#he absolutely has not done the growth to deny such an offer and he has hurt crowley before and i see why he did it

[bejeweledmp3]

JUST FINISHED GOOD OMENS 2. CHEWING GLASS HELLO?

#talking tag; #good omens spoilers #before i see anyone else's take i must say i really liked the ending #and also wanted to kill aziraphale with one of his books #like what an absolutely perversed fully in character thing for him to do #he absolutely has not done the growth to deny such an offer and he has hurt crowley before and i see why he did it #BUT HELLO??????? ARE YOU MAD?????? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU IN THE BRAIN. HELLO #also queer good omens is ten times better than not queer good omens i said what i said #the editing this season was odd and at times i threw me off but other than that??? #i was here to have a blast and my god did it deliver. i have only seen it once so nothing is set in stone BUTTT #it was fun. i liked the lack of plot. i like the fanficness. i love it when tv is tailored to me. ok that's it i have to go listen to music #and Think now #god

[qqueenofhades]

i do genuinely hesitate to ask, as i am sure i will find out more than i meant to in time, but atm my various feeds and an uninformed google are not telling me what most recently exploded about the british government, so if you have the time and the inclination i'm agog for your summary/take

HOO BOY. It has been a Things Exploding In the British Government day to the extent that in the hour-odd between my previous post and this one, I had to go back and check if anything ELSE had exploded while I wasn't looking. Everything that they are currently denying will probably be confirmed within the next 12 hours or less, though, so nobody get too comfortable.

Anyway, we all remember how Liz Truss succeeded Boris Johnson as Prime Minister, met the Queen, the Queen immediately fucking croaked which honestly was the funniest time she could possibly have done it, the country ground to a total halt for ten days, and then when it got going again, Truss and her chancellor (aka finance minister, for those of you happily ignorant of British politics), Kwasi Kwarteng, proposed a Thatcherite wet-dream economic plan of unfunded massive tax cuts for rich people, because something something Stimulate Growth. We are also generally aware that this crashed the pound through the floor, blew up people's mortgages and other mildly important bills, and did nothing to deal with the actual energy bills/cost of living crisis currently engulfing the UK. Oops.

After absolutely everybody, including the commie socialists at the Bank of England, screamed OH MY GOD WHAT ARE YOU MORONS DOING???, and the day after Kwarteng insisted he would absolutely remain in post and he had 100% confidence in the Plan, he... got sacked for creating this, the Plan that Truss had asked him to deliver and which had won her the Tory party members' election. This made him officially the second-shortest serving chancellor in UK history aside from the guy who literally died in office. Womp womp. That will be a pub quiz answer for you. You're welcome.

Having spent all this time hiding from the press, then giving eight-minute press conferences during which you could literally track the pound crashing in real time, and performing more U-turns than a dancing dashboard hood ornament, Liz Truss took a break from her busy schedule of conducting the Economic Disaster Waltz in the key of B Fucked to appoint Jeremy Hunt as the new chancellor. Jeremy Hunt is mostly notable for being a Tory who can put his pants on without assistance and being a genteel failure at all the previous cabinet posts he's held, which is why he is now regarded as a "safe pair of hands" in a party that has dissolved into a lot of shit-flinging coked-up gibbons who can only scream BREXIT BREXIT BREXIT and IMMIGRATION IS BAD!!! (Side note: they recently had to cancel a festival designed to "celebrate the freedoms of Brexit" due to logistics issues associated with, you guessed it, Brexit. That is not directly relevant to the current clusterfuck, but it is too funny not to include.)

To nobody's surprise, Jeremy Hunt then ripped up the entire economic plan and offered a new one, which was not measurably better than the last one but at least reversed some of the most egregious cuts, and which made everyone ask if Liz Truss had been tied up and duct-taped in the boot of a Range Rover and/or if Hunt had secretly staged a coup with the help of Larry the Downing Street Cat and taken over the government. Probably nobody in the Tory party would mind very much if he had, because they were all busy either planning how to oust Truss or publicly denying that they were indeed planning to oust Truss. One of the popular names for her successor? Boris Johnson! No, I am not making this up. Maybe this has all been a horrible dream and we're going to wake up and find that BoZo is back in charge, after massive public scandal for being a serial liar, which he had been from Day 1, finally made him resign. I repeat, what even the hell is going on here. Nobody knows. Meanwhile, Hunt is warning about even more budget austerity and "eye-watering" cuts to public services that can least afford it, because the last decade didn't result in quite enough preventable deaths for the Tories' tastes, and because they have been forced into this by a car crash completely of their own making.

....anyway. This brings us, more or less, to today. Yesterday, Truss refused to commit to protecting something called the pensions triple lock, which guarantees that old-age pensions (the UK form of social security) will rise in line with inflation, costs, or earnings. A) Inflation in the UK is now at a whopping 10.1%, and B) given as old people are literally the only demographic still willing to vote for the Tories, this miiiiiight seem like an even more unnecessarily stupid and self-sabotaging idea. Sure enough, U-Turn Number Eight Million was duly performed this morning, and Truss insisted she had always intended for the triple lock to be protected. But would Universal Credit and other welfare/benefits programs also be adjusted upward for inflation? HELL NAH! THOSE ARE FOR POOR PEOPLE! GROSS!

This, however, was only the beginning of the unpeeling of the latest idiot banana. Keir Starmer, riding high on the back of recent polls that have given Labour a 36-point lead and predicted that the Tories could be left with as few as 22 seats in Parliament if a general election was called tomorrow (leaving the SNP as the official opposition), appeared at Prime Minister's Questions and got to shoot fish in a barrel. Truss did not dissolve into a pile of goo on the floor and/or have a bucket of water thrown on her and melt into Margaret Thatcher, so that was taken as a win. Well, at least for two hours or so. Then Suella Braverman, the ex-Attorney General who had briefly run for the leadership when BoZo resigned, and who exists along with Priti Patel in order to prove that in the modern Tory party, women of color can heroically be just as much as awful xenophobic monsters as crusty old white dudes, resigned as Home Secretary. Did you even know she was Home Secretary? Neither did she. She took over Patel's job in a bid to apparently make Patel look cute and cuddly by comparison, as she is even more determined to do horrible things to migrants as much as possible. The official reason given for her resignation was that she sent an official document from her personal email account, and this had something to do with immigration and/or the Office of Budget Responsibility forecast that the Tories have, in the valiant spirit of freedom, resisted actually publishing for any of their current economic plans. CONSERVATIVES ARE GOOD FOR THE ECONOMY!! yell people on both sides of the Atlantic. Oh-kay.

Anyway, Braverman used her resignation letter to blast Truss for pretending that everything was fine and dandy, which means the BUT HER EEEEEEMAILS was absolutely just an excuse and even she wanted off this sinking ship as fast as possible. Grant Shapps is now the Home Secretary. It's not important. The point is, if more ministers start resigning, the government will probably implode just as it did when they deserted BoZo en masse. What the hell happens then? Fuck if anyone knows. Since they will, as noted, get absolutely cosmically annihilated if they call a General Election, the Tories will resist doing that with all their might (the next one isn't due until 2024, which is about 1004329 years away at the current rate that time is passing here). Truss was already elected by a tiny minority of the country (about 160,000 Tory party members). STICK RISHI SUNAK IN THERE AND CHANGE THE RULES AGAIN?? HECK, SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN! KEEP THOSE MUSICAL CHAIRS COMING, CHAPS!

(Also: we will recall the Daily Star's Lettuce Cam, where a picture of Liz Truss has been placed next to a head of lettuce to see if she is kicked out of office before it rots away. It now has a special companion, Tofu. This is because Braverman, just yesterday, gave a speech attacking the latest round of climate protesters as being spurred on by Labour, the Lib Dems, and the "Guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati," which she doubtless thought was a very clever line at the time. Because British Twitter is British Twitter, the Tofu: 1, Braverman: 0 jokes have been rife.)

And since we are still not done: tonight, Labour forced a vote on a fracking ban which was being treated as a de facto confidence vote in the government. Aka if the Tories voted for it, they would be considered to be defying the government. Because Britain is a cartoon country run by clowns, the method of Parliamentary voting literally involves walking through Door A for Aye and Door B for Nay. The "whips," or the people whose job it is to assure that party members vote according to the government's position, have thus been known to physically stuff recalcitrant MPs through these doors, because Hail Britannia, or something. So we soon had reports that the anti-fracking vote was, dare I say it, a total clusterfrack, and the Tory whips were literally throwing crying Tory MPs through the Nay door so they would Vote To Support The Government. This sounds like a beginning to a Monty Python sketch, but it is just another ordinary evening in British politics in 2022! (Did Truss herself vote? Or BoZo, Patel, or any of the other Tory big beasts? Nope. Evidently she was "too distracted" with all the other crises going on, which probably means she just didn't want to show her face or she might get killed. Hard to blame her.)

So: the fracking ban was defeated, Labour MPs were like "oh my god the sheer clownery," even Tory MPs were spitting mad, we soon had more rumors that both the Tory chief whip and the deputy chief whip had resigned (currently in the Official Denial stage, so yeah, that will be confirmed before tomorrow morning), and I haven't even mentioned the part where one of Liz Truss's press aides admitted that they used to lie about various relatives of hers having just died so Truss didn't have to do interviews (actual quote: "just aunts and cousins, not any major relatives!"). We all wondered if that wasn't actually a lie but the minor members of the Truss family had voluntarily decided to die rather than have anyone know that they were related to her. Either that or she just sent MI6 after them. It's entirely possible.

#rionsanura #ask #politics for ts #uk politics #i truly cannot explain the magnitude of this clown show #truly #long post

[getlostsquidward]

dying in your lips is how i wanna go

pairing: demon!agatha harkness x reader

a/n: re-fucking-post because it isnt showing in the tags

summary: agatha has done well on keeping her desire to ravish you under control in fears that she might scare you away, until one day, she snaps.

warnings: 18+, agatha has a penis, smut, oral sex, vaginal sex, anal, praise and degradation, breeding kink, overstimulation, cumflation, cockwarming, porn with a sprinkle of fluff

kinktober masterlist | main masterlist

“The devil is in the details.”

“That's not the only place he is.”

Agatha has warned you from the beginning, but you kept brushing her off. Not that you don't believe her, you do, being a witch and all that. You often joked that Agatha meeting you was because of a spell you botched, accidentally summoning her, and now she has to live with you because you don't know how to send her back.

You'd keep on telling her that she is the most beautiful demon you've laid your eyes on, but you haven't seen her true form.

About her true self, and how she might lose the semblance of humanity that she'd acquired from centuries of blending in with mortals—lose control, go berserk, and heaven knows what.

It has been long since she's indulged in her diabolical desires, and with you under her, with that beautiful shade of lipstick smearing on your cheeks and her cock—she knows there's only a short amount of time until she unleashes her demons.

You were so occupied sucking her that you didn't notice the nails buried in your hair starting to grow and sharpen. Agatha herself was lost in the way your cheeks would hollow, the gagging sounds music to her ears as she fucks your throat—that she doesn't feel her tail coming forth, the appendage seemingly with its own mind, slithering towards your still lace-clothed cunt.

You moaned both from pleasure, and surprise—was that Agatha? 

Briefly, you let go of her cock, your eyes locked on to the pale purple color as it starts to bleed into her alabaster skin. Her fingers, you notice, are stained black up to the knuckles; her nails, always kept short, were long and sharp and claw-like.

When you made no move to escape, her tail began to creep towards your mouth, the pointy and tongue-like end prodding between your lips. As your tongue made contact with it, Agatha whined under her breath, telling you there's more than her fingers and cock that will have their turns inside you.

Agatha's pupils are blown, gradually spreading over her bright blue irises until her whole eyes become pitch black. It should be enough to have you run away in fear, but you stay glued to where you are, looking up at her with sparkling eyes and parted swollen lips. So small. So vulnerable. All for her to break.

Her soft spot for you has her starved, keeping herself from ravishing you wholly, only indulging in kissing and dry humping—afraid that if things went too far and she let herself feed on your lust, she'll scare you away and lose you.

But with you offering yourself on a silver platter, who is she to deny?

Curled horns start to sprout from her head, along with her pointy ears, and finally, her wings–huge and bat-like, spreading freely given the enormous space of the room.

You thought that that was the last of it until she grew taller, almost seven-foot in your quick estimate. Of course, along with the growth spurt is her cock.

Goodness gracious.

You stare at it, unconsciously licking your lips at the thought of it absolutely railing the living lights out of you.

The woman– demon in front of you could kill you with her bare hands, thighs, and wings, and you find yourself aroused beyond measure. 

Agatha caresses your cheeks with a finger, her tail slithering out of your lips. “Penny for your thoughts, Y/N.”

“Ruin me, Agatha,” mindlessly, you pleaded. Agatha smirks, the lust that radiates off of you sating some of her hunger—but she needs more. “Make me yours.”

“Mm, but you're already mine, aren't you? My pretty little human.”

Agatha leans down, pressing her lips to yours. 

Your hands fly around her neck to stabilize yourself, your knees going weak with the way she's practically devouring your mouth—her forked tongue demanding entrance and slides with yours.

She hooks her hands on your thighs as she lifts you up so easily like a rag doll. Your legs hook around her waist in turn, her cock hard and stiff against your stomach. Agatha pulled away with a whine, as she settles you down gently on the faux fur on the floor—the beds and the tables not sturdy enough for her.

Your breath catches in your throat as she towers over you once again in all her infernal glory—all that was left was her fucking you raw. You want– no, need to have that devilish cock in your cunt.

Prying your thighs apart, you watch her with bated breath as her mouth lavishes your core, her tongue licking stripes from your clit, swirling on your entrance, even reaching up to your ass. Agatha's mouth is so wet and hot and your pussy clenches around nothing as she eats you out like her last meal. Her hand crawls across your stomach, her nails grazing leaving trails in their wake. She reaches out to your breasts, her thumb and forefinger playing with your puckered buds.

Agatha rises between your legs, her smile showing her sharpened teeth and fangs—so sinister, yet so beautiful. She removes her hand from one of your nipples and replaces it with her tongue, licking and sucking and soaking your chest with drool, which quickly cools with the air.

One hand slips between your bodies, finding the warmth she so craves. Two of her fingers enter you immediately as her thumb plays with your clit. Agatha relishes the obscene squelching sound your cunt makes. She feels you clenching around her digits, and slows her thrusts. You whine when she removes her fingers, feeling so empty. “Uh-uh, sweets. I want to see you cum on my cock.”

She has no doubts that your pussy will swallow her huge dick greedily, but she licks you again, and again, for good measure. “I can't get enough of this fucking pussy. You taste heavenly, my pretty slut.”

Before you can say anything, if there's still anything/ left for you to say, her cock slides into you in one sharp thrust, not even letting you breathe for a second.

Oh well, you've been waiting for it.

Agatha lifts your legs up to her shoulders so she can reach into you deeply, your heels digging into her skin as she fucks you relentlessly. With watery eyes, you watch her wings flutter with every push.

