#same 'you should care about other people' morality hoops again and again

[creatingblackcharacters]

"It takes HOW LONG?" Black Hair is an Art (pt.2)

(This is part two of the hair lessons, focusing on writing/narratives. If you want to know how the styles LOOK, refer to part 1 and its addendum)

Now that you know what our hair actually looks like, we’re going to discuss incorporating that into your writing (original fic, fanfic, webcomics, anything with a narrative). You don’t HAVE to give us a dissertation on "how you studied 'The Black People’s Hair'" in your story. That’s not what I’m asking you to do. I’m just asking you to CONSIDER the effort and existence of it. The same way you put effort into discussing nonblack hair textures? Should be the sort of tenderness and care you put into discussing ours. It does not stand to reason that I have read thousands of stories describing "the silky, black/blonde tresses/waves that fell down their pale back as their lover ran their fingers through them", but Black readers have nothing of the sort to compare to without seeking our own authors out. Our hair deserves some loving and adoration too!

This is a very long post describing hairstyles and how they can correspond to your character's design and decisions, so I'll put a read more here. The sections are organized into 'Twist Out', 'Afros', 'Locs', 'Braids', 'Black Men', and 'Straight Hair' if you Ctrl F. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take your time to read all of this at some point though, as I put a lot of resources and explanation into this. I'm trusting you!

The History

As I discussed in the last lesson, our hair is incredibly important to us, and part of that includes the vulnerability and trust that comes along with access to it. This is due to a long history of oppression. There’s a racist history of making Black women hide our hair, as if it would ‘tempt white men’ away, regardless of it were due to actual attraction or the (more likely) rape of Black women. There’s a racist history of touching our hair, as though we are animals or zoo exhibits. We aren’t just going to let anyone touch our heads, so DON'T write that, unless you are doing so to show that it is a microaggression towards your character. Even now, cultural appropriation is rampant. If I were to wear cornrows with hoops, it'd be seen as 'ghetto' or 'gang-like'. Meanwhile, it is a fashion statement for white women. When Miles G Morales showed up in Across the Spiderverse, animators specifically chose cornrows for him, but many people mistakenly took it to me that he was 'rougher and tougher' than the original Miles. This was a racist perception! Hearing the Fade get hyped up in the news as the 'Travis Kelce', when Black men and especially NFL players have been wearing it for DECADES to crickets... it hurts lmao. Point is, you can describe and respect Black hair without being racist about it. Okay? Okay.

Vulnerability

YOUR CHARACTERS NEED TO BE CLOSE BEFORE ALLOWING THEM TO TOUCH THEIR HAIR!!!

It needs to be someone they TRUST wholeheartedly. Again, do NOT let a stranger touch their hair unless it’s meant to be an uncomfortable situation!

Consider CONSENT! Consent is ALWAYS beautiful! Have your other characters (Black or not) ASK to touch your Black characters’ hair! And not in the ‘Oh can I touch it?’ way. But if they’re really close friends or dating, have them ask to help do their braids, or wash their hair, or even just to stroke their hair and face! Or if your Black character is injured with a head wound, and they have to tend to them, have them ask! The asking shows a level of care and respect for your Black character and their body! At any point the consent may be revoked, and that needs to be respected! If they let them tend their head wound, but then smack their hand away after, that’s not ‘rude’- they’re allowed to do that, especially to signify that they aren’t at that level of trust yet. That's still angsty!

One great example of love from a Black character is doing their partner’s hair, or allowing their partner to do their hair. The ‘Hair-washing’ fic is a common thing in fanfiction; we all understand how that shows the depth of the trust in the relationship between the characters. How would you write about that trust with a Black character, if you don’t know what goes into taking care of their hair? If you don’t even know what their hair looks or feels like? The lack of awareness will show, and what should be a beautiful, deep moment will fall flat for Black readers. I wrote one once for my character with locs, and it honestly made me tear up because I realized that I’d never seen one, at least not in the majority white spaces that the fandoms I was in were.

Think about it- how often have you read a hair-washing fic with a Black character? Was it accurate? Would you know if it was accurate? Have you spoken to or heard anyone Black in your fandom space talk about it? Do you know anyone Black in your fandom space to ask? It’s things like this that we have to consider!

If you have a character that is nonblack in a relationship with your Black character, that honestly reveals even more trust because there’s a long history (again) behind that NOT happening! In life, we can’t go to the same places. I can’t go to a white hair salon or barbershop. They won’t know what to do! People are allowed to go through hair school without learning how to work with different, thicker textures. It’s not right nor fair, but it’s a part of the casual, systemic racism in our lives.

My feelings on what Lestat symbolizes aside, the scene where he plays with Louis’ curls in AMC's IWTV was an intelligent way to show that closeness, and how a nonblack character would affectionately play with a Black character’s hair! How he works with the curl in his fingers, rather than trying to pet Louis or run his fingers through- it was an intelligent move on Sam and Jacob’s part as actors to understand that THAT’S how that would go down!

If you have a character that wants to show a violation of your Black characters’ space, touching/harming our hair is cruelty on a very personal level that will generate an extreme reaction.

Think About Your Character!

When thinking about your Black character’s hairstyle, you need to think about your character themselves! What do they do every day? What are their hobbies? Are they Type A, Type B personality? Do they have a lot of time? Are they always in a rush? Are they noncommittal? Are they self-conscious? Artsy? Serious? Are they in a time period where the means to care for their hair are limited?

People make jokes and comments about how Black women don’t like getting our hair wet and dismiss our concerns. But it’s not out of ‘silliness’ or vanity. What you consider ‘just hair’ may have taken days of planning in advance and HOURS of our time! We put a lot of thought and effort into our hair, and it will easily shatter the illusion for your Black readers if you describe our hair poorly or create an unlikely scenario with it. It’s not a joke!

Some Terms:

Protective styles- a style that allows our hair to ‘rest’ with minimal manipulation

‘Tender-headed’- some people’s scalps are more sensitive to the tightness of styles, so it’ll hurt a little bit more and require some more gentleness (Regardless it’s still going to hurt for a bit after a fresh style)

Bonnets- a silk/satin cap of varying lengths that we wear at night to protect our hair and keep the moisture in

Loc Sock- same idea, but for locs

Durag- keeps short haircuts protected; can even help create the wave pattern that many Black men enjoy

Scarf- same idea as the bonnets, except scarfs can be used specifically for straight hairstyles to wrap them up to keep it straight and neat

(It'll seem real legit if you include your Black characters wearing their headcoverings at night! I remember laughing while reading Twilight because I knew that if Edward snuck into my room at night, he'd see me in my scarf or bonnet lmao.)

General Hair Care:

While I don’t completely agree with some of the advertising in this first one (it’s the internet. Can’t go nowhere without someone trying to hawk something) it’s cool in general to explain how our hair looks the way it does.

If you have Black children OCs, it’s important to consider that their parents have to do their hair, and how that will be its own experience! (It can be very stressful for Black children to get their hair done, as it takes a long time and can be physically uncomfortable. There are plenty of stories of burnt ears and tugged tangles and not very nice old women. Children are children! Keep in mind how they may behave while getting the style of your choice.

Moisturizing to keep healthy

Twist Outs

Cute twist out styles

Twist outs are a style that takes overnight to hold, or maybe even a few days! The cool thing is that the twists themselves can be the style! So the tighter you want their curls to be, the longer they’ll wear the twists in. If you want to describe your character with tighter curls, there needs to be a section of time where their hair remains in the twists! If your character has an event, and they want twists… this needs to be done in advance. Your character will NOT untwist them the day of, unless they want weak, limp curls (or you want the scene to compose of them having weak curls).

How long they'll last depends on the activity of your character! If all they do is work a desk job, or they don’t sweat very much, the twists can last some time! But if they sweat, or wear hats or caps, it’s not going to last long. Maybe a week.

Pros: Very versatile! If you have a character that loves trying new looks and enjoy being spontaneous, twist outs are for them! Easy! If your Black character is younger, or haven’t done their hair before, this is a great way for them to start working with their hair! Doesn’t take long (to do)! If your character is in a rush, and they do their twists, they can go just about anywhere. If they’re not self-conscious, this will be just fine.

Cons: It cannot get wet again, or the style will puff up back into your natural texture. It does not last long enough to say “oh my character went on a two year long fantasy adventure with this style.” If you want your character to have a twist out the whole time, they’re going to have to take time to do it. It would be cool if you incorporate a scene where they’re working on their hair, maybe in the background while everyone’s discussing plans or something. Just a reminder that their hair isn’t just staying magically twisted (unless they have the magic to do that).

Afros

Afro Style Guide, Style Guide for Men (works for any gender though)

Wash & Gos are just that- wash it (or really, condition it, you don’t have to shampoo it every time) dry with a t-shirt (to prevent breakage), put some oil and a light crème on it, fluff it up and you’re good to go! Maybe an hour at max and can be done while getting dressed in the morning!

Pros: Easy! If they’re doing a full, combed out afro, it’s not as simple, it will take more time. And at night it has to be plaited so that it maintains its length, otherwise it will tangle. But other than that, that’s still not all that hard. They can show off their curls! Black characters can and should have pride in their hair. It’s beautiful. This is the opportunity that you as an author can describe the pure texture of their hair, how it shines in the light, how the coils look, how soft it is! Romanticize Black hair the same way you do anyone else’s!

Cons: None really! Afros are wonderful! Just make sure that your character has a way to keep their hair from getting tangled. Just because it’s easy doesn’t mean there’s no maintenance! A pick, a bonnet, oil and water go a long way!

Locs

Five stages of locs

A person who does locs is a loctician.

Can be palm-rolled or interlocked/crocheted

I cannot emphasize enough that you do not want just anyone doing their locs! They can really mess up someone’s hair if they don’t know what they’re doing. I say that to say, for your character, if they don’t trust the person doing their hair… they should. They should not be walking into anyone’s place to get their hair locked; they’d do research first.

The time it takes locs to ‘bud’ (that is, to actually form the loc) depends on the texture of their hair. But it can take up to 3 months to even a year for them to actually ‘loc up’. So if your character just got locs, they’re not going to look neat. They’re going to be frizzy.

As long as they’re washing their hair, keeping it moisturized, and not using wax products (DO NOT HAVE ANY BLACK CHARACTER USE WAX PRODUCTS IT IS BAD FOR BLACK HAIR) it’ll last forever! Locs are incredibly strong, especially the thicker they get! It is recommended that locs are retwisted every six weeks, but if your character has freeform locs, doesn’t have the money or time right now, or they just aren’t that pressed, they can grow indefinitely.

Something cute to write in your stories: sometimes locs do just… fall out. Not the whole thing! But the same way thin hair gets everywhere… sometimes the ends of thin locs just… fall off! You’ll find little buds on the ground. This happens especially in the budding stage.

Pros: Very low daily maintenance! At most they’ll need a bonnet or loc sock, and oil/water mix to spritz and massage in. Strong style that can hold any look- buns, curls, etc. They can be dyed, though it will take a long time to do so. I say that to say, if you want your character to have bright green locs, go for it!!

Cons: Low daily, but HIGH wash day maintenance! So if your character has a fancy date or something to go on, they should not be getting their hair retwisted the same day, or at least not so close to. It’s going to be shiny, oily, and tight, which can cause discomfort. Give them the day to let the hair settle!

Locs are PERMANENT!! This isn’t a bad thing, as much as it is a ‘KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING BEFORE YOU DO IT’ thing. Technically they can be combed out, but that would take a very long time and very precise effort, and most people aren’t going through all that. They’re just going to cut them off and start fresh. If you have a character that would balk at such a choice, locs aren’t for them. If you have a character that’s picky and choosy, that likes versatility, that can’t make up their mind, do NOT give them locs unless they’re making the conscious choice to commit. (Again, this is subjective! Maybe they have locs because their mother died and it reminds them of her! Okay! That works!) If you have a character that’s vain, or at least doesn’t like looking awkward… unless they’re going to style up the awkward stage, they’re not going to want locs. (Awkward stage: the first two stages get considered awkward because the locs look messy. This is because they’re turning from curls to locs!)

Braids

Styles

How long braids can take depend on the style. Box braids can take 10-12 hours to do! Microbraids? You HAVE to have multiple people or you'll be there for damn near a day (and that's assuming you have a masterful braider!)

How long they last depend on your character! If they're like me as a kid, I didn't care how I looked, so my mom got me cheap braids and let me run free for two summer months. So if your Black character is a carefree child! Go for it. But if they're a teen or adult (or are very concerned about how they look) a month to six weeks is about how long braids can stay in before your new growth shows. A character that is usually trimmed and proper having loads of new growth over their braids may symbolize that they don’t have it all together anymore.

Pros: Protective style! Great way to let your character have minimal daily maintenance; oil and water and something to cover it. SOME braided styles allow for high activity and even rain without changing. It depends on the hair that’s been braided in, as well as the style. Incredibly versatile! They can have multi-colored braids, long braids, short braids, beads, trinkets… if your character is creative and bubbly and likes to experiment, the sky is the limit! That can symbolize their artistic expression, just by describing what they look like! So long as they have the time, they can have any look and style they want. No need to commit too long.

If your character is capable of doing their own braids (and locs, btw), they’re amazing. Like… that’s mad respect for them. If you describe your character being able to do their own braids, they’ve got amazing arm strength, patience, and skill. That skilled dexterity can be revealed as a trait of theirs through that alone.

Cons: They take a LONG TIME. Your character is not going anywhere. If they’re getting braids… they’re not going anywhere. If you write your character doing anything fancy the day of, depending on the type of braids, Black readers are not going to believe you. Even if it did get finished, it would be very tight. I currently have a poll going on, and so far, a good majority of the 10+ answers are braids! It cost MONEY. It is NOT CHEAP to get braids done! If your character is poor as a church mouse, they will be doing those braids with their friend in front of youtube. Because it can be in the hundreds of dollars. (Don’t get me started on hair culture right now; BACK IN MY DAY IT COST-)

Hairstyles on Black Men

I want to specifically give space and applause to these hairstyles on Black men, because we REALLY don’t give Black men enough credit for all the creativity they show with their hair! And again, with The Killmonger being the choice style in all these damn vidya games despite almost no Black man I know choosing it as a look… PLEASE LOOK! WE HAVE OPTIONS! Try describing how gorgeous these looks can be on your Black men characters! It would be very nice.

Straight Hair

Well, I was going to explain, but ol ‘Guest Writer’ here pretty much lays it all out! So just go ahead and read this article lol.

Just to re-emphasize, straight hair is NOT something that just grows out of our head that way! It takes effort! So if you have a character that doesn’t feel like maintaining straight hair, they shouldn’t have it! If your character has natural hair and lives in a rainy or humid city, they’re going to be fighting that weather to keep it straight- make sure that’s consistent with their personality!

My best friend used to wash and flatiron her hair every day. Like, laser focused on looking that good, Type A shit (she’s a top money banker now, so I guess it worked out). If you have a character like that, it’s fine! If they’re lazy any other time of the day, they’re not suddenly going to be waking up at 5am to flat iron their hair. It’s not consistent.

Conclusion

That’s pretty much what I have! I’m not the guru on all things Black hair, and I obviously cannot encompass every potential scenario you may have for your characters. Really, my intention here is to get you to think about how our hair reflects our character and personalities, and how when you write and/or draw a Black character, you have that ability! And when you’re able to incorporate that naturally, it makes your Black readers feel seen, like you actually cared about that character enough to give them just as much description as your nonblack characters. You don’t have to be a master at it! Just… occasionally the little things that we can go ‘oh, yeah!’ at would be nice. An equivalent effort would be nice.

Remember, it’s the thought that counts, but the action that delivers!

#creatingblackcharacters #black hair #black art #black characters #character design #black writers

[wind-becomes-lightning]

was bored at work today, wrote some drabbels at the request of and for friends. ( Hawks x OC/ Kakashi x OC / Dabi x OC / Shibi X OC / Kakashi x Zabuza / Fatgum x OC / Kakashi x OC returns)

+++

Kakashi and Zabuza - going somewhere new together for the first time. for @kanekolinkk

“Hey, don’t stare! Have y’all not learned that starin’ is rude!” Zabuza gribs the sword at his back aggressively. “I will cut ya head off-“

“I don’t think that would prevent them from staring if you’d do that,” Kakashi says in this dry voice he uses when he is joking. He seems rather unbothered by the commotion the two of them are causing with just walking down the street next to each other.

Zabuza lets his sword go and spits out in front of him. “I told you we should just make a sign,” Kakashi continues. “Hang it over my back. Have all the questions answered before they are asked. Just tap the sign. But you said that would be ridiculous.”

“Because it is!” Zabuza barks back. “Just say that you aren’t takin’ this seriously at all. People would have thought that you are just jokin’.”

Kakashi waves with his free hand. “Yes, yes.” They’ve had this discussion the entire way from Kirigakure to Konohagakure and always landed on the same conclusion: Ripping off the bandaid quickly and decisively was probably the easiest way point of action. Even if that meant people would stare.

It’s not like Kakashi is forced to date among the options that are plenty in his home village. He has no family or clan to report to, no duty to conform with what the villagers or the Hokage expects of him. Still, Konoha is his home, and if he wants to live her again full time, move away from the damp and dark and rainy of Kirigakure, then there is no other option then to bring Zabuza with him, introduce him for what he is, explain how it happened.

Well, Zabuza needed to get used to Konoha equally as much. He was just too used to dark places that never questioned is motives and morals, well at least until Kakashi came around.

The village of Konoha and the shinobi Zabuza, they would just have to circle each other like wild animals and sniff each other out for a while and the easiest way to do that was to put all the cards on the table. The quicker everyone accepted the state of things, the easier it was to just continue living.

Because ultimately that’s what Kakashi wants: to continue living a normal life. He has done the jumping between hoops of visiting Kirigakure for months on end and then returning to his normal life in Konoha again, because there were jobs to be done and people do be cared about. It was exciting at first but then always a little annoying. When he was here he missed there and when he was there he missed here. It was easier to just bring both places together.

And yes, it was just easier to bite the bullet one time, have people stare at them as Kakashi walks Zabuza down village streets as his official partner, then to bring the entire village of Konoha to the Land of Water. Even if that might be a little too much public attention for Zabuza, who could never resist complaining and yelling about stuff that bothered him, it would get better with time.

“They are all starin’ like they’ never seen a Kirigakure shinobi before,” Zabuza growls a little quieter than usual, but still loud enough for everyone around to hear. Kakashi knows telling him that he knows well enough that this is not why they are staring.

“For many of them that is probably true,” he says instead. “It doesn’t happen so often that one of them comes to visit.”

His partner grumbles. “Right.”

“They will get used to it,” Kakashi states what he is confident about. “It’s just because we have never been her together before.” He moves just a little closer to Zabuza, holding his hand a little tighter between his own.

“You promised it would be fine,” he says.

“It will,” Kakashi replies without hesitation.

#prompt things #kakazabu

[gaybellethorn]

every bad eah writing decision is good actually because they are funny and make me smile :)

#.txtpst #cant get over mychapter. completely forgot how stupid that is. really fucking good. #i saw someone bringing up how apple's character development is completely disregarded by dragon games and we have to drag her through the #same 'you should care about other people' morality hoops again and again #and like objectively yes that's poor writing and mattel are incompetent #but it's also incredibly funny and very in character for her to just be that shitty #getting more watsonian on it i do like the idea of stubborn characters like CONCEPTUALLY getting the gist of being a better person #but actually putting that into practice #especially when it means acting in a way disadvantageous to themselves for the first time #and that whole process being like. hard! and they stumble over themselves and find themselves back at square one over and over #i like girl childrens media that acknowledges that friendship is hard and you have to work at it and becoming a better person is a conscious #choice that doesnt always come naturally #if this is actually what mattel was going with i think there is a way to execute it a bit more elegantly #than it just coming off like theyre undoing previous character development #but for my money's worth they did enough and left enough pieces that i can make it work in the secret good eah that lives in my head #also. ultimately. it's just really really funny if apple is just really shit

[afishlearningpoetry]

Still seeing people call us a cult in 2021 😑 🚬 Is there anything that broke this blogging website's brains more than a 2010s BBC show?

Tbh and I’ll get to why it connects to what you’re saying but what really broke this website’s brains is the crab bucket culture of disposability and cycle of online abuse that it nurtured for years until it spread to the rest of the internet... like the early social justice awakening to the yfip blogs and call out posts and anonymous stalking and commenting (that carried over partially from livejournal/older fandom, tbf) that’s translated into like, faulty, second-hand sourced fanwiki websites tracking the perceived dancing with the devil transgressions of some person, a random stranger essentially, has made in their online life, and for what reason, really? For what purpose? Like I think a lot of us gained some awareness at a certain point that these tactics were thinly veiled guises to harass and take personal shots at basically random people for mostly petty reasons (clearly plenty of people are pretending that’s not what it is and went back to it), but I also wonder what it did to the brains of like the youngest people on here, who started using the website since they were children, not just high school age or close to, but even younger people.

