#ripley speaks facts

[ripley8punchingbag]

Starkid fans who haven’t watched Nighmare Time are crazy to me. They don’t even know who Miss Holloway is.

#ripley speaks facts #starkid #nightmare time

[libraryleopard]

read the talented mr. ripley today in one sitting and i gotta say 1) very addictive novel, really sucked me in (even if i'm not exactly going to become a patricia highsmith fangirl on account of. um. some really vile personal beliefs) 2) all men born after 1930 know is buy sport coats, drink martinis, be gay, and lie 3) lol saltburn really wanted what this movie had re: manipulative villain protagonist and homoerotic obsession 4) intrigued by the film adaptations of this because i really cannot picture matt damon at all as tom ripley even though the 90s movie is supposed to be good and while i can see andrew scott as a savvy murderer he's also quite a bit older than the novel's twenty-five-year-old tom ripley which gives the character a different vibe. very curious to see what i'll think of those…

#the talented mr. ripley #lulu speaks #lulu reads #books #lulu reads the talented mr. ripley #the fact that there are multiple sequels also intrigued me though idk if i'll read them #i'm just curious where you'd go from there you know?

[beaversatemygrandma]

So. This guy:

There are two of these dudes in my house. (I bought one and he came with a hole and i was like come on man and told the company so they were like ‘have another boi.’ hence: two bois) 

Sometime over the summer, my dad was dead convinced the trailer was haunted. It got to the point where he was seeing shadows and movements in his room at night and started sleeping with all the lights on. Then. These bois showed up. I had them sitting on the living room couch like gargoyles on the arms for a few weeks My dad started getting less freaked out at night. (I’ve checked the carbon monoxide detector and such. It needs a new battery so we haven’t ruled this out yet) Apparently, less shadowy figures were showing up in the doorways. At least in the main areas. The figures seemed to be centered in his room and bathroom. So, he moved one of the bois to sit on the column on his bedframe like a pedestal so he looks over the room and the bathroom. Apparently, the figures are gone. Like immediately after the forest demon was placed there.

Anyways. The Squishable Forest Demons repel demons. They’re protectors. Get one now and then proceed to attempt to accidentally summon a demon on Halloween. The forest demon boi Can and Will Protect you.*

*I cannot be sued if you get possessed within the company of a Forest Demon. The Squishable company has nothing to do with this either. Please use your Halloween Ouija session responsibly.

#taks speaks #really tho this did happen and my dad is deadass convinced that the forest demon is a protector #and yeah. he is. #this also happened shortly after my dad went on a bunch of ghost tours in my hometown #which is the 4th most haunted town in the US #so something may have followed him home bc he went to the place that corpses from 500yrs ago are still being found #true story. btw. #the big fort had a wall that was torn down recently and they found a bunch of bodies of prisoners that had been blocked in #there was this huge unmapped room filled with bones that had been previously unknown #ntm the thousands of unmarked bodies buried in the area underneath the same fort and the buildings nearby #there's a lot of dark stuff out there #the fact that the area floods every time there's a large hurricane makes me worry that itll end up like new orleans #you know. the place where they have to bury people in cement above ground bc the bodies will float up otherwise #i have a feeling that town will likely have that issue at some point soon with all that flooding #theres a lot of bodies in that area and not even most of them are in the cemeteries out there #theyre under ripleys btw

[victoriadallonfan]

Having re-watched Alien (1979) and Aliens (1985), I think I've realized what went wrong with the further expanded film universe on a thematic level (this is not accounting for AVP films, which seem to exist within their own continuity atm).

The main issue is that these films made 2 intertwining mistakes:

Making the Xenomorph too animalistic

Removing the mystery of space

For the first part, Alien and Aliens are quite vague about the Xenomorph mind. Alien treats it almost like a serial killer at times, including a particularly interesting moment where it disregards Jones the Cat entirely, despite making a very easy target, and how it will sometimes meander up to the crew as if it knows it's inflicting terror upon them. This Xenomorph even seems to only flee when Parker goes to kill it with a knife and hides within the evac shuttle when it realizes that Ripley was going there as well.

Aliens forgoes this in favor of showing how terrifying their numbers are even in the face of superior (if greatly mislead) fire power, but then pulls the rug under our protagonists by (seemingly) cutting the power and testing the endurance of the auto-turrets. While the drones are not individually as intelligent as the original xenomorph from the first film, this is instead given to the Queen, who understands not only the danger Ripley poses to her Hive but hostage negotiations of the most blunt variety. And, of course, incredible spite and vengeance when Ripley burns her eggs.

Basically, the two films do a good job of making you wonder... how sapient and sentient are the Xenomorphs? Do we take Ash's word and think of them as simply Hostile Weapons or do we see them for the adaptable and complex - if instinct guided - parasites just trying to protect their hive? This is further food for thought when we learn that one of the cut endings would have had the Xenomorph kill Ripley, tentatively use the shuttles control panel, and speak into the intercom with Dallas voice (ala Predator).

Imo, that goes too far into making them human, but we'll circle back to that later. The point is that the Xenomorph is never clearly one thing or another, but rather, something that constantly foils our attempts to understand them completely.

Aliens 3, Alien: Resurrection, Prometheus, and Alien: Covenant fail in that regard, because they take the firm stance that the Xenomorph is... an animal. A very, very, dangerous and hostile animal but an animal nonetheless. It's not some vague horror that we struggle to comprehend and reason with, because all the facts (as they are for now) are laid out: the Xenomorphs are weaponized animals that just kill, reproduce, and kill etc etc.

Nothing is entirely new about the Xenomorphs in these movies (beyond the forms and one part of Covenant, but we'll circle back to that as well), but rather trying to recapture the formula of Alien and Aliens. And even when the film isn't necessarily about the Xenomorphs like Prometheus, it still goes out of its way to copy the play by play of Alien to an almost hilarious degree (except, somehow, having a cast entirely of stupid scientists).

The Xenomorph is used as a toll for the films to talk more about the human threats who would use them, which is fine, except the same message of "Weyland-Yutani wants Xenomorphs, They Failed" over and over again (except I guess for Alien: Resurrection, but that had Walmart as a plot point so...) gets tedious. It's not longer about the folley of mankind, but rather this one company led by a man (or Android?) who keeps fucking up.

Ditto goes for the second part: removing the mystery from space. Alien and Aliens treat the Space Jockey and other (non-Xenomorph) alien life at an arms distance. They are large, grand, ominous, and vaguely defined. We don't know much about WY in either movie, nor how much is them knowing versus independent people within the company (Burke mentions cutting out his own bosses for profit for example, and Bishop the company Android is heroic and horrified at the situation they are all in, a big difference to Ash). The Xenomorphs having a Queen was a huge reveal, because we literally had no idea until then if those were actual eggs or simply pods artificially created.

Aliens 3 tries to add some mystery with the prison colony, but it's also hamfisted and given a lot of exposition to explain the situation they are in, but I will give it kudos for making Weyland (???) look like Bishop as a twist. Aliens: Resurrection... yeah, no.

Prometheus and Alien Covenant gave us a plethora of seeming mysteries, but also gives us really super simple answers. Basically, Space Jockeys are just super humans seeding life across the planets and they wanted to bomb Earth into oblivion because we killed Jesus Christ (who was a Space Jockey). And one of our androids then - possibly - goes to their home planet and bombs them to oblivion thus wiping out the human race. And they made Xenomorphs yadda yadda.

Prometheus in particular seems to despise the idea of space being a mystery, with the conversation David has with a scientist being plainly spelled out as the theme of the film: "Sometimes, humans/space jockeys just build shit, and it goes wrong I guess. No gods or mysteries here, just hubris."

Which, if handled well, is still a fascinating idea (I think it's a pretty interesting 'take-that' against the stupidity of Ancient Alien Conspiracy Theorists)... but it's not handled well. At all. And certainly doesn't work well when trying to write Xeno-Horror.

So, what COULD work?

Well, I think we need to look at how Alien and Aliens made the Xenomorphs, Space Jockey's, and Space itself all work.

For the xenomorphs, I think back to one scene I actually thought was interesting in Alien: Covenant; as a chestburster is born from a hapless scientist, it lays its eyes (???) on David and replicates his movements, mimicking the first living thing it witnesses. Nothing is ever done with this (of course), but think about the potential that could be used! Plenty of animals like crows, ravens, dolphins, octopi, killer whales etc etc can use mimicry in voices and actions, and that includes things like tool-use! And of course, the fact that they take on new forms from hosts helps with that.

For the Space Jockey's: scrap them. They had their time, the mystery is basically solved. Show us new and different alien civilizations long past. Were they also victims of the Xenomorphs? From some other threat entirely? Surely, there are extraterrestrial predators out there that don't follow the Xenomorph formula. Why not have them share the splotlight, with just as little explanation?

For space itself: stop with trying to recapture Alien and Aliens. Alien: Isolation is the only successor specifically because of the format of the medium. Alien and Aliens rely heavily on the shock factor of sudden reveals. Remove that, and you are given "bug hunt" games and movies ala discount Starship Trooper. Focus more on making human space feel almost alien and beyond our understanding as well, but just enough that we can recognize the purpose that we would have them for our society.

How I would write an Alien Story:

(This would all be backstory and setup for the actual story)

I would set it within a colony satellite with an explicit task: a skyscraper ecological time-capsule for deep space experimentation of wildlife.

It would have levels, with humans situated at the second uppermost and an AI as the manager at the top level of the satellite, with all the other animals in different levels fit for their habitats (including some non-earth, non-xenomorph aliens). It's a religious sponsored and run organization, offshoots of [Insert Church Here] that is trying to get good press with cutting edge AI and biological research.

The prize is an alien lifeform that looks like a cross between a crocodile and a panther. Usually docile when fed, it has been growing more and more agitated, harming several workers on the job. Most assume it may be some late-stage degenerative disease within it's brain.

Not all things are as it seems, as at the bottom of the station, a location no one but a select few faithful engineers are sent to maintain, a pod is damaged. A young attendant watches in shock and horror as a bloody and maimed chest burster crawls out of the pod, possibly having injured itself to burn through the lock. The creature is mewling in pain, but the young attendant makes a choice: leaving food, water, and blanket for the creature. Watching as the creature watches them, before going to feast. All under the gaze of a camera.