Her cock stretches your cunt and you're sure she's reached your cervix. As she pounds into you mercilessly, you feel another appendage, her tail, creeping up on your ass hole. With the seemingly endless slick your pussy releases, it slides into your ass with no trouble. You throw your head back, eyes on the ceiling as your mouth falls open in silent screams and breathy moans.

“Look at you, so pretty all filled up…Do you want me to pump you even fuller with my cum? Gonna fuck my babies into you. I bet you'd want that, hm? My dirty whore?”

“Yes, fuck me! I want all your cum inside me, please, Agatha! Fuck– right there! I'm– please– gonna cum…” you babble out nonsense, mind heady with pleasure and desire to be bred by this painfully hot demon.

//

You've lost count of how many times Agatha made you cum—not that you were counting anyway. She carried your pliant body around as she maneuvers you in whatever position she thought of, her energy and stamina bottomless. 

Every part of your body feels sore and you think you need a whole week of sleep to regain your strength. You weren't complaining, though. Not every person can say they had such out-of-this-world sex.

Agatha's cum seemed bottomless too as she filled your womb up, your belly now bloated with all of her. She rests for a good few seconds before going again–and you wonder, why did the two of you have to resist each other?

And the way she empties herself into you wasn't a slow spurt of white hot cum, no– it was like a fucking high-pressure hose. Agatha just kept cumming, your name rolling off her tongue, with Your cunt feels so good, You're made for me–only for me along the lines.

Her words make you feel so fuzzy, and you're so ready to take all of it.

It didn't take too long before your belly rounded like a pregnant woman in her full term, ready to pop. Agatha tugged at your hair gently to whisper in your ear, “I love you, my pretty little human,” she pants in between words, and this time you feel that her endless cum finally had its end. Her cock is still buried in your pussy as she shrinks down to her human size. “Mine.”

—

tags: @midnight-lestrange @our-blood-is-our-ink @minszhuo @tr333sus @shayzulia @academiagaymess @thenazwife @p-nymph @wandakink @phattypoobutt @starrknessblog @gmtsu @inlovewithagathaharkness80

#gls kinktober 2022 #agatha harkness x reader #agatha harkness x you #agatha harkness smut #agatha harkness imagine #agatha harkness fanfiction #marvel imagine #marvel x reader #mcu x reader #kathryn hahn x reader

[writtenonreceipts]

@jilymicrofics january microfic prompt #1: fireworks

Canon! Just some fun that got a little bit away from me while it was slow at work yesterday, lol.

word count: ~1.3k

New Year, New Mischief

The boy is seventeen years old and he has only one thing on his mind: to smuggle a large box of fireworks through the Honeydukes secret passage and up to the Common Room without getting caught.

It’s not the first time he’s done this of course. The Honeydukes passage has long been used by him and his friends. They often find any excuse to sneak out of the castle, to find a bit of freedom, to cause a little bit of mischief.  And the Honeydukes route leads to sweets which always puts an adventure off to a good start.

James Potter is quite aware that fireworks are a little bit more than simple mischief, but it is New Years after all.  Well, it’s a little bit later than the actual day but it’s close enough.

So with snow still melting through his sweater and the invisibility cloak rippling around him, he gleefully slips through secret passages and hallways. Dodging Filch and the other professors on patrol is easy enough.  Even if he does have a headboy badge now, there isn't an easy way to explain fireworks nor an invisibility cloak.

It isn't long until he makes his way to the portrait of the Fat Lady.  He pulls the invisibilty cloak off of him before approaching, just to be safe.  While he doesn’t think she’ll rat him out to a professor, he doesn’t want to take any chances.  He offers the password to her sleepy form.  It is well past midnight after all.  She lets out a perturbed sigh as she looks him over..

“You're going to keep me up all night aren't you,” she drawls.

James only offers a wry grin and slips into the Common Room. It’s later than he intended it to be and only one person remains awake. Just as he suspected.  Sprawled out on the floor before the fire, is Lily. Her red hair is pulled up into a messy bun with at least two different quills poking out of it. The low burning embers left in the fireplace illuminate her soft features and only serve to make James pause just a moment in admiration. 

She’s too engrossed in her studies to notice him. Before the Christmas holiday, she’d started an essay for McGonagall as a means of extra credit, Lily really was miserable at transfiguration.  Only now it was nearly two weeks after their return to school and she still hasn’t finished it.  James had offered to help but she'd firmly denied it. She could do this on her own or not at all.

She can be quite stubborn like that.  Not that James minds it in the slightest.

“You're still at it?” James asks with fondness as he crosses the Common Room towards her.

Finally Lily looks up. She blinks several times before sighing. “Well, I was working through the essay then realized I forgot about Slughorn's analysis on the complex sleep draught which reminded me I didn't finish charting that mandrake growth thing and by that point doing anything transfiguration related sounded absolutely miserable. So now I am getting a head start on Flitwicks assignment.”

It all comes out in nearly one breath and James can’t help but grin.  Because this is his Lily.

“Cmon,” he tells her. He adjusts his box of fireworks in one arm and holds his other hand out toward her.

“What?” she frowns eyeing him. “Where are we going?”

“To cause a little mischief, Evans, what else?”

Her green eyes spark and he can tell the exact moment he wins her over.  Because as dedicated to her studies as she is, Lily Evans is just as troublesome as the rest of them.

Plus, they’ve only been dating officially for two months at this point and James would like to think she is just that enamored by him.

Either way, they are soon dashing out of the Common Room, giggling madly especially as The Fat Lady harrumphs after them.

They don’t stop running until they’re well away.  James keeps Lily’s hand in his own as they ease into another secret passage.  She hasn’t asked him yet how he knows his way around the castle so well, but James suspects she may already know.  Or have a very accurate guess on the matter.  He’s almost revealed the map to her on several occasions, but knows the other boys do have their reservations on the matter.

So, he and Lily move through the castle blindly.  She does know about the cloak, but there’s only so much coverage it can offer.

By the time they’ve reached the Astronomy Tower, the silky fabric is balled up under one arm and the fireworks under another.

“Fireworks?” Lily asks as she takes in the fireworks. “Where’d you get those?”

He watches her brow furrow and a small pout dashes across her lips.  Despite her bravado and her own penchant for levity--Lily Evans is still the responsible one.

“You would not approve of the answer to that question,” James informs her.

She looks up at him.  He very much likes when she fixes him with that exact look.  It’s the one that says you’re insufferable as well as I shouldn’t be as amused by this as I am.

His Lily is rather funny like that.

“It’ll be fun,” he assures her.

And then before she can say anything else, he’s pulling up the winding stairs that’ll lead out to the observatory platform.

“Is there a reason you’ve chosen today for mayhem?” Lily asks him as he props the door leading outside for her.

“You never need a reason, Evans,” he says.

“James.” She says his name so perfectly; exasperated and humorous.

He sets the fireworks down and adjusts her glasses. “It’s the new year.”

“It’s January twentieth.”

“Because we can!”

“You say that about everything.”

She’s crossed her arms over her chest and James knows she wants a real answer.  He sweeps an arm to the fireworks and up to the open sky.

“Because,” he says, with a little less bravado than before, “I know your holiday wasn’t the best.  And I know you’re worried about start of the new term.  So.  We’re going to launch off random bouts of fireworks until Filch chases us down and back to the Common Room.”

Lily rolls her eyes at him even as she crosses the observatory platform so she can pull him into a hug.  It’s soft and gentle and she sighs as she presses her cheek against his chest.  She says nothing for a few minutes before finally a chuckle escapes.

“So, causing things to explode in a bright halo of light is your idea of therapy?”

“Isn’t it yours?” he teases.

That gets her to laugh a real laugh, once that causes her to tilt her head back and grin at him.

“Well alright then,” she says. “Let’s start shall we?”

The spend the next hour lighting fireworks and watching the lights explode across the sky.  When they nearly get caught, the only move to another part of the castle and continue to see how many fireworks they can get off before another professor finds them.

When they finally run out of fireworks they sneak back to the Common Room, prodding a very irritable Fat Lady awake.

“Thank-you,” Lily tells James as she gathers all the books and papers she’s left sprawled about.

James helps her and makes sure nothing is going to crease or get rumpled as he stacks the books together.

“For what?” he asks.

She pushes to her tiptoes and brushes her lips with his. “Giving me the best new start to the year.  Even if it is a little late.”

And James knows then and there that he will do anything at all for Lily Evans.

#jily #jilymicrofics #lily evans #james potter #canon mauraders #harry potter #maurader era #fluff and fun #quick fic

[secondgenerationnerd]

15 for speeddemon

15. Why do they like each other?

ooooo there’s so many answers for that.

For Damian, one of the things that attracted him to Irey was her intelligence. She’s never been afraid to show how smart she is, or talk about what she’s studying/reading. I think Damian was the first to fall in love. Because he’d see the way her face lit up when she talked about her interests. The passion and drive she has to know more, even if she fails.

She will also call him out on his bullshit faster than anyone else. She comes by it honestly through Linda. Like he has tried to ‘bat glare’ at her ONCE. Irey looked this boy in the eye, calmly saying, “Are you done? We have work to do.”

Case in point:

Cass and Steph know what’s up 😂😂

Now, Irey? I think she fell in love with Damian much slower, but it came from his personal growth. She obviously didn’t know a lot of his past when Omega formed, so she was going off the facts she had. She noticed that, like Lian, the music he played reflected his mood. She’d find him painting in his room and, if he showed her the work, would take in the details other might miss—the details of his past.

Is he an asshole? Absolutely, she’ll never deny it. But she also sees how much he loves his siblings and parents. Sees the little things he does for others when they’re hurting. Irey loves Damian because she knows the truth: he loves hard, just doesn’t always know how to show it.

Both of them also love the other because…there’s a kind of peace in their love. Like, they will absolutely give each other the push to be their best selves, but they also offer a refuge from their high stress lives. A place where they can rest before going back at it.

There’s a reason I say their favorite dates involve a picnic and books. For a few hours, they get it just be Damian and Irey. Not Damian Wayne and Irey West. Not Robin and Impulse. Just Damian and Irey.

#damian wayne #irey west #speeddemon #robin #impulse

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

You say the story of Rescue Team frustrates you? How come?

Rant ahead. Rant ahead about a game I unironically love, but I spend far too much time overthinking the plot of, hence my grievances.

Maybe I just held it to unfair standards on account of playing it for the first time after Explorers of Sky. Which is easily the greatest pokemon game ever made, accept no substitutes. Nah, Rescue Team DX is addicting, the music is incredible as always in these games, and the gameplay has been massively overhauled and made far superior to the original, which while fun, was pretty buggy. And the game does have some pretty cool characters, too. Like...whatever I may yell to the heavens about Albus Dumbledore from HP, make no mistake that he’s an exceptional and three-dimensional character. Same goes for Snape. And that applies to this game as well. 

The main reason this game’s story irritates me comes down to Gengar and Alakazam. Again, they’re very well written characters...but I hate them. I despise both of them. I don’t know what it is, but Alakazam rubbed me the wrong way right from the start. Him and his whole team are so self-important, so arrogant. They condescend the MC and act like they’re the ruling body of the town square. Alakazam goes around telling people that he knows everything. That’s a god complex if you ask me. At several points, the characters make decisions based on the assumption that he is stronger than the MC, which you as a player never get to challenge. (Think of Leon from Sword/Shield, but a million times worse.) The Partner character is so in awe of them, so enamored by them. Yet behind MC’s back, Alakazam knows (or suspects) them to be the human of legend and doesn’t tell them “for their sake.” Which gives me strong Nozomi (SMT IV: Apocalypse) vibes, since later on he ignores all responsibility for having been "complicit" with the MC's secret. 

The Fugitive Arc doesn't make any damn sense. First of all, Xatu claims that the disasters, all of the trouble, are being caused by the Human from the Ninetales Legend. Ninetales later debunks this. When I first played this game, I legitimately thought Xatu would wind up being some kind of secret villain, that he had lied, and that the Fugitive Arc was all started by him. This doesn't wind up being true, and we never get an answer for why he thought the Human of Legend was responsible for the state of affairs, nor did anyone question his being wrong or acknowledge his role in all this. But the one who really started everything was Gengar. He doesn't really annoy me until the Post-Game (I'll get to that) but everyone else's reactions to Gengar's story bother me. He is a known liar, a known trouble-maker who no one likes. It's well known that he has a vendetta against the MC. He has no proof whatsoever of his allegations. And everyone just buys it, despite MC now having a great reputation, because...I guess MC didn't actively deny it? Which the player was given no agency in? And it doesn't stop the accusation from being ridiculous? 

Enter Alakazam. Apparently, everyone held a town meeting that must have taken all of ten seconds, to decide what to do about MC. They held this meeting without MC or the Partner present, because having them there would make too much sense I guess. Team A.C.T. prepares to...I guess kill MC? As well as the Partner, even though they're completely innocent. Before Alakazam hesitates and decides to give the MC a day to run away. Hold on, if he is so convinced that MC has to die to save the world, how do he justify letting them go? I guess the same way he justifies how he "knew" MC was the human of legend this whole time and said nothing about it? He bids MC to run, and throughout the entire Fugitive Arc, his team is the looming threat. Which was quite frustrating for me, already a Diamond Rank and probably higher leveled than Team A.C.T, because I would have been happy to settle things with Alakazam right then and there. It is beyond frustrating that the story denies me this chance. Not to mention, half of the town shows up to say goodbye when MC and the Partner take off. Like...okay, at least half of the town believes in MC. How in the hell is this even happening? Why do we have to flee when so many characters are on our side? When there's no proof? Why is Alakazam's word just considered law? If he “knows everything” how come he doesn’t know that Gengar is human as well, if he could sense MC’s humanity? 

You don't know how badly I wish there was a fight with Team A.C.T. when all was said and done. And the game could have done it, too! Just have it take place at the top of the Mt. Freeze, before Ninetales shows up. They have a skirmish that takes place in a cutscene, but even in the remake - there's no boss battle. Why not? It's not like this dungeon has a boss battle otherwise. Wouldn't it have been a fitting conclusion to this arc? Maybe I'm biased, maybe I just think it would have been cathartic to kick Alakazam's ass, to make him put his money where his mouth is...because again, the arrogance. He demands Ninetales tell him what happened, and that "depending on your answer, I may be forced to eliminate MC" Ah, slow your roll there, buddy. Ninetales already broke up the fight and made it clear that it's not going to happen. You're a guest in their domain. On top of that, Team A.C.T. basically forbids you from going to Magma Cavern to challenge Groudon. As if you haven't just proven yourself capable of braving dangerous dungeons. As if, after they chased you halfway around the world and were proven completely wrong, they have any right to talk down to you or tell you what to do. Again, I so, so wish we could have fought them and taught them a lesson. 