That frame of mind is everywhere now, especially with younger fandoms, not just on here. Twitter is pretty terrible. I was watching the Mask Off video from Lindsay Ellis recently and it’s just horrifying to me the way this website essentially birthed that form of harassment. Every step of the way, the way that she (and Natalie, in her own video) detail how it happened is absolutely identical to how it happens on here, except it’s happening in daylight where public figures are in the same fight-to-the-death arena as the rest of us, which is what makes it easier to articulate. This is not to dismiss anything someone like Lindsay has to go through, considering what she disclosed in the video and that she’s been harassed by the alt-right for years, but she also has enough of an online standing to publicly face those charges and refute the majority of them. Like Natalie also said, but what happens to someone else? Someone with no name, or social or financial security, and that’s basically what I’m getting it. That kind of online abuse happening over and over and over and over again trickles down to everybody else. That’s what broke people’s brains. That’s what ruined this website.

And it isn’t just the reactionary, cringe culture post-fandom nihilism that shifted into online culture in 2016 and onwards (I’ve mentioned this before, like, the constant jokes about bad and infamous moments from tumblr), but harassment that still happens on here. You can accuse people of being a pedophile with no credibility, harass them about their eight year old fandom history, or dox and shame them out of public life without much effort, granted there are enough people willing to hop in the crab bucket with you. It has nothing to do with genuinely caring about anything but being an asshole. So for most of that to be distilled into people hate following tjlc (which was named such as a self-aware joke) for literal years when it was largely one of the most fun, positive, creative and dedicated fan spaces I’ve ever been in, and then finally having the wind at their backs to essentially cut everyone down and collect some heads because series 4 finally got the critical backlash they were waiting for to do so with widespread permission (they tried this with series 3, but it just didn’t take because the quality was too consistent), is severely aggravating.

I’ve had plenty of other, smaller negative experiences on here, whether they be trends or staples, and I’ve certainly contributed, but there’s always been enough good for me to stay. But after series 4 that was no longer the case. I just hit a breaking point where I couldn’t be as personally invested anymore, it got so bad. As much as I still want to come here for specific reasons and contribute what I can, I have a lot of trouble engaging with anything because I’m ready to see any new blog or topic I follow to dip into those same habits all over again, which is inevitably what happens. To watch anti-intellectual post-fandom nihilism — and if you’ve been here at all between end of 2016 to now you know the kind of attitude, posts, rhetoric and style of speech, and blogs I’m talking about — kind of dominate this website, has been a large part of why I only pop up sporadically. After Nov. 5th it’s been ironic watching so many people I’d describe that way unironically get into the paranormal show again. Not because I think that’s bad, I follows blogs that talk about it and think it’s cool, I made an edit at the time, or that anyone should be “above it”, we’re on tumblr after all, but because that kind of venomous behavior is still there underneath, like we’re not all also blogging specifically about superwholock shows.

A few months ago when someone accused me of being part of a q anon-level conspiracy and that we’re all “monsters of your own making”, this being before the capitol riot where dozens of members of the US house were nearly murdered en-masse, one of the things they said was that we couldn’t admit that our show was bad, but it was fine what they were doing with the other show because they were just having fun, and that we couldn’t, I don’t know, do anything or whatever about it until we were ready to admit our show is also bad. Which is a pretty revealing look into how that line of thinking, all the way from the early tumblr days, to other places like twitter, all the way back to here again has evolved despite staying the same. This bizarre blend of ironic detachment, self-deprecation, moralizing over a show’s perceived wrongdoings as perceived personal transgressions, bullying, rumors, fan wikis, and years of witnessing or being in on online harassment rewiring people’s brains to the point where not only is it impossible to do anything without jumping through twenty mental hoops before you do it, it’s essentially a both a constant threat and entry-level trial by fire into having any kind of existence in an online fandom space.

Of course it’s not just the barraging from people on here that’s contributed to that kind of culture, it’s everywhere else, because it spread everywhere. Think pieces by people not involved in the space, summaries of what happened mostly written by people who were hate following it to begin with, academic papers by ex-fans, faux-investigative pieces from wanna-be media critics trying to canonize their version of what happened into definitive internet history after preemptively blocking everyone involved so no one can respond to what they say — it’s extremely exhausting every step of the way. I can’t blame ex-tjlc people for just abandoning this place or any online space completely, because it’s still relentless four years later, and if the initial experience of series 4 wasn’t already distressing enough, whatever you think about it now, everyone’s faced the same challenge of being gradually smothered into relinquishing any ties to it through that cycle of shame that’s been perfected and streamlined right down to quick and recognizable beats on this website for over a decade.

#this was really long but I’ve been thinking about it for a while #and have said similar things before #sherlock bbc #fandom #tumblr #tjlc #YouTube

[theritualofourexistence]

Clarity in the Cancellation Crusade

After posting multi-paragraph comments on a couple different things that have popped up in my feed recently, it seemed like I should probably just sit down and write this out.

“Cancel culture.” Crazy shit, right?

The recent onslaught of cancellations includes Mr. Potato Head, Pepe Le Pew, a handful of Disney movies (Peter Pan, Dumbo, The Aristocats), and *audible gasp* Dr. Seuss. The Muppets also got a newfangled Disney+ content warning, though I’ve seen significantly fewer headlines about that.

The thing that inevitably happens when the news media decides to publish a headline about a children’s toy or book being “canceled” is a veritable parade of social media complaints about how sensitive people have become. I saw this particular post over 10 times in the period of a couple hours one day last week…

The question I’ve been asking recently when I see posts like that is this: “Who do you think cancel culture is?”

Because “cancel culture” isn’t real. In the majority of the cases currently making headlines, the choice to remove a character from a movie or stop publishing a book has been made by the company responsible for that character or book… and that is very much a normal thing companies can choose to do.

No one I’ve posed the above question to has overtly mentioned “Libtards,” but it’s certainly implied. People who haven’t read a Dr. Seuss book in 20 years are now suddenly all up in arms (literally?) because “the Liberals” are coming for “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.”

The Liberals are not coming for Dr. Seuss. They do not care about a potato toy. Also, nothing is happening to the Cat in the Hat. I repeat: NOTHING is happening to the Cat in the Hat.

The choices to stop publishing that book and to market a vegetable toy in a less gendered way were made by the companies responsible for producing those products… not the Liberal “cancel culture” ghoul. In fact, it’s really, really hard to find public outcry about any of the things that have been recently “canceled.” There was a single NYT article that recently discussed the problematic nature of the Pepe Le Pew cartoons… that said, Warner Bros hasn’t aired that show in decades and it is not clear whether that article had anything to do with the skunk’s scene being removed from the new Space Jam movie.

Even growing up I remember things like political correctness needlessly becoming a partisan issue. When we fall into that media trap, all we’re doing is watering the plant of an already poisonous and ineffective two-party system. Be bigger than that temptation. Push back against media intended to further divide Americans. If something stinks, it’s probably rotten. Sure, there are certain topics that fall under the umbrella of political correctness that sound alarm bells for censorship issues… but didn’t everyone’s mom tell them that if they didn’t have anything nice to say, they shouldn’t say anything at all?

Again, though, the most important thing to remember about this recent wave of “canceling” is that censorship concerns are moot. A person who owns a thing is legally allowed to do all the censoring they want. It’s not the government that has decided to stop publishing 6 books written by Dr. Seuss… if it were, we could have the censorship conversation. These changes aren’t happening because there is a Democrat in the White House. They’re happening because the company who makes these products, has for whatever reason, decided to take a different approach.

In the case of the Dr. Seuss books, Dr. Seuss Enterprises re-evaluated their choice to publish 6 books based on racist themes and images. I have only heard of two of those six. The image below is, in my opinion, objectively problematic:

The fact that a major company behind such a well-known name has seen that something is problematic and has decided to stop publishing the books containing overt racist images is awesome. It sets a great example that we can all learn from. Humans have an amazing capacity to learn… that’s one of the only reasons we are in charge here on Earth. If we fall on ice once, we are often more careful on ice the next time. When we see that something is racially problematic, it’s a good thing if we can take action to get that thing out of rotation. More on that later.

Fundamentally, what is happening right now in Media Land is gross sensationalism.

“Cancel culture” isn’t real. Should people face consequences if they say or do racist things? Yes. We should all agree on that. Should we stop publishing books that perpetuate racist stereotypes? Yes. There are plenty of non-racist books that provide an education about racial differences without the added (exceedingly inappropriate) zing of Asian characters being painted yellow and African characters being given monkey features.

If you’re not convinced that some of Dr. Seuss’s material is racially problematic, I encourage you to pop on over to Google to check out the series of ads he did for FLIT in the 1930s. Yes, it was the 1930s. In the last 90 years, we’ve learned that images like that are not okay… let’s use that knowledge to let old racist graphics die.

Still can’t accept that “cancel culture” isn’t real? Still feeling like there’s something in the air now that is different and worse than before?

Okay, then, let’s consider it further.

Things have been “canceled” by people for millennia… this isn’t new. Being all for cancel culture when Colin Kaepernick kneels for the anthem (a perfectly legal form of peaceful protest considered respectful by many veterans) but opposing cancel culture when it’s threatening to eliminate an obviously racist thing is not exactly a moral stance. Burning your Nikes in the street but then turning around and spending $400 on a copy of “If I Ran the Zoo” on eBay after Dr. Seuss’s own family has pulled it from publication due to racist imagery is… silly.

The same people who seem to be so vocal about “cancel culture” now are part of the same communities who tried to cancel plenty of things in my lifetime. Things like trick-or-treating, Harry Potter, school dances, books and movies with LGBT+ characters and themes…

History absolutely bubbles over with things that have been canceled… often for good reason! Some examples that come to mind: 

DDT

the Catholic Church (see the 16th century Protestant Reformation)

doing our everyday poopin’ in outdoor holes

polio

hoop skirts

phrenology (new science cancels old science like every damn day)

Ford Pintos (not to mention cars without seatbelts)

telegrams and rotary phones (replaced by easier and better ways to communicate)

lead paint

asbestos

Four Loco

Y’all remember when we all did the ice bucket challenge to cancel Alzheimer’s?

Learning that something is problematic and moving past it is LEARNING… not cancel culture.  Learning and growth are good things. We all benefit from them.

Another thing worth commenting on from that Cat in the Hat post that circulated in my Facebook feed: why do we consistently demonize sensitivity? Racism feels like something we should all be sensitive about. If being sensitive about something results in meaningful change and a less hateful country, isn’t that… good? Why do so many Americans seem to place so much value on their “freedom” to hurt others?

And don’t get me started on comparing this stuff to Cardi B. It boggles my mind that that’s happening at all. Why is there suddenly so much outcry about one song that features female genitals in a literal ocean of songs that feature male genitals. I grew up knowing every word to songs about sex well before I even knew what sex was. Your kids are only desperate to listen to WAP because they know it makes you squeamish. And take a second to think about why it makes you squeamish. Genitals are human and scientific and we literally all have them. If you have more of a problem with WAP than with any of the other 10,000 songs about dicks and sex, you need to spend some time examining why that is.

Here’s another post I’ve seen bouncing around the social media feeds:

Something about this is just plain hilarious to me. Like what are racism and rape culture if not THE REALEST issues? This country’s problem with systemic racism runs so, so deep and is reflected very plainly in centuries of cold, hard numbers. It’s not that I *think* systemic racism is a problem. The data very clearly shows that regardless of what white people think about race in this country, systemic racism absolutely IS a problem. Racism and rape culture, arguably at the root of the most recent canceling spree, are not just real issues, they’re real American issues. They’re cultural issues. And solving cultural issues is not easy. We know that these issues have been passed down through the generations so maybe changing children’s toys and books and shows isn’t such a bad thing to try. There is SO much work to do to address racism and rape culture in the United States, but small steps are still progress.

If choosing to stop airing a show that blatantly perpetuates rape culture means one less young person is stalked or assaulted or raped, that’s worth it, no? What if that one young person who doesn’t become a victim is your daughter?

If choosing to stop publishing a book with racist themes and images leads to even one kid understanding more about the nuance of race in America and the breath-taking extent of white privilege, that’s worth it too.

Would I rather the media spend time and money to bring American attention to bigger issues associated with this nation’s racism and rape culture? 100%. There are ENORMOUS fish to fry. Dr. Seuss is not an enormous fish. Potato head toys are not enormous fish. Pepe Le Pew is not an enormous fish. They’re not even big fish. They’re small. They’re tiny fish. They’re anchovies. But frying some fish is better than frying no fish.

Canceling Pepe Le Pew is not hurting anyone. Warner Brothers owns Pepe Le Pew. Warner Brothers owns nearly everything; they are not hurting for money. And canceling Pepe certainly isn’t hurting American kids. There are plenty of other kids’ shows to watch that are significantly less problematic. Just because you watched Pepe Le Pew and went on to be a properly respectful adult doesn’t mean there aren’t other kids out there who did internalize a harmful disrespect for consent. No, Pepe Le Pew probably isn’t single-handedly responsible for anyone’s decision to stalk or rape anyone else. But could a show reinforce the groundwork that ultimately leads a kid down a path where he is unable or unwilling to respect the boundaries of others? I mean, it’s not the craziest thing I’ve heard this week.

Canceling six total Dr. Seuss books that are already pretty obscure is not hurting anyone.

Changing the name of an already genderless potato toy to reflect that genderless-ness is not hurting anyone.

A brief recap: racism and rape culture are very real, very American issues.

If the decision to stop doing a thing doesn’t hurt anyone and may even save someone some hurt, why does that decision bother you?

Also, in all your frantic Facebook posting, make sure you are differentiating between “cancel culture” and consequences. When the media tosses around the phrase “cancel culture” it has this tone of finality that is, plainly, not realistic. Fads and trends move so quickly in the internet age that the idea that a group of people could “cancel” something permanently is just not possible. People who do or say racist things, though, should face consequences. People who do or say transphobic or homophobic things should face consequences. Consequences are one of the only ways we learn to do better. And again, that’s not my opinion, it’s science.

One of the consequences that can have the most impact is, you guessed it, losing money! In this capitalist hellscape, money talks. Boycotting and choosing how we spend our money are some of the most engaging ways to combat racist and homophobic garbage. When you have your temper tantrum because the company who owns a book with overtly racist imagery decides to stop publishing that book, that speaks volumes about your priorities. If you respond to that company’s decision by buying the book in question on eBay for $400, that speaks even louder volumes. What are you doing? WHY are you doing it? I’m guessing you don’t even know, and you should probably spend some time thinking about it before you flush away a chunk of your stimmy on a freaking RACIST KIDS’ BOOK.

All actions have consequences. All of our choices never affect just us. How we vote affects other people. How we spend our money affects other people. Spending our money on things that are problematic perpetuates the problem… whether it be racism, rape culture, homophobia, or transphobia… or so many other things this country desperately needs to address.

It’s human to not like change. Change is going to happen, though, regardless of whether or not we’re comfortable with it. In the information age, we have a remarkable opportunity to steer that change. Leaving behind racist relics is change, so it may be inherently uncomfortable. But change that moves our country away from racism and rape culture is GOOD change.

I am begging you. Use critical thinking… if you’re seeing a headline about something being canceled, look up WHY. Some of these headlines are absolute bunk… they’re shared just to get people all riled up and create American division. However, just like we *should* cancel lead paint, a children’s book with overtly racist images shouldn’t be published anymore and it’s weird if you disagree with that. Disagreeing with that decision, as silly as it may seem, perpetuates racism. I know how triggered y’all can get when someone suggests you might be perpetuating racism, but it is what it is. Do your research. Don’t spend your money on racist garbage. Be better.

I feel like this post is me just barking the exact same thing in different ways, but I also feel like there is so much more I could say.

I’ll leave you with this:

What will it take for Americans to weigh the threats of racism and homophobia the same way we weight the threat of lead paint? If it’s a matter of costing lives, well, the numbers speak for themselves.

#cancel culture #cancellation #racism #rape culture #the muppets #pepe le pew #dr. seuss #seuss #consequences #change #mr. potato head #potato head #cancel culture isn't real

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S4 Ep21: Duke Puts on Duel Disk, Immediately Takes Disk Off

So last time we ended, Yugi and Tea were stranded in the middle of an ancient warfield that was hundreds of feet off the side of this cliff topped with a seldom used railroad track.

And yes, this is all somewhere in what should be one of the most populated parts of the Bay Area.

Amazed that this school uniform can go through such rugged terrain. But then again, last season it got hit squarely with a fireball, so...this school uniform is essentially a Batman suit.

But I just want to point out that Yugi didn’t take the duel disk off before vaulting up this cliff. Tea has a bag youknow...but gotta sweat up the duel disk that our entire world relies on.

It would be very funny if this season ended abruptly because Yami either dropped this thing on the ground and finally broke it, or just plain forgot he needed to charge it’s batteries.

And so now we just walk...kind of in the direction where they hope Joey and Tristan are?

I do appreciate that although Pharaoh is completely lost in a foreign country, he will not admit it.

(read more under the cut)

On the other side of the tracks, Joey is dragging his Sisyphean stone.

Please admire that this entire scene takes place somewhere in the Grand Canyon. Like it’s episode 20 and I just still can’t get past how they went to California and didn’t include a single beach.

Mai has decided she’s done screaming off the back of a motorcyle, and has decided to come over to Dartz’ lair to scream where the traffic isn’t quite so bad.

And she just rage quits.

Is this the first rage quit we’ve ever had in this show about games? Incredible.

Also, I didn’t realize you could just quit the end of the world cult in the final hours of ending the world, but I guess it doesn’t really matter much to Dartz. Whether Mai ends up killing Joey or doesn’t end up killing Joey, it’s still a soul in the Leviathan bucket so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Now, in the actual dialogue of the show, Dartz tells Valon that Mai’s basically going to get what she deserves and no one here needs to even do anything to change or stop it. But, it was still somewhat surprising that this 10,000 year old serial murderer world destroyer was so down to shell out some relationship advice. Almost like maybe he has somewhat of a fatherly concern for his stupid ass murder boys. Kind of. Sort of.

Enough to try and tell Valon to leave this one alone because she’s gone maniacal pixie dream girl and there’s no coming back from that.

In order to have motorcycle gangs, you have to have bearable enough traffic for said gangs. That’s why we just don’t have a motorcycle gang problem in real deal California like a lot of 70′s-80′s movies would have you think. They’d only be able to drive in like...one lane, and they’d get constantly cut off and driven off the road by Google buses.

TBH the Google bus is our true modern motorcycle gang, there are just so many of these damn buses. And also, I deleted a lot of text right now when I went off about the ongoing bus war, which is absolutely a thing here. The motorcyclists are just doing me a solid by not being a car on the road and staying out of my lane.

In a more realistic version of this show, Mai would have never made it to the desert, she’d be too busy watching only one single car able to turn right onto Octavia every light cycle because of all the damn private buses and uber cars flooding our itty bitty one way streets.

And to try and tame Mai, Valon decides to do this...motorcycle stand off?

It’s like he’s trying to catch a feral cat.

At some point one of them stops, and like I was focused too much on how good their brakes are to pay attention to who stopped first.

Probably Valon, because Mai is completely insane.

And so then he just...

Y’all I know they had to give Valon motivation to be in love with Mai, but this kids show jumped through so many hoops to make this very unhealthy relationship appear like Valons love was pure and true while still showing that this is a very unhealthy relationship. Kind of a hard balance.

It’s actually interesting how much work they put into Valon’s very tragic and problematic relationship after they’ve dodged every other problematic relationship this show has brought forth.

Like the villain with a heart of gold is a trope, but it’s a trope that works. There is no hope in the world that this relationship could pan out. They’re not a misunderstood pair like he thinks they are. They’re freakin terrible and they don’t deserve each other. But he’s gonna try and do it anyway.

We get to watch Valon bargain (mostly with himself) about how this relationship (which exists mostly in his head) is going to absolutely work out, because to him, if he feels so intensely, eventually she’s gotta feel the same. Most people haven’t murdered people, but it’s still a very relatable type of situation that the show displays without getting too preachy about how it’s clearly bad news. They just introduce it for the audience to come to their own conclusions, and I was really surprised by that level of maturity.

I’ve been sitting here saying “There’s no way this show could balance Tea with Yugi and the Ghost in his head. There’s no way they can really touch on Kaiba and that paper card. There’s no way that this show knows how to do a relationship because they don’t want to get involved with that weird gray area.” and you know what? Maybe they can.

Like they’re doing it right now. Did they just need 4 seasons of people complaining to go “Fine! I’ll write out the problematic relationship! I’ll do it!” because--this works for them. They finally did it.

Now, I’m not saying it’s Oscar worthy or developed beyond a trope, I’m just saying I’m genuinely surprised to see it on this show, and they should have done it more often. It’s a super weird pairing, but way more interesting than like...all that time we spent with Serenity because I actually have something to look forward to. (which will be when Valon inevitably dies in a ball of tragic glory)

So many romance stories give me nothing to look forward to, y’all. You have to give me something. Like, I’ve been reading a lot of not great romance in my life, and you have to have some sort of time limit in place for me to care about your couple. To have only have so much time before the other person gets married, moves, ends the world--I don't care--but man that time limit is crucial and so much romance just...forgets.

Like Bonnie and Clyde, Romeo and Juliet, and other ill fated couples, Valon and Mai end up being interesting because we just love seeing people fall into pieces. Hell, I just finished watching Tiger King and damn, what makes that show so good is that you are just waiting on that time limit to see how bad it gets. (and it’s crazy, super recommend Tiger King, although it’s very clear that they pushed the drama a little beyond realism but man. Good TV.)

