#but she doesn't actually have anything of substance to say

[lemotmo]

Episode 7x10 - some thoughts and observations

All right, I’ve just seen episode 7x10. Here are some of my thoughts about it:

Let me just start with this:

It was an okay episode, but it didn’t feel like a finale at all. I have to admit that I expected to be blown away by the Bobby, Hen and Eddie storylines. I expected to be emotionally devastated by their plight, but that never happened. The episode is over now and I’m just ‘meh’ about it. I’m going to say it… it felt just as lackluster as the season 6 finale. In fact, there were some parts of the season 6 finale I liked better than this one. And that is saying a lot.

Here are some of my observations:

1. Bobby’s storyline was strange. He had a major cardiac arrest and 3 days later he just wakes up as if nothing had happened. Even weirder, a day later he is just walking around his burnt out house as if nothing had happened? He seemed healthier than before. I know it’s only a show, but they couldn’t have just shown us him recovering in hospital?

2. What was Athena doing playing vigilante? How is it that she is still on the police force? She just went over to a man’s house and threatened to kill him because she ‘suspected’ he tried to kill her husband. She should be under investigation or something. But because she saved Amir, it’s all okay suddenly?

3. I loved Eddie’s storyline the most. I actually didn’t mind his parents at all. I’m glad they stepped in. Both Eddie and Chris need time. I expected something like that was going to happen. They were kind about it and I do believe them when they said that Chris asked to come stay with them for a while.

The scenes between Buck and Eddie in the beginning and the scenes between Buck and Chris, Eddie and Chris at the end were the very best of the episode. These scenes made me feel ‘something real’. I cried so hard when Chris left. Give Ryan all the awards please!

The Buddie of it all was beautiful. I love how Buck is always there for Eddie and how he gets him through and through. The fact that he was there when Chris left was incredible. I expect to see more of their deep connection in season 8.

I think season 8 will be perfect for Buddie’s bond to grow even deeper. Eddie will be alone, he’ll feel isolated, but Buck will certainly be there for him. It was all there in that last scene between Buck and Eddie at the firehouse. The way Buck is always looking at Eddie, trying to see how he is feeling, trying to be there for him. I love this connection they have. It feels real and true.

4. Which leads me to that very strange Buck and Tommy scene. The lack of chemistry is still there, that really hasn't changed. This was supposed to be a cute date, but there is 'nothing' there. Lou’s acting is just not ‘it’. I’m sorry to the people who like him, but he simply isn’t a very good actor. Oliver did what he could to save that scene, but ultimately it didn't convince me and I highly doubt this will convince the general audience.

It's one of those scenes that just gets lost in between all the other scenes, because it doesn't have substance and it was edited in at the wrong moment during the episode. It's easily forgotten. It doesn't do anything to actively make me care or even 'want' to care about this relationship. I think some part of this is intentional though. They want to make us feel uneasy about this relationship, without making it too obvious why.

We saw Buck looking at Tommy and I could see how he still has that crush on him. He still can see nothing wrong with Tommy. It's the early phase of a relationship where everything the other person does is so great, until you get to know them ever better. I do expect his view on Tommy to change in season 8.

They talked about Bobby as Buck’s father figure and Tommy’s absent father, which was okay I guess. When Tommy mentioned Gerrard and how he influenced him in a bad way, I saw it coming from a mile away that Gerrard was going to be back at the end of the episode. That line was there to foreshadow that event. Also, they were trying to make Tommy a bit more sympathetic maybe? I don’t know, it kinda fell flat for me.

But then… what the hell was that last line? Were they really hinting at some kind of daddy kink? I mean, what? At this point the show is playing into the weird almost sexual obsession some people have with Tommy/Lou and Tommy and Buck’s relationship. They have kissed twice and don’t even hold hands, but Tommy talks about daddy kinks?

Thank God it is still obvious that this relationship isn’t going to last and that Tommy is very much ‘plot devicing’. I couldn't handle any more wooden interactions like this. Tommy is the older gay man who is going to teach Buck a thing or two, just like Oliver said in his interviews.

The show didn’t try to deepen the relationship emotionally, they just made it seem like a very sexual relationship. I’m starting to wonder if it will turn out that Buck’s heart will be broken by Tommy, because all Tommy’s really looking for is a sexual relationship. At this point he doesn’t seem to be interested in Buck on a more personal level. While Buck was lovingly gazing at him, he just sat there, not giving us anything. I don't know... Buck just seems more into it, that's all.

5. The Mara storyline was, again, so strange. Hen just walked into that group home? She keeps on breaking the rules. If she keeps on breaking the rules, she’ll never get Mara back. I don’t understand her reasoning.

And then Chim and Madney ending up fostering Mara? I mean, what? Becoming foster parents is a very lengthy process. You have to follow classes for this. They don’t just give kids willy-nilly to someone who asks for it. That would be so unprofessional and wrong. How on Earth was this allowed???

Don’t get me wrong, it’s sweet that they want to do this, but it not realistic at all. But, after all the previous points I made, I should probably give up on realism for this show. What a mess.

6. The ending scene was just another mindfuck! Bobby resigned, had his house burnt down, died and miraculously woke up again without any debilitating health conditions in two weeks??? And he just walked into the firehouse, in uniform, expecting to be acting captain again WITHOUT speaking to the Chief and telling him he had reconsidered? Did he think he could just walk in and be captain again without any repercussions?

In conclusion:

I’m sorry, but this episode was a mess, not really worthy of a season finale. Season 7 started out really good, but gradually started slipping in quality. The penultimate episode 7X09 was waaay better than 7x10.

Thank God for Eddie Diaz and his narrative. Without him I wouldn’t have anything to look forward to this hiatus. Eddie has really set himself up there as my favourite character. He already was, but this episode only confirms it even more. Next comes Buck. Oliver comes alive when he is acting with Ryan. Their chemistry is electrifying. So yes, I will live off and feed off those great Buddie scenes we got during hiatus and hope that Tim will pick up some of the slack in season 8. He will have more episodes to work with in 8, so he will have more time to unpack some storylines.

At this point Eddie, Chris and Buck are the only storyline I look forward to seeing more off in season 8. I’m wondering about the Buddie timeline and how they’re going to handle that. Because I’m still convinced we’re going there. Season 7 was too much on the nose with all the Eddie coming in between BT scenes. Something is cooking and I’m highly interested in seeing how it will all unfold.

I’m glad the hiatus is here though. I needed a break from the highs and lows this fandom brings along. It has been an exhausting couple of months.

All right guys, lay it on me! This is only my opinion. If you loved the episode, great! Make sure to let me know what it was you liked. If you share my opinion, then how? Are there any observations I missed?

I still love this show and I always will, don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. I'm looking forward to a hiatus filled with speculation, theorising and great fan fiction.

911 has some amazing episodes that really ‘deliver’, but this was just not one of them. We’ve been here before. It’s nothing new. Onwards to a better season 8!!!

#911 spoilers #7x10 episode review #buddie #911 abc #hiatus has arrived #onwards to season 8

[ratfacedbabyeater]

Thinking about how in the Alex Stern series Leigh Bardugo included on page sexual assault and graphic animal death and insisted on having it set at Yale and not a fictional university because her stated intent was to make a realistic portrayal of rape culture and corruption on campus and she has to include all this real Yale history because this is a Serious Adult Commentary on a Real Corrupt Institution that Exists, but when secondary protagonist Darlington is physically trapped in hell for a year he comes back Buffer and Sexier with Flowing Locks and Sexy Golden Demon Horns. And he says some shit about how he tortured people as a demon in hell but he doesn't give any details and it's extremely vague and he says he tortured the corrupt dean who the audience obviously doesn't give a shit about because he had it coming.

We have to have on page assault because That's GRITTY REALISM and we have to have graphic descriptions of animal death and abuse of corpses because that's GRITTY REALISM but god forbid ANYTHING happens to make this man anything other than Extremely Sexy All The Time.

It kind of reminds me of When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole which was a thriller about the evils of gentrification including several cackling cartoon villain white gentrifiers, and the protagonist's love interest is this hapless white man who's only in the neighborhood because his bitchy girlfriend wanted to gentrify a house and he's not even into it but he was just dragged along absolving him of responsibility.

The trendy thing it seems like to me is Gritty Mystery Thrillers that offer social commentary on white supremacy and misogynist and real oppressive power structures, but also God Forbid these stories include ANYTHING that would make the white man love interest questionable or even slightly unsexy in any way.

I assume it's an issue of these authors being YA and romance authors for the majority of their careers so they gotta include a Sexy Unproblematic Man in all their books because that's what their audience expects and that's what they know how to write, but it just feels so tonally absurd the way the Sexiness of love interest must be maintained at all costs even when it doesn't make any sense given the surrounding text.

#for the record I think when no one is watching is way better written than hell bent #also hell bent did the impressive move of making me (a ninth house defender!) low key hate ninth house lol #because it's clear now that the sloppy bits of ninth house weren't just a stumbling block as she adjusted to adult from YA #but she doesn't actually have anything of substance to say #if leigh bardugo is capable of writing a thoughtful competent critique of power structures she has yet to demonstrate it #anyway I'm big mad at sexy demon boy with a perpetually erect glowing penis #Leigh Bardugo #alex Stern #ninth house #hell bent

[derangedanomaly]

Nightmare x reader who likes to fidget with his tentacles? like they will hold them and trace shapes into them yk? your writing is beautiful btw:)

Thank you for the compliment! I love this ask! Sorry it took so long, I'm working on other things as well. :)

Nightmare x reader that likes to fidget with his tentacles

His tentacles kinda have a mind of their own. Of course Nightmare has great control over them, no doubt about that! But there are times when they do something completely out of his control...

They're kinda like dogs actually 💀

So when you trace shapes into them, or do anything at all...they WILL snuggle against your hand..most certainly pulling Nightmare against you. (Which he curses them for 😭)

They love you so much after that, that they're sometimes seeking you out just for your touch. Which makes Nightmare angrier than ever... (Oops.)

But it's not only his tentacles that feel absolutely amazing from your touch... it's Nightmare himself too.

Unlike his... tentacles.. he'll never admit to liking it though. He'll be so secretive that it's actually painfully obvious 💀

Believe me, there's nothing that can get him more relaxed than you caressing his tentacles..

He will melt when you start tracing hearts on them. Blushing profusely...listen, he's not normally this shy, but his tentacles are sensitive...... (It just feels too good lmao.)

This is the only time that he'll be at your mercy. Usually, it's the other way around in your relationship. (He's the dominant one). But one moment of tracing hearts on his tentacles, and he's wrapped around your finger.

He'll get so relaxed that he doesn't even care what he's going to say anymore. (And it will be things that he would never say out loud 💀)

It's not only beneficial to him, but also to you!

His tentacles often release a special substance that makes any stress from your body leave when you touch them, which feels really good. (Magic)

Though you did make a promise to Nightmare that you'll only touch his tentacles in private, and not around other people/monsters. (He's too embarrassed by it. 💀)

His tentacles have a more...sharp feeling to them than slimy feeling. Since he uses them more as a weapon, they need to be sharp for them to stab good!

The only time they don't feel much sharp, is whenever you're with him, or you're nearby. Even when you're not touching him or anything, but is just in the room! "What if she accidentally touches me?" He just loves you, lol.

#sans undertale #sans x reader #undertale #undertale fandom #nightmare sans x reader #nightmare sans #undertale au

[a-little-bit-of-ships-in-my-life]

No but like, i'm still so confused by Vanessa being Afton's daughter. At it is, it's a great plot twist and it adds a lot of substance to the story.

Yet, i'm so confused because it really looks like Mike is in fact, William's son. There was a lot of things set for it. Like for example:

• William reading Mike's name and stopping mid sentence and realizing something. You could say that what he realized was that this kid was the brother of one of his victims. Yet, in the next second he starts to set him up to work in the pizzeria. Like, why? He wants him near. Plus, why does he want to kill Abby too? He just decided to fuck this man life *twice* without a reason?

• Why he keeps calling him "Michael", like. Yeah, it's his name as it was stated before in the interview. But, no one else calls him by "Michael", just "Mike". If i'm not mistaking, even Aunt Jane calls him by it. Why is he insisting in calling him Michael.