The xenomorph grows and grows, eating more, getting bolder and allowing its "caretaker" to feel more comfortable. Soon it begins to recognize certain sounds as they pray when he feasts, and association occurs. One day, its hiss sounds suspiciously like "Lord".

This is when the young attendant reaches out to higher, but trusted, priests to share this miraculous revelation. The first one is shocked, terrified, but intrigued as the creature mimics words like "Lord" and "Mighty". Barely audible, some would say hallucinatory, but they believe they can here this humanoid creature speak their language.

The second is equally shocked, terrified, but listens and becomes a believer.

The third one does not believe. Rightfully horrified and full of questions. Their arguments in front of the beast escalate into violence and when the young attendant shoves the priest to the ground, it is the Xenomorph that pounces. Blood is shed. the creature rises in front of it's faithful, and the Xenomorph uses the same sounds it heard over the fight. Lord. Mighty. Here-tik.

They can't be delusional or driven by guilt! This is a sign... right? This creature is speaking to them!

The faith grows. Never large. Can't risk word getting out or people noticing too many missing priests. The satellite is just barely large enough that people can excuse going missing for a few days between objectives.

But key individuals are brought in. The creature is worshiped. Animal offerings are delivered. It's changing, slowly. Growing larger (not a Xenomorph Queen, it's too maimed, but adapting to a steady diet).

Things might have escalated, had one of the priests killed not had an estranged sibling/spouse/loved one who had the pull to make a formal investigatory complaint.

The investigator arrives with his repertoire, this supposed garden of eden in deep space, none the wiser to what he would uncover. (Again, this would be the backstory, not revealed except through character investigations and evidence found during that. Defeats the purpose if it's spelled out like this).

It would play with the idea of how sapient/sentient the Xenomorphs are (do they care? do they understand? if not, why act like this? if yes, what does this mean for their continued slaughter), how much one puts into faith versus delusions, and leaves lingering questions: who put the xenomorph on the ship, why is the AI so complicit with the deaths and disappearances, and why is the one non-xenomorph alien acting so dangerously agitated despite being far away from the xenomorph's quarters?

#xenomorph #alien #aliens #alien 1979 #aliens 1986 #facehugger #chestburster #xenomorph drone #xenomorph queen #ridley scott #james cameron

[lilsedge]

The Judgement Day’s girl

Chapter 1

September 5, 2022

The Raw after Clash at the castle. 

Y/N is standing next to her father Edge. Waiting for his music to cut out. After it cuts out all they could hear was cheers. Her father starts off by saying, “Dominik Mysterio.”

That was the boy who had betrayed not only Edge that night, but his own father. Nobody know where he has been since the 3rd of September.

Edge continues “Dom, I’ve known you since your dad came to the wwe. You’re 5 years old. You, me and Y/N used sit in catering and ping people off of peashooters.”

Y/N has a little smile on her face from that memory. She kind of zoned out thinking of all the memories she made with dominik leading up to the point of the betrayal. After a while in her own world she hears the theme song of who she called uncle. Rey was walking towards the ring. 

“Hear me out edge,” Rey starts. Y/N blankly stares at her uncle. 

“Please, I know my son messed up big,” The masked man continued, “ and I’m asking for an apology on his behalf. He’s still my son.”

Y/N looked a bit puzzled at the man. How could he excuse his son’s actions after what dominik did to him. She must have zoned out again because all she heard was, “So, dominik get your ass out here right now.”

This is my brutality…

It’s Rhea bloody Ripley. Y/N used to be friends with her. That was until Finn Bálor joined the judgement day and beat up my father. She remembers that day. Her and her step mom Beth were backstage with her two little sisters Lyric and Ruby. Listening to them talk. Then all the sudden Beth gasps edge is getting beat by what he called his team. Y/N puts down Ruby and runs to the ring to save her dad.

“Edge mate, you need to calm down,” The eradicator starts.

“Because at clash at the castle you both got what was coming for you,” She says as she points to Edge and Rey. Y/N glanced at the two older men seeing who she was closer to because she didn’t feel safe anymore. The truth was after the judgement day forced Edge out of the group they have been making her life a living hell.

Rhea continues, “Edge, you thought you could replace dominik like he didn’t matter and Rey you thought you could protect him just because he’s you little baby boy.”

“Well guess what the fact is he’s not you little baby boy anymore because I saw the potential in him and I made him into a man” Rhea ends

Dominik then walks out. Y/N looks at what used to be her best friend since they were 5 and she didn’t even recognize him anymore. Edge grabbed out to touch Y/N’s arm because he knows how much dominik meant to her.

Rey tries to call to his son and tells him to snap out of it, but that won’t change Dominik’s mind that quick. 

“You still have time. Make amends with edge. Make things right,” says Rey

The Rhea decides to pipe up, “Rey. Rey, when are you going to get it through your thick skull Dominik not listening to you anymore. You can’t keep fighting his battles for him,” Rhea pauses, “You can’t.”

“And Edge, you’re passed your time mate because you, you can’t stop your judgement day,” Rhea admits.

The two start walking to the ring. Y/N’s grip on her dad’s shirt got harder because the fear she had. Rey wanted nothing to do with what was going to happen in the ring, so he leaves the ring telling edge “do what you gotta do”.

The father daughter duo watching as Rey got closer to his son. After speaking a few words to his son Rey walked away. Edge challenges the two outside of the ring to come closer by beckoning them. Then suddenly Edge pushes his daughter slightly away as he looked behind seeing that there was Finn Bálor and Damian Priest were pouncing at him. Y/N stood still and watched as her father fought back frozen with a bit of fear. Dominik also got in the fight as he took out edges knee. Y/N moved out of the ring because she knew her father would be mad if she got hurt.

She looks to Rhea as Dominik made his way out of the ring. She saw that her uncle came back. Y/N slightly hoped that Rey would hit him. Rey only wanted to help her dad. Rhea and Dom took out Rey. Ripley sent Rey into the steal steps Y/N went right to his aide. She spoke up for the first time that night, “tío Rey, are you okay.”

She only got a groan back from her uncle. Y/N focused on helping Rey up just to see her fathers bad knee getting jump on by bálor. Rey tapped her back to tell her to also get in the ring with him. Her and Rey went straight to Edge as the judgement day got out. Y/N stood at the ropes facing the ramp watching as they stood at the being of the ramp. Rhea just smiles and wove at the younger girl. She finally turned from them to kneel next to her dad as he groaned from the pain. Y/N and Rey helped Edge out of the ring and made their way backstage.

They got Edge to medical. Y/N had to step out of the room cause she couldn’t see her dad in pain.

“Hey, hermosa why so gloomy,” said a familiar voice. Y/N didn’t have to look who it was she could tell already but the scent and voice that it was none other than Damian Priest. She looked his way and wasn’t even shocked to see the judgement day behind him. Y/N didn’t answer she didn’t know if it was out of fear they would do something to her or if it was anger. Finn then spoke, “He’s talking to you.”

Y/N just nodded. After a few minutes of the judgement day staring at her, they just walked away huffing. Y/N had a smirk knowing she pissed them off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That is chapter one of idk how many more in this new series. I’ll admit I’m not a good writer when it comes to writing (like for some reason I can never stay in the same tense) but this series is being posted on both tumblr and A03 maybe Wattpad idk with that one yet. I hope you enjoyed it tho. Have great day night afternoon.

#wwe x reader #dominik mysterio x reader #rhea ripley x reader #wwe the judgement day imagine #wwe the judgement day #poly! judgement day #damian priest x reader #finn balor x reader

[smartycvnt]

Hung Up

Title: Hung Up Pairing: Rhea Ripley x Reader Prompt: 4. "You care for the people you love." R WC: 1139

The arena went silent as they all stared over to where Y/n had just been knocked down. Almost everybody looked absolutely shocked by the events that had transpired. Damian had charged at Seth, who moved out of the way at the last second, causing Damian to suicide dive into Y/n. That spot had been planned and worked over for weeks, but the arena's set up had been wrong, so Y/n hit the back of her head as she went down. There was a sickening crack, and Y/n thought for a moment that she was dead. She couldn't hear or feel a thing, but within a few moments, the feeling returned to her in waves of pain.

Damian looked down at Y/n in horror at what he had accidentally done to her. Finn and Dom came sprinting around to check on Y/n without crowding her. Seth had been the first by Y/n's side, holding her hand while the medics rushed down to ringside. Inside the ring, Rhea stood there screaming at the referee to count Y/n and Seth out of the match. Y/n watched curiously as Rhea seemed completely unbothered by the entire situation. She only seemed to want to get Damian his title shot against Seth without him having to use his cash in. Y/n was glad that she was already crying from the physical pain because she couldn't have explained the wave of tears from Rhea's behavior.

"Hey kid, you're doing great. They're going to take you to the hospital. Do you want me to ride with you?" Seth asked as he squeezed Y/n's hand. She turned her neck towards him and opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. "Is it okay if I come with her?"

"Come on." Seth climbed into the ambulance alongside Y/n. He was determined not to leave her side as she went through all of the stupid tests and scans they needed before letting her go home. The verdict was a concussion, Y/n's first of her career. It wasn't good news, but Y/n was grateful that it wasn't a broken neck or anything along those lines. The concussion was bad, and she had to be monitored, but Y/n didn't mind getting the company. Several of her fellow superstars stopped by her hotel room to check up on her, but Rhea wasn't among them. In fact, Y/n had been checking her phone periodically throughout the night for a text or tweet or something from Rhea, only to come up with nothing.

Even Rhea's usual messages were absent while Y/n was stuck at home with an injury. Y/n was at Seth's side for a few backstage promos, but she wasn't cleared to go back into the ring for months. Y/n hated being stuck on the sidelines, but she hated Rhea ignoring her even more. It began to make more sense why Rhea had suddenly started paying attention to her whenever Y/n switched brands over to Raw with Seth. She had immediately sided up with her mentor and teacher as his right hand. Rhea had never cared about Y/n as a person, she just wanted to get one of her guys closer to his championship title. It was hard, but by the time that Y/n came back, she had accepted it as the truth.