Of course there’s always the chance that maybe Valon just got bored. But, youknow.

Anyway, it IS a romance on Yugioh, so we do have to very quickly drive a truck through it.

Man.

What are they DOING here?

It took me kind of a while to remember that Mai would be going where Joey would be living, which is most likely where Raphael dropped off Arthur Hawkins. But, if you don’t remember that fact, this is the most random thing ever.

Like you got this huge ass desert in the Califorizonado mesas, and then BOOM enter Rebecca Hawkins, just omnisciently lording over all of the West and just so ready to fight you.

Every girl interested in Yugi Muto has this thing where they’re normally pretty chill and then they just snap and get angry as hell.

PS she’s in a different outfit now, but I don’t feel like changing her font color. I’ve had some Photoshop.......incidents.......and I don’t think I have this plaid pattern anymore and I don't feel like making a new one yet.

I mean Valon’s got the green outline on his text, so I figure we’re good.

Also, Rebecca wears a tie clip?

This 12 year old girl wears a tie clip.

And like don't get me wrong, this was 2003-4, alt rock was big, and yes, we did have tiny Avril Lavigne ties at American Eagle. I will admit that I very much considered getting an Avril Lavigne tie at one point in my life, but didn’t want the commitment of needing to pair it with a skirt.

But either way, old man tie clips aren’t alt rock. The only thing that makes Rebecca’s outfit not exactly that alt-grunge Avril Lavigne look is that tie clip. They were SO close to making her look cool. Just so close.

Also the bifocals. But anyway...

So Valon was going to straight up ignore Rebecca, because he has a warped sense of morality and will not kill a 12 year old (but will kill a 17 year old). But, Mai did ask nicely.

Thankfully, because of Valons weird sense of morality, he did not pull out the Oricalchos. Instead he pulled out...a new mechanic!

OK.

Fine, whatever. I don’t go over cards in this show so I don’t have to even worry about this.

And Rebecca and Duke freakin lost, because Duke is never allowed to win. Rebecca may have won if Duke didn’t join this battle with his ass luck, just throwing that out there.

And Mai is like “wow, Valon is doing a really good job. He’s right, he IS amazing”

and she bolts.

And back on the tracks, we see another group of our protagonists sprawled on the desert floor.

REALLY lucky that this train track only has one operating train that is currently out of commission because you should not lie down on a track like this. Probably goes without saying that this is a great way to die. But youknow...the world is also ending so sure, why not? Getting killed by a train is probably more pleasant than the Leviathan.

And then, because we MUST talk about commuting, lets see Kaiba’s commute on this huge ass very normal plane.

I know.

That’s just a normal ass plane.

Even Kaiba needs to take a break youknow? And maybe since he hallucinated last time he drove a plane he decided to just...not drive one for a while. Probably a good move.

On the way, we get to see Seto’s form of parental advice. It was weird.

Like in the actual dialogue of the show Seto is just SO CLOSE to giving good advice and then just slips in these chestnuts where it’s like...well that’s gonna be like 12 years of therapy for Mokuba in the future Seto, thanks for that.

Also lets welcome back Seto’s dueling jacket. Been a while, big sleeves.

Also, the Aurora Borealis has also hit the plane, which is very Twilight Zone of them.

...

Correct me if I’m wrong but Alister was in Dartz’ room during that convo with Mai.

like...just a few hours ago?

Was that a hologram of Alister in Dartz’ boardroom or did the animation team forget?

Oh Alister.

Also, I just want to point out that the same day Seto sent Roland out to fix his problems, was the same day that Kaiba got hella abducted, just a few hours later. Man, Roland. Turn around for like 2 minutes and Seto’s back into cards, they’re both abducted by cultists, and they’re both half-way across the world to California. It must be hard to be Roland.

Anyway, if you just got here this is a link to read the rest in chrono order. All four seasons.

Hope y’all are staying safe in this Pandemic time, goes without saying. Been a weird couple of weeks, but thankfully the internet is still here to help us all keep sanity.

#ygo #yugioh #yu-gi-oh #valon #mai valentine #tea gardner #yami #yami muto #tristan taylor #joey wheeler #rebecca hawkins #duke devlin #seto kaiba #mokuba kaiba #dartz #man just every character was in this episode #episode recap #photo recap #S4 #ep21

[theghostbeaters]

my timeline of thoughts during my tlou 2 play through (bad and good and maybe even some silly) just let me vent because i can’t stop thinking about it tbh

- i was away from the internet for months because i didn’t want to be spoiled for anything, so when i started to play i had only the deceitful trailers to go by

- the beginning felt pretty normal for the last of us. they started you in the town and then on patrol for your hour of tutorial basically. i also remember thinking the recap of the first game was so nice because i liked seeing their younger selves in the new graphics

- abby was introduced, and like i said i had no clue what was going on because i had not been spoiled so my mind was going a mile a minute on wtf abby and co. were up to. when they spotted jackson my initial thought was maybe they do want joel and they will be the main antagonists? joel and ellie will have to fight them??? but because of the trailers, death of any sort wasn’t on my mind.

- i also had a very odd and pure hatred for owen’s voice, lol. i don’t know what it was but omg from the moment he spoke till his last breath i would always be like “why is he speaking like that??” in the back of my head.

- that scene happened. i’m a crier i’ll admit, but this was something else. I felt shocked, nauseous, numb. I don’t think I actually even cried till I saw the tombstone i was so taken aback by the way they went about this. I don’t care if they are fictional characters. It has been 7 years since the first game came out and almost 5 years that they released the first trailer for part 2. I did not wait this long, excited to see two of the most important characters to me in such realistic graphics get their fucking head caved in. at the very very least a fade to black and then to the tombstone would have gotten the same reaction you wanted from me, but it would have been done in a way less cruel way.

- i took about a 3 hour break. i could not get that image out of my head and it was really starting to upset me more then any media should. i don’t care or want to hear about any walking dead or apocalypse setting trope. it will never be edgy, deep, or meaningful to kill a favorite character in that manner. I want to state that again. In that manner. If they had killed joel in a more tactful way I could have possibly liked the game more.

-i remember thinking it felt forced. like the creators wanted this narrative so badly they seemed to go through hoops and hurdles to get there. there was a random horde that seemed to disappear as quick as it came, abby just gets lucky and has joel and tommy save her and then they go straight to the lions den? would joel from the first game be so quick to do that? Wait was she 100% sure just from two peoples names this was the guy she wanted? Ellie gets there just in time to see the final blow and then the others only get there just in time to miss everything and not be able to help? Whats going on??? This feels too structured and not genuine?? 

- going into his house was just as painful. i’m sorry but i’m going to bring this back up a lot-  if they would had just killed him in a more tactful manner i would have praised the way these little scenes were done. grabbing his watch, ellie smelling his clothes, seeing the pictures of sara and ellie, looking at his workshop and seeing how well he can carve! I couldn’t appreciate it the way I wanted to because I couldn’t get that image out of my head. i was literally bawling the entire time. 

-REVENGE TIME BEGINS:

+so the first scene was set: ellie wanted to go to seattle for revenge, dina was going to go with her, and tommy had already left. I remember having two thoughts here

  +“please tell me its going to be more then ellie just going on a revenge spree and then at the end she doesn’t kill abby because morals / murder is bad / not everything is black and white kind of tropes.” 

  +and “i have a wild feeling tommys gonna be like the only person that makes it out alive. he did it in the first game somehow hes gonna weasel his way free in this one.”

-ELLIES SEGMENTS:

+the graphics are amazing the sceneries are some of the most beautiful i have seen in a game. and it didn’t stop there. every area was amazing. I think most can agree to this. 

+i was determined, no matter what else the game threw at me i was going to see it through to the end and try very hard to visualize it the way the creators wanted it to be visualized. even if i didn’t agree or didn’t like parts, i figured hey the first game was so good this has to revive itself.

+i really liked the gameplay, it was a finer tuned version of the first game. i also liked the idea of the map and how it actively showed you different locations and crossed them out when you were done. but in the back of my head i was thinking “wow this would have all been so neat in the first game”. I shouldn’t be thinking about the first game. I should be enjoying this one.

+i was getting concerned none of the new characters were getting as much character development and love as some of the characters in the first one. I liked dina a lot, and by the very end of the game she did feel pretty rounded out (i especially liked her in the farm segment)  but the beginning and middle seemed almost more focused on “this is ellies girlfriend” instead of “this is dina”. I felt the same with jesse. I liked him but nothing stood out as much as it could and should have. I got more from tess in the short amount of time she was in the first game.

+there were certain segments that felt way more horror like and scary then in the first game and I loved them a lot. The new enemy (shambler) was cool and the settings where they used red lighting looked amazing. I also really loved the new take on stalkers. They were way harder to find and I found myself on edge to get jumped by one during those sections. They funny enough reminded me of dead space stalkers and i thought they were an improvement from the first games.

+at this point i pretty much understood what the creators were going for plot wise, but i personally just didn’t think it was needed. 1) i’m confident the majority of hardcore last of us fans already understand the concept of how every character can be good and bad and that not everything is black and white. we didn’t need to see one beloved character die horribly and the other be in that much pain and lose herself to understand that. 2) did we not pretty much already cover this concept in the first game? but....better? you remember...the ending?

- ELLIES FLASHBACKS:

+ of course I enjoyed them. its what i needed from a sequel. its what the whole game should have been, at least for me personally. the birthday flashback was the highlight of the entire game. i needed it so badly after the mind numbing, emotionally exhausting, weird out of place plot was putting me through. I was glad to finally see how ellie felt about the ending of the first game. but trying to crunch all that in 4 cutscenes? I just don’t feel like it was enough. you basically gave me one scene per year of joel and ellies relationship and you felt like that was enough to let me digest almost 5 years they spent in jackson?

- ABBYS SECTIONS:

+call me an optimist or maybe just stupid i’m not sure but when it rolled over and said “hey take over and check out the life of joel’s killer” my first thought was okay so i was right they want a “”nothing is black and white”” narrative but maybe doing it this way will be new and fresh? I can get through this and enjoy it? .... Its just not a fully possible reality and how could it be? had it been the first game in the series maybe it would had worked, but of course no matter how hard I tried I just felt disassociated from abby because I was already close to joel and ellie. I understood her reasons. I understood the narrative you were going for. I understood the damn parallels. I’m not an evil person that would just laugh about what happened to her dad, but how can you not understand as writers that a huge majority might be able to understand it, but still won’t be able to enjoy it. It felt so pushed and shoved into my face that I couldn’t enjoy it if i wanted to because the game just kept screaming “LOOK AT THE PARALLELS THO!!!”

+abbys dad seemed forced and out of place too. when abby and co. first killed joel i didn’t even think fireflies tbh. I thought it was something he did before he met ellie, or something he did during the 5 years in jackson. like yeah i got it, its not the worse backstory in the world but when put in context to the first game it just doesn’t make sense to me to use as the narrative you want to portray in the second game. maybe i’m nitpicking here but from all the personal notes and all the tapes you can read and listen to about the fireflies in the first game it makes it hard to believe the majority of fans would care for the second games narrative at all. they already made their decisions. it at the very least just seems like bad salesmanship? but maybe they already knew that and thats why the trailers were all lies? (just my thoughts at the time remember) 

+and oh god was the character development even worse for abbys friends. at least they tried to give abby a rounded character development that mirrored ellies but if you think ellies friends barely got character development, abbys friends got almost zero. I didn’t care about a single one. they felt so flimsy and husk like. “this is the boy she likes” “this is a medic friend” “this guy likes sex alot” “this is dog, so of course you like dog”

+I mean its great everyone was able to be so different. abby is muscular, ellie is a lesbian, there were many poc, dina is jewish, they brought in a trans character....but how can i enjoy any of it when more than half of these characters felt put in just to be there instead of well rounded characters you can appreciate for good or bad?

+the sex scene with her and owen was the scene where i personally felt myself giving up. it felt so much like this game wanted to be an HBO classic instead of just a video game that i felt myself detaching even more. (also whats up with owens voice??? lol)

+GROUND ZERO was a very good chapter. That shit was spooky in all the good ways, it felt a lot like dead space with the plastic everywhere, THE BIG ASS MONSTER HAD ME ON MY KNEES. The chase scene up to the actual boss fight was A+. Here is the one catch though - I forgot I was playing as abby. It felt more like just playing first person. Not a character at all. I don’t think that is how you want your game to be played, and no it wasn’t my intention. 

+I wish yara and lev had gotten more screen time. the game was so focused on the abby vs ellie thing and shoving it down your throat that most the side characters got washed out, these two included. Their story was interesting and it would had been nice to see more of them instead of whatever the weird love triangle abby had going on with her two friends I couldn’t care less about. (i stg chances were given, but as i previously stated they felt more like husks of characters then fully rounded ones.)

+getting hunted by tommy was actually a pretty cool highlight of the game for me. and even for a narrative i didn’t personally like it was a good idea to do! it reminded me of the sniper section (but holy hell tommys a better shot lol) and david’s hide and seek section in the first game which i thought was very well done. 

+this is when i went “oh maybe i was wrong, tommys gonna die. i give him a 20% chance of survival now that abby saw his face

-THEATER TIME

+why in the all out hell would you ever think it would be a good idea to tell the player to go after ellie? no matter what narrative? lmao. I died here the most literally for the soul fact i was scared there might be some kind of choice so i wouldn’t mash QTEs as fast as i normally would. and when i found out no, you just gotta power through it i literally found myself going through this 10 minute segment going “but i don’t want to do this”, “i really dont want to do this”, “do i have to do this?” “why do i gotta do this?” and yes i still understood your narrative but it doesn’t matter. it was just awkward. 

+This is where personally I would have put the cali segment if I really wanted to go with a narrative I still say didn’t need to happen because we already went through it in the first game, and then the happy farm bit at the end. 

-FARM

+i felt the game was going on too long and i was literally screaming at my screen to just end my suffering when i realized there was more after seattle. adding the extra PTSD scene just felt like an added fuck you towards the fans. I said it once, I’ll say it 1000x that scene with joel was seared into my brain already. I didn’t need that literal jumpscare. I already knew what ellie was going through dammit I was going through it with her! Let the girl and me for that matter have a bit of happiness after what you put us through!

+holy hell tommy fucking lived. he fucking lived. that mother fucker. hes the new telltales kenny. 

-SANTA BARBARA

+I said previously this section should have some how been merged into the seattle ending. I couldn’t tell you how honestly, but keeping it dragging like they did was so emotionally draining. it didn’t give me any feeling but more sadness and torment for a favorite character that didn’t deserve this kind of treatment. ellie looked so skinny and sad here. and i feel like it was what the creators were going for? because abby ended up looking just as sad looking. The ending fight was so sad and pathetic. I felt bad for both of them and that is what the creators wanted right? but at what cost? most of your fans, if they even managed to play this far, so emotionally drained and tired that they end up hating the game or not wanting to play it again? 

-ENDING

+so how do i feel now that i finished it? overall there were more cons than pros for me. as i said numerous times before this narrative is not new, this narrative was not needed. this narrative definitely shouldn’t have been lied about through trailers. this narrative was basically done better in the first game anyways. the ending did not give me “sad but hopeful”. it just left me empty and depressed. I don’t see myself playing this game ever again. 

+If anyone was able to enjoy it I’m truly happy you were able to and these were all just my personal thoughts and opinions while playing the game. I don’t hate anyone that liked it, I don’t even hate abby. I just personally hate they wrote a narrative that felt so forced down your throat in all the wrong ways. I hate that I wasn’t ready for that joel scene because it still hurts to think about. I hate thinking about how sad ellie looked and how they were both treated. It just wasn’t healthy for me tbh is the best way I can put it. 

#the last of us #tlou #tlou spoilers #the last of us spoilers #holy shit this is long i'm sorry #not that anyone will read it lol #but its just nice to write sht down sometimes #anti tlou2

[twstsimping]

“You want to go to neverland? Hm.. maybe walking the plank will do to trick!”

Ok! The is my second time posting this because it didn’t show up in the tags before, and yes, I am retyping all this information so feel sorry for me. Neverwaters very own dorm head coming right up!

Picrew link- https://picrew.me/image_maker/26311

Name: Cat Falx

Gender: male

Age: 17

Birthday: July 19th

Starsign: cancer

Height: 167cm

Eye colour: blue

Hair colour: black

Homeland: coastal deep

Professional information

Dorm: neverwaters

School year: 2nd

Class: 2C, student no.32

Occupation: student

Club: horseback riding club

Best subject: alchemy

Fun facts

Dominant hand: right

Favourite food: rice

Least favourite food: sea food

Dislikes: childish people, the sea

Hobby: pulling pranks studying

Talent: story telling

Personality

Cat is very fixated on self improvement. He believes that everyone has potential for greatness, so they should strive to become the best. Before his overblot, he practically banned fun, as he believed it was a detriment to the dorms improvement. He would make them study and work for hours on end, and would even make them go without food or sleep at some points. He had violent mood swings and often got into fights, becoming a figure that the entire dorm feared. In fact, he practically went against the morals of his house, and banned all the things the students loved. After his overblot, however, he became much kinder. He was still very set on self improvement, but he realised that people don’t just have one ‘purpose’, and that just being alive is enough. He still hates childish people, but he acknowledges that being happy and being childish are two different things. He embraces his love of pranks and story telling especially, and embraces the things he loves. He becomes a huge Tsundere, are finds it very hard to handle affection, making him easy to tease. He also says things that directly confront his actions, such as telling someone he hates them as he gives them a hug. He becomes just as mischievous as the other members of his dorm, and can often be found tricking poor unsuspecting students into his traps. Though he does acknowledge that there’s a time for work and a time for play, he wouldn’t be caught dead flunking his work, and he encourages the rest of his dorm to do the same. He very quickly becomes the person his dorm mates seek out when they wish to improve an aspect of themselves, and as long as he can see they’re trying their best, he’ll be endlessly tolerant of them. Neverwaters becomes like one big family, or a pirate crew you could say. He still can’t let go of his past, but he’s using the negatives to become a better person.

Unique magic

Cats unique magic, ‘growing up’, allows him to create a small pocket dimension by telling a story. When he enters this dimension he will find himself in the world the story was set in, more importantly, he’ll be able to take any item from the pocket dimension and use it in the real world. He can also take other people into this dimension. However, he has to actively tell an actual story, so he can’t just set a scene. The people hearing it have to be able to picture the scene.

Backstory

So I based Cat, and all of this dorm really, off of a concept that I really like, which is that the story of Peter Pan and Captain Hook is a cycle. Peter Pan shows up in neverland and goes on all these amazing adventures, having the most fun in his life and not growing old, until he eventually defeats Captain Hook. Then however, there’s suddenly nothing for him to do. No new adventures, no nothing. He grows so bored that he eventually goes to find Captain hooks diary. And something the he reads in it ‘opens his eyes’, and he becomes the new Captain Hook. Then, a new Peter Pan appears, and it all starts over again.

Cat grew up in a fairly rich neighbourhood. As a payoff, his parents never really loved or cared for him. For as long as he could remember, he never really had a ‘family’. He was just surviving. He wasn’t socialised properly, so he truly felt like nothing. But at the time, nothing was all he knew, so he assumed it was normal. One day, he ran into a boy. Park was his name. Cat told Park of his life, and to his shock Park listened with horror and anger. Why was a person he hardly knew getting so worked up over this? Park grabbed his hand, and took him down a dark alleyway. When they came out the other end, they were in a small clearing, blankets and fairly lights strung up all over the place. “If you want, you could be part of my family?” And so, Cat joined the lost boys. He well and truly felt as though he had a home. He learned how to have fun and how to be alive. It was perfect. He was told about the goal of the lost boys, defeat the evil Captain Falx! Huh? That’s strange. Because well, that was his name. Cat soon learnt that they were talking about his older brother, though it didn’t put him off. If anything, he just got more excited! And eventually, he did it. He defeated his brother. The lost boys had won! Now they could be happy forever! But... it didn’t seem to work out. Suddenly, Cat didn’t have a purpose anymore. His parents started treating him like their son. They believed he was a prodigy because he managed to beat his brother. Cat was scared. Now that he didn’t have a purpose, he was afraid he was gonna fade into nothing again. He couldn’t go back! One night, when he was especially restless, he snuck into his brothers room. He found a diary. He read it, and was astonished at all the amazing stories it contained. He committed each and every word to his memory. But what he learned surprised him. His brother had been part of the lost boys. Just like him, he had defeated the devil Captain. And just like him, he’d grown discontent. The contents of the diary slowly changed. He started talking about highs hoop and his studies. Cat was confused. It all sounded so boring, but his brother seemed happy. There was even writing about him in there. Cat figured it out. If he wanted to be happy, he just had to do what his brother did! He had to grow up! That way, surely he could outrun the emptiness! But the lost boys didn’t like that. They argued. Park shouted at him, told him he was just as bad as his brother, and pushed him. Cat fell, and fell and fell some more. Then he hit the water, but he kept falling. He thrashed and tried to scream, but water was everywhere and he couldn’t escape! Cat almost drowned that day. And he decided, the lost boys were the villains. He had been a blind fool. They had never been his family. And they’d all get hurt eventually, when they realised they couldn’t be kids forever. But still, whenever he thought of Park, he felt like screaming and crying. His heart clenched and his stomach sunk. Surely this feeling would go away once he defeated him. Right..?