• In the dream sequence, when Cassidy (¿) makes him give up Abby, his mother and Garrett are the only one speaking. But his father is silence, he doesn't even say anything, react to it. In fact, the "My mother died and my father couldn't deal with it" feels so weird. His father just walked away? Why is his father so minus in this movie.

• Mike having a younger sister and brother just like Michael Afton has Elizabeth and Evan. (And Abby being a nickname for Elizabeth, like, c'mon, that's so obvious, what the fuck.)

I think that there is something more, a lot more. Maybe in the novels based in the movie, or maybe in a new movie it would be explained, because it feels like there was a whole hole dug up ready to be filled for later. So, i have two theories.

• The delulu one: Mike is in fact, an Afton. His mother just divorced William and got custody of him, went away and she married Garret and Abby's dad. In this way, that's why William is so focused on killing his son's step-siblings due to rage and revenge. This too, would somehow explain Vanessa. She is either Afton biological daughter too, or instead, she was kidnapped and raised by him to fill a void left by the divorce, and thus, unable to actually fill that feeling, he blames her and decided to start killing kids.

• The most probably one: Mike isn't an Afton, but he's Emily. He's Henry son and, in that way, William is so focused on making him suffer, just out of pure hate for his father.

• Vanessa is not an Afton. She was kidnapped and/or raised by William from a young age but she's actually an Emily.

Either way, i feel there is something, something because i still can't figure it out, for the life of me, why William reacted that way when he read Mike's full name. It doesn't make sense if he was like "oh, the brother of that one kid". It was more like "oh, *oh*"

Hear me out, maybe i actually figure it out, or maybe i'm in such state of denial that i refuse vehemently to think that Mike Schmidt isn't Michael Afton.

#fnaf movie spoilers #mike schmidt #michael afton

[utilitycaster]

do you really think the reason Imogen doesnt get as much meta as Caleb (who got every little detail discussed with thousands of notes!) is because people are afraid of a reaction, when its so obviously sexism?

The same reason she doesn't get the exact number of notes as Caleb? No. There's multiple reasons. I'm sure some is misogyny. Some is probably audience size for the respective campaigns, and some is simply accumulation over time - a post about Caleb from 2019 has had 5 years to gather notes.

But also. Are you fucking stupid. You literally showed up because of my tags to be kind of a dick in my inbox. I and multiple people who committed the grave sin of *checks notes* interacting with me were sent hate messages for hours on a Saturday night because I hinted in the tags that I kind of liked Fearne and Ashton as a ship while not being terribly into Imogen and Laudna, and some absolutely deranged loser decided this was an appropriate response. I was called out by someone who had made a blog specifically to block me when I responded to a reblog from someone else on a post I had made stating that Gelvaan was almost certainly not homophobic in canon and that treating Imogen's psychic powers as a metaphor for queerness has a lot of really unfortunate implications. And this hasn't even touched on that one person whose entire raison d'etre appears to be harassing every single person who doesn't think Imogen, Laudna, and their relationship is perfect; and who specifically made multiple alts to harass me. Like, the "It's Obviously Misogyny" people are genuinely putting more effort into being a dick to me than in writing meta about Imogen. You might be one of them.

I talk to many of my mutuals, some of whom really like Imogen, and yes, people do decide "you know, this could be interpreted by someone as too critical, and I don't feel like dealing with the heat" and keep that meta to the DMs or don't share it at all.

You know that post that Matt liked on Twitter that people have been, let's not mince words, jacking themselves off about ever since? If you actually try to say something with substance and evidence about how Imogen has Liliana's fear (the fear that meant that when Imogen begged her mother to leave the Vanguard, Liliana turned her own daughter down, claiming to need to stay with other children) or Delilah's love (which made her cruel, ruthless, and ultimately all-but doomed her) or Ludinus's desire for power (led him to commit endless atrocities) but resists these things in her desire to be a good person - and frankly, I think painting her with the same brush as Delilah or Ludinus isn't even true but I would love to dig into her similarities to Liliana - some asshole who smugly reblogs that post every time someone says "not to be controversial I think Imogen sometimes says things that could maybe be hurtful to other people I think" will throw a full temper tantrum and might send them an incoherent anon calling them a little hypocrite.

It's also fascinating because a lot of the tantrum-havers who will defend Imogen of even the most anodyne "perhaps this is not the most positive trait" and who will cite harassment Marisha received 7 years ago as a reason to not breathe a word of criticism about Laudna - and many of these people joined the fandom about 2 years ago if not sooner - will do this at the very people who have been supporting Keyleth since Campaign 1 was still airing. I mean, seniority doesn't mean anything but if you're lecturing people about something you weren't there for and they were? Clown behavior. Oh and a lot of those people doing the lecturing? Don't really like Keyleth very much, because she does things like "be angry" and "support Orym" and "have a measured viewpoint that doesn't match theirs" and "pretty clearly, along with Allura, who they also barely ever talk about, is directing Bells Hells along a specific path of that pesky moon plot because contrary to a weirdly widespread belief this is the moon plot campaign and not the baking cookies in a cottage campaign."

I mean, half these people forget about Fearne much of the time. The only NPCs I see many of them even talk about are the Vanguard generals and occasionally Abbadina when she's convenient for an argument. Not a damn word for Orlana or Birdie or Dancer or Weva or Rashinna, and they mostly treated Deanna, Prism, and Deni$e as nothing more than implements to shove Imogen and Laudna together but man do they have mountains to say about Bor'Dor. Hell, go to the blog of someone who whines about the way people treat Imogen and look through their meta, if they have it, and the vast majority of the time it's about Ashton and Orym and Ludinus and then they spend the rest of the time complaining about how The Big Mean Fandom is So Mean to Girls but they sure don't have much to say either because turns out if you can't say anything even remotely critical of a female character, it's really hard to write anything, and that's assuming they actually care about writing about female characters instead of just being an asshole, which as stated above is, in my mind, in doubt.

If you have ever spent a single second harassing actual living women online because you didn't like their thoughts on a pretend woman you are, at least in this specific scenario, easily the shittier person. Personally I am confident in my feminist bona fides through, you know, real world activism and how I interact with and support women and feminist causes socially, professionally, financially, and politically in my actual life, but yeah even I sometimes say "you know, I have thoughts about this thing regarding Imogen...but I've had a rough week and I don't feel like having one of the fandom tar pits on my ass" so I'll send my thoughts to a few friends and then idk, write about something else. And I'm pretty thick-skinned (this is the other problem with this strategy; you filter out the more measured and kind and sensitive people first and you're left only with people like me). A lot of people have flat-out given up writing about Imogen (or Laudna, much of the time) because they don't feel like dealing with backlash over some really mild statements. And because you send kind of dickish anons I suspect that it's more likely that you might be part of the problem than part of the solution. So no, it's not the only reason, but it's absolutely a significant one. Congratulations. You played yourself.

#answered #Anonymous #cr tag #cr spoilers

[ahgasegotarmy116]

Still With You | A Jeon Jungkook Series | Teaser

Every day, every moment If I knew this was going to happen I would have remembered more of them

-Still With You

Summary: With You Still is a story that follows the lives of Luna and her most cherished friends. Love, Lust. Life, Loss. Passion, Pain. Desire and Death. Those are the many things that befall them as they navigate life trying to find their purpose. Will she be able to find a way to reach that utopia she had once dreamed of? Or will she realize that things that might've felt like a dream come true can soon be twisted into her worst nightmare. Read as Luna, Jungkook, Grey and Jimin navigate this thing called life. Will they get through this with their friendships intact? Only time will tell... Pairing: Luna (reader) x Jungkook and Jimin, f2l love triangle Word Count: 600~ Warnings: Explicit language, yändere, mental illness, death, substance abuse, sex, domestic violence and sexual assault. Please keep this in mind as the story progresses. a/n: I transferred this story over from Wattpad but decided to change up some of the characters P.s. I have no set plan for this story so any suggestions or requests are more than appreciated

I never thought it could end up like this, that things could go to shit so easily.

Where did I go wrong?

Those are the thoughts that run through my head over and over again as I hold their cold lifeless body in my arms.

This doesn't happen, this couldn't happen! Not to us.

Everything was just falling into place and yet, it all went up in flames the moment I heard that blood curdling scream.

What did I do to deserve this? What did they do to deserve this? They were so young, had their whole life ahead of them, our life...

It was ripped away from us before it even began.

Endless sirens pierce my ears as they make their way to the scene but I can't help but feel that they're too late.

I can't lose them, not like this.

I could see our future fading away with every wave that washed over our bodies. Why are the young taken away in such horrific ways?

If things had been different, if I had been different, would it have changed anything? Or was it inevitable from the start...

Nothing in this world could possibly make me feel whole again, not after what he did. How could he do this? After everything we've been though he just goes off and hurts the one person I knew I could always rely on.

And for what? Because he was jealous?

I guess jealousy and revenge are more important to him than my happiness.

To think that I trusted him with my life because for once I let my guard down so I could actually feel something is laughable now after everything he's done

He proved to me that my worst nightmare could happen just because I wanted to feel loved.

Huh, well never fucking again will I ever love someone as much as I loved them.

I gave up my whole life just so I could be with him because I thought he was good for me. That he was going to take me away from all the pain and suffering I had dealt with my entire life.

When in actuality, his mind games were the ones that were twisting my reality into something that I didn't even recognize.

I never once felt like I needed someone to make me feel complete. And then he came around and I couldn't help but feel empty without him.

Everything about him made me want to get closer. But like Icarus I flew too close to the sun and in the end I got burned and in turn took everyone I knew and loved down with me.

Toxicity is the only word that can be used to describe what we had. I thought that he loved me the way that I loved him.

I was naÏve and had my vision tinted with pink colored glasses when it came to us. Even when everyone was telling me no, I couldn't help but say yes.

He was my one and only, my first true love as the fairytales call it.

Yet it all ended in the most excruciating heartbreak that I didn't even know existed.

Love can be cruel and rip you to shreds. I don't believe in love, and I never will. And I swear I will never allow anyone to get close enough to hurt me ever again.

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[cowgurrrl]

Too Close

Pairing: rockstar!joel x actress!reader

Author’s note: this isn’t exactly where I wanted it to be but I still like it (ps fic named after this song)

Summary: “Why, get you gone! Who is’t that hinders you?” “A foolish heart, that I leave here behind.” A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act III, Scene II, Lines 318-319 [2.5k]

Warnings: arguing, language, tumultuous co-parent relationships, the l word, allusions to substance abuse, vague depictions of a panic attack, brief description of disassociation, poor sleeping habits, fictional situations of survivor’s guilt/traumatic events, this one’s a doozy y’all

Joel ushers you into his bedroom and quickly closes the door behind him like you two are sneaking around and don't want to get caught. You bite your thumbnail as you think, replaying the brief moment you saw Angela over and over again. He stands there, hands on his hips, and takes a deep breath. You don't know where to start. Two hours ago? Last week? Twenty years ago? Time seems to collapse between the two of you.

"If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me. Not Sarah." He says as if getting pissed at Sarah was even on your radar. 

"I'm not gonna get mad at her. She's a kid," you scoff. The fact that he even had to specify that makes your skin crawl. At what point during your relationship have you made it seem like you would ever be angry with her? "How long have you known?" You ask the million-dollar question, and he sighs, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Sarah reached out to her a couple of months ago, and she responded. I didn't think she'd actually show up."

"How long is a couple of months?" 

"She emailed her before we left for New York." He says, and you have to sit down on the ottoman at the front of his bed to catch your breath. You bury your head in your hands and fight the tears stinging behind your eyes. Your knee bounces with unspent anger and anxiety, and your heart hammers in your chest. 

"So, the entire time I was telling you everything about my past and showing you where I lived and trusting you for the first time, you were in contact with your ex-wife?" You ask, but he doesn't say anything. You look up to stare at him, and he shakes his head.

"I didn't think she'd actually come into town." 

"That doesn't matter, Joel! You should've told me!"

"I didn't know if we were even anythin' before we went to New York, so it didn't feel important." He says like it's your fault, and you raise your eyebrows at him. You walk over to him, fire in your veins and venom choking you as all your frustration spills from you.

