are tight fitting and therefore do not leave much to the imagination. 

Perhaps these instances could have still happened with the Starlights as biological females, but it would have been trickier and required a lot more strategic thinking on the part of the overworked writers who were on a deadline. Making them male frankly just made their lives easier

- The anime staff might have simply believed that the idea of three women disguising themselves as men and maintaining such a secret amidst becoming super star idols, attending high school, etc was simply unconvincing, too big of a suspension of disbelief.

- Making them biologically male might have been a ‘creative flex’. What do I mean by this? Simply put it is not at all uncommon for people adapting a piece of media to throw something in of their own invention. 

This might happen out of boredom on the part of the people adapting the source material (it can potentially be dull merely replicating something) or it could occur due to ego (see the majority of modern MCU films and TV shows that change no end of things from the comic books). 

Ego, unfortunately is all too common amongst creative people, especially those who have made it professionally into the entertainment industry. There is a desire by many to put their stamp on a work, even if it is not a work of their own creation per se. 

This may well be the root of several other changes between the manga and the anime too, regardless of whether those changes have anything to do with gender, sexuality, female representation of other such issues. 

- Making them biologically males who transform into biological females, in the eyes of the production staff, might have been more avant garde and progressive towards the LGBT community as it rendered the characters as arguably trans or gender fluid characters. 

- And finally...it may well have just been a mistake. The manga and anime were produced simultaneously but also at very different paces, the manga releasing monthly vs the anime’s weekly schedule. 

Between Takeuchi’s busy production schedule, not to mention however else she was involved in the (by then massive) Sailor Moon brand, it is entirely possible that she either hadn’t decided upon, or simply miscommunicated her ideas for the Starlights, thus resulting in the anime staff misunderstanding her intentions or extrapolating them to be biological men in their civilian forms. 

Indeed, Takeuchi herself misunderstood the Starlights in the anime as she apparently missed the dialogue that implied they were biological females who used magic to become biological males for their mission on Earth. She instead got upset that they were men who were Sailor Senshi.

Now, I came up with the above off the top of my head and don’t have any hard evidence in support of any of it. Which means they all carry  just as much weight as the ‘obviously it was bigotry’ interpretation.

And, once again, I have to bring up the fact that Sailor Stars features Uranus and Neptune in a relationship and arguably even ramps up their flirtations compared to season 3. So, kinda weird that they’d include one female-female relationship in season 5 but would be apprehensive over another one. 

In conclusion

Can we as a fandom please just fucking STOP automatically presuming the worst of the original anime and its production staff?

Seriously, its really, really, really, really WEIRD!

More than weird though, it is simply unfair.

It is unjust. 

It is hateful, even.

Which is particularly ironic since this is a franchise literally built around a character who stands for...well...you know...

#Sailor Moon #Sailor Stars #seiya kou #kou seiya #sailor star fighter #sailor starfighter #Sailor Star-Fighter #SeiUsa #usagi tsukino #tsukino usagi #naoko takeuchi #sailor starlights #HARUKA TENOH #TENOH HARUKA #Sailor Uranus #sailor neptune #Michiru Kaioh #Harumichi #kaioh michiru

[4seasonsofart]

Thinking about a poly Thorfinn/Canute/Reader and they both happen to be yanderes. They meet you while Thorfinn and you were guarding the young prince. Thorfinn has known you for several years and has grown close to you over that time, so naturally he is possessive and overprotective of you. You are in a band of ruthless mercenaries, not to mention Askeladd; why wouldn't he act the least bit protective over you?

Then you add Canute to the mix, and suddenly Thorfinn is threatening to knife anyone who comes close enough to either of you two. For what it's worth, his feelings stem from his fear of losing the only healthy person who has been consistent in his life. His father was killed, Askeladd is toxic, and the rest of the band just has bloodlust. Okay, maybe Bjorn is a small exception because he does act like a mother towards Thorfinn sometimes but still ultimately sides with Askeladd. Still, you are the only one who is allowed to patch up his wounds and sleep next to him at night.

So then we have Canute, who is barely able to talk with you because Thorfinn is staring daggers (both figuratively and literally) at him. So as their travels progress and Canite gets bolder, he slowly grows closer to you, and Thorfinn hates that. He would kill the pretty little blonde if it weren't for Askeladd promising him a duel if he kept the prince safe.

One night, it all comes to a climax when you are sleeping next to Thorfinn. They both end up in an argument over their behavior, and Thorfinn accidentally outs himself.

"Why do you have to be such a stupid, pretty little blonde?"

"You think I'm pretty Thorfinn?"

"That's not what I meant, Princess."

Thorfinn gets all pouty and embarrassed.

Canute feels like he has the upper hand just this once, so he proposes sharing you between the two young men. Thorfinn is almost entirely opposed to this idea, but for some odd reason, he nods and agrees with Canute. Only if Thorfinn is allowed to stay near you at all times.

Thorfinn and Canute are two completely different yanderes whose tendencies stem from the same thing: fear. Thorfinn has a fear of losing you and wants your love and attention (even if he won't admit it). Canute has a fear of not being loved, as he isn't loved by his father, and he wants to be loved by the person who has shown him some love. Thorfinn is aggressive and very outward about how protective he is of you, while Canute opts for a more quiet and cunning approach. Oh, they were bothering you? Either Thorfinn is straight up murdering them, or Canute will order someone to take care of them for him. Thorfinn needs your attention and praise constantly (in his distant and grumpy way), while Canute is content just being looked at by you. Thorfinn is possessive, while Canute is obsessive. Canute will practically worship the land you walk on, while Thorfinn will see you as his only equal.

They are opposites, yet they mesh well together.

They don't realize that they also have feelings for each other until after the King and Askeladd's deaths. Thorfinn was so very torn as he saw you standing near Canute with a shocked and pained expression on your face. He felt his heart and trust break into so many pieces as he saw Canute open and vulnerable for a killing strike. Yet he only slashed the edge of Canute's cheek as he realized that he couldn't kill the pretty little blonde. He couldn't hurt or be mad at you either. He just felt confused.

Canute knows that he has to act like a leader, so he orders everyone out except for you and Thorfinn.

Canute confesses that he has developed romantic feelings for both you and Thorfinn during your travels together. He thought you both looked so attractive while protecting him from people trying to kill him. He states that he is unable to live a life if Thorfinn hates him, and he offers Thorfinn the sword that killed Askeladd to slit his throat if he would like. Thorfinn takes the sword and shakes as tears escape his eyes. He can't. He can't kill the stupid blonde. He loves him. He loves you. He loves how you constantly care for him and stay near him even when he pushes you away. He loves Canute because he just loves him. He doesn't know when he started, and he is scared that he won't be able to stop.

He allows the sword to clatter onto the ground as he pulls both of you into a tight and warm hug.

Cue Canutes religious guilt and his breakdown of what his beliefs are all while romantically loving two people, one of whom is a man.

You stare at them with a perplexed expression as they both clumsily confess their love for you as well (leaving out that they will and have already murdered for you).

The only question that remains is: What will happen next? Will all three of you live with Canute? Will Thorfinn start a journey of self-discovery and end up traveling to Vinland? Will you ever figure out that their love isn't so innocent and that you won't ever escape from them?

#vinland saga season 1 spoilers #vinland saga #thorfinn #thorfinn karlsefni #vinland saga headcanon #vinland saga imagine #canute #thorfinn x reader #thorfinn x you #canute x reader #canute x you #yandere #poly yandere #yandere thorfinn #yandere canute #canfinn #thorunte

[anendoandfriendo]

Actually, just while we're thinking of plurality and how its treated as a whole intra-community — we probably will not be able to put this elegantly, but we want to talk about exomemories and how they're treated.

People always treat exomemories as if they have to be like, some vivid thing that one can completely recall in its entirety. The problem is that...that's not how memory works. In the world of psychology this is not the only type of memory that happens. Memories can also be things like:

Unconscious habits and the unconscious steps required to perform those habits

General facts

The microseconds of a touch, smell, taste, or sound just after it has occurred

So, please, tell us why in the hell we treat vivid recall as the only "valid" form of an exomemory, if even non-plural memory is, to put it lightly, a complicated fucking mess of a concept.

Even within the episodic memory the vivid personal recall we talk about when it comes to exomemories would fall under, this specific type of memory is generally what is called a flashbulb memory.

Recalling the phantom of a touch, from someone's hand into yours, is an exomemory.

Recalling the last ruler of your country and nothing else is still an exomemory.

The flutter of the wind on your face is an exomemory.

Being able to write out a "fantasy" script with no clue on how you got that information, regardless of its readability to you, is an exomemory.

Being able to recall how a family member set their hair on fire or how you looked for an item for two days just to find it on a bookshelf is an exomemory, but so is the smell of smoke or the feeling of hard wood under your palm, if it is connected to a world outside of this one.

We dunno all, this is kind of what we are talking about when we say you can be pro-endogenic and still a sysmedicalist we guess? We should not always and constantly need to use an established phenomenon in order to state that people have been or can be shitty. The -med part in sysmed is -med for a reason, as opposed to like, anti-endoist!!