Trivia

Cat hates swimming with a burning passion, and refuses to go anywhere near water. If someone tries to make him, he will resort to violence.

He’s a little bit of a sadist, and will often find himself mocking people who’ve fallen for his traps.

He became dorm leader on his first day of school, even though he didn’t do anything. People think that it’s just because he looked the part and the old dorm leader was lazy.

He is terrified of Crewel, but because his best subject is alchemy, he has to put up with him.

He’s very weak to jump scares, and even the littlest thing will make him scream like a little girl and cling onto the closest person to him.

He is twisted from Captain Hook.

He refuses to go near octavinelle, even when his friends offer to buy him stuff at the monstro lounge.

He is shockingly good at pulling of stunts and tricks, and can squeeze through very small spaces.

He rises and falls with the sun, and expects his dorm to do the same.

He gets incredibly cranky when sleepy, and his friends often bully him for it.

He is completely hopeless at anything artsy, and will use any excuse to get out of it.

He receives weekly letters from his parents asking how school is. He never replies.

His brothers name is Nier Falx.

#disney twst #twst oc #twisted wonderland #twst fan dorm #neverwaters #look at my boy go #hes trying his best

[thebiasrekkers]

No Words, pt 9

Pairing: Taehyung x Jeongguk x OC [ft.  Namjoon x OC]

Type: Series

Chapter Rating: M 

Genre: Idol, Poly, Interracial, Tall Female, Smut, Angst, Fluff [if you squint]

Warning: Vivian. That’s right, the warning is Vivian.

A/N - I fell into that pit of ‘what are you doing with this trash story’ style negative brain activity. Things took a turn. I’m sorry for making you wait. This story is still a mess. We’re back on the tracks, folks!

Words:  2.5k

---

Tasha watched her friend huddle over notebooks with her brow deeply furrowed. The holidays were rushing up to greet them, and they were bustling to finish their course-load. They had been pouring over notebooks, comparing notes, and debating practicums for the last few weeks. They were huddled with the newbies in the common room at the Hannam-dong dorm space. It was easy to help the new kids with their first-year work. It was a big boost of confidence, and perhaps ego that they could spout off the answers and explanations so easily.

But, as the older kids on the block? Things had changed technologically for them. The American vs. Korean applications of sound and camera work were on a whole different scale. Their whole purpose was a comparison of the two. Yet, they found themselves in a conundrum. It was simple, really it was, that with the consumption of Hallyu in the rest of the world - people were developing different expectations for music videos and shows. They were in the front seat of this grand show of change. Now, this isn’t to say that there weren’t pioneers.

There would always be respect for those that paved the way prior. Those bold visionaries that twisted their earlier experiences. But like all things, time brings change and new technology. They were barely scraping the surface of the musical experience. People weren’t satisfied with the entertainer simply being still surrounded by bodies. There was a want for more of a storytelling aspect. Or, they wanted snappy effects that added something. The thing is people were wanting more than what they were getting.

“Ahhh! My eyes are starting to cross. I swear to GOD.” Tasha rubbed her face flinging those rainbow-colored plaits out of her face. She turned to the others as they stared at blinking cursors paused in mid-sentence. She groaned, checking the time, “Ok, guys. Let’s…let’s stop, for now, yea?” A few agree to shut their laptops down - except for one person.

“Hey, we have a function to get ready for, missy.” The clickity-clack of keys had slowed from the beginning of their session but remained steady.

“I’m well aware of that, Tasha.” She quipped as she stared over the top of her glasses. Tasha grunted as the new kids laughed.

“Come on, we know she’s the nerd of the group. Are you surprised?” Tasha’s gaze narrowed to the owner of that voice. “I’m surprised she managed to have any fun while being here.” The bad attempt sarcasm rubbed Tasha the wrong fucking way.

There was always one in every group! That one person that thought they were so fucking cool - and pretty and popular. Even if that person was extremely beautiful and found themselves in the center of attention, all the g’damned time. Tasha was about to say something, but it was cut short when three familiar voices echoed out in the hallway.

Tasha blinked because those three voices belonged to none other than…

“Taehyung-ah, Gguk-ah, seriously.” Namjoon groaned into a laugh as they turned to enter the common room. “O-oh.” He stopped abruptly, and the maknae line bumped into him.

“Ah, Hyung! I almost stepped on - Oh.” Jeongguk blinked when Taehyung tapped him on the shoulder. The new kids still had to get used to just randomly running into BTS members throughout the day. The first group merely bowed or waved, muttering greetings. Tasha’s eyes whipped quickly to her bag when she locked gazes with Namjoon. She coughed lightly, clapping her hands. “Ah, well. We should probably start getting ready, guys.” A thumb jutted to the partly dressed trio shuffling into the room.

“Ah! It’s the oppa’s!” That voice piped up again, and Tasha did everything in her power not to hurl. But that girl jumped up, clapping her hands together. “You guys look good! We should be so lucky to be escorted by such dapper gentlemen.”

Everyone rolled their eyes. Namjoon was kinder - and refrained. “Ah, well. You know it’s a special occasion. You all make sure you talk to people and network.” She giggled lightly, placing the tips of her fingers along Namjoon’s forearm.

Namjoon coughed softly as he stepped around her - leaving Taehyung and Jeongguk to be prodded at instead. The soft taps of a keyboard still echoed as Namjoon continued. “The first group here really set a tone that we hope you can follow.” A brow arched as he spun on his heels.

The new kids smirked, staring at the one who continued to type. That girl - ah, she had a name. Vivian the Vivacious. That’s what she called herself - the life of every party. She slipped an arm through Tae and Gguk’s as if she was the prize between them. “I am sure we’ll meet and exceed every expectation required of us.” Haughty, as she tossed those long raven locks over her shoulder.

It was apparent she was the Queen Bee among the new kids. There was always one.

Tasha inhaled deeply as suddenly the sound of keys ticking stopped. A soft exhale broke a thick silence. “Vivian.” Everyone turned to her, even Tasha stiffened momentarily, as she removed her glasses. “There’s a saying that comes to mind.” She stashed her glasses in their case. “Overconfidence is the most dangerous form of carelessness.” A brow arched upward as she neatly collected her things.

There was a subtle warning in her tone that she didn’t bother to hide. “I don’t care what you think about me, but do not take my silence as putting up with your bullshit.” She turned to the rest of the new kids. “Do not embarrass us tonight. Because I’m the one standing between your continued presence here…” She hefted her bag on her shoulder. “…and long coach ride back to where the fuck you came from.”

Tasha had to turn in the opposite direction to hide the smile, threatening to split her face. Namjoon caught it and tilted his head upward, a hand over his mouth. Taehyung and Jeongguk were torn between something akin to awe and lust. Vivian glared at her as she smiled, her grasp tightening on Tae and Gguk’s forearms. They both turned their gaze to the top of the girl’s head.

Tasha was close to losing her shit. “Ok! Alright! Let’s go! We’re wasting time.” She bowed to the trio, refusing to reach for Vivian as she beat feet out of the common room. The other first-year folks left with satisfied looks on their faces.

She decided to follow-up the last of them, pausing by Vivian as she clung to the maknae members. “And I’ll have you know, I was plenty of fun while I was here. Maybe you’ll get a chance to sing karaoke with Jeongguk-ah.” Her gaze slid up between the two of them.

Her pupils went wide to match theirs as her lips parted on a smirk. That look lowered to Vivian as she tilted the corner of her lips. “Maybe if you’re as fun as me.” She waltzed out of the common room, leaving Vivian scowling.

“Jeongguk-oppa! You think I’m fun, don’t you?” Vivian tilted a lookup through thick lashes, fluttering them prettily at the maknae.

Who was paying her no mind?

She turned to Taehyung prepared to do the same, and she paused. The look that he gave her caused her to wither, just slightly. He looked like a haughty Prince, curious about the status of the person touching him. Her fingers slid away from his arm, and she turned to see Jeongguk with a brow arched at her fingers. “Oh come on, I’m much more fun than she is!” She pressed her cleavage against his side - and he moved as if he’d been burned.

“Vivian,” Namjoon spoke quietly. “I think you should go get ready. You don’t want to get left behind.” He grabbed the apple he wanted originally and breezed by her. Taehyung offered that boxy smile with a slight bow, as he followed. Jeongguk fell in step, looking exasperated as they went to visit the stylist.

Vivian continued to scowl but was broken from that facade of purity and fun. The sound of crisp fruit being pierced by that dimpled half-smile. Namjoon tilted his head as he shook the apple in her direction. “And I’d keep that in mind.” He finished chewing, leaning back on his heels. “…because, you will get left behind if you’re not careful.” He watched as Vivian crossed her arms, schooling a neutral expression. “Make us proud tonight.” Namjoon walked off with a partial smile, leaving her to scowl by herself. He rounded the corner, rubbing absently at where she touched him.

It’s fine. He’d just have to rub himself all over Tasha later on to cure himself.

—

“She’s infuriating! I hate her! Hate is a strong word, isn’t it?” Tasha paced in her thigh-highs, the snaps of a garter belt clicking. “Is that wrong? Should I feel bad?” She threw her hands up as if she was suffering some moral dilemma. “God, there’s one in every bunch!” Tasha continued to rumble and rant in her fury.

“Latasha.” She sighed as her friend finally paused. “You do realize you have yet to put your dress on?” A brow arched as Tasha finally saw the time.

“Shit!” She skittered to the other room to pull on the perfect black dress. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?!” Tasha whined as she pulled the curl rods from her updo.

“I tried. You kept going back to how pretty, perfect, and detestable she is.” Tasha grunted as she hobbled up to the front, finally settling herself in two-inch heels.

“Well, shit. You kept oddly cool for where she wound up.” Tasha mused with a smirk as she watched her friend clip on a dangly earring set. A set of large hoops in the other hole as the dangling stars seemed to swing in its opening.

“Look, we earned our spots working with the members. I’m not going to let petty jealousy cloud my judgment.” She arched a brow while pressing a red stick across the swell of her lip. It was a bold color choice. Hell, her whole ensemble was bright.

It wasn’t that the dress was short - it was that she was tall. And this happened every time, where this would be a reasonable fit for average height? For her? Well, it was snug on her hips and just passed her knees - and that is only by a wing and a prayer. That paired with heels that catapulted her into the near six-foot-tall range of height? Completed the look.

Tasha had spent the whole day previously blowing out her hair. A silk press left her hair in a shiny fall of layered waves about her shoulders. She turned around as Tasha gave her a final appraisal.

“Damn, I am good. Maybe this tech stuff isn’t my calling. Maybe they’ll let me be a stylist?” They both stared at each other before falling into a peal of laughter. Tasha grabbed her jacket and purse, offering an arm to escort them from her apartment.

“You good, chick?” She stared down at her friend as they walked quietly toward their transportation.

“Yeah, you’re right. We earned our spots.” Tasha nodded with a substantial lift to her confidence. They smiled at each other as they approached the building foyer. Folks were already being loaded into SUVs. They were the last ones to arrive as the boys from BTS made their way down to wait for their perspective cars.

The two women turned with a whistle at the cleaned-up crew.

“Ohmygod. It’s BTS. Should we ask for an autograph?” Tasha leaned in, pretending to whisper while being excruciatingly obvious.

“I don’t know, do you think they’ll even notice us?” She responded just as obviously.

“Ahh, our adoring fans! How could we ever not notice you.” Jin threw a trademark kiss in their direction. Jimin rolled his eyes while moving between them.

“I think we would be doing the world a disservice if we didn’t notice our adoring fans. Someone take a picture quick!.” Jimin did his best James Bond look while the girls posed on the side. “Ok, as we practiced.”

“Ah! This is more embarrassing than Jin-hyung and his jokes.” Hobi laughed - but snapped the photo anyway. “Yes, yes! More! More!” They made devious faces at each other, smoldering looks as Jimin wrapped his arm around each girl’s waist.

“Ok, ok. That’s enough. That’s enough.” Namjoon chuckled as Jimin frowned. “We’re holding up the line.” Tasha was tugged gently away from Jimin, causing her brows to arch upward. “You look really nice.” She smiled widely.

“Why, thank you, Namjoon-ah. You don’t look so bad yourself.” Jin, Hobi, and Jimin rolled their eyes with playful groans.

Taehyung, on the other hand, got a chance to approach her for the first time in what seemed like - months. Oh, because it had been. They’d been increasingly busy since their karaoke escapade. It worked out to her favor, of course.

But now?

“You look beautiful.” The depth of his tone littered goosebumps across her skin. A response she just couldn’t help as he stood just behind her. Their body heat clashed as she glanced over her shoulder.

“Wow, Noona.” Jeongguk approached with his hands in his pockets. And although the maknae was wearing that wide bunny smile? His eyes wore something else entirely. They all looked impeccable, their styling team truly outdid themselves.

Yoongi clicked his tongue against his teeth as he shuffled toward the door. “You all need to pick your lips up off the floor so we can get in the car.” The girls chuckled, making swift getaways from their captors as he held the door for them.

“Thanks, Yoongi.” The girls spoke in sing-song unison as they exited. He shook his head as he watched them get packed into an SUV.

He scratched at the back of his neck, a slight tilt of his head. “I think we have the most beautiful women in all the networks with us tonight.” Everybody turned to Min Yoongi with their mouths agape. He gave a careless shrug as he toed the door back open. “I’m human too, you know? Let’s go, yea?”

The wind tousled his hair a bit as he adjusted his cufflinks.

“Should we be worried?” Taehyung turned to Namjoon, who was still shocked.

“Uh. I…don’t …know?” Namjoon’s brow furrowed as Jimin squeezed by them.

“You should be worried.” Jimin teased with a brow waggle as he jogged to catch up with Yoongi.

Hoseok and Jin grinned, moving by after clapping a hand on the trio’s shoulder. “I wonder if he’s going to get to dance with them first?” Jin mused, loudly, to Hoseok. The Dance Captain tilted his head in deep concentration.

“Not before I get to ask first.”

Jeongguk balked, pushing the door open to speed up to protest. “H-hey, Hobi-hyung! W-wait just a minute!”

Taehyung pinched the bridge of his nose with a deep groan. Namjoon sighed, “I know, Taehyung-ah. I know. Just remember to mind your manners, alright?”

Taehyung smirked while tucking his thumb in his lapel. His tone was deep and thickened by the weight of his satoori. “Hey, Hyung, don’t worry.” He moved forward, opening the door for Namjoon. “…I’m a great actor, remember?” Taehyung popped his tongue with a wink as the Leader shook his head with a dimpled smile.

“Let’s not give them too much of a show, yeah?” Namjoon arched a brow. The two shared a look before stepping into the waiting SUV

#smutcentralnet #mknlinenet #bangtanarmynet #btswriterscollective #btswriterscorner #V #taehyung smut #idol au #bts namjoon #bts imagines #bts smut #idol poly hot mess #let the games begin

[protagonistheavy]

I’m just gonna randomly shoot out some things about WW84 that sucked or were weird. It might be random but it’ll be just as coherent as the movie.

I immediately sensed this movie would suck when it begins with a voice-over by Diana explaining what the first ten minutes of the movie was going to be about, and then I knew FOR SURE it was going to suck when those ten minutes go and explain the moral of the next two hours of the film. This childhood flashback has no bearing on anything happening in the present, other than to setup the message that cheating and taking shortcuts is wrong.

Which, by the way, that message is so stupid and this flashback VALIDATES how bad it is. Diana is about to win this sports thing as a kid but gets disqualified at the last moment because when she got knocked off her horse, she took a shortcut to get back into the race. You’d think craftiness like that would be REWARDED somehow, but she’s punished for it, and it sets up this frustration that lasts for the entire movie. Not a good frustration, just something that annoys you.

I hate the presentation of this obstacle course by the way. It seemed really cool for like five minutes but the race got so tedious. You think she’s going to win when she jumps for the hoop -- no, she’s diving into the water, the race is still going. She gets to land! ... No, now it’s a horse riding segment. She shoots an arrow through a hoop, and at the stadium, they release a flag with her color! ... But that’s just hoop one of several that she needs to shoot. It’s so tedious and pointless, you never get the right sense of suspense.

Okay now for the bulk of the film.

Barbara’s weird focus on heels gets so grating, I could not believe how many times they emphasized her shoes. I get that they represent something larger but they don’t do anything with it, they just keep having people comment on her fucking shoes! and then after awhile, no mention of heels, it’s just dropped, it’s so uncanny how important fucking HEELS were for like 30 minutes of a film.

Barbara feeds a homeless guy on her way home, explained that she visits this guy almost everyday. We NEVER see this guy again, except for when Barbara is first turning “evil” (GOD I gotta explain that one) where he just... RANDOMLY APPEARS! He appears just to make Barbara look more evil, and then he’s just gone. SO ANNOYING!

And they do this AGAIN with another minor character. This guy named Carl???? Okay can ANYONE explain this guy to me? For NO REASON we see that Diana has like, this assistant named Carl that she just sort of shrugs off. And then he’s never mentioned again, never seen again, until like a whole hour later -- where Diana is apparently friends enough with this guy that he takes her on a tour through some federal building? And it’s HERE that they try to give CARL a fucking character quirk, even though he’s NEVER SEEN AFTER THIS? They like try to make him seem like a buddy of Diana’s or something like we should think this scene is kinda funny or fuck at least show that Diana has relationships with people. Nope.

And I’d say that’s a big problem for me with the film, Diana has NO connections with ANYONE in this film... EXCEPT HER DEAD PARTNER THAT COMES BACK TO LIFE IN SOME RANDOM GUY’S BODY, OH MY GOD. I just have to scream about that, what the FUCK was this plot??? They couldn’t just have Steve be wished back into existence somehow, no, the plot instead makes it so a RANDOM NEARBY GUY just gets POSSESSED by Steve, and then the movie has the nerve to just REPLACE THE GUY WITH STEVE’S ACTOR! Because apparently “that’s all Diana can see.” WHAT THE FUCK!!!! She had sex with this other person’s body several times, dude!! It’s so weird, they could have done ANYTHING but they chose this WEIRD plot!

And Steve NEVER HAD TO COME BACK! Why was Steve so fucking important?! Especially when they KNEW that they’d have to kill him off again anyway! They just thrust him back into the plot because they couldn’t think of ANYTHING else that would drive Wonder Woman into a conflict other than THE MAN IN HER LIFE. Holy shit, dude. It’s literally her WHOLE motive in this dumb film, grappling with how she’s just obsessed over this dead dude for DECADES, it’s such a pathetic state for WONDER WOMAN to be in.

Okay remember when I said Barbara turned evil and the homeless guy-- yeah yeah so her “turning evil” scene? Revolves around her fighting back against a street harasser. Yeah so earlier we see her get catcalled and pushed around by this random drunk guy, you know, the classic random drunk guys we know are on the streets. And Diana saves her. Later she’s in a TOTALLY different spot and the SAME DRUNK GUY harasses her AGAIN, literally the same drunk guy in the same clothes, doing the same shit as last time, even though it got him thrown into a trash can before. Yeah they use THIS GUY to demonstrate Barbara “turning evil” because now she has super strength and throws the guy down and kicks him across the street. WE’RE SUPPOSED TO FEEL BAD FOR THIS DRUNK GUY. WE’RE SUPPOSED TO THINK “BARBARA, NO, YOU CAN’T DO THAT!” What the FUUUUCK? Why not have her do something evil that effects the homeless guy -- THAT would be a moment in which the audience says, “NO BARBARA, NO!” Instead it just seems like she’s, like, TOTALLY IN THE RIGHT! Like yeah maybe she’s going overboard but this guy TWICE has physically assaulted her and ALL she’s doing is kicking him, BECAUSE SHE’S DEFENDING HERSELF and MAKING A POINT to this fucking guy! Hoooly shit it’s just, so wrong to use THIS dynamic as the “turning point” for an evil character.

Yeah and also, Barbara’s whole plot? It’s just shy of a fetish story. The whole thing. One day this meek nerdy woman wakes up and her body is fuller and sexier, she’s more confident, getting stronger and taller -- I’ve genuinely read fetish stories less blatant than this. It’s so fucking weird to see happen, it gives me bad vibes.

Barbara’s character is just dropped so hard. It doesn’t explore her or her position well at all despite how hard it tries to make SOMETHING out of nothing. She has no motive other than being jealous of other people and wanting power, it’s actually really dumb how this normal and sweet woman gets turned into a literal monster just for having been EVIL enough to make a fucking wish on a dumb stone, and she gets NO redemption, no explanation for where she goes afterwards when the film ends. No one even seems to care that Barbara is just gone, but I guess that’s fair because by the end of the movie, fucking, a LOT happened in the world.

Yeah the climax is that the villain can grant wishes and so everyone in the world starts making wishes, and it shows how these wishes get immediately corrupted or cause widespread chaos. But humor me this: is there not a SINGLE person that would have used their wish for, like, “world peace?” Wouldn’t that ONE wish stop like half of all other wishes? And you might think “Adam that’s dumb, a wish can’t just grant world peace” FUCK YOU! THE LOGIC OF THESE WISHES IS THAT IT CAN LET THE DEAD POSSESS HUMAN BODIES, IT CAN INSTANTLY CREATE AND ALSO DISMANTLE NUCLEAR WARHEADS, IT CAN CREATE GIANT WALLS OF STONE AROUND A COUNTRY. How the FUCK was there not a SINGLE child -- JUST A NAIVE CHILD -- that was watching this broadcast and wished for world peace? It’s just, this WHOLE PLOT IS SO DUMB!

