#Which is still very much a thing when they're older even if he would deny it to his second dying breath

[cephalog0d]

Dick: Stay here, you're not prepared for this and it'll be dangerous.

Jason: You're not the boss of me.

Also Jason: *gets flung off the train TWICE, once immediately after landing, and almost had an even shorter Robin career*

(Source: Nightwing (1996))

#Capes aka Robin Leashes #Jason 'I Can Do Anything Dick Can Do' Todd #Which is still very much a thing when they're older even if he would deny it to his second dying breath #I just love the art in this and especially this panel it cracks me up #They're both such brats in this version and they're so dumb and I love them so much #comics #comic panels #comics out of context #dick grayson #jason todd #nightwing #robin

[bonny-kookoo]

Uff can we have a drabble of someone older jk being jealous ???

Ooh! I love them so much ☝️

---

Something about this just.. bothers him. Greatly. Makes his skin crawl and fingers itch. This man isn't even remotely in your age range- but then again, he himself technically isn't either, right?

"So when it flickers like that, it's not all that bad. You'll just have to ask someone to change the one that's making some trouble, not like back in the day when you had to replace the whole thing." The man gently laughs, making you nod, before you notice Jungkook walking closer to you now- not having seen him find you in the large store after you'd told him you'd go find some string lights in the length he wanted and couldn't find.

"Jungkook, those are what you were looking for." You offer the box into his hands, and he takes them- but not without placing a warm hand on your back as well, one which slides over it to rest on your shoulder, pulling you into him.

You don't think too much of it.

"Hmhm, thank you for finding them." He tells you, before he looks up at the man, who can't help but start laughing.

"Your husband will surely help you with them if they break. But they're really good, I'm not just saying that." He jokes, making you tense up noticeably underneath Jungkook's hand- but he gently reassures you, before the man leads you both to pay for the string lights.

In the car, you're not sure how to talk about it. "He was pretty good looking. For his age." He mentions, and you turn to look at him as he taps his fingers on the steering wheel of the car in the beat of the softly playing car radio.

"He was." You agree- because it's true. What is he getting at?

It's quiet again, until you realize it.

"But not as good looking as you." You giggle, leaning against the car seat as you watch him become rather caught off guard. "You're a lot more handsome than any man I know."

"You don't have to stroke my ego or anything." He denies, though he's internally a little happy to hear that you find him visually attractive as well.

"I'm not." You shrug. "Just.. noticed I never say it." You tell him. "You're handsome."

"Thank you." He nods, smile on his lips. "You're also very beautiful, wife." He teases- though he notices how quiet you become afterwards, even as you enter his house later to put the string lights on the tree. "Hey-" He starts, hands taking yours away from the box as you both sit on the floor in front of the tree. "-I'm sorry if what I said overstepped a boundary." He apologizes.

"No- it's just.. I don't know how to.. ask without making things weird." You mumble, not looking at him.

"You're not making things weird, promise." He chuckles, still holding your hands in his.

"Would you.. even consider marrying again?" You wonder, looking at him after a few seconds pass without him answering- causing him to smile.

"There we go. I love your attention too much to not have you look at me when we're talking." He teases, making you roll your eyes playfully. "But- maybe. In the future, possibly." He nods. "But I'm more careful now.. I hope you understand."

"No, I totally get it!" You rush out. "It- I wasn't asking you to like, marry me right now or something. Absolutely not!" You say, making him laugh as he pulls you closer to sit on his lap, arms wrapped around you.

"Even if you did, I would've said no. At least for now." He offers honestly. "I want to do this right this time. And that means no rushing." He says, pecking your lips. "We don't need fancy rings and documents to know that we love each other, no?" He asks, and you nod.

"I just need you." You almost whisper towards him. "...and a kiss maybe, every now and then." You say, making him laugh.

"Well, that can surely be arranged."

#bts imagine #bts fanfic #bts fic #jungkook imagine #jeon jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook imagine #bts jungkook imagine #bts jungkook fanfic #jungkook fanfic #bts jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook imagines #jungkook imagines #jeon jungkook fanfic #bts jeon jungkook imagine

[karmarox]

Kallamar the Coward

Thinking about Kallamar in Cult of the Lamb, with how the lore and even his own siblings taunt him for being a coward and he even tries to bargain and sway you away from getting your revenge and killing him, even ready to throw Shamura under the bus to save himself, but then when you finally push him into a corner and he's forced to fight he not only busts out a bunch of weapons and starts quad-wielding them but he was once regarded by the fandom as being among the hardest bosses of the base game.

It got me thinking, was he always like this? Narinder certainly thinks so, but there's bias there. It's easy to just write him off as always being a mess like this...

But there's no denying he's the second in power after Shamura, Anchordeep is known for its beauty, he takes personal pride in the way he took care of his cult/area, and when in Purgatory out of all the bishops he's notably the most lucid/aware of where he is.

So I present this: After Narinder's sealing, Shamura was in no state to lead or give orders. The Bishops all had massive injuries that refused to heal. Who out of the 4 would immediately be assumed to be the one to take a leadership role? Who had comparatively more "manageable" injuries to take care of the other 3? And who would you assume is most likely to have medical experience to at least try to lessen the impact of all of their wounds?

Kallamar, Pestilence and Cure.

Early on after The One Who Waits was sealed away, Kallamar would have had to effectively take over the Old Faith while also caring for a broken beyond repair older sibling, who had always been the "Wise" one that the others blindly followed, yet was now barely even there at the best of times, and two younger siblings, one who was now permanently blind (and young/weak enough that they couldn't even muster a single Curse towards the Lamb before being crushed within days of their resurrection even years after the sealing, so just imagine how new to godhood they were back when this all started), and another who had had her throat torn out, all while downplaying his own wounds.

What if, then, at some point, he simply broke?

He resents Shamura, even potentially sincerely blames them for causing the entire thing (which Shamura confesses to), both leading them to turn on Narinder and also for leading everyone to killing the Lambs. He's still fond of Leshy, but from how quick to take charge Heket is, it's clear that after he proved unable to take the stress of it all, she was next in line as the "leader" of The Old Faith. There's gotta be some resentment there on both ends because of that, particularly with how quick he is to criticize how she took care of her territory.

And then compare how he is as a bishop to how he is as a follower. I think it's very very interesting that he goes from a dirty coward and absolute pathetic mess of anxiety and fear, to pleading directly to his own executioner for help, to being almost perfectly happy and content to simply be a Follower of the Lamb's cult. The others (minus Shamura, due to their condition) are resentful and quick to give sharp words to the Lamb, but Kallamar? It's like all his anxiety is gone with his godhood. He has nothing to fear anymore, and is almost ridiculously quick to be friendly to the Lamb and share his tastes in decor and pride in appearances with them. Not even in the "kissing up" way, he talks like they're equals. Is this what Kallamar was like, before everything? Is he actually HAPPIER as a Mortal now that all of the responsibility and fear of death is gone? Even secretly grateful?

There's no denying his cowardice. There's no denying it crossed a line when he was ready to betray Shamura when his nerves reached their limit. There's no denying that as much as he'd like to believe that he is absolved of guilt for The Old Faith's sins simply because he was just doing what Shamura told him to even if he claims he thought it was a bad idea.

But you also have to wonder what caused that cowardice to form, and what other feelings motivate his actions besides fear.

(tldr: sad squid was not ready to become the responsible one, especially not after going deaf and being traumatized. Has a mental breakdown halfway through raising the others due to not being able to actually deal with going deaf or being traumatized because it turns out being the god of physical health is different from mental health. Little sister ends up having to step up and be the mom now. Their relationship never recovered because of it, and he now blames the eldest for failing them and also for his own failures to cope. As a bonus developed an attachment to his own killer out of some weird warped perception of them "rescuing" him from his stress and then from death itself.)

#Cult of the Lamb #Kallamar #character study #Headcanon #Lore #my stuff #my writing #story #storytelling

[cryingalexanders]

thoughts about pre-crisis Lex Luthor

now that I've read all of earth-one/pre-crisis lex's main canon appearances, I thought I'd list some things I noticed or found interesting.

It was consistent that pre-crisis Lex didn't care about money. Some stories went as far as to emphasise he could've been rich if he'd wanted to but he would actively scorn it!