In general, this is a consistent thing with the other characters, following the Fugitive Arc. Everyone focuses on how happy MC and the Partner must be to have their names cleared, (Again, the Partner was accused of nothing. Like, literally nothing.) and no one stops to address that everyone in the Town Square should be falling to their knees and begging our forgiveness for what they put us through. Several of them tried to kill us. Upon returning to the Town Square, Gengar acts like MC is turning them-self in because they don't have any proof, even though he never had any proof to begin with, and it's only after MC is "cleared" by Team A.C.T. that everyone remembers that Gengar is untrustworthy. Reading the words "under the watchful eye of Alakazam" has always made me extremely salty. I don't have much to say about the Mankey brothers but they irritated me as well. Maybe I was just out of patience after the Fugitive Arc but I found myself wondering why we appeased them at all. Initially, we give them the chestnuts because they attack us if we don't. No matter how many times we beat them, they keep attacking if they're told no. I realize it's a staple in Pokemon games to have false yes/no choices, but those are especially noticeable in the games that focus on story. And sometimes the excuses are just pathetic. Meanwhile, the other pokemon continue to treat you as rookies, as kids. You are once again "forbidden" by...um, the other townsfolk, from going on the Rescue Mission until you talk them into it. It's like...guys. You put us through hell. We could have died a dozen times over, because you bought into the mob mentality for no good reason. How does everything just go back to normal after that? 

I don't mind Gengar at first. He's a villain, and a well-written one. He's got a clear personality and there's hidden depth in there as well. He's one of my favorite characters in the game, easily. And all of the stuff he does in the main story? Stealing the mail, manipulating Caterpie, and the stuff during the Fugitive Arc? That weird psychedelic sequence where he's dragging MC down to hell at the end? (Or whatever that was?) All fine by me. He's a villain. He's doing bad things. But sweet Arceus is Gengar annoying in the Post-Game. I wonder if this must be how Merula Snyde Antis feel, over in the HPHM Fandom. Because the MC has absolutely no motivation or reason to help him out. He just demands that they act as his bodyguard, offers nothing in return, and won't leave you alone until you say yes. Buddy, my team has like thirty pokemon at this point and they're all hanging out in the Friend Areas a few feet away. You think you can intimidate me? The only reason I'm helping is to progress the storyline. And throughout this entire storyline, you have to help Gengar even though he hasn't earned it. 

He does not deserve forgiveness, or a reconciliation with Gardevoir. What if I don't want to help him because I don't think Gardevoir would want to see him? What if I think that it would do her no good to see him? He's unrepentant and awful, the story does the bare minimum to suggest that he's changed. Now I will admit one thing: I love the moment that Ninetales first appears, sees Gengar, and simply goes "...What do you want." Like. Like that was the moment that I put it together, before he went on to tell the rest of the story. I love simple moments that make the big reveal crystal clear without needing to directly tell or show the audience. I've always dug that. But everything that happens after that is frustrating. Gengar demands the curse be lifted, despite having no justification to offer Ninetales. He threatens to attack them, but then clarifies that MC will be the one doing the fighting. Excuse me? Why would I ever do that? MC just found out the truth about Gengar, what he did to Gardevoir, and then how he pinned it all on them during the fugitive arc. Gengar, why would I attack Ninetales after this, instead of attacking you? Tell me I don't initiate battle against you right now? Thankfully MC doesn't have to actually fight Ninetales, but they are still forced to testify at Gengar's "trial" and it's a forgone conclusion because no matter what answers you give, it's treated as MC acknowledging his growth and he is forgiven at the end. 

Oh, I’ve just thought of something else. MC isn’t given a reason for why they have to leave the Pokemon world, or why they were able to return. Explorers gave a reason. Gates to Infinity and Super Mystery Dungeon made a whole post-game story out of their reasons. Here? We get nothing. MC’s “role” has finished and so they have to return to the human world. Never mind what they want. Not until after the dramatic moment where they have to leave has passed, anyway. That voice at the end who suggests that we may be able to see our partner again just by “wishing.” Who the hell was that? What did they mean? Look, by Pokemon standards, the Rescue Team story is quite substantial. By Pokemon Mystery Dungeon standards? It’s...probably the weakest story. I mean, to be fair, Super Mystery Dungeon had the endless schoolhouse arc that added up to nothing in the second act. But hell, that was still fun. And I suppose the Fugitive Arc and Gengar’s “redemption” were fun too. Just frustrating as well. 

#Pokemon #Pokemon Mystery Dungeon #Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX #pokemon mystery dungeon rescu #Team A.C.T. #Pokemon Team A.C.T. #Pokemon Games

[bronan]

Tezz, 4 and 7

4. Fears

okay this is gonna sound corny af but short answer I think Tezz is afraid of being alone again. 

Super long answer: I think Tezz’s biggest fear, hands down, is growing attached to someone and then losing them. I’m sure he got so used to only relying on himself and not needing anybody else. Maybe it’s a little scary to think about getting close to others, now. I’m sure it’s really scary, actually. He probably didn’t even know where to begin. It just feels like child Tezz didn’t have any friends and maybe this experience with bf5 is his first real foray into friendship. 

so like imagine that you finally get rescued after being stuck on an alien moon for nine years right, you were there for so long it just became the new normal for you. You had zero human interaction but you had resources to study sentient culture - at that point, with so many formative years spent alone, don’t you think Tezz might feel more sentient than human?? Like of course he’s a human but maybe he tries to impose these restrictions on himself to act less so. Be practical, be logical, don’t be ruled by your feelings, etc. 

obviously he failed at that LMAO because Tezz is, in reality, a guy who you can tell yearns for companionship and who latches on so fiercely he would die for someone he barely knows because he decided he does care about them. I’m sure he didn’t see that coming, but we never really know how we’ll respond to a situation until we experience it firsthand. And I really enjoyed how human they made Tezz, after all. He could have been some cold, emotionless person who had to be taught how to smile at a joke, but Tezz is really a lonely 18 year old who has gone through some really rough shit and has been welcomed into this little family and accepted for who he is, snarky parts and all. He has a leader who always has his back and a team who will rally for him even when he drives them crazy because they know he’s been through a lot and they’re doing their best to have patience with him.

maybe Tezz never outright says it but I’m sure he’s deeply touched by that. He’s got to have some self-awareness and know that he’s abrasive at times, cocky, opinionated, rude. And he has a huge case of “I know best” which we know just always works with that team lmao. So really, for the team to be so patient with Tezz and willing to help him integrate back into society like... fucking well done kdsflssk it’s just so sweet honestly. They all kind of went back and forth and expressed their desire to kill him at least once I think but you had to dish it back to Tezz or else he’d walk all over you. Now they are one happy family and it’s all good and seeing Tezz’s growth in particular was so just mega wholesome and GOOD 

AND I WENT OFF TRACK AS ALWAYS KJSFKS every single time I get an ask about Tezz I just am like “let us now look back two hundred years to when it all started-”

ANYWAY

so taking all of that rambling I just did into consideration it’s like, Tezz just. I know he loves so fiercely. He tries to deny it, hide it, whatever, but he gets attached and he loves hard. He’d die for the ones he cares about. Didn’t he try to sacrifice himself without any hesitation in Rumble in the Jungle or whatever?? Like if Tezz genuinely likes you, you’re in, dude. 

So in summary that’s why I guess I just feel like Tezz would be so so so afraid of losing someone he’s grown to care about. He’s had everything taken away from him once already, and now he’s gained these friendships, this new life, these new opportunities and he has people who love him for who he is and I think the thought of losing any single one of them is like...inconceivable!! lmao.

And yeah I know I know a big part of Tezz always rushing off into reckless stuff was because he was cocky but your honor we can’t forget the times he went out of his way just to protect someone, it was king shit

of course this could all be absolute nonsense and I may just be talking out of my ass dsfsjfgjk 🥴 but I love the idea of Tezz with the big big heart who just doesn’t know what to do with himself when he loves someone except to offer up everything he has to make sure they’re safe. 

7. Travel

I feel like Tezz hadn’t traveled much beyond, you know, going into space from home, not until he joined bf5. Maybe he and his family took trips but with Tezz’s personality and interests, it seems like he would have been happy to stay at home where he could work on his experiments as often as possible. He was just a kid but man, he was focused, lol. Probably didn’t get out much or have any friends, one of those “all I need are my projects” kind of child. 

Now that he’s wild and free to roam the multiverse with his team, I think his curiosity can and does take him anywhere. I could see Tezz eagerly wanting to visit all kinds of planets and places in order to glean as much information as he could about the local flora/fauna, species, technology, etc, especially given how he’s working on a map of the multiverse. Now that Tezz is aware that there’s much more out there, he wants to see it all and to know it, understand it. It’s characters with that kind of insatiable curiosity that make great adventurers, you know? 😳

I feel that Tezz was desperately seeking the comfort of being home for a very long time, but he realized that home is wherever he feels it is and when he’s with bf5, he is home, so he can go anywhere with them. Okay I got really sappy sorry 🥺 I love tezz and so does the team

#ask game #hot wheels battle force 5 #I get way too emotional when I start typing my tezz essays so if this makes no sense or is dumb it's alright it's fine it's fine

[littlehollyleaf]

So talking of finales penned by spn writers.

One of my fav comics the last few years has been Spider-Man/Deadpool, written by our very own Robbie Thompson.

Obviously, Deadpool is a character I was always gonna be fond of, since his fourth-wall breaking power / chatacter trait makes him all about the meta, and metafiction is My Jam.

Spider-Man/Deadpool has the additional fun of being about Wade and Peter's relationship specifically, which is just fun and adorable any which way, but the series also makes constant nods to the idea of them as a romantic couple (the title IS a LITERAL REFERENCE to slash fic/shipping). Never in a baity way either. The writing celebrates the idea of Spider-Man/Deadpool without ever teasing the idea it might actually happen. It's mostly Wade explicitly referencing them as a slash pairing in his various fourth-wall breaking speeches, while in the 'reality' of the universe the writing is pretty clear on the fact Peter only thinks of Wade platonically (or occasionally antagonistically :p), while Wade genuinely has an explicit romantic crush, but overall just simply respects and cares for Spider-Man as a person and primarily wants to be and have him as a friend (tho there's absolutely, deliberate, space left in the writing to imagine/fanfic a mutual romance between if you want).

(ASIDE: PETER PARKER IS NOT A KID IN THIS CURRENT VERSION OF MARVEL CANON HE IS 100% AN OF AGE ADULT, like he is in the Spiderverse film - in case anyone was freaking out)

So yeah, that's all fun and sweet and completely catering to my interests.

One of the big, big things about the characters and their relationship, though, is the fact that WADE DOES NOT KNOW SPIDER-MAN'S IDENTITY. And this quickly became one of, if not THE, things at the heart of their evolving friendship/relationship. The closer they get, the more and more you WANT Wade to find out or, better, for Peter to TELL HIM. Because you want them to reach that place of love and trust where they each know intimate things about each other, where Peter cares about and knows he can trust Wade enough to share that vulnerable truth about himself.

So, Peter telling Wade his secret identity - that's, basically, the ship/relationship endgame everyone is rooting for.

SO.

In the *cries* final storyline of the series, this whole epic Thing happens, that I won't explain cos it'll take too long. But basically, the world appears to be ending and in that context of dire and angsty straits - Peter reveals his identity to Wade! *insert Deadpool movie shock gif*

Now closer than ever, they team up with a rag tag collection of other characters to take on the Big Bad and, long story short, they discover the whole epic end of the world Thing has been a fake reality created by the real villain of the piece -

THE WRITER, aka Robbie himself!

Due a series of implausible comic book events they are able to confront and defeat him and he offers this in his defence -

and I just -

<3

aw Robbie

your supervillain origin story was... WANTING FICTIONAL CHARACTERS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS TO GROW?

(#relatable)

When I first read this (which was, oh, back near the very beginning of spn S15) I thought

a) amusing that an ex-spn writer is, like spn itself, writing a meta story in which the writer is the villain

b) it's funny how spn's villain writer and Robbie's villain writer both harm/manipulate their characters for the exact opposite reasons - Chuck wants to prevent the characters from developing, comic!Robbie wants to force them TO develop

(and c) I wonder if this lament over characters not being allowed to grow, and the fact that wanting to change that associates Robbie with villainy, in any way connects to... other writing jobs he may have had... before the comic...)

The tragedy, tho, is that after his defeat, as Spider-Man and Deadpool are locking comic!Robbie away, he tells them his capture doesn't matter because in the end HE WON, because Wade now knows Spider-Man's identity!!

To which we end with this -

The growth Robbie wanted was denied!

*sad face*

(I forget the in-universe explanation, if there was an explicit one - either defeating comic!Robbie and his fake world caused all memory/experience if that world to be lost/destroyed... or there was genuinely no real explanation and that in itself was a meta nod to how comic book narrative is constantly dropping/discarding/ignoring/retconning plot points in order to maintain the wider status quo of the comic universe narrative)

AND YET - while the biggest growth of learning Peter's identity was denied (presumably because, as noted above, wider comic book canon requires/insists both characters and their relationship remain in a specific, static, status quo - so the industry can keep churning out multiple comics with them without necessarily having to bother with the extra time/hassel of researching specifics of continuity - because, money), as Peter and Wade's further discussion points out, SOME development HAS happened at least. Wade has grown more moral/heroic in how he doesn't immediately kill his enemies. And Peter has come to care deeply enough about Wade to be proud of him for this and tell him so. AND they walk away together side by side, their friendship cemented.

So bottom line - the story ends. And it's not in the BEST way. It denies the readers and the characters (and the writer!) the fulfilment of that key endgame plot point.

And YET.

It manages to still be a funny, heartwarming and ultimately SATISFYING end. One that, tongue in cheek, lampshades the development the rest of the story has, in many ways, been building up to and, using metafictional tricks, tells readers in a way that is funny, entertaining and also feels somewhat apologetic, that it simply wasn't a plot the creatives involved were able to give. But offers SOME growth at least, and leaves things open enough for readers to imagine the characters are poised for more in the near future (...although due to the nature of comics that may well have been jossed by other comic book runs at this point - I haven't read any that include the characters since this title ended).

WHY am I making a longass post about this you ask?

Well

a) because the comic is great and I think more people should read it, consider this a recommend (tho sorry for spoilers!)

b) ...just ...wanted to big up Robbie Thompson for a bit. A++ Robbie, way to land an ending, both in fiction and meta, kudos to you, nice to be reminded that it can be done!

(also in case by some miracle anyone at Marvel is reading this - I said the ending was satisfying, but that doesn't mean I WOULDN'T SPEND GOOD MONEY ON A REVIVAL OF THIS TITLE IN A HEARTBEAT! just because I'm ok with the last comic being the end doesn't mean I don't WANT MORE WITH A BURNING PASSION why must you cancel all my favs?? ...*coughs* so, yes, thank you any Marvel execs for your time...)

#robbie thompson #spiderman #deadpool #spiderman/deadpool #15.20 #the aftermath

[skybird13]

Why I Think Fair Game Works

So we’re coming up on the midway point in this mini RWBY vol. 7 hiatus, and I have a serious addiction to Fair Game. With no more canon content coming out for another week (😭), I thought I’d provide some self-indulgent rambling in-depth analysis as to exactly why I think Qrow and Clover work so well together. I’ll be pulling off of what we have in the show so far (because I tend to base my ships off of canon context), but I’ll also be making some reasonable assumptions regarding Clover’s character since we don’t have a whole lot on him yet. 