"What has gotten into you lately?" Seth asked as he ran his hands along Y/n's arms to smooth out her sleeves. Y/n had learned long ago not to try and fight his dad instincts, but to instead just go along with them. It was sort of nice to have that figure in her life that had been missing for so long. There had been a time when she mistook his actions for romantic, and thankfully, Seth and Becky had never held it against her. Instead, they took her in as if she was one of their own.

"I'm tired of being the underdog. Tonight, I'm making Rhea feel like the underdog," Y/n answered. Seth took note of the intense look in her eye and recognized it as that of heartbreak. There was more to Y/n's issues with Rhea than she was letting on, but Seth was certain that it'd all come out in good time. He trusted that Y/n wouldn't hold it in until it destroyed her, she was smarter than that.

"Good luck out there," Seth said. Y/n went out without a cue to interrupt Rhea's championship match. There wasn't really anything that Y/n could actually do since Rhea was in a cage match, but just her presence proved to be a good enough distraction. Rhea let herself get caught off guard at the sight of Y/n after a few months of no contact at all. Y/n had gone dead on social media as she worked on bettering herself and creating her new gimmick. She was all about revenge and vendettas. She would right the wrongs that she felt had been committed against her, starting with taking away the title that Rhea had worked so hard to earn, which would go over as well as she expected it to.

"Hey! Hey! Why did you do that to me?" Rhea had chased Y/n down in the parking lot after the show. Y/n looked smug as she stared Rhea down. They had never been close to equals before, but now Rhea seemed smaller than ever. She had lost her title, and with that, a great deal of her confidence. "What the hell was that about? Now, I have to win my title back in a rematch."

"Man, that really sucks, but you can't expect them to take the title off of Liv that quickly, can you? I mean, you heard how pumped the crowd was. Hunter likes you, but he's not stupid enough to just pluck it out of her hands so quickly. It looks like you'll either have to run back to Raw or go to the end of the line," Y/n told her. Rhea growled in anger at the teasing undertone in Y/n's voice. "If you don't mind, I have a date with the new champion at the hotel."

"What if I would have needed you tonight? Don't you care about me anymore?" Rhea asked. "I thought you loved me."

"You care for the people you love. I'm just showing you the same love and care you showed for me when I got hurt." With that, Y/n was able to walk away from Rhea without a fight. She pulled her phone out as she went to shoot a text to Liv to confirm their meeting in the hotel bar when she got there.

#my writing #one shot #wwe x reader #wwe #rhea ripley x reader #rhea ripley

[theoutcastrogue]

This is petty but that's never stopped me.

In the Vox Machina campaign, Scanlan Shorthalt's resounding success in matters of tactics [this post isn't about roleplaying] was partly due to Sam Riegel's skill, and mostly due to the fact that 5e Bards are just that good. However! The "gnome bard" combo was famously chosen by Liam, after Sam, who'd never played d&d before, asked what's the silliest, least powerful and least badass thing he could play. That was his character concept. And at the time, Liam was not wrong to answer "bard". In 3rd Edition/Pathfinder, Bards DID suck, at least out of the box. You could build a strong Bard in Pathfinder, but you had to optimise to high heavens with carefully selected feats and spells and items from various sources. It didn't just happen spontaneously, and it was still nowhere near the raw power and versatility of a Wizard or Druid. Bards played support.

So at lvl 9, they started streaming and switched from Pathfinder to D&D 5e. Scanlan got an ENORMOUS power boost at that point, but Sam was still harbouring under the impression that his chosen class is not powerful or badass at all. And as they kept playing and he kept killing it (he was brilliant at it, no doubt about that!), he presumed that he was killing it with one hand tied behind his back, because he was just a silly little gnome bard. And, he emphatically wasn't silly. He was a whole-ass full caster, top tier class right there.

Pathfinder Bards are half-casters. If they hadn't switched to 5e, Scanlan wouldn't have access to 7th and higher level spells: no Mordenkeinen's Magnificent Mansion (a signature spell), no Dominate Monster (this is how he made the goristro fight Vorugal), no Reverse Gravity (big moment in the first Ripley fight), and no Wish (kind of a big deal!). Other spells aren't in the Bard list, and there's no Magical Secrets in Pathfinder: he wouldn't have access to Bigby's Hand (another signature spell), Otiluke's Resilient Sphere (how he got rid of the efrit, and Ripley), Lightning Bolt and Stinking Cloud (his standard damage spells), Polymorph (that's several giant eagles including the "now smarter" Grog (this will never stop being funny), and of course the legendary triceratops), or Counterspell (kind of an enormous deal). And all the other spells would have come later: no Seeming at lvl 11 = no cows. (What a loss! No cows!)

And it's not just access to spells, it's also "likelihood of spells to work", which depends on the DC, which in Pathfinder depended on spell level. Lower level spells had a lower chance of doing anything, by virtue of being easier to resist. And half-casters got a slower spell progression, and ended up with significantly less power overall. Whereas in 5e spell level is irrelevant, spell DCs depend on your character level, and that's that. Even (Bardic) Inspiration got a boost from the switch. All in all, we're talking about a spectacular upgrade.

So a tragic misconception happened: Sam got it into his head that he's so good at d&d that he can gimp himself and still kick ass. Well, he can't.

When he played a Rogue (no big spells, huh? no cheat sheet!) he sucked at it and he hated it. And now that he plays a Cleric and actually, actively gimps himself (he said in a 4-Sided Dive that he deliberately avoids cleric spells that others have used before in CR, which by now is most of them, and certainly the best of them), he very predictably sucks at it too (I mean relatively speaking; it's still a full caster), and he doesn't love it. The one time he was BRILLIANT was when he had a top tier class to work with, and used it to its full potential. But he thought he was gimping himself, because he was thinking of a different game/edition than the one he was playing!

I wanna grab him by the shoulders and shake him up and say my good man, you gotta stop this "I gimp myself" -> "I fail to kick ass" -> *surprised pikachu face*. CHOOSE. Either gimp yourself and accept you won't be kicking any ass, but it's okay because you enjoy roleplaying someone like that more than you enjoy kicking ass, OR stop gimping yourself and kick ass, because you do enjoy kicking ass, don't you?

Both are great! I approve either way! But choose.

I also wanna grab Liam by the shoulders and tell him "Wizard or Sorcerer! For the love of all that's green and good in this world, next time Sam asks you what class to play in D&D, tell 'im Wizard or Sorcerer!". But then I remember that next time they'll probably play Daggerheart and not D&D unless WotC makes them an offer they can't refuse, so the whole thing is moot.

#scanlan shorthalt #critical role #how to rogue #d&d #5e #3.5 #pathfinder #crunch #bard #trs #sam riegel

[gothbass]

(Images mostly from Pinterest)

One Of Us (Pt. 1)

★ Rhea Ripley x [afab] Reader

Warnings: smut, language and lore, so far.

Word count: 3,449.

While you're watching another WWE match starring Rhea Ripley, as per usual, you notice that she seems a bit distracted—looking over at you every now and again. Despite that, she manages to keep her focus just enough to acquire another win—yet again. As the match has ended, her gaze swiftly shifts over to you. She slides under the ropes of the ring to approach you at the barrier, given you got a front row seat.

She leans onto the barrier with crossed arms and gives you what looks to be a cold glare with a subtle smile, though she's just analyzing your face. Taking in the detail of your facial structure, if you will. She gives you a subtle smirk before beginning to walk away, but looks back as soon as you suddenly stop her in her tracks.

You've grabbed ahold of her wrist to stop her from walking away from you so soon, yet you freeze up as she quickly looks back at you. She notices this, yet it doesn't seem to bother her. She stares right at you—almost as if she's staring through you. Her smirk still remains. A single brow is raised slightly as she waits for you to speak.

“What was that all about?” you ask, in a brutish tone and in curiosity as to why she came over in the first place just to stare at you for a single moment and walk away just as quickly.

Rhea's smirk grows a bit. It's almost as if she's amused by the fact you've asked such a question. She stares at you in silence, almost as if she's waiting. What for? Perhaps a response, or perhaps something else—unbeknownst amidst your surroundings.

Then, she finally speaks up.

“Hm?” You tilt your head, confused.

“Is that all you walked over here to do? Couldn’t’ve just stared for longer rather than have started to walk away so soon?” You saw a chance to be bold for the first time in what seemed like years, and you absolutely took it. Rhea laughs a little as soon as she hears this. She leans back, still holding onto her smirk. She leans forward again—she seems to enjoy the banter.

“Oh really? You'd rather I kept staring at you?” Her expected bold demeanor is present.

“Don't start what you can't finish.” A cold, while also playful, expression rested at ease on your face.

“Is that a challenge?”

“It most certainly is,” you reciprocate her tone and demeanor, which catches her a bit off-guard, though she's clearly up for it. She stares very intensely at you for a few seconds—like she's analyzing you once more. Then, she leans slightly closer to you.

“Do you really think you can handle me?”

“Shall we put that to the test?”

You notice that her eyes narrow to thin and sharp slits, almost like they're focused and almost as if the icy blue has become a dark abyssal void. She leans in even closer to you, so much so that you feel a little intimidated. Her gaze is almost unsettling.

“Oh, I'm more than ready to put it to the test,” she replies to your boldness.

You lean in, resting your own arms on the barrier just the same. For a moment or so, you contemplate whether or not you should give into your impulsive thoughts.

Then, you wonder. You wonder what would happen if you gave into your impulsive thoughts in front of the already riled-up crowd. They've already noticed your interaction with Rhea, and they've already started recording... So, what would happen?

You look between Rhea and the door to an office. As you do so, contemplatively, Rhea shifts forward—rather uncomfortably close—insofar that you're forced to lean more backwards than you wanted to. That is, so much so that you almost fall backwards completely. Rhea takes notice of this, and makes her way over the barrier to catch you in time—which she does successfully.

“Careful, there,” she says to you quietly, while also holding you against herself—similar to a hug of some sort. Her arms are fully around you, enveloping you in a sort of warmth—unfamiliar to you.