The villain has the power to grant wishes, but only if they VERY SPECIFICALLY say “I WISH.” So he has to CONSTANTLY word-trick people into wishing for exactly what he wants them to wish for, while ALSO touching them. This gets repeated MULTIPLE times. But what pisses me off the most is that it doesn’t explain well what he GETS from people making a wish. Because the first time we see him use this power, he does it to one of his investors, and gets the investor to wish for his financial success. IMMEDIATELY after the investor makes the wish, the villain steps away and just says “Okay but in return you have to give me all your money and stocks.” And then he just walks out of the building, while the investor yells at him to come back. ??? No written agreement, no contract or anything. The villain just gets this guy to say “I wish” and then decides what he himself gets out of it.

We don’t get explained until LATER that whenever someone makes a wish, “the wish” gets to take something precious from the wisher. So what the villain basically just gets to do is grant a wish and then just DECIDE what the person gives them. He gets an oil tycoon to make a wish, and then he just takes his security team and his oil, and the security team just goes along with it, they just plain out lose their free will whenever they’re part of a wish. What the fuck man. It’s so stupid! And like not stupid-stupid, this COULD have been a cool idea for a villain, but it’s played so comically DUMB that it can’t be taken seriously at all, it never gets explored in interesting ways. It’s just him running around, tricking people into saying “yeah I wish for that thing you said.”

And the villain is like... IN MY PERSPECTIVE, the villain FEELS like he was inspired by Donald Trump. He’s a conman, he does this “thing” with his hands when he talks, he lies to people constantly, he acts rich but he doesn’t actually have any money, he just puts on a front of being rich. And like the whole film I thought that he was white, like, a white American with just a weird accent -- no, he’s like, just... NOT white apparently! We see a flashback to him as a kid (his dramatic story is that he pissed the bed as a child and his dad hit him -- I’m not kidding) and he’s WAY DARKER SKINNED as a child. He’s just a totally different person. In fact when I first saw this scene, I thought that was HIS child! We see his kid several times and he’s darker skinned, but I just assumed, “oh okay, like, this is a white guy and his partner he had a kid with or whatever, wasn’t. Or he adopted or something.” No, apparently Max Lord the villain is not white... I don’t even know what to MAKE of that, it just seems like a clear error on the writer’s part that they didn’t realize MAYBE that’d have some importance to what the grander message in the story is.

The props suck. It all looked super fake. At one point a stone pillar gets knocked over and broken, it’s the fakest looking thing, hitting the ground like it’s made of styrofoam. So much of this movie seemed like it was produced from whatever was lying around the storage room. I seriously only think the 80s aesthetic was chosen because they had lots of 80s themed props and clothes they could use on the cheap, because the movie does NOTHING else with the time period -- NOTHING ELSE. It’s just an excuse to show off 80s fashion and trends, and how Diana never had 80s hair, SUCH A MISSED OPPORTUNITY BUT WHATEVER.

Even the acting just feels so cold. The major actors all put in a contractual amount of effort and nothing more, and all the side characters just couldn’t give a shit. Why would they? The plot is fucking bonkers and their characters are worthless. The only good acting I saw was from Barbara, and that only lasts for the first hour of the film when Barbara actually has a personality. After that she’s just delegated to being a villain that wears more and more villainous clothing, until she’s just a fucking cat beast out of no where.

Yeah we get no reason for why Barbara turns into a cat woman, other than when she was making a wish, she said she’d like to be an “apex predator.” So the wish turned her into a cat woman. The only cat-like thigns we even see ASSOCIATED with Barbara until this point, is that she’s fascinated by Diana’s leopard print heels (THE HEELS! THE HEELS!) and in her office is a model of a tiger. Im probably getting these animals mixed up but whatever. It’s so fucking dumb, she’s a GEOLOGIST! And yeah she’s also generically a few other types of doctors, but she’s in this film primarily as a GEOLOGIST -- WHY DID SHE GET CAT POWERS?

Diana hypes up this fucking armor out of NO WHERE, Steve just randomly comes across it in Diana’s room, it’s just covered up in cloth and propped against a wall. Why? Why is it like this? Diana has had that armor for awhile by this point, it’s a fucking RELIC of her culture, and everything else in her fancy home is also neatly organized and displayed. This important fucking armor though, never put away. Anyway it gets hyped up as being like indestructible, but literally in the backstory for it we’re told that it failed to keep the amazon warrior wearing it safe, it eventually failed her... and then sure enough, when Diana is wearing it for a fight against Barbara, it just doesn’t do anything! It just gets ripped apart! What the fuck was the point of making Diana wear something so TACKY when she never needed it?!? You’d THINK she would use the wings to fly... but by that point, DIANA JUST HAS FLIGHT POWERS! The suit offers NOTHING OF VALUE to hear except to get ripped up!

Diana just REMEMBERS, only ONCE, that she has fucking INVISIBILITY POWERS. Yeah they get into a jet and need to fly out undetected. So Diana just pulls out some Dragonball Z power out of no where and MAKES THE WHOLE JET INVISIBLE, including them inside of it. Even though this was NEVER mentioned EVER before that she could do this... Even though she specifically says “I’ve only tried this once on a coffee mug”... SHE GETS IT RIGHT, THE WHOLE JET TURNS INVISIBLE. Okay, now get this: HOW DOES AN INVISIBLE JET HELP HER? SHE LITERALLY JUST STATED THAT THEY HAVE RADARS, THEY CAN STILL DETECT THEM, SO WHAT DOES BECOMING INVISIBLE DO? THE RADAR WOULD STILL PICK THEM UP, WOULDN’T IT? Oh my god man. Oh my god. AND IT NEVER COMES BACK UP! THEY NEVER HAVE TO USE THE INVISIBLE JET OR THE INVISIBLE POWERS EVER AGAIN! WHAT A SHITTY, SHITTY WAY TO SHOEHORN IN A FUCKING PROP, HOLY FUCK!

Okay and okay okay okay WHY WAS DIANA JUST ALLOWED TO TAKE A JET? Did I miss something? She just walks through this security clearance area with Steve... she flashes a badge, she’s let into a hangar. She walks past a plane, then tells Steve to pick one out to fly. They get into the plane, they start to take off, and BEE-WOO-BEE-WOO everyone is suddenly like “STOP THAT PLANE, WHAT’S THAT PLANE DOING?” WHAT??? Uhhhh YOU LET HER IN? She had CLEARANCE? D-Did Diana seriously just not think this far? She has clearance to go there but she didn’t ask first “hey we’re gonna use one of these jets?” WHOSE JET IS SHE EVEN TAKING? WHERE ARE THEY? This scene made NO FUCKING SENSE! I seriously MUST have missed some explanation but like, why was she ALLOWED TO ENTER the hangar but NOT ALLOWED TO FLY? And why wouldn’t she just-- HUBROUOUFBOSF

And the pacing of the film is just terrible, if you haven’t picked up on it. The first half of the film has like NO action, we almost never see Wonder Woman do anything. For an hour the cast is mostly just being introduced as well as the plot, that’s so fair, but then it ramps up to fucking eleven when suddenly these wishes just start changing the world fucking dramatically, in ways that just don’t make sense. The final third of the movie is a confusing mess of characters literally teleporting around the country, with virtually every bad thing happening at once because of fucking wishes. Nuclear missiles are about to be launched, people are wishing for each other to die, society is just crazily collapsing over the course of like three days. And then the ending is just, it just reverses everything... The ending is that everyone, EVERYONE in the WORLD renounces their wishes ... BY LITERALLY SAYING “I RENOUNCE MY WISH” OUT LOUD, IT’S SO FUCKING FUNNY ... and then things just snap back to normal. SERIOUSLY, we see shit LITERALLY REWIND at some points as all these wishes just fucking get reversed. BUT THE NUKES JUST GET DISMANTLED IN MID-AIR, THOSE DON’T GET REVERSED, THEY JUST FALL APART IN THE SKY, WHAT COULD GO WRONG.

The particle shit makes no sense... Villain has to touch people to make wishes, right? So his scheme becomes to use this broadcast that takes over EVERY broadcast in the world, which will TECHNICALLY count as “touching” people because the sattelite is spreading... his... particles? And apparently that counts, apparently just touching particles of this guy gives you a free wish. That just, doesn’t make sense at all, how the fuck are his particles getting sent around the world??? That’s now how cameras or broadcasts or sattelites work AT ALL.

At the end when the villain renounces his own wish and shit, he goes looking for his kid... He just runs out into no where and starts yelling his kid’s name. And then sure enough a minute later the kid appears, just running out of the woods apparently. It’s just so stupid. And this kid wears the same “generic kids shirt with stripes” through the entire movie, that’s funny to me for some reason.

The fight scene choreography was terrible. All of the fights were just grunts being flipped into the air or into walls. They had no idea how to make an interesting fight for Diana, it’s just always random humans with guns that she has to whip the weapons away from or deflect their bullets. It’s every fight, the same thing. At one point Steve uses a dinner tray to fucking block bullets, it’s so stupid, he runs ACROSS the hallway to GET the dinner tray, then RUNS BACK to use it to defend himself, it’s so fucking stupid, it’s like they said on set while recording “uh we need Steve to do SOMETHING here, just make him grab something.”

This movie wants to have a feminist message but just fucks it all up by not at all trying to make an actual feminist message that would resonate with women. WW84′s idea of sexism is so cartoonish, it’s all drunk men on streets that catcall women and sober men that constantly say hi to women as they walk by. There’s no mention of like, a glass ceiling, no. And there’s no critique against MEN here, no no no, MEN aren’t the problem, MEN aren’t being criticized... it’s just SOME of these men, these drunk ones on the street lol. Not a societal problem, just random guys who are jerks and should be thrown into trash cans............ BUT DON’T KICK THEM UNTIL THEY BLEED, NO, NO BARBARA, NO! Not the MAN!

There’s so much focus on Diana and Steve too that it just makes me wonder, did ANYONE realize how un-feminist this was??? Like they made a whole movie where Wonder Woman’s motive is JUST... man. Just man. Want man, get man. Keep man. That’s it. Don’t want man dead. That’s all she’s about. And, classic for Hollywood, they can’t even have her TALK to another woman about something OTHER THAN MEN... There’s SO MUCH GAY SUBTEXT, and it’s STILL drenched in a heteronormative plot.

YEAH THE GAY SUBTEXT, FUUUUCK! Fuuuck man! They GENUINELY setup this dynamic that MAYBE Diana and Barbara could fall in love. Diana sees so much in Barbara that she wants, and same for Barbara. Barbara basically takes her out on a date! It just gets dropped, Diana just acts like a pretty weak friend towards Barbara and never really explains to her the importance of what’s happening, it’s so sad to see what could have been a full romance get turned into some... ridiculously pointless rivalry I guess. It’s like you can genuinely feel the producers’ hands creeping into the movie, changing the direction of things so that it checks off as many boxes as possible rather than be something NEW and change how we see Diana.

Even the visual effects just suck.......! The invisible jet, yeah as it turns out, NOT VERY SPECTACULAR LOOKING... They try hard to make it a cool scene by at LEAST having it fly through fireworks, but that’s shit I can look up on youtube! They seriously just got a drone to fly through fireworks and then put an INVISIBLE JET flying through it. Other effects just suck to look at too, Wonder Woman’s lasso looks ridiculous at times, especially when she does this like “circle” thing where she spins it really fast, just looked terrible. So many shots of Diana flying around or sliding under stuff, and it just looks so fake with how she’s transplanted over a moving background.

There was one point where to save a bunch of kids, they launch a missile that Diana uses to whip and propel herself off of to go save the kids. But because this movie is edited SO BADLY it first justl ooks like Steve and Diana see some kids playing in the street so they decide to LAUNCH A ROCKET AT THEM. Up until you see Diana whip the missile to use it to fly forward, that’s ALL you can possible assume!!!!

Seriously, this whole movie sucks, this is maybe only HALF of my grievances. It’s so stupid, I do not recommend watching it, I can’t believe how this followed up the original Wonder Woman when that movie was so DECENT. It was GOOD even, and then WW84 just shits on everything it started, it’s a whole fucking movie that feels like kids playing with toys and making up a plot as they go. I can’t even IMAGINE watching the first film now! Like, what the fuck will I think?! These two movies are so staggeringly different and not in ANY good ways. It’s such a fuck up, I feel SO bad for the people who worked on this, such a waste of their time. This is a first draft script that I think no one fully read to completion or gave a solid shit about before filming, a bunch of stray ideas cobbled together incoherently.

[incarnateirony]

why do people seem to think i’m a big name blogger

i only have like 1800 followers (or I guess closer to 1900 now?), that’s pocket change compared to some of the people around here

i know there’s people with less, and that doesn’t make you invalid or anything. Because it’s not about size. It’s either about quality or about enjoyment, and really, your latter should come first in fandom. If you have a hobby blog designed to spread enjoyment, then yes, quality. If you positively impact just 5 people’s lives on the regular, you’ve done a good thing.

This falls in line with my “anyone can meta” and moods about who feels comfortable metaing or having those opinions, but it’s become a general sentiment.

And most of all don’t feel like you need to lockstep with me. now, not lockstepping with me doesn’t mean "shit directly on someone’s positive content post like a whole entitled jackass”, but like. I don’t care if you were some little blog with 10 followers that I gave a boost and now you’re kinda popular. you don’t owe me shit.

Because that’s another weird thing and I think people need to practice self-care on this more. Four different people, on four different occasions, that were incensed I wouldn’t fall into borg mind or surrender my opinions, have tried to claim they “made” me. Ironically, none of them did. Like even ignoring my following point, even in the way they meant it -- which is the irony.

When Kelloggs club pounced on my first ever fandom tweet years ago for the sin of having a Cas plushie icon, and I floored them with numbers they had never seen and got blocked by the whole damn hoard in my first hour in fandom like a temporary urban legend, I made me. Sure, they drew attention and made a shitshow. Sure, it led to me being drawn into group chats that expanded my networking and stuff. But I made me. When a big name fan was upset at how much traction I’d gained in a month, because this fandom is obsessed with clout for some goddamn reason, and I stood my ground? They drew attention. But the way I held my ground? I made me. 

When TAW went bananas on me for catching him hand in the cookie jar with Misha and my unwillingness to be backed off that turned heads? I made me. Everybody helped with of course blacklisttaw, but I didn’t make blacklisttaw, everyone made blacklisttaw, I just started it. And it worked. Because of everybody. He hasn’t had a non-indie job aside from things being re-re-re-re-reannounced from 2008 plans or things stuck in production purgatory since 2014 releasing late since. That ain’t all my credit. I didn’t MAKE that. I started it, maybe. But you guys made that. I just stood there with a megaphone for those who weren’t positioned to speak, and gave some cornerstones. Everybody else’s work did the rest.

(And ironically, NONE of the people that wanted me to feel like they MADE me were involved in that. I think they all actually came after all of these things.)

The people along the way help. But just because someone helps you doesn’t mean you’re indentured to them, their demands, or even their abuse for life, or touting every single thing they say as truth.

Whatever content you made that got shared? You made that. You made you. Your thoughts, opinions, contributions, choices made you. Someone giving you a digital nickel along the way, or even a digital hundred dolla bill, doesn’t obligate you to them. If they genuinely appreciated your thoughts and content instead of finding it temporarily useful or convenient... then they gained the benefit of your contribution in exchange. If someone had another intent, that’s on them.

(honestly same goes for RL on this point; sure try to repay people but repayment doesn’t mean you’re shackled to them for all eternity and if someone said they wanted to HELP you and then turned around like “ok and the interest accrued is--” or flags it around as some weight? Fuckin’ run. RUN AWAY. “Help” doesn’t come with a leash or a motive. It comes because they want to help. And anyone that spins that around on you -- life lesson -- holy shit. Run. You help people because you care, whether that’s about them as an individual or general human empathy -- not for what you get out of it. And again seriously guys REAL LIFE PLEASE KEEP THIS IN MIND IF YOU TAKE NOTHING ELSE FROM ANYTHING I EVER SAID. If someone had told me this when I was younger I would have dodged YEARS of receiving violence. It’s like the shittier, less competent version of mob logic, only at least the mob is honest that they’re gonna break your kneecaps if you fuck up before you get started. Y’know what? I value honesty. If you’re gonna demand something, be honest and threaten my kneecaps up front.)

Nobody made you but you. I helped along the way, or some other people helped. But I’m never going to be like HOW DARE YOU HAVE A DIFFERENT OPINION I MADE YOU!!!!!!! because like-- is anybody watching the show right now? Anybody at all? Chuck’s stomping around and throwing hissyfits because hE mAdE thEm AnD hE’Ll ShoW tHEm and like in the end, Chuck didn’t make them. Maybe he influenced things around them. But they’re making themselves.

And I feel like this fandom would do so much better if they abandoned this tribalistic herd mind nonsense for fear of obligation to *whatever* because guys, people who hold you to that? They’re abusers. Like. Literally. No lie. Shit man. Those people online can’t even “make” anyone, because they only make themselves, and then people react to what they’ve made of themselves. Everyone decides they’re too much? Too bitter? Too whatever? Everybody stops spreading their content? Guess what they’ve got. A big ball of Too Much Bitter on their dash and nothing else. But you know what? They made them. They made that. They make that big ball of whatever. 

Like congrats guys you temporarily liked my opinions when you liked them and strolled along when I was at like 700 followers already and now that you don’t you’re gonna-- what? Get mad at other opinions? Come on now. People aren’t just tools to be waved around. We’re complex. You’re complex. Hopefully you all treat other people as complex. Never put yourself in a digital collar to jump through digital flaming hoops for fear of some kind of digital retaliation.

Hell, if there’s one moral from How-I-Made-Me in that list above, that’s it, really. Lmao, fuck the borg guys, come on. You do you. My path was essentially “Fuck the bronlies, fuck the extreme con crowd, fuck sexual predators, and fuck extremes of any fandom lane, even if that’s a lane within my own ship.” -- your path doesn’t have to be my path. You make your path. You just share it with people on the way. If they diverge, they don’t get to throw you down whatever hill they’ve declared is the one to go down. And definitely make sure in the land of “all opinions/interpretations are equal” that is said online like a parrot stuck in a loop, you’re not letting them use that to completely ironically steamroll over your own while leaving theirs unchecked of any real compunction.

So no, don’t come shit on my posts directly, don’t come whatever. But don’t ever just lockstep with me, or anyone else, because you feel some weird form of obligation over something as irrelevant as digital clout in the world of a TV fandom that IS ENDING ANYWAY so WHAT THE FUCK. The people you have around you? The views you soak? The follows you have? Good and bad. Those are what are going to paint the rest of your experience for this show you (theoretically) love from here into eternity. 

Am I too loud? That’s fine. You do you. Is someone else too perpetually bitter? Don’t tie yourself to them. Pay close attention to what is sculpting your fandom experience in this final hour and into its life beyond. Because that’s gonna be the difference between you keeping love for this show in your heart once it’s off the air or petering off into distressed disfavor for it. 

At one point when the show was ending, I thought “I’ma follow every account like in the history of ever” and man was that a bad idea. A few sweeps later and I’ve cleared out bitter bullshit clogging my dash, random cacophony, and have nothing but good shit to reblog again and damn if that isn’t even gonna make the experience of everyone in my proximity better too. Much less my own. And yeah, that matters. It’s called fandom. It’s supposed to be fun. Not obligate chaos.

Either people take you as you are, or they don’t. Fuck the ones that just want parts of you for a time and want to discard the rest. Those people aren’t worth your time. Hell, that even wants to go for people who have dedicated bitter blogs. You wanna be bitter and nasty okay that’s fine, if somebody is just there for some other shit and then gets mad that you’re bitter after goddamn choosing to follow you knowing full god damn and well you’re bitter, they can fuck off too. Stay mad if you want. You do you. I might say it’s probably not the best for mental health and general wellness but in the end that’s still up to you. And put an asterisk that doing shit on tumblr is different than twitter where if you make a bunch of rowdy bitter people in your area and you or they start shit-tagging creatives and doing the above kinda bullshit, no, that doesn’t work the same. Or like the multishipper I saw getting attacked despite making a whole other blogspace to keep their wincest away from impacting other people’s eyes like -- if they’re hunting down that side account just to cause bullshit, fuck them too. Seriously, fuck the borg.

#supernatural #fandom #ethics #honesty #manipulation #independence #group think #free thinkers

[darknytemare]

No Words - pt 9

Pairing: Taehyung x Jeongguk x OC [ft.  Namjoon x OC]

Type: Series

Genre: Idol, Poly, Interracial, Tall Female, Smut, Angst, Fluff [if you squint]

Warning: Vivian. That’s right, the warning is Vivian. 

A/N - I fell into that pit of ‘what are you doing with this trash story’ style negative brain activity. Things took a turn. I’m sorry for making you wait. This story is still a mess. We’re back on the tracks, folks! Also, my friend made a banner for this story. SQUEE.