By the time we get to the early 80s he's living a comfortable lifestyle, and had his own secret island base. But he still frets when Superman smashes millions of dollars worth of equipment

In the silver age he would buy abandoned places to use as bases under false names and keep them at the ready, presumably using money from bank robberies. They were usually on-theme too like museums, observatories, etc. I definitely think this is an element that should come back

The way he dresses. the coloured pants! his little ascots! they were such a thing for pre-crisis Lex

He also has this escape-artist thing going on, where he "enjoys the challenge" and there's a scene which hints at him being bored at having been out of prison for a while

I don't really mind this change and I think either way makes sense, but before Cary Bates and Marv Wolfman brought in elements influenced by the 78 movie in the early 80s... there was no indication that Lex ever mistreated his goons/lackeys. he would at least pay lip service to their wellbeing. it was his interactions with other villains that were much more hostile and laden with betrayal. (as well as cellmates when he had them)

Cary Bates had a great take on Lex, don’t get me wrong, he wrote some of his best pre-crisis stories, but he seemed to be taking a lot of cues from Donner/Hackman Lex going into the 80s, and I feel that kind of synergy lessened what was special about the comic counterpart.

There were writers, especially in the late silver age/early bronze age, who wrote Lex as more cold and overtly misanthropic. That's what I see in Waid's take on him. So it is drawing on the silver age, it's just specific stories rather than the general trends. e.g. Action Comics #363-365 is a very Waid-esque version of pre-crisis Lex.

Silver age Brainiac was actually pretty loyal to Lex and wouldn't leave him behind (Lex wasn't the same way back unfortunately). there was definitely subterfuge but they had a weirdly sweet relationship. it's sure different from modern stuff where they're always 2 seconds away from murdering each other whenever they interact (hell even the bronze age was like that because Brainiac became a darker character)

there's this one Superboy comic where it's established that Jonathan Kent and Lex hate each other because Jonathan denied him parole as a member of the reform school board. most of the time Jonathan seemed more indifferent to him though

on the other hand, silver age Martha felt sorry for Lex (and lowkey wanted to adopt him), even when he was trying to kill her son (if you don't know, pre-crisis Lex started trying to kill Superboy when they were teenagers in Smallville, but regardless of that goal he was generally considered a more lighthearted "menace")

I know that technically he had an older sister who was Nastalthia's mother but the actual flashbacks to his childhood treated him as the oldest sibling and it just being him and Lena, and that's the dynamic I prefer.

Lex as an uncle though. he’s so cute with Val (well, for the most part. it was complicated). his relationship with Nasty was bland though.

His relationship with Lena and by extension, Supergirl, was so interesting. Lex was usually so chill whenever he showed up in Supergirl, the way they had an understanding that he could be counted on to protect Lena, and I wish he and Kara would’ve interacted more during those times he had truces with Superman, considering she saw his protective/selfless side before Superman did.

#lex luthor

[radiokathryn-if]

What are their thoughts about marriage and kids?

MARRIAGE

Nate only proposed to Eva to attach his name to her and her upcoming fame. He thinks marriage would "tie him down too much" when he's a free bird "for the people, don't want to disappoint." (he's a dick with commitment issues and an ego the size of the sun)

Eva has been dreaming of a perfect wedding since she was ten years old. She was chosen to be a flower girl in her aunt's wedding and fell in love with the whole thing… which is probably why she's still so hung up on the ring on her finger even though the person who gave it to her has lost her love.

Mica is not fussed with marriage. They don't think a relationship needs to cumulate to marriage for it to mean something real or for forever. Would be content to just be with you──you both know how much it means to you. Bonus if you're the same gender: you become the infamous 'friends who live together and everyone assumes you're together but they never confirm or deny' couple of the neighborhood.

Detective Han is surprisingly into the thought of marriage. It's only a thought that comes to them after they've dedicated themselves to you for a long while but it's one that makes them smile. Won't go extravagant for the wedding though, a smaller one would be great.

José would love to get married! They're a romantic at heart. Might actually propose first but would love it if you proposed at the same time (it's a secret dream of theirs). They'd want a big wedding but keep it simple, they don't need everything to be perfect they just want to marry you!

Ji Han will be so into the wedding planning process it's actually quite funny. He wants everything to be perfect for the two of you and it happens because he's made of magic. Husband material 100%.

One of Fauve's biggest dreams is to be one of those people that's been engaged for forever. She doesn't want to get married purely because she liked the sound of 'fiance' over 'wife'. That's the reason. She's might try to convince you to play along and keep proposing to each other every few years... keep people wondering 'aren't they already engaged???'

Jackson's not rushing to get married again. Marriage is kind of ruined for him at the moment. If it's important to you he may come around but other wise it's not really an adventure he wants to run through again.

??? is sceptical about marriage they have parental issues but not so much they hate it. They'd prefer a really small wedding of just you, a couple of witnesses and the officiant.

KIDS

Nate would rather die than be a father. It might be because of his own parents but he won't even entertain the thought.

Eva would like a child. She's the youngest of two girls──Marisol being almost seven years older than her however meant they didn't have much in common growing up. She's a little scared about pregnancy and birth but she's willing to do it at least once. Her feelings might change after the child is born if she'd want another but one child is enough for now! (She secretly wishes for a girl but she will not shun a boy, she was raised better than that!)

Mica likes children. Children are cool. They don't think that being a parent is for them though. It's not a deal breaker but it's not something they are actively looking for.

Detective Han is… indifferent about children, especially their own. They could live without them and they would definitely have an existential crisis if it turned out the two of you were expecting but they would stay and step up! The day after the news dropped they'd've bought like five books on pregnancy and babies and already studying them intently.

José loves children! They come from a big family──they have four siblings (five children including them) and is the second oldest! José would want to wait until things are very settled before starting a family but they definitely want children. Two of three would be a dream but they don't mind less or more!

Kids are something Ji Han hasn't thought of before. He's still focused on his school and professional life and then his relationship with you. It would be some to sit down and talk about because he doesn't have much of an opinion on the situation. He'd be a great uncle 100% though.

Fauve doesn't want children, it's a hard no for her. The thought of pregnancy is a terrifying one for her (and for you if you're able) and babies make her extremely uncomfortable. I might be because she was alive when her mother went through a late stage miscarriage but she isn't taking any chances. She might be open to adopting a child over the age of five if you are someone who really wants a child but she will not be giving birth──ever.

Jackson already has a daughter, Cilly. He loves her more than anything in this world. He won't object to having another child in the future, especially with you, but it's not a requirement of his, Cilly is more than enough for him!

??? would like to have children but would actually brick it if it really happened. Their own parents were not the best so they have no idea what kind of parent they'd be, which is a step towards being a good parent anyway. They'd prefer to go slow with one child but if there's more they won't complain.

#radio kathryn if #all ros #c: nate nicks #c: eva vidal #c: mica hollens #c: detective han #c: josé danger #c: ji han #c: fauve #c: jackson lewis #c: ???

[quetzalpapalotl]

tell me about arcee + her relationship to optimus 👀👀 i looove their dynamic in the end of exrid and the optimus prime ongoing

Omg yes!! They're so good!!

Arcee's first notable interaction with Optimus is after Dark Cybertron where she asks to tag in on the mission to Earth and asks about Hardhead. Optimus apologizes for forgetting that she and Hardhead were friends and neglecting to tell her about his death, to which Arcee responds with a defeated smile, saying that everyone forgets about those things.

The thing to keep in mind is that at this point everyone still sees Arcee like some crazy murder lady, even the people Arcee thought she had a connection with don't believe her capable of things like friendship (even Arcee doesn't think herself capable of that), so Optimus acknowledging her relationship and apologizing is sort of the best Arcee has gotten at this point. I am aware that this is setting the bar on the floor, but still, Optimus agrees to let Arcee come with him and seems to not pay mind to her reputation.

It makes sense, Optimus is someone that wants to believe in the good in people and that they can change more than he actually does. He doesn't seem to have much experience with Arcee, but she approaches him with no malice so she takes her in good faith. Arcee has been struggling to try to change herself and find a way to help create a better world and I think Optimus appreciates that.

Optimus, it seems, likes Arcee a lot. He tasks her with keeping an eye on Prowl while he's absent from Earth and then seems to take her as a sort of right-hand-woman. After Prowl, Arcee becomes the de-facto Autobot leader when Optimus is not there, over the other Autobots that had been there from the beginning. This is a lot of trust to put on someone of her reputation that Optimus barely knows and who became an Autobot a couple months ago by way of deciding she was one and no one having the gal to deny her.

But Optimus justs seems to like people who aren't impressed by him (Windblade, Pyra Magna, Ratchet in a way, etc) and of course Arcee isn't impressed. She's older than the primacy, she met the original 13. Arcee doesn't idolize Optimus and neither does she antagonize him which are usually the only two camps in relation to him. She follows him because she wants to do good and there's not much she can do on her own, Optimus thing is supposed to be doing good and knows more about leading than her. She's willing to trust him that he means good, but she will also do her own thing when it seems fit and she's also keeping an eye on him because she's seen enough charismatic leaders to not how how easily they can sour. To her following Optimus is just a matter of practicality.