A few comfortable moments later, she lets go of you and takes a few steps back. You take this opportunity to look back at the office door.

She watches as your gaze shifts from her to the office door, then tilts her head in curiosity and follows forth with your shifting gaze. Thus—she, herself, also shifts her gaze over to the office door. She thinks for a moment, then takes a deep breath before literally (and without forewarning) picking you up, throwing you (gently) over her shoulder, and carrying you over the barrier and (furtively) over to the office.

Her office, to be more specific.

Rhea shoves you into her office, causing your back to hit the concrete wall behind you. You have to admit, it hurt at least a tad bit.

You end up left alone in that office for a good hour or so before she returns.

Before you know it, you end up falling asleep from spacing out for so long. Just sat against that concrete wall, legs bent, head buried in your arms—which laid atop your knees. More than an hour passes, and you don't notice until the office door just barely slams open.

Rhea walks in, her (mostly) black and (accented) purple makeup smudged, a couple drops of sweat streaming down her face like a raindrop on a window, and even some blood from what seems to be a nosebleed. You look up, after having been somewhat rudely awakened, all to find that Rhea has—even with the door open—pinned you to the wall you're sat against. That, and she's even on her knees.

But, even with that sweetness, it's short-lived. She soon gets back up and abandons you momentarily. But, curious, you manage to pick yourself up and walk out of the office. Hearing a sink running, you decide to check the nearby women's restroom.

You knock on the door before opening it, as a sort of forewarning, only to find yourself face-to-face with Rhea—once again. She raises a brow at you, as if confused as to why you've approached her.

Her confusion halts as an idea forms in her head. “How would you feel about a little practice fight in the ring?” she asks you. By now, you've come to the conclusion that it's after hours and that the two of you have hours of free time. So, you take the opportunity.

“I wouldn't mind that at all, actually,” you respond, realizing you've (for an unbeknownst reason) brought with you a change of clothes particularly for this type of scenario. “I should change, first, though, if you don't mind.” You watch as she eyes you up and down and nods before walking out of the restroom, leaving you there to change.

You change into something of Rhea's style, among other things—particularly a black corset top, and a black 70s-style leather vest to cover it (for modesty purposes, though it really doesn't matter). You wrap a long-spiked choker around your neck and tighten it just enough that it doesn't choke the hell out of you.

You end up going all out and doing your makeup, as well, somewhat mimicking Rhea's style. Dramatic eyeliner, black upper lip, and you even write your initial on your cheek in a slashed black font. After having done so, you take a moment or two to check yourself out in the restroom mirror. Your clothes cling to your figure rather well, but something's missing.

You remove the concealer from the tattoos you've always kept hidden on your arms and hands. You've always had to hide them for career purposes, so now having the opportunity to show them off—you take that opportunity with pride. You slide a set of chained rings to either (both) hand(s), and the silver compliments your skin tone perfectly.

After debating for a moment whether or not you should match tongue piercings with Rhea, you decide that you might as well just go for it. And, so, you do. You sharpen your canines just a tad bit to make sure they get shown off. And, with that, you're basically done. (Forewarning.)

After admitablly way too long, you finally come out from the restroom. You walk over to the side of the ring nearest to you, and notice Rhea has been patiently waiting from the opposing side. As you climb into the ring, you take notice of Rhea's slightly widened eyes and ajar mouth.

As much as she'd love to show you how much she loves how you look, her cold and dominant demeanor takes over her as an instinctive response.

“Look at you,” Rhea starts, a hand placed on either hip as she shifts her weight to either side, “all dolled up. Is this for me?” You raise a brow, then slowly scan her body from bottom to top.

You unzip the back of your leather vest, just to undo your corset top, slip it off of you, and throw it teasingly to the other side of the ring, and zip up the back of your vest like nothing had—at all—occurred.

Along with that, you undo the chains from between the buttons of the front of your vest just to button the buttons and unintentionally flaunt your bust to presumably claim your dominance.

Deciding to be bold, you run head first at Rhea, in anticipation for her to dodge. She doesn't. Instead, she holds out a cupped hand, forcing it around your throat and pulling you up to meet her gaze as she looks down at you with a power-hungry grin. “What a messy start this has become,” Rhea states, loving the look on your face.

“It can get a whole lot messier,” you threaten.

Rhea pulls a black switchblade out of her pocket, and holds the handle in her mouth—blade unsheathed. The shock of this sight almost sends you flinching backward and out of her grasp.

She shoves you onto the ring floor. As your back makes contact with the surface material, it (your back) arches in pain. Your knees bend together, and you try to back away a bit to spare you some room to get back on your feet.

A grin-like smirk spreads sinisterly across her face just before she plummets on top of you, now hovering just over your figure.

Her own back arches, closer to yours. She knows what she's doing, alright.

She takes the switchblade and before she begins to cut down the buttons of your vest, you grab her wrist to stop her. To which, she responds by aiming the tip of the switchblade directly at your throat. Your breath hitches, and this causes her to roll her eyes back momentarily at the sight.

“Good try,” she chuckles, “but not good enough.”

You take a deep-ish breath before turning the tables and pinning Rhea to the ring floor. Somewhat taken aback by this, she responds by shoving you off of her with a kick and pinning you down with a Riptide. With this sort of advantage, you swipe her switchblade and attempt to use it against her.

Before you can, she swipes it from you and slides it out of the ring. The sound of the switchblade hitting the floor echoes throughout the arena.

As much as you're enjoying this whole scenario, you take the opportunity to somewhat throw yourself over her shoulders—though you end up pinning her once again before you roll off of her completely.

You make your way to the nearest edge of the ring, press yourself into the ropes, then run full speed at Rhea. She manages to reciprocate and get you pinned down.

Just to be a tease, you pull her in by the collar and lick up her throat—which sends a shiver down her spine. It was only then that she realized there was a feeling of metal against her skin…

After the short moment you have her distracted, you furtively roll and slide your way out of the ring and underneath it. Maintaining composure, you keep your breath steady.

That is, until Rhea makes her way behind you. You feel the leather of her clothing and the warmth of her body against your backside, and a ringed hand over your mouth. Your vision has become pinned to whatever’s in front of you. You’d be staring at her, if you only could.

For a moment or two, you feel as though you can’t breathe.

Despite that, you hear her quiet voice in your ear.

“Naughty girl can’t follow simple rules, can she?” Your breath catches in your throat, and you almost choke on it.

Out of nowhere, intro music begins playing. Looks like it’s not after hours after all. “Shit,” you hear Rhea mutter to herself. It’s her intro playing, as well. That, and now is not a good time. Especially amidst this kind of situation.

The commentator speaks, and the crowd starts booing when Rhea doesn’t make an appearance. “Looks like I’ll have explaining to do.” She then takes a moment to think. “So, why not use this to our advantage? Maybe surprise the audience with a guest appearance?”

You, yourself, take a moment to contemplate this newly opened path. You’d speak if you only could. Much as you’d like to, you find your escape route by managing to turn the tables—to the point where you now have the upper hand (as in, you’re on top).

“And what a surprise this is…” Rhea starts. “Thing is, Mami… is always… on top…” That Aussie accent seems to have become more prominent, and you’ve just now noticed it. A smirk forms on Rhea’s face as she speaks those words, and you can almost guess the reason why with ultimate ease.

“Then, why isn’t she?” you ask, deciding to backtalk. In terms of your choice of words, Rhea strikes a slap across your face as some sort of punishment towards you.

“Try that again and see what happens.” Her cold demeanor returns, but you ignore it.

After having focused enough, you maneuver your way out from under the ring; Rhea follows closely behind you. Thus, you have failed in being as furtive as you attempted to be.

She picks you up as soon as she catches you, and throws you into the ring. (Luckily for you, you land on your feet.) Rhea, noticing the corset top you left behind not too long ago, momentarily takes it with her as she joins you in the ring.

The crowd cheers, going utterly wild. The commentary joins in with the crowd’s cheering. Seems as though this surprise, though it’s uncalled for, is a real crowd-pleaser.

Given the absolute chaos and deafening cheering from the crowd, Rhea is left having to mouth words to you as best as she can. “Isn’t this yours?” she mouths.

You only nod in response.

“Looks like someone might get stripped in this little match, eh?”

Your eyes widen once you realize the words she's mouthed. Soon enough, though, Rhea slowly approaches you in the middle of the ring until your faces are less than six inches away from each other’s.

As an instinctive reaction, you can't help but give her those pleading eyes as she looks down into your gaze. With one hand, in front of the crowd and commentary, she uses an index finger—drags it up your neck and lifts your chin. Your breath catches in your throat once more, causing you to almost choke—whether you'd like it or not.

She leaves a soft kiss on one of her thumbs and presses that same spot softly onto your lips, giving you an indirect kiss. Her gaze, staring into your eyes, seems to possess a sort of passionate aura you fail to recognize.

Corset top in one of her hands, she undoes the buttons of your vest (whilst also making sure that no one in the crowd sees anything they're not supposed to), slides it up your torso, gently puts your arms through the straps… Finally, she teasingly presses her body against you as she clasps together the hooks to the back strap of it. After, she clasps the buttons of your vest back together.

Sending her body against yours, you feel the instinctive urge to pin her to the floor of the ring—yet you hold back on that urge.

She backs you against the roping on one side of the ring, lifts your chin up, pins you against the roping (rather loosely, since it's not a very solid surface anyway), and presses her lips against your own. Within this action, that same passion you assume you saw prior returns.

You keep your composure, through and through, avoiding the urge to just melt under the heat of her kiss, especially since you're both surrounded by a rather wild and riled-up crowd. The commentary is taken aback, but you're at least half sure that they're enjoying the hell out of this sight.

Having you now distracted and almost completely subdued under her makeshift hypnosis, she pins you down with a second Riptide (similar to the first). You comply with this as easily as you would even if it weren't for a match, and the referee does his thing. Three simple seconds of your submission under Rhea's Riptide, and she's officially won the match—meaning, the title of Championship is still under her name.

Even after she's won the match, though, she keeps you pinned where you are. Looking up into the blue of her eyes, you can't help but feel weak.