"Oh, is that why you fucked me? Because you didn't know and wanted to try something? Wanted to see if I was worth keeping around?" You ask. "Because you seemed to have a pretty good idea of what we were when you stuck your tongue down my throat, so please tell me what revelation you had that made you think you didn't have to tell me you were talking to the woman who left you with a baby."

"I didn't want to ruin our time together."

"Well, it's pretty fucking ruined now, isn't it?" 

"You don't get it!" He raises his voice, and you throw up your hands in defeat as he turns his back to you. You groan and rub your face, looking up at the ceiling in hopes that some sentient being will smite you right then and there.

"Then, explain it to me, Joel." You say, and he shakes his head as he faces you. You think of the young Joel you saw in the picture you saw two weeks ago. The Joel who was a single dad working construction to afford formula for his daughter. The Joel who was in his early twenties and divorced and scorned. The Joel who wrote one of your favorite songs and released it alone, not knowing what his future would hold. That Joel is hard to find when you look at him now.

"She's sober. She has a steady job in Texas. She's finally gettin' back on her feet. I've been tryin' for eighteen years to get her to even pick up the fuckin' phone, and now here she is, and she's better. This could be a chance." 

"A chance for what?"

"For us to be a family or, at least, for Sarah to have a relationship with her." He says, and you nod, biting the inside of your cheek. You’re not family. You’re an outsider, someone to hang around until Mom gets to come back and take what’s hers. You’re not permanent in the grand scheme of his family.

"Do you still love her?" 

"What?"

"Do you still love her?" You repeat slowly. He gives you a look before running his thumb over an invisible ring on his left finger. It might've been a nervous habit, but you saw it. You saw the way he flinched when he felt skin instead of metal.

"I…" he starts. "I will always have love for her. I-"

"Oh, my God." You can't even stand to hear the rest of his sentence. You push your hair out of your face and start pacing.

"She's Sarah's mom!" He yells.

"And she left! She left and didn't give a shit about either of you, Joel! And now that you're famous and have money, she suddenly checks her inbox?!"

"You don't know what you're talkin' about." 

"Apparently, I don't know a lot," you say. He softens momentarily as the words hang in the air, and you shrug. You furiously wipe at your eyes as unauthorized tears roll down your cheeks. "I trusted you. I let you into my life. I told my fucking parents about you. Do you know how hard that was for me? Do you know how many years I spent protecting myself from this exact situation? But I trusted you not to do that. I," your voice catches in your throat, and Joel rushes over to put his hands on your arms. You know he's trying to rub his hands up and down your skin to soothe you, but you push him away, stumbling back from his touch. "I don't know where to go from here. I don’t know if there’s even anywhere for us to go after this.”

"We can work through this. We just needa talk bout it and figure somethings out, but we can move forward."

"No, we can't." You cry, and he gives you a confused look.

"Honey, look at me. Yes, we can."

"The contract is ending early. Apparently, your team is fucking ecstatic with how things are going and decided you don't need me anymore. That's what Melanie came to tell me before I fired her," you laugh, wiping your nose on your sleeve and letting out a sharp exhale. "I should've fired her a long time ago, but I did it today because she said I shouldn't be with you. It was my last straw, and I thought that not having any auditions or work lined up would be okay because this morning, I believed in us so hard that I was willing to endure that. I let myself make the stupid choice to be happy for once because I-" You cut yourself off. You can't even bear to think the words, let alone say them out loud. Joel stares at you with big watery eyes, but you can't find it in yourself to feel sorry enough for him to comfort him.

"I have to go. I can't be here right now."

"Please, just wait," he begs, and you shake your head, pulling your jacket closer to your body. He might've tried to say more, but you don't wait to hear it. You fly down the stairs, hiding your tears from the girls, and leave the house. You don't slam the door or throw one last comment Joel's way. You're sane enough to know not to put children in the crossfire of anything, let alone relationship problems.

Once you're at the curb outside of Joel's house, you let out a loud sob. Your hands shake as you pull your phone out of your pocket and hit the first number on speed dial. Ryan picks up on the third ring. The second he says your name, more tears fall down your face, and you feel like you can't breathe.

"What's going on?" He asks urgently, and you hiccup.

"Can you come get me, please? I don't... I can't go home. I don't want, fuck," you press your palm to your scorching forehead and try to force yourself to think. "I really need you."

"Stay where you are. I'm getting in the car now. Where are you?"

Ryan and Carolina hold your hands, rub your back, and offer you tissues as you tell them everything. The contract, the fake dates, the phone calls from Texas, New York, the girls, Melanie, Angela. Everything. They don't yell at you for lying about your relationship or blame you for what went down with Melanie. They just offer soft assurances that you're okay, and they love you. You cry through most of it, and they take turns holding you while you three sit at the dining room table.

You don't remember the last time you've cried this hard about anything. It feels like there's a gashing hole in your soul, and you're desperately trying to keep everything together so you don't lose it. And you want to blame it all on Joel because that would be easy—convenient. But you think that maybe this hole in you has always been there, and you've slowly been losing pieces of yourself without even realizing it. 

You think Melanie took a lot of it, pawning your shiniest pieces for brand new Range Rovers and Birkin’s. You think you left a bit here and there every time a director pushed you too hard, and you sat in your trailer for hours, staring at the wall and wondering how you could feel so disconnected from your own body. And you think that more was taken in every unwanted picture taken of you, in every headline talking about your appearance or lack of a partner, in every interview question that had nothing to do with your work as a trained actor. You want to go around Los Angeles with invoices, demanding that people give you back to yourself because how dare they take those pieces. You want to gather them in a box and try to fit them together again like a puzzle with bent and missing connections. You want your fucking life back, but it’s not yours anymore. It’s theirs. Maybe it always was.

"I'm so stupid," you whisper as you stare at your hands. Carolina wraps her arms around your shoulders and presses her cheek to yours, the smell of her floral perfume and Elizabeth's baby lotion surrounding you.

"You're not stupid. Not by a long shot, okay?" 

"God, why does this hurt so much? I feel like I'm dying."

"Because you love him," she says, like she didn't just destroy your world. You clench your jaw and try to stop yourself from crying more, but her soothing presence around you is enough for you to break. "You love him, and he loves you, and it's not enough to change anything."

"That's dismal." You try to laugh as you wipe at your eyes, and she nods. Ryan reaches across the table for your hand and holds it like it's fragile china.

"It's awful, and I wish I could take this pain from you. But, I swear to you, one day, you won't hurt like this. One day, you're gonna sing and dance again. You're gonna smile and laugh and make jokes again. You're gonna make beautiful art and fall in love with the way leaves fall, and you're gonna be okay." 

"How do you know?" You ask.

"Because I know you." 

Because I know you. Those four words scare you and make you grapple with the terrifying reality that they've seen the rotted parts inside you and still chose to love you. They remind you of how much you love them. They remind you of how much you love Joel, and it doesn't even matter because it will always end this way. It will always end this way, but it matters that the love was there. You wonder if it always will be. You wonder if one day you'll hear his song on the radio and be able to sing along. You wonder if he'll be able to see your movies. You wonder if supporting each other from afar is enough and decide that it has to be. There is no other choice. It will always end this way.

Carolina and Ryan let you sleep in the guest bedroom down the hall from them. The one that's always ready for you when you need it. The one with a pile of borrowed clothes with your name on it and the one with the soft sheets and extra quilts. You lay in the dark, your head throbbing with the weight of your tears, and you should be sleeping, but you're not. You're running through every single moment with Joel like you can will things to change. He fucked up. You both did. There are a million things you would change or take back, but Jesus Christ, were you happy. 

You shake the tears out of your eyes and reach for your phone, ready to mindlessly scroll through social media until you feel the tiniest bit better. However, your email inbox flashes with an unopened message before you can get to Instagram. You furrow your brows and open the app to see an email from Melanie. You open it out of habit and almost immediately sit up in bed.

From: Melanie Lundquist

Subject Line: Opportunity

Pike's assistant reached out since I'm your last manager on record. The role's written specifically for you, so it's yours, without a doubt. Don't say I never did anything for you.

-Mel

Attachment: THE_BEGINNING_OF_THE_END_R.PIKE

Richard Pike wrote you a role. An Oscar-winning producer wrote you a role. You immediately open the document and begin reading. You really should be asleep, especially after the day you've had with reshoots, but you can't stop devouring the words. It's about a young woman dealing with the survivor's guilt of living through a terrorist attack, mental health, and substance abuse issues. She's angry, sad, and hard to love at times, but she's also so fucking funny and caring. She's dynamic and heartbreaking and raw. She's everything you've ever wanted in a role. 

You stay up reading and crying over her story, feeling her pain so deep in your heart that it hurts. When you get to the end of the script, the sun is slowly rising, and you're almost certain that you'll die of dehydration, but you don't care. You find Pike's assistant's email address and tell her you need this role. Surprisingly, she writes back not even ten minutes later despite it being almost six in the morning.

Happy to hear it. Mr. Pike will produce the movie, but Mrs. Liliah Hanover will be directing and working with you directly. I will pass the message along to her team. Shooting begins at the beginning of next month in Ireland. The expected film time is six-twelve months, and housing will be provided upon arrival. Are you still interested?

For some reason, you type back a single, enthusiastic "yes!" before locking your phone and falling asleep for fifteen hours.

#one for the money two for the show #rockstar!joel #tlou au #the last of us au #the last of us #joel miller #joel miller x reader #joel tlou #the last of us x reader #joel miller fic #joel miller the last of us #the last of us hbo

[jellyfishoreo1206]

This is for my baba gorl, Garvil <3

Cutest lil goo/rat man to ever exist ^^

Some of the dialogue will follow/directly be from the actual game, but some of it may be edited or not added at all. Game, art, and the BUBO series belongs to @partuulla

Gender-neutral reader

❤️🖤Meeting Gavril🖤❤️

Waking up in the middle of the night is a common occurrence for you, it has been for several years now. Mainly for the undeniable munchies or dying of horrendous thrist or sometimes because you're body just feels like it, which is very annoying whenever you don't feel like doing anything. Especially early in the morning too.

But tonight, it was due to the constant pawing at your stomach by your cat of 1 month, Grimace, Grimmy for short. He's a fairly small cat, no more than 3 months old or as you like to say, no bigger than 4 McDonald sauce packets. He's a orange cat, and oddly calm for his kind, but he has his moments sometimes. You found him in a bush in your front yard one day, head stuck in a Grimace milkshake cup, which is how he got his name. It was a pain trying to get his head out of the hole of the lid without hurting him, his mews were literally breaking your heart already.

And ever since then you've been taking care of him, eventually adopting him due to your extreme loneliness. You're parents were quite happy that you won't be alone when you sent them pictures of Grimace, but it doesn't quite fill the void in your heart, doesn't come close to human contact. You wish to visit your parents badly, but they live out of state and your job won't even give you a damn week off cause of your stuck up boss. You don't have any friends, other than the old lady that lives next door and regularly brings you food, and even inviting you to dinner whenever her grandchildren visits or whenever she makes too much food for her and her husband. She's the only thing that can even come close to filling the void, she treats you like one of her own children, always asking if you're okay and how you need to take care of yourself.

You've tried to, really, and it's helping little by little. Even if you feel like it isn't, which is a lot of times. Too many times. But the lady next door always assures you by saying you're improving, both physically and mentally.

As your eyes adjust to the darkness of your room, you notice you're quite thirsty, throat parched begging for water. With a sigh, you slowly sit up, picking up Grimmy off your stomach from his scuff so he doesn't topple over and off the bed, wouldn't want him to get hurt. He probably woke you up because he was hungry, or maybe he wanted to spend some time with you, it's an either-or with the cat.

Stretching your limbs until a satisfying pop was heard, you slowly trudge to the door (after grabbing your phone), feet dragging against the floor as Grimace follows close behind, letting out a soft meow to let you know.

You were confident in yourself to be able to navigate your house in the dark, turning down the hall that lead to the staircase, but something felt...off. It was colder in the house despite it being summer, and it felt like someone was watching your every move as you climbed down the stairs, slowly this time to try and hear anything else other than your own breathing and rapid heartbeat beating against your ribcage harshly. Goosebumps began to appear on your skin when Grimace starts to hiss, his body language appearing tense as he stares at whatever is at the bottom of the stairs.

