#actually idk the perception could go multiple directions

[thresholdbb]

"They didn't talk about the Dominion War enough on Voyager"

Yeah well, they never mention Voyager's miraculous reappearance on DS9 either

#the cross pollination game was weak in the 90s #the effects of the dominion war reach voyager especially because of what happened with the maquis #beacon of hope untouched by the war just trying to get home #actually idk the perception could go multiple directions #lucky sobs that don't have to deal with any dominion stuff #like the old critiques of 'draft dodgers' who had legit reasons for not being drafted #hmm I'm sure someone else has more eloquent thoughts on this

[bibibbon]

What fails in MHA: gags/jokes

As well all know gags and jokes are everywhere in shonen but they are rarely done well in my opinion especially in MHA. There isn't a problem with having a bit of comedy in your manga but when the gag or joke either harms the characters development or just is offensive it tends to just fall flat at best and ruin the story at worst.

There are many common and multiple gags hori uses which I HATE:

Izuku/the midoriya family are crybabies. This is one that was VERY PRESENT during the earlier seasons which in my opinion ruined the show and many peoples view of izuku as a character. It makes sense why izuku would cry more then a regular shonen type of MC considering that he is supposed to be a "normal" teenager and he shows some very clear signs of anxiety. I understand when people get annoyed at how much he cries especially because it's very over exaggerated a lot of the time and just depicts him crying a waterfall when you could of just shown him tearing up. It's a bit more excusable for inko but it really doesn't shine a good look on her especially knowing that she is quite emotionally dependent on her son .

Katsuki being mean towards literally anyone and anything. We know that bakugo is a character who is going through a redemption arc to change and become a better person so we shouldn't see him be so aggressive and angry if he is trying to change especially if it's a joke. A gag like that really ruins his development and to me its the reason why I don't think he really changed his attitude or way of thinking towards izuku as much as people like to believe he has ( CANON BAKUGO AND FANON BAKUGO AREN'T THE SAME )

Perverted characters like mineta or sir nighteye .Yes, this is definitely targeted towards mineta and night eye because Iam still very disgusted by the scene of bubble girl and night eye and mineta just gives me the absolute CREEPS. honestly, idk what it is with hori and giving us these type of stuff it's honestly disturbing and disgusting I don't think I would mind if it were done to criticise or lambast something about hero societies pedophilic undertones and the way it loves to sexualise female characters but it's just there as a horrible gag.

Dumbing down denki and making him seem stupid. This is more of making UA look bad because Denki could of been seriously hurt in the usj because of the whole dumbing him down gag and while it isn't the worst gag in the show it kinda falls flat in my opinion and just makes ua look bad. It's also double standards in my opinion because he would be useless in battle if he were to overuse his quirk just like izuku.

The interview scene with mount lady. I don't understand why izuku was ridiculed for his lack of control when it came to blackwhip and it doesn't help that some of the characters where DEFINITELY ACTING OUT OF CHARACTER when they all had the same reaction.

There are some 50/50 gags that still failed due to horikoshi not letting them go or not handling them well.

Izuku's everlasting fanboyism of heroes especially all might. Look this one isn't that bad but like I just don't like the fact that he never grew out of it. I personally like to think that izuku was a big all might fanboy is because he saw all might as the only person who actually believed in him and gave him words of encouragement even if it was through a screen and even if those words where directed towards anyone not only him. As the story progresses izuku should grow to realise that all might is a flawed individual who has cared for him but harmed him at the same time.

Horikoshis perception of izuku being "too intense". This could of easily been incorporated into Izuku's character as an actual character trait that could be used as a gag from time to time. For example we see izuku over think everything or hyper analyse so many small things like fuyumi's cooking. There are moments where izuku seems to come off as weird to other characters and I feel like that shouldn't happen or it should be handled in a better way. I mean how is it that someone doing something so simple as looking at a video intensely will freak/weird you out compared to someone who has a weird quirk or a passerby doing something weird

There are definitely A LOT MORE THAT IAM PROBABLY FORGETTING.

However, hori does have some good gags/ jokes in my opinion, yes they are rare but they do indeed exist like:

Kirishima's manliness. A lot of the time this actually promotes positive masculinity which is something that is definitely needed and it also helps develop kiris character a whole lot more

This one interaction between jiro and tokoyami. I really liked it, it didn't come out as sexual which is something I really enjoyed and you can clearly tell it's just two classmates vibing and trying not to die

Tokoyami and his whole darkness persona. Idk I guess this is me but I like it, it adds a lot to tokoyami while also not being overused .

This one Iam 50/50 with and it's yuuga and his whole I like cheese and I can't stop twinkling persona. I think it adds more depth to his character and foreshadows his role as the traitor to a certain extent but I also find it a bit stereotypical considering the fact that he is french and yuuga will just end up speaking in basic french words and then Japanese

Hawks favourite food ironically being chicken wings. It's simple but it also makes us closer to hawks and can make him a bit more relatable to people

Izuku, iida and shotos hand crusher joke. That has to be my favourite joke in the series it literally didn't end up mocking anyone and cemented one of the best MHA trios

Overall, hori sucks at making truly enjoyable gags and has a lot that harm characters developments especially surrounding his MC Izuku but he can sometimes actually provide enjoyable ones.

#bnha critical #izuku deserves better #mha critical #horikoshi critical #mha #bhna critical #bnha

[clownprince]

Joker's motivations in Joker War

Now idk if I was the only one initially confused by wtf Joker's actual intentions were in Joker War. Maybe I'm just a bit schewpid and everyone else got it but regardless here's my attempt to piece together what's going on in his weird little mind.

Imho, the first lines we get about Joker's underlying intentions are here:

It's extremely important that he was aware of Bruce's intentions to redesign the city. That was definitely the catalyst for the whole thing.

Speaking of Bruce's plans to redesign the city:

He mentions multiple times that his goal is to build a city that doesn't need a Batman.

Regardless of whether he actually mentioned something like this at a press conference or something, I'm sure Joker would be able to pick up on it anyway.

And it's very well-established that Joker needs Batman. The Best Man arc has this whole beautiful monologue about it:

Joker NEEDS Batman. A city without Batman is a city with no place for Joker.

The whole Best Man arc takes during the same year (year 17) as Joker War (prior to it, obviously).

The Batcat engagement took place in year 16. (In which Batman also had Joker locked up in his basement. And he deliberately tracked down amnesiac!Joker and made him Normal Joker again so he could get information. Yowza! Not cool, Bats.)

Additionally, the events of Endgame took place on year 15 and Death of the Family in year 14.

Joker reveals more of his motivations in the final fight scene between him and Batman:

Very interesting that Joker initially chooses to stab Batman in the back. Hmm I wonder if that has any deeper meaning or reveals anything about Joker's own feelings in this situation /sar.

Also very, very, very significant that Joker chooses to battle Batman in that particular suit, after he essentially desecrates it:

So, by now, it's apparent that Joker's direct intention with Joker War was to essentially destroy the possibility of Bruce's vision of Gotham:

He even directly says that all of this was about them.

Hm... I don't think he's just talking about the city, here...

And then we have this:

There's been a recurring theme since Death of the Family, that Bruce isn't being the Batman that Joker wants him to be.

To me, this line feels like "okay, Batman is ruined irreparably, let's just destroy him and start over from scratch."

Then we have this panel. Whew. I think this might be one of the most revealing panels in the entirety of Joker War, largely because of how Joker is depicted in it.

He doesn't look angry, he looks genuinely distraught.

And I didn't notice this until someone else pointed it out but if you zoom in, it definitely looks like he's crying.

I don't think this is just an artistic thing, largely because of this panel from a few issues back:

So those are definitely tears of laughter. But it looks roughly the same. Except based on the context and his expression, I don't think those are tears of laughter in Joker War. At the very least, he's hysterical.

Somewhat of a tangent but it's important to tie everything together: Joker War reminds me very much of DOTF and Endgame in that Joker is depicted (or tries to portray himself) as this terrifying, ruthless, inhuman thing, but if you actually look into his motivations, he's being driven by his emotions, particularly his feelings about Batman, which are almost inarguably the most human part of him.

In DOTF he talks about how Batman isn't being the Batman he wants him to be and yadda yadda, but then in the tie-ins, we have this section, which I think does a beautiful job of explaining his real motivations:

It's jealousy. Jealousy and fear. He's terrified of losing Batman.

And then there's a similar thing in Endgame.

Initially, he says this:

"Haha yeah I'm just bored of you lol."

But then in the final scene we get this:

He's not bored, he's heartbroken. He's genuinely hurt by Batman (in his perception) rejecting him, and he's lashing out in a major way.

I think it's definitely similar in Joker War, except he's not as afraid of losing Batman to the Batfam, more so he's afraid that Bruce's new design for the city will eliminate the need for a Batman, although the Batcat almost-wedding and Bruce's growing family definitely play a role in his motivations.

I think that might be where his whole idea of making Batman start over with nothing came from. Because when Bruce started, he didn't really have anyone except for Alfred, and later Dick.

I think that Joker could tolerate him having a few allies but he can't handle the idea of Batman having an actual family. Both because he doesn't want to share Batman's attention, and because he doesn't have a family, so why does Batman get to have one? Why does Batman get to connect with people when the only person he's truly connected to is Batman? He wants Bats to be as dependent on him as he is on Bats.

So, that's just my Hot Take (read: mediocre interpretation) of Joker War. I wasn't too fond of the storyline until I kinda pieced everything together and it's still not my favorite arc but I definitely like it better than I did initially.

#batjokes #joker war #meta #my silly little thoughts #my timeline might be slightly off my only source was the batman continuity project lol #i am not putting myself through the hell that is tom king's run #and i haven't read batman metal and all that shit yet #i'm going based off of the rebirth timeline though if that isn't clear #my stuff

[thesmurfchick]

Who tf is Kaito Shinonome (Part 6)

Things we can infer (cont.):

The Incident gave him trust issues and an inability to rely on others

Don’t think I need to elaborate on this one too much; he tries to shoulder everything on his own and do things by himself, to an unhealthy degree

I think this mostly stems from his parents’ (and possibly also Miu’s teachers’?) inaction during the Incident

In one of the flashbacks, he states that no one else did anything to protect her -- just him; therefore, he doesn’t trust anyone but himself to do anything in a dangerous situation

This obviously means anything that endangers Miu, but it also includes anything that endangers himself

Dealing with an adult stalker was dangerous for him, too (who was maybe 13 at the time?), but he had no choice but to handle it alone

In Part 6, when he decides he can no longer trust Dracmon, he immediately tries to go back to handling things on his own (treasure hunting, tolerating the “bond” for now, etc)

Takuma also mentions at the end of Harmony that he had the inner strength necessary to keep doing something even if everyone told him he was wrong (aka, being overprotective of Miu even if she kept yelling at him for it)

It’s a sign of his stubbornness for sure, but I also think it could be a symptom of his independence

He doesn’t trust anyone’s judgment but his own, so he does what he thinks is best

I also think this is one of the reasons he pushes himself and ignores his own limits so badly

Not only because he’s putting Miu first, but because he feels if he doesn’t do it, no one will, so who cares if he’s hurt or tired? He has to get it done!!

This also ties into how he feels uneasy/impatient unless he can take direct action -- usually through violence, which is the quickest way to deal with something (and, from his experience, sometimes the ONLY way to deal with something)

I also think this is why he was so concerned for Aoi in Wrathful, because he saw how the same traits (ignoring her own limits, setting extremely high expectations on herself) were destroying her

The Incident also left him scared/wary of the world

His excessive protectiveness for Miu seems to be fueled mainly by guilt and fear that something could happen to her again

This is best shown in the Harmony route in multiple instances:

When Miu’s surrounded by the kenzoku in the amusement park, Kaito wonders to himself why everyone’s trying to hurt her

When thinking back to everything that’s happened to her, he seems convinced that the world seems to be out for her somehow

When Takuma tries to talks him out of his revenge plan, Kaito accuses him of being sexually attracted to Miu

(He doesn’t trust other people’s perceptions of Miu, because the last time someone did that, it was with the end goal of hurting her)

I think his current anger issues (especially where Miu’s involved) also stem from him not knowing how to manage this fear

Has a general disregard for social norms and/or authority figures

Prefers when people are direct instead of politely tiptoeing around a subject

Doesn’t like being told what to do or having “age” thrown on him

For example, not respecting Shuuji despite him being the oldest

He was initially wary of the professor until the latter proved he was harmless/trustworthy (but this could be trauma over the Incident)

Has bleached hair and a piercing as a student -- I don’t wanna get too into this, because Idk enough about Japanese culture or societal nuances to say anything concrete

But it could mean anything from him being a full-on delinquent, to him just being independent and not caring what people think

Anything more about this will be considered my interpretation, which can be found further down below

Their parents are neglectful/intentionally ignorant at worst

I’ve seen some fan works headcanoning their parents as being standoffish, rude, etc, but I don’t actually think they are that way

Near the end of the moral route, they texted the siblings to come back safe, and to buy milk on the way back (lol)

Sounds like typical texts to send the younger and older kid

It’s kinda wtf to text your kid to bring back milk when they might’ve been caught in a fucking rockslide, but Kaito didn’t seem particularly bothered

Does this mean he knew they didn’t mean to be insensitive, or does this mean he’s just unfazed by their (neglectful) treatment?

