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assumptionprime · 9 hours

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I need to rant about the Fallout show

Because this is the person I am. Full spoilers, so I’m putting it behind a Keep Reading:

I’m a huge sucker for Fallout (yes even 3&4). And I went into the Fallout show with some… trepidation. Amazon has been a mixed bag on adaptations, we could have been blessed with a Good Omens, or cursed by a Rings of Power. But early buzz and reviews seemed positive, so I slammed the whole thing in one night with my spouse (we were staying at my in-laws house and they have Prime. Time was a factor.)

And y’know? I was really enjoying it! The characters were fun, the plot was engaging enough, and the costumes and visual design were extremely on point. There were some minor lore quibbles to be had: Ghouls needing some kind of medicine to not go feral. Really, more Enclave holdouts? Timeline and date whoopsies. Wait are they in California? Where the hell is the NCR?

I made a face at Shady Sands being bombed and the NCR collapsing. But I wasn’t completely out of the story. Based on what I had seen so far, I thought it was building to a reveal that the Brotherhood had done it. That the more zealous turn they took in Fallout 4, which has clearly carried to how they are portrayed in the show, lead them to bombing the NCR. War never changes, as they say. Maximus even says when asked what happened to Shady Sands: “The same thing that always happens.” Yeah, it leans into Bethesda’s weird desire to keep the Fallout world in a state of perpetual wastelands full of raiders and no civilization, but it wasn’t so terrible that I couldn’t still enjoy the show.

But then.

BUT THEN.

Episode 8, and the reveal of Vault-Tec apparently being the ones who dropped the first bomb in the Great War.

I was surprised to hear that some fans have apparently been debating over who fired first? Some even asked Tim Cain about it?

That’s really odd to me because, in the games, there is already a pretty definitive answer to which side sparked the Great War:

Who fucking cares?

The world ended. What does it matter who shot first?

There is no China, no United States, no communists or capitalists left to fight about it.

It's a powerful little bit of lore.

For all the posturing, all the promises from each nation that their way is the true way, all the nationalism, the militarism, and blind loyalty to flags over humanity, they both lost. Everyone lost. All that remains of the ideologies and nations that were so important to the people of 2077 is faint echoes over vast expanses of radioactive ash.

Who started the end?

No one knows. No one cares.

It only matters that their conflict was so bitter, so all-consuming, that one of them dropped their bombs, and the other dropped theirs in return.

The truest legacy of the old world is the devastation left by their final, most horrific war.

Can we do better?

Then the show says "Nah, Vault-Tec did it. It's not a commentary on human nature and the futility of self-destructive conflict, it was actually these guys, these mustache twirling villains huddled in a darkened room literally plotting to end the whole world so they can rule what's left."

And I can see the attempt to make this a critique of capitalism. I actually paused the show to praise a bit of writing when Coop is talking with Charlie before the war, when Charlie tells him that the “cattle ranchers are in charge” to illustrate how capitalism and corporations hold too much sway over the government, it felt very in line with how in New Vegas one of the recurring critiques of the NCR is that all the real power is in the hands of the “brahmin barons.” Nice parallel, spot on!

But “we’ll set off total thermonuclear war so we can rule the ashes and have a True Monopoly” isn’t capitalism. It’s just dumb “we’re the baddies” writing.

And then Shady Sands was also Vault-Tec?! Forget any meaning in the NCR falling to the same corruption and/or factional fighting that consumed the old world, they were literally just bombed by the evil shadow conspiracy that apparently also killed the old world. Hank gives this speech about factions fighting and the futility of it all while we see the Brotherhood fighting Moldaver’s NCR remnant, and like, no! You can’t say that when you’ve made it so neither the old world or the NCR fell to war with another faction! It was you! You and your band of cryogenic supervillains!

I don't care that they changed it. Timelines and dates and little retcons don’t bother me all that much. I care that they changed it to something so much worse.

#fallout #fallout tv show #fallout spoilers #nerdy rant about shit that doesn't actually matter but has been stewing in my head for a week now

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lovecaptainrex · 1 day

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Late analysis on Hunter before the season wraps up because I love him 💞

This is very long so strap in!

Hunter is my 3rd favourite in the batch and the grievances I hear about this character is that he has no arc. That he has been stagnant as a character since season 1. That is very wrong and I would like to say that if one dislikes a character or doesn't agree with their actions it doesn't mean they have no arc.

Let's start with;

CLONE WARS

When we first meet Hunter here, He is efficient as a leader. He doesn't talk much, is grumpy most of the time, can be skeptical but is actually open to ideas. Most of all Hunter seems to enjoy what he is doing. He is cocky here like the rest of his brothers. He is comfortable here. This is Hunter's element. No emotions just efficiency.

BAD BATCH SEASON 1

Here we meet Omega. The central character and the focus of the story. From their first interaction we see Hunter change. In just one episode he shows he can be reckless enough to go back for her. He immediately is attached to her. I thought this would be unique to her but it seems like Hunter just is drawn to be a protector for little children. From Gungi to the little itty bitty clones we see in season 3. While Hunter and Omega are getting closer and closer there is a rift happening between him and Crosshair.

Hunter makes mistakes. He is human and I would like to point out that his mistakes do not come from a hateful place. He is not doing this out of hate and despising someone. He genuinely is trying and sadly failing. He is out of his element here. He even tells Rex I am still figuring it out. Anyways his mistakes and Crosshair's abandonment issues lead to him losing his brother. Crosshair choosing the empire over him is a huge blow for Hunter.

BAD BATCH SEASON 2

This season Hunter regresses back to his clone wars self. He is so tired in this season and he seems to be constantly grumpy. He still doesn't show his emotions. He takes a step back this season. Doesn't involve himself in anything unless it concerns Omega. He failed Crosshair so I think he is desperately holding on to not failing Omega 😔😭

Sadly this man is having a bad timeline. He loses Omega and Tech on the same day. I hear the complaint..... "Why didn't he immediately jump on saving Crosshair like Tech did?" Because like I said, he regressed back to his skeptical self. He is scared to place Omega in danger again so much so that it even clouds his judgement.

"After losing Tech, why didn't he go back for Crosshair?" I don't know man, maybe because the man just lost his brother 🤷‍♀️

Anyways he only has Wrecker left.

BAD BATCH SEASON 3

Here we see grief stricken Hunter who is desperate to get Omega back that he gets too reckless. Wrecker and Hunter's armour are proof of that. Wrecker questioning Hunter is more proof which he never did in the past.

Enter Crosshair 🫣 Lmfaooo I just love the scene where he gets out from the ship and he is like 🧍

Anyways with Crosshair being back Hunter now has to address his emotions. His past mistakes and failures are directly staring back at him and Crosshair isn't afraid to call him out on it. Both are hurt but I actually liked this scene. Hunter is non-confrontational in his nature and here he actually voices out his frustrations.

He addresses his failures, guilt, regrets and Crosshair understands. Both made mistakes and that is a good quote, " There may be hope for us yet" 🥲😭😭

Hunter then takes a step back as he lets Omega and Crosshair bond. He sees that he is more comfortable near Omega and he lets them be. He also sees Omega become her own person. She is no longer that little kid he once knew 😭 We still see his overprotective nature where he doesn't allow Omega to put herself in danger and keeps her close all the time unless she asks otherwise.

Then Omega gets captured. AGAIN 💀

Now Hunter experienced this once but this time he is no longer acting on emotions as he sees how capable Omega is. He is determined now. Makes risky decisions that he is confident in and actually succeeds.

I have never been proud of him as I am now 😭 This is the Sergeant Hunter I was waiting for. Confident, determined and most importantly efficient.

No matter what Hunter's fate is, I love this version of Hunter the most and I sincerely hope he succeeds this time.

Phew that was long! Thank you if you actually stuck around to read this and love you 💖

Let's all pray together that he survives the finale 🤞

#the bad batch #tbb #tbb hunter #tbb spoilers #the bad batch spoilers #the bad batch hunter

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catchingdaydreams · 2 days

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Sleep paralysis demon Miguel - Part 2

Part 1

(not proof read)

It was little over a week until any forms of sleep paralysis was forced upon you. During then you had time to think of the whole ordeal. That 'grumpy shadow', you unofficially named him for now , didn't appear the following nights either. This led to your conclusion that he only showed up with one of your episodes. You weren't looking forward to them even more now. After the last encounter you have no clue how he would react to you. You did upset him for not acknowledging his menacing gaze. But it's not your fault that just continuously staring is awkward. Its human nature.

Besides the point you needed to come up with a plan. You have no clue what that shadow man is or what caused yourself to be haunted by him. If this was becoming a frequent thing then there needs to be a way you can communicate to him. Maybe you can fix whatever bad blood between us. Maybe you could tell him to leave?

You just hope you won't provoke him....

...But that wouldn't be half enjoyable.

As the nighttime was looming over, you hopped into bed. It took you a while for your body to feel at ease but eventually you were falling to what appeared to be your slumber. But coldness of the room etched within the sheets sending in goes bumps. You tried to bury yourself further within the covers but your body was completely frozen. You signed irritatedly about your discomfort with the temperature. While tossing and turning before, much of your left leg and chest was exposed to the cold air. Every passing minute seemed to feel colder and colder. This wasn't normal, the coldness increased to the point that you could see your breath. Something supernatural was a play and you had a good guess who.