Plurality is certainly different in some aspects compared to being a singlet — but like, we aren't an entirely different species because of it. Unless you are all therian in your system, in which case, good for you! But singlets can also be therians so our point still stands. :v

We wish we had a better way of putting this. We don't, so all we can state is that we notice this stupid trend of people in plural communities just Isolating Themselves In Weird Ways.

On one hand, the assimilationism: plurality is only adjacent to being neurodivergent (even though neurodivergent means operating in a way that is non-normative, which plurality is); plurality is only adjacent to alterhumanity (even though alterhuman means operating in a way that is non-normative, which plurality is); plurality is only adjacent to being queer (even though queer means operating in a way that is non-normative, which plurality is).

On the other, the assertion that we ARE different, just, Not Like That, it's still an Acceptable Difference: exomemories for plurals are always a vivid recall (even though that's not how memory works at all even for non-plurals and is also what we suspect to be an effect of sysmedicalists defining exomemories as a "coverup" to Bad Things Happening when this is not always true for every system); everyone in a system either gets along all of the time or otherwise it's a disorder (even though in the outerworld people don't always get along and that doesn't always mean the people in an argument are suddenly disordered — it just means those people do not vibe well together); everyone knows everything about each other and there is no misgendering at all and everyone knows exactly which species everyone is other otherwise it's DID or OSDD (even though this is not how it works in the external world — mistakes happen and we can guarantee you that if you live in the US you do not personally know every single person down to their favorite restaurant if they live in like, Russia or India, and then also vice versa for Indian and Russian individuals).

When we say sysmedicalists are fascists. This is what we mean. And when we say pro-endos can be sysmedicalists. This is also what we mean.

It is not a disorder if you do not know everything about 500 people all at once. Being a big system is not inherently distressing or dysfunctional.

It is not a disorder to accidentally use "she" for your only other headmate who just came out and uses "he" as long as you apologize to your headmate and then do better next time, and make the effort to use "he" in reference to him. Being a small system is not inherently distressing or dysfunctional.

And just to be clear since this is Tumblr: DID and OSDD are not bad and are not a punishment or moral failing. This is specifically in regards to the bainaristic tendencies that our communities have. Everything is butterflies and rainbows or it's a living hell. The idea that disordered and non-disordered systems share nothing in common. The conflating of endogenic to non-disordered and traumagenic to disordered. That any and all disorder that ever existed is coded into the DSM and the ICD. That inconveniences as small as like, wdk, an example from us is needing hot chocolate every night to go to sleep — must be treated by professionals or it's not a legitimate inconvenience. All of it.

All of the binaries that permeate into our community like a fucking poison that we cannot seem to clear out from our lungs and our brain. It seeps into our skin and our home and doesn't leave. We don't know if it will ever leave. We feel like the community is fucking dying just as it's growing and maybe we're just paranoid and worried, but it's fucking seeing into our hearts and souls and then we cannibalize our own.

There can, in fact, be experiences within the realm of annoying but not ruinous when it comes to plurality and we are sick of the community treating this as if it is not true, even implicitly and unintentionally. We are in general agreement within this system (even if we don't agree in how exactly) that this really, REALLY needs to be examined at some point by the systems who claim to be inclusys.

------------

♤♤ anendoandfriendo ♤♤

~ Art from picsart ~

[A sparkly signature image. The background is the endogenic system flag, recursigenic flag, and protogenic flag. The endogenic flag has the treblesand on it. Amber from Genshin Impact is on the left side of the image; Cinderella from Disney's Cinderella and Aquamarine Hoshino from Oshi No Ko are on the right side. The words "They/Them (pl.)" sit in the bottom corner of the image.]

#disc horse #rusanya — the collective

[thesherrinfordfacility]

I mean this in a gen way, but saying Crowley avoids responsibility feels incredibly unfair, bc as far as I can recall, of the two he's actually the only one who has ever apologized for anything?

hi anon!!!✨ more than happy to explain (as best i can, anyway) where im coming from on this!!!✨

so to my recollection, crowley has essentially said he's sorry twice in show canon; s1, when he tries again to get aziraphale to leg it with him, and s2, with the dance. however, imo, i think it's questionable as to how much he means either of these.

s1 apology to me is worded in such a way that, at worst crowley is purposefully inauthentic in his apology, and at best, just simply doesn't know what he's apologising for - but in both cases just wants to get aziraphale on side so they can escape the apocalypse by fleeing to alpha centauri:

the key part here for me is, "whatever i said, i didn't mean it...", because to me that feels an awful lot along the lines of 'im sorry you feel that way', rather than accepting responsibility that what one may have said may have caused the upset.

now look, i realise crowley is under a lot of pressure in this scene - he's come straight from being directly threatened by hastur, and that makes the rushed, poorly worded apology understandable - but id personally argue that, regardless, it's not a genuine apology. the argument itself isn't brought up again, it isn't discussed, and it isn't resolved. (once again, the plot doesn't really allow for a heart-to-heart to occur, but i doubt it was ever addressed in the interim between s1 and s2. that being said, i can only go based on what we're actually shown, as opposed to any supposition of what did or did not happen/was or was not discussed in the missing four years!)

as for the apology dance; i think it's fair to summarise that crowley walks off, out of the bookshop, believing that he's fully in the right. he might later regret how the whole argument went down, but with the context of gabriel's words from s1 in mind, it's fair that crowley would consider that he doesn't have anything to apologise for. arguably, neither of them have anything to apologise for (from aziraphale's perspective, he's also in the right - essentially, the argument isn't as black and white as that!), but when crowley then learns of the BOL threat, it's then that he comes back to the bookshop.

again, look - im perfectly prepared to accept this entire exchange, the wording within it, as one big shared idiosyncrasy, and one that works for them. but there's a couple of things that make this not quite ring true to me.

the way crowley says the first line, offering an apology, suggests that if he were to say sorry, he wouldn't mean it. says it in a way that's very guarded, but also seems snooty and lofty, like he's above the act - and that it would be a reluctantly-given gesture

when aziraphale states that that's in fact what he wants, an apology, crowley doesn't actually say sorry. he admits that aziraphale was right - but that doesn't take accountability for his part in the spat, and even then he says it again like it pains him to say the words

there was a marvellous meta (by @esthermitchell-author!!!) that summed it up, that i'll link back when i get my hands on it, but the way that aziraphale says 'with the little dance' suggest that the dance is additional to an actual apology, that they're not one and the same. now, i personally see the dance's meaning a little differently - maybe? - that the dance is the thing to break the tension (ridiculous concept altogether but that's another post). in that context, crowley only does the dance, not the apology. that being said, aziraphale seems to accept the dance as the apology, so maybe that's that and nothing more to be said

ive said it before, but the way aziraphale rattles off the years where he's done it, and crowley immediately says that he 'doesnt do the dance', suggest to me - and pure speculation here, admittedly - that aziraphale has historically been the one to always apologise. we could see this as aziraphale having always been the one that's in the wrong... but i somehow doubt that to be the case. instead, it seems to be that aziraphale is pissed that he's always been the one to bend, to apologise, to keep the peace, to break the tension, and this time crowley can 'bloody well do it'. the way aziraphale performatively straightens his clothes and cocks his head suggests that crowley doing the dance is a novelty, and he's going to savour it... but i digress-

all of this to me feels that crowley, again, is dancing around accepting any accountability or responsibility for his part in the argument, and therefore the apology - if we conclude that aziraphale does accept the dance itself as an apology - isn't completely meant. take into account the context of why crowley flies back to the bookshop, it can also be seen that crowley will do whatever he needs to ensure that he can help aziraphale shelter/hide gabriel, and therefore protect aziraphale in the process; a means to an end, essentially.

(now of course anon, if there is an apology ive missed or something i haven't taken into account, please come back to me - these are just the two instances that i can recall off the top of my head, and my personal interpretation of them!!! but im always open to thinking about things differently).

there are also other instances where he's... rather poor at accepting his own accountability, but tbh it's LWA that's analysed and summarised this better than i ever could, so definitely worth having a root around in those asks too, for some extra reading!!! (link in my masterpost)✨

#good omens #ask #crowley meta #s1 meta #s2 meta #edit: ive only just realised that ive focused on crowley here which is pretty biased (gen didnt mean to oops) but happy to address #aziraphale thoughts re: accountability if needed!!! #further edit now that i found the link to the meta i was referencing: i love the take in it!!! maybe mine is a little bad faith - #and ill accept that - but the alternative that the op puts forward is heartbreaking and i also see it this way too!!!! really great reading

[britcision]

Anyway in case anyone was wondering why I do firmly aver I did not get to DPxDC from DC and am not a DC fan despite having consumed all of the Harley Quinn and Suicide Squad runs up to 2018

(And have an exciting grab bag of shows, movies, and assorted trivia under my belt besides

Batman vs Dracula was fucking great fight me)

It’s because DC as a whole is hostile as fuck to the concept of being a casual fan

(And about 90% of the main heroes annoy the hell out of me for the very tropes that DC is known and praised for in their heroes I am here for villains, antiheroes, and sidekicks exclusively)

There is no such thing as consistent characterization, especially as you consume more content or fall down a rabbit hole, and the rabbit holes are ENDLESS