Find out next time on Dragonball Z

Neither Miu nor Kaito gave off any impression that the texts sounded out-of-character or like they were putting up fronts, so must’ve been genuine/a good indication of their usual relationship

(I DO NOT mean this to condone the way they handled the Incident though)

You can see the consequences of their neglect in other ways (how they handled the Incident, the way Miu blames herself and feels like a burden) but for Kaito specifically, it could be one of the reasons he neglects himself so much

He’s not used to anyone taking care of him or worrying for him (he even gets caught off-guard when Miu does it), so it’s not natural for him to worry about himself

Check out the other parts here: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

#digimon survive #kaito shinonome

[gold-rhine]

Don’t worry, you have multiple Worm anons. What Vision would you give Taylor? Cryo would make sense, for similar reasons you gave for Rachel (troubled teen ostracized from society), but I could also see Anemo—tends to avoid her interpersonal problems, the claustrophobia/desperate need to escape of the locker incident, loss of close relationships (her mom through death, and her friend through betrayal), etc. Also, I feel like Anemo just works better with her powers than Cryo; plenty of bugs can fly, but just about every bug hates the cold.

And if you’re willing, maybe elaborate on Electro!Lisa (which you mentioned in the Cryo!Rachel post)?

how do i have multiple worm followers on my gebshin sideblog, when i dont have any on my main blog where i actually reblog worm sometimes lol

anyway. taylor is not anemo. shes like. the opposite of anemo. anemo is about reeavaluating your prev understanding of the world that was taken from u and accepting the loss, its about learning to let go and begin again, learning to go with the flow in new circumstances. taylor never let go of anything ever lol, she never met a situation she could not escalate by trying to solve it even if its not her fucking business. she's a definition of hyper-controlling freak lol. she's a queen administrator for fucks sake. like the only time you could say anemo even near her is at the end of the book where contessa asks her if it was worth it and she says no.

also, you should not get caught in subjects of powers. bugs is just aethetics, and both powers and vision bank much more on person's perceptions than on actual physicality. no one cares what bugs like. like, hu tao's symbol is plum's bloom, you could be like oh flowers hate fire! she can't be pyro! but its just aethetics, its about meaning to hu tao, not what actual plum flowers are like. with taylor, bugs are just infused witrh element and no one gives a fuck what they like. did bugs like biting lung's dick? natural properties don't matter

now about taylor's actual element... like i hope we're operating on the same understanding that powers manifest due to trauma and are ironic-tilted coping mechanisms? like im not actually in worm fandom on tumblr so idk if its a common understanding or not, but imma proceed like it is. visions are v similar to this, but not limited to trauma, they are about more general perception of the world, but obv if trauma is present, it will affect perception, and so, a vision, a lot.

so, what was taylor's trauma that manifested her specific powers? its not just bullying. its being watched, feeling like she's being watched at all times, like she can't have a safe space, they find her in the toilets, anywhere, etc, can't trust or count on other people. and so she gets power that lets HER watch everyone, lets HER be omnipresent, bc she thinks thats the only way to counter-act, and ultimately, lets her take direct control of other ppl bc she thinks she can't trust them to cooperate.

so like yeah. cryo kinda fits. but like. cryo manipulators are not blunt, you know what i mean? cryo like kaeya, rizzley, charlotte to the extent use social games and understanding of others to control them. taylor just brute forces it bc everyone's afraid of her.

so like. hear me out. raiden shogun. the theme of omnipresent watch over ppl. very strong warrior, but poor social skills\understanding of ppl. stubborn. thinks she knows best than everyone else despite not even knowing them. control of ppl for their own good. loss of close relationships, very solipsist. beating her head against the wall until the wall cracks (raiden fought her puppet for 500 years, taylor's... everything). raiden takes direct control of her puppet like taylor takes control of ppl. there's another toxic electro girlboss whose trying to manipulate her bc she thinks she's saving her (lisa\yae)

conclusion: taylor could reactivate raiden's vision

#rhine talks

[bookofmirth]

after rereading the series and finally finishing silver flames ( which i truly enjoyed, even when there were points which felt disappointing and a little incoherent ) i feel like i can finally pinpoint what is so jarring to me regarding this series. It just seems so disjointed, which becomes especially apparent after reading MaF and the immediately reading WaR.

We move from the first two novels of the series, which are coherent and clean, to WaR - which is hoenstly just a mess, something which was so blatant to me on the reread. during this time, it’s clear that sjm made several massive changes to link this book to the future spin offs, and also obviously changes her original plan to pair mor and azriel - which monumentally changes the way that the previous book is read, and the perception of their characters.

Even with FaS - setting up for cassian and nestas story, sjm completely changes direction between this release and silver flames. And all of that lead up with the Illyrian rebellions and cassians not being respected as a bastard, and his mission fighting for Illyrian female rights - amounts to absolutely nothing.

Don’t get me wrong, I really really enjoyed silver flames, and perhaps some of these ideas will crop up in azriels book and therefore won’t be wasted. But it just makes the series feel disjointed and leaves me at least, feeling unfulfilled.

Sjm is such a good author, in ToG the plot was expertly executed and when you reread the series, you can see hints and foreshadowing even back to book one. She knew exactly where she was going almost from the beginning, and each decision and plot point was used to create impact and build up to the ending. I don’t get that with acotar.

There is so so so much build, and almost no pay off - and I really got that sense in acosf, I loved it as a stand alone - but when we look at it through the perspective of the entire series, there were things which grated and a lot of things which I felt were built up to and nothing happened... Tomas, Cassians mother ( was so sure we would learn where she was buried at least ) the Illyrian rebellions and the Illyrians hatred and disrespect towards Cassian, Mor and Nestas relationship, CASSIAN AND MORS RELATIONSHIP ( I understand that the mor situation will be something which is focused upon primarily in azriels book, or hopefully her own, however their relationship involves Cassian as much as them both and I really wish Cassian had actually confronted the part he played in that whole situation - a part he played for 500 (!!!!) years. It’s a role which he was unable to relinquish in ACOWAR, and actively rejects Nesta to act as a buffer multiple times, seeing it as an obligation almost - and then in SF, pays it no attention at all. Feyre and Nestas relationship also isn’t really touched upon, as if that final act healed everything - what about that interrupted conversation in the library, when Nesta was cut off ? Why Nesta always favoured Elain, even Amren and Nesta - we still don’t really know what happened there... argh there’s just so much potential and so much set up, and it just seems forgotten about ? It makes the book seem disjointed and a bit of a let down.

Yesss I totally get what you mean here. ToG is honestly the superior series, and it’s because it has the cohesion that acotar doesn’t. Everything feels like it’s meant to be there, each character, each worldbuilding detail, their histories, everything just comes together in a wonderful way that just wrecked me when EoS came out and then was resolved perfectly in KoA.

Compared to that, acotar feels like sjm is figuring things out along the way and it is seriously driving me nuts. I’ve had multiple conversations with other people in Discords and they’ve said similar things. acotar at this point feels like sjm is just coming up with random ass ideas and throwing them in. No book in the series feels more like that than acowar. And it was that point where we knew that there would be more books, right? So combined with the fact that she pounded that book out and it got rather half-assed editing, you’re probably right that a lot of things were changed in order to set up the other books, even though it didn’t make sense with what she’d written before. 

I agree with you re: Mor and Az, and I feel like I’ve been seeing more people say that lately? That there is a feeling that they actually were supposed to be together and she changed her mind? I wrote a bunch of fics for them back in the day and they’ve gotten a bit more attention lately. But once acowar came out I was like, I’m gonna reread, and I’m gonna find all the clues, I’m gonna see where all this build-up was, and.... considering how often people say that sjm is so “good” at foreshadowing, I’m sorry, but not in this series. In ToG, yes, because she had a clear goal at the end! She knew where she was going and she stayed on that path. In acotar, idfk. Anyway my point is that I’ve reread the series a couple of times through since acowar came out and I’m still over here shrugging because up until that point, Mor and Az could be read in completely opposite ways. (Maybe it’s an Azriel thing, given the current discourse, idk.)

I will say, however, that we had clues that there was tension between them and I had noted that Az is quiet troubled and even pre-acomaf, I would not have been surprised by his extra in acosf. But all of that could have been addressed with Mor and Az still being together? We all had plenty of explanations at the time for the tension, and Mor being queer was like 1 of 100 of those explanations. 

If we look at Mor’s character through the books we have so far, I still see almost zero signs that she’s queer except for her literally saying “I like women and Rita’s has a lot of women and here’s my gay story”. Other than that, there is like..... nothing that feels organically queer about her!!! And I love her and I want her to be gay af!!!! But I wonder if my forgiveness of how acowar went down was more about my personal reaction than how well the story was actually done.

And the fact that, like you said, there is still no resolution to the fact that Cassian is supposedly a buffer between Mor and Azriel? Like???? We were all sitting here after acowar thinking “okay, well if she’s gay then someone knows. Someone has to know. She can’t just be gay and NO ONE WHO LOVES HER KNOWS.” 

Then in comes acosf with a big “fuck you, y’all thought” which just.... to me, it signals that her queerness was an afterthought. It’s still an afterthought because her queerness is limited to Mor and women blushing at her and Mor has her corner of the world in which she can be gay, but that gay never spills out into any other aspect of her life. It’s just conveniently isolated so that it doesn’t touch or affect other characters. 

In terms of continuity, acowar was such a huge shifting point in the series that people left in droves. It was a huge mess in the fandom. And then acofas was just fluff with no real point in pushing the story forward - even the Nesta stuff was a sneak peek, it had nothing to do with acofas itself. And now acosf comes in ignoring things she had set up previously, with almost zero nuanced discussion of the Cassian/Azriel/Mor thing, which means she still (?) doesn’t know what’s going on there. And I think that we did get some answers with Nesta’s reflection on her relationship with her mother, but the deal with the Illyrian rebellion was just in the way so let’s nix that, and then let’s focus on Eris (🤮) just because she feels like it even though she’s set up all these other characters whose stories need more. (Much like acowar, this paragraph is a MESS LOL)

And yes I KNOW that the series isn’t over, clearly, but she keeps setting things up and then letting them go nowhere, or making them seem important and then resolving them off-page, or changing character relationships (Mor and Az) but then having the characters involved act exactly the same, as if nothing had changed (by having the “buffer” situation still exist as a real thing).

I did enjoy the book, a lot, it was a fun read. But tbh we have so many arguments and disagreements within the fandom rn because things have been so left open to interpretation that we it’s not even a matter of “oh I saw this slightly differently”, it’s “WHAT book did these people even read???” That’s kinda weird, to me. There is reader response, and then there is what we have now, which is people having absolute opposite reactions to what they think happened in acosf. 

#acosf #acosf spoilers #spoilers #sjm critical #ask #acotar #wow you got me started lol #anon

[sonnet77]

Michael Cutter // Golden Blue

Deep blue, but you painted me golden

Summary: The D.A.’s office end of the year party made you realize something about Mike Cutter.

Warnings: enough unrequited angst to break your heart a tad

A/N: The L&O franchise has taken over my life this year, and I’m not mad about it. Thanks so much for reading. Here’s to 2021!   Reader tag, if you do/don’t want to be tagged for future things, just let me know: @moon-river-drifter @tinkerbelldetective @hhroadgirl @thesilenceinthestorm​ @breakawayfromeveryday @justjaclin​ @krystalsthings​ @c-hangingtides​ @backburnsss​  & sorry, some usernames tumblr won’t let me tag, idk why :( 

3,586 words

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It was a Friday evening, past normal working hours, but no one was complaining, for once. No one was actually working either. The D.A.’s office was in very good spirits mainly because of one certain kind found in the punch.  It was nearing New Year’s Eve, and this party became the annual end of year way to celebrate the holidays and the trials (literally) and tribulations that went on working here. It just so happened that the last few high-profile cases yielded very good results. So even the District Attorney had erased his Adam Schiff inspired grumpiness-- Jack McCoy laughing at someone’s story in an animated conversation. Surprisingly, he couldn’t not stop and stay for a while either. Soft choruses of ‘you will get a sentimental feeling when you hear voices singing’ rang through the floor. The string lights flickered in company to desk lamps’ warm glow.  The catered food was delicious. Even, the cynics had smiles as they danced, and sang, and spoke. It was a delightful party, you couldn’t deny that.