So they end up with this very interesting dynamic where they're both jaded people that don't know how to be vulnerable and can't really fulfill each other's emotional needs, but that nevertheless have an unspoken understanding as people who are trying their damn best in a good with no simple answers, so they can be honest with each other. Optimus takes Arcee by her word and doesn't see her through her reputation and Arcee doesn't expect of Optimus to be anything more than a mech. The mix of awkwarness, stoicism, trust and Arcee not taking any of OP's bullshit can result in touching moment as well as hilarous ones.

God, I wish so bad that Barber had given us more moments of them just talking to each other because everytime they do is gold. I want more of Arcee telling OP plainly to stop being full of himself, but also a more direct talk between them about the Cybertronian legacy and the place they have in it.

They are the key actors of Optimus Prime, the themes of their arcs compliment each other, the narrative would be incomplete if you took one out. Arcee has lived through all of Cybertron's bloody history. Optimus choose to embody that history. If Optimus' cause is "the future worth fighting for" he needs change to be possible or else everything he's ever done has been pointless. Arcee gives Optimus' struggle meaning because she is someone who despite everything managed to change with the force of nothing but the belief that a better world must be possible. Optimus takes on the Cybertronian sins and dies, killing the Primacy with him, so that everyone else can move on, and on a lower level, he directly tells Arcee to go an let him be the one that sacrifices himself so that Arcee can go back to Aileron and live the life that she didn't even thought she deserved.

Arcee doesn't go to Optimus funeral. Everyone else is trying to come to terms with teh complex, contradictory figure that was Optimus Prime, but Arcee doesn't need to. She has always seen Optimus as who he was, the good and the bad, and she knows what to do with his legacy, so instead she goes and tells the children a story. Optimus' final speech is delivered to us by way of Arcee as something that she knows he would have said because they understood each other through their shared hopes.

I think they could have been good friends had Optimus lived, but things couldn't be that way. Regardless, their relationship was a bit rough, but meaningful.

#i wrote way more than i expected i thought this was gonna be like 4 paragraphs #can't help it they're my faves #quetzal rambles tf

[felassan]

A few more snippets of interest and insight from Mark Darrah, from an older Mark Darrah on Games YouTube video where he was livestreaming playing Dragon Age: Origins some months ago -

Chat asked "What characters do you hope to see return in future stories?". Mark replied, "I don't know about characters I wanna see coming back. I know too much about DA:D to really get into that conversation."

Alistair is "super quantum".

[source]

He also talked more generally about DA:O and the franchise and things in general. These bits are collected under a cut due to length -

"I feel like it would be a little bit more plausible in DA:O if one of the factions you recruit was like 'oh you got the Treaties? Okay, great, here we go'. We could've maybe added another one who could have just come to your aid without you having to fix their problems for them. The Avvar would have been a great choice because that would have let us get the [cut] Avvar content back there a little bit. They could've just been like 'yep, we're ready, let's go' and it would have been a little half hour plot. Maybe you could even have put in a little level that was repurposed from the Korcari Wilds. Oh well, my time machine is broken"

"The problem with the crashing [in DA:O] is that it's a 32-bit game so it can only use 2 gig of memory and at the higher resolutions and settings it uses more and then it slowly leaks enough memory to crash, but there's a mod that pushes it outside of the 2 gig"

Chat asked "Is there a voice actor who is great to work with?". Mark said "Freddie Prinze Jr. was probably the best, he was very active in talking about the game and he was really good to work with. Obviously a bit more expensive than other VAs"

"The problem with the art style for DA:O is, not that it's bad, I mean there's graphical problems, it's more that it doesn't have much of a distinctive look, so it just blends into everything from the same time period. If you look at The Witcher at the same time it pretty much looks exactly the same. So DAII is trying to look like something. DA:I both looks like something like DAII but also has the graphical horsepower to look good, as opposed to DAII which looks like something but the engine is kind've letting it down"

"We've never really managed to get it so that you can hold a space [in combat] very well, DA:I is probably the one we did that the best in and even still..." "The Battle for Redcliffe encounter is so hard basically because you don't have control of the space"

"The problem with healing in DA:O is basically every single combat encounter needs to be a deadly challenge on its own because you're at full health after every single combat, so yeah, there is too much healing in this game"

"The fact that you never get to play with Skyhold is definitely a miss in DA:I, there's no denying that"

"DA:O is definitely balanced very hard"

"When Mike [Laidlaw] and I came onto the DA franchise we were working on DAII and a lot of that original stuff is a lot more like DA:I than it is like DAII for sure. But it was more ambitious than was possible in the time that was available"

Chat asked "Was there any thought on letting the player choose which sibling would survive in DAII?" Mark said "No, in DAII the intention was always that 1 mage survive"

On stat allocation in DA:I: "It's not so much about building overpowered builds, because you can certainly do that in DA:I if you engage in crafting, you can build a rogue with guard-generating daggers and basically be completely indestructible. It's more the opposite, it's more about putting things into places where they're unbeneficial. I don't know that it was the right call. I think given how opaque the crafting system was the nod to ease of use of getting rid of stat allocation, those two things don't really mesh, doesn't make a ton of sense that we have one of the most hard to understand crafting systems and no stat allocations. Should have really picked a lane on that I'd say"

[source]

(pls note that in places there is a bit of paraphrasing of the info, the best source is always the primary source with full quotes in their original context)

#dragon age: dreadwolf #dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #da4 #dragon age #bioware #video games #alistair theirin #fav warden #long post #longpost

[krikeymate]

Okay but the real question is: in your larger age gap au, is Sam born 5 years earlier, or is Tara born 5 years later?

Both options would change different things, like whether Tara has the same friends as in canon or not. If Tara is born 5 years later, then she probably wouldn't be friends with Amber, so Amber and Richie's plot would have to be carried out differently.

On the other hand, if Sam is born 5 years earlier, then she would be much closer in age to the teens from Scream 4, which could also be really interesting.

You've exposed one of my fatal flaws, which is that when I'm thinking about Sam and Tara, I forget other characters exist.

This has given me some really interesting things to think about! And think I did as I made my dinner.

So the intention is that Tara is born 5 years later, in 2007 instead of 2002. I hadn't considered Sam being the one born earlier, and I think unless you really fuck with the Scream timeline in major ways, it wouldn't work. I actually thought out a detailed way of how that could work with Billy having escaped and actually still being alive and then I realised I was actually having Sam be born 5 years later not earlier, whoops, but great opportunity if you wanted to make Tara Billy's daughter too lmao. You could have Billy and Christina both be older and out of school, it would have the added bonus of making his relationship with Sidney extra creepy, but otherwise, I like to stick mostly to canon as much as possible.

So, here's what I'm thinking. Hicks and Sam have an entirely different relationship in this AU. Sam does get into some trouble with the law, she does have some trouble with drinking and drugs, but she doesn't go entirely off the rails. Hicks sets her straight, reminds her that between her and her mother, Tara is likely to get taken away. Hicks is the reason she wins a custody fight against her mother.

Sam still babysits Wes and his friends at Judy's (she lets her bring Tara), and even though they're older, they're so gentle with her baby sister. By the time the babysitting group are becoming teens (around 12/13 or so), they're too old to need a babysitter really, but Judy and Martha still pay her to do so (to keep them out of trouble). They start to invite their new friend Amber over. Sam doesn't really get why they're friends, her relationship is mostly borderline nasty snide comments and arguing with Mindy, but kids will be kids. Amber doesn't seem to like her friends, she definitely doesn't care for Sam (and feels the need to comment on them still needing a babysitter), but for whatever goddamn reason, this girl seems to adore Tara. Amber doesn't even like children! She's got a little sister of her own, and they've all seen the way she recoils from kids in the park. Now to be fair, Tara is very adorable. Who wouldn't love Tara? But still. It's weird. But Sam isn't going to deny Tara someone else who will be affectionate with her.

Years pass. Sam feels a bit weird that her friends are all high school kids and their moms, but these people buy her little sister birthday presents and invite them over for Christmas... they're like a family to her. Chad teaches Tara soccer, and Mindy introduces Tara to scary movies (Sam nearly murders her for this), and Wes, well he just does whatever Tara asks him to, the softy. Amber's her second confidant, she tells her things she's not ready to tell her sister. Sam doesn't like how close they are, but as Tara becomes a teenager, she knows there's no point fighting it. It isn't a hill she's willing to die on.