Everyone cameos everywhere else, referential jokes are often dropped in as Easter eggs for people who have read every single other DC comic put out in the same decade and yet within the same comics you get glaringly inconsistent characterization and different retcons for the same events

Big stories are retold and retconned every couple years, we got 3 separate Spiderman origin movies and the exact same Batman origin in more than half the live action movies; DC PAYS PEOPLE to make up their own different versions of canon events

There is a REASON that the Marvel and DC cinematic universes are both officially divorced from comic canon; the sheer volume of canon content is inaccessible to most of the population, and DC and Marvel know it

That’s why the New 52 was a big divorce from all previous canon too - it’s an on ramp for new fans, because sorting through the web of old content is off putting as fuck

It’s the one thing not a single DC fan I’ve spoken to who complained about “canon characterization” has bothered defending or even acknowledging, and yet it has been the core of all of their arguments:

“Canon is what I want it to be, not what any of the sources say”

And listen, I was a Torchwood fan, we were the archetypal example of “canon only happened if I acknowledge it” (so sad that show ended after only two seasons and nothing else ever happened again Children of Earth who), you just gotta acknowledge that that’s what you’re doing

But you frankly cannot have a serious conversation about canon characterization with someone who does not acknowledge entire swaths of canon and cannot understand why that makes their argument completely invalid

Any kind of conversation about the “right” characterization for a DC character necessarily has to involve the acknowledgement that it’s your personal preferred characterization, not a One True Canon, because I guarantee there are canon incidents for every single big name and most of the small ones that directly counter the ones you like

You may note I share a bunch of posts with things like “My Batman would never do this”, as opposed to “canon Batman would never do this”

Hell, on Batman specifically there are hundreds of beautifully put together posts talking about how the different canon runs get him wrong; I too prefer a Bruce Wayne who does genuinely care about his family and tries to protect them, but isn’t perfect or always right over the massive asshole elitist who just grunts and treats them like soldiers

Canon Batman slaps his kids around, it’s the meme that broke containment and you don’t have to like it or accept it as something your Batman would do!

But it’s still canon

Both versions have a massive well of canon support, and exist simultaneously in the multiverse

Every single characterization of a character is true and exists in the multiverse

And that is why the idea of a “canon version” of any DC character is utterly meaningless

TL;DR: write DC characters however the fuck you want and do not worry about it for more than 10 minutes together, that is what the paid DC writing staff do

There will be at least two pieces of canon media to back up whatever interpretation of the character you pick

Not everyone will like that characterization or agree with how you see the character, and that is all fine and good! But “canon” is meaningless in this context, neatly encapsulated by the “multiverse” explanation

Everything is canon, which means that nothing is canon

#dc characterization rant #i am a happy harlivy fan #i am not a dc fan #and tbh batman is actually the least interesting dc character to me #he’s just the example that everyone knows #lord death man remains the best dc character with music meister in a close second i take no bribes #tbh all my favourite comic rec posts have also included some runs or whole writers to avoid because the poster knows their shit #petty posting #this is what plays in my head every time anyone apologises for not knowing any comic canon #do not worry friends the paid writers don’t know the canon either #they don’t let that slow them down #superheroes are archetypes and everymen for a reason #have your favourite characterization for everyone! pick your best bits! #just remember that it’s your favourite #not the one true #i will read a billion rants about why you love one specific version #with all your favourite runs and bits and pieces and supporting arguments #but i especially enjoy the tea of ‘and this goddamn run is doing them WRONG’ 😏 #you gotta acknowledge that your fave is not the only canon #and apparently that is hard? for some people?

[lady-sci-fi]

There’s an extra layer to “DS9: Statistical Probabilities” that is kind of hidden, but adds a lot to it.

Julian and the Jack Pack’s plan of surrender to the Dominion relies upon one thing to make it in any way positive (other than possibly immediately saving lives through not fighting back). The idea that 200-ish years along the line after the Federation or the entire Alpha/Beta Quadrants are taken over, a rebellion will start with Earth as the main gathering point.

BASHIR: If we fight, there will be over nine hundred billion casualties. If we surrender, no one dies. Either way we're in for five generations of Dominion rule. Eventually a rebellion will form, centering on Earth. It'll spread, and within another generation, they'll succeed in conquering the Dominion. The Alpha Quadrant will unite and a new, stronger Federation will rule for thousands of years. Since we can't win this war, why don't we save as many lives as we can? I know it's difficult to accept. SISKO: I don't accept it. Your entire argument is based on a series of statistical probabilities and assumptions. BASHIR: They're not just assumptions.

But this assumption that there would be an opportunity for a rebellious uprising like that is a completely wrong one. This exact scenario is something we see Weyoun and Dukat discuss a few episodes before in “Sacrifice of Angels.”

DUKAT: We didn't defeat the Federation by being cautious. WEYOUN: We haven't defeated it yet. And even if we do, it's only the beginning. Holding on to a prize as vast as the Federation isn't going to be easy. It's going to require an enormous number of ships, a massive occupation army and constant vigilance. DUKAT: I look forward to it. WEYOUN: If you ask me, the key to holding the Federation is Earth. If there's going to be an organized resistance against us, its birthplace will be there. DUKAT: You could be right. WEYOUN: Then our first step is to eradicate its population. It's the only way. DUKAT: You can't do that. WEYOUN: Why not? DUKAT: Because! A true victory is to make your enemy see they were wrong to oppose you in the first place. To force them to acknowledge your greatness. WEYOUN: Then you kill them? DUKAT: Only if it's necessary. WEYOUN: I had no idea.

If the Dominion wins, however they do it, they know Earth is very important. It wouldn’t matter if Dukat and the Cardassians want to make everyone grovel at their feet and not kill them. The Dominion viewpoint would win out and Weyoun knows exactly what that means. In fact, he didn’t even realize being the “benevolent dictator” like Dukat wants could be an option, because that’s not how the Dominion works. To Weyoun and the Founders, either you join them without resistance or they deal with you with brutality and little mercy.

Near the end of Season 4 in “The Quickening”, Julian spent a month trying to cure a disease engineered by the Dominion to punish one planet of people who defied them. (And remember, Julian did not cure the disease for everyone, he only made it possible for future babies to not be born with it).

BASHIR: I'm a doctor, and I have access to sophisticated diagnostic equipment. TREVEAN: We had sophisticated equipment once. Do you think our world was always this way? Two centuries ago, we were no different from you. We built vast cities, travelled to neighbouring worlds. We believed nothing was beyond our abilities. We even thought we could resist the Dominion. I see you've heard of them. Then take care not to defy them or your people will pay the same price we did. The Jem'Hadar destroyed our world as an example to others. More than anything, the Dominion wanted my people to bear the mark of their defiance. So they brought us the Blight.

Julian saw first-hand what defeat or surrender to the Dominion would mean.  While we don’t know exactly what those people did to get that wrath, surely the Dominion would view the Federation and other Alpha and Beta Powers as much worse defiance.

If they were willing to kill a bunch of this planet’s population, then destroy them physically and mentally for all generations afterwards, imagine what else they have absolutely no moral problems with doing. I also doubt this treatment would only be used on Earth. The Dominion would know that other places are important, like Vulcan, Qonos, Romulus... any former major positions of power that they’ve defeated where a potential big uprising could happen.

While I can’t fault Julian and the Jack Pack for not having full understanding of the Dominion’s set of morality or what they do when it comes to defeated enemies while running the numbers and thinking of plans, Julian did have some practical experience with it. Julian got so caught up in it that he forgot that or didn’t think that would happen to them.

But that assumption that the Dominion would take over and essentially leave them alone enough for a successful rebellion to occur in 5-6 generations was a very dangerous one, and one we know was wrong.

(For further proof of this Dominion brutality, in “What You Leave Behind”, what’s their response to Damar’s rebellion going on a little too long for their liking? Bomb an entire city of Cardassians, who are as a majority group their allies, to the ground and threaten to do it again for punishment and motivation).

(Dialogue source: Chakoteya’s Transcripts)

#ds9 #Julian Bashir #Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #fanthoughts

[asachuu]

A lot of people are talking about Arthur’s age right now to the point even I know about it from under my rock, but instead of stating the obvious and simply assuming everyone is in on everything already, I’ll just ask this: what is actually so unbelievable about him being 27? I’ve heard folks say that it would mean he would be 15-16 at the time of joining his organization, which is indeed correct, but somehow, this comes as a surprise or something unacceptable, and I don’t understand why? The two literal fandom favorites, Dazai and Chuuya, met at fifteen years old when one was a mafia member already and the other joined at the same age, and no one seems to find that unbelievable?

Anyway, since I have my two cents on this matter, I have to shove the rest of this under the cut, but please bear with me here.