But he didn't show himself, not right away though. Miguel had bigger plans this time. It wasn't just hunger anymore. He was determined to make you fear him.

The coldness that etched into your room spewed an icy mist that made you sight hazy and dulled the rest of your senses. You tried not to panic. You really did. However, subconsciously fear had stricken you as the room grew darker and darker. The only sense that remained was your hearing. But that wasnt reliable as all you could hear was your heartbeat thumped louder and louder in your head. The only warmth that lingered was your body sweating bullets as a million thoughts were running through your mind.

Why was this time so different? Is it even the same entity doing this? Oh god, what if whatever this thing is trying to hurt you?

The last thought terrified you. Especially how exposed you felt when half your body wasn't under the sheets. Your paranoia sparked nasty ideas of something grabbing your feet and dragging you down. You thought that this terror might break your stillness, trying to move your body once more, though proved fruitfulness. You huffed at this mental strain over a flight response. Your sense we're being tested. Played like a fiddle while you were so helpless.

During your internal dilemma, you didn't notice the tapping above you. Walls groaning and creaking until it grew into a banging, vibrating the walls so violently that it shook the picture frames above.

Your mind was cleared from thought when the banging boomed above your head. You rolled your eyes up to witness who was doing it but from the angle you couldn't see anything.

What you did see was a flicker in the corner of your eye. On for a second flashed red. You blinked, focusing your vision in front of you.

There he was. Hunched over you on the bed. Almost as if he was pinning you down. What you didn't notice was that you didn't feel any weight of his body pressed onto you. You didn't know he was simply a shadow. But it's not like you knew nor cared at the moment. You were too preoccupied with how this fucken man was above you, given you looks that would kill.

You didn't know how you could be even more frozen in fear. His face was just an arms length of yours. His red glowing gaze still obscured his shadowed face, yet with being in closer proximity you could make out a scow. He took notice of moving away from his gaze to the rest of his face. He smirks, flashing his bright white fangs at you.

Miguel has been having dinner and a show with you. This time he made sure your fear persisted during his feeding. His little tricks seemed to do the work. And he certainly got a kick out of you not being a little arrogant bitch this time around when you saw him again.

Even now as he grins wildly your fear keeps growing. He thinks that you're scared of his teeth, which came up with an idea.

He leans closer to you, his mouth opens wide as he growls deeply. He aims at your throat. While he couldn't actually touch you, you didn't know that he wasn't gonna rip your voice box out. He could see your pupils dilate as a small scream emits from your closed lips. Its was almost too comical to Miguel, he grins, trying to keep in character and not laugh at you.

He might as well be drunk on your fear right now from how much you were emitting. His breath glazed over your clammy skin as he could hear how fast your heart was bumping.

Moving closer, he paused

He Noticed something above you. Miguel found your little letter that was taped on the wall above you. Glancing over it, he saw it was a message to him.

Hey shadow man, can you please stop being a creep leave me alone. I'm not into being watched by a prevy rando.

Okey thanks

It pissed him off.

Arrogant little bitch, he thought Who the hell thing they are? You were going to-

*Slap*

"Creep!!!" You cried

"Ow-fuck!!!" Miguel curses with a snarl, fangs blaring in offence. He rubs his face to ease the sting.

'She...slapped me?' He couldn't believe it.

'I slapped him' You couldn't believe it.

You both stared at each other, completely dumbfounded. It took you a few seconds to release that 'oh hey you can move now' and 'get the fuck out of here instincts' kicked in.

And get the fuck out of here you did.

With one swift motion you kicked him in the gut, causing him to fall back in surprise. Finally with him off you, this was your chance. You rummaged the sheets off and ran straight out of the room.

All the while Miguel was left on the bed to collect himself.

What the hell was going on?

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theflyindutchwoman · 1 day

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Hey! How are you holding up? Just finished the episode and I haven't really recovered. I am sad, I am frustrated, I don't really know what's happening? I thought they were mature and Tim is so dumb right now, I can't even.

And Lucy? I can't even start to imagine what she's going through. She has been so badass for the 5 seasons and this season she just gets fail after fail and loss after loss and doesn't even get a good job storyline.

So sorry I didn't reply sooner but I first wanted to take a little step back in order to fully digest the episode. As much as the waiting is killing me, I actually appreciate the hiatus for that. I imagine your feelings may have changed a bit as well since then… or that was the impression I got from our different conversations here and there. How are you feeling now? A bit better or still frustrated?

I'm going to start with Lucy. I was rewatching the beginning of season 5 and this is hitting even harder now. Not because of the pining era. But because the narrative was already showing her isolation back then. I couldn't quite put my finger on why her storyline in season 6 felt so familiar but now I get it. This is merely the continuation.

As we all noticed, the scene of Tim breaking up with her had a very similar vibe to the one at the end of 5.02. But think back of when she went to Nyla for advice about going to UC school, when she was trying to confide to Aaron who was too caught up in his own drama to hear her… or when she spent hours locked in a freezer because no one realised she was missing - besides Tim, that is. And then, there was the whole Rosalind thing where Lucy had to push through her own trauma to help Chris deal with his and help Bailey stay calm. But no one ever took the time to ask her how she was doing with all of this (on screen). They all had good reasons, by the way, this isn't me trying to paint them as the bad guys. But this still has an eerie similarity to what is happening right now. Only there has been no payoff for any of this. Yet. It didn't seem to go anywhere. Until now. Same with her career : she nailed UC Academy, something that was supposed to help her standout come promotion time… She helped the FBI on a raid, she was asked to be the acting Watch Commander, she was told that the whole station had her back… And yet, none of this paid off either. Yet. So this is a great opportunity to finally connect all the dots that have been dropped for the past two seasons and give Lucy the amazing arc she deserves. I sincerely hope this will be the case.

As for Tim… Look, the reason why I didn't want a breakup (besides the fact that I dislike this trope so much), is that I was afraid that it would cheapen the whole "worth the effort / worth the risk" speech. You can't say that and leave at the first difficulty without downplaying the whole story. So I'm glad that the writers were able to find a way to circumvent that issue by showing Tim completely unravelling. Because this isn't about him thinking Lucy is not worth the effort or the risk… This is about him thinking HE is not worthy of her. And that changes everything. For me, at least. I still get the frustration. I still wish this storyline would have been done with them sticking together and trying to work through it. But I can understand his perspective, why he thought this would be better for her. And I can see how that could make them stronger in the end. So, just like with Lucy, I hope Tim's arc will be treated properly and carefully. I need to see the payoff, the progress… I need to see them heal. Separately and then, together. It's always hard to see where a story is going when it is still unfolding… But for now, I choose to remain optimistic and hopeful. Does that help you even a tiny bit?

#thanks for the ask :) and again I apologise for not answering sooner!#ask & ye shall receive #the rookie #chenford #lucy chen #tim bradford

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mustardyellowsunshine · 4 hours

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In today's episode of Shut Up Robin, Nobody Cares:

InuKag bickering is so good because it's deeply telling of how comfortable InuYasha and Kagome are with each other at almost every stage of their relationship.

For starters, contrary to seemingly popular belief, arguing does not inherently signal dysfunction. It can sometimes signal the opposite: it demonstrates a level of intimacy and trust in your relationship that you are able to openly disagree with your loved one. You are not afraid of conflict because you know it won't break the relationship. In my experience, at least, it's shaky relationships that avoid conflict at all costs. When there's not enough emotional security with each other to openly disagree without fear/anxiety, open conflict never happens. That's why "arguing like an old married couple" is a cliché: it's the people who've built trust and security who will bicker like that.

I mean, don't get me wrong, it doesn't feel great to be in conflict with a loved one, even in a secure relationship. But being able to navigate conflict together in a way that eventually leads toward understanding and compromise is the sign of a strong relationship. Arguing is often a step in that process.

Which is why I find InuKag arguments absolutely, lip-smackingly delicious.

When they first meet, their arguments have the distinct flavor of, "I don't like you and I don't care what you think about me." Which is an excellent vintage tbh, full-bodied flavor with refreshing tartness. 👌👌 There's something so intrinsically entertaining about watching early-series InuKag butt heads, all the while knowing they eventually get married. And because early-series InuKag doesn't especially care about the other person's opinion of them, they don't hold back: there's no politeness barrier between them, there's no equivocating or filtering. They just have at it. They're not afraid to be themselves around each other, even when they dislike each other.

Then when their friendship begins to form—stage two InuKag 😁—their bond is forged from the two-pronged fire of 1) having each other's backs in life-or-death situations, and 2) experiencing the humdrum quotidian moments that come with traveling together all day, every day for long stretches of time. I've talked about this before, but I love how they know all the dumb little things about each other that you only learn from prolonged proximity: they know the timbre of each other's snores at night; they know how long the other can go without food before hangry-ness rears its head; they know which posture signals irritation or exhaustion, which facial expression signals daydreaming contemplation or a playful mood; they know which jokes will get a laugh and which insults will get the sharpest glances; the little intimacies abound!