[Note: I’m not really trying to sway anyone with this post, so if you don’t agree or don’t like FG, feel free to scroll right on by and have a nice day. I’m all for discourse but that’s not the point of this particular post. Make your own and invite me to engage and we can have a convo.)

That being said, and without further ado, here are my top reasons for being Fair Game trash. Be forewarned, this is loooong. Damn thing turned into a dissertation. 

Reason #1: Clover is a source of stability

One of the biggest criticisms I’ve seen aimed at Fair Game (aside from the more inane ones, which I will not dignify with an acknowledgment on this post) is that Qrow hates specialists. And people are right. It’s one of the first insights we get into his character in his volume 3 debut episode, right after the fact that he’s an alcoholic. I completely agree that if these two men had met in volume 3 or even 4, there is no way they would have gotten along. Clover is a soldier. A military man. He goes by the book and, in his mind, there’s not a lot of wiggle room when it comes to doing things the right way (see: his conversation with Robyn). He would have driven volume 3 Qrow up the wall, and not in a sexy way.

But the fact is, Qrow has been through a hell of a lot since then. He lost Ozpin twice (once to death and once to the lies Oz himself told), lost his way and sense of purpose because of it, almost died on multiple occasions, fell into deep emotional darkness, came under the influence of the Apathy, and had to finally acknowledge his own depression and poor coping mechanisms, or lack thereof, as a result. Shit like that changes you in deep and fundamental ways and, while I would have loved for a bit more in-show focus on this transition, I think RT gave us enough to infer the rest.

Thanks mostly to Ruby, Qrow is finally in a place where he is trying to heal for the first time since we’ve known him. He started the show as an impulsive– albeit manipulative and brilliant (see: him baiting Winter into a fight)– alcoholic who had no problem whatsoever with getting under people’s skin. The only relationships he really seemed to value were the ones he had with his nieces and with Ozpin, and everyone else could take a flying leap. Now I can’t deny that there was a certain charm to that. It’s one of the reasons I think he became such a fan favorite so rapidly; a lot of us can relate to that desire to not give a shit. But the underlying implications of that type of behavior are, I believe, pretty damn dark and serve as the earliest signs of Qrow’s depression and emotional isolation. Consider: his only functional relationships were with people who were incapable of really knowing him on a deeply personal level. Oz couldn’t because he was the one to give Qrow a purpose, thereby establishing a certain power imbalance in their relationship, no matter how close they were (I love Oz despite his mistakes before anyone comes after me for that statement and have nothing against Oz x Qrow, these are just my thoughts). And Ruby and Yang couldn’t, and still can’t, because they’re his damn nieces and being the adult in a relationship with kids means you maintain a certain distance between them and any insecurities or struggles you might have. Anything else is just not okay. He bungled that in volume 6 but he has clearly been trying to re-establish that supportive adult role in volume 7, which is amazing all by itself.

This brings us to Qrow’s emotional and mental state at the start of volume 7. Again, he’s in a place where he’s trying to heal. I don’t know how many people can relate, but that place is friggin’ terrifying because it’s the place where you have to stop lying to yourself about your problems and commit to dealing with them. But it also comes with a weird level of mental… stillness? Peace isn’t the right word, but when you’re not constantly fighting yourself anymore, you are able to breathe a little and that’s worth a lot to someone who has been trying to suffocate themselves for most of their lives. I think this has a lot to do with his shift in outlook. He’s less antagonistic because it no longer serves to feed the self-loathing monster inside him. Or rather, he’s trying to make sure he doesn’t feed it. The fact that he comes into Mantle, gets arrested for doing his job, and doesn’t immediately get in James’s face, or Winter’s for that matter, attests to the fact that he has changed. Qrow isn’t the one to call James out on the embargo or the state of things in Mantle. Instead, he steps into a role that we have never seen him in: the gentle voice of reason. He points out that James doesn’t need an entire military presence to build and launch the communications tower, and when James reveals his plans to tell the world about Salem, Qrow doesn’t outright disagree or go after him for it (as he certainly would have in earlier volumes). He simply points out that Oz spent every lifetime he had keeping that secret and then lets James explain his reasoning (flawed as it might be).

In short, all that outward anger he displayed in earlier volumes was most likely a manifestation of the self-hate storm he had brewing inside. Now that he’s decided to try to move away from that, he’s different. Of course he is. It would be completely unreasonable to expect otherwise.

Enter Clover Ebi. By sheer virtue of being who he is, Clover provides a source of stability for Qrow that he both sorely needs and has severely lacked up to this point in his life. Healing is an internal and independent process for the most part, and Qrow is going to have to sort out his issues on his own, but having someone in your life during that process who is solid is invaluable. And so far, Clover has been nothing but solid. He has been the one to pull Qrow back from bad old habits (self-deprecation and self-hate regarding his semblance). He’s been the one to take Qrow’s semblance in stride and even to get him to joke about the whole concept of having luck, good or bad, for a semblance. And so far? He’s done all of this with absolutely no strings attached. He’s not like Oz, who needed Qrow to be functional enough to carry out his spying missions, and he’s not like Ruby or Yang, who reasonably need Qrow to be solid for them because he’s their uncle. Clover is the first person who doesn’t need anything from Qrow, and so he is able to offer the type of emotional support that Qrow has never received from anyone else. They’re not even official battle partners, despite them being paired quite a bit. The lack of strings, of ulterior motives, of complicated and messy ties, and even of familial bonds, means that Clover can be the solid one. He can be a safe place where Qrow can fall apart and put himself back together if he needs to, because nothing is going to cave in if he does. Qrow won’t be putting too much weight on his nieces or on someone who relies on him for information and support. He can lean on Clover without having to worry about any repercussions. 

Reason #2: Qrow is a source of disruption 

Now for the fun flipside of my first point. While Clover provides a source of stability for Qrow, Qrow has the very real potential to provide a much-needed source of disruption for Clover, thereby balancing out what we have gotten of their relationship dynamic so far.

Being a military man, stringent structure and unconditional loyalty to his superiors are likely major aspects of Clover’s character. We have enough in the show so far to assume that’s accurate about him even if it hasn’t been blatantly stated. 

Clover carries out his orders without fail, to the point of arresting a bunch of kids and Qrow in Mantle for operating outside of official parameters. His conversation with Robyn is also extremely telling. He doesn’t have a problem with what she wants; he has a problem with how she’s trying to get it. He doesn’t believe that the ends justify the means and, in that same vein, probably also believes that institutions are there for good reason. He is the epitome of lawful good.

Qrow, on the other hand, has never operated within official parameters. He was a spy, for god’s sake, and therefore is intimately familiar with the inherent grayness of the world. He’s not someone who is going to see things in black and white, and because of this, he could offer a sort of push back against Clover’s blind loyalty to Ironwood. 

Not only is Qrow not in the military, and therefore not bound by its restrictions and dictates, but he has known James for a long time. He, more than anyone, is in the perfect position to call James out on his crap, and he’s probably the one with the best chance of actually getting through to him. Not with the same aggression and vehemence he displayed in volume 3, but with more of a tough-love approach. I fully expect this to happen at some point (and will be very sad if it doesn’t. I like James and want him to snap out of all this).

So how does this relate to Clover? Well, it forces him to acknowledge that, military or not, always trusting that the people above you are doing the right thing or the best thing is never a good way to go. He would have to step back and re-evaluate his general approach to life, which is the core of character growth. Clover never questions authority (that we’ve seen) whereas Qrow’s existence has always been in stark contrast to it. If anyone is going to act as a catalyst for Clover’s potential evolution from strict military man to a more free-thinking, free-acting individual, it’s going to be Qrow. And I think the pieces are set-up for that exact thing to happen.

Obviously, we’ll have to wait and see where CRWBY takes this one (if they take it anywhere) but the potential for growth from Clover is there because Qrow has come into his life. One of the best things couples can do is challenge each other, and these two are primed to do exactly that.

Reason #3: Opposites attract for a reason

We’ve all heard the phrase, right? Opposites attract. Sometimes I think this statement falls victim to a lot of misunderstandings so let me clarify what I mean by this. I don’t mean their chosen routes in life (rogue and spy vs. structured military man), or their semblances, or even their different combat styles. I’m talking about the complementary nature of their personalities. 

Qrow has always been a bit impulsive. It’s been established that he sometimes doesn’t fully think things through, or if he does, he doesn’t care about the consequences and is willing to deal with them (see: his battle with Winter again). Don’t get me wrong. The guy is brilliant. He baits Winter knowing it will give him the opportunity to pick a fight with James as well and call him on his shit. But I’m pretty sure he also does this knowing full well that’s all he’s going to get: a fight. He’s not going to convince James not to bring the full Atlas military presence in for the Vytal Festival by shouting at him. He knows this and does it anyway. In his fight with Tyrian, you can see more than one instance where he’s planning his moves so his semblance has the chance to work on his opponent, but it’s at the risk of his own safety as well (see: the roof stunt). There are plenty of other examples throughout the show. Qrow runs off instinct and momentum.

Clover, on the other hand, strikes me as someone who exercises a bit more caution in his life. He thinks through a situation before he steps into it and overall just seems a little slower to take action. This is true in combat situations, as the whole mine mission was meticulously planned out beforehand. You can also see this approach mirrored in the way the Ace Ops work on the whole. Vine and Elm definitely don’t rush in when they encounter Grimm in the mine, and while Marrow and Harriet might be a bit faster to go after the main target, they don’t do it without a fully formed plan. It’s not foolproof, obviously. Marrow does cut off that piece of Dust with no one there (that he knows of) to catch it, but the point is still valid. 

This tendency to go slow and feel his way is also true in Clover’s personal life. In the truck scene, you can see him watching Qrow while he talks, gauging his reactions, trying to find the best way to reach him. Nothing he says is mere chitchat. It’s all meant to pull Qrow into a conversation, which Clover tries to keep focused on Qrow himself. His opener might be Ruby but he ditches that line of thought as soon as Qrow gives him the opening to do so and shifts his attention to where he really wants it to be: getting to know Qrow.

Then you also have Qrow’s penchant for falling into dark mental places balanced against Clover’s good mood and playfulness; Qrow’s willingness to be a little more open with his emotions and Clover’s tight emotional control; the fact that Qrow feels things fully and deeply while I suspect that Clover might have emotional walls he hasn’t learned how to lower yet; Clover’s ability to follow orders and Qrow’s ability to question. And that’s all out of only 3-ish minutes of total interaction between them so far. I think as the volume goes, we’ll only get more insight on the ways in which they balance and round each other out. 

Reason #4: Shared semblances

So this has been the biggest kicker for people so far, and I’ve seen it as a point both in favor of and against FG. Some people theorize that Clover’s semblance might have some balancing effect on Qrow’s, making it much safer for Clover to be around him than it is for others. Others think that it might be more of a trade-off: good luck part of the time and bad luck the other part (I’m in favor of this). And yet others seem to see Clover’s semblance as a negative thing for Qrow, somehow dampening his own semblance or countering it to the point that it’s mentally or emotionally detrimental for him. I personally don’t quite see the logic behind this given what we’ve seen so far, but I’ll just make my point and get out of this debate because the truth is that we still don’t quite know how their semblances function together. 

What we do know is that they are two sides of the same coin, and as such, are not nearly as far apart as they might have seemed at first. They both carry around luck semblances, which I assume is pretty damn rare. Almost every other semblance we have seen has existed more in the practical realm (Yang’s damage absorption, Blake’s shadow self, Weiss’s glyphs, Ruby’s rose petal thing, Marrow’s ability to slow time, Tyrian’s ability to rip through Aura, etc. etc. etc.) And then we have these two who operate in the realm of chance, something intangible and completely unpredictable. They are fairly unique in the RWBY-verse in this sense, and uniqueness usually breeds a certain degree of separation. 

A ton of theories are floating around about how Clover’s semblance has affected him throughout his life. I’ve posited a few myself. We obviously have no idea what the canon backstory for Clover is, and while I do think it’s pretty safe to assume that while Qrow has dealt with ostracization because of his semblance, Clover might have experience with some sort of idolization or even over-reliance (which can be damaging in its own right) because of his, there isn’t a whole lot we can speculate on without more information.

So where does that leave us? With the scene depicted above. Regardless of how their semblances might play off each other or what these two have suffered (or enjoyed) as a result of them, one thing is certain: they understand one another. Qrow may not know what it’s like to be able to draw good luck to himself, but he knows what it’s like when his semblance does work in his favor and screws over an opponent. Clover, by the same token, probably doesn’t understand what it’s like having to constantly watch out for misfortune, but he most likely does know what it’s like to have his semblance flip on him and give the edge to his opponent. Additionally, them both having such similar semblances means that learning to look for signs of each other’s being at work won’t be much of a stretch for them. They would be able to adapt pretty fast to working together. Note, I’m assuming their semblances function in the same way and that Clover has no more control over his than Qrow does because it just makes narrative sense. 

This puts them in the unique position of being together in their semblances, even if they’re on opposite ends of the spectrum. Qrow has not exhibited any jealousy or bitterness towards Clover because of his semblance, and Clover sure as hell hasn’t put any distance between them out of concern for Qrow’s semblance. They get each other, and after only half a season, they have developed a level of comfort with one another that already allows them to joke about it. An inside joke that no one else could possibly understand. And that is some powerful shit for two people who have potentially (one person we know for certain has) been isolated in one way or another because of their semblances throughout their lives.

Reason #5: Clover is new

Okay, if anyone partial to a different Qrow ship has somehow made it through this monster of a post, you might want to skip this bit. Because I’m going to make an argument for why bringing in a new character to be Qrow’s love interest is actually a good idea. This is not to hate on I//ronqrow or S//nowbird or any other popular Qrow ship, but it might annoy the shit out of you so… fair warning. I’ll keep it brief, though. 

I think Qrow getting involved with someone who he has no past connection to would be insanely good for him. When it comes to James or Winter or, really, anyone else who knew him before this volume, there is a lot of baggage there. And I mean a lot. At this point in his life, Qrow is dealing with enough of his own internal shit that throwing external interpersonal baggage on top of that probably wouldn’t help him in any way. Sometimes, you just need to start over somewhere (especially when you’re trying to pick up the pieces of yourself and figure out how they go together), and Clover offers Qrow the perfect opportunity to do that. There are no preconceptions that Qrow has to deal with, nothing he has to make up for or prove. Clover won’t be hovering over him anticipating a relapse or using his past behavior to interpret his current actions, or wondering why he’s changed, or holding things against him. He can figure out who he is now without the pressures of who he was hanging around his neck. And that, like so many other things these two have going for them, is unbelievably powerful. 

Reason #6: They already have the nonverbal thing down

This one is more for funsies than anything, but come on. They’re already communicating non-verbally? 