I presume people are mostly shocked for that reason, though do correct me if I’m wrong— I do see how it could be inconceivable to think of his whole entire background, memories, memoir and so on as being attributed to a 15-19 year old instead of someone far older, but if that’s due to any other reason than it simply not meeting expectations thanks to some former headcanons, I’m not too sure why. Obvious Fifteen parallels aside, it’s not as if BSD is some light-hearted series where characters going through incredibly harsh events we cannot even imagine have to be of legal age and in perfect circumstances to be able to handle it— I suppose some could be wondering about that aspect, but it would match up with the whole feel and plot of the story, and no part of it feels out of place. I’ll admit I used to believe Arthur was 36-37 at the time of his death as I didn’t know of his age either, but upon seeing he was a decade younger, I didn’t exactly think it to be nonsense for the sake of him being “too young”, and not to mention, this would also mirror his IRL counterpart, being 16 at the time of meeting Verlaine— which you absolutely could say is too young, considering the entire story between them, but it did happen, and BSD is based on the real-life authors after all— so I don’t see any argument against this which truly makes sense, all things considered.

That aside, I will say that Arthur’s canonical age specifically matters to me, unlike some other characters’ ages, and perhaps my reasoning could be a shared one that contributes to some of this confusion, and that is because it does change the perspective of Fifteen/Stormbringer to quite an extent. I had a whole post drafted about this already a week ago, but it seems to be even more relevant now, so I’ll just throw a part of it here and the rest in a reblog to not derail too much.

In my opinion, if one is to read Arthur’s memoir from Stormbringer, it feels much different to think of it as written by an adult as opposed to a teenager, purely because of its content— the character who has no family to return to, no loved ones or friends or even personal feelings he is allowed to have due to his job, the one who is overjoyed to finally have a partner whom he could make any difference to and who is already prepared to be forgotten after his death anyway, is not actually fully grown up, which maybe some are having a hard time accepting, I’m not too certain.

To me, this view on the story is indeed a lot sadder, especially if one is to consider his only partner betrayed him at 19 instead of whatever other theory could be in place, alongside all else I won’t be mentioning here as I believe I wrote a long enough essay about those two as is, but I don’t think any of it is strange or odd-sounding. If I may, in my personal opinion, I actually believe it makes far more sense, and not because it once again would align with his IRL counterpart even here— no, rather considering his behavior in Fifteen of desperately trying to find a way to remember his best yet only friend, likely because he hadn’t had anyone by his side from such a young age and clearly latched onto the first person he could have had alongside him, which could be a fully applicable theory even if you hadn’t seen the pair in any unrequited romantic contexts that could have been his motive. Does it make the story far more sorrowful? Yes. But does it make the story nonsense and unbelievable? Absolutely not. At this point, I would be so much more surprised if he wound up actually being 37 as I and what I suspect is a decent amount of others guessed at first, because in that case, I would somewhat understand the other side to my arguments— I still wouldn’t agree with them as I never did, even in the past when I didn’t have any extra information, but I could potentially see where they’re coming from at the very least.

I’ll just briefly acknowledge that perhaps some saw the memoir implying Arthur being more of Paul’s mentor at the time, being much older and wiser than him as would be expected, but I don’t think this was ever anyhow highlighted in the novels to make it clear that Arthur could be considered as such entirely— it was only said he would be the one to raise him, which I admit would not leave me assuming the given character is 15, but all things considered, it still aligns with everything above. I also have to acknowledge that in Fifteen, he is referred to as an “older” member of the Port Mafia, but I believe that refers to the eight years he spent in it, and was not meant to be an indicator of his actual age at the time, although compared to Chuuya and Dazai back then, perhaps 27 could indeed be seen as older in a very relative sense. Still, neither of these things are a direct contradiction to his supposed age, and while I’m not here to “prove” he’s 27 or 37 or whatever else one could assume, since I don’t have any other source of information other than the S3 guidebook and don’t have any reason to come up with alternative theories, hence why I choose to trust it unless official sources state otherwise, I’m only here because it surprises me how many people are shocked by this, as if many other characters in BSD weren’t in the same exact age range at the time of drastic or serious events happening around them/to them. I assume that, for some, this is merely something which goes against their personal headcanons or is just wholly unexpected, with nothing more in-depth sitting behind it, at whom this post is not aimed whatsoever, but I saw some saying it doesn’t even fit into canon at all, which…how, exactly? Because I don’t see it at all.

#text post #bungou stray dogs #bsd fifteen #bsd arthur rimbaud #randou #bsd stormbringer #bsd storm bringer #asachuu

[raccoon-eyed-rebel]

Part 15 - Dress rehearsal

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Part 14 -- Part 16

Pairing: Sherlock x ofc

Summary: Sherlock and Elena can't seem to say goodbye to each other - even after spending the whole day together.

Warnings: SMUT, NSFW, 18+, MINORS DNI, Is it finally happening? fingering, oral (f receiving), thigh riding... Think that's it? Sherlock being Sherlock...

Word count: 5.9k

A/N: So yeah. Even I couldn't find another good reason to interrupt whatever was going down again - that would just be cruel. That being said, this wasn't entirely the direction I had planned for them to go in... There was definitely a playbook for this chapter and this wasn't it, I can tell you. ENJOY!

@geralts-yenn @deandoesthingstome @peaches1958 @keanureevesisbae @fvckinghenrycavill

“You were fantastic, Elena,” Sherlock said as they walked out of the theater. Dress rehearsal had ended, which meant they were now only a day away from the New Year’s concert, meaning Elena was beginning to experience something of a nervous breakdown. Sherlock, for the life of him, couldn’t imagine why; she was very good and thoroughly prepared. From his perspective, nothing could possibly go wrong. Elena was of a wholly different opinion, reliving the memories of that one time in primary school she had become violently sick before a performance. Those memories refused to fade no matter how long ago it was, and no matter how many successful performances she had tried to use to overwrite them. She was largely past her nerves when playing with a quartet, because over time it had become familiar, but this would be her first time ever playing with a full orchestra and the novelty of the experience frightened her to no end. Thus, Sherlock’s efforts in trying to convince her that she was good and everything would be fine were wasted, which is why he ceased them. 

Sherlock Holmes was not the kind of man to try and convince someone who wouldn’t be convinced, Elena had learned, and since she wasn’t one to fish for compliments, she didn’t mind that Sherlock didn’t turn to what she considered to be ‘debased flattery’. He only ever attempted to calm her nerves with logic and reason, and - though his endeavors were fruitless - she appreciated that greatly. After the sixth or so attempt, logic simply dictated that it was time for him to stop trying. 

“Suit yourself,” Sherlock said as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. Now, as opposed to his words, which did nothing to calm Elena’s nerves whatsoever, the physical contact did make her feel more comfortable. The weight of his arm on her shoulders had a strangely calming effect. 

As always after rehearsals, he walked her home. It had started shortly after they had begun rehearsing together; the days had started to become shorter, and Sherlock had expressed his concerns about her walking home alone in the dark. At the time, he’d had no idea that the main reason for his worry had been his infatuation with her, he had simply brushed it off as a gentlemanly regard for her safety, and had convinced himself, though only partially successfully, that he would have felt the same way about any other female friend - not that he had any. Same as last week, he lingered when they arrived at the place Elena shared with three others, neither of them wanting to say goodbye to the other. They strongly disliked being apart, that much had become clear over the past two weeks. 

“Sherlock, I was planning on making pasta, do you want to join me for dinner?” Her voice was almost trembling when she asked. Luckily, Sherlock accepted her invitation - though it was primarily based on the fact that he couldn’t find a logical argument not to; he hadn’t had dinner and he liked Italian food. And of course there was the emotional argument of allowing himself more time in her presence, but he was still getting used to giving in to those feelings, and therefore glad he could in this case supplement them with reason. 

The door swung open behind them before Elena had even reached for her keys, and her roommate Kate appeared. 

“I thought I heard you standing around here, talking, Ellie!” Elena jumped when she heard the unexpected noise behind her. Sherlock noticed that she spoke with a profound drawl to her voice, revealing her Southern heritage. The accent was very different from Sy’s, and Sherlock found himself utterly unable to narrow down its origins, which irked him. 

“Katie! Oh my god, you almost gave me a heart attack!” She took a deep breath. “This is…” There was no time for her to finish that sentence, because Kate already had her eyes on him, wide with surprise. “Sherlock, obviously.” 

“Yes,” Elena said as her cheeks slowly colored red. She couldn’t quite articulate what made her nervous all of a sudden, but she was fairly sure there was a part of her that was afraid Sherlock would think her roommate prettier than her.

“Lovely to meet you, Kate,” Sherlock said. He had heard many stories about Elena’s roommates over the weeks they had been rehearsing together, most of them good, and he wasn’t necessarily nervous about meeting them. 

“We’ve met before, Sherlock,” Kate said with a big smile. Sherlock frowned, not in embarrassment over having forgotten the encounter, per se, but mostly in annoyance of having his memory fail him in this moment. The surprise on Elena’s face, however, was mostly just funny - which would explain why Kate laughed at it. Sherlock took a moment to take Kate in while he searched every crevice of his brain for a hint as to who she was and where they had met. She was a blonde, and pretty but not remarkably so. The most striking thing about her was her height, which rivaled his own. Elena had mentioned something about her being on the volleyball team, which would explain why he didn’t know her, but certainly was no clue as to why he had met her before. To say he wouldn’t be caught dead at a volleyball game would be an overstatement, but it certainly was more Mike’s or Sy’s territory. Or maybe Charles’ or Leon’s. 