By the friendship stage, InuKag bickering takes on a slightly different flavor. There's still that unfiltered, no-holds-barred vibe about them (because they're so used to being blunt with each other), but it also has the tenor of easy familiarity. Friends falling into the same low stakes argument they've had a hundred times already. There's not often any real heat or tension to the bickering, it's more like rote muscle memory. And when they do have real arguments, with real tension and emotional stakes?? It's delicious precisely because there are emotional stakes now! Goodbye, "I don't care what you think about me," hello, "I care so much what you think and I hate it and you're going to hear about it." It's still arguing InuKag, but with different emotional fuel sparking the arguments. Now there's affection and trust underpinning their unfiltered way with each other. It's mmm mmm good! I can eat it up all day.

And as the series progresses, and InuKag begin to develop obvious romantic interest in each other—stage three InuKag, yes it's terminal—the flavor of the arguments gets deeper because now those emotional stakes? They're even higher. And yet despite the higher stakes and the messy complications, they're still not afraid to butt heads. They're not afraid to be blunt and hash things out. I love this example of InuYasha's hack-and-slash style of conflict resolution. If there's a wall between him and resolving the tension, he'll just punch his way through it. 😂 Another favorite of mine is this banger scene where Kagome bluntly calls InuYasha out on his jealousy.

But probably my favorite stage three InuKag fight scene is this one, from chapter 310:

(Full scene here.)

Man, it's so good! Kagome—after taking pains to save Kikyo, who then essentially taunts her for it—starts to feel angry and resentful and then wallops InuYasha with those feelings. (Before any haters pipe in: characters need to make mistakes sometimes. This is one such occasion. Let the 15-year-old girl character make a mistake ffs.) And what does InuYasha do? He sticks around so they can hash it out. The best panels in this chapter are Kagome thinking, "He probably hates me now," only for her to look up and see him right beside her. He can handle her mistakes and flaws, because he knows Kagome. They've spent 300 chapters building trust in each other, and we see the fruit of that here. InuYasha knows very well that Kagome cares for him—cares so much that she's risked her life for him many times over by now, and cares so much that she just saved her own romantic rival partly for InuYasha's sake (but largely because she's just a good person). I think that's why he handles this moment with pretty good composure. He knows Kagome doesn't actually hate him, briefly hurtful as that comment surely was. So he waits until she's processed her feelings a bit more, and they talk it out. (While we're here: I really like that he's sitting close to her but is facing away from her, like he's trying to give her the space/privacy she needs to process her feelings without actually leaving her alone... ugh I love it.)

Notice how, even in the midst of this fight, they start checking in with each other, putting the other person's interest before their own. Kagome sincerely urges InuYasha not to "hold back," the subtext of which reads to me: "Don't let my outburst tie you down, please do what you need to do." InuYasha responds in kind (his subtext reads to me: "Be honest, don't just put on a brave face for me") and also reassures Kagome's underlying anxiety. When he says, "You saved Kikyo, right? Then she'll be fine, I'm not going after her," he's speaking directly to the source of Kagome's insecurity—he's telling her in no uncertain terms that concern for Kikyo's safety was his only motive for seeking her out. Now that he knows Kikyo has been healed and isn't in imminent danger, he's not going after her. Again, he is intentionally addressing what he knows to be the source of Kagome's outburst when he says, "You healed Kikyo? Then I don't need to see her." To me, his message is pretty clear: "I wasn't looking for Kikyo for the reasons you think."

Like! Look at them! Openly and honestly communicating! Messily sharing their feelings! Resolving conflict and talking shit out! They've come so far. 🥹

These stage three InuKag fights feel different than their early-series fights, and they should! InuKag have built trust and love, but with that love comes vulnerability. It's the people we love who have the power to hurt us most. So even while InuKag have fundamental trust in each other, they're both aware that their feelings come with greater potential to hurt each other. And watching them navigate that tension and that duality together? MMM MMM GOOD.

Like truly, InuKag fights at every stage of their relationship are my favorite thing, it's all such good food.

#this post is for my 14-year-old self who always loved InuKag fights but who didn't have the words or life experience to articulate why #now I've got way too many words for it 😂#Inuyasha #InuKag #analysis

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midwesternvibes · 2 days

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Alright people, it's time for more Villain Leo lore!!!

Today we are diving into Leo and Splinter's relationship!!!

Read under the cut because this got so LONG, these two have so many issues and there was so much to work with.

Alright, so it's no secret that Leo and Splinter have a....less than ideal relationship. You can see throughout all of TMNT history that Leo looks up to Splinter an insane amount, and Rise Leo is no different.

This boy looked up to Lou Jitsu his whole life, and we can often see him doing the same movements and catchphrases that Lou did. Granted, all the boys do, but Leo seems particularly attached to Lou

And we've all seen the smile comparisons, it's insane how similar his grandiose smile is to Lou Jistu's.

The point is, Leo really looks up to his dad, and we can see this in his actions and attitudes towards not only Lou Jitsu, but also Splinter in canon.

"Trust me pops!"

I mean, just look at how happy he is to be there with his dad, in his element. This episode is Leo at his peak, outsmarting everyone and predicting his family's moments to the letter.

Also, idk about you, but that smile seems incredibly genuine. That's not even a Lou Jitsu smile, that's a 100% Hamato Leonardo smile at his dad whom he looks up to so much.

And what does Splinter say to his son's ask for trust?

"I knew I should have brought Purple!"

....what.

That is his SON. His 14, maybe 15 year old son, who is asking for his father to trust him.

....and he responds by saying that he wishes he had brought his more intelligent twin brother instead, who he has already shown an implied favoritism towards in the past

"And I thought Purple was the funny one!"

"Told you guys I was the funniest."

This is a pretty harmless comment tbh, but Leo takes so much pride in his quips, one-liners and puns that this had to sting a little bit.

There's such a huge amount of content to sift through when it comes to these two, and that fact actually saddens me because I had SO MUCH to pick from when making this post, but here's some highlights.

One thing that I noticed while watching a Splinter and Leo compilation is that during the memory episode, Leo is the only one Splinter directly hits

NONE of the other three were directly hit like this is any point in the episode and yeah, this could totally be played off as a bit or just a case of wrong place, wrong time, but we'll get to my theory later, right now I'm just laying out the facts.

An important detail I'd like to point out here too is Leo's face after the first hit.

Guys, he looks HURT. Donnie and Raph are looking at him, checking that he's okay, but he is looking right past them at the shadow Splinter, who is dressed and looks just like his childhood idol, who just hit him specifically right in the face.

Not only his idol even. No, the most pure and unfiltered representation of his father, the man who's raised him his whole life.

And he just got hit in the face.

Ouch. For a kid as emotive as Leo (who I honestly think feels his emotions even more intensely than Mikey when he lets them out), this is a devastating blow. Literally.

Then, let's talk about this scene, you all knew it was coming.

"Can someone tell my son I am NOT TALKING TO HIM!!"

"You got this pops! I love you!"

Guys this scene hurts my heart. Like, once again, he can't be older than 15 at this point. Yeah he's being a badass stratigiser this whole episode, but you cannot convince me that he wasn't at least a little excited to see his dad, his HERO in action, and wearing a matching outfit as well, and show his dad, his idol and hero, exactly what he's capable of. Leo absolutely worships the ground Splinter walks on and what does his father have to say to his son"s encouragement??

"NO!"

GAHHHH like yes, Leo was kinda being a little shit this whole episode and could have clued his dad in on the plan a little bit, but honestly that could have ruined everything if Splinter had any holdbacks.

Not to mention, this is the only Leo and Splinter episode we get. Donnie gets the derby, Mikey gets the Hidden City bonding, even Raph gets the ending of the memory episode, and in each, they have a genuine moment of bonding with Splinter.

Splinter never ONCE apologized for his actions in this episode. Not once. RAPH is the one who tells Leo in this episode later on that he trusts Leo, something he's been begging Splinter for the entire time.

All of a sudden, this moment doesn't seem so out of place.....

"I love you soooo much!" "No, no you don't, I'm your least favorite!!"

This line could totally just be a throwaway line, but as it was pointed out to me by the wonderful @nardos-primetime, the alarms that the boys did for Google home have a REALLY upsetting one for Leo

youtube

Go to about 1:57 and listen to that one and just......cry.

NOW that line in "Rat Flu" makes a LOT more sense. Splinter LAUGHED at Leo when he asked if he was his favorite. LAUGHED at him.

But wait, you may ask. What about the ending? Splinter made Leo the leader, obviously he trusts him!

....yeah, just take a look at their faces here.

Donnie and Mikey are basically horrified beyond belief and in complete shock

Raph is.....blue screening, honestly

And Leo looks completely taken aback and shocked and scared and honestly, I don't blame him. There is absolutely NO precedence for Splinter to do this. He has proved time and time again that he does NOT trust Leo, he never ONCE tells Leo that he trusts him even though he asks for that trust during the entirety of "Unhappy Returns". NONE of them look happy about this new change.

You could see this as Splinter finally giving Leo a chance, but I see this a lot more as one of the more popular Fandom interpretations of Splinter wanting to give Raph a break. Raph had a huge breakdown during the finale and I don't think it's unreasonable for Splinter to have heard of that and decide that his beloved eldest needed a chance to recover.

Who better to pass this burden on to than his least favorite son!

We also see in the movie that this shift in power dynamics really doesn't do much other than create a lot of interpersonal conflict between Leo and Raph, something Splinter does absolutely nothing to help out with, other than telling them to quiet down.