You couldn’t help but notice though, something was missing. Well, someone was. You wondered to yourself why you were so perceptive to Mike Cutter not being within the group of mingling people in front of you.  The sea of dress shirts and blazers did blend together, bustling about in the dimmer lighting, but you knew you didn’t make a mistake. You had made a first round, filled your plate and cup, and felt some sliver of emptiness still eating at you. Unconsciously, always drifting your gaze, or consciously, turning your head amidst cordial conversations. It made no sense. Until, it finally did.

You found him, with her. The judge’s clerk, you’d seen around a few times before. The one that even McCoy gave an eye-roll to, in regards to the scheduling meetings the two had. You never asked about it. It wasn’t your concern. Yet, your stomach dropped, and you forgot to breathe behind your small crowd-appeasing smile.  The sense you had found in that split-second made the emptiness divide into multiple impressions you now had to define. You never thought about it before, but in that moment, you wished it was you next to him. And because it wasn’t, it became an injury. How could you be wounded by someone who never did anything to you? You managed it, scowling as ‘all I want for Christmas is you’ played. The coincidence.

Maybe, your overly emotional reaction was the effect of the punch you just finished drinking. You observed how her eyes glimpsed at Cutter, and you wondered if that’s how you ever had looked at him without knowing it-- if it was that obvious. You took a shaky breath, crushing your cup into the trash nearby. You meandered in the opposite direction, down the hall, a grin plastered to you, to hold the growing tears back. You passed a few people having quiet conversations or dancing merrily. Not interested in talking, you wanted a moment to yourself, but needed to find a place away from everyone.

You saw the side-door to Cutter’s office was left cracked open. You went inside, shutting it, forgoing office limits. It was just going to be for a minute, or at least until the watery eyes passed and you were no longer at risk for unwarranted crying in public. It didn’t matter if you shut or didn’t shut your eyes, the scene would be imprinted there. Her arms wrapped in his, his whispers in her ear. Their shared smiles. That’s all you had to see before you knew you had to leave. But leaving did nothing, because there was proof it existed. Rumours are only ideas. Ideas you can rationalize away easily, keeping your expectations safe and alive. Because there’s still that chance-- the chance not yet taken by someone else. The open-endedness of it all. It was secure and comfortable, not knowing everything-- just knowing pieces allowed yours to remain there. Minutes ago, you learned two things at once and it was a lot to grip. You now had these feelings, but nowhere to put them down. Every memory of working in this office with Mike, and the details you started to reflect back on, made things worse. Your mind looked for signs at how you betrayed yourself.

You glanced out the window whose blinds weren’t shut-- the sight causing an involuntary smile. It was snowing. The best kind too, not a storm, not a flurry. The falling wintry dust in freefall calmed you, as you raised the blinds for a better view in the expansive glass. You leaned against Mike’s desk, drawn to the sight surrounded so perfectly in the night’s lights. Each snowflake to focus on, until the next floated down. Every tiny unique crystal mimicking the direction of your few silent tears. The tears lulled and began to dry, the longer you stared. Meanwhile, someone in the other room hadn’t overlooked that you were no longer around.

“Something wrong, Mike?”

He turned to the woman still beside him, “No, I’m fine,” he spoke with a forced smile, briefly glancing down to his dwindling punch. He thought he saw you, but maybe his aging eyes had failed him. 

What was the sudden fixation on your presence, though? It was no concern to him, especially now. Someone else’s question distracted him into a conversation, which then had reminded him of a case. He excused himself briefly, assuring he’d be right back, despite the comments saying he should’ve let it go, and stopped working so much. He merely shrugged with a smirk, heading to his office, as work took back over his brain for a getaway.

Cutter was a few feet from his office door, when he saw a familiar shadow inside the room. He blinked, realizing you weren’t the ghost of Christmas past or a figment of his imagination.

“What are you doing?” Mike’s voice barely chided, by the time you reacted to the noise of the doorknob turning open.

You were embarrassed, seeing him, bringing back all the emotions you had just repressed, along with some new ones. You tried to hide it, turning away.

“Watching the snow. Your office had the best view,” you managed.

“I’ll be sure to note that. Along with remembering to lock my office,” Mike sarcastically quipped, reminding himself of the reason he was here. 

“Work on closing the doors first,” you spat, trying to cover up you were, in fact, sadly upset.

Cutter silently went to his desk, which was coincidently much closer to where you were, looking for the memo, and a pen. His eyes drifted across your profile, which hadn’t moved. He noticed your pensive stare, your long eyelashes moving with each blink, how the light and shadows fell onto you elegantly, making you appear like some alluring muse out of a Caravaggio painting. It’s not like he needed the current sight to know you were a masterpiece. Mike never let the thought stay long, as it crossed his mind before. He shook his head, focusing back to what he was supposed to be doing. He, however, returned to you once more because of the smudged makeup in his periphery.

“Were you crying?” His voice asked softly, hesitance and worry replacing the past repartee, “Y/N, are you okay? Did something happen?”

You never heard Mike say your name like that before-- it was so insufferably gentle, each syllable tenderly echoed in his timbre. You couldn’t even lie, nevertheless you absentmindedly tried to wipe away what he’d seen,

“Yeah, I was. It’s uh, not anything really concerning. Holiday blues, I guess,” you crossed your arms, guarding what was already broken.

“Are you okay?” Mike asked again, knowing you avoided that question.

You turned to face him, those newfound feelings hitting you up-close like a spellbound train you wouldn’t get out of the way for. His blue eyes staring into yours, eyebrows slightly furrowed, nothing different from the past yet, now you showed yourself something you weren’t sure how to handle, the realization raw as an open wound.

“No, I’m not,” you felt the tears burn where they had evaporated, ducking your head aside, “but I will be, I think.”

He was close, like many conversations before, but now you couldn’t tolerate it. A teasing joke, like mementos tucked behind glass, untouchable to you, and unwanted to him. You shifted your weight away, unattractively sniffling your nose which had started to run again.

“Y/N,” Cutter’s voice echoed again. He was confused at what he could do to help, but still wanted to, “Something obviously is bothering you. You-- you can tell me, if you want. I’ve heard it helps,” he tilted his head, pulling his lips into a meek smile which went unnoticed by you.

You kept your stare on the dancing snow in the window, hoping the cold would spread into your heart. Mike crossed his arms, and looked to the window in silence.

“Weren’t you doing something? I should go. I shouldn’t have been in here in the first place.” You offered a distraction, set to run.

“Y/N...” A third time that soft melody of your name floated into your ears, you loved how it sounded from his lips, your chest hurting as you did, like you breathed in too chilled of air. 

You took a quick breath and exhaled it from your mouth for honesty, preparing your voice, your eyes tentatively wandering back to his face, which hadn’t wavered from yours.

“I-- I like you, Cutter... I know it’s not,” you fell short, not having the right words to explain how you knew there were problems in that and it suddenly ruined what you’ve built working here and it wasn’t expected. You dropped your hands against the desk, as if instructions or strength were there for you to take, glancing down, “I know you don’t--”

His hand suddenly over yours, the simple action stopping you mid-sentence. You didn’t want any new memory of him to haunt you, your hand recoiling to your lap-- that moment already too much.

“I’m sorry,” Mike murmured. 

You didn’t want to hear the opening statement for his rejection, knowing it was just part of his older wiser way of letting you down easy,

“Don’t say anything. You don’t have to say anything. I know.” You bit your lip, wishing your welled tears would freeze like the water outside, a few feet away.

The office door swung open. The judge’s clerk sauntering inside, “Mike, what happened to you? Did you make your case notes? What’s this?”

“Yeah, I was looking,” he said, stepping away to pretend to search for the file on his cluttered desk, “I ran into Y/N and she was helping me since it was her case,” he covered with ease while you wiped away your few tears, back to her still.

“Right,”  she doubtfully agreed, “Did you find it?”

“No, we got distracted by the snow outside, hasn’t happened like this in a long time,” he said, pointing back to the window, Mike’s well-versed prosecutorial abilities, coolly saving him under pressure, “Y/N, could you give us a moment? And, I actually do need a copy of that ‘v. Linmore’ case, seems mine’s gone missing,” he nodded to you.

“Do you want that copy, now?” You asked, voice almost back to normal.

“If you could, thanks.” Cutter replied, before clearing his throat.

You crossed your arms again, leaving, wishing the judge’s clerk a happy holidays, out of innate politeness. You went back to your desk, the party growing louder nearby. Work now being your escape from reality.

“Y/N!” Connie’s voice called, “I was wondering where you went,” she paused, adjusting her Santa hat, “Wait, why are logged back onto the computer?”

“Mike said he needed a copy of a file to make notes on.”

“Wait, he’s working too?”

“It wasn’t my idea, I was gonna head out.”

“No, not yet? Even McCoy’s still here,” she defended, and took a sip of her drink, heading to Mike’s office. The judge’s clerk passing her in the hallway-- which Connie did a double-take to.

Mike waited for you to come back. He made it so you’d have to come back. He needed you to come back. He took the baseball and mitt in his edgy hands, trying to figure out what he was supposed to say, what he could say. His abilities to remain aloof and well-spoken faltering in his own emotions that flooded over him.

“Mike, is something going on here?”

Connie.

His heartbeat suddenly readjusting to the wrong assumption of who had just walked in.

“Nice hat,” he retorted, catching the ball again in his hand.

“Why is Y/N searching for case-law at night before a 3-day weekend?” she continued, “And you’re working still?”

“I had an idea and wanted to follow up on it. Justice never takes a holiday.”

“Neither do you, it seems. Is that why your date just walked out? Or was it another reason?” She hinted, eyeing Mike with arched eyebrows. 

She always knew when to call his bluffs, and she had started to see a new one emerge towards you. Connie wasn’t sure if anything had gone on, was going on, or if it was only one-sided.

Mike just looked at her, before going back to his desk, dropping the mitt, but not giving in.

“You know parties aren’t really my thing, Connie.” He said, right as you opened the door, file in hand.

Connie glanced at you and then back to Mike, trying to figure it out.

“It was just Christmas, guys, and New Year’s is coming. Please, let’s lighten up a little. Mike, make your notes, and then let’s get back to the party,” Connie ordered, taking the mania folder from your hands, then handing it to him.

Mike’s eyes darted to yours briefly, before rolling them and then taking the folder from Connie. He sighed, and marked his notes, which he fought his short-term memory to remember again, feeling two sets of eyes on him as he wrote.

“Happy?” He asked, aggravated. 

“Yes. I’ll get you another drink,” Connie stated to you both, opening the door, waiting for you two to walk out. She was persuasive when she wanted to be.

You went back to party reluctantly, putting on a brave unfazed face for Connie and also for Mike. Your evidence of tears gone. Maybe, if you pretended it never happened, it’d go away. It was only after a while, and another drink, you realized Mike was now unaccompanied and alone in the crowd, probably out of politeness to you, you figured. You faked niceties and filled in hollow discussions. The punch bowl was drained, the playlist started to repeat, and people began dwindling. They were going home to their loved ones, or planning their travels to get there. 

You heard the lyrics clearly in Elvis’ renown twang, ‘And when those blue snowflakes start falling, that’s when those blue memories start calling, you’ll be doing all right...’ You decided to linger, cleaning up the mess left behind, as if that would give you clarity to your own. You collected the littered plates, and abandoned decorations, arguing you didn’t mind staying behind and to not worry about it, to those who asked. The music stopped playing suddenly, and you didn’t know why. Then you saw Mike taking his ipod stereo back into his office, the same expression on his face when he was anxious about a case. Your throat went dry, you thought he had left. You made a face to yourself, hiding out in the lobby.

“Can I talk to you?” you heard Mike ask, as you re-organized the bags of trash in another row. The last elevator chimed, taking the remaining co-workers down.

“Mike,” you warned, walking past him, “I’ll be fine. If you want to discuss work, or any changes, let’s do it next week.”

“No, this can’t wait,” Cutter ordered, his tone sterner, trailing behind you but then catching up. 

“Please,” you heard his voice ask from behind you.