Soon enough, the actual after hours begin. Meaning, the surrounding patrons, including the referee and the other workers, depart the building. All except the two of you.

As an attempt to make some sort of an escape, you buck your hips slightly upward—yet Rhea only reciprocates, causing you to let out a very weak and quiet moan. Almost too quiet to hear.

“What did I tell ya?” she begins, quoting a line she's said before, “Mami, is always on top.” An almost devilish grin plasters itself across her face, a wink accenting it. She licks her lips, somewhat provocatively, before lowering her upper body to pin you more securely.

Deciding to be a little more bold, you pull her in by the choker. That is, particularly between the ‘A’ and ‘M’ (directly center) of ‘MAMI’—labeled, in silver. Doing so, you cause Rhea to back away a bit due to how close you’ve forced yourselves to be in proximity.

“Not for long,” you finally decide to say.

“Yeah? Mami’s always on top, if you’ve forgotten.”

“...I suppose that means you own me?”

You take a moment to reminisce on when Rhea stopped after a particular match to walk over to you and just stare.

Retracing your steps, you realize that she’s almost always present wherever you are. Even outside of the WWE matches.

“A pet will tend to follow its master,” you hear Rhea say, as if she just read your thoughts.

As you form a response and open your mouth to speak, she shuts you up by suddenly kissing you. Your breath completely halts, the flush now on your face and your lack of breath almost causing you to pass out.

“Aww, look who's gone all silent,” she teases, furrowing her brows in some sort of pout.

You look away, clearly at least a little bit embarrassed. “Nope,” you correct boldly, despite knowing your boldness is an act you can't keep up for much longer.

“Is that so? It looked to me like I almost had to give you cpr.”

“You must be blind, then.”

“You must be loving my teasing, then, dear.”

You knew you'd reacted to that nickname by wanting to immediately fold right then and there, if only you could. Your knees begin to feel just a little bit weaker, your body heats up by a degree or so, and your breath slows down to an almost concerning pace. (Let's just hope you don't have heart arrhythmia!)

Sooner or later (just a few minutes after Rhea last spoke), you decide you've had enough.

“Just ravage me, at this point,” you mutter under your breath, just barely confident enough to express yourself truly.

Rhea tilts her head, portraying a makeshift expression to be confused—seeming to desire a more forward clarification. “Sorry, I couldn't hear you. Mind running that by me again?”

You stare profoundly into her eyes, almost with a look of hatred or apathy. “You heard me,” you threaten. But, little do you know that this is the start of an occurrence you may or may not afterwards regret.

[Series Masterlist]

Part 2

#rhea ripley #fanfic #smut #wlw #wlw smut #rhea x reader #afab reader

[fict1onallyobsessed]

Hey babe, I could I request a Rhea Ripley x Deaf!Reader headcannon? I’ve just managed to afford cochlear implants and my mind is blown at how much I actually couldn’t hear before. Something with Rhea learning signs language for R? R doesn’t have to be completely deaf like I am, maybe just partially and Rhea helps her through it? Thank you so much if you do this, would mean the absolute world.

Rhea with a Deaf/HoH!Reader

Rhea Ripley x Deaf!Fem!Reader

I severely apologise if I got anything wrong babe 🥲

She knew you were hard of hearing, but she didn’t know to what extent.

So, instead of coming up to you to ask for your phone number like she originally planned, she wrote you a little note like a high-school crush does, and dropped it off at your desk one night with her number on it instead.

Maybe it was her nerves, but she thought that when she saw no message on her phone from you, you just didn’t want to talk to her.

But then…

“Hey, you left me a note? :)”

Idiot could not stop smiling at her phone for ages.

The two of you kept messaging back and forth for a while before she asked you to go out formally, in person, to a random park and maybe to get ice cream.

You didn’t know she knew you were deaf, and so you decided to break it to her before your “date”, unsure if she’d be interested since there was a barrier in communication.

“I just need to let you know so your not surprised, I’m deaf. I have cochlear implants so I can hear, but it’s sometimes hard to especially in public spots. Hope we can still meet :)”

It was kinda a mission of hers, whether you liked to wear your cochlear implants or not, to learn the basics in sign language.

Of course out of basic respect for you, but also so you didn’t feel the need to constantly accommodate her by wearing the implant to talk.

She spend hours, and I mean hours learning proper and correct signs, maybe to impress you a little, for your first date.

It surprised you, but in a good way. She greeted you, tried her best at speaking and signing basic things, apologised so many times for messing up and not knowing, and even thanked you at the end without any mistakes.

It was so cute, and you definitely let her know she was amazing, so she continued to learn stuff just for the sake of impressing you further.

Let’s skip to when you guys get serious and you move in together, Rhea is basically a pro at sign language; although when she messes up you do giggle.

You loved the fact you didn’t need to wear your implants 24/7 to be able to communicate to your loved one.

Now imagine Rhea telling you she loves you but instead of saying it, she signs it 🥹

SHE DOES IT CORRECTLY TOO

You almost cried

*I have to tell you something. Don’t laugh if I get it wrong*

You nod ready to get asked the most odd question because she botched something, but instead she just signs…

*I love you*

She’d be so shy too

THE END

#wwe x reader #rhea ripley #rhea ripley imagine #rhea ripley x reader #demi bennett #demi bennett x reader #rhea ripley angst #rhea ripley fluff #rhea ripley smut #demi bennett fluff #demi bennett imagine #demi bennett angst #wwe imagine #wwe incorrect quotes #wwe wrestling #rhea #liv x rhea

[ripley8punchingbag]

The genres of ICP songs:

- killing bigots/pedophiles/congressmen/etc

- this “woman” is so hot

- weird little fucking story

- I’m a whimsical evil clown

#ripley speaks facts #insane clown posse

[specialinterestshows]

Do your best to multitask in this latest chapter of my Rhea Ripley x lady!reader fic, Absolute Smokeshow.

Warnings for this section: Exhibitionism/voyeurism, use of toy, praise, teasing, dirty talk (some possessive)

-

Absolute Smokeshow (Part 58/?): Lay Per View

“Mmm, that’s it,” Rhea’s voice was seductive on the recording as you watched her buck her hips slightly to grind against your mouth.

Your girlfriend’s heavy breathing and moaning was interrupted momentarily by the wet sound of the lubricant she was now applying to the toy behind you.

“Faster,” Rhea ordered on the recording.

“Good girl,” she praised you now as you did your best to keep your eyes fixed on the video - despite the fact that she was using the excess lube to make sure you were ready to take the toy you picked for the fucking machine.

“Fuck yes,” Rhea moaned on video as you watched her hand moving to grip your hair, “Mami loves your wet little mouth.”

You surprised yourself with the noises you made when Rhea pulled you back by your hips and slid you halfway onto the toy. A second later, she moved into your field of vision - the dial for the machine held in her hand.

“Finish watching the video first,” Rhea chuckled as you watched her sit down on the other side of the phone, “All the way to the end, baby.”

“Yes, Mami,” you whisper, looking down again.

“Good girl,” the praise was moaned from the recording at the same time Rhea said it to you now; it made her laugh and sent a shiver down your spine, making you ache around the toy.

Rhea’s moans became more and more urgent on the recording as you watched yourself look at the camera, keeping a steady pace with your mouth.

“Fuck, that tongue,” your girlfriend whimpered between moans.

A small click - made with a twitch of Rhea’s hand in your periphery - started the machine, making you gasp as the first thrust pushed the toy all the way inside you.

“Yes… yes!” the cries of building pleasure coming from the phone were almost in time with the somewhat slow thrust of the fucking machine that made you whimper.

Rhea cried out your name on the recording, making you moan as you watched yourself do your best to keep going as she came into your mouth.

Seeing your eyes roll back just from eating her out made you instinctively move to look away - catching yourself before you tore your eyes from the screen, knowing there was still more left to the video.

Noticing your obedience, Rhea rewarded you by turning the dial up one more click - making you bite your lip to stifle the volume of your whimpers.

“Mmm, you did so well,” she praised, giggling blissfully as you watched yourself lift your head, her cum dripped down your chin, “Now clean me up, darling.” You couldn’t help but moan at the command even now, which Rhea took to mean something else.

“That’s right, pretty girl: you’re that sexy,” she cooed as you watched yourself use your tongue to clean Rhea’s cum from her swollen clit. Warmth rose to your cheeks at the misunderstanding, but the more you kept watching yourself… the more you could see what she meant.

“Tell Mami how pretty you are,” Rhea coaxed.

At first, all you could do is moan, knowing you had to keep looking at the phone while saying something that felt strangely embarrassing.

“I… I’m pretty,” you whimper, anxious when your domme didn’t respond and adding, “I’m… beautiful.”

“Such a good girl,” Rhea praised, turning up the fucking machine one more setting as the video finished with “You did so good for Mami, beautiful” and you gave up on trying to control the desperate noises spilling from your lips.

“Mami’s pretty girl,” Rhea muttered, one strong hand grabbing your chin to make you look up at her hungry eyes and knowing smile, “Are you getting close?”

Your vigorous nod once she let go made her chuckle as she glanced at the toy thrusting in and out of you.

“Tell me you’re mine and come for me,” she growled, holding you in her gaze.

“Mm yours Mami,” you barely managed to speak as though those were actually three separate words before you came, Rhea’s icy blue eyes the last thing you saw before closing yours and surrendering the last of your thoughts.

[end part fifty-eight of ?]

Part 29: https://www.tumblr.com/specialinterestshows/737454875568373760/absolute-smokeshow-part-59-pillow-talk-lullaby

-

Tag List (thank you!)

@littlemiss-fanficlover , @babybatlover , @girlofpink , @kagome2909 , @domripley , @wiccanpriestess , @falloutboy-lover , @aut0luminescence

#wwe fanfiction #the judgment day #rhea ripley #rhea ripley x reader #rhea ripley x dominik mysterio #lady!reader #the judgement day #specialinterestshows presents #absolute smokeshow

[call-me-a-simp]

Heal My Wounds

Talk It Out (part 29)

Rhea Ripley x Reader

Tw: physical and sexual abuse, toxic relationship, selfharm, eating disorder

Summary: You are in a toxic relationship with an abusive man but manage to run away. A tall, black haired woman picks you up from the streets just in time so your ex doesn't get you. But who is she and why does she seem so familiar to you? As you get to know each other you start to notice weird feelings you never had before whenever she's around.