Sam never runs away, she stays in Woodboro, she gains custody over her sister. She rents a small two-bedroom home from a compassionate elderly woman who lives with her son now and is sweet on her sister. She's had some problems with... seeing things, her therapist still hasn't settled on a diagnosis yet, but the antipsychotics she's given her work, and that's all that matters her therapist says. All that matters is figuring out whether it's genetic and whether her sister is going to have problems too, is what she retorts.

She works at the bowling ally, she's thinking about Judy's offer to have her work at the station. A few months ago a new guy rolled into town, looking for a fresh start away from a toxic family, and they've been having fun. Richie keeps asking when she'll introduce him to her sister, and she laughs him off, he's so not at that point.

She's a couple of blocks away from home - the boss let her go early and told Richie he'll be making up for his constant slacking by staying late to clean - when a piercing alarm sounds from her phone. It's her security system, alerting her the police have been called.

Sam sprints the rest of the way home.

#/mp #ask box #autism-swagger #Scream #Sam Carpenter #Tara Carpenter #AU: five years late #the idea of Sam being the sameish age as the 2011 kids tho is super interesting

[triviareads]

ARC Review of Charlotte and the Seductive Spymaster by Grace Callaway

Rating: 4.5/5 Heat Level: 4/5 Publication Date: January 11th

Premise:

Lady Charlotte Fayne is outwardly a respectable widow of the ton, and secretly the founder of a society of lady detectives. Her latest mission unearths a deadly plot by anarchists, as well as the shocking reveal that her late husband is not only alive, but also investigating the same group. 

My review:

This is the BEST second-chance historical romance with estranged spouses that I've ever read; The anger and resentment is REAL between Charlie and Sebastian— of course there’s gonna be hella beef when a hero is caught with his "mistress", refuses to deny it, fakes his own death, and emerges twelve years later and is caught out because he can’t handle his not!widow kissing another guy so he throws a rock at them. But what’s equally real is this all-encompassing attraction (obsession even) that never dimmed between them, even after twelve years apart. 

In the previous books in Lady Charlotte’s Society of Angels series, Charlie is seen as this level-headed, elegant lady… so obviously, this means in her book she’s very much NOT. She’s haunted by her husband’s betrayal and supposed death even as she completely fails to move on with other men (and believe me, Francis Devlin tries lolol). She’s also in the position where her friends and fellow investigators are getting married and having kids all while she feels like the odd one out. That being said, she’s still the classy, hyper-competent investigator we’ve all known to come and love. 

Sebastian is a smooth, equally hyper-competent spy, and is down just as bad for Charlie as he was twelve years prior, except he knows he’s in the doghouse after the whole faked-death thing. I did have to laugh at Seb’s wistful thinking early on about what would have happened if they weren't separated, something along the lines of "we were horny before, but who KNOWS what kind of kinky fucks we could have become if we had more time together :( ". And his secrets don’t end with his faked death either; there’s more to Sebastian’s past that he slowly starts to reveal while he tries to regain Charlie’s trust and it was really heart-wrenching to read how he grapples with his need to protect Charlie and his own internalized shame. And all of this is happening while the two of them work together to thwart an anarchist organization in the lead-up to the Great Exhibition. 

I liked how Grace wrote Charlie and Sebastian’s path to reconciliation: sure, the attraction, respect, and even the love between them never really went away, but it's the hurt and lack of trust that keeps them apart juuuust enough for most of the story so they keep doing dumb stuff like agreeing to a no-strings FWB relationship. It’s also this lack of trust that leads Charlie to assume the worst about Sebastian based on some questionable third-party sources.

Speaking of which, I appreciate that this book establishes that abusive and coercive sexual relationships and grooming comes in many forms and that boys and men can absolutely be victims in a way a lot of other historical romances don't, or skirt around. There are plenty of HR heroes I've read who blithely describe having sex with much older women when they're little more than boys, and a lot of times it's glossed over and we move on, but I am very glad this book was not one of them.

The sex:

Classic Grace Callaway sex scenes, which means it’s hot and heavy, the hero usually professes wanting to eat the heroine out 24/7, there’s generally one sex act that’s never been done before in Callaway-verse and no it’s not him eating ass (which has happened before, and happens here— good on them), and someone might say “gamahuche” but that’s alright and you move on. Charlie and Sebastian have this super hot give-and-take, almost-goading dynamic where they each give as good as they’ve got and there’s a decent chance arguments might end with sex. They also do that thing in second chance romances that I love where they know EXACTLY what the other person likes and they aren’t afraid to use it on (against?) them. 

I feel like the Lady Charlotte series has been a little more sex-toy forward (see: Pippa and Cull and ye olde sex swing), so it feels inevitable there would be a scene where Charlie shows Sebastian exactly how she pleasured herself for the twelve years he was away, namely, with a collection of dildos. I’d say that was the hottest scene in the book, but it’s also tied with The Time They Do Things With Meringue And A Butter Boat. 

There is also scene where she employs a riding crop on him (in public! After some sexy shadow puppetry!), and while the crop itself wasn't used that much, it DID serve a purpose, and if that purpose is Charlie utterly failing to edge Sebastian as punishment for not telling the truth and accidentally getting him off sooner than she wanted, then so be it. 

Overall:

I adore Grace Callaway and this book hit all the points I wanted from a second-chance romance with a married couple: it had the romance, the tension and angst, and you immediately feel that despite their estrangement, Charlie and Sebastian know each other better than anyone else and in that sense, they truly belong together. I would absolutely recommend this to any historical romance reader, though I do suggest starting from the beginning of the Lady Charlotte series. 

Thank you to Grace Callaway and her team for the ARC in exchange for my review.

#arc review #grace callaway #historical romance #arc #romance novels

[bcacstuff]

I'm new here and I am actually scared of how obsessive people are. Sam is not even a big thing. But his fandom is up there with Kristen and Rob, Directioners and other extremists when it comes to sheer delusion. Usually all these people come with already decided agenda and whatever little tidbit comes out they will make up story around it to fit their agenda perfectly. Man could be tied to lie detector and deny all their delusions and they will find a way around that as well - it's very much like talking to a bot.

As someone who only found out Sam Heughan exist recently and went down tumblr rabbit hole, here's what I've gathered about him:

When Outlander started, quite opposite to what ES think - He and Cait were definitely incouraged by studio to go heavy on flirting in promos and sell the show in that way. They're in TV show based on love between their characters so it only makes sense to carry those thing into promo as well. He wasn't part of a boy band so they would need him to be the heartthrob and single as ES clams. Anyone with basic knowledge of PR would've known this. Also these two are obviously friends but they're too different for romance in RL. I won't even dabble into what kind of person both of them would have to be to fit into ES stories.

He's 43 year old actor whose primary mistake is working with friends who are probably middle-aged as he is. Why I even say this is because I've noticed both from just looking at his social media, the way he posts and does promos and from comments here, how much his age shows (most people perceive it as cheesiness), and in his business ventures you can clearly see his team is bad. His age shows in the way he uses technology, BIG TIME, I go to his profile and feel like I'm on my uncle's feed (my uncle is 5 years older than him and also deeply in midlife crisis). You guys find it cheesy and fake but that's just his generation and technology, he's a bit awkward and clearly introverted, also has very British/Scottish sense of humor which (as I've seen for myself) translates very differently to other Europeans, but especially to Americans. There's nothing wrong with any of it, in fact to me that's the best part of him, and that's where his team is completely messing up. Instead of using all of it and adjusting content to him, make it more relatable and original - they pray on his popularity as Jaime Fraser, still stuck on the same image of him they wanted to present 10 years ago (and the way internet worked 10 years ago), instead of evolving with his age and focusing on branching him out of Outlander, adjusting content to his true nature so he doesn't constatly have to put on oh so fake persona for promo and spam with shameless sale pitchs. He's not blameless or a victim in all this, don't get me wrong on that - but he fell in basic trap of getting in business with friends who obviously are not creative people and have found their golden cow, so they need him to keep milking - his team is so blatantly unimaginative, lazy, can't read the room or follow trends. - that's why I think they're as well middle-aged and not truly professionals - older generation are simply not as adaptive to today's technology led world. I also don't think he enjoys it, especially being hunted by desperate housewifes part and doing promo just for that audience. It probably was fun at the beginning but 10 years later NOPE. Now he's a hamster on a wheel. Don't even let me start on Sassenach, that is the most blatant example of everything I've said about his team. It might be his idea to name it that, but it shows true face of people around him that nobody told him - long term looking it's a terrible idea. He focused on Outlander instead of Scotland, and even when he tries to make it about Scotland it falls flat because his partner friend has tied him in a contract by which he's supposed to focus on American market. It's a JOKE. But just next time you see him shirtless with a bottle know where it's coming from 😂

Now the dating life. If it wasn't for tumblr the only women he was officially linked to were MM and MC in past 10 years. And I would've thought the man is a monk. On the other hand on tumblr he's linked to anyone and anything that stands/sits next to him. But even if every single one of them were dates he's still well under the radar. He dates around and since there's no complaints from these women it's nobody's buisness (beside the one who blamed him for gaslighting but that is equally on that girl who just couldn't get the clues that a guy wasn't really into her).