It took me a while to pinpoint that expression on Clover’s face but I finally got it: his brows don’t lower in annoyance or anger. They furrow: the universal sign of concern. What exactly he’s worried about, I’m not completely sure. It could be any number of things at this point, from a hint that he’s not totally supportive of this particular order he’s getting (bringing Robyn into custody) to a concern that he and Qrow might be approaching a clash point (not so far, though if Qrow is going to be the disruptive force Clover needs, that point is probably coming). Either way, this look speaks volumes. I’m just not entirely certain how to read it yet. 

But in the interest of keeping up on the analysis, note his answer to James. It’s not a “yes sir” or a “whatever you say, sir”. He says “we’ll figure it out”. Qrow looks at him and only then does Clover shoot him that sideways glance thing. Is he making it clear that he means to include Qrow in this? That he wants Qrow’s help? That he knows they’re all in a crap situation but the Amity project is stalled and they need to try something so they should at least try this? They’re communicating something here and just because I don’t know what it is yet doesn’t mean this is any less significant in terms of their relationship. This kind of thing only happens when you click with someone and these two definitely click.

Bonus: They’re just so damn cute together

If you made it through that nonsense, congratulations! Have some Fair Game goodness as a reward. These two are adorable together and you will never convince me otherwise:

#fair game #qrow branwen #clover ebi #lucky charms #fairgame #rwby7 #rwby #holy shit this became a thing #it's seriously a behemoth of a post #enter at your own risk #cute pictures at the end #analysis #maybe a little too much #i don't care this was fun #took me all afternoon but whatever #enjoy!!!

[seyaryminamoto]

I'm still confused as to how Iroh can just chill in Ba Sing Se after trying to burn it to the ground a few years ago?? That's like Bush moving to Iraq lmao. Yet mainstream fandom acts like Iroh is an angel and the citizens of Ba sing se should be grateful while in reality he will be the most wanted by the Earth Kingdom after the war is over.

... Curious analogy about Bush O.o I’d say maybe he’s not outright Bush, since Bush wasn’t the commanding officer on the field... a quick wikipedia search tells me the one who led the invasion in Iraq was Tommy Franks, a now-retired general? :’D yep, sounds more like this guy moving to Iraq, then.

People have made many excuses about Iroh being free to live in Ba Sing Se because he helped liberate it from the Fire Nation in the end, and I’m not going to lie, narratively it’s not even a bad idea for Iroh to have dreamt he’d “take” Ba Sing Se in his youth only for the dream to have a completely different meaning than he thought it did...

... But that would only be genuinely sweet and heartwarming if he hadn’t been responsible for an actual 600-day siege on the city. 

It’s not even a matter of headcanon whether Iroh is seen as a war criminal or not: we literally have an episode in Book 1 where he’s captured by Earth Kingdom soldiers who are hellbent on making Iroh face justice for his actions. By Book 2, Iroh and Zuko acknowledge they’re criminals to both Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation authorities: they need alter egos so they can travel the Earth Kingdom freely, otherwise they’ll face obvious consequences. Therefore, Iroh was very much a wanted criminal, and for solid reasons beyond “he’s related to the Fire Lord”. That his later actions helped liberate Ba Sing Se from the Fire Nation can’t be denied, but it doesn’t mean he should have been forgiven automatically for everything he did in the past. Perhaps he could get away with some sort of pardon by the Earth King, but pushing that as far as “he can settle down in the city he had under attack for almost two years and live happily there with zero consequences” can be a little too far in the suspension of disbelief department indeed.

It’s those small things, really, that make Iroh’s situation so very wishful and not as well-written as it could/should be. Featuring him as a wanted criminal in one season, as a runaway living under an alias in another... and then as a welcome tea connoisseur in the next one, who lives perfectly happy in the Earth Kingdom because he helped end the war? I might have felt better about it if maybe the show had the chance to feature Kuei offering him a public, controversial pardon for his past crimes, but as it was, it felt like that ending was meant to whitewash Iroh beyond reason... then again, Book 3 at large whitewashed Iroh constantly, even when they were trying to show him as flawed they merely backtracked right away (in The Firebending Masters).

I guess it’s partly a problem caused by the writing room being so set on indeminizing Iroh and giving him a perfect ending... I mean, recently I’ve been seeing a lot about how Aaron Ehasz inspired Iroh on his stepfather, a man he deeply admired. This may be the biggest writing mistake I’ve ever seen by him, because while you absolutely can love your characters, and you can inspire them on people you love, merging both things together will easily skew your understanding of the character until the character just stops being fiction and becomes a mere stand-in for the person you love IRL. It’s no different a concept from Mary Sues and self-inserts that constitute a completely unrealistic idealization of the author themselves, only, in Iroh’s case it’s the idealization of a loved one through writing. And this, perhaps, can even explain why Iroh goes from goofy-occasionally-wise in Book 1, to generally-wise-but-still-mostly-funny in Book 2, to the absolute paragon and pinnacle of wisdom in Book 3 (despite half his wisdom is contradictory and even hypocritical). These changes in Iroh’s writing wouldn’t necessarily obey character growth and development, but rather, they would answer the Head Writer’s conscious or subconscious merging of the identities of Iroh and his stepfather, to the point where he obviously can’t acknowledge Iroh’s faults because that’d be a disservice to the stepfather he admired deeply... which, in turn, results in a disservice to the writing of the show, for Iroh’s accountability for his past mistakes is relegated to the burning of a flag and nothing else, and that’s beyond hard to buy.

I’ve also talked in other asks about the three facets of Iroh, it might shed extra light on why the fandom treats Iroh as they do, and why they disregard Iroh’s past crimes so easily while focusing only on how nice he is, how wise he is, how funny he is. It’s why they think this isn’t weird in the least, whereas once you detach yourself from the emotional component in the show slightly, Iroh living peacefully in Ba Sing Se ends up feeling like a rather poorly thought-out conclusion for the character. 

Imagine I wrote a redemption story for Ozai (... easier said than done, I know xD), where he ends up realizing where he went wrong and devotes his life to correcting his mistakes and help the world on a better path: if I sent Ozai to live happily ever after in a restaurant in Omashu, to say one thing, the place that was renamed for him and that used to bear a monument to his ridiculous ego, no less, people would immediately tell me I’m insane, no matter how well-written the story could be. And they wouldn’t be wrong to do so: it’s simply not reasonable to give a character who committed HUGE war crimes a simplistic happy ending without considering how much backlash and how many complications can arise from it. 

Seriously, imagine how many Earth Kingdom people will want to barge into Iroh’s teashop to yell at him because his actions got a relative of theirs, or a loved one, killed during the war? Imagine people outright sabotaging his teashop, even setting it on fire or something radical like that... it could happen! There’s seriously no reason to assume otherwise. We saw, in the Promise, a group of angry Earth Kingdom people yelling outside Yu Dao in protest to Zuko’s decision to keep the city as a Fire Nation colony: how many people would want to charge into the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se to protest that Iroh has no right to live in this city, let alone to serve people tea carelessly when he’s responsible for so many awful deeds?

And there’s the other side of the coin: Zuko faces backlash on that same comic trilogy from the Fire Nation people, who see him as a traitor who’s selling out his people to the Avatar and the Earth Kingdom. Who’s to say some Fire Nation occupants of the city haven’t been lying low in wait to attack Iroh for his perceived treason of the Fire Nation, too?

In real life, usually tyrants and big war criminals run away someplace neutral and live their remaining days in relative peace while keeping as low a profile as possible, while knowing that if they step out of their safety zone they’ll probably be captured and held accountable for their crimes. In ATLA, they can open teashops in the very city they attacked for 600 days without a care in the world, and nothing comes of it :’)

Again, I blame the writing room’s unreasonable bias towards Iroh. Liking a character =/= giving them everything they could ever want without considering the character’s actual circumstances and the reactions this can elicit in the people around them. Hell, having Iroh setting up a teashop in the Fire Nation, close to the Palace or something, would make a bit more sense than doing it in Ba Sing Se + it offers him chances to advise Zuko properly, which Zuko DIRELY needs. But nope, instead we get what we got, and most people don’t even find it slightly strange because of Iroh’s three-faced nature :’)

#anon #more controversy 'bout Iroh #I honestly hadn't even known about the Ehasz thing until recently #but as soon as I saw him talking about Iroh that fondly #and likening him to his stepfather #I said 'ah... that basically explains everything' #honestly I've outright inspired characters in my friends #in people around me #from the very get-go #and they usually take a life of their own to the point where I end up forgetting they were inspired by real people in the first place #I'm 100% convinced the opposite happened with Iroh

[morelike-bi-light]

As much as I love our meme culture where we romanticize or slam our favs, I do genuinely think there's really interesting flaws to explore with all of the Twilight vampires. It's not developed super well in the series, not front and center since whether we see main characters make mistakes with consequences largely depends on how Meyers personally feels about them and what they represent to her, but the complexity exists and there's a whole heap of potential to explore.

Like Carlisle's need to 'save' and how it conflicts with itself. There's that post that points out exactly how selfish his decision was, seeing as how he views vampirism as damnation, and yes! That makes it so much more interesting. What would he be without this conflict? A pretty one dimensional saint figure with a million PhDs. I love that Carlisle spent hundreds of years denying himself company and then crumbled beneath a single Chicago mother's plea to save her son, in my mind as an excuse to soothe his own crippling loneliness. And then when he had someone to exist beside, he just... he did it again, ostensibly because Esme deserved better. And again, this time for Edward. Then he did it for Rose. And then they picked up Alice and Jasper, and I wonder if he felt that much more guilty knowing that if he'd just waited a decade or so more, he might've found family anyways without having to 'damn' the others. Exploring how that interacts with his religious beliefs? Sign me up.

Then there's Rosalie's resentment. It's been covered in much better depth by other users, and I think I've reblogged those posts, but the validity of her anger and fear of losing the only things that give her comfort in a life she never chose bears repeating. Not to mention how this possibly affects her relationship with her coven - it's like when your child or spouse or sibling or best friend who has depression. How do you interact with a loved one who wishes they were dead? Who thinks life, even with you, whom they claim to love, is a prison? How do you interact with the man you believe to be your soulmate when you genuinely believe that you would be better off having died before meeting him? What does it say about her sense of self prior to death versus as an immortal?

Which leads perfectly into Edward's self-flagellation. He murders and feeds, because he's a monster who deserves to feel like one - but he's not the only one who suffers from that (though we give him some points for understanding that from the get-go and targeting people he thinks deserve it). But then he feels bad for acting like a monster and he has another reason to punish himself. He deprives himself of joy and distances himself from his family because how dare a monster like he ever find comfort in others like him, and how dare he enjoy a life that's so unnatural - but his family suffers alongside him. But then he feels guilty for being a dick to them, which gives him another reason to punish himself. He sends Bella mixed signals by alternating between caring, coldness, and cruelty, because he wants her to be happy but he also doesn't want himself to be happy - but Bella suffers because of this. Then he feels guilty about putting her safety at risk, which gives him another reason to punish himself. It goes on and on, and this line of thinking hinders his growth as a character through the entire series without being properly addressed.

Bella's bull-headedness. Jasper's survivalism. There is so, so much to be said here. Even with the three least developed of the coven, Alice has her impulsivity, Esme has her passivity, Emmett has his impatience.

On the flip side, we have the native characters, who are all either poorly developed or most characterized through off hand, arm's-length negativity, so as to make the vamps look better, and all I want for them is more content exploring all the good they have to offer.

Like, Jake's defining quality is his loyalty - Smeyer may have butchered his character, but I'm not talking about the bullshit she had him do in the last two books. I want to see more exploring how warm and good and patient and generous he is with his friends, no matter what it is he's up against, be it social conflict or an emotional crisis. I mean, in the books, we only ever get to see him really care about Bella. What about Embry and Quil? There's an entire foundation to their friendship that's hardly brushed by canon. I want to see his loyalty to his father and sisters and the memory of his mother. IT is interesting when loyalties conflict, preferably with greater nuance and weight than the Uley vs Cullen dilemma, but what's more satisfying is getting to see Jacob act in his element. I wanna see his other good traits explored too, the ones that exist outside of the necessity that he be a good friend/alternate LI for Bella - like the passion he has and his down to earth attitude.

And don't get me started on the Uley pack. Sam himself had so much potential to be a nuanced foil to Carlisle - I'm going to need to make an entire other post on it, it gets me so worked up, so keep an eye out for that! But also there's Paul, who is literally just an angry caricature version of Emmett, Emily whose entire characterization is built on a mess of racist and sexist tropes, and how many of the others even get characterized at all?

And Leah. Was she done the dirtiest of not only all the native characters, but also all the females? Arguably, yeah. I'd say so. Again, there was so, so much potential to explore her even in subtle ways through the later narrative and literally next to none of it was fulfilled. By the end of Breaking Dawn I was genuinely irritated, even as a kid, because it felt like Leah had been pointed out time and time again as being so special - only important native woman, only pack member to have been ostracized through the entire series, and the only female werewolf, hello - only for none of it to be relevant literally at all to the major plot. There wasn't even any follow up. Why is she the first female wolf? What does that mean for the future of the shapeshifters? (I'm absolutely thinking about this for my - probably shorter than planned - fic, jsyk.)

Thank God for Seth, I guess. We all love Seth, but still I think even he is basically just a puppy's personality given human form. It's as if Smeyer thinks that complexity is counter blank to goodness, friendliness, and openness. (And I think this is an issue with Emmett, Alice, Esme, and Angela, too, to be fair. It's just that where those four are just Defined by a trait - boisterous, fun, gentle, and nice in turn - Seth's behavior specifically plays into a... cutesy... paternalism? That makes me narrow my eyes a bit.) Anyways, I wouldve liked to see his feelings about Charlie and Sue, or about his sister's transformation and his father's death, or uh, any of the violence against the newborns many of whom were literally his age from Eclipse? And not just in an, oh, sad boy is sad kind of way. He's not a care bear - there's gotta be some conflict about what he's been through seeing as it's a LOT.

To be real, though? In some ways, I'm actually okay with it that Smeyer dropped the ball on so many of her characters, while still giving us what we have to work with - largely because it's actually so cool to think about all the potential buried in the content we have, waiting to be unearthed. It's why, regardless of when or why it started and how long it should've lasted, I don't see myself exiting the Twilight fandom for a long time. There's so much work to be done, you know, stuff to be said, and I think it's been and is and will be a beautiful conversation. This was just meant to be a long meta, but really, I have to take a moment and celebrate everyone in the fandom who has kept it alive and funny and interesting, whether you're a staple like @howlonghaveyoubeenseventeen and @shittytwilightaus or you're just here to reblog and enjoy. We all sort of rediscovered this thing we liked in our childhood and just collectively decided to fix it and make it something worth loving as the people we are, and it makes me proud to be here!