“Charles,” he muttered out loud as he chuckled, “you… know… Charles…” 

“That’s a very polite way of putting it,” Kate laughed as she stepped aside to let Sherlock and Elena step into the apartment. 

“I didn’t want you to think it was a judgment,” Sherlock said matter-of-factly, which made Kate laugh even harder. 

“I couldn’t give a damn even if you were judging me, honey,” she said as she raised two hands to his face, but Elena stopped him. 

“Tone down the Southern affections, sweetie,” she said. 

“I can’t touch your man, Ellie?” Kate teased. She was well aware that there was probably a better reason than Elena’s jealousy - which Kate knew wasn’t something that actually existed - to keep her hands off Sherlock. 

“Not if he doesn’t want you to, and he doesn’t like to be touched by people he doesn’t know.” It was Elena’s turn to speak in ways that left no room for discussion. Sherlock seemed pleasantly surprised upon hearing the remark - he always found it endearing when she unpromptedly showed him a glimpse of how well she knew him. It was true; he did indeed prefer to limit physical contact between himself and people he was poorly acquainted with - and most often also with people with whom he was better acquainted, though Elena was doing a stellar job at convincing him the occasional friendly touch wasn’t so bad, either.

“Alright, sugar, I’ll try to remember.” Kate had an exceptionally friendly smile that would make people feel at home instantly. Unless these people were anything like Sherlock, of course, who felt very out of place in this house he had never visited, with people he had never met. 

“Remy and Larissa are out, they should be back some time after dinner, I have a study date to get to!” There was definitely a suggestive wink at the end of that sentence that made Elena roll her eyes as Kate flung a bag over her shoulder and prepared to step out. 

“Use protection!” Elena yelled as Kate pulled the door shut behind her. When she turned around, she was met with an adorably confused look. 

“She said she had a study date, right?” Elena could barely contain her laughter. 

“Sherlock, do you remember how our last study date ended?” She said, letting out a short chuckle. Sherlock couldn’t help but be amused at his own foolishness - something he wasn’t usually able to forgive himself at all. The reminder had another pleasant effect, namely that the memory of that rather memorable date was pulled to the front of his mind and replayed as he followed Elena to the kitchen. 

It was a nice apartment; clean and only a tad messy, but that conclusion was drawn mostly based on the abundance of clutter Sherlock himself wouldn’t feel inclined to keep around. Some would consider it the pot calling the kettle black, as practically anyone would readily accuse Sherlock of allowing his own room to fall into disarray, though he saw a perfectly logical system in whatever August or Geralt every now and again called ‘chaos’. He lost himself in thought as Elena gathered ingredients for dinner from the fridge and cabinets, only to be yanked away from them violently when a jar of olives fell to the kitchen counter. 

“I’m sorry, it slipped,” Elena said as she checked whether the jar had survived the fall - it had. 

“Are you alright?” Sherlock asked as he watched her hand tremble when she took a knife from the drawer and placed it on a cutting board. 

“Perfectly,” she said, smiling kindly. It wasn’t a lie; she was feeling alright, it was just that four hours of rehearsal had left her hands rather sore - mostly her left. 

“Elena, let me,” Sherlock said. One would be right to assume that Sherlock was facing the same issues - namely that his left hand was particularly worn out from a very lengthy practice, and Elena was of course quick to point this out. 

“You are right, darling,” Sherlock said without much thought, “but my left hand isn’t my dominant one.” She knew he was right, and that her hand was indeed far too tired to safely handle anything sharp right now. Sherlock took the knife and started dicing tomatoes, Elena was too distraught to protest his actions. 

They cooked dinner together and used their time eating to talk about the past day - even though they spent the entirety of it together. 

“It was a shame they moved the rehearsal up,” Elena said in between bites. Dress rehearsal should have been from seven to ten at night, but the conductor had decided at the last minute that it should be moved to the afternoon - and twice as long. That meant Elena and Sherlock had been forced to move their museum date to the morning, which was unfortunate, but inevitable if they wanted to go at all. 

“I still had a great time,” Sherlock said as he let go of his glass of wine to put his hand over Elena’s. She smiled at him. She’d had a great time, too, and she was very glad the day wasn’t over yet. 

“Is the wine okay?” It was absolutely nothing special, just the house’s favorite: the cheapest supermarket wine she and her housemates didn’t find absolutely disgusting. 

“It’s decent,” Sherlock said as he laughed. It wasn’t a lie, per se, the wine was just that: decent, but it certainly deserved no higher praise than that. 

When the dishes were done, Elena looked at Sherlock as she stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around him. He answered her hug greedily, as though he hadn’t felt her touch in weeks. 

“Movie?” Elena asked as she looked at him. She didn’t wait for an answer before she took his hand and pulled him towards the door. He followed her to her room with no objections - and why should he object? He had a fairly good idea of what was going to happen, and he would in no way be able to present any kind of argument against it, logical or otherwise.

“So, this is me,” she said shyly as she gestured around the room. Sherlock took note of her locking the door - it was strange to him; he never felt the need to lock their doors at his place, people usually had the common decency to knock. And if they didn’t… Well he wasn’t quite sure there was an official protocol in place, but individual instances had involved a lot of yelling, cursing and throwing things at people’s heads.

“I can tell,” Sherlock replied to her question - and he meant it. She looked at him quizzically, which made him chuckle. “In a good way. It’s very… you.” He meant that, too, although it probably was a rather awkward way to phrase it. The room was tidy, clean and bright. Her bed was hidden from sight by an open shelving unit that held mostly plants and books. Elena laughed as she dragged Sherlock around it, to the bottom edge of the bed. To her surprise, he was the first to sit down. It was a bit awkward to crawl up to the top of the bed and get comfortable, but she valued the privacy the shelves provided too much to put it anywhere else. It surely didn’t help that she was wearing a skirt. The pair settled on a movie both had already seen, but didn’t mind watching again - or not watching. 

“Why the movie,” Sherlock mumbled against the skin of Elena’s neck after a few minutes, “I mean, at this point it’s obvious we will largely ignore it, so why the pretense?”

“It’s good background noise,” Elena answered. Sherlock being this clear about his intentions for the evening sent shivers down her spine, and she reveled in the excitement and anticipation at finally getting to finish what they started the other night. “Besides, I’m a woman. If I’m too eager about hooking up with a man, people may think I’m…” Her voice trailed off, not because she wasn’t sure how to finish it, but rather because she resented the fact that she had to explain this in the first place. 

“I never really understood why that was a bad thing to begin with,” Sherlock spoke slowly, “I, for one, am glad you’re more experienced than I am. Although it sometimes intimidates me a bit.” Elena turned her head in surprise upon hearing his words. She had never imagined he would be intimidated by her past, especially since - despite the limited practice they had had together - Sherlock outranked her previous partners by a landslide. Perhaps the rose colored glasses of amorous infatuation were to blame, or perhaps it was the ease and comfort with which they had been getting to know each other, or even the excitement she felt over being the first with whom he got to experience all these new things, but one thing was certain; she looked forward to and thoroughly enjoyed every minute they spent together. 

“There’s nothing to be intimidated by,” Elena whispered softly as she turned around in his arms, “you’re by far the best kisser I’ve come across.” 

“Am I now?” He was clearly amused at your confession. “Because I feel I could use some more practice…” 

Naturally, he didn’t have to ask her twice. Their lips touched, the taste of wine still faintly present on them, becoming more pronounced when Elena parted her lips and allowed his tongue to slip past them. Sherlock surprised her when he pulled her on top of him. She chuckled softly as his hands slipped underneath the fabric of her sweater, in no hurry to take it off per se, but clearly desperate to feel her skin. A devious idea took hold of her and she sat up on her knees, still straddling him, grabbing his hands and pulling them off her. 

“Shall I take this off?” Elena said, locking eyes with Sherlock, warning him to keep his hands to himself without speaking a single word. She didn’t wait for him to answer her. Instead, she toyed with the hem of her sweater, pulling it up at an agonizingly slow pace. Sherlock’s tongue darted out unconsciously to wet his lips as he allowed his eyes to wander over the area of exposed skin that grew so devastatingly slowly.

His hands rested on her thighs, long fingers fiddling with the hem of her skirt in a manner that resembled impatience, but wasn’t quite that. It was mostly excitement that had taken hold of him, the evidence of which she could no doubt feel beneath her. A playful roll of her hips confirmed his suspicions, and the grunt it elicited made Elena chuckle. She took her time taking her sweater off, starting the whole process over again when Sherlock raised his hands to touch her. He showed her he had enough of her antics when she finally pulled the sweater over her head. 

“Take the skirt off, too, while you’re at it,” he growled. The words pleasantly surprised Elena, and she was more than happy to oblige. Once she had discarded her skirt, Sherlock shot up, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing his mouth to the skin between her breasts with a sigh, spinning her around so she landed with her back on the mattress, drawing a high-pitched squeal from Elena. She moaned when he pulled away, sitting up on his knees between her legs. He was intimidating like this; towering over her, his silhouette clearly defined by his broad shoulders.