I do believe that Outlander takes big toll on his love life, certainly doesn't help his abandonment issues and as long as he's having so many projects on his hands he won't settle for anyone. Also Iooking at girls he's been connected to I don't think he can actually connect to any of them, too young and superficial and he's too akward, introverted and not the best at expressing himself. He probably gets bored out of his mind too quickly and they're there for sugar daddy ride. But since I don't think he's truly looking for anything serious atm, no harm in it as long as both sides are in agreement. Also people need to seriously chill, a man and a woman can actually be friends and have good time on lunch and dinner or a walk without any transactions (except to restorant/caffee). He does not f everyone in his proximity with vagina between her legs. Other blogs claim he doesn't even like vaginas 😅

I understand that following him for as long as you do, you have probably seen lots of moments of hypocrisy and cheesiness and whoring and shilling but reading some of the comments I see pattern of people who have already made their mind so he's "Sam the whore", "Sam the husband", "Sam in the closet", "Sam the Salesman", "Jesus Sam King of Man", (mix and match as you like), and just spew often very hateful things in accordance to the role they asigned to him. So much energy and emotions over someone they don't know and doesn't affect them in any way. Wish people could be less judgmental, at the end of the day we don't know anything and could be entirely wrong. Imagine if your life was picked apart and judged the way you do here based on heresy and snippet. Not a comfortable spot and there's no winner there.

I like your blog because it's the most objective one and you're readers are more or less objective as well. This is very new experience for me but in just few weeks I've seen so much nonsense about this man that I had to say something. I usually don't have interest in any type of fandoms or celebrity fan pages and that I'm saying anything is really a compliment to you because usually fandoms are so far of reality that I simply don't bother to comment - I'd have more meaningful conversation with a wall. So I simply leave asap. You seem openminded so I felt free to say something.

Sorry about the long ass post, just felt the need to unload before I leave this la la land as well.

Well well... that's a very long farewell for someone new must say 😂

But yes, this fandom is sheer craziness, so much you did figure out. I do oppose to connecting age to technology. I'm older than him, but, if i may say so myself, very savvy when it comes to technology and (modern) digital marketing. That's pure a form of interest and time and hasn't got anything to do with the age of a person. He just didn't gather the right people around him for that (or just wants to control things too much himself). I agree his people (and perhaps he himself isn't creative enough, but again, that has nothing to do with 'middle aged' or any age imho.

He's been linked to a good number of women. Some are perhaps nothing more than a lunch or a coffee. With some others it's hard to believe he acted like a monk. Well, it's all his choice for sure, I don't actually care that much. Care more to put out here what is going on with proof so everyone can see and use their rationale to draw conclusions from it. But everyone does so from her/his own cultural background, believes etc. One can hardly ever change that (and I wont). All here for the good discussions, speculations, exchanges of thoughts, and from time to time the fun factor 😉

Anyway, thanks for the compliment... I guess 😊

[thetrashbagswasteland]

8, 15, and/or 34 for the micro prompts :3c

8 - sunbathing, 15 - trembling hands, 34 - bauble We're not gonna talk about how long it took me to write this one lmao I kept getting distracted by new ideas

They're older now. Slower now, in every aspect of the word. One of them's slower to anger, the other slower to wake from a dead sleep. Neither could say which is which, truth be told. By the standards of another lifetime, neither one of them is old and yet once strong hands tremble, hearing's not what it used to be and the horizons which had once expanded beyond darkspace itself have shrunk once more to considering a trip off-planet to need weeks of forwards planning. And, really, there are very few occasions to want to leave home too, not when almost everyone they cared to see came to them instead. Of course, if either of them claimed that it was a peaceful epilogue without a single hitch then they'd almost definitely be lying; If asked, Castis would point out that Avitus was still breathing and therefore it could hardly be seen as surprising that he remained capricious and bitey when bored enough that the mood took him. He knew equally though that if asked, Avitus would happily tell anyone who'd listen how he was still over-picky and over-stubborn, still tended to get stuck in his own head and still seemed to exist just to deny him whatever it was he most desired to do at that precise moment. Of course what he'd omit from that was that his ideas were just as destructive, dangerous and exciting as when they'd been young and immortal. These days though, distracting him from everything from the ill-advised to the downright illegal was a fair deal simpler though - basking in the dying rays of the southeastern sunset as it hit their little hilltop homes living room appealing enough that he could nearly always be persuaded to do that instead. (In many years time, in fact, it would be that very window that they would give in and set their bed up beside to best enjoy the quietest sunsets.) Somehow, though, even between the late-afternoon naps and the loss of urgency to their time, the strangest thing was the physical evidence of a purely mental development - belongings. Most of them Avitus' at that. Picture frames adorned the walls, of course, but trinkets and souvenirs of lives well lived filled shelves, collecting dust that he was somehow responsible for removing. Avitus hadn't changed that much, even if he was domesticated enough to keenly look forwards to the visits from his side of the family and what new shiny bauble the latest young adventurers had brought back to show them, be it rocks from a planet they were the first in living memory to set foot on or evidence of the last people to go there. Sometimes, they even discussed joining them for the next great expedition into the unknown. Discussed, never intended to follow through with it though, not when the sunsets where they were were just perfect.

#ask meme #AviTis #my writing

[noose-lion]

We Got Him

Fandom: bsd

Pairing(s): none, platonic Dazai & Ada

Fukuzawa watches Dazai out of the corner of his eye. The young man doesn't seem to notice, which in and of itself means something is wrong. Dazai should have noticed the scrutiny the minute the president's attention focused on him.

They had just climbed back in the taxi, finished with an interrogation disguised as a business meeting with the Agency's current target. Said target, a corrupt business owner, had been tricking the elderly and poor out of their homes, such cases are ones Fukuzawa and Dazai often take care of. The two of them proved to be an excellent team when it came to subtle intimidation and pseudo hospitality. 

Everything had gone smoothly. Dazai acted and talked as usual, pulling every bit of info they needed from the target. But Fukuzawa wasn't dumb, after so many years working with Dazai he can sense something is wrong.

And while Dazai usually cuts back on his usual dramatics when working with the president, the detective is far too subdued for normal. Especially now that they're returning to the Agency. He's slumped against the back of the seat, forehead to the window, and hasn't said a word the whole ride back. Fukuzawa would assume the other had fallen asleep if Dazai wasn't so tense, so artificially still.

"Are you okay Dazai?"

Asking such a direct question is a risky bet for Fukuzawa, especially when he's after the truth. If Dazai wants, he can easily wiggle his way out of answering any unwanted questions. The director asks anyway.

Dazai shifts, straightening from his slouch. He turns to stare at Fukuzawa with blank eyes, giving a small smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "Of course, President."

Fukuzawa doesn't believe him. 

"Okay. Please tell me, if that changes."

He receives a stiff nod and Dazai is slumping back to the window.

This is a version of his subordinate Fukuzawa hasn't seen in awhile, a version that was always more evident in Dazai's early years with the Ada. Something is very, very wrong.

This is only confirmed further when they get to the Agency building. 

Dazai opens the door for him as he always does. It's something his detective had done for him ever since he joined the agency more than two years ago. As Fukuzawa passes through Dazai dips his head in a quick nod, the president smiles. 

"Thank you Dazai."

"Of course Boss."

Fukuzawa's stomach drops. Dazai never calls him boss. 

He turns to look at Dazai, the younger face is blank, eyes hollow. He looks like he used to, when he first joined and various different things would make him go quiet and distant. 

What had sent him into this?

Worriedly, Fukuzawa watches as Dazai walks away without another word. He's stiff, gait uneven and jolting, his hip crashes into the corner of a desk as he walks by. The president watches just long enough to make sure Dazai makes it to the couch. 

Most of the staff is out at lunch but Ranpo is watching them from his own desk,  green eyes open with a knowing gleam. Fukuzawa nods to him meaningfully as he strides by, headed towards the infirmary. 

Yosano may need to be on stand by. 

—--------------------

Ranpo knows he's frowning. He also knows that Dazai knows it. The other is pretending to ignore him, has been ever since Fukuzawa walked out. It would piss off Ranpo if he wasn't so aware of how afraid Dazai was.