You stopped, seeing the snow still falling in the window at the end of the hallway by Mike and Jack’s offices. No one else around anymore.  Everything empty, like that sliver still in your chest. You shut your eyes momentarily, dropping your shoulders, before reluctantly turning around to him. You didn’t say anything, waiting to listen.

“This isn’t easy for me,” Mike began and you immediately wanted to defend yourself, like your vulnerability was only some situation to be handled. You held your tongue, letting him continue, “I mean, it hasn’t been easy for me,” he paused, “to have someone work with you who’s... everything you realized you wanted, but not just as a colleague, or a friend.”

You made a confused face, letting the unanticipated words sink in, “But what about?” 

Mike continued, “Y/N, I’m not interested in her. I never really was,” he sighed, “I didn’t want to put you in a compromising position. I know our jobs, and like anything else, how it can be. So, I tried to pretend it wasn’t there, to see if it would go away… and it hasn’t...” his eyes lifted up from where they fell to the floor, unsure of what else to say.

Earlier, Cutter tried, but after detecting your unwelcomeness, he quickly apologized over his push of your boundaries, despite his lungs full of air ready and willing to defy everything he said in how it was supposed to be, that you thought you knew, that he told himself he’d never admit to you.

“I’ve never been the best at this,” he apprised, insecurities vaguely showing like the pale edges of grey in his hair, as he watched for your response.

You let the invisible string, you imagined, pull you closer to him, as if fate gave an impatient but graceful tug. Your eager marionette hands held onto the sides of his face, on instinct, afraid he’d change his mind and leave. You knew, this was delicate. The awareness, both of you shared, heavy. 

“Neither have I,” you whispered candidly, your mouth hovering near his, your eyes flickering up to gauge his reaction, before you cautiously closed the space between your pairs of lips.

Anxieties were fleeting, as you felt his one arm sling around your waist, while his other hand shifted to cradle your neck, fingers tracing over your skin, Mike selfishly wanting to be overwhelmed by every aspect of you. Your lovely hands he tried to hold hours ago, all over him now. Every faint detail he remembered, despite telling himself not to, merging into a new vividness. He craved all his own past holiday blues to fade further away, with every future kiss.

You giggled, your heart’s pure joy escaping, in this hazy dream turned reality. Not sure if you’d get this chance of a romantic scenario, or happiest of feelings again, you wanted another fairytale-like wish to be granted in magical December-- one you missed out on earlier tonight. You pulled away at the idea.

“Your stereo’s back in your office, right?” You asked, breathily.

“Yeah, why?”

“I wanna dance with you,” you grabbed his hand, instinctively, dragging him back to his office-- Mike not even having the time for reluctance. He abandoned it, too enthralled with you, his own heart melting, following you.

Suddenly, your entwined hands unraveled and your shoes skidded to a stop on the industrial floor, like two school kids caught cutting class by the principal. You and Mike swallowed the lumps in your throat, the flushes fresh on your cheeks, for you just ran into a surprised Jack McCoy.

“I forgot my hat.” Jack gestured, putting it on, with squinted kinder eyes. His glasses dangled off the bridge of his nose, coat already on.

“You two still here working?” McCoy presumed, not letting either of you butcher an answer, “We’re closed Monday, remember?”

You and Mike nodded, offering a “‘Night, Jack.”

“And, Happy New Year, you two,” he said, strolling out. He didn’t turn back, playing naive or wise, depending. The signs he knew well from past experience. He pretended he didn’t notice your held hands, or your shade of lipstick on Mike’s face. McCoy just smiled and shook his head, as the elevator doors closed. He’d keep your secret safe. That was his Christmas gift.

“You think he knows?” Mike asked in that low voice of his, glancing at you.

You ignored him and pulled him inside his office, dropping his hand to run and press play.

“This is a first,” Mike stood, eyebrows raised at you, hands in his pockets.

“And here’s to more,” you offered a kittenish smile, slinking your arms around his frame.

You rested your head against Mike’s shoulder, swaying to the old music.

‘Here we are as in olden days, happy golden days of yore, faithful friends who are dear to us, gather near to us once more…’

He held you preciously, and placed a kiss atop your head, as if he’d done it thousands of times before,

“Here’s to the New Year, Y/N. And whatever happens.”

You both gazed towards the snow still falling outside. The picture window framing you two, the scene as if you were blissfully trapped in your own snow globe, slow dancing in the golden light, an aura around you. A glimmering haze of contentment and hope in the air and around your silhouettes which flawlessly fit together.

#michael cutter #michael cutter x reader #mike cutter #law and order fanfiction #law and order #michael cutter imagines #michael cutter fanfiction #law and order imagine #mike cutter x you #mike cutter imagine #mike cutter x reader

[sssn-neptune-vasilias]

RWBY vs Comic

Alright, I said I was gonna do this back when the comic first started getting published but I got so frustrated reading it that I couldn’t actually keep up with it enough go through with it. I think I stopped around issue 4 because that was when I just got angry and threw my comic back into the plastic. I figure now’s as good a time as any since I’m actually rereading it now. My whole issue with the RWBY DC comics is that they’re super canon divergent but somehow still canon material. It’s so frustrating that this is the case because we’re supposed to take into account things that happen in the comic as gospel- things like Adam revealing he’d always been genocidal, Bumbleby’s bottlecap, Weiss’ zoo animal arc, etc, but a lot of these different story arcs don’t make sense in our current canon. So I’m gonna talk about them because why not.

 Issue #1:

The first issue actually isn’t that bad- mostly because it’s just an intro to the series- but there are still some huge inconsistencies between the comic and official canon.

These two panels are a fucking mess.

1) Ruby was passed out when she was delivered to Patch by Qrow. She’d just used her Silver Eyed Warrior powers for the first time, hurt Cinder, frozen the dragon, and passed out. We were literally forced to listen as Qrow carried Ruby out of the rubble and back home, because she was unconscious. But the comic has her just arriving back home all on her own. “I came back to my dad’s house.” No you didn’t, you literally woke up in your bed after what must’ve been days of being unconscious.

2) We know Blake didn’t get to Menagerie on a little wooden boat. We all watched the episode. It was a decent sized ship with multiple crew members, dozens of passengers, and literal armaments designed to destroy Grimm. Sun can’t hide in a robe for 3+ days on this boat. This boat wouldn’t have survived a Grimm attack in the first place. Idk why they decided to draw this boat instead of just drawing the Pride the way it was designed in the first place, but whatever I guess.

RNJR didn’t tell Taiyang they were leaving. Ruby and her team just left. There was a whole scene dedicated to showing the shock and horror on Tai’s face as he saw Ruby’s letter and ran out of the house hoping to catch up to his daughter before she left. Also not as important but still relevant, RNJR left during winter. There was snow on the ground. I don’t see no snow in this panel- that tree looks real green. That last issue is mostly a nitpick- who cares what season they left in tbh. But the fact that they just wrote this panel into the comic despite the fact canon shows Taiyang had no idea of Ruby’s departure- and the fact that Ruby’s departure is actually really important to a bunch of later scenes in this show is really fucking weird.

Issue #2:

I know we know next to nothing about Raven Branwen, but holy fucking shit do I wanna believe this is ridiculously out of character for her. You’re telling me that Raven actually did come visit Yang and Tai and Ruby, but the one time she ever made her presence known to any of them was to berate and terrify Ruby the one time she’d learned anything about Summer?! Like BRO. This is so fucked up! This is too fucked up! This is straight early 90′s level villainy right here. What was even the point behind this?! This scene tells us that she felt so negatively about Summer Rose that she was willing to break her silent cover just to disillusion Ruby for no other reason than to tell her she was weak. Which makes no fucking sense because when we finally meet her during season 5 Raven has nothing bad to say about Summer at all! What did Qrow say to her after they spoke? “Hey sis why the fuck are you flying around your ex’s home scaring his daughter who just lost her mother? You realize you’re talking shit about the woman who raised your child too right?” Like, this is so wildly terrible, that if we’re meant to take this into account, I don’t see how anyone who reads these comics could say anything positive about Raven ever again. This is strike one, two and three for her entire characterization.

Issue #4:

I’ve said it already but fuck this boat.

Not so much an issue with the comic as it is with RoosterTeeth’s sometimes sloppy storytelling, but we really need an exact age on Adam. Is this man a pedophile? We know Blake is about twelve here, meanwhile- besides looking maybe a little scrawnier- Adam looks the same as he did during the show. How old is this kid right here? Fifteen? Seventeen? Was he 20 during the events of volume 1? Was he 25? I really dislike this specific problem RT has created because at no point during canon were we led to believe that Adam was significantly older than Blake or our other characters, but here in the comic we’re getting huge pedo vibes. Idk if this was RoosterTeeth retroactively trying to throw Adam’s character even further into question but... Idk man, RT y’all need to hurry up and carbon date this kid because I’m really not liking this.

I’m not gonna harp on the whole “Adam as a revolutionary vs Adam as a genocidal maniac” issue again. Most of y’all already know where I stand on this and have either made up your minds that either, yes, Adam’s sudden change towards being genocidal after being forcibly conscripted by Cinder doesn’t make much sense, or, no, Adam’s behavior is entirely in line with what little we’d seen of him up to that point in the story. I’m not trying to change anyone’s opinions on this issue, I’ve got about a dozen other posts for that. My issue with these panels specifically is that this is the moment Blake discovers Adam is genocidal. This is the moment Blake realizes that Adam never wanted peace, never wanted coexistence, never wanted what the White Fang actually wanted in the first place. He wanted Faunus supremacy- a goal entirely removed from the White Fang’s goal of equality between Faunus and humans. This is the moment Blake realizes that his ideology is so far from what it is she herself wants. If this is correct, why does Blake never mention this AT ALL when she’s talking about Adam. When the conversation comes up during season 3, she specifically states that Adam’s change was gradual. Not that he’d been hiding who he really was from her but that he’d become a completely different person from the man she’d originally known. I recognize that a lot of people say that this could be explained away as evidence of Blake’s abuse- oftentimes abusers don’t even realize just how monstrous their abusers are, even after they’ve escaped from said abuse. But this is just such a monumentally larger issue than manipulation and abuse. Adam is outright saying that he wants genocide! He’s not trying to hide it, he’s not trying to lie, he’s not trying to manipulate her! He’s telling her explicitly that he wishes he could kill as many humans as possible. But during the Black Trailer she’s still asking Adam about the crew members as if they hadn’t had this conversation hours ago! During season 2 she’s drawing him in her notebook as if she misses him! During season 3 she’s explaining that he’s simply misguided! This is apologia of the umpteenth level that is absolutely inexcusable. If I’m honestly supposed to be made to believe that Blake knew Adam was genocidal from before the events of the Black trailer and season 1 but still had feelings for him... I’m sorry but I’ve lost any and all respect for her entire character. You can’t have feelings for someone who’s genocidal- who you know is genocidal- and expect sympathy. No amount of abuse would forgive someone for having feelings for Hitler.

I recognize the comics aren’t supposed to be a shot for shot recreation of the show, but what the fuck is this panel? The frame of Adam dismembering Yang was such a good, amazing, impactful frame. The black and red framing, the yellow of Yang’s hair and weapons, the red of Adam’s sword. Why would you not even try to recreate that?

Leaving nitpicks for the end, really wish they hadn’t used “sunflower” here. That’s Yang/Ren. But again, the comic is made by people who aren’t in the fndm and don’t interact with the RWBY community at large in the first place, so of course they wouldn’t know.

Issue #5:

Why does Blake seem so ooc here. Like, the fact that she’s trying to make Weiss feel guilty for “cheating” in a “win by any means necessary” free for all match is really??? Weird??? When we know Blake isn’t above using underhanded tricks herself considering what she did to Reese during the tournament and her Semblance in general??? But whatever, that’s mostly a nitpick as well.

Issue #7:

My issue with this story is that it ends with Yang like, wistfully thinking of spending more time with Blake. But this is before she even put the prosthetic on. This is before she even got to talk with Weiss after meeting up with Raven. This is so early on in her healing process that I find it extremely difficult to believe that Yang is fondly remembering any time she spent with Blake. When Ruby talks to her during 3.12, she was angry that Blake had left her! Abandoned her! And then in the conversation she has with Weiss that happens after this event in the comic she’s still frustrated with Blake for leaving. So like... did she suddenly forgive Blake just a few weeks into her recovery and then relapse back into feeling like she’d abandoned her? Wtf is this?