#twilight #twilight saga #twilight meta #edward cullen #jacob black #carlisle cullen #rosalie hale #leah clearwater #seth clearwater #sam uley #wolf pack #uley pack #black pack #olympic coven #cullen coven #cullen family #esme cullen #jasper hale #bella swan #emmett cullen #alice cullen #quil ateara #embry call #bilight's bs #bilight talks #bilight's meta #bilight writes #bilight's headcanon #bilight's headcanons #long post

[facepalming-since-chernobyl]

My brain is rotting

Maybe isntead 

All dumb shit - (x)

“ Whether or not you believe Lena Luthor was behaving out of character on Supergirl season 5 or not, there’s no denying that Lena has a lot to make up for and make right on Supergirl season 6. “ 

yeah, out of character. She was never manipulated by her brother, never killed people,never threw a tantrum, never did morally wrong experiments, never was sure she is right when she wasn’t, was never blinded by her emotions, blah blah blah

It’s clear that there is a lot to be done with Lena Luthor during Supergirl season 6 after a season of her siding with her brother and the writers consistently destroying the relationship between Lena and Kara over the big Kryptonian secret.

What a lot? All they need to do is put the bitch in jail. Tell me, why Lena won’t admit on public she was hapily helping Lex with lobotomizing whole fucking humanity? That she kidnapped and enslaved people? Why? Because she KNOWS she would end in a jail. What makes her a fucking coward. What makes her redemption a SHIT.

If there’s any way to make sure this is done (and done correctly), it’s to bring Lena into the fold and give her a pivotal role in these stories. Let’s start by making her a super friend.

 Pivotal. LOL. She HAD pivotal role in season 5 and that’s why this season SUCKED BALLS. And she was a superfriend. And guess what? She used Kara and manipulated them all, put them in DANGER, because she was butthurt. 

Making things right needs to be Lena Luthor’s top priority on Supergirl season 6. She really screwed up. (I personally don’t agree with the narrative that the show painted of Lena’s actions, as it was very clear that her past abuse and trauma was clouding her judgment and she was actively being manipulated by one of her abusers, but nonetheless…) Her relationships are in shambles, but for the first time in her life, she has the chance to put the pieces back together.

I’m dyiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing. Her top priority should be going to police and confessing her crimes. But we all know she won’t, because she is a coward.

Sure, you don’t agree because Boo Hoo Hoo Luthor showed her true colors. Yeah, sure, she had traumatic past and Lex and Lilian abused her all the time, we just don’t know how exactly. Plus, sorry not sorry, your traumatic past don’t give you the rights to kidnap, enslave, manipulate, lie and torture people. And plan to lobotomize whole humanity because you are too poor to go to theraphy... WAIT.

STOP excusing abusers and toxic people’s behavior. It’s fucking disgusting. Especially when all what they have to do is cry (crocodile tears) and help to fix shit THEY CREATED. ONCE AGAIN. 

The abuser she first SHOT IN COLD BLOOD and then happily work with, when he was magically brought to life, because oh yeah, he made Luthors look good. LOL

Her relationships are in shambles and it’s her fault. What first? She had that chances in s2. 

Lena’s finally seen the light and the truth about who Lex and Lillian are, so it’s given her a new lease on life, one where she can begin to put her past behind her and move forward for the first time in her life. She can, hopefully, start to have a life that isn’t constantly dragged down by her family. And I think the best way to do this is to make her an official super friend.

I’m dyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyying. Lena shot Lex with cold blood because she knew who he was. And then she was still manipulated by him. For the THIRD TIME. And she had that life in STARCITY and she threw it away, because she wanted to be a LUTHOR. Once again, it’s on HER. She could walk away every fucking second. But she chose to stay. And do horrible

On this point I’m pretty sure she is a dumb bitch that can’t learn on her own experiences what makes me wonder about people calling her a genius. 

Lena’s often kept out of the loop until the very end when she invents some life-saving device and stops the villain, which is tiresome and shows that the writers truly don’t understand the complexity of the character and how impactful her relationships with the other characters could be.

How many times the shit she “helped” to fix was HER fault? Because she knew better and didn’t listen to her friends? This is IN character and writers know exactly who she is. Sorry not sorry, canon.

I’m not saying that Kara and company are going to immediately trust Lena to be on their side and always do the right thing. That will be part of the tension of Lena joining the group at first, proving that she’s capable of helping them and being a positive addition to their group. With Lex on the loose (hopefully not for long), this provides the perfect opportunity to begin Supergirl season 6 with Lena in the fold, finding more reasons to keep her there along the way.

Sure, once again Superfriends need to offer their hand to their ABUSER and invate her to their circle. So she can fuck shit again. Positive addition, yeah - butthurt, complains, eternal bitching about how people call her Luthor, being always right, not listening to the others. But oh yeah, she can produce more kryptonite to torture Kara. Once again, why keep her? Put her in the jail, case close.

(...)now is the time that Supergirl seems to be relying heavily on the team element, and leaving Lena out would be disastrous. The entirety of the Lena vs. Kara story on season 5 could have been avoided if Lena was brought into the fold earlier (and seeing only a few alternate realities doesn’t convince me that there was no way Kara could have told Lena earlier… that’s a pathetically easy way out of the story and the writers surely know it).

Sure. Blame Kara once again for rightfully protecting herself. And sure, CANON can’t convince you that telling Lena earlier would have changed a shit. Some people can’t understand that Lena is the pathetic control freak and has to know everything, because if not boo hoo hoo, people call her a Luthor.

This is canon Lena Luthor. I’m sorry she doesn’t fit your headcanon.

 And aside from Kara, Lena needs to work out her relationships with the others, too. She had minimal scenes with Alex — which is the second most important relationship to develop next to Kara and Lena’s on Supergirl season 6 — on season 5 and Brainy, too. But have Lena and Nia even been in a scene together? That’s a tragedy in and of itself. Plus, Kelly was the only one on good terms with Lena, and that could grow into a beautiful friendship, especially because of the relationship that Katie McGrath and Azie Tesfai share off-screen.

Her most important relationships are: her and her ego, her and her last name, her and her mommy issues, her and her brother. What she needs to develope is a fucking conscience. 

And Jesus Christ, leave Nia out of her fucking clucthes, we don’t need her corrupting poor Dreamer (aside of the fact Dreamer is protective of Kara and is going to show Lena her middle finger in s6). Why we need being tortured but going through Lena making friends with everybody?

Lena’s been a series regular on the show for three seasons, yet she’s continuously the person left out. Nia’s a superhero and knew Kara’s identity before her, Kelly has close ties with Alex and Kara even if she’s not officially in on the secret yet, and Brainy instantaneously became part of the group when the Legion showed up during season 3. Because of the ridiculous good vs. evil story, Lena has not been allowed to grow and develop real relationships after three seasons. Supergirl season 6 must rectify that.

LOL, she was in the cricle. All the time. She just didn’t know Kara’s secret. But sure, it kept her form growing up *dyiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing*. All of the characters that knew earlier were worthy Kara’s trust. Canon showed Lena was and is not. She is ruled by her BUTTHURT. That’s the problem with Princess Lena. She was blinded by her emotions by MONTHS. And for sure it will happen again, because Miss Luthorgirl is unable to understand her own fucking flaws and blames everyone but herself.

After painting Lena out to be a villain for the entirety of season 5, Supergirl season 6 absolutely cannot follow their history of major interpersonal developments occurring off-screen with Lena, especially when it comes to her relationship with Kara.

Not painiting. She was the villain. Yeah, all we need is focusing on Lena’s being sad and uspet and Kara trying to fix shit again. Because we don’t suffer from it since s2. 

Maybe instead of wasting time on a white privileged white bitch, who makes the same msiakes all the time and never paid for it, who kidnapped, tortured. enslaved and lobotomize people and her friends, let’s focus on dansen, developing Kelly, focusing more on Alex and Alex and Kara, giving Nia more screen time. I wonder, why the author thinks Lena and her whiny ass should get anything more?

This goes for all relationships, honestly, not just those involving Lena. While I do think everyone should get these moments on-screen, it absolutely has to happen with Lena if we’re going to believe her journey going forward. Making all of these moments happen off-screen is quite a bad habit that has constantly dragged Supergirl down, but should we actually get to see the emotions and growth exploring during Supergirl season 6, there’s a lot of potential, particularly because of how talented this cast is.

Sure. But the others, REAL representation, are not that important as Lena and her privileged ass. Who needs her journey going forward? She had her chance. She fucked it more than once. 

And now, amazing how this person totally IGNORED that Lena kidnapped, killed, lobotomized, enslaved, tortured Kara and hurt her physically and emotionally like NO ONE EVER HAD, that she supported and happily worked with a mass murderer and terrorist, that she planned to DESTROY Kara and her family. Like all she did was some bad things, but it was not her fault that much, because her family abused her and Kara lied to her, what a crime!, let’s not talk about what she really has done. The shit since s2. The list is LONG. Because, ha ha haaaaaa, Lena doing bad things, while being “blinded by her emotions” is NOT only s5.

Lena Luthor is not a poor victim of circumstances and her family. Her crying and helping people fixing HER shit is not a redemption. Her apologizing to Kara is not REDEMPTION. All of she has done is still THERE. If she wants redemption, she needs to PAY for her SHIT and earn it. 

The problem is, I don’t give a flying fuck anymore. She can rot in jail. And tbh, this is what she deserves. 

Kara deserves better. Superfriends deserve better.

#anti lena luthor #anti sc #my shit #gmo lena #antilena

[chubbyheroesworthyheroes]

Flustered 🐷 Berkut where he’s doing his best to retain his image as a a regal lord despite quite literally turning into a farm animal?

me? finish shadows of valentia just so i could write this? not on your life my game world has been consumed by cowboys & adorable animals for the past few months...SO! I hope this is good enough characterization considering I have yet to get back to valentia & its cast

Being the heir presumptive to the Rigel Empire was something Berkut took great pride in, but it was also something that he took very seriously. His responsibilities were many, especially when it felt like he had to prove himself to his King uncle at every turn. It was certainly the sort of life that could turn a man bitter, but Berkut was determined to be seen as unquestionably worthy to succeed the throne. It wasn’t a matter of being the only one capable by blood to take the throne, he wanted to claim it on his own merits.

Rigel was a land of power. Showing his skills on the field of battle was simple and effective. However, a king could not solely lead from the back of a war horse. There was politics at home as well as abroad -- however little that actually happened.

Politics meant flexing a different kind of power. It called for wits and charisma. Observational skills. The means with which to always secure your desired result without the need for violence. It was a different sort of game within the walls of the court, but it was one that Berkut intended to master just as he had the intricacies of war.

“It’s so beautiful...don’t you think?”

The soft voice of Rinea was often missed by most, but Berkut was finely attuned to her more quiet and reserved nature. Though demure, she had a love for the parties and galas that took place among the higher class. It was hardly for the vanity of it all; she enjoyed the dancing, the artistry of the dresses that noblewomen pranced around in and the fantasy of it all. It was a fairy tale to her, and Berkut always tried to keep the political underhand from spoiling her time.

“It is. Though, nothing that sparkles here can even dare to hold a candle to--”

“Ah, my lord Berkut! What’s with all this standing around?” a booming, clearly already sloshed voice interrupted, its owner waddling over jovially. He was a portly man; red faced from either dancing or drinking, or both. Balding head shining with sweat, and looking like he had been absolutely stuffed into the ceremonial suit he was sporting. It stretched dangerously tight around the man’s bulging middle, and Berkut didn’t even bother to hide his grimace of distaste and annoyance as the nobleman clapped him eagerly on the shoulder.

Rinea had jumped at the loud intrusion, and shyly averted her gaze to the dancers on the floor as soon as the man had lumbered over to them. It set Berkut’s teeth on edge to have been so rudely interrupted by such a swine of a man, but he attempted to keep his temper in check. Chatting with idiots past their prime was just another part of the game, as much as it irked him.

“...We were simply taking a break from the floor,” Berkut supplied begrudgingly, brown eyes sliding to Rinea for a moment, making sure she knew that he had plans for them to continue where they left off as soon as this bloated windbag was done nittering on.

The older man seemed to take great delight in this, laughing uproariously despite no joke having been told. “Good lad, good lad! That’s exactly what young folk like you should be doing,” he blathered on, wiping at his brow with a kerchief and grinning widely. “We may not be youngsters anymore, but my wife and I still like to show these other stuffed shirts how its done!” the man waves over a tall, willowy woman, who saunters over with an air about her like she knew they’d wait for her.

Arrogance. These two were quickly getting on Berkut’s nerves.

Stiff introductions are made, the tension going unnoticed by the corpulent man just as it was making Rinea nervous.

“Charmed,” the elder woman speaks, tone haughty, sharp eyes staring at the younger couple over her hooked nose like a hawk.

“O-Oh, very! Your dress is lovely,” Rinea offered, making an attempt to disperse the brewing dark cloud over their conversation.

The woman sets her steely gaze on sweet Rinea for a solid minute before deciding to speak, sniffing derisively and responding as if it was a chore to do so. “Yes, well, I do quite enjoy keeping up with the latest fashions.”

The “unlike you” went unsaid, but it set fire to Berkut’s smoldering temper as Rinea simply gave a strained smile.

Snorting in contempt, he was quick to grip Rinea’s hand securely in his own -- perhaps a little too firmly on account of his anger -- his thumb running circles into the back of her hand as he spoke up in a clipped tone. “I’m sure someone like you has to work hard to retain what beauty she has left after time has taken its toll.” His burning gaze didn’t waver, boring into the shocked and then equally as fiery eyes of the older noblewoman that had so insulted his beloved.

Rinea was doing her utmost to keep a sweet look on her face despite the shock that was begging to be seen just beneath the surface. The portly lord was blissfully unaware of the out-in-the-open tensions here, chuckling away as he grabbed another glass of something bubbly from a passing servant with a tray. Some part of Rinea wished she could be as oblivious as this man…

Lip twitching as she struggled to reply to such a remark, the older woman stifled a screech of rage and grabbed her drunken husband by his fat arm, turning to leave. “What an insolent brat you are!” she harped, her eyes almost seeming to glow in the light of the dance hall as she stormed away -- her husband jovially bidding the young couple goodbye as he was dragged off.

Something about the way she looked at him set Berkut on edge, like a chill going down his back, but he chose to ignore it as nothing more than an optical illusion.

“Shall we return to the dance?” Berkut asked, his demeanor shifting into something more pleasant now that it was just Rinea and himself once more.

“O-Oh, yes, please!”

They danced for as long as the music played, getting lost in the movements and the sounds. It was several hours later when Berkut felt an unpleasant tug in his guts, and he had to pull them away from the multitude of dancers to recover. Rinea fussed over him for a little, telling him to stay put and rest while she went to get him something to drink -- preferably tea, as she so kindly put it, as adding alcohol on top of a bothered stomach wouldn’t help too much. So, Berkut sat in a chair out of the way, grimacing and resisting the urge to try and settle his stomach by rubbing it. He couldn’t recall eating or drinking anything that would have caused this. Honestly, he’d barely done either since he’d been so caught up in dancing with Rinea.

His stomach gurgled loudly, and Berkut was thankful for the cover of the music and the loud chatter of the people in the hall.

“Ugh, how irritating…,” he grumbled to himself, trying to find a position that alleviated some of his discomfort. Not even thinking about it, Berkut pressed a hand to his stomach in an effort to work out the pressure there, surprise hitting him like something physical when his palm pushed into soft flesh. Despite their comfortable look, the clothes he was wearing were still rather form fitting; there wasn’t much give to them.