Not paying attention to where you're going, your foot stepped in something cold and,..gooey? Quickly recoiling your foot in disgust, a noise leaving your mouth at the unexpected texture, only it doesn't budge. Whatever the substance was, kept your foot stuck. Turning on your flashlight to see what it was your foot was stuck in, you see it's a black puddle of goo, and it was slowly covering it. You followed where it the goo was coming from with your light. And if landed on hooded figure, who was standing in your living room, arm covering their eyes due to the sudden bright light. A whole ass man in your living room.

Fear coursed through your veins, and without thinking (since the figure was literally in an arm's reach) threw a punch to the side of his head out of pure panic and instinct, whilst dropping your phone. Surprisingly, that was able to knock the guy out, as he laid face down on the ground, unmoving.

And that also lead to the gooey substance to retract from your foot.

"Holy shit did I kill him??" Rushing towards the body, you put two fingers to the pulse on his neck to see if it's still there. Sure this may have been some robber or killer coming/breaking into your house, but it's better if you don't get charged with manslaughter and land a lifetime in prison for it. Thankfully he was still alive, but you've might've given him a concussion..

"Ah he'll live..hopefully." Grimace meows in disappointment, sniffing the stranger in curiosity, eventually becoming a loaf on his back. "What do I even do with the guy? I mean, obviously I should call the police, right?" Staring at the man, you decided you wanted to interrogate him. Why? Well because you have nothing better to do that's why, also you're still thirsty.

So here you are, sitting at your table after downing several glasses of water to quench your thirst. And at the other end of the table, was the knocked out man, his hands zipped tied behind the chair so he wouldn't try anything. "This is the stupidest thing I've ever done." Grimace, who finished eating some wet food, bonked his head against your arm, meowing in response, his version of comfort. Sometimes you wish he can talk, so you can have a full blown conversation with him, and not have it be one-sided. Though he isn't supposed to be on the table, you told him that many times before. So grabbing the scruff of his neck, you place him on your lap, where he decided to become a loaf once again.

A groan is what snaps your neck in the direction of the hooded man, his eyes blinking open. He doesn't seem to know what happened, as he is literally waking up with a concussion. Also maybe due to the bright light of the dining room..should you turn it down a little? No, you want answers, even if it kinda means possibly risking your life here.

"So...I'm alive." His voice sends shivers up your spine, goosebumps appearing on your skin. It has a mysterious deep tone to it, something you would hear when listening to a horror audio-book, and one that you absolutely adore. He seems to take in the situation he was in before meeting your eyes. A smirk creeps onto his face, God even his smirk looks-NO NO, FOCUS AT THE TASK AT HAND.

"You actually want to talk to me? My, you really must be lonely~" It's hard to concentrate on your thoughts when his voice is literally making your insides flutter. Keep in mind this is the same guy that broke into your house, get it together. Oh right, he asked a question or something, "What gave that away?" Sarcasm dripping from the question, an attempt to get yourself together and keep a level head.

"Ah, well I'm here to keep you company." He tilts his head, you can't really see anything with his hood on, as it shadowed the top half of his face. Only one strand of long curly black hair, and one of his eye's were visible to your line of sight. Now on the focus of his face, he has some rather sharp features, with a rather pointy goatee now that you noticed it, it's not too long, rather short. That smirk of his seems to widen as he watches you.

He continues on when you haven't said anything in a minute, "If you untie me, I'll be sure to reward your honesty!" What? You raise an eyebrow at the words that leave his mouth. Untie him? This guy literally broke into your house less than an hour ago, why should you untie him.

...But now you're curious, "..What kind of reward?"

"There's only one way to find out." This guy really sucks, why haven't you called the cops yet? Your phone is literally on your lap, and you have enough practice to dial any number without looking. So what's stopping you from doing so?

"I'm surprised you haven't called the cops already. You really are lonely!" He laughs in a mocking way, head thrown back a bit. This guy probably has a screw loose, or maybe it's you with the screw loose because you thought it'd be a good idea to interrogate him instead of calling the police.

Yes, you're just full of bright ideas.

Glancing at your phone, you run through the limited choices you have. You're quite close to just calling the police on this guy, he keeps talking. And he's quite cocky too. But then you wouldn't get the answers to the questions you have. Out of all of the houses on the block, why did he choose yours? It's literally the smallest house compared to all of the bigger houses, and the most bland out of them all. Maybe because you didn't have a security system? Most of your neighbors have them, hell some of them even have guard dogs too.

So, in probably what was the stupidest idea that has ever crossed your mind, you powered off your phone, throwing it on a counter nearby. "Wise decision, my friend!" He praised, though his expression goes blank after he said those words, "Hm..I guess I can't call you my friend yet if I don't know your name!"

Now he's asking for names? Man, this is some weird ass night. Before you could respond, a sharp pain was felt in your thigh, causing you to let out a small pained, "¡Pinche de puta madre!", as you winced at the pain. The stranger seemed a little shocked at your sudden reaction, raising an eyebrow as he continues to watch in curiosity. Looking to see the source of such pain, it turned out to be Grimace stretching his limbs out after being in such a position for so long. You nearly forgot he was in your lap, and how sharp his claws can be at times. You're not able to feel them due to your clothes preventing them from scratching your skin. But now that you're just in some shorts and an oversized shirt, you can quite clearly feel each and every claw of his digging into your skin.

Picking him up by the scruff, you decided you should just hold him in your arms, as if he were a baby. Well, he technically is a baby, he's your baby after all. And he's still learning, little baby don't even know what 2+2 is. You don't really trust putting him on the ground yet, as you don't know whether this man has any ill intentions, also because he's very curious about new people. "It's Y/N." You responded to his previous question, pretending as if nothing ever happened in the first place. The stranger stares at the cat in your arms for a few seconds longer, before meeting your gaze, a grin returning to his face.

"Well Y/N, I'm Gavril!" Gavril, what an, oddly suitable name for him? "I'd love to shake your hand right now..but..Well.." He's referring to the zip tie, a small chuckle leaving his lips. You slightly grimace at his words, "No thank you, don't really wanna touch you after seeing all that nasty goop around you, or..from you?" A shudder rocks through your body at the idea of the stuff coming from inside him, what is it anyway?

"Oh, don't mind all that!" He shrugs to the best of his ability, his head tilting to the side a bit, turning away from you a little, "It's hard to explain what it is, really. But you don't have to worry about it for as long as I am satisfied!" He faces you again, "Promise." Something in your stomach dropped, satisfied? What way does he mean that word? It could mean anything! Well, he probably most likely means food, or money, I mean, it wouldn't hurt just feeding him right? God now he sounds like some kind of pet. But feeding him would mean cutting the zip tie, cause you're not handfeeding him the food, that would be awkward and he'd be a smug little bitch about it too.

Grimace starts to meow in what you could assume is boredom, stretching his paw until it was tapping the bottom of your chin repeatedly. This was a daily occurrence for you and him, you don't know why he does it yet. Gavril seemed to find it quite funny, as he pursed his lips a bit, a small sound resembling a giggle was heard. You decided to ignore it for the time-being.

"Are..are you satisfied right now?" Something in your gut tells you that you probably already know the answer to this, a warning from your instincts. "It would be more satisfying if you were to untie me." Okay you were not expecting that answer. Gavril keeps going, "This position is very uncomfortable.." To be fair, you never meant for it to be comfortable. But the sudden thought of actually cutting the tie crossed your mind. The decision went back and forth for quite a bit before you sighed, standing up and going towards a drawer in your kitchen containing all kinds of junk, and with the only pairs of scissors you have. You had to put Grimace down for a brief moment on the counter to use your hands, and he as an orange cat in his nature, kept trying to leap off the counter to go investigate the new person. Each time he failed due to you quickly grabbing him before he got far.

With the scissors in hand, and Grimace in your hold, you cut the zip tie holding his hands, the snap of the tie seeming to echo in the nearly silent room. Your heart is beating in your ears, a sudden feeling of regret and anxiety rushes over you, as you try your best to walk back to your chair without falling over from how shakey your legs are. Chewing the inside of your cheek, you wait to see what he does. He immediately stretches his arms above his head, finally able to move his stiff arms from such an uncomfortable position for so long. He takes off his hood, finally being able to see his face without the shadows in the way. You were right, he has some sharp features now that the hood is out of the way. He's quite...handsome, and strangely beautiful in his own way, a warmth spreading through your cheeks. He seems to be in his late 30's, maybe his 40's even, his eyes have very prominent eye bags underneath them, and a beautifully carved face.

"Ahh, that's much better!" He gives you smile, crossing his arms as he leans on them a small bit, "Thank you, Y/N. If it's chat you want, it's a chat you'll get!" Finally, answers to the questions that have been floating in your mind. "Yeah, cool. I mainly just want to know.." You paused for a minute, picking out a question to ask from the piles apon piles of them stacking up in your brain.

"Why did you break into my house? It's quite literally the smallest on the block compared to the others." Your thumb brushes against Grimace's fur, an attempt to relax your nerves as you look anywhere else other than his intense gaze. "Oh, a friend led me here. We're both pretty hungry, so he might have smelled something good!" Fuck, is there more of him going around the block?? "He ran off a while ago, so I don't know where he is..hope he's alright." So there's a possibility that his friend is also breaking into the other houses.

"So there's more of you going around?"

"He and I are nothing alike. For one, he's a rat." A rat. He's friends with a rat. You have a feeling he hasn't had human interaction in quite some time. Though you can't really judge, you talk to your cat everyday as if he were a normal person. Then an image flashed in your mind, when Gavril was in your living room before you knocked him out, he had what seemed to be a tail made of the same substance as the goo. A tail, just like a rat's. "Is that why you have a tail? You part rat or something?" He seemed to perk up at the first question, he seemed confused. "What are you talking about?" He takes a few moments longer before he finally realized what you meant.

He blushes a small bit, averting his eyes to the side, fiddling with the sleeves of his coat. "Oh you mean my.." He pauses, before making eye contact with you again. "That's not a tail, it's more like a third arm!" He gives a small smile as he continues, "Not that there's anything wrong with having tails or anything!" Something in the back of your mind is telling you he won't bring any harm as of now, he doesn't seem dangerous right now. Though it would be pretty stupid to let your guard down completely. You don't know why you're acting this friendly to a home invader. Maybe due to the fact you're basically lonely 24/7 and only have three people to talk too, or there was something in that goo of his that was probably affecting your brain. Either way, it was nice having some human interaction. A small chuckle fills the room, as you return the smile, though it was quite small. "It...oddly suits you in a good way." The comment seemed to fluster him a small bit, though he gives you a grin, "Thank you, it does make stealing food easier."

Contemplating your next decision, you sighed, hoping that this wouldn't backfire on you in any way. "Look, you don't have to steal anything," You say as you stand up, heading towards the kitchen, letting Grimace down on the ground so he could walk around. You trust Gavril enough to not harm him. Gavril seemed a little shocked at the sudden kindness shown to him, though it seems to fade away and he smiles. "Maybe some for your friend too, wherever he may be." Opening the fridge, you look at what you could give the man to eat. Maybe something that has a good amount of nutrients mixed in it. He does look a little bit on the skinny side, though you can't really tell with his coat on. "You are too kind, Y/N!" He says from the table, leaning his head on the palm of his hand, peering at the doorway leading into the kitchen.

He felt something furry brushing against his legs, as he peers underneath the table in curiosity. The cat, he doesn't know the name of yet, laying down on his back as he plays with the fabric of his coat, letting out a mew every so often. Gavril smiles a bit, reaching a hand down to gently pet the top of it's head.

Coming out of the kitchen, you give him a sandwich with some string cheese to go with it, setting down the plate in front of him. He immediately lunges for the cheese first, it being gone as soon as it came. Maybe he's more rat than human, actually now that brings up another question, is he even human? The question is thrown out of mind when you realized Gavril was talking to you. "Sorry, can you repeat that?" Said man was picking up the sandwich, opening his mouth. You didn't really expect a long black appendage come out of his mouth, wrapping itself around the sandwich, covering the whole thing in it's gooey substance. Before you know it, there were only crumbs left, the only existing thing that was left of the sandwich. His tongue withdraws itself back into his mouth. That definitely checks out.