Now that we have all of our evidence (and I put more work into getting evidence for this than for the English project I'm supposed to be doing right now can I just cite this as a source for me being capable of gathering evidence???) we can actually get into the analysis of how this all would affect him.

First of all, I mentioned that I would discuss the repercussions of the memory episode. This analysis is more for Splinter, but I feel like it's still important. We've seen time and time again that Leo is very similar to how Splinter was as a young teen in both looks and attitude. If Splinter truly resents his younger self and how he acted, it would make a lot of sense for him to also subconsciously resent his son who acts a lot like himself at that age. This would cause him to lash out at Leo in his subconscious, the one place where his true thoughts and feelings are on full display.

I just wanna point out his face again here, Leo looks so hurt. He definitely already knows that he's not anywhere near Splinter's favorites at this point, but it still hurts him to see that get confirmed.

This brings me to my next point of Leo's psyche. He is a very confident, witty, smart teenager, but he's still just that. A teenager. He's anxious, insecure, and very self-reliant. He looks to others for praise often and rarely receives it, usually having to hype himself up. His relationship with Splinter only emphasizes these qualities about him and makes Leo look so much worse in Splinter's eyes because his son is just a modern-day representation of his past self.

Now let's put this into perspective of Leo's decent into villainy.

If Leo is hurting and under the impression that his brothers are maybe starting to dislike him, even hate him, adding Splinter on to this can only make it worse.

Maybe he goes to his dad for tips on how to lead when he feels like he can't talk to Raph anymore and needs his father's advice.

Maybe he sets up a dinner for him and Splinter to just chat and bond instead of sitting at the dinner table with another one of Mikey's meals that he feels too sick with anxiety from his little brother's disappointed looks to eat.

Maybe he goes to his father crying from another nightmare after not feeling welcomed in Donnie's lab anymore after they fought for an hour the day before.

And maybe, just maybe, Splinter waves him off every time.

Forgets.

Laughs at him.

I mean, this is a kid who relys on others to build him up, to praise him and love him because after all....

Who is he without his family?

Maybe it's time to find out.

First // Previous // Next

Link to an AMAZING ficlet by the FANTASTIC @beetleviolet

#rottmnt #rottmnt leo #rise of the tmnt #leonardo #tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #villain leo au #master splinter #Splinter #leonardo hamato #hamato yoshi #lou jitsu #Rise analysis #rise of tmnt #rise tmnt #rise leo #teenage mutant ninja turtles

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absolutebl · 23 hours

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Hi! apologies if you've answered this before, but can you recommend some bls that deal with homophobia, be it internalised or external? or more generally, bls that are not set in the bl bubble where gayness is 100% accepted?

Thank you very much <3

Ooo, sure thing!

BL's Not Set in The Bubble

BLs that deal with homophobia (internal or external) and rough coming out sequences

Began Beginning from Myanmar is all about this. It's not a BL I would necessarily recommend but it is interesting for many reasons. Both leads are dealing with massive internalize homophobia, among other issues.

Similarly: Like in the Movies and Tie the Not from the Philippines.

And Goodbye Mother and Nation's Brother from Vietnam.

From Thailand

To Sir, With Love - witnessing his family's massive homophobia that results in major tragedy as a child is what drives our main character's whole personality and self hatred. Massive trigger warning.

Until We Meet Again - the pair in the past, of course, it's the driving trauma of the relationship reincarnated. Massive trigger warning.

I Feel You Linger In the Air - fear of being caught is a through line in this drama.

More modern set stuff:

City of Stars deals with having to leave the closet as a super star. So does Close Friend Season 2 a little. The OhmFluke pair also deals with coming out to parents. Love Stage!! (Thailands version) contains one couple that chooses to remain closeted for the good of a career and another that risks it.

Moonlight Chicken - mostly about self hatred and difficulty in being out, to the point where his young nephew challenges him on it and provides a foil.

Also, ya know, TharnType and Why R U. Both have self hated and challenging coming outs because of trauma and daddy issues.

Dark Blue Kiss - Kao is terrified of being outed and it's used to blackmail him.

Similarly although he is out of Ae, Pete is being abused and blackmailed because he is gay in Love By Chance. Also Ae doesn't manage to come out... yet.

I Told Sunset About You - of course.

My Gear and Your Gown final episodes contain homophobic (or are they?) parents.

Second Chance heavily implies that there is something going on with Paper's inability to accept Fah.

Similarly Gene accepting Sib in Lovely Writer.

I'm pretty sure there's a ton of homophobia at the back end of My Tee, but honestly it's been years sicne I watched that mess.

Charming little pulp 21 Day Theory deals with quite a bti of this, but our main character has a lovely gay uncle to guide the way.

"Punch the homophobe" my favorite trope of all time, happens in Oxygen. But otherwise they neatly circumvent the patriarchs objection by defacto adopting a child to inherit.

TonhonChonlatee is all about one characters inability to acept his own queerness as encouraged by his homophobic family and various other evil characters.

My Only 12% actively tackles and calls out cultural homophobia and damaging misrepresentations.

"Why does everyone think that both of them are strange? If it's not wrong, why does everyone hurt?"

The show he's talking about is Thailand's first proto-BL, love of Siam and it is about an inability to come out.

From Japan

Life: Love on the Line - it's parental disgust and personal self hatred and paranoia that breaks them up (they get back together but he as to get over it)

Similarly His - is a kind of reunion romance after self-homophobia drove one half of the pair to marry someone else.

Actually the original series with the same characters, His the series, also deals with self acceptance around gayness, and it's subtle (Japan) but it's pretty clear one of them was kicked out of/ or left his previous school because he got outed. (Light on Me references a similar situation, but it's ultra subtle.)

If It's With You also kinda falls into this category. Not sure these can be called "dealing with" it tho, more side stepping and alluding to it.

Tokyo in April is - yeah it's kinda the whole thing from one half of this pair

What Did You Eat Yesterday also has a coming out to the parents thread throughout, and a coming out at work thing, but it's not really the point of the show.

From Korea

Most Korean BL are gonna be out. The specialize in the bubble. Although a case could be made for Love For Love's Sake and Love Class. And, see comment, Jazz for Two.

One noted exception is Just Friends which is a short piece about coming out to mom while on leave from the military. This is one of Korea's earliest BL pieces and not strictly BL, but it's fascinating in that neither theme (military nor coming out) would reall be reused again.

From Taiwan

My Tooth Your Love - has a kinda different take and we aren't sure, as viewers whether it's because he's gay or because he's not doing what the Patriarch wishes. But trigger warning for [physical abuse.

DNA Says Love You deals with this and other forms of queerphobia during the later half. Slow start but I do love this show.

Faded is a propaganda piece (pro marriage equality) which is all about coming out to a parent.

In H4CTY Xing Si (of the side couple) is having a hard time coming out but that's complied by the fact that he's fucking his stepbrother, it's a mess, bit I enjoy them - v problematic couple tho.

Papa & Daddy actually has a coming out sequence (GASP!) where the parents don't take it well as does Love is Science? (sides) - but the later is mostly because disaster bi is also baby daddy.

Red Balloon, of course, and it's sibling movie Your Name Engraved Herein are kinda all about self loathing and suffering because of gayness and lack of acceptance.

Unknown is certainly tackling some of this.

In which I talk about some of my favorite coming out sequences:

He's Coming to Me has my favorite series of coming out sequences to both friends and mother.

A few more that I really don't like (Promise) and probably Together With Me should be here, but I willfully can't remember them.

(source)

#bls with angst around coming out #bls that deal with homophobia #bls that are not set in the bl bubble where gayness is 100% accepted #mostly thai bl #thai bl #japanese bl #taiwanese bl #historical bl

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cheesecakeluvrs · 3 days

Text

Why are X-men relationships so messy?

I want to mostly talk about Jean and Scott and Rogue and Gambit since the internet is getting mad at everyone in those four (except for Gambit)

Now the main reason these relationships are so messy is that it’s Marvel comics, hard to find someone thing not messy. They need an interesting story and they most definitely go the lengths to get exactly that

But I feel like another big reason is due to the isolation of mutants. They have not been able to go out and experience relationships to learn and grow

Now Jean and Scott have been together for a long time. Their romance started there day they first met and has since been going strong… well kinda. Both Scott and Jean have not dated other people and had the opportunity to grow for each other. Most relationships take the experience of past ones and use them to grow. While I can’t say the amount of drama is usual for people who have only been with the same person some of it makes sense when you put it in the marvel comics lens. I’m these ‘97 episodes Scott and Jean have been tested due to their immaturity when it comes to romance. While it could end any way I do still have hope for the two and believe that they will be able to overcome this because they are both very much in the wrong

Now I have talked A LOT about Rogue and Gambit but the more people I see talking smack about Rogue and calling her a “bop” the more I need to defend them. Now Gambit has definitely had much more experience when it comes to romance compared to Rogue and I feel like that’s where a lot of his understanding for her comes from. Unlike a lot of people on the internet he is able to be patient with her until she is able to understand her own feelings. While he would like to have a relationship with her he does understand the struggle that she is going through. Now that’s not to say Gambit is completely not in the wrong because his flirting in the original was just more reminders that she is not able to touch the man she loves. Now when it comes to Rogue she has the romantic maturity of a thirteen year old girl. I’m not even saying that as an insult she just hasn’t experienced a proper relationship since she was thirteen. We see her flirt with others but when it comes to an actual relationship that’s where we see her struggle in ‘97. Her whole world has revolved around not touching people and since she hasn’t gone out and been with people due to her thinking that she can’t be in a relationship without touching someone she hasn’t been able to learn that that’s not what a relationship is about. The only way she is able to learn that she doesn’t need this is if she has it… and of course that’s where Magneto and the dance comes in.