She bit her lip as she looked up at him, and moaned softly as he ran his hands lazily up and down her thighs. They were still covered by the tights she was wearing, but Sherlock was quick to help Elena as she peeled those off, too. It was a bit uncomfortable, being subjected to his gaze knowing that nothing ever escaped it, fearing her every one of her flaws was now on display for him to behold, but at the same time the look in his eyes told her everything she needed to push those feelings aside; this man was absolutely smitten. He would find no flaws no matter how much time she awarded him to think it over. 

The lingerie she was wearing was revealing - more so than Sherlock had expected - and it cost him great effort to tear his eyes away from it. He only managed to do so when he felt her hands cover his, pulling at them, no doubt in an attempt to bring him close to her, but he held off. Elena clearly disagreed with his reluctance to close the distance between their bodies, and sat up, scrambling to get up on her knees. She pulled his face to hers for another kiss, softly sucking on his bottom lip, and took advantage of their position to get Sherlock closer to her current state of undress. As always, Elena delighted in the feeling of his skin on hers - so much so that she was almost unaware of the hands that found their way to her back, where they undid the clasp of her bra, this time without any problems whatsoever. 

“How?” Elena asked, eyes wide with surprise. The advantage her experience gave her over him seemed to shrink every day. 

“Danielle gave me a rather helpful explanation when I asked after walking in on a conversation between her and Mike,” Sherlock said plainly, “well, conversation… She was poking fun at him for not being able to do it, either.” Elena laughed, which turned into a squeal as Sherlock let himself fall forward onto the mattress, dragging her along with him. He spun them around so that she fell half on top of him. 

“Now where were we?” Her mouth crashed onto his before he had good and well finished his sentence, her hands eagerly undoing his trousers. There couldn’t have been clearer signs of impatience, though Sherlock couldn’t quite figure out what the hurry was. Nevertheless, he yielded to her touch, and soon he found himself only slightly less naked than the last time they had been together. 

Elena laid her forehead against his while she gently stroked his chest, running her fingers tenderly through the coarse hair on it, luring a satisfied moan from Sherlock’s parted lips. His hand crept up to her neck as he pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was soft and slow, but something pressing crawled underneath the surface of it, which made it even more surprising that he broke the kiss. He barely lifted his lips off hers; only just far enough to be able to speak clearly.

“I was afraid this would get boring,” he whispered softly, his lips brushing against hers as he did, “but I can’t seem to get enough of you.” Elena first bit her own lip when she heard his words, but soon pulled Sherlock’s in between her teeth, instead. His words set alight in her something she had purposely and quite skillfully kept under control, but all that effort was wasted now; her body was begging for him so loudly she could no longer govern or ignore it.

Elena kissed him with the raw passion she had been hiding from him, finally allowing it to take over completely, trusting he would stop her if she threatened to cross a line - hoping he wouldn’t have to stop her at all. Sherlock noticed the change all too well, and - much to his own surprise, as well as Elena’s - he leaned into it, instead of shying away from it like he had expected he would. His fingers trailed from the side of her face, down her neck, slowing down as they moved further down to her breast. The other hand slid down to rest at the small of her back, fingers tentatively playing with the waistband of her underwear.

She moaned into his mouth when he gently pinched her nipple, only getting louder - much louder - when he carefully rolled the sensitive bud between his fingers. Her hips rocked into him - unconsciously at first, but as she discovered that it provided her aching core with the friction it so desperately begged for, she found herself grinding her hips into his thigh purposely. Sherlock carefully observed her movements and the sounds of pleasure that spilled from her with an interest bordering on obscene fascination, or so he would describe it. Soft, wet kisses along her jawline, the sharp contrast of teeth softly biting her earlobe, the same repeated down her neck - it all added to her bliss. Moans and gasps sprang freely from her mouth now that it was no longer obscured by his, and Sherlock was able to gauge her arousal just about perfectly from them. 

The hand he held on her back slipped beneath the fabric of her underwear, fingers digging into the flesh of her ass, kneading it. He guided the rhythm of her hips on his thigh, his other hand joining the first, while his mouth took hold of her breast. Elena cried out in frustration at the overwhelming combination of sensations. The way his tongue worked the sensitive skin of her nipple was almost enough to send her over the edge, and her hands twisted into his hair to pull him closer. A soft graze of his teeth was her undoing. She screamed his name as she came, and rode out her climax on his leg. Sherlock’s response - which Elena had to admit she found quite adorable - was to laugh softly in disbelief at what had happened.

What he felt was not a sense of pride - as far as he was concerned, he wasn’t entitled to it, as he had done nothing to help her - but rather a surge of affection, and a thorough appreciation of the intimacy of the moment. He was not awarded much time to consider matters, as his face was pulled up and Elena’s lips found his, capturing them in a passionate kiss that was the nail in the coffin for Sherlock’s self-restraint. He turned them around again, leaving Elena once again in awe; she simply couldn’t believe how strong he really was - or perhaps she kept forgetting on purpose, just so her body would keep reacting the way it did every time she was reminded of it. 

“I want to see you.” Sherlock’s voice was hoarse and his breaths were heavy as he hooked his fingers around the waistband of her panties. The look in his eyes begged for permission, which she gladly gave him, and within a few short moments, she was completely naked in front of him. Her experience allowed her the confidence to spread her legs, a teasing smile lingering on her lips. A part of her hoped that he would become ever so slightly flustered at the sight of her, exposed in front of him like that, but he didn’t. The way he bit his lip as he took in her naked form sent shivers down her spine. He lunged forward, crouching over her to press another kiss to her lips, his thighs against hers, pushing her legs further apart. Much to her surprise, his mouth left hers to explore once again the skin of her neck, and then her chest, but he didn’t stop there… His trail of kisses continued until from slightly below her navel, pleading eyes looked up to her, and the only thing she could respond with was a hand on his head that provided slight pressure to encourage him to keep going. 

He continued pressing kisses on her skin, traveling all the way to her leg. His soft lips, sharp teeth and warm tongue took turns on the sensitive skin of her inner thigh, as two cautious fingers hesitantly explored her. Once again he used the moans she let out as his guide, taking note of her reactions as he went along; the sharp gasp when he carefully pushed a finger into her wet core - or the even sharper one when he later added a second, the moans that followed his soft nibbles on her leg, the way her muscles twitched when his thumb brushed past her clit. Sherlock considered for a moment how fortunate he was that she was loud, because it was hard for him to concentrate. The general novelty of the experience had every nerve in his body once again feeling like a live wire, and the accumulation of sensations diminished his usual mental capacity. It was better to have clear instructions at such times - and by God did she deliver on that front. The least subtle hint came when she weaved her fingers into his hair and gently nudged him closer. Whether he intended to tease her by holding off for a bit, or he waited in hesitation or due to nervousness, he didn’t know, but her voice cut clearly through the fog in his brain when she begged him to progress. 

“Sherlock, please.” It was a simple request, and her voice was dripping with lust, which made it entirely irresistible to him, and so he obliged. 

It didn’t immediately seem as though he did it gladly: his free hand trembled slightly as he wrapped it around her leg and let it rest on her stomach. Elena squeezed it encouragingly, biting her lip and using her eyes to beg him to continue. Slowly and hesitantly, he dragged his tongue through her folds. Her reaction overwhelmed him, and soon he succumbed to his feelings. Overcome with lust, he wrapped both of his arms around her thighs and pulled her closer. The unexpected action made her gasp, and her fingers once again found their way into his hair as his tongue settled at her clit and began to work the little pearl with the same diligence and dedication he used for everything he even remotely cared about, still using her moans to guide him. Her hips rolled against him gently, though his stern grasp on her legs limited her movement quite a bit, and he tried his best to settle into the rhythm of her movements.

“Oh, God, right there.” Sherlock immediately took the advice to heart, not straying from that particular spot again, relishing the needy cries Elena let out as he gently licked and sucked the sensitive bundle of nerves, making her squirm and whine more and louder with every passing second. When she began muttering expletives under her breath, he chuckled lowly, the vibrations of his voice seemingly worsening her situation even further. Her cursing eventually became pleas for him to continue, and Sherlock slowly felt her muscles tense beneath his fingers. 

“Don’t stop, I’m so close,” she begged, and he happily obliged. Elena’s words certainly hadn’t been a lie; it was only seconds later that she came undone on his tongue. Sherlock chuckled at the feeling of her clenching muscles beneath his fingertips, the contorted expression of pure bliss on her face - and the fact that she screamed his name certainly didn’t hurt one bit. After the last surge of ecstasy ebbed away, she had to beg him to stop. He heeded her request, though not gladly; on his face lay an expression of sadness for only a short moment before his lips morphed languidly into a smile.

“That was amazing,” she gasped when he came back up and laid down next to her. She gratefully accepted the invitation of his extended arm and nestled into his side. They both shivered; the room was quite chilly without clothes or the literal ‘heat of the moment’ to keep them both warm, so they opted to wrap themselves in the covers and the other’s arms. Elena kissed Sherlock softly. “I’m impressed.” 

“Are you, now?” Oh, how she longed to wipe that smug grin off his stupid and devilishly handsome face. To her surprise, it disappeared on its own, quickly replaced by a more modest and - dare she say - insecure expression. “It wasn’t bad for a first time, you mean?”