"Oh God."

"Sorry?"

"Um, what the fuck was that."

"Oh, it is just so hard to chew certain things. It's very handy at times." Gavril waves his hand a bit in a somewhat dismissive manner, wiping off the excess crumbs that got into his goatee. "So you, use the slime to eat things?" What a strange thing to do, can he even taste things like that? The sandwich seemed to have dissolved when the goo covered it. He only smiled back at you, finding amusement in your confusion. That seemed to have answered your question. You remember how you were stepping in that not to long ago, you could've ended up just like that sandwich. A sudden realization came over you that you could've died.

"How does it, work exactly? Is it acidic? Can you control what it can melt or not? Can you taste anything when you eat food like that?"

"I.. don't think it melts things exactly! But it somewhat works like that. I can still taste things yes, it doesn't effect the taste in anyway." Gavril answered, scratching the bottom of his chin. He doesn't go into much detail, maybe he doesn't know much of how it works either. "I am no scientist in any way, it is...difficult to explain how it works."

"But I have a cousin who is one! He would for sure know, he is very smart." He has family? Well obviously he would have family. Though why hasn't he gone to them for help? Maybe it's a touchy subject for him. "I'm assuming your family doesn't, know about this?" You decided to test the waters. "Family..is a strong word." He averted his eyes, his shoulders tensing as he goes to pet Grimace, who was once again, on the table without a single care in the world. Family is a touchy subject then. You decided to leave it alone, it's none of your business anyway.

"So that slime, can you control it in any way?" Changing the subject seemed to be a good idea in this situation, and seeming to work as his shoulders went back to a relax position when you moved on from the subject. "Yes! It has been very useful to me, though it's hard to say if it is a tool or a friend at times.." Christ, his perception of friendship was so, distorted. The thought of becoming friends with him seemed to enter your mind, it doesn't sound too bad. Throughout the time you two have been talking, it seemed that you both had some things in common, and you actually liked his company. "By the sounds of it, you just might be the lonely one here." A light jab at him, as you give him a joking smile. He sighed, though he returned the smile, "..Maybe I am." His smile flattered a little, fiddling with the sleeves of his coat.

"As much as I love my rat friends, it does feel nicer to talk to someone who hasn't run away yet! Like you.." Okay that was a little sad. You felt pity for him, you don't know how long has he gone without human interaction, but you're willing to be the one person to change that, make his life a little less lonely. "I feel as if I can call you my friend now!"

"Because I offered cheese?" You say in a joking manner. "Yes, that too." He laughs a small bit, before continuing. "Maybe it was fate that led me here to you?" Okay now the atmosphere just got a little weird, what is happening?? This is the same guy that you tied to a chair not too long ago, but..his words do show some truth to them. "Maybe you're right, it has been quite nice talking to you, despite you breaking into my house." You both share a chuckle at the coincidence such a situation turned out to be. You continue to talk, "Despite how scary it was in the beginning, we're both pretty lonely I guess.." Grimace starts walking towards you, gently rubbing his face against your cheek as he let's out a purr. It brings a smile to your face.

"We don't have to be lonely anymore, Y/N.." Gavril said in a soft voice, a new emotion being seen in those dark eyes of his. You can't tell what he's feeling now, but you have a good idea you might know in a bit. "And I could eat cheese everyday." He continues in a somewhat joking/serious manner, a grin making itself known. Sounds like he just wants you for the free cheese. "Are you saying you want to stay here? Gavril I'm sorry to break it to you, but I don't want a roommate.." It would be an absolute pain trying to pay for another person considering how much your job pays, especially for someone who is basically a felon. Imagine the bail you would have to pay for if he ever got caught.

He seemed to blush as he said the next words, eyes averting and lifting his hand to cover the bottom half of his face, "What about, more than roommates? As in..not roommates." His voice came out slightly muffled, but you still heard it loud and clear. Is..is he asking you what you think he's asking for? He seemed to become a little shy as he gets more red in the face, his hand still over his mouth. "You..you said you liked my tail...So I thought.." Okay wow, he is asking what you think he's asking for. You don't know how to feel about this, your mind went blank, and you're quite literally speechless. You've never been in any kind of romantic relationship before, despite several attempts to have one, but they never worked out for you in the end. But, there's that little voice in the back of your mind, that little voice of encouragement. Mulling over the idea, you finally spoke up. "Just, don't break into my house anymore, alright?" You're not sure how this will turn out, but you hope it turns out well for you both.

Gavril seems to smile at your response, seeming to be giddy. "Ah, I don't think I would be able to anyway!" That seemed to confuse you, before he continues, "I have so much traveling to do. But, you are fine with long distance, right?" He pulls out a slip of paper and a pen out of his pocket, scribbling something down before he slides it over to you.

"Here's my number. You should call or text me or send pictures anytime you like! I'm always available, I promise!" He starts to get up from the chair, adjusting his coat as he throws the hood back over his head. He..was as lonely as a man could get. But, that didn't seem to bother you, though you wish you got to know more about him during the time he was in your house. You'll get your chance in the morning. "I am so happy, Y/N." He turns to look at you, beaming in pure joy. "I know I have to go soon, but I am so glad to have met you! Even if it meant tying me to a chair!"

He walks over to the front door, the atmosphere feeling a lot lighter than how it originally was in the beginning. Before he left, he turns to one last time, waving as he says, "So long, darling~" He walks into the night, his figure slowly disappearing the further he walked on as he blends in with the shadows around him. And just like that, the house was quiet, as if nothing ever happened in the first place. You were left sitting at the table, staring at the slip of paper Gavril gave to you, reading each number and burning it into your memory. You're not sure what life may be of now, or what it will throw at you, but you know for sure it's going to be a big change.

Standing from the table, you made sure that everything was locked (and putting a chair underneath the door knob to ensure nobody else breaks in) before heading upstairs, Grimace following behind. All the exhaustion that was in you seemed to have disappeared when you got back to bed. It seemed that the events that took place earlier still have you shaken up, despite it turning out better in the end. With a sigh, you turn onto your side, gently caressing the sheets with your fingers. Sleep didn't come to you for quite some time, until the early hours of the morning. You know your boss is going to be a stuck up bitch about it, even if you told him that someone broke in last night. He wouldn't care.

But that doesn't matter to you now, a specific man staying in your thoughts as you drift off.

#gavril #bubo series #gavril game #x reader #horror games #hes so bbg fr #cute little guy #rat man #fanfic

[mdhwrites]

The Grimwalker as a concept was so weird. Mainly that Hunter was all 'ohhhh no we cant tell them im a spooky Grimwalker!' But... why would anyone care? The only reason given is that hes a reincarnation of a guy nobody even knows or cares about. Theres not even like, a spooky myth about Grimwalkers because its got such a vague ruleset and premise. He's barely different from a demon.

That COULD have linked to the demon discrimination plotline youve talked about, but there is none so it cant be that. Which i understand was partially because Dana wanted the gays to just exist, so she scrapped discrimination in general. But, a big part of forming cultures and identity is 'Otherness'. People compare themselves to others and define themselves by how theyre different. So scrapping discrimination ends up making the witchs and demons feel like nothing. They have nothing to compare their identity and culture against because theres just no conflict to spark comparison.

This lack of substance also means the fans don't care about Grimwalkers. See the moring comic where the Grimwalker was turned into ANOTHER way to say 'haha Boscha so cringe amirite? point and laugh because she has nobody who loves her.' even though the grimwalker is to reincarnate the dead.

OH MY GOD I'M SO HAPPY SOMEONE ELSE NOTICED THAT! *SCREAMS BLOODY MURDER* Like I know Mark just writes Boscha how the entire fandom sees her (which hasn't helped me enjoy A Hint of Blue, not that I think it's good regardless) but seriously what the fuck!? Why do that to her except just to be mean!?

*sighs* What were we talking about? OH RIGHT! Grimmwalkers.

So for why Hunter has anxiety, it actually is because TOH is doing a very basic clone/artificial human storyline with Hunter and those arcs are actually a lot more internally motivated than externally motivated. Clone lives a life believing they're their own person, then one day finds out they're not, perceives themselves as less because of this distinction but then in the end decides that regardless of their origin, they are their own person and so throw off their shackles, embrace who they are and become better for it. It has nothing to do with race and while it is baby's first clone story, I also still like it conceptually because, well, there's a reason why it's the default clone story. It especially is good for kid's media because while the clone can struggle with the anxiety of it, their friends never have to actually be bad or discriminatory against them because the point is loving yourself for who you are and not who you were made to be.

But I've talked before about how this basic framework actually has a Catch 22 built into it when it comes to Hunter... Which apparently Tumblr wants to tell me I've never done before. Thanks search function. The short version is that this template requires not only a rejection of what they were made for but for them to become distinctly different, usually opposite, to their purpose/original. For Hunter, he only knows Belos so this takes shape in trying to be the opposite of him. The problem is that the opposite of Belos... Is Caleb. Who Hunter mimics in every action he takes after getting away from Belos. There's literally no way to follow this template without adding complexities like him accepting his true origin and being okay/happy with that, something that was probably unlikely in general but especially wasn't going to happen with the shortening, which I will actually give people for. Because the Grimmwalker twist happens so late, they either had to cut it or had no time to actually do anything with it which like... Why not cut it? You did nothing with it and it actually made sure you didn't have the time to actually have Hunter reject Belos' morality so that his redemption doesn't come across as self serving and for survival more than an actual, you know, change to his beliefs.

As for how interesting Grimmwalkers are... They're just clones. Boilerplate, boring clones. Make a body based on another person, put memories in, BAM! Got yourself a clone. Doesn't get more classic than that. It's hardly even magical honestly besides the components, especially with how it actually doesn't give them magic despite those components, or have weird quirks since they're not actually made of flesh and blood, elements that the fans have had a lot of fun with that the show never does, though admittedly part of that is due to how late it happens. Then again, all magic in TOH is boring so it's not likely they would have anyways. Also, you know, a lot of shows will do a single clone episode and have more fun and magic to it than TOH does with one of their core cast members being one so *shrug*

Now, for the final part, I do want to also touch on the 'other' aspect because while discrimination is one way to do it, you can get this across in other ways. One such way is the core defining trait of the Grimmwalker from a tangible standpoint: He doesn't have magic. In a society that mostly has magic, him not having it is a big deal. It's literally what gives him and Willow their first connection as a couple, as insulting as that scene actually should be to Hunter.

And then Hunter is 'fixed' when he gains his magic. His 'other' status removed because he's a real boy now. *SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH*

I have so much more I could say about TOH and 'The Other' (made a blog about a lot of it between writing this draft and publish) but I'll leave it at that so it actually stays on topic instead of the half a dozen tangents I've deleted. None of this makes it good by the way and with how TOH tackles most subjects like this, it's incredibly unlikely that more time would have made it better. After all, being a Grimmwalker is only one of like a half dozen TANTALIZING character/arc concepts for Hunter that are never addressed. The fact that he is trained to kill witches and likely has. His relationship with the Isles because he doesn't have inherent magic. The fact that he is filled with such care for the nation and its government that it blocks out all else in his world. How a sheltered child reacts when they suddenly have freedom and are thrust into the wider world. Etc. etc. that are just footnotes to the writers more than anything to actually build a complete arc around or else they wouldn't have just keep adding to the angst bucket without actually resolving any of it.

So of course Grimmwalkers are bland while being a fine to good concept that's then made terrible by narrative implication or neglect. That's EVERYTHING to do with Hunter.

======+++++=====

Sidenote for this one: It is funny that Dana wanted there to be no bigotry in the Isles when her villains entire scheme is through religious persecution. You know, bigotry. Whole other blog I could go into.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#the owl house criticism #toh critical #hunter toh #Grimmwalker #The Owl House #owl house #toh

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Do you think Marinette really loves Adrien or does she loves the idea of him in her head?

Idk but I'm agree with Alya in Elation that you can't really love someone you don't know and Marinette arguably know Adrien only on surface level, either from the magazines or stalking him. We never got a scene where they talk together to get to know each other and then BAM! They just get together.