Now moving onto Magneto I mentioned this a little in my post about how toxic Rogue and his relationship is but it definitely feels like he’s taking advantage of Rogues romantic immaturity. Unlike Gambit he never tries to show her that there is more to a relationship than just intimacy he is just using the fact that she is so desperate for intimacy to get with her

I don’t know what my thing is with making a post right before a new episode comes out but it’s about Storm and Forge so maybe I’ll write something tomorrow morning

#rogue x gambit #rogue #x men 97 #xmen #x men #x men the animated series #gambit #remy lebeau #anna marie lebeau #scott summers #cyclops #jean grey #scott x jean #romy

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total-drama-brainrot · 23 hours

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Saw this somewhere and wanted to throw it your way, sorry if you’ve been asked this before but what do you think of the concept of Noah always having been an assistant (even before the first season)/never playing as a contestant would look like?

The thing about Noah as a contestant is that he's, for all intents and purposes, kind of useless. And by that I mean Noah as a character isn't important to the plot at all in the grand scheme of things. He's barely important from an episodic point of view either; Noah does very little throughout Total Drama in terms of story relevance, and just in general. (Lazy king 👑.)

So taking him out of the equation wouldn't really affect too much in the grand scheme of things, save for probably preventing his friendship with Owen and, from a fanon standpoint, the rest of team E-scope. He'd be pretty much the same person, just behind the camera instead of on it.

But that's kind of a boring answer, and not at all what you were looking for, right?

So, let's say that Noah lands himself a job working as the personal assistant for some hot-shot A-list celebrity through one of his many siblings' various contacts; is it nepotism? Probably. But who's Noah to look a gift horse in the mouth? A fairly easy job following some pretentious asshole around all day and grabbing him the occasional coffee sounds like a pretty sweet gig, especially with the salary and various benefits that come with the job description. So Noah takes the job without question.

And that's how he finds himself stuck in the middle of nowhere, Muskoka, on an undisclosed island owned by said A-lister whilst he films the first season of his new Reality TV show, Total Drama Island.

Being Chris' personal assistant was supposed to be an easy pay check. "Supposed to be" being the point of interest there; Noah didn't anticipate Chris being as sadistic or as childishly needy as he was. If he wasn't running around like a headless chicken trying to accommodate for Chris' oftentimes outlandish whims and fancies, he was stuck answering to the producers in the host's stead- and the producers were pissed with Chris more often than not for his frivolous use of the show's budget. Something about having a genius level IQ and enough snark to make grown men cry apparently made him qualified enough to deal with the industry big-wigs. Noah was far too overworked to question it.

So much for an easy pay check.

Noah's not bad at his job by any means. In his professional opinion, the whole show and Chris' career would be in the dumps without his personal input keeping everything afloat. That doesn't mean he doesn't loathe his job with every sleep-deprived inch of his being.

And, inevitably, Noah ends up spending a lot of time around the campers themselves. Mostly as a consequence of always having to remain "on set" so to speak, since Noah's pretty much contractually obligated to linger around Chris' vicinity and wait for his boss to assign him some menial task to do. Most of the campers are just as egocentric and insufferable as he'd first assumed- and honestly, what else would he expect from people who singed up for a Reality TV show?- but a select few turn out to be decent company; namely Owen and Eva (and Izzy, but Noah refuses to admit that the "Psycho Hose Beast" is actually bearable to be around).

He'd even go so far as to claim they were friends good acquaintances.

Of course, his job takes precedent over frivolous things like relationships, platonic or otherwise, so Noah doesn't exactly have the free time to hang out with them. Which is probably for the best considering if he did spend a lot of time around his friends acquaintances, the other contestants would have a solid enough foundation for accusations of foul play in the competition, and that's a headache Noah really doesn't want to deal with.

Consequently, Noah floats through the filming of Island, and later on Action, maintaining cordiality with his little group and cold indifference towards pretty much the rest of the cast. Not that he doesn't keep close tabs on the campers; of course he does, not only is Noah incredibly observant by nature, but he's also the one in charge of accommodating for these weirdos... plus, Chris is oddly invested in his "prize cast of ratings jewels", whatever that means. So Noah knows these people, probably more than some of them know themselves, thanks to a combined sixteen-ish weeks of observation and forced proximity.

In turn, the competitors know of Noah, though for the most part he's regarded as little more than a spectre on set- Chris' elusive personal assistant who the cast will occasionally see the barest glimpse of, usually hidden behind an impassive pair of mirrored sunglasses and, more often than not, rushing off to do whatever it is a PA does. Chris does get a little lazy in Action and on a few occasions does get Noah to make a "guest appearances" on screen- mostly just to deliver him a coffee and a gluten free muffin during the downtime of that day's challenge- but he's still practically non-existent to he majority of the cast.

Which is fine by him.

What isn't fine by him is the surprise addition of two people he knows nothing about, come the third season.

One of those contestants happens to know a lot about the cast, and a concerning amount of information about him. It's uncanny, just how much Sierra seems to know about everyone around her, even more so because of the way she practically worships the ground they walk on. Sure, Noah's encountered the odd super fan here and there- not fans of himself, of course, but in this time as Chris' assistant he's had to chase off more than enough rabid fans from trying to sneak their way onto the set of whatever show Chris was working on (or more accurately sic the on-scene security on them)- but Sierra's brand of crazy takes it to a whole new level. Noah doesn't like her on principle and is both incredibly vindicated and incredibly concerned when her stalkerish behaviour rears its ugly head. Not that he's allowed to do anything about it; the producers are adamant that Sierra's outlandish behaviour is entertaining enough for the audience to ignore the immorality, and given how much Chris has been allowed tog et away with in the past Noah's inclined to begrudgingly agree.

And the other new contestant? The one who qualified for the apparently non-existent Total Drama Dirtbags (and Noah totally isn't salty about that show being an elaborate ruse that he spent countless sleepless nights working on)? Noah's just as concerned about his friends acquaintances ignorance to Alejandro's inherent sliminess as he is about Sierra's blatant disregard for others' privacy, but again it's not like he can do anything about it. He's not even supposed to be on the show, so any sort of interference would be a big no-no.

Oh, what's that? They want him on the show?

Fuck.

Turns out, Noah's brief appearances during Action (characterised by his usual level of sass and snide comments) really resonated with their audience; they like him for some inexplicable reason, and want to see more of "Noah, Chris McLean's mysterious personal assistant".

So he's pretty much forced into acting as a co-host of sorts, much like Chef had done for the first two seasons, all whilst carrying out his usual tasks. Is he happy about this? Not a chance in hell, and he lets the producers know exactly how he feels about the sudden change in his contract. Not that it changes anything.

And the best part? World Tour is a musical themed season. If they expect him to sing, they've got another thing coming.

But, as a small part of him chimes in, spending more time on camera would give Noah plenty of opportunities to spend time with his friends acquaintances. There's a non-zero chance that he could have fun, even if it's at the expense of his valued privacy.

His new status as part of the show does allow Noah some opportunities to skew the competition in the favour of his friends acquaint- no, screw it, his friends. That's one silver lining of the whole situation.

Better yet, he can tilt things out of Alejandro's favour, since the former Dirtbag seems to have a knack for manipulating the competition anyway- Noah might as well make things more challenging for him, as it seems this game is too easy for him thus far.

#that's just my take on it i guess #in short: noah's a tad bit more isolated and a lot more vindictive. mostly against the producers though.#i imagine a noah who didn't sign up for total drama would value his anonymity a lot more. THIS noah isn't looking for fame or notoriety.#he's just looking for Cash Money.#as such being forced into the limelight would make him grumpier than usual.#he spends the majority of world tour trying to get alejandro eliminated because he's the producer's favourite. no other reason.#al the while being as unhelpful and outright antagonistic as possible as a “co-host”.#mostly to make himself as unmarketable and unlikable as possible so the audience don't want him to stay around.#ironically this only makes him more popular. noah hates it.#he also spends the majority of world tour trying to prevent sierra from leaking people's private information to varied results.#noah's a voice of reason in a cacophony of screaming. no matter how loud he shouts he'll never be heard.#can't decide whether i want him and blaineley to team up post-merge or for them to be enemies on sight.#total drama #td noah #assistant noah au #others' ideas #silly ideas #ophe's ranting in the tags again #long post #replies #kinda drafty in here (posts from the drafts)

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help-i-lost-my-sock · 1 day

Text

Fireworks (Sanji x Reader)

Word count: 1666

Summary:

SFW.

Fluff.

The Straw Hats have a day off from adventuring. Reader has a crush on Sanji, but is unsure whether he likes her back... Until that night.

Other notes:

Inspired by Episode 134 (Firework Island);

Written with pre-TS Sanji in mind.

Not proofread.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

Traveling the seas brought the Straw Hats to all sorts of new places, one more exciting than the other. But no matter where they went, you could be sure to never get bored.