Issue #9:

I know she’s obviously supposed to be drunk here, and we barely got to know her during the short scenes she had, but like... she never struck me as this kind of person. To literally forget how old her daughter is? Like...???? The same woman who was so perceptive she was able to recognize that Whitley was acting out because he’d felt lonely and abandoned by his sisters? Doesn’t know how old one of her children is? This is silly.

This isn’t the same woman we met during season 7. This isn’t the same quick witted woman who immediately directed Weiss to the cameras she’d hidden around the house when it was time to spring the trap on Jacques. This isn’t the same woman who was so honest when she admitted to her own faults just a few short months after this scene supposedly took place. You could argue that the events of this comic are what led Willow to become the person we meet later on, but like... That’s an absolutely ridiculous amount of offscreen growth you’re expecting me to just assume has happened. These aren’t the same people. This is ridiculous.

Issue #12:

This seems so ooc for Sun. Why is he literally begging her to run away and not face a problem when his entire relationship with Blake up to and past this point is him teaching Blake to love herself enough to face her problems head-on in the first place? This is so weird and gross imo because it just feels like they’re warping Sun’s character to make it look like Yang is the only good influence in her life when that’s simply not the case. Every conversation Sun has with Blake from season 1 to season 6 is him telling her that she deserves happiness, love, and to forgive herself. There are multiple songs about this aspect of their relationship! Sun has helped Blake grow just as much as Yang has. Why is Sun taking this approach to manipulate Blake into staying silent about something that’s bothering her? On top of that, Sun’s never been the brightest banana of the bunch anyway, why the FUCK is he smart enough here to recognize that if Blake tells the truth and makes those people feel bad, that they’d draw more Grimm? He’s never been this intuitive before. It really feels like they made him smarter than he normally is just to make him scummier than he’s ever been so that we could feel that Blake’s relationship with Sun is less than her relationship with Yang. Awful writing and characterization from the RWBY DC team here

Issue #13:

This is so wrong and despicable and manipulative and terrible. Again, this isn’t the same woman we met in the show. 

Willow never made excuses for herself or her actions like this. Not once during the entire time she was on screen did she do anything like this. She knew she wasn’t a great mother and she took full responsibility for her actions- and inaction- I don’t know WHY she’s trying to excuse herself here. This is more Cruella De Ville than it is Willow Schnee.

I’m not gonna explain how lumping this “prized menagerie” story with “Faunus slave labor” story together is godawful but just recognize that it’s Black History Month and this plot point they decided to write in is not MLK approved.

Anyway, that’s the whole RWBY DC run. All in all it wasn’t the worst adaptation of an established series, but goddamn. I’d rank this up there with Eragon or Percy Jackson or the end of the Soul Eater anime or something. This is such a slap in the face by people who obviously only ever skimmed through the show for the explicit purpose of writing this series that I’ve read fancomics and fanfiction that handle canon better than this. It’s really frustrating too because this comic run is like, beloved by certain people in the fndm who are only in this for the ships, and people who refuse to see anything wrong with this series ever. The healthy servings of Bumbleby and crumbs of Monochrome and White Rose are apparently enough to make people go “fuck all the inconsistencies, this comic is great.” Cannot express how much these people make me wanna slam my head into a wall. 

I did this just to highlight all the issues I have with the run, but I’m sure other people have other issues with this comic than I do. Have fun in the comments I guess.

#RWBY #RWDE

[gusu-emilu]

seven nights to turn: author's meta

Symbolism & Parallels

Time to be self-indulgent. Am I significant enough to be posting about my own fic lore? Probably not, but here I am. Blame @eldritch-elrics and @qi-ling for telling me I was allowed to do this.

I also want to journal for myself about this story before I forget my thoughts months later. A little fic diary, if you will.

I'm going to talk about the meanings of:

counting nights and days

pruning plants

branding and insignia

kneeling

Counting Nights and Days

Jiang Cheng's state of mind in Chapter 1 is very different from Chapter 4. In the beginning of the story, he is bitter and restless. His memories haunt him. He counts time by nights—has for years—because the nights are harder to make it through.

By the end of the story, he is openly grateful in his narration for Wei Wuxian and Jin Ling's safety, and he has gone from calling himself selfish to giving to Wen Ning out of something more than just guilt. The shift from counting nights to counting days reflects this.

I also played with this concept in the titles and section headers. As a refresher, the chapter titles are 1) from first to fifth night, 2) from sixth to seventh night, 3) turn, 4) from first to fifth day. And of course, the story is called Seven Nights to Turn.

Jiang Cheng "turns" in multiple ways. The surface level turn is from counting nights to days. The emotional turn is how his perception of Wen Ning changes. The physical turn involves kneeling...and I'll talk about that soon.

Wen Ning also has a turn of his own, as he realizes that he isn't as repulsive as he thinks, that he isn't as responsible for the past as he thinks, that Jiang Cheng didn't give him the talismans and tea for the reason he thinks. That he is allowed to express negative emotions once in a while. He can have some catharsis by confessing things to Jiang Cheng that he feels like he can't say to Wei Wuxian or Lan Sizhui. And at the very end of the story, he "turns" to travel to Tanzhou and meet Song Lan, starting a new direction in his life as he can begin to heal and grow on his own. Before coming back to Lotus Pier, of course *wink wink*

Now for the section headers. If you didn't translate them while reading, I'll do that now. Until the "turn," the nights are marked 第一晚 (First Night), 第二晚 (Second Night), etc., and the days are marked 白天 (Daytime). Wen Ning's POV in Chapter 2, aka his breakdown, is marked 未知 (Unknown), because the reader can decide for themselves when that scene happens. It also represents that Wen Ning feels lost in that moment. After the "turn," the night is marked 晚上 (Nighttime), and the days are marked 第一天 (First Day), 第二天 (Second Day), etc. So, the shift from counting nights to days happens on several levels.

Pruning Plants

In Chapter 3, after Jiang Cheng and Wen Ning reach some form of peace, if not a full reconciliation, they sit at the tea table in Wen Ning's cabin, talking about their families or sitting in silence. Wen Ning brings over one of his plants to prune while they sit together.

Snipping away the leaves represents how, throughout the entire story, they bring up moments from the past and find a way to release them. Before they were able to reconcile enough to sit at Wen Ning's tea table (without Jiang Cheng wanting to flip it over), they had to go through explosive confrontations about the past. But finally, some of those grievances are addressed. They can trim away those leaves, and new shoots can grow, because at last they are talking without animosity and beginning to bond.

Trimming away a few leaves doesn't change the plant. Its base is still the same. They can't change or fix anything, but they can make what they have a little less messy.

Actually, I was originally going to have Wen Ning show Jiang Cheng how to prune the plant, and they would trim it together. Now I'm regretting not doing that lol.

Branding and Insignia

I'm just going to pull quotes for this one to show everything in one place. Half of these ideas came from my beta @lady-of-the-lotus.

He wonders if Wen Ning is trying to leave a mark of his own, to carve another scar, to sear a brand of the lost Wen Clan into his skin. (Chapter One)

Jiang Cheng thinks about receiving another permanent mark of the Wen Clan during the hate sex...

A pendant in the window casts a sun-shaped shadow on his face; a faint circle, spoked and distorted. He doesn’t look in the mirror again after that. (Chapter Two)

And the morning after, there's the mark of the Wen Clan, if only in his imagination. Yet another thing to haunt him.

Wen Ning saw. Saw the guqin brush, with its red handle, its black rim and golden tassel. The exact colors of the Wen insignia. (Chapter Two)

But by the end of that chapter, Jiang Cheng begins to empathize with Wen Ning and come to terms with his guilt, and he consciously selects a symbol of the Wen Clan to give to Lan Sizhui as a gift.

The design on the bottom of the cup has burned the red outline of a lotus flower into his skin. (Chapter Four)

By now, Jiang Cheng understands how much Wen Ning sacrificed and suffered, and he wishes he could take away the pain. He heals the burn wound, removing the brand of the Jiang Clan from Wen Ning's skin, and later thanks Wen Ning for saving his family.

As he follows the path of the veins, he realizes how endless they are. Jiang Cheng’s own scars have a clear start. A clear finish. Where does Wen Ning’s suffering end? (Chapter Four)

Wen Ning's black marks are the brand of death.

The rest of the scar/vein symbolism is pretty clear in the story, I think, so I won't discuss it much beyond that.

Kneeling and Parallels

Here's the physical "turn." I didn't intend for this to happen while writing, but it actually has a connection to a scene in CQL.

One of the most emotional scenes in The Untamed is in Episode 36, after Wei Wuxian pulls the nails out of Wen Ning's head to restore his consciousness. Wen Ning, overcome with guilt, kneels at Wei Wuxian's feet. Then Wei Wuxian kneels.

This is a beautiful moment in their relationship. Ningxian (you can interpret that romantically or platonically) always has this...slightly uncomfortable power dynamic? as much as I love them, but in that scene Wei Wuxian physically shows how much he appreciates Wen Ning. That he is sorry. That they are both indebted to each other, but the past wasn't Wen Ning's fault, and they are equals as they kneel in front of each other.

Back to Seven Nights, where there is a lot of kneeling going on, and the meanings are a bit similar.

This story was a challenge to tell mostly from Jiang Cheng's POV, because there is so much in Wen Ning's head that I couldn't put on the page since Jiang Cheng just doesn't know what he's thinking. The reader gets to learn about Wen Ning through Jiang Cheng's eyes, and speculate about the rest of what they don't learn.

But during the hate sex scene, it's significant that Wen Ning is the one kneeling. Despite how much resentment he holds toward Jiang Cheng, he still feels guilty! (He really isn't to blame, but he feels like he is.) He killed Jin Zixuan! That caused Wei Wuxian and Jiang Yanli to die! He's a corpse, what is he doing touching someone? Expecting that Jiang Cheng would've reached out to him to make peace? Wen Ning is very confused about how he feels about Jiang Cheng, has a complicated relationship with his own humanity and self-confidence, and that leaves him kneeling even when getting revenge.

There's also the attraction element, of course, the classic trope of "enemy sexy," but we're not talking about that right now lol

The next time somebody kneels, it's Jiang Cheng. His guilt toward Wen Ning used to do nothing but torment him. Now he is taking action, physically showing the change in their relationship, kneeling at Wen Ning's feet and healing his hand. The talismans and tea in the first chapter were nice (if misguided) gestures, but he didn't kneel to present those, did he? The sentiment in the first chapter is very different from his treatment of Wen Ning in the last chapter. He understands Wen Ning much better. Admits to himself that he cares about Wen Ning as a person. He's not just caught up in the concept of "unfinished business." He's not held back by his ego.

And then we come full circle, an inverse of the hate sex in the first chapter. This time Jiang Cheng drinks the tea, kneels, and gets to work. And Wen Ning orders him to, which I find very satisfying.

But once he finishes...Wen Ning kneels, too.

They go through both versions of the power structure, and by the end they are stripped, raw, honest, kneeling in front of each other and wrapped in each other's arms. They both had to knock down barriers to get to this point, and it broke them both a little in the process, but now they can start again and move on to something more hopeful.

Just to be clear, this was not planned from the beginning. Wen Ning was never even going to go to Lotus Pier. And once I decided to add that chapter, I only decided to add sex to it a week before posting. So this just kind of happened on its own.

...And I think that's it. I wish this story was longer lol. Seven Nights was supposed to be a 6k oneshot, turned into a near-30k multichap, and I still want to write more. T.T

I might post again about planning/conception for the fic, another diary entry so I don't forget what was going on in my head months or years later when I look back at this story. Idk. Anyway, thanks for reading!

#seven nights to turn #emilu creations #emilu fics

[cryptvokeeper]

Im over jse and have been for a like six months now but ill be damned if I dont rub my sinful Magnus archives obsessed hands over every fandom ive ever been even passingly interested in so time to diagnose some egos with fear entities lets go dont fuckin @ me about it

so like for starters theres a difference between the entities that would hunt a person and the entities that would make someone their avatar. and of course multiple entities can affect  someone at different points in their life and just ...we like to speculate in this house

Marvin from a strictly canonical standpoint can really only go with The Stranger. I mean, performance, mystery, lack of identity, fucking masks, The Stranger wold have a field day with him, or he would have a field day with it, I dont know. But if we wanna get into meta, and fanon, things get more interesting. When the lack of identity thing gets played up you get big vibes of The Lonely. You know, vying for attention and trying to stay relevant and all that. The fear of being forgotten and such. Suppose the fear of being forgotten could sorta be construed into The End but let's not get too crazy. For interpretations of him as a knowledge seeker, too curious for his own good, The Eye obviously works well. The Spiral could be another fun one, playing with perception and all would line up well with magic.  (honestly just give him a leitner deadass i wanna see that)

Back to The Lonely tho, we got big Brody energy there. I mean look at him. I could speculate about his place as an audience surrogate and possible Beholding connections, or The Desolation with enough of a push, or the End with the whole ‘tried to kill himself’, but he just gets the Lonely, plain and simple.