I also feels like Adrien's love for Marinette also more a rebound than anything. The writers can say anything they want, that Adrien fell in love with Marinette in Pupeteer2. But you don't develop feelings for someone you barely know, especially when in that said episode Adrien still think Marinette hate him. It's just weird. But again, idk, maybe it just me because I don't catch feelings to someone I barely talk to. That's just creepy AF no offense.

It's really hard to say because canon is all over the place when it comes to how close Adrien and Marinette are. Season three and four make them feel like little more than acquaintances, but if you think back to seasons one and two, they legitimately were friends.

Adrien turned to Marinette for dating advice (Frozer). Marinette and Adrien gamed for hours to prepare for a tournament (Gamer). Marinette and Adrien went to a party with their friends and danced together (Despair Bear). Marinette, Adrien, and their friends worked together to make a movie (Horrificator). I could go on, but the general gist is that it feels disingenuous to say that they barely interact. They interact a lot! It's just limited to the first two seasons.

I scanned through the episode list while writing this and seasons one and two have them interact in a meaningful way in about half of the episodes while seasons three and four got distracted by the new love interests, Lila, and the awful broken Ladynoir dynamic, dramatically cutting back on the Adrinette content to the show's detriment.

The other issue is that Marinette's crush is written more and more like a celebrity crush as the seasons go on, making it feel less and less genuine. So it's understandable to feel like she doesn't really love Adrien given how the show presents her, but if you tone down the crush to a non-comedic level, it does feel earned to me and I am also the kind of person that needs to know someone before developing feelings. Celebrity crushes and instant love are things I rarely enjoy in media probably at least in part because I'm ace.

I actually didn't get truly invested in the love square until Origins showed us why they first developed feelings. There's a reason I treat that episode as the golden standard for characterization. It's some of the best writing Miraculous has ever done. The writers crammed an impressive amount of content into 40 minutes and elevated the silly teen crushes into something with real substance. I will forever be sad that the rest of the show falls so short of that episode.

Moving on!

The Puppeteer 2 thing feels like a bad joke and it might be? It's hard to tell given how weird this show can get with its humor. Either way, it would have made a lot more sense and been much cuter if Adrien fell for Marinette when she unknowingly confessed her crush to him Glaciator 2 instead of falling for her after she accidentally forces a kiss on him during a prank gone wrong.

As for the rebound element... yeah, I don't disagree. Everything about the reverse crush was just weird because Ladybug falling for Chat Noir felt way more honest and earned than Adrien falling for Marinette given the way seasons five plays. I mean, the episode right before the reverse saw Ladynoir get married and have children, but Adrien is the one whose feelings are true and Marinette is the one having a rebound? Sure, writers. Sure.

If the reverse had happened right off of the season four finale, though? Then that actually could have worked. In those episodes, Marinette supported Adrien while their friends were oblivious to his true feelings, Adrien finally saw just how much pressure Ladybug was under, and Chat Noir supported Ladybug unconditionally in her darkest hour. I'm personally not a fan of the crushes switching mid-show, but I'd be lying if I said that wasn't a solid setup to lead into it. Adrienette and Ladynoir had never felt closer.

I think it's fair to say that this is why Miraculous is such a complex show for a lot of fans. It has truly spectacular setups, but the payoff always seems to fall flat on its face.

#ml writing salt #ml writing critical #adrien deserves better #marinette deserves better

[madman479r]

Jaune laid on his bed, a comic of X-Ray & Vav, a cold soda beside him and the warm sunlight through the window. Today was one of the few times he had him personal time alone. Don't get him wrong, he loved his friends and team but growing up in a home of 10 people can leave a person, especially a young man, wanting some alone time.

Jaune sighed, feeling peace and tranquillity. Nothing could spoil this mo-

*BAM!*

*BANG!*

"Heyfearlessleaderyouwouldnotbelievethedayihaddidyouknowsapcanbereallystickyandhardtogetoutofhairifanyoneknocksdontletthemit!" Nora burst into the room, nearly breaking the door off its hinges and slammed the door the door just as quickly, speaking a mile a minute, not even stopping for breath as she started to move her bed in front of the door.

Jaune sat up as he tried to decipher what Nora had just said. "Nora-- wait-- slowdown, what are you doing? What did you just say?"

Before Nora could say anything, a thunderous pounding came from the door. "NORA, OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR!"

Jaune slowly turned to a sheepish Nora who tried to look innocent. "...If anyone knocks, don't let them in." Nora said in a high pitched voice.

Jaune gave another sigh, this one in mourning at the loss of his alone time. Jaune crawled over to Nora's bed which was blocking the door and gingerly put her ear up to the door. "Yang? It's Jaune." He said through the wood.

"VOMIT BOY! OPEN THIS DOOR!" Had Jaune's head been a few inches to the left, he would have had his head bashed in by Yang's furious whack on the door as it bent the wood slightly on Impact.

"Holy fu--" Jaune swallowed his fear and tried again. "Yang! I won't open this door if you attempt to hurt Nora. So unless you take a breath, calm down and promise you won't hurt Nora, I'm not opening this door and don't even think about breaking down this door because you and I both fear Miss Goodwitch more than I fear you." Jaune said.

A few tense seconds passed, Jaune wondering if Yang was too enraged to fear the threat of Glynda before he heard a deep inhale and exhale.

"I'm. Calm." Yang didn't sound too calm but Jaune had known Yang long enough to tell when she was willing to listen even when angry.

"And?"

"...I promise I won't permanently injury Nora." That was probably the best he was gonna get.

"Here goes nothing." Jaune muttered and moved the barricade out of the way and took a deep breath before opening the door.

Before him was a crimson eyed, flaming and seriously pissed off huntress-in-training who was glaring at him with crossed arms.

So far he hadn't had his face caved in nor been violently moved out of the way so that was a good sign.

Jaune motioned for Yang to come in which she did but Jaune made sure to at least keep himself between Yang and Nora. "Okay, can you explain to me what exactly happened." Jaune asked.

Yang glared at Nora as she spoke. "This fucking idiot got sap. In. My. HAIR!"

Jaune paused mand looked up at Yang's golden locks, not seeing anything wrong with it. "I don't see any--" Yang turned around and lifted up her hair to reveal the underside was stained and ruined with the red sticky substance.

"Oh." Jaune lamely said.

Yang turned back around and growled. "So either you ask Ozpin for a new member of your team or both Ren and Pyrrha are gonna need new partners." Yang gave her ultimatum and advanced toward Nora.

Jaune quickly got between the two again. "Wait! Wait! Waitwaitwaitwait!"

"Out of the way, Vomit boy." Yang set her eyes on Jaune now.

"I can fix it! Your hair! I can fix it!" Jaune said loudly.

Yang paused at his words before snorting. "Bullshit."

"No!" Jaune got in front of Yang again. "It's true. I've cut hair before."

"Pubic hair doesn't count." Yang scoffed.

"No, I mean I've cut my sisters' hair before. Our usual barber wasn't available anymore and they needed it done for a family photo. Ever since then I've been their hairdresser. I-i actually have my gear with me." Jaune explained.

Yang's eyes, still red with anger, looked at Jaune with scrutiny before she closed her eyes and gave another growl, this one not sounding as scary as before.

Yang walked over to the chair at the desk and dragged it back to Jaune before planting herself onto it with crossed arms.

"If I don't like it, you die before Nora." Yang left the threat hanging in the air as Jaune gulped loudly.

"S-sure. Nora, could you-" Jaune looked to find Nora had disappeared while he had distracted Yang. Jaune sighed again and went to get his scissors and such.

**Later**

Jaune nervously backed away from Yang once he had finished, waiting for Yang to decide his fate, so far Yang had kept her eyes shut, not yet seeing his completed work. "A-all done."

Yang took off the tarp that covered her and stood up. "Sorry, VB, all you did was give Nora a head sta-" Yang finally opened her eyes and saw her reflection in a nearby mirror. Her hair... wasn't ruined. If anything... it looked... Good! Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail but still kept her wild, fluffy like locks with her fringe untouched, the part of her hair that was ruined by the sap was cut off, with a 180 undercut that didn't look terrible. (Source/artist unknown)

Yang continued to examine her new hairdo and remained silent, turning to Jaune with an unreadable expression.

Jaune flinched back and closed his eyes, waiting for the pain to come.

Jaune suddenly felt a hand grab his collar and nearly cried out until a pair of soft lips pressed onto his.

After a few seconds, Yang pulled away and Jaune looked at her with wide eyes.

Yang smirked and winked. "Not bad. Lover boy. Maybe I should have you be my personal barber." She laughed and exited the dorm, hips swaying as she did, feeling more confident than usual.

Jaune stood starstruck and wondering what exactly just happened. But his mind couldn't move away from how soft Yang's lips were and how they tasted of strawberries.

#rwby #jaune arc #yang xiao long #dragonslayer #rwby dragonslayer #jaune x yang #jaune arc x yang xiao long #not my art

[mauesartetc]

Thoughts on Helluva Boss 108 ("Queen Bee")

Yeeeah so we knew pretty much from the jump that this episode wouldn't have much substance to it. Viv Medrano herself said as much. But again, I have to wonder: What's the point of making a full episode of a show if you don't have the story to support it? You know the phrase "This meeting could have been an email"? This episode could have been a music video.

I typically include a list of pros and a list of cons when I write these, but everything was just so bland I can't functionally categorize much of it. I wasn't angry, I wasn't entertained, I didn't feel anything. All my thoughts about this episode are floating around in a soup and I just can't be bothered to sort them into the usual boxes. So this'll be more of a barely-coherent brainspew than anything else. If the writers couldn't put the effort in, why should I?

Fuck it, let's do this.

First, the elephant in the room: Beelzebub's design. That's a lengthy separate rant I'll save for another time, but I'll just say the first time I saw it, I thought it looked like some kid's DeviantArt fursona. But let's be real, I've got a feeling she only looks the way she does so Viv could make an easy reference to her "Die Young" music video.

I get that Kesha is Viv's idol and it must have been huge to land her for this voice-acting gig (though to be clear, she didn't sing the song in the episode. Helped write it; didn't sing it), but man, the self-indulgence is just leaking through the screen. This wouldn't feel so uncomfortable if Viv herself did any of the animation in this episode, but if you check the credits, she didn't. She wrote this plot cul-de-sac of pointless filler just so she could make other people animate the most complex character design to come out of the show and pat herself on the back for all of it. Again: Could have been a music video.

The episode's actual "plot" consists of Loona having a series of awkward conversations, calling Blitzo, and driving him home when he gets too trashed. There is a little development in their relationship? I guess? But of course no one mentions what went down at the beach. Much like what happened between Blitzo and Stolas in "Ozzie's", we can safely assume that event will get swept under the rug, never to be heard from again. I'd like to point out that the musical number takes about three minutes out of the fourteen-and-a-half-minute runtime. They could have cut the rest of this shit and nothing would have been lost; in fact a good amount of time and money would have been saved.

Three minutes. That's all you would have needed.

As far as Bee and Vortex, I never would've guessed they were a couple unless Vortex said so. They act more like good friends than boyfriend and girlfriend. Y'all couldn't have shown us a kiss, a little flirting, or even a hug? The PDA doesn't have to be excessive, but some indication of chemistry might be nice. This would also create more tension and discomfort for Loona, as it'd be hard to watch the guy she has a crush on make out with someone else.

Also, question: In this universe, hellhounds have roughly the same social status as imps, right? Maybe lower? Why, then, is it perfectly okay for one of the Seven Sins, who outranks Stolas, to date a hellhound, but it's not okay for Stolas to date an imp? What the fuck was the main conflict of "Ozzie's", then?! Hello?? With what little worldbuilding y'all give us, could you at least try to keep it consistent?

Speaking of which, the cleanup in this one is just rife with inconsistencies. It's not usually something I comment on as it hasn't been too noticeable in other episodes, but damn. Sometimes the outlines are thick, then they're thin, then they're thick again. The screenshots below came from three consecutive Loona scenes:

And take a look at how often Beelzebub's longest eyelashes change:

I noticed a bit of this in Exes and Oohs as well, with the scratch on Chaz's nose changing thickness from scene to scene. I'll repeat what I said then: Make sure the whole cleanup department sticks to the same brush size.