You’d been traveling with the Straw Hats for some time now, and for some time now you’d had your eye on a certain love-cook. His grace, charms, and manners captivated you instantly, but it was his cooking - second to none - that truly sealed the deal, and reserved him a place in your heart, and in your mind, where he’s now been living rent-free.

You couldn’t help but marvel at him. His chivalry was truly unique. His charms, while quirky to others, never failed on you. Sometimes you wondered if he noticed; wondered if he truly paid more attention to you or whether you were just imagining it - whether you were just blinded by your fancy, looking for a sign that he felt the same.

Whenever he’d cook, you’d be in the kitchen with him, helping out wherever you could. You honestly weren’t even sure anymore how it started - did you really enjoy cooking, or were you then already looking for an excuse to get closer to him?

When the dishes would be more elaborate, Sanji, polite as always, would seat you down with a treat while he did the work. His treats were delicious, always and without exception. But no sweet in the world was as sweet as his goofy smile when he turned to look at you over his shoulder. Even then, his skilled hands never stopped the preparations - steadily chopping, slicing, dicing, grinding, or stirring. His hands… You so often found yourself staring at them - so graceful, and so skilled. Every once in a while your thoughts would slip a little further, wondering what else those beautiful hands of his could do, and just how skilled they would be with you. Other times you found your eyes drawn to his rolled up sleeves, or the way the shirt hung off his back, or the way those pants suited him well enough to drive you mad. His cheerful voice, and bright smile would tear you out of your daydream every so often, as he asked you questions you did not hear. The smoke from his cigarette would swirl up, clouding the air around him, much like he clouded your judgment.

But today was a day to relax. The crew was in no hurry to their next destination, and decided to stop on a small island along the way to restock their provisions, and spend a day off the sea’s swaying waves.

After finishing the necessary shopping, the crew split up to explore the island. You, Nami, and Robin thought of going shopping. As luck would have it, Sanji and Chopper decided to tag along, while the others went their own merry ways for the remainder of the afternoon.

Shopping with the girls was always a unique experience, what with Robin’s dark humor, and Nami harassing the vendors for unreasonable discounts. Nevertheless, it was your quality time with them. But today, with Sanji there, things were bound to be different.

Nami wasn’t particularly fond of having Sanji tag along at first, not looking forward to his attentions, until she realized that she could use him as a mule. Robin didn’t seem to mind. She never seemed to mind spending time with any of the crew. And besides, she knew that while Sanji always spoiled the ladies, there was one in particular he always paid more attention to in particular; one in particular that, if given the choice, he would naturally gravitate towards, and that was neither her, nor Nami. It was you. You, who’d been pining for him for so long, and yet, were still so blind to his affections. Robin found it amusing. She and Chopper even had a little bet on it.

As your little group sauntered from store to store, Sanji’s load of bags piled on and on. You tried to refuse his help at first, feeling bad for him caring so much, but Sanji, ever the gentleman he was, would not take no for an answer, as his deft hands swept the bags from your hands. The feeling of his soft skin brushing against your own, made you feel all warm and tingly with a soft, sweet, subtle kind of joy. And so, the only thing you were left to carry for the day, was your ever-growing love for the love-cook.

As the day progressed, you and Sanji spent most of the time talking to each other. Robin and Chopper exchanged looks and chuckled to themselves, knowing that their bet was soon to be settled. Nami seemed a bit suspicious - suspicious of Sanji’s lack of flirting with her and Robin, suspicious of Robin and Chopper’s discreet glances, and suspicious of how in the world you were able to put up with him for so long, and not go insane. You could see it in her eyes, as she looked at the rest of her group. Her brows would furrow in confusion every so often, before she’d shrug it off - at least she didn’t have to put up with him, right? And you, surprisingly enough, actually seemed to be enjoying yourself.

By the time the evening started setting in, it felt almost as if he’d forgot about everything else but you. And you, about everything else but him - his calm and soothing voice, his kind and flattering words, his poised walk, the way always kept an eye on you, the way his lips moved when he spoke. By the time the evening started setting in, the two of you were so immersed in each other that you had shut the world away.

But every day must come to an end, and so, your little group headed to the ship to drop off the bags, and regroup with the rest of the crew, before heading into town for the evening.

The evenings were your favourite time of day to explore new towns - the enticing smell of local cuisine, the cheerful townspeople toasting at the pubs, the stars shining brightly in the sky as the whole world left shed their worries, and came together.

“Oooohh !! That smells good! Let’s eat there!” Luffy was quick to catch a whiff of a local spiced roast, and then quicker still to rush towards the place.

“Oy, Luffy! Wait a seco-” Nami tried to stop him, but it was too late. Once Luffy zeroed in on food, there was no holding him back.

The rest of the crew laughed and shrugged, and started following their captain.

The skies were clear that night, exposing millions of stars twinkling in the skies. But clear skies also brought chilly winds, and Sanji, who’d been walking right beside you since you left the ship, was quick to notice you shiver, even if only so slightly.

“Ah, ___-swan, are you cold?” This man - always so attentive, always so chivalrous - had no intention of waiting for an answer, and was already taking off his suit jacket. “Here, take my jacket. I wouldn't want you to catch a cold.”

With a small nod, you allowed him to guide your arms into the sleeves of his jacket. A smile made its way to your lips, and your eyes softened as your mind zeroed in on the jacket. It was so warm. So soft. And above all, it smelled of him, and his cologne. It’d never really occurred to you before, but now that the scent was so close, you remembered it - it was the same cologne you gifted him for his birthday a few months back.

A booming sound followed by crackling caught your attention before you could reach the restaurant. The crew all looked up to the skies to see the dying sparks of a firework, quickly followed by another, and another, and another two, then five, then ten, twenty, until the skies were lit with spirals, and scattered sparks of red, and gold; of blue, and green.

“Woah!”

Most of the crew were transfixed by the fleeting artworks that painted the skies above them in a myriad of colourful sparks, there one moment, gone the next.

As you gazed at the skies - your eyes wide, glittering with joy; your mouth agape in awe - you felt an arm wrap around your waist, gently at first, testing for a reaction. When you turned around, you found none other than Sanji, looking down at you with a soft and warm expression on his face, though you knew he was nervous. You could see it in his shy smile, and the way his arm tensed around you. Sanji, the object of your affections, was holding you. And most of all, he seemed genuinely nervous - nervous to not mess this up, because it was you that he wanted most of all. And what a pleasant surprise this was.

It took you but a moment to return his smile, as you looked up in his eyes. A soft blush crept onto your cheeks as you settled deeper in his embrace. This was all he needed. You quickly felt his hold of you tighten, pulling you closer still into him, and deepening your blush.

Sanji leaned down to your ear, his breath warm as it fanned against your skin, his golden locks soft as they brushed against your cheek.

“The fireworks may be beautiful, but they cannot compare to you,” he whispered, just loud enough for you to hear.

Bewildered by his words, his whispers so intimate, you turned your head to look up at him, before he continued…

“For you, my dear… Are breathtaking.”

There was no cigarette smoke to cloud the air tonight, but he continued to cloud your mind, and his words of romance would have you stripped of inhibitions, as you raised yourself up on your tiptoes and pressed your lips against his.

The fireworks, as charming as they were, could not compare to him.

#moth fics #sanji fluff #one piece fluff #one piece #sanji x reader #sanji #vinsmoke sanji #op sanji #black leg sanji #sanji vinsmoke #vinsmoke sanji x reader #sanji x you #sanji x y/n #OP Episode 134

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utilitycaster · 1 day

Note

You mentioned previously that Bell's Hells going to Yios earlier in the story or starting from there (I don't remember which) would've fixed most of early campaign issues. Could you elaborate on that? Which issues would it have fixed and how?

Hi anon, sure! It was going to Yios before Bassuras, but I actually have two separate pitches after talking through this with some people: Either have them go to Yios, or, alternately, get rid of Yu (either to show up later or, frankly, Erika can and has played far better characters).

The issues to be addressed:

general lack of party interactions. I've covered this before but basically...bonding is a subjective and nebulous term so I'm deliberately not using it, but there is, objectively, a culture in this campaign of doing far fewer check-ins, group conversations that aren't "what do we do next" or rehashing the same theological discussion, taking watch together/having conversations before bed, or just...little moments, honestly, than compared to the past two. I think this is because the foundation was not laid earlier, and, indeed, may have been disrupted.

pacing. the Bassuras arc is an overstuffed slog with no real wins and two entirely externally driven missions, both of which go rather badly. I say this as a person who advises people to still watch the first 27 episodes of Campaign 1 and who refuses to give C1 and C2 abridged versions: I would happily put together a "what to watch and what to skip" for C3.

related to the above, infodumping. It is somewhat unavoidable in this campaign, but chunks of the Bassuras arc and then, much of the Yios arc, are just Grim Verity Wizard or Fey Says Things About The Apogee Solstice At Bells Hells.

The fact that Otohan Thull holds the dubious distinction of being the most deadly villain CR has had, while having said about 10 lines total of which zero were remotely interesting. Everything that is intriguing about her is, well, infodumping that has ultimately been entirely irrelevant to the plot.