The following day you wake up, finding yourself snuggled into Rhea's chest. "Good morning beautiful" Rhea whispers and kisses the top of your head.

You groan a little, not liking the fact that you were just pulled out of a nice dream. "God morning Mami" you yawn without even realizing what you just said.

"oh so you're finally calling me Mami" Rhea teases you straight away. "Ugh God stop it I'm tired" you complain. She giggles and settles back into the bed letting you get comfy on her again.

"When is Dom picking you up today again?" your girlfriend asks. "ten" you mumble. "Oh that's funny because it's already 9:30 you know" she surpresses a laugh.

"WHAT?!" you shoot up "Why didn't you wake me earlierr?" you cry and Rhea finally let's out her laughter. You punch her lightly and then hurry to get out of bed.

Strange, you don't remember going to bed yesterday. Last thing you knew is you were laying on the couch watching a film together.

Now's not the time to think about that! You remind yourself. You gather your clothes and step in the shower, completely ignoring the fact that you didn't even close the door to the bathroom properly.

Who even cares? It's not like she hasn't already seen every single part of your body.

"I'm making breakfast, what do you want?" Rhea calls from outside. "Thanks but I'm not hungry" you respond. You hear her sigh and walk away, knowing very well she's gonna make you something anyway.

About 20 minutes later you're ready and even ate a little just to please your worried girlfriend. The doorbell rings and she let's Dominik in.

"Ain't y/n ready yet?" he questions. "she is but we need to talk first. Rhea replies." "You're making it seem pretty serious, is everything okay?" Dom nervously chuckles.

"Ehh.. More or less" she says and follows him to the kitchen where you're already waiting, anxiously fidgeting with your fingers and picking the skin around your nails.

The two sit down, he in front of you and she next to you, trying to calm you down by taking your hand in hers.

"So, listen Dominik" Rhea begins. "y/n told me that yesterday, as you two were taking a break from shopping, you held her hand and were more touchy than usual which made her a little uncomfortable and she doesn't know if you meant it in a friendship or romantic kind of way, so we need to talk it out!"

"Oh boy, hey I'm sorry y/n" Dom chuckles and immediately releases the tension he held just a few moments earlier.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable in any way, I thought you wanted to, as you were the one to take my hand. Is was just an offer from my side, I wouldn't have been mad if you declined it." he sets up a warm smile.

You relax a little and exhale a shallow breath, nodding slightly as you do so. "Okay Dom Dom, thank you" you smile back, your voice being pretty quiet.

Rhea turns to you as she speaks again. "are Liv and Raquel coming today actually?" "nah they didn't have time, got some matches, you know the drill" you wave it off.

"okay, I think you two should get going then hm? But this time you won't walk outta there without the perfect dress, you got me?" she dares you and raises an eyebrow at Dom.

"Ye ye Mami, see ya later" he laughs at her and you follow him outside, giving Rhea a quick kiss on the cheek as you walk past her. "Thanks" you whisper and earn a wink from her.

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

Little shorter than usual but I'm so freaking tired and exhausted, but still force myself to post at least every second day.

Anyway, happy Pride Month y'all! I'm kinda proud that it's the same month as my birthday haha

Taglist:@babybatlover @legit9thlunaticwarrior @thatonepansexual2000 @nox-fire

#demi bennett #rhea ripley #rhea ripley x reader #wrestling #wwe x reader #dominik mysterio #uncomfortable #no touchy #shopping #gxg fluff #gxg imagine #gxg scenarios #gxg #gay wedding #wedding dress #wedding #talk to me #talk it out

[ilikethisacompletelynormalamount]

... And if, by the series’s end, the audience feels complicit in Ripley’s crimes, that was always part of the con. “He’s got enormous smarts about him. To be able to watch somebody thinking on their feet is always a real treat for audiences,” says Scott. “He’s deeply talented, and talent is very attractive. And the fact that the only people who really know how brilliant he is, is the audience, makes it a real bond.”

#andrew scott #dakota fanning #johnny flynn #ripley #vanity fair

[dmysterioblog]

Chapter V ✧ Don’t Know How To Feel

Pairing: Rhea Ripley x Dominik Mysterio, Rhea Ripley x Roman Reigns

Summary: Rhea had to travel with Roman to an event in SC by themselves.

Warnings; None

Word Count: 4.1k

Playlist

Masterlist

A/n: I had to split this chapter into two cuz it was so long 😭

‘What the fuck. What. The. Fuck.’

It was all that Rhea could even think about ever since everyone, including her, left the conference room after the meeting was over. She wasn’t even able to react at all the second after she heard the last announcement. Hell, she couldn’t even bother to hear what anyone had to say about that decision- even though no one actually said anything about it, really.

However, when she was called by Triple H about the travel details to South Carolina, it was then that reality was slowly sinking in her mind.

She was going to South Carolina with Roman. Both of them alone with no one to join them.

… for five fucking days.

All because not only were they going to that event, but as well as some stupid conferences and other things that they were also required to assist as well the day after the event.

She was expected to leave along with the other champion Wednesday morning, then return Sunday night. A week before Crown Jewel.

She was leaving in three days.

‘Fuck. Why me? Why the fuck couldn’t it be someone like Raquel, Nia, Becky, or Iyo? WHY ME?’ Is what she would’ve asked Triple H if only she wasn’t too shocked at that moment when he gave her every detail regarding the event and their stay at South Carolina.

Even after the meeting was over, she walked outside along with the others still in shock in disbelief- all the while she could hear Damian blabbering whatever nonsense she was telling her about the event.

“–and also, look, you have a reputation to maintain as a champion and a superstar. I know it sucks that you’re going with Roman and not someone else, but this could actually help y—, Rips, are you even listening to me?”

“Huh?” She turned her head to him as she blinked. At that, Damian sighed before he spoke.

“Look… I know you’re shocked. And you don’t like the idea of going alone with Roman, I get it.” He told her, repeating her the same thing he was telling her earlier when she was actually listening. “You needed to get your shit sorted out, but unfortunately this came up and you can’t back out of it. But think about it- this is gonna help you a lot. More people will be in favor of you, more people having your back- hell, you get to talk to important people. If anything, this is gonna help you in many ways. And honestly, you don’t even have to interact with Reigns. Just talk to him about work and that’s it. Nothing more, nothing less. Plus, we’re all acting like nothing happened, so what’s the big deal?”

Rhea sighed deeply as she looked a bit annoyed for a second as they walked outside, until she finally spoke. “You know Priest, I would’ve liked this idea more if A, it didn’t have to be before Crown Jewel, B, if I didn’t have a date with Dom Dom coming u—“

“Oh shoot, so you and Dom are…?”

“… well, we’re taking things slow for now, but it isn’t really defined yet if we’re truly sticking together or not. Anyways, I would’ve liked it more if only I didn’t have to leave before my date with Dom and before Crown Jewel, but also the fact that Roman, out of all people, is going. I mean, come on—“ She huffed exasperatedly. “Why couldn’t it be Seth? Or Gunther? Or hell, even LA Knight? They’re rising stars right now, why don’t they get that opportunity?”

Damian tried to talk but Rhea could only keep going as she kept speaking. “Or bloody hell- why not Becky, or-or Tegan, Raquel, Charlotte? Why none of them, huh?”

“Rhea, calmate.” Damian told her as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure it’s gonna be fine. And plus… knowing you, I know you know your limits at this point. So it’s gonna be fine.”

Rhea still seemed unsure as they stood outside. They were still waiting for the others to go out so that they would all leave together in the same van, especially Roman, since he was talking to Pearce as well as with Triple H about his own travel details and such. Both her and Damian decided to go with their group as they chatted with one another for a bit until they saw Roman and Paul walk out.

“So? How did it go? Authorized or denied?” Finn asked as he stood up. Roman only gave a smile while Paul looked extremely pleased behind him as he spoke.

“I’ll see y’all tomorrow night. Oh- and Damian, make sure you win against Lil Jey. I’ll be watching.”

At that, Damian grinned as he shook Roman’s hand while chuckling. “You bet your ass I will.”

“Good.” He nodded at him before they all went back inside the van as they got ready to finally leave. Rhea sighed as she took her seat with her phone in hand, deciding to get her earbuds out as she was about to listen to music when she suddenly saw Dom walking to her. Perking up, she made some space for him to sit next to her which he noticed as he took the seat.

“Thanks, I almost thought I was gonna fight Theory for the seat.”

At the comment, Rhea snorted. “I’d pay to see that.” She then handed one earbud to Dom, offering him to listen to music with her as he looked at it for a moment before he took it and placed it on his left ear.

Just like how they did all the time before Roman showed up.

Rhea didn’t want to dwell on the thought any further as she was about to put music before she turned to Dom. “Hey… we’re okay for now… right?”

Dom looked up at her, both of them looking each other in the eye before he smiled softly. “… I think we’ll be fine again, but… I’ll miss you when you leave.”

Rhea smiled softly, cupping his left cheek as he spoke. “I’ll be back in no time, okay? And… once we do, we’ll start catching up more.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

With that, they both started listening to music, all the while he placed his head against her shoulder while she let him, caressing his hair softly.

Two days later…

“It should fit- although hopefully it doesn’t damage the dress or anything.” Zelina said to Rhea, arriving at the Australian’s hotel room as she handed her a large suitcase for her to place her dress as well as all of her stuff in.

“Well, I’m carrying this one as well as a carry-on, so I should be alright.” Rhea commented as she placed her dress nearly inside the large suitcase as well as some accessories and her heels. “You’re okay with using my suitcase for now just in case?”

“Yeah, no worries, I’ll be alright.” Zelina reassured her. “You can return mine if you want when you come back, doesn’t matter to me.”

Rhea could only nod as she exchanged suitcases with the shorter woman before she finished packing up. She looked at the time and finished packing up and grabbed anything that she needed. “I gotta get going.”