Schneep was actually a lot of fun to consider, cuz his story taken him some PLACES. The disaster doctor angle gives a quick and nasty connection to The Flesh that I just love, as well as slightly with the End with the death and near-death calls. But he also has some GREAT fears of manipulation and control going on that give a solid tie to The Web that is just lovely.  Again, the difference between the fear a character represents and what they themselves are afraid of, you know?

IDK whats been happening since last I checked so maybe he got more characterization but as far as I know Jackieboy is still like.... fuck all in the canon department so lets take a moments to bask in the fanon cuz theres so many great takes on him; As an angry or impulsive fighter-type that would match up really well with The Hunt, really just a perfect fit. But then theres also the interpretations as someone searching for answers, or as a hacker that. give The Eye vibes. I mean personally I get The Vast vibes but for the absolute life of me I couldn't give you any definitive evidence as to why. Maybe it's somewhere tied into jack’s fear of heights and like, superheroes that fly, I don't know. I just thing its neat.

JJ is another one with Lonely vibes. Man out of time and all that, could be isolating. The Spiral vibes too. like look at him, big illusion and doubting-whats-real energy. For all those puppet theories he’d make an excellent one for The Web or The Stranger, manipulation and not being who you say respectively. And I know he's had a new video lately but in haven't seen it and likely never will DONT @ ME-

And then theres Anti and hoo BOY can we go in some fucking DIRECTIONS. Gotta love a villain a not quite solid motivation, goals and power set, and fanon only muddies the waters. Manipulation gives Web Vibes, obviously, but computers aren't quite its aesthetic. Computers aren't really anythings aesthetic tho, not concretely. The disguising oneself as other people is a Stranger thing, but glitches could be places under the umbrella of the Corruption if you stretched the definition, and he has been compared to a disease before...(computer virus?) Always watching is obviously The Eye, and the knife and the stabbing can be The Hunt, or The Slaughter, OR The End! And hes got a weird red hallway, which makes for a possible Spiral connection! AND all this mystery and unknown surrounding him makes a decent argument toward him being associated with The Dark! 

Honestly. it all depends on where you wanna take his character and what aspects of him you like to play up in your interpretation,  and its honestly anyones game. That goes for all of them I guess. I’d be interested in other peoples interpretations... But also id rather walk into the ocean than go any further into this than I already have. 

#jse egos #fuck it im over this enough to make a quick post abt egos again #I wanna have some fun dammit

[kae-karo]

pls post your mine hcs!!! i would love to hear them b

hi b! for context (x) okay i should clarify, i shouldn’t have called them hcs as i think people take that with a lot of connotation to mean ‘i actually think this happened/would happen’ when really it’s more like...

okay. if i were to write a fic with dnp as characters who exist exactly as we see them (as in, we know everything abt their personalities, which irl we absolutely do not) then this is how i imagine the character of dan would see most of the songs on ‘a brief inquiry into online relationships’ and why he would say that he feels ‘personally attacked by literally every song on this album’ - to be clear, i don’t think this is actually what dan thinks! please treat this as fiction!

bear with me bc i wanna talk abt some of the others first (i also wanted to include the links to the genius interviews where matt talks abt some of the meanings behind the songs, but it doesn’t have all of them so check out the lyrics as well)

give yourself a try (x) - i mean obviously this is the one dan felt he related to most/felt most safe posting about how he related to it/was personally attacked by it, but the whole thing is like. being yourself, and like? embracing yourself? as a person? as whoever you truly are? and they keep coming back to the idea of authenticity with this whole album, and i think that’s part of why dan would be so ‘attacked’ by this album bc he’s in the throes of his own search for authenticity

love it if we made it (x) - this one’s fun bc it’s basically all about how fucked up society is and like. all the things that’ve gone wrong, how society is just so beyond messed up, and it’s like. yes. all of this is so wrong, messed up, but there’s hope? like we can be self-aware, we can make differences, and i would imagine dan listening to this and feeling like. maybe torn? because there are some things where he’s trying to make a difference but some where he would want to but not know how? so y’know personal attack on him in the sense that it’s a personal attack on everyone - we’re all complicit, in a way, and part of it is just because we know all this is happening but how much do any of us try to enact change? i imagine that’s something that keeps dan up at night, tbh. i mean the man spent an hour picking up snails off a sidewalk so they wouldn’t get squished

be my mistake (x) - this one is interesting bc the artist explains it’s really just about guilt, on a deeper level, and about not knowing what you want? ultimately even tho it’s about like a hookup with someone you don’t know that you really want, i think dan would take this more at the deep level of like. having no idea what he wants in life (something he’s said before, multiple times) and? perhaps in a sense, going back to things that he knows don’t actually represent what he wants (ie, that don’t feel authentic) but knowing the outcome and maybe just feeling safe or at least feeling something significant from them, maybe like he’s fulfilling what other people want of him by doing these things even if they don’t quite feel like him

sincerity is scary (x,x) - i think this is one of the ones dan would feel calls him out the most - it’s all about a person’s relationship with social media, authenticity, and self-perception over external perception? so like. the entire first verse is all about hiding behind a mask of irony and like. i think for dan that’s a hard-hitting callout? and i don’t just mean his whole brand of how everything was done/said ‘ironically’, more that even now he hides his fears behind jokes and such, bc that’s a culturally relevant way to do things (’you try and mask your pain in the most post-modern way’). the whole idea is like. if you’re being ironic, if you’re masking everything behind jokes and insincerity, you can’t actually be judged the way you can if you’re authentic and sincere? so like. there’s dan’s fear of judgment plastered all over this song, his fear of people looking at him for who he is and disliking it or perceiving it in a way he doesn’t like (’and why would you believe you could control how you’re perceived when at your best you’re intermediately versed in your own feelings’) it’s like. and he’s said this a couple times now, but he doesn’t always know why he does/thinks certain things, there’s not always a reasoning behind it, and i think that for him, that contributes to his struggles with authenticity. i think this is really doubly intriguing when ttlmt is taken into account as well? bc he specifically says that for ‘some people’ (aka him i mean this is known at this point) unless they’re being honest with themselves, they won’t feel free. and i think that’s like. dan’s internal struggle right now/this past year: how to balance his evident need for authentic and honest self-expression with his deep-rooted fear of judgment of his authentic self. i mean read the damn title of the song, sincerity is scary

i like america & america likes me (x) - i’m sure there’s a deeper meaning to how dan would interpret it (aside from the obvious and intentional callout about guns in america) but all i can think about is talking about being on fire, being a liar, ‘is that designer?’ etc, and the death of dinof. but also y’know about calling out things that are Wrong 

the man who married a robot / love theme (x) - i think this one is maybe one that dan felt absolutely viscerally attacked by, this is a direct callout on his relationship with the internet and his audience. it’s presented as a relationship, a friendship, a love, but like if you step back and go ‘this is about a person and an audience’ it’s so so much more heartbreaking. i mean the internet saying ‘i love you very very much...i never ever want us to be apart ever again ever’ like that’s us that’s literally us we want constant content from them? and i think for a time, dan did feel like he would want that. because that’s fame, right? ‘and he would always always agree with him. this was the man’s favorite’ i know this is a commentary on like generally the culture of the internet but i have a feeling this is something dan would feel p hard. but i would imagine ‘i feel like i can tell you anything’ is the part that would be the most gutting, bc he put so so much of himself out here for us. and i would also wonder how hard the abruptness of the ending would hit - the sudden ‘and then he died’ after ‘man does not live by bread alone’, the acknowledgement that dan couldn’t just survive on his audience (and, more extensively, the internet), and how 1. he could still die lonely, had that been how he felt (i don’t think he does, but diversifying oneself and one’s relationships is emphasized here) and 2. the almost insignificance of an online presence, in objective terms, like. all that’s left of this lonely person is his facebook. i think that ties in really strongly with dan’s desire to leave something physical behind, like tabinof and dapgo and the ii dvd, something as physical evidence they existed and made an impact

inside your mind (x) - so concept is just...seeing inside your partner’s head? and like i feel like that’s something dan would want, or care a lot about, in some sense. a bit violent, lyrically, but i wouldn’t doubt that he cares (or, perhaps at a time in his past, cared) about it quite a lot some days. i think he just really cares about what other people think about him, probably especially phil, but also like the deep desire to understand someone? esp someone you love

it’s not living (if it’s not with you) (x) - okay this one’s very straight up about heroin addiction but i would definitely wonder if dan felt it like. in connection to phil in some ways? and i know the easy connection would be that dan wouldn’t be able to stop thinking abt phil and uwu it’s not living if it’s not with phil but the lyrics are actually quite dark? i would actually guess it had more to do with like. he couldn’t stop thinking about phil and wanting to like. be openly with phil (heyyy that authenticity yo) but also like. the repercussions of openly being in a mlm relationship on his life and his career at the time, and even now, ‘if i choose, then i lose’ like if he picks being open, there may be consequences in his career (although, more and more lately i wonder if he doesn’t care so much anymore), but ofc if he picks his career, he’s suffering from this lack of authenticity that’s haunted him for a while

i couldn’t be more in love (x) - so the whole song is more about a relationship with an audience/fanbase, and like what would happen if people just stopped caring and how like. putting so much time and effort into their relationship w. an audience and like, what about the creator’s feelings? i think dan would take that really seriously, like, we’re all really nice most of the time but what if we stopped caring? and like how would that affect him, after having given us nine+ years of himself? the other thing it touches on is the idea of just relying on ‘all the things that i did right’ ie depending on the things that made him popular, and i could see dan looking at that and wondering if he’s relied on that in the past, maybe this past year has been his attempt to move forward, or maybe his year of less activity (in the form of dinof vids) has been him relying on the things that got him where he is in order to keep his fanbase - so then, does that let him expand more, do more of the things he wants instead of, oh, idk, giving the people what they want? or does he feel obligated to do more of what the people want, since that’s what got him where he is?

i always wanna die (sometimes) (x) - it’s a meme but generally like. existence is exhausting? and that’s the whole idea? like god sometimes just doing stuff day to day is so so tiring, and i think that’s something that resonates with dan? and there’s a lot of other meaning about like death n stuff, and like. some days suck but you have to keep going? bc your life doesn’t just affect you it affects everyone and maybe that’s motivation for you maybe it isn’t but you have to realize that giving up is also something that affects everyone. maybe that’s something dan would see in relation to his depression and phil, and how resigning himself can really harm those around him as well

kay now the fun one

mine (x) - this whole fucking thing is a testament to dnp i can’t even fucking type correctly rn bc i’m so passionate abt this okay. literally the opening and closing lines are ‘there comes a time in a young man's life / he should settle down and find himself a wife / but i'm just fine cause i know that you are mine’ like if you try to tell me for a single fucking second that’s not dnp i will come to your house and make you listen to it on repeat until u understand okay. but like. that’s their whole thing right? they’re each other’s and that’s what matters? god i’m gonna literally do this (almost) line by line: ‘i fight crime online sometimes’ = dan’s desire to be this positive force on the internet. ‘and write rhymes i hide behind’ = oh dan’s diss track hmmm (but more generally, he makes jokes that he hides his fear and other things behind). ‘i’m fine if you are fine’ = oh u cannot tell me that’s not how dan feels? about phil? that he finds happiness in knowing phil’s happy? and then of fucking course ‘looking back on 2009 / when people said that it was raining all the time / i see sunshine cause i know you are mine’ oof that hits hard right in the feels okay dan definitely heard this and smiled his fucking face off cause u know in spite of whatever bullshit he had going on in 2009 he definitely still saw it as a bright spot in his life bc he met phil that’s just the truth. what i’m really interested in is the third verse ‘for some reason i just can’t say ‘i do’’ like. would dan possibly feel that way? i have no idea. but at the very least, it’s definitely something that dan would feel in some way, bc they’re not open abt their relationship and a marriage would obviously make it Very open. ugh sorry this one just hits hard and like. just knowing dnp have each other in whatever sense that actually means it’s like. physically painful in a good way. bless them

#dnp #dan and phil #phan #dip and pip #a brief inquiry into online relationships #anon #ask #kt

[quesadillabitch]

okay, i got sum #thoughts on the whole savannah thing yall....