“It wasn’t bad in general, Sherlock,” she chuckled softly, “but for a first time, it was absolutely fantastic.” His cheeks gradually colored a deeper red as he looked away and bit his lip. It looked as though he might say something, but words seemed to elude him, so he just shrugged, instead. 

“I’m serious,” she said in between soft kisses pressed to his clavicle, “not many men can even find the right spot on the first try, let alone make a woman scream like that.”

He looked at her in shock, and it was her first instinct to think it was because of the plain language she used, but when he spoke, she found it was something else entirely. 

“Well, they might consider opening a biology book every now and again,” Sherlock said with a slightly sour edge to his voice, “or getting their eyesight checked.” Elena laughed. She found the moments where Sherlock’s ego shone through - though his remarks were always genuine and his confidence was always deserved enough to not come across as boastful - utterly delightful. He was, for all intents and purposes, as stubborn as a mule, and absolutely refused to attempt things if he wasn’t completely sure he could handle them, which inevitably led to an abundance of successful first tries - and a thorough lack of unsuccessful ones. His arrogance was usually inadvertent, and hardly ever of the ‘look at me’ variety, but rather often still - albeit unintentionally - a dig at others’ expense - and often a very deserved one, at that. With a wide smile adorning her face, she shook her head slightly. Sherlock laid his forehead against hers, a hint of mischief clear in his gaze.

“What?” His tone was innocent, his eyes were everything but. “It’s literally right -” His fingers wormed their way between her legs. “there.” Elena’s mouth fell open when he gently pressed down on her clit. “Exactly where they tell you it’s going to be.” He dragged his fingers around it in slow circles, leaving her gasping for air, clutching at his wrist. “Come here.” The kiss was fantastic. Raw and deep, and drenched with the taste of her juices - Elena felt like she was about to faint. He held her tight to his chest while he skillfully coaxed another orgasm from her with his fingers, and she was left in complete and utter awe at his unexpected proficiency.

“Sherlock!” She squealed, pulling his hand away when she finished. “You have to stop, I can’t take any more right now, please.” She murmured the words against his neck, her chest heaving to the rhythm of her heavy breaths. His head disappeared into the crook of her neck, softly kissing her again, and she sighed. It was a sound of elation, one that echoed through his head and caused goosebumps to erupt all over his skin. For a few moments, he held her, thinking about all that had happened, and as he did so, he felt his eyes drift closed. 

“I could fall asleep like this,” he murmured softly as he gently stroked the skin of her back. She hummed, deeply content with the prospect of sleeping next to him. 

“Well, I won’t stop you,” she said, sounding equally as fatigued as he did - perhaps even more so. 

“I have to go home,” his voice was hoarse when he said it, and when she looked into his eyes, there was a deep sadness in them that all but broke her heart. 

“Why?” She was fairly sure that the sorrow in his gaze was mirrored in her own. 

“I may not get nervous before performances,” he explained, “but I do have a ritual…” Naturally, she understood immediately that this was very likely to be one of those things Sherlock was very particular about. She was reluctant to let him go, not ready to say goodbye to him and the warmth and intimacy they shared. 

“What about tomorrow,” she asked suddenly, “tomorrow night, I mean. Will you stay over after the concert?” He considered her offer for a moment, leaving Elena in horrible suspense until he finally gave her an answer. 

“I will gladly spend the night with you, Elena, but I have one favor to ask of you,” his voice was hesitant, and he bit his lip nervously. 

“Well, what is it?” She lifted a hand to his cheek and caressed it softly. She chuckled at the contrast between the way his jaw felt now versus when he had picked her up this morning. 

“Would it be okay to stay at my house, instead?” His inquiry seemed to make him feel uncomfortable, and Elena reassured him he had absolutely no reason to feel ashamed about what he was asking. 

“Would that make you feel more comfortable?” He responded with a nod. Sherlock was sure the familiar environment would help to settle his nerves about the matter. Of course he was overjoyed he would get to spend a whole night with her, but if he was going to face the scorn of anyone’s roommates the next morning, he’d honestly rather they be his own. He studied her face for signs of ridicule, though the bigger part of him was sure he wouldn’t find any. After all, he wouldn’t be here with her if she were the kind of person to mock him for his quirks and unusual behaviors, but he was reminded ever so cruelly by the tiniest bit of insecurity that had etched itself into his brain, that he could never be completely sure of what was on her mind or in hear heart. 

“It would.” He couldn’t bear to look at her as he said the words. 

“Your place it is, then.” Shortly after their conversation, he got dressed and left. Elena was left behind slightly dazed, and it took her a minute to gather her thoughts and really think about the events of the evening - most of which she did back in her bed with her hand placed firmly where she missed Sherlock’s so dearly. After a few rounds of careful consideration, she got up again. From a box on the shelves over her headboard, she grabbed another box and threw it into her bag. Just in case. 

-> Part 16

#sherlock x ofc #sherlock holmes x ofc #hc sherlock #henry cavill sherlock holmes #sherlock holmes #sherlock holmes smut #sherlock holmes fanfic #henrycavill fanfic #henry cavill characters #henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Susan Kelley

Published: May 2, 2018

Colleges and universities across the country are struggling with the question of who decides what is acceptable speech on campus. When does a controversial topic become hate speech? When should it be allowed as free speech?

Two Cornell researchers say psychological science’s extensive study of bias offers an important lens through which to view these conflicts, as we strive to understand and reduce them.

There is no alternative to free speech, say co-authors Stephen Ceci and Wendy Williams in “Who Decides What Is Acceptable Speech on Campus? Why Restricting Free Speech Is Not the Answer.” Their analysis appeared May 2 in Perspectives in Psychological Science as the lead article in the issue.

“There is no alternative to free speech, because every controversial topic has a substantial group of people who view it as hate speech,” said Ceci, the Helen L. Carr Professor of Developmental Psychology. “If we define unacceptable speech in terms of topics students say should be banned because they make them feel marginalized or uncomfortable, then we remove all controversial topics from consideration.”

Added Williams, professor of human development: “Feeling discomfort and angst at hearing words is not a legal reason to shut down other people’s rights to say those things.”

Since the 1950s, psychological science has demonstrated that many types of bias can prevent opposing sides from accepting the validity of each other’s arguments, the authors say.

Selective perception makes opponents on an issue literally see things differently. In 1954, researchers showed a film of a 1951 football game – Princeton versus Dartmouth, well-known for its competitive, rough play – to two groups: one of Princeton fans and the other of Dartmouth boosters. Each team’s supporters saw the majority of flagrant violations as having been committed by opposing players.

For people with selective bias, “it’s not just that they interpret their perceptions differently; they actually see different things,” Ceci said.

In “myside” bias, people look for evidence that supports their opinions and ignore or downgrade evidence that contradicts them. “Blind-spot bias comes from deep identification with a cause. We believe we are especially enlightened, while our opponents’ affiliation with the opposite side leads them to be biased,” Ceci said. Similarly, naïve realism makes people feel their views are grounded in reality but their opponents’ are not.

These and many other biases explain why a sizable percentage of students favor banning nearly every controversial topic, the authors said.

For example, a Cato Institute survey of 3,000 Americans with university experience found:

40 percent would ban a speaker who says men on average are better than women at math;

51 percent would ban claims that all white people are racist;

49 percent would ban statements that Christians are backward and brainwashed;

49 percent would ban speech that criticizes police;

41 percent would ban speakers who say undocumented immigrants should be deported;

74 percent said universities should cancel speakers if students threaten violent protest;

19 percent said violence is justified to stifle speakers who might make others uncomfortable;

and 51 percent said it was OK to prevent others from hearing a speaker.

“In such a climate, the heckler’s veto reigns supreme and any expression that is offensive to any subgroup on campus would be banned,” Williams said.

College experiences should involve challenging our beliefs, even when those experiences go beyond our comfort level, and no campus group has the right to determine for the entire community what can be discussed, the authors said.

Universities can take several steps to help students avoid the biases that prevent them from valuing other points of view and to reduce extremist views and confrontations, they said.

Just as colleges require that freshmen understand codes of conduct for sexual harassment, plagiarism and intoxication, they could require freshmen to understand the differences between free speech and hate speech, between First Amendment protections and speech codes, and the meaning of “evidence.”

Role-playing exercises could be woven into controversial seminars in which supporters of each side are asked to switch sides. And universities could organize civil debates on controversial topics.

Students should be made to understand they are entering a place that believes deeply in the importance of dialogue and free speech, Ceci said.

“Free speech isn’t just for opinions that we all share. That kind of speech doesn’t need protecting,” he said. “It’s for expressions that can be vile and hateful and disgusting. That has to be part of the cultural understanding.”