“Alright. If you need anything, just call or text me- also text me when you land.”

“I’ll see you next week, mama verga.”

“What- you keep calling me that, seriously?”

Rhea couldn’t help but laugh as her and Zelina left the room. The Latina could only sign and roll her eyes before she patted the larger woman’s shoulder. “For real though, stay safe out there, alright?”

“I will.” Rhea reassured before she went and took the elevator while Zelina watched her leave and retreated back into her own room with Rhea’s empty suitcase.

Once Rhea arrived at the lobby, she saw the boys were waiting for her. Dominik was the first one to notice her as he looked up from his phone and perked up before he stood and went up to her to help her carry one of the bags.

“You’re ready?”

“Yeah, let’s go.” She gave him a nod as the four then left, walking out from the hotel to the parking area as they got to their rental car. As Damian opened the trunk for Rhea to put her stuff in, she and Dominik began to place her bags in there before closing the trunk. Finn was the one who then started the car as they all started to get in while Rhea decided to listen to some of her own music for a bit.

When they were about to exit the parking area as they talked about the events from last Monday Night Raw, Rhea took off one headphone to listen to them and join their conversation. However, when she did, she caught a glimpse of something outside and only looked up for a bit. She noticed that Jimmy and Roman were already leaving the hotel as well with Roman having his own suitcase as well as a backpack. She saw as they were approaching their own rental car before she decided to stop looking and dismiss it.

She was only going to work.

Only for work. That’s it.

After a while, the group finally arrived at the airport as Finn parked the car by the main entrance as they all got off, with Dominik helping her get her stuff out while she bid a small farewell to the three males, hugging Damian first before Finn. “I’ll see you guys- I’ll call when I land, alright?”

“Stay safe, Rips.” Finn told her as she nodded at him before she turned to her Terror Twin, giving him a small fist bump.

“Remember what I told you, alright?”

She nodded at him while he patted her shoulder. “I will. Watch over things for now, will you?”

“You know I keep my word.”

She then finally turned to Dominik as he also faced her while he gave her her carry-on bag, all the while Damian and Finn decided to get inside the car and wait until Dom finished.

“So… we haven’t decided when our date is gonna be next week.” She commented.

At that, he gave her a small smile. “I was thinking more after Crown Jewel. I mean… I know you’re gonna retain that title and it would be good if we celebrate it together.”

“So Sunday 5th?”

“Yeah. Works better.” Dominik nodded while she also smiled at him before she noticed the time on her watch. “I better get going…”

“Text me when you land, okay?” He told her as he hugged her. She hugged him in return as she closed her eyes for a second, their hug lasting a bit more compared to Finn and Damian’s. They then broke away as she then gave a small peck on the lips before she carried her stuff.

“Don’t be causing trouble without me, okay?”

“No promises.”

She couldn’t help but chuckle at his response before she turned and began to leave. Dominik watched her leave for a bit before he sighed deeply, wishing he could’ve said something more to her until he was disrupted by Damian who was telling him to get inside the car. He did so as he got in the backseat before they drove off.

They didn’t know that from six cars behind them, Roman had been watching the entire time ever since the moment Rhea and Dom hugged as he was getting his things out.

It took a while for her to check-in as well as for her to pass her suitcase through, not to mention going through TSA, but after a few minutes, she was finally at the gate waiting for her flight. She busied herself on her phone while drinking some coffee, scrolling through social media before she decided to listen to some podcasts she had saved on her phone. It was only fifteen more minutes until she would board her plane, so she still had to wait a while.

However, her peace was suddenly shifted (or more like ruined) when she heard someone approach and sit right next to her. “I’m assuming this seat ain’t taken?”

At that, Rhea held the urge to roll her eyes as she lowered her phone, trying to keep her cool before she smiled sarcastically. “Well, it had my name on it, so yes, Reigns.”

“Huh, weird. Didn’t see it.” She heard him say nonchalantly as she turned to face him while he placed his own backspace beside him on the ground before he leaned back against his chair while also scrolling through his phone as well while he was eating only a half of a breakfast protein oatmeal bar. “You want half of this?”

“No, I don’t eat sugar.”

“Ripley, this barely has any sugar on it.”

“Still, I don't want it.”

“Mmkay, don’t whine when your stomach starts rumbling inside the plane.”

At his snarky remarks, Rhea looked at him as she deadpanned. “If you’re trying to piss me off, then you’re doing a poor job at it.”

“I don’t have a reason to piss you off. But I do have a reason to turn you—“

“Finish that sentence and expect me to twist your arm in front of everyone here. I dare you.”

“Why piss you off when I can get you turned on?”

“Reigns, I swear to god-”

“Okay, okay my bad…You still don’t want some of the protein bar?”

“NO!”

At her sudden yell, some of the passengers noticed and turned to their direction which both Roman and Rhea noticed. She sent a glare at the few people who stared as they instantly looked away while Roman chuckled.

“Sorry y’all,” He apologized. “She’s not a morning person.”

“Oh, so now you pretend to know me all of the sudden?” Rhea asked him as she scoffed while Roman turned to face her.

“I offer you some breakfast and this is how you treat me? Why the sudden change, huh?”

“Let me get something straight here with you,” She told him firmly as she looked him in the eye. “We’re only going to work. Just work. That’s it.”

“I don’t remember mentioning anything else other than work.” He mumbled as he returned and leaned back to scroll on his phone. Rhea rolled her eyes at him.

“I’ll make this simple for you, just in case.” She sneered. “Rule number one, no flirting. We only interact as coworkers, and that’s it. Secondly, don’t get in my business. And C, don’t make the face.”

“… Rhea, I’m sorry but about the business thing, I thought we already discussed this when you were clearly stressed that night and I had to be the one to come for your aid.”

“… breaking rules one, two, and three.”

“I didn’t make the face though—“

“Whatever, just shut up.”

Hours later…

It had felt like forever until finally, the two champions arrived at their destination. Quickly, Rhea wasted no time in letting Finn, Damian, and Dom know that she arrived at South Carolina safely as she texted them. Once she did, she was able to exit the plane and grab her suitcase. Once she made sure she had her things, she waited outside for the other champion until he was able to grab his own stuff as well. Due to him having all the information of their rental car, she needed to wait for him as they both went all the way to the fourth floor of the airport.

Upon their arrival at the rental car center, Roman told Rhea that he would be right back as she waited for him outside by the airport’s third floor parking lot when her phone suddenly rang. When she looked at it, she saw that Dom was the one calling and almost immediately, she answered.

“Hey Dom, Dom.”

“Hey! I just got your text, everything alright so far?”

“Yeah, actually, we’re just getting the rental car stuff ready and we should be on the way to the hotel shortly.” She said as she looked around while talking on the phone with him. “But other than that, how are you guys doing?”

“We’re alright. Damian went out to the gym and Finn decided to join him. I’m just here taking a walk around the beach… and I’m not gonna lie but, it kinda feels lonely without you here, mami.”

At that, Rhea smiled sadly. “Well… I already miss you, too, if that makes you feel any better.”

“Honestly, it does.”

Both of them chuckled at that as Rhea adjusted her carry-on bag that was clinging on her left arm as she spoke. “Well… it’s a bit chilly out here. I even had to take out a jacket from my suitcase the moment I stepped out from the plane.”

“I can see that right now actually- what is it, like 55 degrees?”

“Yeah- feels like it.”

As she and Dominik continued on chatting, Roman had already walked out from the rental car center as he was carrying his stuff, as well as two sets of car keys and a few documents. He looked around as he tried to find Rhea until he turned the corner and noticed her there near the parking area, talking to someone on the phone. Perking up, he went to approach her as he was going to hand one of the keys to her when he suddenly heard her speak out loud.

“Dom…? Yeah… I know, but you don’t have to worry. I already made things crystal clear with Reigns and it will not happen ever again… I’ll be fine, Dom. I’ll make sure to call you every day while I’m out here. For now, just… make sure Priest actually takes care of Judgement Day business this time and make sure you guys have Jimmy and Solo’s backs. Okay?… good. I love you too. Bye.”

Finally, she hung up, all the while Roman pretended to act like he didn’t just hear what he just heard as he went up to her while Rhea noticed him, turning to face him. “You got the keys?”

“Yeah.” He simply told her in a neutral tone, handing her one of the keys before they went to find any car available. As soon as they did, they placed their things at the trunk of the car before they got inside, with Rhea connecting her phone with some of her music while Roman was setting up the GPS on the car’s screen monitor.

Once everything was set, he drove all the way to the hotel, which was about twenty minutes from the airport. They eventually arrived at the hotel and Roman took out their luggage while Rhea went to the front desk to check in.

“Hi, we have a reservation,” Rhea spoke to the receptionist.

“What’s the last name?”

“It should be under Reigns.”

“Yup, found it. Here are the keys for your room,” the receptionist smiled, handing the keys to Rhea.

“Room? There should be two rooms.”

“Uh, let me double check…oh I see what happened. It looks like we accidentally overbooked and unfortunately we don’t have any rooms available. We’re terribly sorry,” the lady apologized, “We can try and find another hotel that can take you in?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Rhea whispered under her breath.

“We’ll take the room,” Roman’s voice came from behind Rhea.

“Now wait a minute-”

“What’s the problem? It’s not like we haven’t shared a bed before.” Rhea groaned in annoyance, roughly taking her bags from Roman’s hands and walking towards the elevators.

“I apologize on her behalf, she’s not in a good mood.” The lady giggled, twirling her hair. Rhea watched the interaction from where she stood and rolled her eyes.

“Reigns!”

“Coming darling!” Roman winked at the receptionist before catching up with Rhea in the elevator.

Once they got to their room, Rhea barged in and went straight to where the bed was located. She took all the pillows she could find and placed them right in the middle of the bed, all while Roman watched in confusion.

“What are you doing?”

“This is my side of the bed and that is your side of the bed. If you dare try to get into my side of the bed I will dislocate your arm and murder you in your sleep, understood?” Roman just raised his hands up in surrender.

“Okay, okay, I didn’t even intend on doing shit.”