Words:  2.5k

Tasha watched her friend huddle over notebooks with her brow deeply furrowed. The holidays were rushing up to greet them, and they were bustling to finish their course-load. They had been pouring over notebooks, comparing notes, and debating practicums for the last few weeks. They were huddled with the newbies in the common room at the Hannam-dong dorm space. It was easy to help the new kids with their first-year work. It was a big boost of confidence, and perhaps ego, that they could spout off the answers and explanations so easily. 

But, as the older kids on the block? Things had changed technologically for them. The American vs. Korean applications of sound and camera work were on a whole different scale. Their whole purpose was a comparison of the two. Yet, they found themselves in a conundrum. It was simple, really it was, that with the consumption of Hallyu in the rest of the world - people were developing different expectations for music videos and shows. They were in the front seat of this grand show of change. Now, this isn't to say that there weren’t pioneers. 

There would always be respect for those that paved the way prior. Those bold visionaries that twisted their earlier experiences. But like all things, time brings change and new technology. They were barely scraping the surface of the musical experience. People weren’t satisfied with the entertainer simply being still surrounded by bodies. There was a want for more of a storytelling aspect. Or, they wanted snappy effects that added something. The thing is people were wanting more than what they were getting. 

“Ahhh! My eyes are starting to cross. I swear to GOD.” Tasha rubbed her face flinging those rainbow-colored plaits out of her face. She turned to the others as they stared at blinking cursors paused in mid-sentence. She groaned checking the time, “Ok, guys. Let’s...let’s stop, for now, yea?” A few agree to shut their laptops down - except for one person.

“Hey, we have a function to get ready for, missy.” The clickity-clack of keys had slowed from the beginning of their session but remained steady. 

“I’m well aware of that, Tasha.” She quipped as she stared over the top of her glasses. Tasha grunted as the new kids laughed. 

“Come on, we know she’s the nerd of the group. Are you surprised?” Tasha’s gaze narrowed to the owner of that voice. “I’m surprised she managed to have any fun while being here.” The bad attempt sarcasm rubbed Tasha the wrong fucking way. 

There was always one in every group! That one person that thought they were so fucking cool - and pretty, and popular. Even if that person was extremely beautiful and found themselves in the center of attention all the g’damned time. Tasha was about to say something but it was cut short when three familiar voices echoed out in the hallway. 

Tasha blinked because those three voices belonged to none other than...

“Taehyung-ah, Gguk-ah, seriously.” Namjoon groaned into a laugh as they turned to enter the common room. “O-oh.” He stopped abruptly and the maknae line bumped into him. 

“Ah, Hyung! I almost stepped on - Oh.” Jeongguk blinked when Taehyung tapped him on the shoulder. The new kids still had to get used to just randomly running into BTS members throughout the day. The first group merely bowed or waved, muttering greetings. Tasha’s eyes whipped quickly to her bag when she locked gazes with Namjoon. She coughed lightly clapping her hands. “Ah, well. We should probably start getting ready guys.” A thumb jutted to the partly dressed trio shuffling into the room. 

“Ah! It’s the oppa’s!” That voice piped up again and Tasha did everything in her power not to hurl. But, that girl jumped up clapping her hands together. “You guys look good! We should be so lucky to be escorted by such dapper gentlemen.” 

Everyone rolled their eyes. Namjoon was kinder - and refrained. “Ah, well. You know it’s a special occasion. You all make sure you talk to people and network.” She giggled lightly, placing the tips of her fingers along Namjoon’s forearm.

Namjoon coughed softly as he stepped around her - leaving Taehyung and Jeongguk to be prodded at instead. The soft taps of a keyboard still echoed as Namjoon continued. “The first group here really set a tone that we hope you can follow.” A brow arched as he spun on his heels. 

The new kids smirked, staring at the one who continued to type. That girl - ah, she had a name. Vivian the Vivacious. That’s what she called herself - the life of every party. She slipped an arm through Tae and Gguk’s as if she was the prize between them. “I am sure we’ll meet and exceed every expectation required of us.” Haughty, as she tossed those long raven locks over her shoulder. 

It was apparent she was the Queen Bee among the new kids. There was always one. 

Tasha inhaled deeply as suddenly the sound of keys ticking stopped. A soft exhale broke a thick silence. “Vivian.” Everyone turned to her, even Tasha stiffened momentarily, as she removed her glasses. “There’s a saying that comes to mind.” She stashed her glasses in their case. “Overconfidence is the most dangerous form of carelessness.” A brow arched upward as she neatly collected her things. 

There was a subtle warning in her tone that she didn’t bother to hide. “I don’t care what you think about me, but do not take my silence as putting up with your bullshit.” She turned to the rest of the new kids. “Do not embarrass us tonight. Because I’m the one standing between your continued presence here…” She hefted her bag on her shoulder. “...and long coach ride back to where the fuck you came from.” 

Tasha had to turn in the opposite direction to hide the smile threatening to split her face. Namjoon caught it and tilted his head upward, a hand over his mouth. Taehyung and Jeongguk were torn between something akin to awe and lust. Vivian glared at her as she smiled, her grasp tightening on Tae and Gguk’s forearms. They both turned their gaze to the top of the girl’s head. 

Tasha was close to losing her shit. “Ok! Alright! Let’s go! We’re wasting time.” She bowed to the trio, refusing to reach for Vivian as she beat feet out of the common room. The other first-year folks left with satisfied looks on their faces. 

She decided to follow-up the last of them, pausing by Vivian as she clung to the maknae members. “And I’ll have you know, I was plenty of fun while I was here. Maybe you’ll get a chance to sing karaoke with Jeongguk-ah.” Her gaze slid up between the two of them. 

Her pupils went wide to match theirs as her lips parted on a smirk. That look lowered to Vivian as she tilted the corner of her lips. “Maybe if you’re as fun as me.” She waltzed out of the common room leaving Vivian scowling. 

“Jeongguk-oppa! You think I’m fun don’t you?” Vivian tilted a lookup through thick lashes, fluttering them prettily at the maknae. 

Who was paying her no mind? 

She turned to Taehyung prepared to do the same, and she paused. The look that he gave her caused her to wither, just slightly. He looked like a haughty Prince, curious about the status of the person touching him. Her fingers slid away from his arm and she turned to see Jeongguk with a brow arched at her fingers. “Oh come on, I’m much more fun than she is!” She pressed her cleavage against his side - and he moved as if he’d been burned. 

“Vivian,” Namjoon spoke quietly. “I think you should go get ready. You don’t want to get left behind.” He grabbed the apple he wanted originally and breezed by her. Taehyung offered that boxy smile with a slight bow, as he followed. Jeongguk fell in step looking exasperated as they went to visit the stylist. 

Vivian continued to scowl but was broken from that facade of purity and fun. The sound of crisp fruit being pierced by that dimpled half-smile. Namjoon tilted his head as he shook the apple in her direction. “And I’d keep that in mind.” He finished chewing leaning back on his heels. “...because you will get left behind if you’re not careful.” He watched as Vivian crossed her arms schooling a neutral expression. “Make us proud tonight.” Namjoon walked off with a partial smile leaving her to scowl by herself. He rounded the corner rubbing absently at where she touched him. 

It’s fine. He’d just have to rub himself all over Tasha later on to cure himself.

---

“She’s infuriating! I hate her! Hate is a strong word isn’t it?” Tasha paced in her thigh-highs the snaps of a garter belt clicking. “Is that wrong? Should I feel bad?” She threw her hands up as if she was suffering some moral dilemma. “God, there’s one in every bunch!” Tasha continued to rumble and rant in her fury.

“Latasha.” She sighed as her friend finally paused. “You do realize you have yet to put your dress on?” A brow arched as Tasha finally saw the time. 

“Shit!” She skittered to the other room to pull on the perfect black dress. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?!” Tasha whined as she pulled the curl rods from her updo. 

“I tried. You kept going back to how pretty, perfect, and detestable she is.” Tasha grunted as she hobbled up to the front, finally settling herself in two-inch heels. 

“Well, shit. You kept oddly cool for where she wound up.” Tasha mused with a smirk as she watched her friend clip on a dangly earring set. A set of large hoops in the other hole as the dangling stars seemed to swing in its opening. 

“Look, we earned our spots working with the members. I’m not going to let petty jealousy cloud my judgment.” She arched a brow while pressing a red stick across the swell of her lip. It was a bold color choice. Hell, her whole ensemble was bold. 

It wasn’t that the dress was short - it was that she was tall. And this happened every time, where this would be a normal fit for average height? For her? Well, it was snug on her hips and just passed her knees - and that is just by a wing and a prayer. That paired with heels that catapulted her into the near six-foot-tall range of height? Completed the look. 

Tasha had spent the whole day previously blowing out her hair. A silk press left her hair in a shiny fall of layered waves about her shoulders. She turned around as Tasha gave her a final appraisal.

“Damn, I am good. Maybe this tech stuff isn’t my calling. Maybe they’ll let me be a stylist?” They both stared at each other before falling into a peal of laughter. Tasha grabbed her jacket and purse, offering an arm to escort them from her apartment.

“You good, chick?” She stared down at her friend as they walked quietly toward their transportation. 

“Yeah, you’re right. We earned our spots.” Tasha nodded with a solid lift to her confidence. They smiled at each other as they approached the building foyer. Folks were already being loaded into SUVs. They were the last ones to arrive as the boys from BTS made their way down to wait for their perspective cars. 

The two women turned with a whistle at the cleaned-up crew. 

 “Ohmygod. It’s BTS. Should we ask for an autograph?” Tasha leaned in pretending to whisper while being excruciatingly obvious. 

“I don’t know do you think they’ll even notice us?” She responded just as obviously.

“Ahh, our adoring fans! How could we ever not notice you.” Jin threw a trademark kiss in their direction. Jimin rolled his eyes while moving between them. 

“I think we would be doing the world a disservice if we didn’t notice our adoring fans. Someone take a picture quick!.” Jimin did his best James Bond look while the girls posed on the side. “Ok, as we practiced.” 

“Ah! This is more embarrassing than Jin-hyung and his jokes.” Hobi laughed - but snapped the photo anyway. “Yes, yes! More! More!” They made devious faces at each other, smoldering looks as Jimin wrapped his arm around each girl’s waist. 

“Ok, ok. That’s enough. That’s enough.” Namjoon chuckled as Jimin frowned. “We’re holding up the line.” Tasha was tugged gently away from Jimin causing her brows to arch upward. “You look really nice.” She smiled widely. 

“Why thank you, Namjoon-ah. You don’t look so bad yourself.” Jin, Hobi and Jimin rolled their eyes with playful groans. 

Taehyung, on the other hand, got a chance to approach her for the first time in what seemed like - months. Oh, because it had been. They’d been increasingly busy since their karaoke escapade. It worked out to her favor, of course. 

But now?

“You look beautiful.” The depth of his tone littered goosebumps across her skin. A response she just couldn’t help as he stood just behind her. Their body heat clashed as she glanced over her shoulder. 

“Wow, Noona.” Jeongguk approached with his hands in his pockets. And although the maknae was wearing that wide bunny smile? His eyes wore something else entirely. They all looked impeccable, their styling team truly outdid themselves. 

Yoongi clicked his tongue against his teeth as he shuffled toward the door. “You all need to pick your lips up off the floor so we can get in the car.” The girls chuckled, making swift getaways from their captors as he held the door for them. 

“Thanks, Yoongi.” The girls spoke in sing-song unison as they exited. He shook his head as he watched them get packed into an SUV. 

He scratched at the back of his neck, a slight tilt of his head. “I think we have the most beautiful women in all the networks with us tonight.” Everybody turned to Min Yoongi with their mouths agape. He gave a haphazard shrug as he toed the door back open. “I’m human too, you know? Let’s go, yea?” 

The wind tousled his hair a bit as he adjusted his cufflinks. 

“Should we be worried?” Taehyung turned to Namjoon who was still shocked. 

“Uh. I...don't ...know?” Namjoon’s brow furrowed as Jimin squeezed by them. 

“You should be worried.” Jimin teased with a brow waggle as he jogged to catch up with Yoongi. 

Hoseok and Jin grinned moving by after clapping a hand on the trio’s shoulder. “I wonder if he’s going to get to dance with them first?” Jin mused, loudly, to Hoseok. The Dance Captain tilted his head in deep concentration. 

“Not before I get to ask first.” 

Jeongguk balked pushing the door open to speed up to protest. “H-hey, Hobi-hyung! W-wait just a minute!” 

Taehyung pinched the bridge of his nose with a deep groan. Namjoon sighed, “I know, Taehyung-ah. I know. Just remember to mind your manners, alright?” 

Taehyung smirked while tucking his thumb in his lapel. His tone was deep and thickened by the weight of his satoori. “Hey, Hyung, don’t worry.” He moved forward opening the door for Namjoon. “...I’m a great actor, remember?” Taehyung popped his tongue with a wink as the Leader shook his head with a dimpled smile.

“Let’s not give them too much of a show, yeah?” Namjoon arched a brow. The two shared a look before stepping into the waiting SUV.

#taehyung smut #v smut #taehyung x oc #taehyung x female #taehyung imagine #bts smut #bts imagines #poly idol au #a new player has entered the arena #it's ok if you want to wring her neck #this isn't what i expected #but when is it ever? #namjoon savage

[askthiscpblog]

Masky x hoddy fluffyness

Hoodie and Masky never usually had a day together. Well, they spent every day together at the mansion, and they even lived together too. But it wasn’t something like this. For some reason, Slender decided to have them keep watch outside of the forests of his mansion for invaders. Ever since that raid happened, he has been paranoid about anyone coming to his Domain. A few people showed up between then and now though. The ghost girl did, he gathered Anon from his brother too, and got that cultist that summoned him up. It was a few people he was willing to trust in a short amount of time, shocking to the original duo.

Hoodie was sitting up in a tree looking out over the forest floor, gun in hand as he relaxed against the bark. It was a long night, and it wasn’t as if he had anything better to do. But he didn’t care to be alone, the thoughts and feelings from that night come flooding back. Sometimes he felt needy to Masky about wanting to be around him. They had a good relationship with one another based on trust and mutual respect between them both. When he heard crunching footsteps drawing closer to him, Hoodie pulled out his gun to perch to get a better look.

“Hoods, it’s just me,” Masky called out, walking up under the tree where he was looking up. He had his mask on, he always had his mask on when on a mission.

“Well your footsteps sound the same as any other footsteps and you know it,” Hoodie responds, narrowing his eyes behind his mask. Most think he couldn’t see well behind it when in reality Slender altered it to enhance his vision and change his voice. It was like a video game, like how Snake in Metal Gear with his eye patch.

“Yeah, whatever,” he responds, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. Like Jane, his mask can meld to his face to cover his features, but let him eat and drink. Kinda neat, and Hoodie was a little jealous at that fact.

“Those are gonna kill you.”

“Oh fuck off with that. I should have been dead long ago, and still, ain’t.”Hoodie looked away from his friend before letting out a held sigh and a long breath. “Anyways, why are you here? Your shift doesn’t start for a while.”

“Came to stir up shit. Wanna go to a fair that isn’t too far away? I hear it is pretty large and fun, and ain’t that expensive either.” Masky looked up at his friend with a grin that showed though his mask, a mischievous grin that he got when he knew he was going to get in trouble.

“And abandon our posts? Wouldn’t he get really irritated and mad, and take us to the punishment room?” Hoodie responded, interested but cautious about the entire thing. Why was it Masky did everything in his power to slight Slender in the smallest ways? Ugh.

“Who cares? No one has come in months since the raid, and it has been a long time since we went and did anything for ourselves without his leave. It will only be for a few hours anyway, the others can keep the place safe and we know it.” The masked man looked over towards the hooded one, knowing full well that he was right. It took everything in his power to not try and punch that smug look under that mask off of his face, but even then he also had to smile at the prospect.

“Fine, fine. Only for a few hours.” Hoodie responded, giving up his watch hopping to the ground from the tree. To them, it looked normal, to anyone else it was swift and deadly, unnatural to the eye with no jerky movements. It’s weird to think that they have grown so accustomed to being around supernatural creatures that the mundane was weird now.

Masky took off his mask, grinning all the while as he put out his cigarette onto a nearby tree. The tree was dark black, knotted and twisted, the bark as thick as a human finger, and rough as sandpaper. It wouldn’t light up, it has no way to catch fire by ordinary means. He put his mask on his belt, dropping his own jacket to cover it. Hoodie meanwhile only had to pull off his mask cover and pull down his hood, stuffing the former into his hidden pocket on the inside of his jacket. His hand moved over towards his hip, feeling the hidden pocket that held his gun away from normal sight. It made him feel safe, better and knew he always had protection even if he was caught off guard again.

The duo started off out of the forest, it shifting around them. The dark trees that reached its finger-like branches towards a person gave way to a brighter, greener forest whose branches reached for the sky above. It was a welcome change, a change that meant that they were leaving behind a part of themselves to enjoy what is to come. A night of fun.

Something then struck Hoodie as this bliss ended. “What if we infect others? The sickness is still with us.”

Masky looked over to him, raising an eyebrow in confusion. “What of the sickness? People go out all the time sick, and not a whole lot of people catch it. I think it could work the same way.”

“You sure about that?”

“We won’t be interacting with anyone long enough for them to catch it. Just enough to buy a soda or some garbage food.”

Hoodie rubbed the mark on the back of his neck, the symbol that was burned into his being by his boss upon coming back to life. He was uneasy with Masky’s reasoning, but it was simple as any. “I suppose so. Doubt you can call it a normal sickness.”

“It isn’t, but unless He wants to do anything in that amount of people, I don’t think anything bad will happen.” Masky knocked on the wood of a passing tree, trying to ward away the bad luck that he brought upon himself by saying those words.

“Anyways, you have money for this shit right?” Hoodie inquired, pulling out his own wallet as they walked. The two of them don’t get paid by Slender, they live for free with him in the Domain. But doing things like this still required money.

A cocky grin crossed the other man’s face, wide and true. He pulled out a rolled-up wad of cash to show that he had the dosh needed to have fun tonight, and then some. “Remember that rich fucker that tried to take us on a few weeks back? Decided to empty out some of his accounts after a bit of digging with BEN.”

Hoodie couldn’t help but grin and chuckle at that. Leave it to Masky to come up with answers to easy questions. It might not be moral, but they were not moral people themselves.

“Come on Brian, let’s go,” Masky took off into the woods, or rather out of the woods as they were getting to the edge of the treeline. Hoodie stood there, stunned at the name, and took off after his partner in crime trying to keep up. They were not going into their other mindsets with this? Really?

“M wait up!” It was the only thing he could think to say. Not Tim. M.

They walked for a little bit until the lights were bright in front of them. Hoodie and Masky smiled seeing the carnival fair thing in front of them. It was a small town one, those that come once or twice a year for families to enjoy. Perfect for the duo to have fun. Walking into the grounds, both looked for something to start off with.

“Let’s get the rides over with before the lines get too long and it gets too late,” Masky suggests, already dragging Hoodie over to wait in line for the roller coaster.

“You sure about this ride? It looks unsafe.” Hoodie asks, fiddling with the ends of his jacket sleeves to ease his nerves. He rubs the back of his neck, nervous again about being out and spreading the sickness to others. No one was going to catch it, they weren’t doing anything wrong. Hoodie knew he wasn’t a good person, but he didn’t wish to drag anyone else into this life unless he was ordered to.

“Everything here is and looks unsafe. We do worse for our jobs, and do scarier things.” Masky retorted, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder with a grin.

“I guess you’re right…” It was mumbled, soft, and going with it because it was easy.

It wasn’t long for them to get to the front of the line. Masky paid for this ride, cheap as hell to them, expensive to anyone else. Getting into the front row, they were secure in place for the roller coaster.

Hoodie knew he was secure, but that didn’t get rid of the feeling in the pit of his stomach. The slow climb going up the ride made him panic, and he looked up into the air to avoid looking down at the ground. His heart was pounding in his chest, could hear his blood rushing through his ears as the tips of his fingers went numb. Closing his eyes was worse because that was when the coaster reached over the edge to drop.

The drop was the worst thing he felt in a long time. He didn’t mean to, but he opened his eyes again and saw the fall before him. He wasn’t on a roller coaster anymore, he was falling out of the window to his death again. Screaming at the top of his lungs, fear welled up in his eyes and voice as the high pitched shrill left his mouth. Masky had his hands up beside him, hooping and hollering enjoying the ride and thinking that his friend is too. He was oblivious to the true intentions and what was going on beside him.

When the ride stopped and they got off, it took almost most of Masky’s strength to peel Hoodie away from it. When he realized that he was not on the coaster anymore, he ran off to the side and puked, dropping to his knees afterward to retch one more, and again though his body didn’t have anything else.

“What the hell happened?” Masky asked, bringing a few napkins over to his friend.

“What the hell happened? What the hell happened!? I fucking had a flashback to the fall is what happened!” Hoodie shouted, turning to look up to his friend. Getting to his feet, he was much taller than his friend, but still scared.

Masky stood there looking up at Hoodie with a blank expression, the one he wore when dealing with Slender or anyone else he didn’t like. Which were most people, to be honest. His dark eyes studied his friend close, wondering if he was going to swing at him or not. No, he wouldn’t. It would draw too much attention to both of them, and that wouldn’t end well for anyone involved.