As for the song "Cotton Candy"... eh. It was alright? Not really my thing, but I'm not a big pop music fan anyway. Would I listen to it in my everyday life? Nah. But it's fine. I will say there's a hiccup in the meter of the lyrics that kinda threw me off:

Hey, I don't know why I'm whatchu want but it's the truth I'm not your lie Let them eat cake let them eat pie Or better yet Let them eat COTTON CANDY!

Feels like there could've been more after "or better yet"; the "cotton candy" seems abrupt there, as if the song were playing on vinyl and the record skipped. Maybe "Or better yet/ The sweetest treat that any one of y'all can get/ COTTON CANDY!" Like I'm not a songwriter by any means and I don't pretend to be anywhere near Kesha or Drew Pearson's level, but perhaps a few more syllables would've made that verse feel more complete.

But the animation for the musical number was really good! (Sounding like a broken record here, but this could have been a music video and it would've been much more tolerable.)

Kesha's voice acting was okay, though in some spots it came off like she's never said the f-word before. Just didn't seem natural. But the rest was alright.

I did like how Beelzebub was actually a decent person, since it would've been way too easy to make anyone Vortex was dating (who wasn't Loona) a total bitch. But Bee is gregarious, generous and actually nice to Loona despite her social awkwardness. And hey, Loona had a somewhat-positive interaction with another female character, so brownie points for that, I guess?

Not sure what Loona actually learned here, though, or how she magically dropped the attitude and became more social after some rando flirted with her (I mean you were literally crying a minute ago but some dude calling you hot is enough to change your mind about leaving?). I don't know, it feels like the episode could've shown her connecting with other introverts and doing something fun in their own little enclave, enjoying the party in their own way, rather than making her extroverted in a matter of seconds. Then maybe her newfound friends would like her for who she really is, not for the arbitrary box she tried to squeeze into. There's more than one way to have fun at a party, y'know? Perhaps a way that doesn't involve drinking, which Loona seems keen to avoid (but has no problem cheering Blitzo on in a chugging contest, apparently-?).

One nitpick about the hellhound in the purple shirt who called Loona a hottie: That was not the voice I expected to come out of him. The delivery just doesn't match at all. Something deep, sure, but maybe smoother, more sultry? (Seriously, if you played the audio of that line for someone who hadn't seen the show and asked them to match it to a male character from this episode, I'd bet anything they wouldn't get it on the first try.)

I know I've said before that Helluva Boss is what happens when you write fanfic of your own IP, but this episode, more than any other, reeaaally felt like fanfic. This felt like a fan asking, "Hey, what if we saw what Loona was up to in the Ozzie's episode?", then creating a bottle story that didn't affect anything else in canon. This whole thing (apart from Cotton Candy) was truly a waste of everyone's time. I'm glad the animators got some good reel fodder out of it, but whatever they were paid, it wasn't enough.

#helluva boss #helluva critical #review #critique #criticism #long post

[highfantasy-soul]

Things I LOVED in NATLA Episode 7 - The North

Lt Jee actually being worried for Zuko!!!!

And Iroh tenderly bandaging Zuko's head 🥺

Zuko desperate to make sure his father doesn’t truly think he's turned against him!!!!!

A FANTASTIC set-up for his eventual ACUTAL turn against his father

Zuko genuinely thanking Lt. Jee 😢

And aaggghhhh!!! Zhao being a tricky slimey mf

This is a slick way to get Zuko being blown up without the pirates - though they're fun characters, I think this set-up enhanced the themes they were exploring in the season more

TEAM AVATAR!!

So cute that Aang excitedly tells his friends he made a connection with Zuko - Sokka is unimpressed while Katara has hope that people can turn out to be good.

Agna Qel'a!!!!

It looks GORGEOUS! And love that it has a name now!!

Apparently it was given a name in one of the books, but they never did name it in the show, so I'm glad they did it here

I don't even care that they know it's the Avatar right off bat and they're ready to welcome them in - it was cool as shit flying over the city on Appa

Maybe they had scouts out that saw Appa flying and brought news to the city, same as the scouts who saw the Fire Nation fleet - I'll accept that

Them treating Aang like a weapon rather than a person 😡

It's something that comes up a lot in the series and I'm glad they aren't shying away from it

Lol Katara's sibling jibing at Sokka staring at Yue 🤣

I love these little sibling moments - they're just so cute

And Sokka now hard-core staring at the ground instead of at Yue because Katara said he looked like a weirdo doing that 😅

Zhao's overacting at how pissed he is 🤣

Then his 'omg I can yes and this. I can SO yes and this!' as Iroh tells him what he 'think's happened

Oooohhh Iroh's understated insults at Zhao's qualifications

And Zhao's comeback about no record of failure unlike Iroh😐 bitch, that still doesn't make you qualified!

More Azulaaa!!!!

I really love this added storyline to see exactly why Azula is the way she is

It's great to see that her place as next-in-line isn't a shoe-in here - she's desperate to show her father that 'she's the one' and will do anything to get there

Sokka's heart eyes 😍

Stewed sea prunes 😭😭😭

"It tastes like home" 😢

I like this intro to Pakku - like with Sokka, they're not doing a comical level of sexism, they're making it more realistic

YUE IS A BEEENNDDEERR!!!!!!

Also, using it for the most important things: dessert

Sokka's absolutely abysmal (bet very endearing) interaction attempts with Yue 😅

Her little fake gasps as he keeps saying the wrong thing, but smiling because she knows what he means, she's just teasing him 🥺 incredibly adorable

Love that they have a conversation that actually has substance!

Don't hate me, but in the cartoon, they never had a substantive conversation ONCE. It was just Sokka flirting, Yue giggling, then Yue freaking out and running away - rinse and repeat like, 5 times in the course of 3 episodes.

Omg Hahn isn't a dick!!!

I like the more mature tone they've taken in the live action - they can have jokes, but for serious topics like…idk, a battle against the Northern Water Tribe being genocided, they make the characters take it seriously

GOOOOODDDD the adults expecting Aang to be a master strategist and offensive weapon!!

This actually makes sense that they'd believe he could do it - Aang is the culmination of all the past Avatars, so they'd assume he has all their knowledge and power.

The poor kid just got out of his iceberg, though!!!

"Airbending is primarily a defensive discipline"

You tell them, Aang!!

"But you're not JUST an airbender" :( don't bring logic and reality into this, Arnook

"I did it with the help of my friends 😊"  sweet baby Aang

And here's Pakku, telling Aang what a lot of watchers were frustrated about this season: uuhh maybe you should have been focused on your training

While that's a legit comment, I think the live-action showed why Aang didn't pretty well

Love love LOVE that we're introduced to healing with respect rather than the distain it was shown in the animated series

Healing is a wonderful and beautiful skill and I'm glad we got to see Katara interested in it (and it being used) rather than Katara sadly moping into the igloo filled with children learning healing

Sometimes, when people try to make things less sexist, they end up making it more-so. I think that happened with the animated series where healing was actually put up in conflict with combat - where combat was clearly shown as the 'better' skill and healing was 'stupid and bad, we don’t want to do that'. The live-action showed that healing is an important and powerful skill, the only issue comes when you aren't ALLOWED to do anything else. Healing itself isn't the issue, the fact the women are kept from combat IS the issue.

Nice Hahn and Sokka fishing for info about Yue

Avatar Kuruk RESPECT!!!!

LOVE Yue getting more character here!

She can pop into the spirit world! It makes so much sense with her having part of the moon spirit inside her!

The live action fleshed her out soooo well!

Poor Sokka not understanding AT ALL why someone would want to go to the Spirit World for fun 😂

"Don't do that. Don't make it less than what it is"

Such an important message for EVERYONE. You don’t have to have the most tragic of backstories for your trauma to be important. This isn't the oppression olympics - we aren't doing the whole 'well someone else has it worse so you can't complain' bullshit.

Everyone has hurt in their lives and everyone deserves to have their hurt taken seriously and healed. It isn't 'strength' to pretend it's nothing - it's strength to face it and accept that it was important, not something to shove under the rug

Yue reminding Sokka about what makes him special - his care for his friends! He's not a selfish guy - just because he wasn't the best leader or warrior when he was 13 doesn't mean he has nothing to offer the world

"Hahn is everything a girl could want. But he is not the boy of my dreams" 😭😭😭

"Being the Avatar means being the one who bears the burden: alone."

The thing is: like in the animated version, this advice MAKES SENSE! But it's how you USE the advice that makes the difference

No, you can't put all the weight of responsibility on your friends, but neither can you do it without any help - or without caring for others. It's very much advice coming from pain: all the Avatars got hurt because they DIDN'T abandon their friends and so they're giving a skewed version of the advice onto Aang to try to spare him the pain they went through.

It's Aang's job to find the balance

Sokka's fish carving that Yue thinks is a bear 😭😭😭

I wanna see it, props department!!!!

Yeess!! Katara's first confrontation with Pakku!

I like how she still tries to lead with diplomacy, making her case, and Pakku has 'reasonable' excuses not to let her fight

Instead of him being cartoonishly sexist, he's much more realistic giving 'logical' reasons for Katara not to be in combat, but she stands up anyways because she knows it's wrong.

I can see how some might find Aang not wanting Katara to fight to be jarring, but this is in line with the animated series

When they're going into particularly dangerous missions, Aang does have a tendency to try to do it himself and tell Katara to sit this one out - he does it in The Winter Solstice: Part 2.

He's just been told a past life's love was killed because he didn't keep her out of his fight, he has no idea how he's going to win this battle, and he's realizing that he does see Katara as someone incredibly important to him. It's in line with who Aang is to try to keep her safe and away from the battle

Zhao coming up with nicknames for himself 😑

Iroh straight up calling Fire Nation 'info' propaganda!!

While some people could see this as 'treason', when you're in positions of power in high-control groups, you KNOW it's propaganda - you HELP CREATE the lies and when people are going to do something stupid (like attack the North without a solid plan), you let them know that they're being stupid if they're going to make battle plans based on the lies you've helped spread.

Zhao and his dumb bitch destiny 🙄 he's such a great villain - he's one who's bought into his own lies

"The plan is to prove my father wasn't wrong to trust me with this mission. The plan is to go in and capture the Avatar once and for all. The PLAN is to reclaim what is rightfully MINE!! 😤" - "So, no plan? 😐" - "I'm working on it uncle 🥺"

This exchange = gold. Pure gold.

"It's almost as if he's working for someone else - someone much smarter"

WOOOOWWW Iroh, throw that shade a little more, why don't ya 🤣

Though I LOVE that they're giving Azula her brainy due - she's smart and she's the one not to be underestimated.

AZULA'S LIGHTNING!!!!!!!

Love how she stood up to her father, but because she was able to 'prove' her strength, he respected it rather than punished it

"Set me loose" AAAAHHHHHHH

SUPPORTIVE BROTHER SOKKA!!!

Love how matter of fact Katara is "I'm going to challenge Pakku to fight" - just like that. She's decided, so it's going to happen.

Sokka admitting Katara was right 😭😭😭😭😭

"Who's talking sense? What I'm trying to say is: go kick his ass" FUCK YEAH THAT'S RIGHT!!!!

Aang trying to go forward and help Katara, but Sokka holds him back

Love the sibling solidarity!!

The fight is almost beat for beat the one from the animated series!!!

I love that the live action knew exactly which sequences to put in almost 1-1 from the animated - this fight being one of them

"Is that all you got?!?!" FUCK YEAH!!

"They'll just say I lost" "Did you?"

The fact that it wasn't just Pakku's opinion that would change everything - Katara's actions inspired everyone else, even if Pakku didn't want to change his decision.

Change isn't made by changing one man's mind - it's about standing up to them and inspiring others (like in the Imprisoned storyline) to stand up too

Even inspiring Aang to realize that the conclusion the other Avatars came to from their pain was wrong - that Katara was right and that EVERYONE gets to choose whether to fight or not for themselves

Avatars aren't the only ones who worry about protecting people - it's a human, family thing, not just a mystical force of balance thing

Only Aang can write his own story - not anyone else.

This is a great through-line for the whole series where everyone has expectations put on them and they have to decide themselves who they want to be

Don't eat the sooty snow, Momo!!!!!