“Good.” She firmly said before she placed her things aside and opened up her suitcase. “There should be a laundry or something like that in this hotel, right?”

“Yeah- right on the fifth floor. Why?”

“Need to check if I can iron my dress before the event. Be right back.”

“Wait a minute— we leave in five hours—“

“And? I still have time. You go and get ready yourself. Go on.” With that, she took her dress out of her suitcase before she left the room as Roman watched. Blinking, he shook his head before he propped his own suitcase on the bed and got his own stuff out as well. When he took out his suit for the event, however, he noticed it was a little… rugged.

He then tsked as he looked at it before he began to consider. He should probably iron it first…

Hours had passed until it was 5 PM, two hours before the event. Both were already getting prepared, with Roman still being in the bathroom while Rhea got herself ready in the room. She even ordered some light food for them for now as they haven’t eaten anything all day. If anything, she wouldn’t prefer leaving on an empty stomach especially considering how the event might have alcoholic drinks to offer.

After a while, she managed to get in her dress after doing her makeup as well as retouching her hair as she went to look for her earrings, necklace, as well as her shoes. When she was about to, however, she suddenly heard the bathroom door slam open and a visibly annoyed Roman came out, taking the tie out from around his neck.

“Reigns, what the hell—“

“Look, it’s been years since I’ve done it, but I’m not gonna struggle making my own tie again. I’ll just go tie-less. Screw it.”

“…Reigns. It’s just a tie.”

“Okay then, you try and do it.”

“Oh for crying out loud- come here.” She rolled her eyes and stood up as she took the tie from the bed while Roman reluctantly approached her. “Now stay still.” She ordered him, fixing up the tie a little bit before she placed it around his shirt’s collar. She was able to do his tie with ease after a few seconds. “Let me know if it’s tight.”

“No, it’s okay. I—“ He wasn’t aware of the closeness that he and Rhea had when he suddenly looked down at her. Their gazes met for a few seconds as they only stood there, unmoving. He momentarily gazed at her before he instantly recovered in a low tone while Rhea looked away and cleared her throat as Roman stepped back while adjusting the tie a bit. “It’s fine. Thanks.”

Rhea watched him step back and grab his own shoes before she turned back to find her accessories. She was able to put her earrings on as well as her bracelets and watch. She went to place her own necklace on, but due to some struggle with her nails, she grunted a bit as she tried to put it on, when Roman noticed her struggling as he stood up.

“Here,” He said as he went behind her. At that, Rhea reluctantly allowed him to put her necklace on. She adjusted the necklace a bit and looked at herself in the mirror before she went to get her shoes.

“… thanks.” She only mumbled as she sat on the bed and placed her shoes on. Her low voice was still enough for Roman to hear as he looked up at her momentarily and actually began to take in her appearance.

She… she looked gorgeous.

He suddenly shook his head as he went and decided to wrap things up as he finished getting ready. After a while, both were now ready as they began to head downstairs while waiting for their food so they could eat quickly and then leave.

Taglist:

@sassginaswanmills @riptideripley @tonuitekan

#fanfic #angst #rhea ripley x dominik mysterio #rhea ripley x roman reigns #rhea ripley #dominik mysterio #roman reigns #the tribal chief #the judgment day #the bloodline #damian priest #finn balór #jimmy uso #solo sikoa #wwe

[thecaffeinebookwarrior]

Why do you think Kylo hasn’t been called a Mary Sue? I actually see him as a male example of one. He’s also badly written: we never know his motivations, he’s written to be sympathetic even though we firsthand witness him being cruel and remorseless about it, we don’t know why he wants to be evil, every character is forced to be nice to him even after aforementioned cruel acts and a shitty ‘redemption’, etc.

He’s the worst character of the new trilogy. He’s not intriguing, he’s not relatable, he’s not cool, he’s got no charm or pizazz. I know others feel differently but I just can’t stand him at all. What’s your analysis of this?

Thank you!

Hello there! Going to geek out for a bit and share some controversial opinions here.

I think all the flaws in Kylo's writing that you mentioned are 100% valid, though I will also say that I do personally find him to be a better written character than Rey. Why? Because there's an element of narrative tension to Kylo's character that Rey's character lacks.

This isn't a compliment to the writers. It's a byproduct of the fact that they themself didn't know what they were going to do with Kylo, and were waiting to see audience reactions to base their decisions around that.

This is true for a lot of elements of the Star Wars sequel trilogy (and the original trilogy to an extent to, though in lieu of the internet, it all felt a little bit more spontaneous and less...algorithmically generated).

But Rey was always going to stay good, and we, the audience, never doubted that or were given actual reason to suspend disbelief about it (like, yes, the odds of Luke following in Darth Vader's footsteps were also negligible, but the pull of the Dark Side felt way more real and tangible as Vader and Palpatine were tempting him).

I DO think Rey had a lot of potential as a character, and liked her in the first movie especially, but she was just increasingly blandly written. And a lot of that blandness came from a lack of narrative tension. There was no seduction from the Dark Side, no moment where we were really forced to question if we'd give into it in her position.

Now, Kylo had SO many narrative flaws, probably more than Rey. But at least we didn't know whether he was going to rejoin the Light Side, because the writers themselves didn't know. He could be REALLY villainous and unlikeable, but there was also a door left open for redemption - because the writers were waiting to see if that's what audiences wanted.

I can't speak for anyone else, but to me that's personally why Kylo ended up being a more interesting character than Rey, albeit not a particularly well-written one.

As to why he's never called a Mary Sue, obviously there's a big gender element to that - the term is almost exclusively applied to female characters, often by people who don't like women very much.

But I'm going to dip my toe into the waters of controversy here: a lot of producers, directors, and writers try and hide behind "strong" female characters to justify bad, shallow writing. A female character being "strong" won't make her interesting, likeable, or iconic.

Granted, people who don't like women will call ANY powerful female character a Mary Sue (or similar terms) but a well-written female character can usually attract enough adoration to drown those complaints out more.

Like, for example, The Bride from Kill Bill. Jackie Brown. Ellen Ripley from Alien. Katniss Everdeen from Hunger Games. Clarise Starling from Silence of the Lambs. Agent Scully from X Files. Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. Evelyn and Joy from Everything Everywhere All At Once. Princess Leia!

Yes, misogynists are going to hate, say, the most recent incarnation of She-Hulk (who's AMAZING in the comics, I'm so mad about it), but their hatred doesn't make her a well-written character by default. She's simply badly written in the show (in my opinion. Please don't kill me).

And I really, really want more iconic characters, male and female. That's why I demand better writing for both, and won't accept any cheap cop-outs.

Okay, this has turned into sort of a rant that doesn't have much to do with your original question. Forgive me.

Looping back to your original point, I do actually agree with all of your points about the flaws in Kylo's writing! And I hope you don't mind me using it as an opportunity to vent some of my Opinions.

P.S. Please don't jump me Star Wars people, the reason I'm opinionated about it is because I do really love it, especially the original trilogy (and more controversially, the prequel trilogy). Also, you guys make some beautiful fanworks, and really give a lot of these characters the depth and care that they deserve.

#long post for ts #writing

[radicalgraff]

Memorial mural of Nicola Sacco & Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian-born anarchists who were executed on the 23rd of August, 1927.

Sacco and Vanzetti were falsely convicted of murder during a robbery they did not commit. Despite one of the largest solidarity campaigns in world history, the men were nonetheless executed simply for their conviction as anarchists.

Both men had made their way to America from Italy. Vanzetti worked as a fishmonger, Sacco was a skilled shoe-maker. Both were unionists, Sacco had been arrested for organising and participating in factory strikes. Despite his radical politics, Saccos boss believed he was such an upstanding man he trusted the anarchist with keys to the factory, and publicly defended the anarchist after his arrest.

The evidence of their innocence was overwhelming. Twelve of Vanzetti's customers testified that he was delivering fish to them at the time of the crime. An official at the Italian consulate in Boston testified that Sacco was there organising a passport at the time of the crime. On top of the facts, a man came forward and confessed to the murder. He was not arrested.

The jury had been hand picked from local members of the Masons and conservative organisations. Before the trial had even begun, the foreman of the Jury, Walter Ripley said “damn them! They ought to hang anyway.”

The judge, Webster Thayer, speaking of Vanzetti said “"This man, although he may not have actually committed the crime attributed to him, is nevertheless morally culpable, because he is the enemy of our existing institutions." A few days after the death sentence was handed down the judge gloated to a friend “"Did you see what I did to those anarchist bastards?"

The international solidarity campaign was incredible. In the UK, the campaign was led by philosopher Bertrand Russel. Even the former Prime Minister Ramsay McDonald expressed his disgust at the case. In the US, socialists and labour leaders like James Cannon and Eugene Debs were major figures in the campaign. Even the conservative AFL-CIO, the major trade union body in the United States supported Sacco and Vanzetti. Hundreds of thousands of workers attended public meetings to hear about the case. Often these were broken up by police, and hundreds more workers ended up in jail just for supporting the campaign. In Argentina direct actions by anarchists were undertaken against the US embassy, and the anarcho-syndicalist FORA organised large demonstrations in support of the anarchists. Despite all the public pressure, tragically appeal after appeal was rejected. Finally on 23rd of August, 1927 the anarchists were executed by the electric chair.

After the anarchists met their deaths there was an explosion of outrage across the world. The US embassy in Paris was surrounded by tanks to protect it from an angry crowd of protestors. A riot in London resulted in 40 injuries, the US Consulate in Geneva was surrounded by a 5,000 strong crowd, while huge crowds wearing black armbands marched in Boston and New York.

The brave pair met their deaths with honour. They were aware that the struggle for their freedom had inspired hundreds of thousands around the world. As Vanzetti said “If it had not been for these things… i might have died unmarked, unknown a failure. Now, we are not a failure… This is our triumph. Never in our full lives could we hope to do such work for tolerance, for justice, for man's understanding of man as we now do by accident. Our words - our lives - our pains, nothing! The taking of our lives - the lives of a good shoemaker and a poor fish-peddler - All! That last moment belongs to us.

That agony is our triumph!”

#sacco and vanzetti #graffiti #graff #anarchism #anarchy #street art #muralart