“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t know that would happen. How about I buy us some food and we won’t ride any more rides tonight unless you want to.” Masky responds, the blank expression cracking into a small hint of a smile.

Hoodie was shocked but happy all the same with this. “Thanks, and I mean it. I don’t feel like riding any more rides after that one. Maybe the gravatron but that is about it I think.” He rubbed the back of his neck again, feeling the difference between his skin and the mark. He was self-conscious about it, sure, but it wasn’t like he was trying to find anyone to date or anything.

That was it for the rest of the night between the two. They played games, and Masky got frustrated with the game where the person has to knock over the bottles. He knew it's rigged and got angry enough to the point where the baseball flew out of the back of the tent in a perfect hole. Three of those holes were made, and he took the prizes he deserved because of it. Hoodie meanwhile had fun with the water gun game, finding it easy to compete with children to win. He wasn’t nice enough to let a child win when he wanted to win himself. He was going to get the big pink teddy bear for Sally when they get back to the mansion. The rest of the games were as easy or frustrating to the duo, due to their supernatural prowess.

When everything began to shut down and they had to leave, the duo had enough prizes to give everyone in the house something three times over. Along with that, they stocked up on enough junk food to last them a week! It was something they cherished, some small little hope in their otherwise miserable lives serving under Slender.

Hoodie spoke up on the walk back. “Masky thanks for this. I had a great time and needed a break.”

Masky glanced at his friend, giving a smile as he lit a cigarette when they were walking back. “No problem. I knew you would enjoy it.”

“I did, it was a nice break. It felt good, it felt nice to act normal and well…*be* normal at that. And not let the other two take over to be the normal ones.” He winced in pain as they entered the forest, knowing that Slender was mad at them for leaving their posts with all this. Not like they cared, they had a fun night.

#Anonymous #mod.a #fanfiction #fanfic #marble hornets #masky marble hornets #hoodie marble hornets #mh hoody #MH Masky #mh hoodie #slenderverse #creepypasta #ask creepypasta #creepy pasta #masky x hoodie #masky x hoody #marble hornets fanfiction #marble hornets fandom #creepypasta fanfic #creepypasta fandom #creepypasta fic #creepypasta fanfiction

[jbuffyangel]

The Light Bulb Moment: Arrow 7x05 Review (The Demon)

Oliver Queen has a light bulb moment that’s been seven years in the making. 

Team Felicity (yes that’s the name) has one as well, which means we are that much closer to being done with the prison arc!

Let’s dig in...

Oliver Queen

We finally find out who The Demon is and I gotta say I was legitimately surprised. However, as soon as I found out it was Talia Al Ghul I thought

It had to be someone related to the League of Assassins and Talia would consider herself The Demon since Ra’s Al Ghul is dead. It’s not like Talia and Nyssa are besties. The amount of hoops Oliver had to jump through to get to The Demon also fits perfectly with Talia Al Ghul, as he notes.

The real question is how Talia ended up in Slabside and it seems we have Batwoman to thank. Nice shout out to Gotham and a not so subtle reference to the rapidly approaching crossover. 

Talia survived Lian Yu, but it was Diaz’s super drug that healed her. Not unlike how it temporarily healed Diggle’s injury.  Excellent tie in writers. 

Talia is beholden to Diaz, but unfortunately she has no idea where he is. UGH. 

It’s a little surprising Talia believes Oliver will help her escape. Listen girlfriend, you sided with Adrian Chase and his baby Mama ended up dead. 

However, Talia (rightly) points out Oliver murdered her father. She’s not exactly an Oliver Queen fan. So, whatever Dr. Parker is doing to the prisoners is making Talia pretty desperate.

Oliver: You stood on the same side as Adrian Chase and my son lost his mother. So now I’m here trying to save what’s left of my family because I am stuck in a cycle of violence and I have been stuck there since the moment you told what to do with my father’s list.

(Not gonna lie, I was a little verklempt when Oliver referred to Samantha as his family. Olicity and Samantha would have killed it at co-parenting.)

It seems like Oliver has bought into Dr. Parker’s brain bullshit, but he’s just playing along. He doesn’t really believe he’s been stuck in a cycle of violence. I mean, he has but not in a bad way or at least not entirely. I also argue with his conclusion the cycle began when he met Talia. Oliver was thrown into violence the second he stepped onto the raft. 

Talia didn’t create “the monster.” She just gave Oliver direction on how to use it.

There are a couple reasons why Oliver is pretending to be brain washed. It is possible he believes he’s being watched and doesn’t want to tip off Dr. Parker. Also, he met “The Demon” and she can’t help him with jack, so I don’t think he’s highly motivated to blow his cover for Talia. Finally, Oliver isn’t convinced Dr. Parker is doing anything horrible yet. He’s not buying what Dr. Parker is selling, but Oliver still believes he is trying to reform prisoners. What’s wrong with that?

A lot if you try to kill them. When Oliver sees the dead body of the inmate who attempted to murder him in the shower fight, things start to look more alarming on Level 2. Talia is surprised Oliver cares about a man who tried to kill him, but he argues whatever is happening behind the creepy and nondescript door isn’t right. Talia is the one who told Oliver to help others and fight for justice, which is all he’s trying to do now.

This is an extremely important development for Oliver. Helping criminals has never been the Green Arrow’s modus operandi. Since Green Arrow is the warmer and fuzzier version of The Hood and The Arrow, you can trust neither of those identities were invested in helping criminals either. In fact, the Green Arrow put most of the criminals in Slabside. Oliver never thought much about why someone became a criminal and he never thought of them again after they were locked up. Of course, the locked up criminals are the lucky ones. There are many who never made it to jail. They went straight to a graveyard.

Oliver’s policy on killing is fluid, ever evolving and occasionally flip flopping, much to my frustration most of the time. Let’s review:

Season 1: Killing

Season 2: Not killing (except for The Count)

Season 3: Not killing (except for attempting to kill Ra’s Al Ghul on the mountain because Felicity said it was okay and ultimately killing Ra’s Al Ghul in the season finale)

Season 4: Not killing (except for Damien Darhk because he killed Laurel)

Season 5: Killing (except for Adrian Chase because that would’ve proved his point)

Season 6: Not killing (he never caught Diaz so the jury is still out on how Oliver plans to deal with him, but I am thinking jail)

Looking at this it’s fair to say Oliver doesn’t have a hard and fast rule when it comes to killing. He operated from a kill or be killed perspective in Season 1 and Season 5. 

His “no killing” rule was set aside anytime the Big Bad was perceived as a large enough threat or for retribution in Season 3 and Season 4. 

The whole point of having a moral code is to stick to it. If Oliver is prepared to deep six his code whenever it’s inconvenient or difficult to hold to then it’s not really a code. Hence, the reason I’ve been coming down on him so hard about this for the last seven years.

I believe all human life has value and therefore we cannot kill another human being. Of course, war or acting in self defense is a different story, but my overall stance on killing is a big, fat NO. However, I’m not losing any sleep over any of the people Oliver Queen has killed. These villains are awful, they did horrific things, and deserved to get got. We can even make the argument the world is a better place without these people in it.

However, simply because someone deserves to die doesn’t mean he/she should. Oliver doesn’t get to be judge, jury, and executioner simply because he wears a mask. He may catch criminals outside of the law, but Oliver is not above the law. His killing is a strong argument against vigilantism and Oliver has been striving to be a better hero for several years now.

This isn’t entirely Oliver’s fault. For some reason, the writers are determined to box him into an either or choice. Either the criminal goes free or you kill him. I’ve been screaming, “WHAT ABOUT JAIL?” for the last seven years because guess what? We have a way of keeping society safe without killing the criminal. 

Is it a perfect system? Of course not, but no system is. Not allowing Oliver to avail himself of this option while Barry Allen gets to have his very own meta prison seems a little unfair.  

Yes, men like Ra’s Al Ghul and even Damien Darhk may too much to handle even for Slabside, but Oliver had his very own A.R.G.U.S. prison on Lian Yu that he never used, except for Slade Wilson and the Boomerang guy. 

Why? Because that’s Arrow and sometimes Arrow is dumb. They want to Oliver constantly deciding whether the villain lives or dies because it’s one way they mark his superhero evolution.

I was particularly hard on Oliver regarding Damien Darhk. Not because I believed Darhk deserves to live – he nuked an entire city. However, Oliver killed Darhk because he killed Laurel. Damien was unarmed and de-magicked. Oliver easily could have handed him over to the authorities. Instead, he drove an arrow through him on live television. Thus, creating many of the legal problems Oliver faced in Season 6 and Season 7.

And that’s the point. Killing doesn’t erase consequences. It creates them. Yes, maybe the villain escapes prison and more lives are lost. Maybe the justice system won’t work. Although are we really worried the legal system won’t punish perpetrators of mass genocide? No. Probably not.

Killing Ra’s Al Ghul ignited a rage in Talia. She sided with Adrian and played a role in Samantha’s death. If you want to know how Damien Darhk’s daughter turns out flip on Legends. It ain’t pretty. 

Retribution begets retribution. This is the lesson Adrian Chase taught Oliver and so he began to view killing a different way in Season 6. 

It’s why Oliver tried to catch Diaz and not kill him.

Oliver: These people are being treated like they are disposable. No one deserves that.

Oliver’s always evolving morality is taking a very important step. He is feeling empathy for the very murderers he helped locked away. Oliver believes these people deserve basic decency despite the horrible crimes they committed. He is beginning to see the criminals’ humanity.

Why is this important? Oliver’s “destiny” is to become the Green Arrow – a fully evolved superhero. Superheroes typically don’t kill. These characters, for the lack of a better word, are Christ like figures. Superheroes have integrity, determination, love, compassion, honesty and honor beyond the regular, everyday person. They are capable of things most people could never dream of doing. It’s why they inspire us. They challenge us to be better because they are better. It’s what makes them superheroes.

This is where Oliver is headed. His morality has to be beyond reproach. Superheroes don’t lie, cheat or kill. Oliver has worked very hard at fixing these problem areas in his life for the last ten years. Is he perfect? No, not even a superhero is perfect. He/She is pretty close though, which is hopefully where Oliver’s origin story ends.

Maybe you or I can’t feel empathy for a criminal, but Oliver Queen is called to be better than us. He will draw the line in the sand, so it’s important he doesn’t cross it. The Green Arrow will be the example Star City will look to, so his moral code better be unbreakable.

This means NO KILLING. Not even when the villain deserves it. Not even when Oliver has the moral high ground. Not even when Oliver deserves revenge. Not even when it may protect the city. 

There will always be unforeseen consequences to killing, but the real reason Oliver shouldn’t kill is because every life has value. Oliver can understand and even empathize with some of these people now that he is considered a “criminal” too and has spent so much time with them. It will be very difficult for Oliver to kill a villain when he can see their humanity. It doesn’t mean they deserve freedom, but they don’t automatically deserve death either. There’s a middle ground here. If Arrow will finally allow the Green Arrow to avail himself of the prison system, then he can be a better example to the city.

Talia isn’t impressed with Oliver’s new found empathy for criminals, because he did not show it to her father when it mattered. Yeah, well your father tried to poison an entire city cutie, but that’s just details.

Oliver: No because I back then I still allowed the monster that you unleashed to take over.

This is how we know Oliver is faking with Dr. Parker.  You can call it whatever you want – Oliver’s monster, darkness, demons, etc. The name doesn’t matter. Oliver has evolved beyond it. The rage he feels no longer controls him. He faced his “monster” in Season 5 and learned to control it in Season 6. He’s already dealt with all of these issues.

Oliver: Ra’s death was my fault. I couldn’t see past what he intended to do to my city, so I didn’t stop and think about his family, and for that, I am truly sorry.

I could argue Oliver deserves prison. Technically, he is a murderer and not all of his “kills” were done in self defense. 

He acknowledges there was another way with Ra’s Al Ghul, but he didn’t take it. Talia is one of those unforeseen consequences to that decision and Oliver is truly sorry for the pain he caused her.

If you believe Oliver deserves redemption for some of those calls then apologizing to who he hurt is an important part of the process. It’s no different than Bl*ck S*ren. Is an apology enough? No, but Oliver has also spent six months locked away from his wife and child. He’s been beaten, tortured, psychologically lobotomized, and almost killed. (Also, I raise my “Ra’s Al Ghul committed mass genocide” flag again.)  We’re not dealing with apples to apples here, but in the cosmic scale I think Oliver Queen comes out just fine.

Oliver and Talia fight their way into “the room” to take on Dr. Parker. 

Source: @olivergifs​

We get some extremely excellent fight scenes.I am so happy we are back to the days of Oliver taking down 50 bad guys by himself or with someone who actually knows how to fight. 

Now it’s Oliver’s turn to drop some truths on Dr. Parker.

Oliver: My father pushed people away. He kept secrets, and I made those same mistakes. But if I choose to break the cycle, I’m gonna do it my way.

Source:  olivergifs

MY SON IS SO GROWN!!!!!! 

Oliver yelling his name in his growly voice will always be awesome. I am thrilled any time Oliver can achieve insights into himself and his father. It’s not the cycle of violence he needs to break. If he’s going to be the Green Arrow and Oliver Queen (and yes that’s where this is headed) then there’s going to be some violence. Oliver can tweak how much violence he’s going to engage in though.

What’s really important is breaking the cycle of lies and walls. Oliver cuts himself off from those he loves just like Robert Queen did. He has grown so much over the past seven years, and his sacrifice was so selfless, but he still lied to Felicity about prison. He made the decision without her. Every time Oliver lies and pushes people away he hurts those he loves and himself. 

The monster no longer has power in Oliver’s life because he’s embraced love. Every time he chooses an unrighteous path it’s an opportunity for the monster to regain control. Every step away from the light is a step towards darkness. Being a good man is not limited to wearing a mask. He must be a good man as Oliver Queen and as the Green Arrow.

Source: @olivergifs

SEVEN YEARS Y’ALL!!!!!!!!!!! I HAVE WAITED FOR OLIVER QUEEN TO COME TO THIS CONCLUSION FOR SEVEN YEARS!!!!!!!!! 

Season after season, review after review, waiting, watching and hoping for him to finally understand man and mask must be one. I am legit screaming. SCREAMING.

This was the light bulb I’ve been waiting to go off in his head. THIS MOMENT WAS EARNED! And worth the wait.

Oliver gives Talia the USB with the evidence they gathered to give to Felicity. He refuses to leave the prison because then he’d be a fugitive for the rest of his life. #OliverQueenPuttingHisFamilyFirstAlways.

Source:  smoakmonster

Trust me, Talia. She knows. 

Oliver returns to Level One and is reunited with his prison wife Stan, who quickly informs him his real wife came for a visit. 

Every time Oliver hears Felicity’s name I swear to God his heart stops.

My heart broke for Oliver when he realizes he missed a precious visit with Felicity. He must have noticed she hasn’t visited as often as she could. (More on that in a minute).

Source:  oliverfelicitygifs

Stan tells Oliver that Felicity has a beat on Diaz and he’s not exactly thrilled. Oliver absolutely did not want Felicity going after Diaz and it’s clear he’s scared to death she’ll be hurt. He has no way of protecting or stopping her, which is exactly the point. Oliver doesn’t get to decide this time. He has to simply wait and see. Whatever is going to happen will happen. It’ll be interesting when these two are reunited because there are issues.

Oliver has retained his light inside of Slabside, he’s developed more empathy towards the people he’s fighting against, and he understands he can no longer separate his two identities. If Oliver is in need of redemption (particularly with Felicity) then I say he’s learned the necessary lessons to achieve it.  It may be difficult for a time, but Oliver and Felicity will work through their problems once they are together again. In no small part because Oliver Queen is ready to be the man Felicity Smoak deserves and the hero Star City needs.

Source:  smoakmonster

Felicity Smoak

I am falling in love with Felicity Smoak and Bl*ck S*ren. Nobody is more shocked than me. I don’t know what to tell ya.

They make the perfect odd couple. Felicity is sunshine and roses while Bl*ck S*ren is a snarky (reformed?) murderer.  There are some similarities to Oliver and Felicity or Laurel and Tommy, which is probably one of the reasons I am enjoying it so much. Light meets dark. Funny meets serious.

Source:  hollandrooden

The sass and banter is funny and honest.  Neither is worried about hurting the other’s feelings because they aren’t really friends. It allows the characters to say things to each other Felicity and our L*urel would never say. It also makes the development of whatever potential friendship they may have in the future feel natural.

Source:  dinah-lance

Whereas with L*urel, I feel her friendship with Felicity was rushed and didn’t develop organically. We went from L*urel glowering and not speaking to Felicity to immediately “favor friends” inside of a single episode. 

HUH? 

It was also a little weird how they never talked about the Oliver shaped elephant in the room too, but whatever that’s all past.  None of this is a problem with Bl*ck S*ren and F*licity. In fact, all the things I asked for with L*urel L*nce I am actually getting with Bl*ck S*ren.

The writers are giving Bl*ck S*ren screen time to develop at a semi reasonable pace, the lawyer thing notwithstanding.

The other characters aren’t pretending she’s a saint or glazing over her mistakes. Bl*ck S*ren is being held responsible for the things she’s done wrong.

Felicity (and Oliver) have no problem taking shots at Bl*ck S*ren occasionally, because they don’t trust her and she deserves them.

Bl*ck S*ren fires back (hilariously I might add) and is rapidly becoming the Spike to Team Arrow’s Scooby Gang - something I think the show needs.

Bl*ck S*ren is lawyering more than Laurel ever lawyered even though she’s not a laywer, which is hilariously amazing in an off kilter sort of way.

Most importantly, she’s helping Felicity in a way that’s actually helpful!

If Bl*ck S*ren helps get Oliver out of prison and then my faves have all the sex, Imma gonna bake her cake or something. Anyone assisting Felicity this season gets an A+ and a gold star from me and Bl*ck S*ren is at the top of that list.

Listen, nobody is as shocked as me since I was loudly advocating for BS to remain evil. I still like her evil and will be fine if she regresses. However, if they are going to have a L*urel type character on this show then I want the writers to use her effectively. Thus far, they are with Bl*ck S*ren. It may all go to hell in a hand basket shortly, but for now leave me to my joy.

Source:  felicitysmoakgifs

The best scene was BS asking Felicity out on a friend date. It was almost as cute as Oliver asking Felicity out. It was really sweet to see the part of BS that craves human connection reaching out to Felicity in such an adorably awkward way.

Alright, that’s enough about Bl*ck S*ren. Time to talk about our girl. Did anyone notice Felicity seems reluctant to visit Oliver? 

Source:  smoakmonster

 Bl*ck S*ren tells Felicity to visit her husband and essentially kicks her out of the office. Welcome the Olicity ship BS! The bar is in the back.

Her reluctance is very telling. Felicity is feeling bad about her last visit with Oliver. Girl, why? You’re fine. The man has lessons to learn. 

Unfortunately, Felicity is denied access to Oliver when she arrives.  Felicity demands to see Oliver and think she uses “wife” and “husband” about twenty times in a sentence. Remember when we held our breath for one “wife” or “husband” last season? Now they use it with reckless abandon. It’s fabulous.

I have been dying for Felicity to meet Stan and yet I had no idea how Arrow would logically put these two characters together. I know logic isn’t always Arrow’s thing, but it’s not like Felicity can run into Stan and Oliver having dinner together. Turns out, this is not that hard!

Stan lets Felicity know Oliver has been moved to Level 2. I will always be eternally grateful to Stan for telling Felicity the photograph has become Oliver’s binky.

I guess I was a little surprised at Felicity’s shock over Oliver stabbing a guard. She’s very “He would never!” about it whereas I am more “Sounds right. He broke a dude’s neck once.” Yes, that was during Oliver’s pre-Felicity days, but he’d burn down Slabside if it means protecting her and William. Her whole “Oliver is a choir boy” reaction rang false to me because Oliver is not a choir boy.

The first person Felicity runs to for help is BL*CK S*REN. We are living in the Upside Down. 

Source:  dinah-lance

How much did you love Bl*ck S*ren yelling and threatening so Oliver and Felicity can visit each other? C’mere girl. Sit next to me. I made you a margarita.

Felicity confirms she’s only been there ONCE, and granted she was in witness protection for most of Oliver’s incarceration, but yeesh. It has to sting a little for Oliver that she hasn’t been back since. Don’t lie and make unilateral decisions next time, big fella. 

Felicity would visit in sexy lingerie and bring store bought baked goods if you just LOOP HER IN.

Source: felicitysmoakgifs

Bl*ck S*ren and Felicity go to Dinah to get information on Slabside’s Level 2, since there are no digital records. 

Source: oliverfelicitygifs

Dinah hems and haws about helping Felicity, and she pretty much has to beg, which ticks me off to no end. You are part of the reason Oliver is in prison, Dinah. MOVE YOUR ASS. If Felicity wants to access to the evidence room you should be making her a copy of the key so she can come and go as she pleases. #NewbiesStopPissingMeOff2018

The records are a mess. 

Source:  dinah-lance

Dinah and BS spend a lot of time arguing about which legal method is best to help Felicity, but to be frank both their ideas suck and take too much time.  Felicity kind of loses it.