"Ok, time to fight"

I like that we end on the fire nation ships arriving: next episode is going to be THE BATTLE

[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]

#natla #natla positivity #netflix avatar #atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar netflix #live action avatar #yue #sokka #katara #aang #iroh #zuko

[utilitycaster]

but you do have to admit that you write your 2k meta's mostly because you want (negative) attention? otherwise I don't understand why you are not writing more of your faves instead?

Sure! I can explain why I wrote this piece, which I assume is the reason you're asking this now.

I wrote it because I naturally had thoughts about the group dynamics of Bells Hells after the episode and started thinking about why this group is so disconnected this far into the campaign when, for example, the Mighty Nein, who had far more friction and conflict early on in the campaign, were positively ride or die by this point. I also really did genuinely find the degree of pressure that Imogen and Laudna have been putting on Fearne to be excessive and had been quietly thinking about it since episode 75 - they were the ones to initially make a big deal about "Emperor and Empress" (the fact that Ashton mentioned the party's positive reinforcement of the shard's retrieval being a factor in their choice is relevant here), I was reminded by someone else regarding Laudna's immediate shutdown of Fearne's attempt to tell the truth in episode 77, and then they called her out in front of everyone after she had expressed that she didn't want it to Morri. It made a clear pattern that I felt was interesting to explore, and in doing so I started asking myself if there were other patterns of behavior. I linked to someone else's post as well in there that talked about how Imogen and Laudna pretty much always act together in group discussions in my post because that was also an inspiration, and I've also talked a lot in the past about how Imogen and Laudna rarely bring up their own sources of conflict with each other, so the fact that their accusations towards Fearne are in the same scene where Imogen expresses disgust about Delilah's presence also is very relevant to their general group dynamics, since their own relationship with each other is very central to how they interact with the group.

I do write about my favorite characters as well. I wrote pretty extensively about Ashton after episode 78, as well as a bit about their conversation with Orym, but Ashton just had their big moment of explosion and I need to let that simmer or something else to happen before I have any longer posts. I've also, if not written anything myself, reblogged a lot of great posts about Chetney's fantastic reveal which I think tied up that whole exercise beautifully with a truth that was not a passive-aggressive accusation of others nor a self-flagellation but a realization of his own behaviors as well as an explanation to the group without expecting anything in return. In talking about the shard I did touch on my main feelings about Fearne in this situation but again I think I need to see how she actually reacts to the information she received here to actually have meta of substance, rather than "oh, interesting." And you can go through my archives if you'd like to see more; I'm usually pretty good about tagging by character.

But also: I like writing criticism, specifically. It is fun for me. I find that writing helps me arrange my ideas and understand them better, and sometimes I even change my opinion when I revisit the text or find my argument doesn't hold together on an intellectual level, even if I feel something emotionally. I've changed my mind about characters before through writing meta! Sometimes more positively, sometimes more negatively, but it happens, because the act of writing meta, if you do so well, is an act of interrogating your own pre-existing opinions and making sure they make sense to people who aren't you.

I also think there's value in writing things that aren't universally positive. Again, it forces you to actually think through what isn't working for you or what you dislike or what traits characters have that you think are causing problems for people around them rather than just saying UGH THIS SUCKS. But also, writing up how you'd fix a plot you don't like or how you'd resolve a conflict requires you have empathy for the creators or for the characters. Sometimes, even if a piece isn't, in your opinion, good, writing criticism of it helps you understand why a creator may have made that choice you didn't like. You can disagree or dislike something while still respecting it, and making yourself explain it to other people is a really good way to process your own feelings rather than stewing in them. I find people who never express any negativity openly are often deeply resentful and unpleasant and passive-aggressive. Indeed, that's arguably the whole point of that honesty exercise! This party keeps trying to smooth things over and so a lot of valid concerns or complaints they have about each other have since metastasized into something far more hurtful.

I can't speak for everyone, but a lot of meta writers write meta because it's genuinely a fun hobby for them. When I was writing my piece about Dimension 20's genre experiments I stayed up later than I should have several times because it was interesting and I wanted to make sure I didn't forget how I was planning out the piece. I like writing a lot, and I've always preferred to write essays and criticism to fiction - I like to think I have a knack for the former that doesn't come as naturally for the latter. My brain jumps to analysis more easily than the invention of plot.

If you don't like the things I chose to write about, that's completely valid. But I'm not doing it for negative attention. I'm doing it because it's enjoyable for me. How you respond to it and how it makes you, specifically, feel, doesn't enter into my consideration. It's 2k words because that's how long it took me to say what I was thinking and it's about Imogen and Laudna's effect on the group dynamic as I understand it because that's what I was thinking about since it was very present in this episode, and I wrote it because I like writing.

Hopefully that explains it!

#answered #Anonymous #cr tag

[allamericansbitch]

If I may weigh in again because I've been thinking about this nearly all day you're right that it really does not matter whether or not Taylor is mentally ill, and she is not in anyway obligated to discuss her mental health publicly. If she were mentally if, if she was so mentally ill and physiologically resistant to medication that her best option was ECT, it would not change the fact that what she is doing now is sensationalising both mental illness and ECT. There is no ethical way to sensationalise something - exoticisation is inherently racist, fetishising queerness is inherently queer-phobic, and aestheticising mental illness is inherently abelistic. No one is saying that she isn't allowed to engage with the concept of mental illness in her music and performances. What we are saying is that the way she is doing so is incredibly insensitive. She consistently denigrates someone else for being depressed, and having substance abuse issues in TTPD, then turns around and co-opts both those things in a highly performative, trivialising way.

The contrast between the accusatory way she says "You needed me but you needed drugs more" and the flippant delivery of "I was high functioning alcoholic/until nobody noticed my new aesthetic" makes it very clear that she is not approaching substance abuse with any gravity at all - in the first instance she only cares that it's getting in the way of someone loving her in the way she ways, and in the second instance she explicitly states that she views alcoholism as a personality to role-play for attention.

"Here we go again/the voices in his head/called again to end our days of wild" very succinctly embodies a recurring issue in the album - He implicitly has persistent, capital-letter mental health issues, and she is fed up of them interfering with her ability to have fun. She is very clearly trivialising someone's mental health issues, and expecting sympathy for having been victimised and "broken" by it. He's not mean to her, doesn't do anything to her, she's just tired of his problems -- and that's the feeling we're expected to be sympathetic towards, that's what's being valued over mental illness.

And all this is directly harmful. The wide-spread trivialisation of mental illness means that people have a harder time being taken seriously by professionals, it means that their friends, peers, co-workers, bosses, parents, teachers etc, don't understand the extent to which mental illness affects a person's life. Perhaps most dangerously of all, it means that the mentally ill individual may not understand that what they're experiencing isn't normal because the language of their experience has been misappropriated into a causal context. I understand that she's just following a trend, but in following it, she's also perpetuating it in a very big way because unfortunately, we live in a world where she has much more influence than anybody actually qualified to talk about mental health.

(I wanted to rant a little about how disgusting the TTPD choreo is from both a mental health and feminist perspective, but this is probably already way too long.)

yes YES YES! all this is exactly it. no one's saying she isnt allowed to talk about mental health issues or specifically her struggles with it, of course she can. it's the way she's choosing to express it that's just very problematic and she's ignoring the problematic history of and trivializing them for performance/aesthetic purposes. she's just treating every issue she discusses with no empathy or gravity. she repeatedly treats others with mental health issues as a liability but then we should feel sad for her when she didn't feel bad for anyone else.

and the last part is just perfect and wanna reiterate it:

"I understand that she's just following a trend, but in following it, she's also perpetuating it in a very big way because unfortunately, we live in a world where she has much more influence than anybody actually qualified to talk about mental health."

#answered #catastrophicbleus

[slocumjoe]

Can you do a companions react to a sole with poor fine motor skills that is really skilled in battle but can't do stuff like open can tabs or walk in a straight line or has trouble lile tying their shoes?

- Leaf anon 🌱

Cait; Wouldn't think much of it. She was an addict, she's known lots of other addicts, she's known raiders. People who's heads get messed with, either with substance or by getting hit too much. Fighting and shit like grabbing a door handle are different. Her worry is that they'd need their motor skills in a fight, or in a retreat...Cait would gripe about helping them with anything if they ask, but she can respect someone who's useful when it matters.

Codsworth; Would offer a hand whenever they looked like they needed it, but otherwise wouldn't comment or acknowledge it. It would feel very improper. They've got things handled most of the time, and if they aren't in pain, he doesn't need to worry. Would consult wasteland doctors if he felt they were legit, get their opinion, but Codsworth isn't the type to micromanage.

Curie; Worried mama hen. Curie would hover and possibly overstep. She means well, but if you don't want help with something, and don't need it, someone insisting they help is very 🙃🙃🙃. This is the first time I've used emojis in a react, only because I cannot describe the emotion those ones convey. Anyway. Curie would look into motor skills disabilities/in general in hopes of finding a way to remedy their struggles, make things easier. Some people might appreciate it, others would feel really patronized.

Danse; Would send them to Cade every time they returned to the Prydwen, just to check up on things. Obviously can't so that post BB. Danse has probably seen this before as well, but since he'd be traveling with them, he'd see it more and in different ways. Small corridor and they can't walk straight? His power armor is huge and lacks agility. They're bumping into each other. This would be an exercise in spacial awareness for him.

Deacon; one of the more worried ones. They're both spies. They need to be sneaking. You need to be able to move straight, pick locks, quickly type on keyboards. He's pleasantly surprised to see that Sole is still good at what they do, but there's always a little part of him waiting for that Chekov's Gun to go off. Also tends to hover around them, especially in hostile areas.

Gage; Don't let anyone know they have this issue and Gage is fine. Raiders will sniff that kind of thing out and get dollar signs for eyes. Walk straight the best you can, or play it off as a personality eccentricity. Don't say shit, don't go for soda in public. Very confused how they beat the Gaunlet. Very confused how they have such a high kill count. Will only help them out if its time-sensitive.

Hancock; Takes him...so long to notice. Not because he's high, he just fully doesn't realize it. He spends time around alcoholics and chemheads. Like Cait, that's just...normal for him? Hancock will offer help with some things, and still not notice what kind of help he's actually providing. He'll realize out of the blue one day and barge into the room asking if they have problems, just to make sure he's right.

MacCready; As long as he's the sniper, there's no reason to worry. If they start eyeing scopes to add to their guns, he might sweat a little. If they're a pickpocket type, he's just sweating. Pickpocket, sweating bullets. This would turn MacCready off crime, watching them try to sneak whatever from someone's pocket, when just three minutes ago, they had to bite their bag's zipper. Leave the precision stuff to him. Please. Please for the love of god.

Nick; Look at either of his hands. He probably doesn't have such great motor skills there, either, purely because he's just so old and banged up. This is a major source of bonding. Nick is the least likely to have any worry or concern for them; he gets around fine, so can they.

Preston; Second longest to notice. Faster than Hancock, but it still long enough for him to wonder if they were always like that, or if they're injured in some way. His concern comes before combat—they fight just fine, its the getting ready. Flicking their safety off, getting the gun out, reloading. Preston tends to go in front, so they have some time to prepare before they get into the action.

Piper; Like Preston, worries about transitional periods. Downtime, they're fine, firefight, they're fine. But those little moments in between, oooh, does Piper worry. Piper will keep count of how many bullets they use and let them know to reload, switch to something else, etc. Basically tracks all the info around, gets it to them so they have a few extra seconds to think and fiddle with whatever they have to.

X6-88; They are forbidden from heights. They are to remain at least ten feet away from more than a three-foot drop. Area too small? Understood, we're not going there, we're leaving. No, I don't care who asked for what. X6-88 hates heights as is. Someone pirouetteing their way off an edge is not happening. He truly does not care about anything else. Can't open things? Whatever. Bad with precision? Whatever. You can't walk straight, you are not going near ladders, bridges, scaffolding, cliffs, maybe even stairs if he thinks they're too tall.

#fo4 #fallout 4 #paladin danse #preston garvey #piper wright #nick valentine #companions react #robert joseph maccready #x6-88 #porter gage #codsworth