i will preface this with the fact that i do love maxwell, dearly, but i also realize that in all his carefree love and generosity, he is also painfully, painfully naive and dense, in a lot of ways.

im actually kind of on bertrand’s side here - i think it was entirely unfair of maxwell and savannah to deny him the choice to see or know about his son. sure, he may not have changed his tune about savannah, maybe he would have, but that’s not the point: he has a right to be involved in his son’s life, and it was callous of maxwell and savannah to make the decision for him.

sure, maybe he wouldn’t have taken it all that well: maybe he would have denounced the baby as illegitimate and therefore nothing but a blemish on his house’s reputation and name. a lot of bertrand’s personality would point to him reacting like this. which is unfortunate and sad, but that’s not the point: we don’t entirely know how he would react - conversely, he could have been overjoyed to have a son, whom, though not conceived or born into the “best” of situations with regard to nobility and what have you, he would have loved and supported.

i think bertrand has a... skewed perception of expressing concern and love. he clearly does care and love his brother, even if his way of showing it is over-the-top misguided (to a degree) and harsh. he yells at and criticizes maxwell so often, mostly because maxwell isn’t really helping the beaumont financial situation with his taking money and acting a bit like a boob at social functions. like, i guess it get why bertrand acts the way he does. i’m not excusing his behaviour, i think he needs to shape up and stop being so hard on maxwell, but at the same time, maxwell kind of needs some tough love. bertrand has to maintain the house’s reputation as well as he can, yet he doesn’t know how or why the house has fallen into such financial disrepair. then you factor in maxwell there, a guy who kind of doesn’t slot into the typical “noble” stereotype, and creates a lot of stress for his brother. so it makes sense why bertrand acts the way he does - he is left by his lonesome to financially and socially manage a failing house while maxwell just kind of does his own thing, actively weighing down the situation even more for bertrand. bertrand treats maxwell like a child a lot of the time because that’s kind of how maxwell acts - bertrand wants to re-direct his brother in a way that will ensure the future of house beaumont, thereby ensuring his and his brother’s “survival” in a way. again, bertrand could go about it A LOT better and should, and in the same vein, i think maxwell needs to buck up and realize the severity of the situation.

so then you get to maxwell, supporting savannah. it’s nice and noble, it is, to a point. maybe for the entirety of the pregnancy and the first year he could have sent money to her so she was entirely provided for, but at this point, it’s overkill, and it’s only making the house beaumont money problems worse.

you gotta consider how expensive it all is and how much it would chip away at a noble house’s finances. first off, noble european family are, yeah, typically loaded. millionaires, multiple times over. so the fact that house beaumont is losing monumental amounts of money regularly, to the point where it could bankrupt and ruin the family, really speaks to how, frankly, idiotic maxwell is being with the money. secondly, savannah’s living situation is not doing anyone any favours - friggin paris? really? not cheap, obviously. then, you factor in that it’s clearly a nice, spacious apartment, that is, on top of this, also clearly furnished well. then you further factor in that savannah has not had a job the entire time she has been there, and i’m gonna go ahead a just extrapolate that bartie’s probably one a half. so, that’s over two years, bringing in the time of the pregnancy, of entirely supporting a woman and her baby in every facet of their lives - and not just supporting them with the basics or a few things here or there, but actively paying for two+ years of pricey, quality living. maxwell, bless his naive-ass little heart, probably would have been pretty bad for frequent extravagant baby gifts, too.

i know it would have been hard, leaving your baby behind for something like 7-8 hours a day or whatever, but at this point, savannah could have gotten a job. and idk if it was her decision, probably somewhat, but paris did not have to be the city she chose to live in. she also didn’t need an apartment like so. she could have easily been put somewhere much less financially draining and still lived nicely and well, and she wouldn’t even need to get the demanding of a job if she was still generally being supported, to a lesser extent, on the beaumont’s dime. it would have been better for everyone all around if this had occurred: money withdrawn by maxwell wouldn’t be so exorbitant as to bankrupt an entirely family, leaving bertrand in a less tense place and not so suspicious and distrustful of his brother’s finances, and savannah could still largely do her thing, though i do still believe bertrand should be informed - he deserves that much, imo.

but thats just my opinion yall and yeah, i’m probably skewing things/don’t have all the info there but i just had to say it!! 

#playchoices #the royal romance #maxwell beaumont #bertrand beaumont #trr #quesa chatter

[deathnoting]

i'm new to the death note fandom, and everyone seems to have vastly varying interpretations of L's character do you mind talking a bit about how you interpret him?

hi anon! first of all: welcome to the fandom! we’re not dead but we’re close enough that you could bury us by mistake. always good to have new people. :-) as for your question…. *cracks knuckles* i’m so glad you asked.

thinking about it, i guess i interpret/have interpreted L in a lot of different ways since i first got into death note. of all the main dn characters, he invites the widest range of interpretations. not only did ohba state that much (most?) of what L says is a lie, L also refers to himself as a liar on at least one canon occasion. add to that the variation in his characterization between the early manga chapters (scenes where he is alone) and the later ones (scenes where he is around other characters), the ryuzaki alias and mannerisms being used by b in labb in such a way that calls into question their origin and authenticity, and the general tilt of facetiousness to most of his dialogue (depending on who’s playing him. alessendro juliani’s L constantly talks like he is lowkey making fun of everyone), and it’s no big mystery why there’s so many fanon versions of him. he’s a character that’s enigmatic enough to generate questions in and of himself, and when you give the fandom a decade to stew over those questions, this is what happens.

(small aside: this is one of the things i absolutely love about fandom. the way that one work can spawn so many works, and one character can spawn so many permutations. as someone who spends a lot of time creating and developing characters on my own, it’s humbling and amazing to see characterizations crowd-sourced over such a long period of time from people all over the world. that doesn’t just go for L, but for all of my favorite characters who have enjoyed long and complex fanon careers. i’m looking at you, Every Harry Potter Character.)

as for my personal interpretation of L? if you’re looking for the cliff’s notes, it can be summed up pretty well by this post.

the full earful is:

since i’ve ever been in the fandom (say 2013 ish?), L’s characterization has been a hot topic. this was discourse before it was even called discourse. (rip “fandom wank”.) there was a good portion of people who were big fans of L, saw him as the “good” character to light’s “bad,” and just wanted to fantasize about their anime husbando in peace, goddammit. the backlash to that was the establishment of a long and enduring tradition of posts pointing out all of L’s morally dodgy actions, and tagging pictures of him with #garbage man or something along those lines. that was definitely an aspect of my brand when i was a popular blog. “this is my favorite character in the series and how dare you say that he is a good person!!!!” at the time i was very into squabbling over anime character interpretations. idk what ya’ll were/are doing in your teens, but that’s what i did.

at this point? i see it like this: in the canon, there’s a sharp disconnect between L’s quirky, pun-making, donut-scarfing, face-pulling personality and the insidiousness of his tactics. you can only really read his disregard for the law and for conventional human decency as harmless if you assume he is stupid, and since the very basis of the plot rests on the viewer accepting his (and light’s) genius, then that means he is smart enough to know exactly what he is doing and in what ways it is wrong, and doing it anyway because he believes that it’s necessary to achieve his ends. what’s cool about this is that ohba doesn’t insist on this perception. it isn’t hammered into the bones of the story the way that light’s hypocrisy is (probably because it was more incidental than not) but it is very much there in between the lines: L is not a better person than light, just more subtle.

something that i have always really liked about death note as a piece of media is that, although it is a heavy-handed, cartoonish (literally, yes, but also thematically) shonen jump series where all the characters are caricatures, it occupies this weird space of bleak realism that fits so strangely within its genre that it is almost like the whole world of the story is being pulled in two totally opposite and incompatible directions. light’s bond-villian-esque tirades are bordered by panels of disturbing domestic emptiness. L’s helicopter-flying, ice cream guzzling world’s greatest detective (like, honestly, how is that a real title that exists and is known and cared about by the public?) schtick overlays scenes of him holding suspects for fifty days, limbs bound, without trial. there’s a morbidity to all the fun in death note and i think one of the reasons L is so popular, and so polarizing, is because he holds those two aspects pretty well in balance. after his death, light’s desolateness is the only thing left standing. (i’m not saying mello and near aren’t fun, but i’d argue that their isolation from each other makes it so their morbidity outweighs the level of fun they can produce.)

if you skew a lot closer to the more sober and realistic aspects of death note and further from the hijinks of its genre, that’s where my interpretation of L sits. i think, if this person actually existed, what would he be like? probably unhealthy, both physically and emotionally, but high functioning. desensitized by over-exposure to disturbing stimuli. prone to exaggerating his natural eccentricities in order to throw people off. egotistical, but also preoccupied with things that have the potential to prove him wrong. enamored by the mysterious. terrified of death. disfigured by physically damaging habits but too set in them to want to change. do i see him as a bad person? well, it’s next to impossible to wield that amount of power and not be. L’s power is integral to his character. if he had no money, no handler, no international reputation, or ability to construct a building a moment’s notice, or helicopter, or sway with which to bypass a police protocol—well, then it wouldn’t matter what his ethical philosophy was. (which, the canon suggests, pretty much boils down to: “L always gets his man” *finger gun* *wink*). just like light’s self-aggrandizing idealism would be more or less harmless without the death note, L’s identity is inextricable from his role as the world’s greatest (three) detective(s). without those larger than life roles, light is just the pretentious kid going off in your intro to ethics class and L is just the harried professor pinching the bridge of his nose and wondering how academically scrupulous it is to tell him to shut up. (and yes, please, someone write that au.)

that’s just my canon analysis, though. i think, especially for new death note fans, coming straight from the source material into the world of totally wacky and incongruent fanon ideas and characterizations can be very disorienting. if you want to know all my self indulgent characterizations that i assign to L just because i like them and not because i have any good reason to, that’s a whole separate post. (hint: they involve a victorian gothic childhood and an interest in power-bottoming for the people whose paychecks he signs/prison cells he holds the keys to.)

sorry to go off, anon! i’m not even sure i fully answered your question but hopefully this provided a little clarity as to why this fandom is in disparate characterization shambles.

actually i think it would be cool to hear from a lot of people about their L interpretation. if you asked this q to multiple people, anon, you should amass the highlights into a mega-post of crowd-sourced L characterization or something.

#death note #l lawliet #jaye writes meta #catch me fucking critically examining death note as a piece of media in 2017 #ok not that critically #but still yeah i still have a feeling or 80 about all thus shit #sorry to go so funking off course. like. really if you want an a straight answer just read the post i linked #actually i think beyond or matt would be the best candidate for a crowd source characterization post but i digress #Anonymous #asks

[sanerontheinside]

*cracks knuckles* *grins* Questions: 8, 10, 13, 19. *cackles*

oooooh you lil shitLong Post, hit J to skipsorry mobile userswait neverfuckingmind I put it under a cut anyway wt f   k  e    n o  p  e 

8. What is one thing you would change about any movie, show, book, etc?

JA needs to burn, PT must be rewritten to fix various plot hiccups, the clones deserved so much better, Obi-Wan doesn’t deserve such massive levels of grief, and seriously some shit just don’t make sense. 

But at this point it’s also difficult for me to distinguish between what is actually canon and what is fanon, or a popular fandom interpretation of canon. 

Besides, there’s ReEntry. ReEntry makes sense. 

Canon, you’re drunk. Go home. 

13. If you could resurrect one dead character, or prevent them from dying, who would it be?

Qui-Gon Jinn. Finis Valorum. Asajj Ventress. Jango Fett. Tahl, Micah. Mace did not die. Padmé did not die, fuck that noise. … Shit. Xanatos. 

Long answers under cut: 

10. Do you think the Jedi were right or wrong?

Which time? 

Ignoring the Sith? Sending Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan alone to Naboo after a suspected Darksider if not Sith? Insisting that they would not train Anakin without offering a single alternative (what in the actual fuck)? Focusing too much on Anakin’s massive potential and Dark possibilities in his future rather than on the nine-year-old boy in front of them? 

Making Obi-Wan a War Councilor and spreading him thin as paste across most of Republic Space? Bending and bending and bending before the Senate until they couldn’t even fight back charges against Ahsoka? 

Allowing themselves to be run for hundreds of years by an old troll who is the last of his species, with only one other like him, who’s lost generations of friends and children by then, whose only way to cope with that kind of loss is probably repression, and leads to a shift of Jedi philosophy in that general direction? 

In some ways, an institution as old as the Republic was doomed to fail eventually. 