Letting the party choose where to go next rather than sending them directly to Bassuras after the Heartmoor would likely have sent them either to Yios or to where the Gorgynei are, on their way to Yios; those were the two main hooks. (A third is the caravan for which Cyrus Wyvernwind was blamed for the robbery, and if the party followed that hook, one could very easily have the trail lead to Yios.) This would not have been on business for Eshteross, so it would have likely been slow travel. The party had already shown some promise in the Heartmoor and on their journey there so this would have kept up that momentum of taking watch together, sharing information with each other, and making decisions on their own steam, without a guiding patron. I think it would have laid that stronger foundation of a culture of, well, talking to each other, by giving that nascent 20s and 30s episode period far more time to breathe. Upon arriving in Yios, they already knew to seek out the Grim Verity and Kadija Sumal; the same exact outcome could have occurred. The one major wrinkle is Ludinus, but that could be set in Bassuras, with him coming to talk to Otohan (thus introducing him and giving a much richer insight into the Vanguard generals' dynamic). The party wandering around a city themselves and learning of Liliana and the Vanguard and perhaps getting hints of the Grey Assassins would set the groundwork of the core apogee solstice plot. You could even, and this is very much a hindsight is 20-20 situation, have Planerider Ryn give them some sort of favor a la J'mon Sa'Ord - use this sending stone and I'll come get you out of a sticky situation, with a price (the price being destroying the Feywild Malleus Key). You could also achieve the lore drops from Ira here; either move him here or have someone else show them a telescope that has been enchanted to see the city. And, of course, you could have Otohan in Imogen's dreams.

While in Yios, having had some time to get their bearings as a party and to more slowly lay out the moon plot, you could then have Eshteross have someone message them or send word via the airship that Treshi has escaped prison and fled to Bassuras, etc etc, please infiltrate the Paragon's Call. From there you could run it roughly as before, with the party having more information about the Vanguard and the Paragon's Call as a front for it and thus acting with more subtlety and caution and giving the party more time to interact with Otohan so that she possessed literally any interesting features that weren't just told to us out of character. Honestly I think saving Yu for later in the campaign would still be wise (or playing a different character but honestly, introducing Yu on the moon as a disgruntled Zathuda underling? could have been great) but I think the party and the plot would have been better able to accomodate them. It's worth keeping in mind that by the time Yu left (episode 29), there had been a guest in over half the campaign's episodes. No shade to Dorian, who I think was great, but the party needed some time to readjust and figure out who they were.

In Bassuras, the party could then have Ryn as their Otohan Fight Hail Mary should that come up, which would send them to the Feywild, and things would proceed from there roughly as they did before;

Which brings me to option 2, which is that actually, I think just not having Yu there would have done wonders. Think about how much time the party spent talking to them and their story instead of like...to each other. There were some good early conversations on the ship over and their first night in the city! And then they spent most of their time in Taste of Tal'Dorei talking about someone who, ultimately, served to introduce Fearne's parents and nothing else. Imagine if they'd just...talked with each other.

In this scenario, I'd have the party focus on FCG and Ashton's connections. I think you could have introduced the Calloways later, in the Feywild (in this scenario the Yios arc still unfolds roughly as it did, so just...have them there at Morri's the way they were there in episode 78), but if you did want to include that, you could have just had Imahara Joe notice that Fearne looked a lot like Birdie and say something, since going to Joe's would be easy to guide the party into doing. You also, by focusing more on FCG and Ashton, could explore the culture of Bassuras and the Stratos Throne and therefore actually get a sense of what "Legend of the Peaks" actually means.

As before, I really think having Yu show up either as the party made their way to the Feywild Malleus Key, or on the moon, would be a much better showcase for the character and would fit the story better. As is, we learned nothing about Zathuda from them other than that he exists; the Moontide Crown was yet another MacGuffin in The MacGuffin Slog and as discussed Ira's role could have been achieved in Yios (he also could have shown up causing problems at the Material Plane Malleus Key to establish the enemy of my enemy is my friend so that he could be in the same position as the moon mission); and the Calloways could easily have been introduced by Joe or when the party went to the Feywild.

I also really think you could just save all the infodumping for Yios; I think one giant lore drop would have been stronger than two decently sized ones. Naturally I still think going to Yios first would be more graceful, but truly, just a little more breathing room in Bassuras would have done so much.

As an aside: I think one thing that would have mitigated the pacing of Bassuras/Whitestone is, well, not going to Whitestone. In the Yios-first model, theoretically they would go to the Feywild (perhaps Morri could bring people back had that been necessary, which would have been fun as hell to explore) but in the Bassuras w/o Yu scenario, Whitestone would still be an option. Now, what's done is done. However, I do want to point out, if any Crown Keepers fans are in the audience, I strongly suspect that the Jiana Hexum connection not being leveraged in favor of going to Whitestone is a major factor in the Crown Keepers not coming into the story, because the hook for them was via Cyrus being sought after by Jiana and they went with Keyleth.

Obviously this is D&D! As mentioned above, hindsight is 20-20, Monday morning quarterbacks are a day too late, and so forth. I still think that a session zero would have also been very helpful (not the typical CR main campaign "play out a scenario with your pre-existing companions," but one like they showed for Daggerheart and for the various Candela seasons; I have separate thoughts about how the screen test strategy vs. a more traditional session zero has twice now had less than impressive results). But either of these changes would, I think, have made it a much stronger campaign.

#answered #Anonymous #cr tag #long post

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gaysludge · 2 days

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My fantasy high jr year thoughts for episode 15

There is no context just what I would have live blogged about

THE WRITTEN TEST??? Crazy I would have died on the spot and the fact that they actually tried is crazy but they did so good for the circumstances 100 hand written words in 5 minutes is insane

Also the shrimp dragon??? I love art department so much it’s so creative and also just such a cool looking model I was dying when’s it came out

Gorgug hitting a nat 20 always makes me happy bc we jsut see more of his artificer barbarian stuff work but the 2 crist back to back Zac always has the best rolls I swear

Zacs stupid little stamp I love him sm

FIGS SPIRIT GUARDIANS WITH THE STURGES WAS SO FUNNY I live Emily so fucking much

The second pass on the math exam is so based I fucking hate math he’s so me

When the worm came out I was stunned holy shit there were so many monsters on field

FIG AGAINST THE WYVERN WAS CRAZY ALMOST 90 points of damage in one turn

Shrimp jump/shrimp party and crab king being turned into literal monsters is so funny

ZAC WITH ANOTHER NAT 20 HIS DICE ARE SO GOOD

THE WORM IS HORRIBLE OH MY GOD

ANOTHER NAT 20 WHAT THE FUCK ZAC

“My kid got a 7… my kid got a 1”Lou and ally talking about their dice in the same tone as the Charlie Brown Halloween quote is so fucking funny

Gavin is the mvp I love him, fantasy high npcs are always so funny

Fig eliminating a full wyvern as well as a bunch of fantasy mosquitoes with little to no effort on her part is insane she’s so cracked

Fabian fighting for his life to just…. Not be held by a monster for a turn is so funny. This shouldn’t be his turn for most rounds as an extremely Dex character lmao

The hangman with 2 nat 20s on an attack on a giant crab is hilarious bc Lou’s rolls have been mid this whole time ahsjdjd

Fig kissing the fucking pentacorn mid battle is the most Emily thing she could choose to do her playstyle is my favorite thing in the entire world

FIGS SPIRIT GAURDIANS COME IN CLUTCH SO MUCH HOLY SHIT

KIPPERLILY THAT FUCKING CUNT HOLY SHIT HELLO??? KILLING BUDDY??? OISIN BEING APART OF IT TOO???? NOOO I WAS ROOTING FOR HIM AND ADINE

the ocher jellies are so cute and so fucking pointless ahsjdjd

Gorgug vs the worm no thoughts just very stressful ahsjdjd

RIZ WITH THE 31 DAMAGE VS THE UMBERHULK WITH 30 HP WAS INSANE LUCK MURPH ROLLS COMING IN CLUTCH WHEN IT MATTERS

butter gummies my beloved

“Come on riz”

The mimic being the strongest monster is so funny bc this was 100% supposed to be a quick kill round 1

Fig carried combat today holy shit even with Emily’s bad rolls she’s taken out half of the enemies that’s insane

GORGUG WIRH ANOTHER FUCKING CRIT WHAT THE FUCK ZACS DICE ARE INSANE TODAY next week he’s gonna be rolling nat ones all day long

“What did you call it….BUTTER. GUMMIES.” I adore ally so much

30 persuasion roll on the butter gummies…. It’s time for love NOW

“You are stupid” as if Gorgug didn’t leave the owl ears and dedicate the whole year to studying for his mcat pls

Gorgugs artificer stuff is so fun I’m so glad Zac took on that class

#fabian seacaster #kristen applebees #fig faeth #adine abernant #gorgug thistlespring #riz gukgak #fhjy ep 15 #fantasy high #dimension 20 fhjy #fhjy spoilers #d20 fhjy #fhjy #fhjy liveblog #dimension 20 #dropout

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waitmyturtles · 4 hours

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High points and question points of 23.5, episode 7:

1) The mood is so much better. It's cute! Fon Kanittha does a wonderful job of focusing on elements of family and community in her pieces -- I love that she doesn't keep Ongsa's and Alpha's parents behind a curtain, that they're responsive to the nostalgic joys of watching a group of high schoolers commune and find each other.