#Susan Kelley #Cornell University #free speech #freedom of speech #academic freedom #academic integrity #censorship #speech codes #hate speech #religion is a mental illness

[roobylavender]

do you believe Bruce is emotionally abusive? ik fans prioritise physical abuse and ultimately ignore emotional abuse tactics like parentification etc because it’s not “that bad”. I don’t believe Dick ever resents Bruce for letting him be robin (he’s grateful for it) , but in ntt he mostly resents him for being emotionally closed off, and rejecting him as a partner. Bruce worries for his kids safety so he pushes the whole “if you’re not perfect you’re dead” mentality onto Dick which ultimately is harmful to him. He’ll never regret being a hero but the rift between the two isn’t just a “we want different things” scenario but more that they’re incapable of giving the other what they want.

bruce being emotionally closed off from dick is what’s revisionist about that version of canon though. i think bruce can be bad at communicating sometimes esp when he’s deeply pained (like in knightfall, for example) but for the most part he and dick are shown to have great communication for decades before new teen titans and the adjacent post crisis starlin canon starts to rewrite that dynamic into something else entirely. per that version of canon i do believe he’s emotionally abusive but it’s not a version of canon i particularly appreciate bc it requires overriding the dynamic they had previously where they could certainly be prone to disagree at times but bruce was nonetheless willing to have an open and understanding conversation with dick about whatever the disagreement was. even the whole idea that bruce is responsible for dick believing that he has to be perfect or he has to be dead is one that new teen titans cements (or that issue of batman where bruce makes dick quit and jason is introduced thereafter)

i get that it’s easy to take new teen titans as gospel bc it is in essence the textbook source for dick but i think there should be some awareness too of how it twists that relationship between them and not necessarily for the better. i’m not opposed to bruce having faults he has to answer for. i absolutely agree he’s not cognizant enough of the complexes dick develops as a result of wanting to be seen as an equal, and thereby can’t realize the effect it has on dick for him to still be protective and fearful even if it’s ultimately out of goodwill and love. and there’s also the fact that even if he gives dick the space he desires to lead his own life it doesn’t mean he should be hesitant to reach out bc he’s afraid he’ll overstep by doing so, as a parent he should reaffirm his love for dick regularly regardless of knowing he might get some pushback bc dick is growing into his own (again, knightfall is a really superb example of this). but i also think those are tensions you can wholeheartedly explore without rendering bruce into a controlling and abusive figure, and i’m not sure who it benefits to write bruce as such in the long run

some of dick’s problems have to be his own, and he’ll never escape bruce’s shadow if the only source point of issues in his life is his relationship with bruce. that’s something i would actually apply to the robins at large. hardly any of them are allowed to explore problems entirely unique to themselves and i think that’s in large part bc writers simultaneously portray a mildly to explicitly abusive bruce at their leisure while refusing to ever actually address the elephant in the room that is literally of their own creation. a lot of people believe the bruce shouldn’t be an abuser argument is framed entirely as a resistance to bruce’s character assassination and for me i can admit that’s part of it, but a more pertinent part of it should also be the fact that bruce being written as an abuser is what truly chains his children to him forever to the point that they can never grow beyond that abuse bc writers refuse to allow them to. imagine the problems the robins could be addressing individually in their lives if not everything came down to them being fucked up bc that’s the way bruce raised them or failed to thereby. there’s a lot about the robins as individuals that’s deeply interesting and i think it’s not just a disservice to bruce but to them as well to write the relationships this way bc it obscures their own agency and ability to be explored for more than a haunted legacy narrative

#sry this is so very long. please know it is not me venting at you i simply have many thoughts 😭 #but yeah like i think something that gets lost in translation is like. i absolutely do think those portrayals of bruce are abusive #i simply don’t think he should have been portrayed as such to begin with #starlin era bruce is very bewildering for me in all honesty i dislike it deeply #the issue where dick meets jason is one of my least favorite for the way it portrays bruce it feels so out of character for me #considering bruce was more than happy for dick to go off to college or to find his own place with the titans #and even with that famous issue where dick meets bruce after learning jason has died the writing is quite odd to me #i think bruce is very much someone who directs blame and frustration inward as opposed to outward #he’ll let himself get dog walked if he thinks he deserves it. which i think knightfall illustrates fabulously #the beginning of no man’s land as well #what i don’t think he would ever do is lash out at others when he knows the blame lies with himself. bruce is very self critical #so honestly that whole scene in the cave with him and dick. doesn’t exist to me i would literally rewrite it 😭 #and i think it is very significant that wolfman chose to recreate that slap three times if memory serves while every other write in bat #editorial at the time straight up ignored it and acted like it never happened. like idk that plus the way bruce was characterized during #knightfall to me says a lot about how that was not supposed to be the status quo at all #anyway. sorry this has devolved into a whole other rant please do not mind me 😔 #outbox

[morose-magnetrix]

Hi there!!! Did you read the Magneto series and Scarlet witch series? I'm eagerly waiting to know your thoughts!

Yes I did! I read through the last issue of Magneto this morning, as well as issues 9 & 10 of Scarlet Witch. Overall, I really enjoyed the conclusions to both of them, Scarlet Witch more so.

Magneto:

This line from Issue 4 really summarizes I think the overall conceit of this story: "Was the 'evil mutant' just a role I played for the greater good... or the ugly truth? Am I the heir to Charles Xavier's dream... or the beast that will devour it?"

At first, this series gave me the impression that the author's argument was that it had all been an act back in the 60's, that Magneto wasn't really ever 'evil,' and I didn't find that satisfying. I think there's a tendency in fiction to try to absolve characters of their past actions/crimes, in order to make them more palatable and less complex (for instance, absolving Jean Grey of Dark Phoenix's actions by making it so the real Jean was at the bottom of the bay the entire time, or saying that Doom had manipulated Wanda into committing M-Day). Removing their responsibility/culpability for actions they took just isn't as interesting to me as seeing someone grapple with something horrific they had done, and having to struggle and reckon with it, and find a way to atone for their actions.

So basically, I thought at first that this was what this narrative was trying to do - to remove Magneto's responsibility for the stuff he did in the silver age. But by the conclusion of the series, I think it became more clear that deMatteis & co were really trying to examine these two opposing poles of Magneto, of his capability for intense rage and violence, but also for empathy and compassion.

I think if the series had been longer, this would've been super successful. As it was, it accomplished what it set out to do in these four issues and the ending scene with Rahne, where they're looking at the photo of Max's mom, it's super touching and sweet. I just wish things had more space to breathe to allow this character study the runway it really needed.

Scarlet Witch:

I ADORE this entire run. I haven't been posting my thoughts on individual issues as much as I used to - and that isn't because these things aren't good, they're fucking fantastic - I've just been busy with work (& getting back into writing fanfic). But I need to be super clear - this is my favorite Scarlet Witch solo ever (not that we have many lol) and probably is up there in one of my favorite comic runs of all time.

The artwork is GORGEOUS. The colors used are amazing and the expressions on the characters, by god they just fucking sing. I love the care taken to depict Wanda respectfully and accurately, the new costumes are sick af, and everything is just so dynamic. Sometimes, I have a hard time figuring out what is happening with comic book art, but I never really struggled here - even as we are dropped into wacky new situations, often times jumping from completely different contexts from panel to panel. And the covers, they are just.... just chef's kiss - perfection!

And the characterization, gods - just incredible. I didn't really like Orlando's Marauders run, I ended up dipping out somewhere in arc 1 or 2 of it, so I was a little worried about Scarlet Witch. I'm so glad to have been proven wrong. The cast works together so flawlessly, the little moments recalling past continuity without aliening new readers is fantastic. I adored Wanda calling Joseph Iosif and I'm hoping that, when we next see him, he may just adopt that as his name? (Although I'm not expecting to see Iosif around any time soon, given that Max is coming back, and historically when Max is back and a good guy, Iosif is either dead or a bad guy).

The treatment of Wanda's family was everything I could have hoped for - honoring Magneto as her father, her interactions with her siblings, with her kids, with her niece. Seeing Luna Maximoff again in a comic was NOT something I saw coming but I loved it lol.

I also just loved the rotating nature of the problems she faced - that every issue was a new adventure, a new place, a new way for Wanda to demonstrate her growth and healing by giving back to others. She's an OP character by definition and I never felt myself bored with the conflicts she had to face. They were unique and varied and I felt most of them, on some level, had a direct connection to a period of Wanda's own history - hell, they even had her basically go and confront someone who was doing a WandaVision which I found sooo funny lmao.

(If you can't tell by my rambling, I'm kinda obsessed with this series...)

The final villain I really liked - partially because I am an inorganic chemist, so a lot of the science and stuff that I do actually comes from alchemists. I think having alchemist villains for Wanda to face is super interesting and a nice change of pace from the demons and other witches she is usually up against, and I hope we see more of Nicola. She's a super neat foil for Wanda, particularly with the current continuity that Wanda comes from a line of Scarlet Witches, and Nicola comes from a long line of alchemists.

Darcy was a treat, she worked super well here, and I kinda ship her with Zelma now??? Like they're girlfriends, right??? Right???

There's probably things I'm frothing at the mouth over with this series that I've forgotten about, but I also don't want to write you an entire essay in response, so.... I'm gonna cut myself off here and say that I am VERY excited for the follow up Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch series. (Maybe we'll get a Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch & POLARIS series one day, hmmm? Please Marvel? Pleeeeeeeease? I neeeeeed it soooo much....)

#answered asks #asks #marvel comics #scarlet witch #steve orlando #sara pichelli #frank william #russel dauterman #magneto #JM DeMatteis #Todd Nauck #Rachelle Rosenberg