Something has the younger defensive. Has him reverting to old masks. Has him mixing the past with the future, old faces with the new. 

Dazai wasn't all there. 

Ranpo watches as Dazai sits unnaturally straight at his desk pretending to work. His face look blank? but Ranpo knows the tiny signs that Dazai isn't alright. And with the way he's listing to his right, the older pretty much knows what's wrong.

"Dazai," when the other looks up, belated as it is, Ranpo continues. "When did you get that slash down your side."

The corner of Dazai's mouth ticks down in a frown. 

"Don't even, it's not like I'm wrong." Ranpo barks out before the other can try to deny it.

Dazai face loses a bit of the blankness, a harsh glare creeping unto his face. "I'm sure I have no clue what you mean, Ranpo-san." 

"And I'm sure you do."

Dazai's face is deadly, eyes glinting coldly with a energy Ranpo rarely sees. "Drop it."

Now that, was the face of the Demon Prodigy. 

Ranpo grins. "You won't be able to hide that from Yosano for very long. And you know Atsushi will notice the minute he gets back.

All the detective gets back is a dangerous look and a disgruntled growl.

Dazai never did try as hard to mask that angry, hostile side from Ranpo. It's not like it would make any difference. 

—--------------------

When Atsushi walks back into the Agency, there's a notable difference in the atmosphere. Something is wrong, and whatever it is tugs at Atsushi's awareness.

Upon seeing the way Ranpo sits stiff at his desk, open eyes trained on a working Dazai. Atsushi feels a value sense of relief that Kyouka had gone off with Kenji and Kunikida. It's quickly overshadowed by the worry he feels for the current situation. 

If Dazai is willing doing his work on lunch break, Atsushi knows something is wrong. 

He's considering backing right out of the office, to wait on the others, when he catches a familiar coppery scent.

Blood. Atsushi is frozen. Who- Dazai.

Ranpo must know Atsushi's figured it out, for he waves him over.

"Ranpo-san, what's wrong?" Atsushi asks in a whisper. 

"The idiot is hurt, but is trying to pretend he isn't."

The two of them blatantly turn and stare right at the topic of their conversation, he pretends to ignore them.

"It would be better if he goes to the infirmary on his own." Ranpo says this with a meaningful look, green eyes a glow.

Atsushi sighs, dragging his hand down his face. "Yeah. Yes, your right. I'll try."

As he approaches the desk, Dazai finally stops pretending he's not there and looks up at him. "Hello, little tiger."

He's lacking. I usually can't see through the smiles.

Atsushi frowns. "I can smell the blood."

Dazai's face freezes on the tiny grin he'd been wearing, before it drops away as his face seems to lose color.

"Did short-stack send you over to nag too?" The voice is sharp in a way that Atsushi never hears from his psuedo mentor.

His eyebrow raises. "No. I can quite literally smell the blood seeping through your clothes."

"You know nothing, Atsushi. Nothing." Dazai's face and tone scream irritation. But Atsushi can smell the underlying fear and anxiety that resides behind the strong scent of blood.

Dazai jumps up with a small grunt, eyes wild as he pushes past the younger and stalks toward the break room where he sometimes hides to take naps. 

Atsushi follows, watching as the detective flops over on to the couch and curls into the arm. He cracks the door behind them, hoping to make Dazai feel less exposed.

"I know your hurt. Hurt bad enough that your bleeding and in pain." 

Atsushi shoots a look at Ranpo through the door, only to find that the genius had slipped away. With a put out sigh, he turns back to find Dazai looking up at him as if he's figured out some big secret.

"Oh," Dazai practically coos, "can you not take care of anything by yourself?"

Atsushi gapes, a growl in chest, taken back by Dazai's sudden vileness. 

Okay, ow. That stings.

He's never been the other's verbal target like this. Oddly enough, he can't quite take the words and behavior to heart, not when Dazai is acting so wounded, so cornered. It reminds Atsushi of Akutagawa. Of how the mafioso acted after that one prolonged mission they had together. How after living in close quarters for a week, even sharing a bed, the other had turned on him with such rabid ferocity when Atsushi tried to continue the familiarity after the mission.

So now, looking down at Dazai who is pressed into the corner of the couch, glaring up at him with fear-hate filled eyes, he can only feel sad. 

Dazai stiffens suddenly, his face going forcibly blank. He pulls himself from the couch with a jerk, movements stiff and disconnected like a puppet on strings. He looms over Atsushi, using every centimeter of height he has on the other to his advantage. "Your so desperate to help others that your making up problems to 'fix.' Are you that much of a failure that you have to do nothing but force your way into other people's business?"

Atsushi steels himself, doing his best to ignore the way his stomach drops in favor of coming up with a response. "Maybe your the failure. So afraid to show the tiniest bit of vulnerability that you hide."

The handle of the break room door rattles and Dazai flails back, eyes going wide again as they lock on to it. He scrambles back, mindlessly retreating until his knees hit the edge of the couch and he flops gracelessly onto it. 

Fukuzawa opens the door, and Dazai trys to stand again but Atsushi jumps forward and knocks him back. Dazai's eyes are huge, pupils mere pinpricks. He's breathing harshly, pressed against the cushions, and Atsushi can smell how nervous he is.

"Dazai," Fukuzawa asks, "will you please go to the infirmary?"

Atsushi can feel the way Dazai trembles under his hand as he stares up at the President. He still answers. "Is that what you require Boss?"

Fukuzawa looks sad as he nods. "Yes, that's what I require."

"Okay." Dazai fights to stand from the couch, Atsushi lets him hands hovering as if to catch him. 

Dazai strides out of the break room like nothing has ever been wrong ever, he passes Fukuzawa, who steps to the side, and continues on. Atsushi trades a look with the president and the two of them follow. Dazai walks straight for the infirmary, his false confidence lasting only till he gets to the hallway connecting the infirmary to the main office area. He falters in the middle of the hall, staring at Ranpo who's leaned against the wall to the side of the infirmary's double doors. Ranpo's face is oddly serious. "Now come on, Dazai. Your not afraid of Yosano are you?"

Dazai face twists, like he's confused. "Yosano? No, no. Of course not."

Atsushi sucks in a breath. Fukuzawa's hand drops down to rest on his shoulder. Atsushi breathes out.

"I," Dazai stops, thinking. "I'm sorry. I was, am, confused? I think? I thought I was- that I was somewhere else."

Ranpo pushes away from the wall with a soft smile. "That's okay. You know now where you are now, don't you?"

"Yes. I'm in the Ada. I need to go to the-" Dazai's brow furrows, a shakey hand going to his side. "To the infirmary. I'm hurt?"

"Exactly!" The older detective grabs Dazai's arm gently, leading him into the infirmary. "You'll be fixed up and out in no time."

"With Yosano-sensei?"

"Yes of course."

"Okay." Dazai nods, a reassurance mostly to himself.

Fukuzawa pulls Atsushi away when the others enter through the infirmary's double doors. As they head back to the main room, the president grabs his shoulder in a gentle-strong hold. "He'll be okay." 

"Yeah." Atsushi smiles. "Because we got him."

Fukuzawa let's go with a tiny smile of his own. "Yes. Because we got him."

Now. If only we could get the idiot himself to get that.

#whumptober 2022 #whumptober #whumptober day 4 #i think? #hidden injury #dazai is kinda an ass in this #my stuff #screaming into the void #and the void screams back #bsd #bungou stray dogs #bungou gay dogs #bsd dazai #dazai osamu #bsd atsushi #bsd fukuzawa #bsd ranpo #president fukuzawa #fukuzawa yukichi #atsushi #atsushi nakajima #ranpo #ranpo edogawa #ada #whump #dazai whump #bsd angst #bsd fic #my writing #my fics

[kooldewd123]

Lots of interesting things about Lucius from today's episode and the new preview!

First off, we finally know the identities of all six Heroes and it's a bit of an... eclectic mix. When we first learned about Lucius, I expected Rayquaza to be the only legendary on the team since it's the special Pokemon the story is built around, but the presence of Moltres and Entei alongside Arboliva, Lapras, and Kleavor ends up giving the whole group a very weird vibe for an anime team. It kinda feels like a kid just picking their favorites lol. I'm guessing we'll see Lapras, Kleavor, and Entei in that order since that's the order Diana listed them.