2) Having Ongsa and Sun confirm their relationship while Ongsa was wearing a traditional outfit meant a lot. It's a visual bucking of an expectation of how a "woman should behave." Ongsa was of course gorgeous, but the shots of her holding Sun with those big gold bangles also meant that she was taking tradition to a new place, creating her own traditions -- all while we know that she was burdened with fear beforehand about publicly going out with Sun, and being afraid that Sun wouldn't feel comfortable being out with Ongsa (which clearly is not the case). (I also loved the move of having Ongsa get out of the first outfit, which was clearly indicative of a lower station than how Sun and Ton think about Ongsa. That was a nice little twist.)

3) @bengiyo mentioned in his Stray Thoughts on this episode that he wished that we could have sat a touch more in Ongsa's discomfort on the above, and I agree. This show is missing an exploration of emotional stuff that we've seen in other pieces by Fon Kanittha, especially, for me, as compared to 10 Years Ticket.

(On the recommendation of @dribs-and-drabbles, I'm giving My Precious a shot this weekend. MP is centered around a core romance, but in this piece, much of the first quarter of the piece is spent building the huge community around the main couple. And we get emotional nuances, wherever they might be, both from the individual characters, AND by learning more about them through each of their sets of parents, very similar to the structure of 10YT. In 23.5, we've rushed through this, or we didn't explore it in full.)

I have a theory: since this is GMMTV's first GL, I wonder if Fon is either intentionally, or being made to, give more attention to love tropes, either by reference to older ones, or creating new ones for GLs. We saw kabedon last week, for instance, and we're seeing a love interest make a turn for their courtier when it seems like their courtier may be straying, etc. (although the latter isn't necessarily specific to BLs). Since My Precious is also airing at the same time, I can't make a judgment as to Fon's takes on pure romance, as 10 Years Ticket was a community-focused lakorn of many stories. But in any case, it's weird that we're seeing these emotional skips. Just a couple more minutes spent, at this very moment, on WHY Ongsa has this (sometimes excruciating) hesitation of speaking and insecurity would be helpful to match what emotion we're seeing out of Sun. And seeing Sun nice and angry and jealous -- again, from my thoughts last week, I thought we'd see that a bit more after the catfishing reveal in holding Ongsa accountable.

I think this need for emotional clarity is dampening my overall embrace for this show, especially because I honestly didn't expect it from Fon Kanittha. But again, I thought the mood of this episode and the consistency of it made more sense than last week.

#23.5 #23.5 degrees #23.5 the series #23.5 meta #ongsasun #ongsa x sun #sun x ongsa #milklove #milk pansa #love pattranite #fon kanittha

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shirasuchiru · 1 day

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My Candy Love (MCL) - New Gen Ep.02 - The Law Of The Jungle - Roy & Jason Walkthrough

!!— Please make sure to check the answers and the points they give! Unfortunately, you can't get both of their CGs in a single playthrough.

—

- Hello, are you the owner?

- (I didn't say anything. He'll end up leaving eventually, right?)

- Hahaha! Yes, thank you, I know. ( + with Jason)

—

- After your little ditty when I got here, I think I believe them, Jason... ( + with Roy and Devon, / with Jason)

- Maybe we should play his game...? ( - with Roy and Devon, + with Jason)

- (I didn't say anything. Clearly, I don't have all the information...) (If I remember correctly, this should give / with Roy and Devon, - with Jason)

—

- Don't listen to him, Sir. We know very well what we're doing.

- Don't mind them, Sir. I apologize, they don't know how to behave.

- Jason, maybe you can calm down with the cutting remarks? ( + with Jason)

—

- Don't speak too soon, and may the best win! ( - with Roy and Devon, + with Jason)

- As long as everyone follows the rules... ( - Jason)

- It is for me, now. We're going to crush you! ( + with Roy and Devon, - with Jason)

—

(After some dialogue, you can go to the cafeteria to start Roy's chat. I think it doesn't matter who you encounter first.)

- Yes... I would have preferred him to ask me directly if I had any ideas, but hey...

- Yes, it's very nice of him not to leave me on the sidelines.

- At the same time, he didn't hire me to twiddle my thumbs! ( + Roy)

- At the same time, the client seems to have as much ambition as Amanda, right?

- And you don't ever work on anything else? (You can choose this one to learn more about Roy! Except that, it's natural.)

- Yes, I was planning to go see her too.

(Sadly, I forgot to write down the next one. But if you choose the energetic (yellow) answer you're good I think! Since most of his right answers are based on them. While I am replaying this episode, I'll make sure to edit it for the right answer.

But for a little extra information, if you choose "So really, your job is to be nice? That's cool!" it will be natural.)

—

!!— Choose the outfit with tie and black boots. It is the correct one for both Roy and Jason.

After some dialogue and one choice (you can get Devon points with the energetic answer), choose "Great, I'll ask Roy if he wants to help me." if you want to get his CG. It doesn't matter who you choose for Jason.

—

(You can get a special scene with Roy for 120 Gems. If you have enough affinity and the right outfit, you can get the CG!)

(For to get Jason's CG, please continue to read this thread!)

—

- I see that someone is a sore loser.

- It seems to me that's still better than having lost. ( + with Jason)

- It doesn't matter, it's still a win...

—

- ( I restrained myself from hurling a few colorful insults at his back.)

- (Perhaps it's up to me to be smarter for all of us, and hold out a hand to him.) (Choose this one to get CG!)

- (And I did the same, resuming the evening with my new colleagues and friends.)

—

- (But I swallowed my pride to better focus on the evening.)

- (You pay for everything sooner or later... His turn will come.)

- (No way am I going to leave things there.) (Choose this one go get CG!)

—

(You can get a special scene with Jason for 120 Gems. If you have enough affinity, correct answers and the right outfit, you can get the CG!)

#otome game #otome #my candy love guide #my candy love new gen help #my candy love new gen #mcl #mcl new gen walkthrough #mcl new gen help #mclnewgen #mcl new gen #my candy love #my candy love help #my candy love new gen walkthrough

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clumsykleptorocketscientist · 10 hours

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The Winchester Family: A Rant

Can I just say that Sheriff Jody Mills was more of a mother to Sam and Dean Winchester more than Mary ever was, even after Amara brought her back. Like I guess no hate to Mary...? But like isn't the whole thing about the Winchesters is that family isn't just blood. They developed wayy closer bonds than the ones with Mary, and I know it isn't necessarily her fault, but she wasn't there. Like I dunno, I just wasn't in love with Mary coming back, especially since when she did come back, it seemed like she saw they were grown up and like, didn't care..? Like it felt like she went "oh my job is done these are just two grown dudes that I gave birth to once." Like I know its a weird situation, but as a person who grew up watching Once Upon a Time, where like almost the same thing happened, with Snow, David, and Emma, I can't help but compare their reactions and Mary just didn't stack up.

Snow and David were so ecstatic to see Emma and tried so hard to make up for lost time and parent her as much as they could. They kept trying even as Emma pushed them away saying she was grown and that her and her parents were technically the same age. Throughout the show they found a way to still be her parents while still acknowledging she was grown. It was really beautiful to see, but in comparison Mary did not stack up.

Yes, she is a badass, and, yes, her identity should not solely surround her being the boys' mother, but that doesn't mean she shouldn't be a mother at all. It would've been nice to see her figure out a way to strike the balance the Snow and David did, and I never got that vibe. In Supernatural, it seemed the opposite. It was Dean and Sam trying to be her sons and she pushed them away for the same reasons. I'm not saying she was a bad person, or even a bad mother, as it was a really weird situation and I can't necessarily blame her for how she dealt with it. What I AM saying, though, is that her name had no right to be carved onto that table. Point. Blank. Period.

Also, by the way, since I'm complaining, that weird episode with the pearl thing that let John Winchester come back so they could have a family dinner?????? As if that could truly be what Dean desired. Are you fucking kidding me. John sucked, made them both feel like shit, abused them, and yet that was the "family dinner" we got. It's been a while since I watched the show, so Idk a timeline, but screw the timeline for a sec. Across the entire show, a true family dinner would be Dean and Cas with their son Jack, Sam as the Uncle with Eileen, Bobby and Jody as the Dean and Sam's parents (because, unlike Mary, I very much feel like Jody struck that balance even though they weren't her actual sons) and Jody's brigade of wayward sisters trailing behind her, Donna as like the step-mother or aunt (Idk how Donna fits, I just LOVE Donna), and Charlie as Sam and Dean's little sister. Jo, Ellen, and Ash pop in with Rufus as those family members that are close, but you can't quite pinpoint how exactly you're related to them. Bonus: Kevin and Linda Tran come over like friendly neighbors because, even though they have a family of their own, the Trans are definitely close to the Winchesters, though, whether they like it or not. As much as I'd like to add Adam (to make up for him being left in the pit), I have a feeling he wouldn't want to. He seemed like a guy who refused to subscribe to the idea that because they were blood, they were family. (Maybe Sam and Dean should've learned a thing or two).

TL;DR:

Sam and Dean had a much bigger, and better, family then just John and Mary, but it was never really acknowledged fully and in the best way.

#supernatural #mary winchester #sam winchester #dean winchester #jack winchester #castiel #jody mills #claire novak #charlie bradbury #jo harvelle #ellen harvelle #Ash #rufus turner #bobby singer #john winchester #kevin tran #linda tran

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