But, see, the Ruusan Reformation was built to prevent another war with the Sith, to safeguard the Republic against it. Sith were impossible because the Order of that time had taken great pains to wipe out every last vestige of Sith texts and artefacts, save what they kept to learn from themselves. 

Isn’t that funny? That’s when they decided to bring younglings to the Temple, to train them early so they would never get out of control and Fall. They destroyed the ancient texts, yet left the door open for the formation of a new and far more dangerous line of Sith. 

Yet the Ruussan Reformation wasn’t exactly something they’d readily agreed to. Back in the days before the Reformation, the Jedi had been a truly independent Order. They won the war against the Sith, and protected the Republic worlds with their own army and navy. But when the dust settled, the Chancellor of the Republic told them, well, the Republic will not trust you unless you give up your army and your navy, because they see you as a threat. The Reformation doesn’t say, not in so many words, that the Jedi will come to rely only on the Senate for funds and mission assignments. 

You know… the Chancellor at the time was named Tarsus Valorum. He was the first of his family, a line of noted Force Sensitives, not to go to the Jedi, but pursue a career in politics instead. And the Valorum we know of is a direct descendent. Finis, end of the line. Finis, end of the Republic, the Republic falls with him. Yes I am sort of hinting that Tarsus Valorum might’ve been a Sith. 

Anyway, clever headcanons aside, it’s so easy to point out where the Order was wrong, but by the time we see them? There’s hardly any ‘right’ to choose. Remember that Valorum had to go behind the Senate’s back to send Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon to Naboo—the Sith certainly didn’t anticipate Jedi involvement. 

Still, you ask if the Jedi were ever right. When given the option, multiple times over the course of apprenticeship and Knighthood, to leave the Order, what did Obi-Wan choose? Anakin? They chose to stay. So, in the end, there must have been something right about that, don’t you think? 

19. What’s your opinion on legends/expanded universe?

Um. 

Well it’s… interesting. I periodically go diving into Wookiepedia, which is like broken telephone research in a lot of cases—there isn’t even a guarantee that the person who wrote the page got the point of the original source, or that a minor detail I would find immensely useful ever made it to the page. Some things are outright crazy. Some things are spectacular. Some things are outright spectacularly contradictory. 

Legends saw great potential, took it, ran with it, sometimes to Olympus and sometimes off a bloody cliff. JA can burn, but at the same time, while most of JA feels like a poorly-drawn caricature, characters like Zan Arbor are unforgettable. Were I to, idk, in some fever dream, decide write Sidious as a woman, Zan Arbor would be the place I’d start, I think. Certain JA events seem to me important enough to keep. 

On the one hand, it was nice to get hard details on the shape of economic warfare the Sith waged on the Republic. On the other hand, Sidious’s origin is the most bizarre bit of horseshit I’ve ever seen summarised on a Wookie-page and the very idea that Plageuis was still alive near the time of Naboo makes me shake with rage because it (high on the list of shit I thought I never would say) robs Palpatine of something vital to his character. 

In much the same way, I can’t stand that TCW overwrote the comics’ ending for Valorum, even showed him active in politics again like his career hadn’t ended with the Vote of No Confidence. That was a death sentence in itself. And, since TCW can technically be considered Legends material, parts of it I simply cannot accept. It filled an important blank, when it came to the ROTS portrayal of Order 66. In ROTS, it looked like some grand conspiracy, but the introduction of the chips was wrenching and necessary. TCW did a lot for clone feels, and for our feels for secondary characters in the movies—like Plo Koon, yes, hello, you can pry my favourite Jedi dad from my cold dead fingers. On the other hand, Maul, suddenly returned to life? There are ways that can be done, and done well. This, in my view, was not one of them. 

Rebels… I haven’t seen Rebels, so this part should be taken with a grain of salt, but little individual plot points I’ve seen fill me with no great confidence. I’m seriously spoiled by @deadcatwithaflamethrower RE:JotW Echo timeline. Actually overall I’m spoiled by ReEntry. 

Yet, it’s the Legends tab of Wookiepedia that gives you a much richer understanding of Twi'lek and Ryl culture. Say what you will about fetishising and misogyny—and fandom is certainly prone to that when given Twi'lek slave culture as a vehicle for it—it’s incredibly interesting to see how Twi'lek culture changed, adapted, took advantage of others’ perception to hide something far more deadly, their very own Resistance movement. Whoever went so far in depth with Ryl and Twi'lek culture knew a thing or two about what they were doing. 

Similarly, the Legends expansion of Mandalorian culture is spectacular, and sheds an uncomfortable light on the TCW Mandalore. At times, certainly at times like these, conflict between different Legends sources is incredible. (Though, give me a reason to take Satine down a peg and I’ll take it, and I’m still not sure that isn’t ingrained misogyny on my part.) 

I can’t speak to Legends’ treatment of female characters, either. The characters I am familiar with? Ventress, Komari Vosa? Those stories don’t end well. Unfortunately I don’t have much time or, truthfully, inclination, to research every single character who exists only in the comics and books, particularly if I don’t often work with that part of the timeline. 

ask me things | sw ask meme

#obaewankenope #what have you done #ask me things #urgh #sw ask meme

[enyeon-blog]

k.j.j reading 3/11

legend:

-> = clarifying cards; asked to have a card presented that will explain in what aspect the initial card is being presented

jumping card = cards that are demanding to be heard so they jump out on their own

1. What are the energies that are surrounding K.J.J currently, at this point in his life after coming back from military service / beginning again

Jumping card: K of w

5 of s -> 3 of w  | The Devil -> 7 of w | 7 of p -> A of p

With the K of w as a jumping card this card already shows it’s dominance in his surrounding energies. Energetically, this card represents a strong motivation and drive to do well and succeed. It shows the force an individual has in being determined in moving forward strong and confident. This is a court card, and a King no less, in the suit of wands so it shows that he feels well supported and ambitious. I’m also getting the feeling that the color red brings significance (naturally) considering wands are associated with fire/passion. It is not a surprise that J.J. himself requested that fans present him with red oceans during his tour. This is also communicating to me that he gains a lot of his strength from those who continue to hold and stand by him.

5 of s I was initially shocked to see.... I didn’t expect this card to pop up considering how well balanced he seems to be now that he has returned from the military (no late night crying and drunken tweets thank god, am I right?).  This card usually indicates that you either feel like you’ve made a mistake or like you are being manipulated in some way. “Path” immediately came to my mind’s eye from my guides. I was initially thinking about in his personal life of some sort? but I’ve been redirected to “feels like the wrong path”. Shocked to say the least. When I read people, I negate my own personal feelings and emotions and look outside the scope of my own personal judgment. Seeing that written in my mind’s eyes... I know what it may refer to... Ugh.. I hate to say this.. but it’s simply a possibility.... BUt I get the feeling that the thought of “choosing the wrong path” HAS indeed crossed his mind. What path may this be referring to? I’m not entirely sure because he is not present the way a client of mine would normally be. He himself cannot clarify the message that I received. Whether or not this refers to what common knowledge is? Again, I didn’t ask any deeper than that (there was already so much here, perhaps in another reading I can delve deeper.) Whether or not he has settled on feeling one way or the other ( “i am not on the right path” vs “i am on the right path”), it something that seems to present itself to him regardless. Swords are all about mental energy, thought. I don’t get the feeling that he regrets leaving XX at all.. it more has the feeling of.... feeling like you’ve been... led blind so to speak??? And in NO WAY am I implying anyone specific.. it could be for a number of things that we are not aware of... this is simply the energies. 5 of s is also the card about manipulation. I’ve usually seen it indicate that people around you may have been pulling a veil over your eyes... like you have been fooled or manipulated in such a way that the results are bringing conflict into your life. For the clarifying of 5 of s -> 3 of w initially came out REVERSED (which made me gulp).. but I don’t read cards in reverse... but even in the upright position as a clarification for the 5 of s... it pretty much aligns either way. (gulp)... either way in the position of reverse OR as the clarifying card for 5 of s.... it’s all about feeling like you’ve made some wrong decision or action. Argh. In this case it can be associated with feeling there are setbacks... growth coming to a stop.. feeling disappointed with some type of outcome... MMMm.. in a way this combination can also indicate a bitter homecoming if you will... like the awful reality of a situation? Initially before I pulled the other cards.. I was thinking that it was implying that he’s now faced with the reality of where he was before he left for the military? Like all the obstacles that were once there are still brewing around him. On a level I think that is still very true. In where this card would usually indicate moving forward (in some cases in a team or partnership of some sort, THREE of w....), it’s showing here with this combo that there is some hesitation in the mental realm, or like you could be thinking a lot of the future. Things like “what is my future? what will be the future to come?” etc. Moving to the aspect of numerology (no card is an accident, I’ve come to learn... even the suit, the numerical correlation, ect all plays a role) for this combo ESPECIALLY because it was just SCREAMING at me....... 5 becomes a 3... 3 breaking away from a 5... what was once 5 now becomes 3... the conflict of 5 becomes the halt in growth of 3.... I mean.. really. ???

Next card to be pulled was The Devil... again.. I was like woah.. what strong energies.. It is a major arcana... so even above the court card presented before... this shows a prominence in the energies around him. The devil usually indicates self-imposed conflict... almost like you're binding yourself in bad habits, bad thinking, or bad people...... because this card is just SO broad... I pulled a clarifying card -> 7 of w came up REVERSED.... just like the last clarifying card.. ok the cards are trying to tell me something... once again... it being reversed and being paired with the Devil aligns to the same base meaning (wow).... feeling defeated, overwhelmed. Even continuing with the upright reading of the 7 of w in relation to the devil... it signifies a person who is feeling overwhelmed, feeling like you can’t win, again SET BACKS, just feeling freaking tired... Because the positive aspect of the 7 of w is a warrior, having great strength, fighting and defending your own smartly (keyword)...oddly enough, this combo can also indicates someone who was once a warrior now becoming the slain I guess you can say. The jumping card of the K of w may be what he is trying to present or may be what he is willing himself to be / strive for / remember / gain strength from.... but BECAUSE the 7 of w is paired with the Devil... again this is all SELF-IMPOSED..... he may be feeling that he is no longer in “good light” (maybe due to the scandal of his supposed “misogynistic” comments, maybe due to the effects of the lawsuit, maybe due to the scandal of someone close to him (p.y.c assault accusations)..... the freaking combo itself can actually signify a scandal or gossip! Because the devil is present and because the K of w was jumping... and considering the next 2 cards in the reading... it can also mean distancing yourself from bad people... the devil also deals with manipulation (will you look at that).. Especially next to the first two cards presented.. it seems that regarding his momentum? (both clarifying cards are wands... all about passion.. about action) he is reevaluating his choices and the people who surround him. (SOOOO different from the reading I did on him during his military service when p.y.c scandal broke.... K.J.S’s reading during that time was similar to this, only he seemed more firm in his believes..scary). It’s like in a way, his reputation is something that he’s grappling with. Oh! Not to mention... because of the clarifying cards of the 3 of w and the 7 of w in this reading.. there could be a sense of wondering where to.. again... I hate to say this because I’m naturally a little biased (but remember, I try to take myself out of this...).... it could be a sense of wondering where to.... lay your loyalty... weary of your partnership?? I’m also getting that he may be wanting to make a decision(s) or a change but he’s worried about public perception? Hm idk.

7 of p was last... and seemed so out of place tbh. This card speaks of being patient... of things growing... abundance coming... but slowly... steadily.. I was like wth does this have to do with everything else??? clarifying card -> a of p shows there may be a new direction he takes his career? Pentacles often deal with the material word, usually things dealing with finances or work... There may be new contracts or documents he may be signing or looking into? Because I feel like it’s showing he is going to try and be smart about the decisions he takes going forward.

Again... he’s not as dumb as I thought he was lmao jk... but no lie.. the reading I did back during his service... made me worried... during the scandal.. it showed that he was trying to distract himself, like he didn’t want to face it, he was emotionally shook... now.. at this moment he seems to be struggling with either decisions from the past, decisions going forward, or both as well as trying to understand how to free himself of his imaginary chains and make the decisions that are best for him. More than anything... I get the feeling that there are toxic people around him (on possible multiple levels) and he really needing to clear away all that because he seems highly concerned with public perception and his future. 

-----

note: like i was literally so shook. even after doing this for a while, I’m so surprised at the outcomes of the readings! like the freaking combo for “scandal, gossip, the fall from grace (lol)” I was like sdkfns;ids....... in my gut.... i feel like it deals with p.y.c’s scandal :( I really do.. I feel like he knows how.. ya know... “guilt by association”... and I feel like it’s just really hard for him... on a lot of levels .... to know what the next step is.