So, when he looked down to see his stomach bulging softly against the material of his overcoat, his first instinct was to deny it.

It was late, perhaps he was simply tired and seeing things. Yes, of course, that had to be it. So, removing his hand and keeping it by his side quite firmly, Berkut chose to ignore the way his clothes were growing ever tighter as the minutes ticked away.

He’d have to find out what fool had tailored this outfit, as they were clearly lacking in an real skill if they couldn’t get a simple fitting right for him.

A nervous sweat was breaking out on his forehead the longer he repeated his mantra of denial to himself, his suit feeling increasingly restricting and suffocating as his whole body continued to bloat up with velvety pudge. His gut was pooching heavily over the tight belt at his waist, causing the young lord to squirm in his seat at the discomfort. His ass was spreading out beneath him, not only straining his trousers but billowing over the seat of his chair as he started to run out of room. The clasps of his overcoat were struggling to maintain their duty of staying closed the more he grew, stomach and rounding moobs stressing them.

Just when he was starting to think he should get up and leave to find a healer, someone approached him to chatter away with more nonsense. It was obvious they were pointedly avoiding saying anything about his appearance, and their speech and body language was nervous as they conversed about absolutely nothing of importance -- but, this only served to make Berkut double down on his denial. If it wasn’t anything people felt they should bring up to his face, then there was nothing truly wrong.

Even when it became harder to breathe in his ill fitting clothes as his body plumped up further. Even as the chair creaked dangerously underneath him. Even when his words started to come out with grunting effort.

There was nothing wrong! Everything was business as usual!

Fat face tinged red from the extra heat building up from his growing form in such tight and fancy clothes, Berkut snorted in surprise when a quick succession of pings sounded off from the clasps of his overcoat, the material even ripped near some of the metal clasps instead of the metal itself giving way, his enormous belly spilling forward in a tidal wave of jiggling flesh now that it was no longer held back. Bulging love handles still filled out the rest of his shirt, forcing the material to more or less cling to his form in spite of his continued growth.

The nobles that had been trying to hold a polite conversation with the growing Berkut quickly excused themselves with stammered words, hurrying off as the young lord huffed and puffed heavily in some short-lived relief at being able to breathe freely again.

Leaning back in his chair -- the ornate wood creaking loudly, almost cracking at the weight -- Berkut groaned low as he cradled his fat, monstrous gut with both hands in bewilderment. It felt so damn real, but this couldn’t be, could it? He was dreaming -- this was a nightmare, a foul nightmare!

As he looked away from the expanding mass of his gut, Berkut met eyes once more with the old woman from earlier. She looked rather pleased with herself, turning to leave triumphantly; and as she smirked at him, fanning out her thin fingers in a wave, he tried to rush to his feet to chase after her in indignant anger. However, his center of gravity was rather distorted now, and it took a great effort to even wobble to his feet at his current weight -- fat belly sagging down close to his knees, thick thighs jiggling and rubbing together as they fought for space. Laboring to even take a step forward, a blinding pain in his lower jaw had Berkut stumbling backwards with a squeal of shock, his fat ass coming down hard on the chair he’d been using and utterly demolishing it as he fell back.

Dazed and pinned to the ground by his own sheer mass, Berkut grunted as he tried to right himself, flabby arms shaking as they tried and failed to push him up. His breathing was heavy and staggered, panting mouth wide open as he tried to process the odd obstruction to his vision. Waving a tired hand in front of his face, he winces when he realizes that he’s struck his own nose, the sensitive thing twitching a bit as he breathes out of it. Why...was it so large? Fingers so fat that they’re starting to rip through the soft lambskin gloves he was wearing, Berkut touches his nose, mapping out the way it looks by feel -- and snorting in disgust when he recognizes it as a pig’s snout.

There is, by now, a lot of attention turning on him. Whispering voices and prying eyes, a sickening mixture of concerned, confused and jeering, all hyper fixated on the young man as dark colored ears grew to fit the style of his nose. Flat and floppy, like that of a hog. The pain in his jaw only increased, and Berkut soon couldn’t care a single bit that all eyes were on his fat hog’s body, bursting out of his fine clothes and unable to even sit up for the mountainous weight of his own belly, as sharp, shining tusks ruptured from his bottom jaw. He squealed at the discomfort, though there was no blood to accompany the horrific feeling.

Brown eyes darted back and forth, feverishly, as Berkut tried to come up with some sort of viable explanation for all of this...only for his panicked thoughts to be completely sidetracked by his new, pig-sized appetite to awaken with a rumbling growl from his stomach that was heard throughout the now shocked-into-silence ballroom.

#Anonymous #male weight gain #male wg #chubby!berkut #pig transformation #pig tf #oink oink you kinky heckers!! #i'm a little proud of this #if only because it was fun to see how far i could push his denial of reality

[nikkoliferous]

Now, About That Sceptre

Based on hair growth, if nothing else, it seems that a fair amount of time must have passed between Loki's appearance in the post-credits of Thor (2011) and his dramatic entrance via the Tesseract in Avengers Assemble. Despite the apparent time jump, Loki's physical well-being is still clearly... not great. His appearance has improved in some ways from the horror show above (the burns have healed, his mouth isn't full of blood), but he shows a number of signs of heat exhaustion, at a minimum (something especially relevant because, remember, Loki's a Frost Giant). He's visibly exhausted and disoriented, he nearly collapses on multiple occasions, he's sweaty and pale with dark and sunken eyes. This is not a healthy man. And while there was maybe an argument to be made for his prior physical distress being contributable to the effects of the wormhole, whatever's happening here is all Thanos.

Beyond his immediate physical state, he comes across as paranoid, afraid—desperately fighting to get through just this one moment, and then the next, and then the next. If he just holds it together a little bit longer, he'll be safe. He'll be able to rest. Watch how he stumbles. Observe his deathgrip on the sceptre and on the truck rail. Look at his desperate facial expression and body language. He's trembling.

Now we're getting into psychology, and well... Loki says some odd things throughout this film. The Loki of Thor (2011) was clearly dealing with a mental health crisis, but the Loki of Avengers Assemble seems—not to put too fine a point on it—crazy. And he's not just crazy. His words and his body seem to, at times, be in direct conflict with one another. He may talk down to the humans, but he appears to take little pleasure in actually hurting them. And yet he summons an army of aliens with the expressed purpose of doing just that. He's sassy and grandstanding while facing the Avengers, but on the occasions where he's violent with civilians, as well as whenever he's alone, he appears to dissociate from himself. Look at his face. This is not remotely fun for him. He looks dead inside.

Overall, Loki's body language and facial expressions often betray a Loki who is struggling to justify his actions. He seems, at times, almost as though he is speaking to himself as much as he is taunting the Avengers or humanity. Here are some quotes/scenes that grab my attention.

For a start, there are these exchanges with Fury shortly after he first arrives via the power of the Tesseract:

Fury: "This doesn't have to get any messier." Loki: "Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else."

"I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose."

Loki: "I come with glad tidings of a world made free." Fury: "Free from what?" Loki: "Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart, you will know peace."

He goes on to reiterate his bizarre speech about "freedom" again in Stuttgart.

"The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."

This all sounds a lot like indoctrination to me, and it's worth noting that the Black Order—for whom Loki is ‘working’ in this movie—is literally a cult. In fact, they use very similar rhetoric at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War. Compare this to Loki's rhetoric on the nature of freedom:

"Hear me... and rejoice. You have had the privilege of being saved by the Great Titan. You may think this is suffering. No. It is salvation. Universal scales tipped toward balance because of your sacrifice. Smile, for even in death you have become Children of Thanos."

And then there's Loki's outburst directed at Natasha after the Avengers have taken him prisoner for the first time and she's trying to get information out of him:

"You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors. But they are a part of you and they will never go away!"

Before this moment, he seems relatively calm and in control. Something changes here; he becomes disgusted and aggressive. His words could easily be applied to himself as well. Here Loki is on Midgard, pretending to have his own agenda. "Something that makes up for the horrors". Yet as much as Loki claims to be free of sentimentality, we as the audience know better. We can see it in his microexpressions and his body language. We know of his being psychically linked to The Other. We see the nature of Loki's interactions with them: the tears in his eyes, the threats and his attempts to suppress and hide his fear, the pain they're able to inflict on him with just a touch.

"If you fail, if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he cannot find you. You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain."

There are also subtle indicators that Loki's memories might have been tampered with, such as his initial conversation with Thor.

"Our father—" "YOUR father. He did tell you of my true parentage, did he not?" "We were raised together! We played together, we fought together. Do you remember none of that?" "I remember a shadow. Living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss."

Yes, of course, it's possible that this is hyperbole on Loki's part. Regardless, it's worth noting as part of a pattern of bizarre, cult-like behaviours that Loki displays throughout the movie. It becomes even more noteworthy in light of the revelation that Loki was being influenced by the mind stone all the while. The specific phrasing Marvel uses is, "fueling his hatred over his brother." Does that include distorting his perception of what's happened between them? It's not conclusive, but it's certainly possible.

Now, Loki does at times appear to be genuinely enjoying himself. I'm not denying that or sweeping it under the rug. But look at the context. Notice when he seems to be the most amused. It's when he's grandstanding. It's when he's the center of attention. When people run screaming from him. When he's being interrogated. It's not the violence that pleases him; it's the recognition. For the first time in his life, he's center stage. He feels powerful. And Loki will always take negative attention over no attention at all.

Simmer down there, you lovable maniac.

At the other end of the spectrum, however, we have moments like just before he stabs Thor, in which he looks at the destruction around him with legitimate panic and horror written on his face. As though he's awoken from a haze and is only just realising the extent of what he's done. (Side note: for the life of me, I'll never understand people who call Loki a psychopath. Every single time we've seen Loki hurt Thor, he does it literally with tears in his eyes. And yet Ragnarok would have us believe he's done so all throughout their childhood just for funsies).

Surely this isn't the expression of a man who wants all this death and destruction—who's carrying out his own will. And why should he? Even if he truly meant to/cared about ruling Midgard, there's little reward in ruling a world of corpses.

Which brings us to our ultimate conclusion. As mentioned above, there have long been theories—now confirmed canon—that Loki was under the influence of the sceptre AKA the mind stone throughout Avengers Assemble. An observation I had missed initially is that some fans desperate to cling to Loki's identity as a Villain™ have differentiated between the total mind control of Barton and Selvig and the 'influencing' of Loki's behaviour via the sceptre. But note that the same language is used for both instances:

"Gifted with a sceptre that acted as a mind control device, Loki would be able to influence others. Unbeknownst to him, the sceptre was also influencing him."

I do believe that the mind control over Loki was less effective; he clearly maintained some measure of autonomy, despite the sceptre's influence. But I still think it's important to note the consistency of language used. And in fact, it’s worth noting that his control over Barton and Selvig wasn’t absolute either. Barton admits he may have failed to kill Fury because of his connection to him; Selvig installs a failsafe for shutting down the portal.

We also know—thanks to yet another stupidly discarded deleted scene—that The Other can hear and communicate with Loki at all times. Look at the longing on Loki's face when Thor tries to reason with him. He wishes so badly that he could accept Thor's offer. But this is still a hostage situation. He's on permanent speakerphone, and he knows there's no safe escape route for him.

↩️ back to the compendium

#the big damn ragnarok sucks compendium #avengers assemble #loki meta #loki #topic: the chitauri sceptre/mind stone #thanos #the black order #mcu #topic: loki was tortured

[butterfly-winx]

its probably the helia stan in me but id love to read an origin story! idk if youre planning one for all of them but i really like your worldbuilding so id read them! and i know others would too! 💞 (also that fairy sketch was beautiful and if youre planning on it id love to hear more about him 👀)

Aahh ugh, I don’t actually have a lot fleshed out for Cyanox, except that he is the Guardian of Prometia and neutral to a fault. And also unintentionally the reason for why/how Layla  gained the ability to modify Sirenix into Crystal Sirenix to adapt to cold and high pressure environments. 

I am far too disorganised to make one collection post for the backgrounds of all characters I messed with, so I guess, here goes nothing. *cracks knuckles* Buckle in for the ride! (content warning for death and lethal illnesses)

Helia was born on Lynphea in a middle sized settlement in the moderate-warm Eastern Forests of Lynphea. I talk about the zones, culture and dangers of Lynphea here, so I don’t want to repeat myself too much, but Helia’s village was much closer to the borders of the Death Zone the virus has claimed for itself than what would have been advisable. Back then, they thought  Viaj would exhaust the surrounding natural resources and its people would move on long before the spread of the virus would become a danger to them. Oh how wrong they were. All it took was the change of the wind one summer.

Helia had been only five and then some and the world was still too vivid in his eyes, lights filtering through leaves a spectacle every day he accompanied one of his caretakers on a simple errand. He was the one who found the earliest warning sign, a fungal growth on a long leaf of gras that was the manifestation of the plague befalling its plant hosts. Not quite comprehending what that meant in his young age, Helia struggled for a long time with guilt about the terror his discovery brought, wishing he would have never played in the prairie. Like that would have avoided anything.

The inhabitants of Viaj actually gained a head start through his discovery though that potentially spared other communities, however it couldn’t help theirs. They quarantined immediately, drew up a magic barrier to protect everyone from the airborne spores that carry the virus from plants to humans. But doing so they gave up hunting and gathering and were entirely reliant on the rations the other communities would send with the quarantine workers. Though even those trickled to a stop when the first person fell sick with the cough and the tell-tale black spots formed on their mucous membrane. People saw no use in wasting resources on people who were damned to die. The best they could do now was limit travel to the edge of the Eastern Forest and set more scientists on recalculating the projected spread of the virus.

Lynpheans practice a philosophy of “live and let die” not hanging onto things beyond their lifespan, so this was seen as neither cruel or unusual, but show me one person who is truly prepared to die such a horrific, slow death in order to upkeep the natural order. The people of Viaj didn’t want to die, and they certainly didn’t deserve to die. But people fell like flies, until about three months later only Helia, Naoqi, the last adult, and Tsilla, the very last baby born in midst of all that, were alive. Naoqi cared for Helia and the baby as best as he could and in doing so became a replacement parental figure in Helia’s eyes. He did everything he could to make the horrible experience slightly lighter to bear for the children, but when the magic barrier keeping the wind away fell, there was little he could have done to stave off the inevitable. 

Helia was left alone, with a not even five moth old baby and no way of feeding himself or the baby. With nothing else left, he braved the forest and looked for the quarantine workers who were no doubt overseeing the area, which marked the last time Helia ever walked in the forests of his home. The quarantine workers were more than surprised by the tenacious boy with a baby in his arms and finding out he was still alive after what they thought was final exhaustion has set in. 