We also have this image giving us hints of how our future Hero encounters will go down. Lapras seems to be part of a pack, so I'm guessing we'll get something similar to the Arboliva encounter, where the RVTs earn its trust after helping the pack. I think each Hero will probably be found in its native region, so it could be fun if this whole thing takes place around Roy's island (although it might still be a bit too early to revisit it). Then, judging by the blurry Kleavor image, probably some sort of encounter where they hear about a rampaging monster from the locals and go to investigate. The black and white makes me wonder whether it's been hanging around in this area for a while - maybe something that's has its own little folk legend spring up around. Entei's image is too vague to really make any strong guesses about. Rayquaza, on the other hand, is very interesting, as it appears to be in Motostoke again. Are we going to be returning there at some point or is it just a flashback?

The next interesting tidbit is that the Explorers were apparently connected to Lucius at their inception. This becomes much more suspicious, however, when you realize that aside from Hamber and (presumably) Gibeon, the Explorers don't seem to actually know much about Lucius at all. All the underlings know is "capture the pendant." Neither Amethio nor Spinel actually knew that the pendant was a Pokemon, both of them maintained tunnel vision on the pendant even when directly faced with the Heroes, and neither seemed to have any knowledge of a black Rayquaza, despite it being the only Pokemon explicitly named in Lucius's legend. Gibeon and Hamber are clearly withholding information from the rest of the organization and taking advantage of their peons' loyalty in order to accomplish whatever their true goals are. The question now is whether the two of them are somehow connected to the original Explorers or if they're just using their name.

And finally, we have what appears to be an actual photograph of Lucius, which threw me for a loop. I compared it to the glimpse of him we saw after the Moltres capture, and it definitely seems like same person. I thought he lived several centuries ago, but I went back to Alex's telling of the legend and it's only about a hundred??? That seems way too recent considering how he's been treated in the story but whatever. Anyway, the prior episode already established the high likelihood that Liko's family is somehow associated with Lucius, what with Diana finding the pendant and journal in her attic. Now that we have a full-body shot of Lucius, the design similarities between him and Liko/Diana are very apparent. I've been skeptical of the theories he was related to them before this point, but I can't deny that the evidence is growing rapidly. The curious implication about it is that with the stated hundred-year timeframe (assuming it's not a mistranslation or a misdirect), he's probably no more than two generations removed from Diana herself. I'm not quite sure whether I like the idea of him being her father since she would easily recognize him if she had this picture all along, but a grandfather or older uncle could work. Or maybe this isn't a picture of Lucius after all and everything I just said will crumble to dust in an episode or two. Who knows!

#pokemon horizons #pokemon #anipoke #pokemon lucius #pokemon explorers #kool speaks

[fantasygerard2000]

On Snow White, I don't particularly have any feelings on the remake one way or the other (though production sounds like a mess, ngl), but when Rachel basically said that the story would be updated... I honestly didn't understand what the big fuss was about and still don't on that part specifically. The Prince is barely in the original film as is, so while Snow White is clearly a romantic, I don't think it's fair to say "they're disregarding the love story" or whatever, because there was barely a love story to begin with besides one interaction at the very beginning and again at the end unless you count Someday My Prince Will Come, as the story itself wasn't really what Walt wanted to focus on as much as he did the animation; even much of the praise the film received at the time had more to do with the style and music than anything else, and deservedly so. I'd even say the comics and musical did a better job at developing the two romantic leads than their own film did!

Granted, putting even less emphasis on it won't necessarily help either, but my point is, it seems like Disney isn't really doing anything that hasn't already been done before anyway, including by Disney themselves. Hell, they've been trying to subvert the "Classic Princess" trope since the Renaissance, and then you have '07's Enchanted, which served as a great parody and love letter to the films that came before it. For Snow White directly, you of course have Snow White from OUaT, as well as her LEGO version from The Castle Quest special and I believe one of the Twisted Tale books too; a sweet romantic who won't hesitate to help her friends when the going gets tough. If I had to guess, it's more likely the film will simply continue this, but how well it does it will obviously all depend on the execution.

It could be bad, it could be good. I honestly don't really care. I just think it's funny how the older princesses are getting so much praise now after being derided for so long—something I've honestly been wanting to see happen for years because yes—but the second it's announced there's going to be a remake—mind you, a remake with a WoC leading the film at that—there's all this uproar and defense of the original films, when there was barely any previously except for a pretty small community, especially when it came to Snow White. Not saying that any criticism whatsoever is a bad thing and I'm all for reevaluation, but you also can't deny there's a certain pattern to all this, one that needs to be talked about more.

Snow White is in this awkward spot where it's obvious that it aged like milk while people who herald don't want it to be changed while it sits on the pedestal and rotting.

Any media official media made by Disney that's centered on her and her movie has either kept her passiveness, flanderize to the point of parody, or give her an axe and talk to dragons because why not.

Hell, even other adaptations of Snow White after Disney have try to update the story by emphasizing the romance more than in the 1937 film. Like what you said, Disney themselves even updated the story in the musical and comic adaptation.

I recently discovered a children's book about Snow White made by Disney where she meets and befriends three giants and introduces them to the dwarfs. It's a cute charming short story that emphasizes how Snow White works best in small doses because her status as the first princess and first movie has cause people to tire of her yet they barely want her to change.

#disney #snow white #snow white and the seven dwarfs

[justaravingwritingdesk]

adding to my thoughts in a previous ask; i'd also argue that kdj's experiences shaped how he views the world, rather than that being evidence of him loving and hating himself the most. it's very common that the experiences you go through in childhood define one's understanding of 'how the world works', and it can take a lot of effort to deconstruct those views. i would argue that that is less on kdj loving himself most and more that he has a set knowledge base that takes time to shatter

of course, when it comes to putting that in the context of kdj's acts of love; it would delve into a deeper question of how love works, if it is selfish or selfless, which in itself is interesting but might take quite a bit of time.

it might be that we have different perspectives of love that has me tilting my head at your ideas; i can see kdj wanting to be yjh as a form of wanting to be better, ergo a dose of needed self-love, but kdj wanting to stand beside yjh... that is an act of love, to want to be by the side of your loved ones. perhaps it could be argued that loving yourself allows you to care for the ones you love rather than denying both of you the pleasure?

probably the one thing i'd like to prod on the most is your discussion of the most ancient dream, though - from my understanding, the scenarios of twsa were not thought of by mad himself, but by the author that wrote for him, in addition to the fact that the most ancient dream is very clearly depicted as not knowing that the dreams from his reading had been coming to life, so i'm perhaps just a little lost on that.

i hope these thoughts aren't too much of a bother! it's interesting to hear how other people view a story, and orv is rife with details to pick apart

Ah, yes, of course. Childhood experiences are what shape our mentality, with teenage giving way to change and maturity, and adulthood solidifying the end result. The older you get, the more drastic the needed change tends to be for it to stick. You'd have to reexamine yourself, which is admittedly not easy, and that's speaking from experience. You need to know what the problem is before you start with anything. That's why it takes a lot of time.

KDJ doesn't have that. He doesn't know what's wrong with him, not entirely. He knows he's "broken," in a sense, but that's all. He doesn't remember most of his past. What little he does remember outside of TWSA isn't always true. All this because of the Fourth Wall. Even if he tries to "fix" himself, he wouldn't know where to begin.

And that's just sad, because there's nothing anyone can do about it. Only the Wall, but he most like never would do it, because the flow of the story would be broken.

(And no, I'm not objectifying him, I'm just putting it in terms that are easily understandable and that I'm familiar with.)

Acts of love can be either or both selfish and selfless, but when we say love, it's usually selfless. Because that's what love is. It's not really about you, it's about the other person.

And self-love… You can't begin loving someone else, not truly, if you don't love yourself.

At least, that's how I see it.

I can also see KDJ want wanting to be YJH as a form of wanting to be better, but mainly because I think KDJ is like the young SYS when they first met. They've both done something they know is unforgivable, and they both think they're bad people who can't be redeemed anymore. But while SYS had KDJ to tell her that no, she isn't a bad person, that she had to do it to survive, KDJ had his mother to tell him that no, the blood wasn't on his hands, that he is innocent while she is not. KDJ gave SYS the truth and his companionship. LSK gave KDJ a lie and basically left him to the wolves.

What LSK did to KDJ left an impact. Despite the fact that he wanted to be with them, he couldn't think of any other way but to leave, to sacrifice himself, just so the Company could be happy. Even though he found a way to circumvent it via Avatar, it still doesn't change the fact that he left them with a lie, just like LSK did to him.

And you're right, loving oneself allows one to care for their loved ones. I think that's one lesson KDJ has yet to learn: loving himself would let himself be truly happy with the Company. That's probably one implicit lesson amongst many that ORV is supposed to teach.

And as for the MAD, it's true that the scenarios weren't thought of by the MAD himself, but that doesn't mean he had no influence on them. The Dokkaebi King himself said that everything in the Star Stream moves according to the MAD's wishes, conscious or not. The HSY who became tls123 only put the records into writing while the DK who became Fourth Wall passed it on so KDJ who'll inevitably become MAD can dream of it and YJH who became SP will live it. (The Unholy Trinity is actually the Unholy Quartet. FW is the ghost member and the only one without a split persona.)

That's the gist of it, I guess. Most of the referenced details are in the text somewhere, if you find the time to look for it.

Does this answer your question? If it does, well, I'm glad I could help, and if not, then oh, well. I had fun, tho.

#orv #orv kdj #omniscient reader's viewpoint #character analysis #yjh #fourth wall #he's a menace #so many parallels #i'm going crazy #i'm going to cry #i'm going to die #it rhymes

[dangerous-advantage]

(yagi-no-eda here~)

Totally would circle back /pos. I’m also pretty new to the fandom!

My wife has liked Usagi Yojimbo and associated stuff for years but it’s only this summer that my brain has allowed me to really get into it, and make it past the first 2-3 comics. Not for lack of trying - it was just never the right time in an ADHD way*. Something always would distract me. I’ve inhaled all the comics I can in just the last couple of months and yeah, Stan came at me with a steel chair too. I did not expect …this whole situation. I’ve been a fandom lurker since 1999 and yet suddenly I have blog I use near daily, a sketchbook, and bunch of fic WIPS...

Mainly because I am Unwell over UY.

I have accepted my fate. This is always going to be a Thing now.

Though I did admittedly also inhale TMNT 2003 and Rise.

Travels with Jotaro is one of my favourite volumes, but I’m also weirdly into Bridge of Death rn and just….in general having a moment over Usagi’s time with Mifune. To the point I’m doodling intros for a fake show called The Mifune Years. He had this whole expected future and friends - denied.

* to be fair this is also the summer I found out its def ADHD driving this media analysis machine I call a brain

Hope this was an okay way to get back to you! /lil anxious

Feel free to network (or share thoughts) in my tags anytime, I love hearing what other people think. Also happy to chat anytime. Or feel free to tell me to back off and that's chill too :)

(been waiting to answer this for when i had more time but gave in; should be working on my fic(s) but you know how it is lmao. stay tuned for a very long post, because i love talking about things with people, especially things i like haha

very cool to see another person very passionate about this series! i grew up on 2003 (and the 90's movies-- my parents had the third one on cassette and i remember i wore that fucker out lmao) but it was always more of a "scattered interest" rather than something i was fully pulled into

i started getting into rise (read: The Algorithm came for me) probably mid-July of last year, but didn't fully fall into it until after the movie came out. it renewed my interest in tmnt overall, and i've been here ever since!

i did attempt to watch the usagi chronicles a couple of times, and i remember thinking they were fun but not really my thing. (i definitely want to revisit it, even though i know it won't hold a candle to usagi yojimbo. it does look fun in a silly way, which i can get behind.)

i knew vaguely about how big usagi yojimbo was, and that it was a commitment, but i'm surprised how quickly it sucked me in. i've never been super interested in stuff within the genre, but damn if it doesn't satisfy the autism. entire chapters devoted to infodumping about the edo period of japan? sign me the fuck up!

i especially did not expect how much it would make me feel. like. wow. ouch. usagi is just Some Guy but he is also so well characterized and you really feel for his internal conflict, 10/10.

i've been looking for series with older protagonists, especially those more focused on the familial/platonic aspect rather than romantic (i am just an nd queer on the interweb, can you blame me for yearning for found family?), but hadn't found any i really liked other than the tarot sequence by kd edwards (very good read, would highly recommend.)

also not to be a nerd but ohhhh my god i am so obsessed with the plot with mifune.

like i know the series takes place after that, and after the fallout of that, but just. wow. imagine devoting your entire being to another, to the point where you would readily die for them and their word, and then they die. they die, and you did everything you could to honor them in that death, but they're still gone.

like... that emptiness stays with you. you don't just get over that. maybe it's the "being raised in a cult" but wow, do i empathize with that.

idk if we explore more about the fallout/exact history with mifune/immediately following mifune's death but there is so much writing potential there. if i was not embroiled within turtle hell and 50,000 words deep in a multi-chapter fic already, i would absolutely write something for it.

like. this is adjacent to your interest in the topic, but can you just imagine (/rhetorical /general you.) as far as we know, he spent five days on the battlefield before he made it out to the tangled skein.

(which is one of my favorite additions like good god holy shit. that is so cool and angsty. your lord, days after dying, appears as a fucking ghost and saves you. like, if i were to be silly and funky, i would absolutely headcanon that as the reason that he was able to stand up and continue on. because i mean... what else? what else could motivate you to stand up once more after something like that?)

(well. honor. but mifune is the physical manifestation of honor in the narrative, so same difference? it's like both thematically significant and emotionally significant and-- ok im shutting up now. but i could talk for days, istg.)

but like. how do you reconstruct yourself from that? we see him holding tight to this sense of honor, even after his lord is gone, sent reeling (adrift in the waves) with only his soul and moral compass to hold to.

which makes it hurt so much more when we see these ideals of honor-- this ghost of a man, of a life, still haunting him years after the event-- still woven through the narrative, made to specifically conflict his deepest wants.

i joke about it a lot on my fic discord (i have a whole channel called 'father-material' devoted to just pictures of him hanging out with/taking care of kids), but something that seems very important to him is wanting to be a father figure, and wanting these connections to family and friends.

but that is contrasted against these ideas of honor, the very thing he built and rebuilt his foundation off of after it was torn away from him. and it's just so incredibly painful but also it makes sense, because he can't just give up the side of himself that is a samurai. too much of his person, his characterization, is built off of this.

to see it constantly clash with this want to settle down and finally rest, devote himself to his relationships/family rather than the code of bushido-- the very essence of honor itself-- ourgh ourgh ourgh its so good

(put aside the fact that he once said he could never serve another lord, and we know from the story that the idea of a "lord" can be more than just a person... he never stopped serving mifune, not truly. he still upholds the ideas of honor that mifune stood for/represented. as if his lord never truly left him.)

...i was going to say more, but then i realized this turned into a whole-ass mini-analysis, so i'm forcing myself to stfu. but basically: i have feelings about this series, man (/gender neutral).

anyway. if you ever do put something together, i would love to read/follow it! if i ever wrote something, it would probably be exploring the direct fallout of losing mifune, so hey, different niches but similar (:

also: never be anxious about talking to me ever in any way possible. i will probably be even more annoying than you in tags/asks/everything under the sun, and i do genuinely love talking to people who share my interests (typically about those interests.) i like to pretend i am an internet Cool Guy, however, it is a flimsy veneer to hide all the cringefail swaglessness and unending mental illness about my blorbos

(...i am so tempted to just invite you to my og turtle discord server so i can annoy you about usagi on the regular. also about what my reimagining of yuichi would be, because i have so, so many ideas.

i will refrain, but if you would be interested, it has been kinda dead as of late, so it would be nice to enrich the ecosystem a little by slowly collecting other usagi-interested individuals and slowly taking it over, one by one (/j /lh).)

anyway, same thing goes for me with my posts/asks/reblogs/messages/whatever. i am so very earnest, so if that puts you off, that's very chill and fine. however, as long as you're down to vibe, i am similarly down to vibe >:D

i once more apologize for this monstrosity of a reply. i would say it won't happen again, but my reading comprehension apparently does not extend to the "all things in moderation" maxim. instead i choose maximalism (to the max)

(sorry for that joke. yeah that will also happen again. sorry. /lh /pos)

#confessionals #i love my moots #many-wings #@many-wings #usagi yojimbo #uy #miyamoto usagi #long post #tw long post #thank you for the ask!! #i could talk about this stuff forever haha #also congrats on the realization/diagnosis!! #(: #i hope this was all coherent #(i am a bit mentally unwell about this series if you somehow couldn't tell /lh) #you do not know how much i have wanted to scream about this to someone. you *do not know.* /pos #i love all my moots but they are not aware of how much space uy takes up in my brain constantly all the time #usagi yojimbo analysis #miyamoto usagi analysis #(feel like i should tag it as that haha) #i know i know i know i should be working on 'it was futile' but this has inspired me to do that quick uy analysis post i was thinking about #so look out for that (usagi be upon ye) #oh hey that's a good uy tag. mine now #usagi be upon ye #also you reminded me i wanted to make an uy sideblog. i never make side blogs but very few of my moots are into uy as well #so i might as well contain it elsewhere /lh #the name i wanted is gone but it's fine i can work with it