The next thing after that that Helia actually remembers is waking up on Magics with Saladin greeting him, introducing himself as a distant relative. The truth was a lot more complicated than that. The quarantine workers have taken Helia to the nearest hospital to treat him for the effects of starvation, because miraculously, the disease had still not taken hold of him after five months of exposure. Hermetically locked in a wing of the hospital, he was the most prised and most dangerous person and study artefact on the whole planet. His comatose slumber was watched from behind plexi glas and every then available humoral test was run on him to find out why he of all people had proved to be immune. If he was immune at all.

Meanwhile Saladin arrived on planet as he heard the news of the demise of his hometown, of his family. Even back then he had not been the pride of the planet and his relationship with his family had been strained because of the wars he had chosen to be involved in. All of that didn’t matter the instant lives were on the line and Saladin wanted nothing more than one last exchange of letters he would never get to make everything alright again. No power in the world would ever grant him that, but having powerful friends in the right circles granted him something else. Information, that a young Viaj boy was still alive in the Epidemiology Research Centre. He may be the future, the solution to all of their problems with a  DNA hiding the secrets to immunity. Saladin immediately inquired, dug deeper demanding to see the boy, but the Council denied him visitation rights. He had to strike an underhanded deal with the co-leader of the research project under a false name to find out Helia wasn’t even awake, but held in a magically induced coma for observational purposes. The scientist talked on and on about the possibilities and what they would do after they go the genes needed but Saladin blew up at that point. How dare they treat this boy like an object, like his loss wouldn’t be felt by anyone, should one of the procedures go wrong. Like all his life could hold from now on was an ultimate sacrifice for the benefit of the many. He wouldn’t even be able to comprehend that if told. With Saladin blowing a fuse, the research centre blew up too and he fled the planet that night with an unconscious Helia in his arms. 

So what felt like a night of knocked-in-the-head-by-a-horse sleep to Helia was actually close to four weeks in real world time. He has no concrete memory of what Saladin saved him from, but enough peripheral perception of what transpired planetside to make sense of the ramifications. Technically, Helia’s DNA is public property of the Lynphea Council, and technically both him and Saladin have an arrest warrant hanging over their head for the destruction and property damage caused. If Helia were to ever set foot on Lynphea again (or even go to a country that has an extradition treaty with them) he would be taken back to the Research Centre to be dissected to the smallest molecules until he yielded answers. 

While Helia was able to grow up in Magics in relative safety, the virus was still wreaking damage on Lynphea. Saladin (and to a lesser extent Helia) made the incredibly difficult decision to reject the experimentation on Helia and thus deny the population of their home a potential treatment to an otherwise lethal infection. It is an incredibly heavy burden and no day passes that they don’t question the rightness of their choice.

Helia can certainly appreciate the moral conflict now, but as a child he was much more difficult to manage. The switch from a huge nurturing family to one primary carer to rely on was harsh on Helia, who was already traumatised and needing  love and affection. Saladin did the best he could, but running a school and otherwise being a Universe-wide known hero didn’t help. After they grew close on the tail end of Helia’s childhood, they explosively drew apart during his tweens, Helia not able or reluctant to understand the restrictions Saladin placed on his life.

First, he was unwilling to share as much about Lynphean culture and way of life as Helia wished to know, saying that he wouldn’t be able to apply it there on Magics anyway. The deeper reason for that is more likely buried in his resentment for Lynphea rejecting him as harshly as they did after he helped save the Universe from the Ancestresses, but Helia of course knew nothing of that. Then when he moved over to adapting to life on Magics “in the Magics” way, he begged to be taught magic for which he had developed a budding talent. Saladin refused again for related trauma reasons. He didn’t want Helia to wield a power that could potentially make him a weapon in someone else’s crusade. Being his only personal student would only paint a target on Helia’s back. 

Helia was having none of that, fiercely objecting to the treatment. He had his own trauma to deal with. Like death by illness. (People falling ill was a lasting trigger he has been continuously working to overcome, but the first time Saladin came home with a cough Helia immediately worked himself into a panic attack so severe he couldn’t stop vomiting and had to be taken into a hospital himself. ) He shouldn’t have to shoulder the repercussions of Saladin’s problems too! 

People who say old teens and their wilfulness are hard to deal with, haven’t met twelve year old Helia yet. To think he actually mellowed out by the time he hit Red Fountain. In any case, Helia and Saladin weren’t really speaking civilly with each other anymore by the time Helia met Krystal. (More on her side of things here) Krystal, ten and absolutely blind to seeing obstacles, offered Helia her books on basic witchcraft and with that the opportunity to take his magic learning into his own hands. After all, sorcery required a lot of detailed instruction, but witchcraft was available to any odd fool who could set up a passable reaction equation. It took half a year of trials and encouragement for his efforts to yield a result and for Krystal and Helia’s friendship to bloom. It took Saladin much longer than that to catch on to Helia’s secret tinkering. The old man should have suspected something to be up after their disagreements magically disappeared after Helia and Krystal met twice. The aftermath was ugly and lead to Helia and Krystal reluctantly parting ways. 

Helia was inconsolable an dedicated a large part of his life to making it as difficult for Saladin as possible. His grades dropped, his art got angry and choppy and he had to be escorted home by peace keepers for having snuck into places he shouldn’t have been in. Year fourteen and fifteen of Helia’s life have been by far the most difficult to deal with with no improvement in sight. Under pressure from his school and Saladin to choose a path for higher education after his year nine exams, Helia thought it would be most spiteful to chose...nothing. He would simply stop going to school at 15 years of age and just become whatever. Maybe a full-time artist or a busker. “Hah, that’ll show Saladin!”- he thought, but he severely miscalculated.

Saladin had often threatened with making Helia enrol in his school if he didn’t behave and Helia never though he would make good on his words until he was dropped off at the main entrance with all his bags like the other freshmen filtering in through the gates. Being the headmaster, Saladin allowed Helia some liberties, trying to demonstrate to him that he shouldn’t see this as a punishment, but as an opportunity to further his life. Cue Helia’s biggest pièce de resistance, showing just how much he didn’t think so. As mentioned a few asks ago, he was given the liberty to chose where he lived and which team he chose, but not like that goddamit! He took shameless advantage of the loose wording Saladin used and hopped between rooms and teams completely ignoring conventions. He was the bane of the school, found on the roof, in supply closets and in the middle of hallways. Teams feared him, because they knew if Helia was assigned to them they might as well have been one person short, his flaky nature making it hard for them to work with him. Codatorta wrote as many warnings for Helia in that one year as he did in his whole career before that. Students at Red Fountain tended to be disciplined and dedicated to becoming Specialists, but Helia was the absolute antithesis to them. At the end of the year no amount of Saladin’s half-hearted excuses could save Helia from the overwhelming force of the teaching staff getting him sacked. Not that Helia minded, though. It was exactly what he wanted.

Saladin more or less gave up on him then. If he wanted to be on his own then fine. Saladin would help him with finding an own apartment and give him his first moth of rent, but after that Helia could go and find himself a purpose in the world alone. Fine. Fine. Alright! 

It was not alright at all, but it was buried under a very thick layer of “I’ll show ya” which made Helia want to live his best liberal artist life. He enjoyed creating as much art as he wanted, but he craved social contact and being engaged in something with a common goal, so he started getting involved with local pacifist groups. He had always preached a path of non-violence, which was about the only thing that had been ingrained in him from his Lynphean upbringing. There he started to expand his horizon beyond what his gut feeling taught him about pacifism and got into reading theory seriously. He was surprised how many of those books shared around had originally belonged to the Red Fountain library and even more so that they have ben written by the founders of the Red Fountain Cavalry. And that was when Helia bust down Saladin’s office door.

“All of this theory was in the school’s library the whole time!!?? And all everyone was ever talking about was warfare!! Why was I never told the best pacifist philosophers of the century were all Red Fountain members???” “You never showed up to any of the philosophy lectures! How am I to blame?” A deep breath from Helia, re-evaluating all of his 17 years of life choices. “Dada Saladin, you have to let me back into your school please.” 

And Saladin refused. To let him back without repercussions that is. Helia had to prove that he took his education seriously and was ready to commit by taking the entrance exam like everybody else to earn his place at the institute. He scraped the bottom of the scoreboard with his first results, but took the first year foundation course with a mile long stride. He was allowed to skip quite a few modules and ended up in the same year as the protag specialist boys with quite a reputation to his name. In the process of reacquainting himself with the school and its philosophy, he learned humility, respect, and when to keep his head down and mouth shut. The upperclassmen from his original year group barely believed he was supposedly the same person they got to know as an absolute menace . There are many rumours about twin brothers, brainwashing and Saladin’s terrifying magic might turning him into this new person.

Helia has come an extremely long way becoming the well-tempered and balanced person known from the show’s timeline. It is almost as if he compressed a lifetime of angst into three years, thus min-maxing his character development coming out more adult in the end at 18 years old than many people at 30. He lived through a lot of things and it shows in how he behaves and what he cares about. He is a passable fighter, but his main aim is always to protect and to avoid conflict if possible. He is a trained negotiator for that purpose and prefers to act as tactical support for his team. It all changes however once Riven and Sky both decide to quit the team leaving Helia, Brandon and Timmy with a very difficult decision on how to go on after that.

(Aand we have arrived at present day for my AU timeline with this. I hope you made it this far, I‘ve never written this much for a tumblr post before)

#winx club #winx helia #asks #see this is why I can't make a nice neat summary post about my headcanons because as soon as I start talking it becomes a word vomit #helia #butterfly fic #Anonymous

[ichosepoorly]

White Person to White Person

C’mon in here gang. Let’s have a little chat about what all this noise is about. 

America.

What a time we’re having.

There is room for growth here. Perhaps there should be mandatory growth of empathy and change that needs to be respected and considered if you want to step outside yourself and think about where we, as a country, have failed. Maybe just consider it as that’s an unenforceable demand.

We have all failed. I certainly have failed more times than I can even fathom or truly comprehend but I am learning and learning and learning to be better in the ways that I can.  But we as a society have failed to keep true to the very heart of justice. The term “Bad Apples” keeps getting lobbed around in a context that means “Not All Cops” but perhaps you remember how that idiom ends? “One bad apple ruins the bunch”? We have failed. 

The police have failed.

This is not a controversial statement and not one that should elicit a knee jerk reaction to defend them.I know we have been programmed to do so. But let’s look at it objectively. The police have failed and are continuing to fail in their use of unnecessary force and the targeting of people of color.

 If every branch of the tree has rot at it’s core then one or two “Good apples” cannot stand a chance (or to be allowed to by perhaps the Boss Bad Apple I don’t know how apple trees work) make the change that’s needed. Are there good people on the police force? Probably? I hope so since I have family members who are police. Are they stopping their fellow officers from being violent against people who are “innocent until proven guilty” as is their creed? Maybe they are. But this isn’t about them. This is about the lack of accountability for these actions that has been ever present in “the force”.  But gee willikers if it hasn’t been front and center lately. You can’t deny that. Or... hey maybe you can. Conspiracy theories are flooding out of the White House faster than empty bottles of instant tanner so maybe it’s easy to listen to them than see what’s out there. And it is out there. You don’t have to look far to find it. Maybe you should. Look up at the very least what the police have done to peaceful protesters and children.  First Amendment Rights are being smashed in the public eye and that’s the bare minimum of what you should be mad about. It’s easy not to look for them. It’s hard to look at them. And that’s how you know it’s important.

Defunding the police sounds like a scary prospect. But can you look around you? Look behind you and look within you. Is what we have now working? It’s not. Clearly it’s not. It is a broken system. Is it really justice if it only applies to people that look like you? You can’t expect something broken to work and then get mad at the idea of it getting repaired or even replaced in a new way. If you slap another bandage on a severed arm that sucker’s still gonna be severed. What we have been doing, what has been done, is not working. We need change. It’s uncomfortable to see these things and be aware of these things and feel like everything is falling apart. But the foundation has already cracked. You grieve the illusion that was, because it’s what you knew. What you know. But this discomfort is a daily reality for so many people before these past two weeks. 

Think about that. 

Think about the unease and the anger you feel right now. Every eye roll or angry tweet you start to type and delete. Think about how many people have died at the hands of a broken system that have just been swept under the rug. Imagine being that angry at the people who are opposing you and the rights you think are at stake... and think about that. Think about how that feels and shift your mental mirror to the mother of Trayvon Martin, Sybrina Fulton, who is now running for office in Florida (and Lord I hope she wins). Think about the world she’s lived in since her son was shot in cold blood for buying Sprite and Skittles and being a 17 year old black man. Think about the children of George Floyd who’s father’s life cost as much to the four men who murdered him as a counterfeit twenty dollar bill. His life was worth less than twenty dollars to these men. Breonna Taylor’s life was worth even less to the plain clothes police who broke into her home without announcing themselves and shot her when her boyfriend attempted to protect them from what he assumed (and rightly so) were armed intruders. Think about the reality where this happens on your street, where people you love are killed by the men and women who are supposed to protect them and it’s not on every channel on the news. Think about that.  Because it is reality. Because it happens more than any of us have ever heard and that’s the problem. If not for cameras on each of our phones and social media would we even hear a peep about George Floyd’s death? I think we both know the answer.

The system is broken.

Defunding the police means more money will go towards patching the holes in a broken system. Education and housing? Yes? Those need more money we can agree? Good. Getting people well who currently do not have the resources to do so? Gosh that sounds like a good place to drop some money to me! Maybe Defunding sounds like “Disbanding” to you. Which isn’t the case. At least not everywhere. If the answer isn’t defunding the police, there’s really only one way to find out isn’t there? Then think about the “I told you so” you can shout in my face like my Uncle at Thanksgiving if it fails. But... again... what we have? It’s broken.

You say “Let's arrest and hold accountable cops who abuse their power in any way, shape, or form toward any citizen they're bound to protect.” and you’re right which is the fundamental failing in the system but no one is arguing that the victims of the crime with lighter skin tones should be denied justice. This is about the continual and targeted attacks of POC of a system that does not respect them, that does not treat them as they would a white person. You cannot deny that you see the patterns here. If “Black Lives Matter” makes you think that none others do then that’s a heck of a mirror into your own failings my friend and I tell you that in kindness. Justice for a continually abused and wronged group of people rising up again and again and again and again and again asking us to consider their suffering and loss on par with ours, that they matter as much as our own should not offend you. It should knock you back on your heels and make you wonder how the ever livin’ heck we let this go. How we didn’t hear them before. How we haven’t done more. How even trying  to offer them a “You absolutely matter!” can set people off about how a profession is just as important as or even more important than human life.  Listen to what they’re saying.

Not. Me. 

I hate even writing this because mine is not the voice that needs to be heard right now. But I cannot ignore that it fell across my lap and not address it. 

White person to white person.

Sit down and listen.

Listen.

Listen. 

LISTEN.

Listen to the people in pain. Listen to the people who are screaming in droves in every state (EVERY STATE if that isn’t amazing I don’t know what is we can’t even agree what to call a deli sandwich of a certain length. (it’s a sub. I will fight you) ). Listen to the people who are mad as hell and suffering. Listen to them and learn. For every life that has been lost to get here please just listen and learn.

Black Lives Matter.

Let’s show them we agree.

#Kitty gets political