Source:  oliverxfelicity

She’s feeling an immense amount of guilt for being angry with Oliver over his decision to go to prison and not visiting. In typical Felicity fashion, she blames herself for whatever Oliver is going through. She believes she could have prevented it.

Source:  oliverfelicitygifs

Felicity Smoak breaks my heart. Listen sweetie, Oliver is a big, dumb oak tree A LOT. It’s okay to get mad at him sometimes. This man is a full time project. He’s exhausting.

If anyone is concerned about Felicity and Oliver’s marriage then this speech should tell you everything you need to know. Being mad at your partner does not automatically mean you don’t want to be with your partner. Marriage doesn’t work like that. For better or for worse is legit. You can be so angry with your spouse you want to throttle them and yet still love them more than anything else on this earth. 

Felicity can be mad at Oliver and still be madly in love with him. What Oliver did is no little thing. He made a massive and unilateral decision for their entire family without consulting Felicity. She has to live with the consequences, but had no say in her own life. 

We’ve seen time and again when Felicity is angry with Oliver she needs time and space to process those emotions. Felicity needs to work through her feelings before she can work through the problem with Oliver. It doesn’t mean she wants to end their relationship.

While she’s been looking for Diaz and processing her anger, Oliver has been going to extremes in his battle to track Diaz too. Unfortunately, now he’s missing.

This all hits Felicity where it hurts because her worst fear is losing Oliver. She thought losing her husband was bad enough, but now Felicity is scared Dr. Power’s mind warp program will take Oliver from her forever.

Source:  oliverfelicitygifs

I just want to hug Felicity and tell her she doesn’t have to worry about Oliver’s mind being erased. 

He dealt with all his deep and dark issues in the sewer with her. Felicity loved him through it and that’s the reason Oliver has remained intact on this new island. UGH. MY BABES.

Oliver and Felicity have remained connected despite their physical separation, but the distance is having an impact on them. They are starting to feel the consequences of time, distance, hurt feelings, and lack of communication. ENOUGH ALREADY! LET THEM BE TOGETHER! I WANT IT TO STOOOOOP!

Long story short, Felicity discovers Dr. Powers is going to erase Oliver’s mind and finds evidence connecting him to a cold case murder. That, along with Oliver’s evidence, is enough to get the Level 2 program shut down. It makes me a little sad Felicity doesn’t know the evidence is from Oliver. TALIA YOU HAD ONE JOB.

Source:  felicitysmoakgifs

Team Felicity, yes that’s the name, has such a fantastic light bulb moment when they realize they can use this Slabside evidence to appeal Oliver’s conviction. I don’t know how. I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know how Oliver was convicted in the first place because he was acquitted. How is he legally in prison? Whatever. I don’t care. Just get him out and send him home to his woman. That’s all I want. I’ve enjoyed the prison arc more than I anticipated, but I’m ready to be done.

Curtis and Diggle

Lord people. I cannot with Curtis. His undercover mission takes up a significant chunk of the episode and this is how much I care:

Fourteen PhDs???? FOURTEEN!!!!!!!?????? 

I am trying to hang with you show, and I realize you are a fantasy drama, but this is not humanely possible. Also, I am taking issue with Diggle reading out Curtis’ credentials when just last week Felicity tipped her hat to her credentials. She mentions going to MIT and then next week we are listing Curtis’ ridiculous number of PhDs and six languages?!

It feels like a bizarre pissing contest and yet these writers want me to believe this character is not in competition with Felicity.

Cammien Ray tweeted something brilliant yesterday and I thought it really summed up one of my primarily beefs with Curtis and Diggle having this storyline. This is everything we asked for Felicity, but they gave it to Curtis.

Felicity is off doing her own hero-ing and therefore the writing team’s ass is saved, but this character is in constant competition with Felicity. More often than not, Curtis over shadows Felicity so he has a friggin purpose on this show. Arrow is an extremely male dominated series. We don’t need one of few strong female characters sidelined for another male character’s benefit. 

Curtis bemoans all of the misery being a vigilante has brought into his life. Yes, Curtis has suffered the most out of all the characters. 

Oliver lost his freedom, Felicity lost her husband and child and Dinah’s boyfriend is dead. Hell, even Rene has more to bitch about. Zoe’s life was in danger for most of Season 6. BL*CK S*REN has more to be upset about. Her boyfriend, father and pseudo father figure are all dead.

But Curtis? He got a divorce. Sure, that’s sad, but his ex husband isn’t dead. Curtis is probably paying him alimony. 

Curtis was stabbed, his boyfriend shot, THEY BOTH SURVIVED, but woe is me.

Diggle has the audacity to compare Curtis to soldiers who have fought in war. 

We are not comparing Curtis and his T balls to men serving in the military. The reason why Curtis doesn’t look “done” when compared to those soldiers, John is because HE HAS NOT FOUGHT IN A FUCKING WAR OR SUFFERED ANYWHERE NEAR THE AMOUNT THOSE HEROES HAVE. 

Both of you please shut up.

I couldn’t understand why Diggle was arguing for Curtis to remain Mr. Terrific when he’s given up on Spartan and Green Arrow.  This is the second character IN A ROW Diggle has argued to break the rules and continue life as a vigilante. Whereas when it comes to Felicity she can’t be Overwatch or break any laws to free her husband. 

I also don’t understand why Diggle is arguing Curtis is so vital to the team when the truth is there are other characters that can do what he does and BETTER. Rene and Dinah are better fighters than him. This is the first week he looked mildly proficient in the field. This is why I say he’s the new LL. One week he can’t take down one bad guy, but the next he’s fighting twenty different people. It’s inconsistent and illogical.

Felicity is a genius and all the tech goddess we need. 

Anytime they use Curtis’ brilliant mind it’s to short change her. NO THANKS. The only thing Curtis brings to the table is his T spheres and pretty much everyone can operate them. I am quite annoyed with Diggle for trying to talk Curtis out of sidelining himself. 

Arrow continues to glaze over Curtis’ role in Oliver ending up in prison, there’s been no apology and he refuses to help Felicity. Instead, they write an episode where Curtis is given all the storylines we’ve asked for Felicity. Then Curtis whines about how tough life is when the other characters he refuses to help are suffering more. This is not the way to win me over. USE THIS CHARACTER LESS. He needs to disappear from my TV screen for a long time or, God willing, permanently. The more this show shoves this character down my throat the more I dislike him and I have a sensitive gag reflex. 

Stray Thoughts

“Empathy’s a word I’m learning. It’s a work in progress” HA! Loved this line.

I know neither Dinah nor BS are Felicity’s besties, but it was nice having all the women work together in an episode. It also gave Felicity a chance to unload some of her grief and fears. Can we make this a regular thing? Felicity needs girlfriends.

“I taught you to separate the man from the monster. Instead, you exposed your true identity for all the world to see and became the monster you always feared you were.” Bitch where?

Talia teaching Oliver to separate his two selves ultimately lead to her father’s death, so there are consequences for her choices too.

Felicity changes out of her high heels and skirt into jeans and tennis shoes for her visit with Oliver. The practicality in Felicity’s wardrobe this year is A+, so let’s keep the logic. Nobody drives to a prison in heels and she sure as hell shouldn’t wear them out in the field.

Oliver’s face when he finds out there’s no visitation in Level 2 looks like he was just told his puppy has cancer. Source:  olivergifs

You have not met Felicity “I Will Always Always Always Wait For You” Smoak. Suck a hot one, guard. Source: olivergifs

Why are the A.R.G.U.S. uniforms so dorky? Let’s cool them up costume department.

I need Stan to be good. Can we just let Stan be good?

Stephen Amell is 6 ft so the inmate who died is ENORMOUS.

Don’t you love how there’s been zero Diaz in any of these past few episodes? He’s just like the Boogey Man, but we never have to see him. It’s fantastic.

I don’t buy for a second Diaz took out a bunch of Bratva, but my larger concern is don’t hurt my Anatoly.

No flashbacks. Interesting.

That Elseworld promo was jarring. I’m scarred for life.

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[asoiafnerd]

The moral of an Anti-War story and the endgame of ASoIaF

The biggest problem that the show has right now is D&D that it doesn’t seem that it will answer the question “So humans didn’t actually have to unite to defeat the Others?”. But it has some solid defenses, namely the question of “Do you think the humans are going to stay united after the Dead are defeated? Of course not, they are going to go back to their games of thrones. So why shouldn’t the show portray it?"

An answer to this is that it alters the story being told. “The petty politics and the game of thrones is stupid, and humans need to band together against true evil” seems to be the theme of ASoIaF, but the show seems to be making “who will sit on the Iron Throne” the main story. Most people have been saying that Dany may still go mad in the books, but for the story to stay true to GRRM’s famous anti-war sentiments, the battle for the Iron Throne cannot be the final battle. Who will win cannot be the point of an anti-war book! But what if we have misidentified the true evil in ASoIaF? What if… prepare to hear something you’ve never heard of before… the true evil are the humans?

I’m not saying GRRM’s telling us that humans are the true evil in the world. Any anti-war story needs to tell not that war is inevitable, but that people need to set aside their petty differences. But the way that the books go about it, an outside personification of evil, has always been unsatisfactory to me. Of course, people will unite against the Others. There is no other choice. The Others don’t work as the perfect metaphor for the human emotion of hate as they are usually thought to do precisely because they are so easily identified to be a metaphor for human emotion of hate. No one possessing a sane mind would just decide not to fight them, or, make a tv series where a character makes such a choice. If GRRM loves the human mind in conflict with itself so much, why is he writing about a conflict between humans and ice monsters?

So, does that mean that the show got it right? Because clearly, they are showing that humans are the villains after everything is said and done. But I don’t think so. By now, I h ave come to the conclusion that GRRM’s outline for D&D showed that the battle for the Iron Throne was the endgame, but D&D simply didn’t understand the significance of it (or didn’t care). I think that D&D have fucked up the story they were telling. They have shown immense ineptitude in understanding ASoIaF for its themes. In fact, they think themes are for 8th grade book reports. And so, the story of people becoming the very thing they swore to destroy and then touching the light has denigrated into an incoherent mess where the only takeaway message is that war is inevitable. The wheel that keeps spinning.

But if what I am saying is true, then that means that GRRM’s outline wouldn’t show the humans uniting to fight the War for Dawn. This may seem inconceivable, but it actually solves a lot of problems. In making theories for the books, one of the things that always seem to trouble the theorists is that they keep trying to end the war for the Iron Throne before the war for Dawn starts. But uniting all the different factions situated across continents and motivations is next to impossible. However, if we assume that the humans uniting is not a necessary condition, then we don’t have to jump through hoops to kill Stannis soon after dealing with the Boltons, deal with Aegon and Cersei and Euron, and then still bring Sansa, Jon, Tyrion and Dany on the same sides of the battle lines against the Others.

I believe that in the books, humans won’t be united in the battle for Dawn. And there is precedent for this, something we love in ASoIaF. In the books, we have multiple accounts of different heroes defeating the first Long Night. What this all means, and what I propose, is that in the books, there will be multiple factions that will fight, defeat and/or survive the Long Night, possibly separately, each doing different things, or doing their parts.

What these factions will be, can be guessed at by something the show has ignored. The three heads of the dragon.

The dragon has three heads. There are two men in the world who I can trust, if I can find them. I will not be alone then. We will be three against the world, like Aegon and his sisters.

Dany VI, ASoS

If this isn't a setup for a huge twist, I don't know what is. It falls right there with Jaime thinking about (figuratively) dethroning Cersei and doing right by Tommen and Myrcella. Yeah right, keep dreaming pal! It’s a very standard plot device, make a character want something, and then take them as far away from that thing as possible.

Thus, I believe that the three heads of the are all going to fight the Others. I have my theories of who these heads are going to be and how the endgame will actually play out on the pages, but that’s part of another post, if I make one. Here, suffice it to say that the three heads will fight the Others in different factions. Maybe they will join their forces, but they will not trust each other. Through the Battle for the Dawn, together or apart, they will end up rucking up grudges against each other. Then, in the end, when the Long Night retreats, they will go into the dawn to paint the sun red.

Dany won’t be alone in her claim on the Iron Throne after the Battle for Dawn has ended. The show shows her fighting the person who holds KL, and also having problems with the reveal saying R+L=J. Thus, Aegon and Dany and Jon will fight each other – in whatever pairs that they will – and the realm will descend into war all over again. In this fight, however, Dany’s case will be special, because there are still prophecies in store for her.

Daenerys is supposed to drink from the cup of ice. I hold that her drink from the cup of ice will match the volume of her drink from the cup of fire. To match the dragons and her Targ bloodline, the drink from the cup of ice must mean that she turns toward the magic of the Others. GRRM has said that near the end, the Green Men will come to the fore of the story, maybe this is how it will happen. Or she will help Euron make a comeback. Whichever way it happens, Dany turning to the Others is how the books will show that our heroes have survived the Long Night only to become the villains.

Maybe next Monday, some character in GoT will drop a line about how they have become the very thing they swore to destroy. But it won’t mean anything, because they’ve butchered the story. However, in the books, Dany is supposed to touch the light after she has passed under the shadow. This arc will be her conflict of the mind; not only touching light, saving the world and all, but also her journey under the shadow. That will be her madness in the books. It won’t be (just?)burning KL. Like the show her madness will come after the Others have been defeated, but unlike the show, it will not be triggered by one tolling bell. It will be more like the madness of her father. Sporadic and seemingly justifiable, but increasing over time.

And after wreaking havoc over the land she loved, she will realize what she has done. She will realize that she is no long the breaker of chains. There, war was necessary, here, it is her doing. Most likely, they will all realize what they are doing. Or, better yet, they will help each other realize it – the three heads of the dragon uniting. Whatever happens, however, in the end, Dany will touch the light; thereby making the moral of the story that war is an avoidable choice, as the moral of any anti-war story should be.

#asoiaf meta #show #got #Dany #three heads has the dragon

[itispossibleihaveissues]

And Who By Fire - chapter 18

Pairing: Jason Todd/Dick Grayson

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: Permanent injury, amputation, behavioural changes due to brain injury, dysfunctional relationships [big shock, I know] I will put any extras at the beginning of each chapter.

Summery:  Both Dick and Jason are caught in an explosion that changes everything. Burdened with a shared sense of guilt and isolation, they are forced to rely on each other. Together they might heal. Or possibly just kill each other.

Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 15 16 17

Thanks for all the wonderful comments, kudos and support over the course of this fic - I've been incredibly grateful for all of them!

And a huge thank you to Brukesl17 for the betaing through my Dyslexic nonsense.

Notes: This is for Iamjasonssmirkingrevenge and is also all her fault.

Jason couldn't recall the exact sequence of events that lead to him being back in the Manor. Back in the bed that he had spent his early teens in, whacking off to the thought of being Robin and tearing a swath through the Gotham underworld. He would have objected if he had been in his right mind, but he had been to distraught to focus long enough to stop Bruce and Alfred loading them all into the car. So, here he was.

He had slept for an hour or two, completely wrung out by the events of the past few days. When he woke, it was with a clearer head, and in many ways, a lighter heart. It was all out in the open now – he just had to weather the consequences, but the crippling guilt no longer felt like it was going to burst out of him in some sort of toxic explosion. It was progress.  

He sat up in bed to find Bruce sitting across the room.

A great start.

Bruce was stony faced, but beside him was Jason's new prosthetic. That was surprising. B was far too used to fighting his battles tooth and nail to offer up a potential tool to an enemy. That meant it might be some form of peace offering. If that was the case, it was possible that if he could control his temper and if Bruce would just listen to him without making snap judgements or agree to disagree on a few things, then they might be able to come out of this mess with the possibility of at least having a civil relationship. Something Jason wanted for Dick and Tim’s sake, as well as his own.

“Jason,” Bruce rumbled.

Jason pushed himself up against the headboard in response to that tone of voice, he just couldn’t help himself.

“I understand that the trauma you and Dick both shared has forged a tight bond between you, and that is partly my fault for leaving you both to deal with the situation alone. I should have offered you more support. I plan to rectify that now. But the relationship has to end, it’s unbalanced and unhealthy.”

Jason has been expecting the attack, when it came, to be about the bomb, not he and Dick’s relationship. He may have got his hopes up a little early. Jason sighed, loudly and with all the frustration and tiredness he felt. “Bruce, I’m going to say this as politely as possible, and I’m going to use small words so that you understand: It’s none of your damn business, so back off .”

Bruce's brows drew down, and his jaw took on the same stubborn set that Dick's did when he was going to behave insufferably.

“It’s not up to you, it’s up to Dick,” Jason tired again. “He’s the one calling the shots right now. He was the one that instigated this, I spent a great deal of time trying to rebuff him, even though I didn’t really want to, I know it’s a bad idea. I know it's fucked up and weird, but it’s come to a point that I don’t give a crap. He wants to be with me for some God forsaken reason? Then I’m all in. If he wants me to leave and never come back, he has more than earned the right to expect that of me and I will do it.” He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry at the thought. He wasn’t sure if he was even convincing himself, but it was true.“Go interrogate Dick if you don’t believe me.”

Bruce made a tiny facial expression that Jason translated as discomfort.

“Goddamn it, old man. If you’re going to attempt more input into Dick's well-being you’re going to have to get over the sex thing. I know It’s not what any parent wants to deal with, but Dick’s not particularly subtle with his sexuality any more. He’s said things about people that I wish I could wipe from my memory, but you just have to learn how to deal with it. You have to, Bruce.”

“What people?” Bruce asked dubiously, and in Jason’s opinion, foolishly.

“Shall I start with Talia and move smoothly through to Slade Wilson? Not enough brain bleach in the world for that one.”

Bruce made another tiny facial expression. Horror, maybe disgust, Jason decided this time.

“Yeah. It’s gross, but it’s just part of who he is. We all have those nasty thoughts, it’s just his follow through and come out his mouth.”

There was a new expression on Bruce's face, but Jason couldn’t quite identify it. He shifted awkwardly and wished he didn’t have to have these kind of discussions when he was in his underwear in bed, it made him feel vulnerable.

Bruce leaned forward a fraction of an inch and steepled his fingers together “So, Jason,” he said, voice even, like the uncomfortable conversation they had just shared had happened in some alternate dimension. “What do you suggest Dick needs?”

This was a test. Bruce was clearly waiting to trap him in some way. But Jason was so over jumping through hoops for people. And he was kind of done with lying, even through omission. The past six months had more than taught him how toxic that shit could be. So the truth it was.

“What Dick needs , Bruce, first and foremost is his family, his friends and community. Hell, despite his very obvious problems with verbal diarrhoea, he’s still somehow making friends. Ms Singh from number 29 barely speaks English but they still manage to hang out. He even charmed her over-protective grandson into parrot sitting once. Did you know Dick speaks passable Urdu? Apparently it’s similar enough to Hindi to communicate.”

Bruce smiled slightly, a tiny twitch of his lips, “He has always had a head for languages.”

“It’s a very Dick thing to be good at,” Jason felt his own lips curve up into a wry smile.

“So you’re suggesting I spend more down time with him?”

“Yeah, but not too much. You know you’ll just fight like you always do. But he needs more than your company, he needs you to be open with him. Show you love him, but tell him too. You remember that time you came over after the vet stabbing incident and he told you he loved you?”

“I do. I didn’t realise you had heard that conversation.”

“I was flat out on the sofa, I heard it all. Anyway, when we spoke after and he was confused because he thought he told you that he loved you all time. That disconnect was disturbing to him. He needs to know that expressing himself is okay, he needs to know where his boundaries are and he needs to know that people still love him, even when he says Slade Wilson is the hottest villain he knows. Which is wrong on so many levels it’s nearly a disowning offence.”

While he watched Bruce struggle through another small facial tic of horror, it occurred to Jason that this could be the thing that finally mended the rift between Dick and Bruce, the one that had been there before Jason had come into the picture and put on the pixie boots. The love between them was obvious and strong, despite their tendency to come to blows over the simplest of things. It was the source of so much of Jason's jealousy when he was younger, and if he was honest with himself, now too. Maybe Tim was onto something when he said they had gained as well as lost.

Bruce remained silent, he seemed to be digesting Jason’s words rather than tearing into him for speaking his mind, so he figured he could push his luck a little. “On top of that, he needs proper help, his wild emotions and violent responses hurt him more than they ever hurt me. He needs to feel in control of his actions again. I know a little something about that myself,” he admitted ruefully.

Bruce was staring at him, another one of those inscrutable expressions on his face. “You really care about him, don’t you?”

“Of course I fucking do! That’s the whole point, Bruce!”

“Be that as it may, my opinion about your relationship hasn’t changed, Jason. I think it’s unhealthy and morally ambiguous at best.”

“You’re going to lecture me about moral ambiguity? You ? Who has been banging Catwoman, and Talia Al Ghul for fucksake? And God knows who else, you do seem to have a thing for the villains. And it seems to have rubbed off on Dick some, what with his currant weird fixation with Deathstroke. It’s no surprise that he’s latched onto me too.”’

Bruce was scowling at him, but then seemed to get his emotions in check. He drew in a tired sounding breath and rubbed a hand over his face. “It’s not because you’re a ‘villain,’ Jason, although all our lives would be easier if you stopped killing people. My life would be much less morally conflicted if you did.”

“Because you want to put me in jail?”

“Because the law is for everyone. And yes,” Bruce held up a hand to stop Jason's retort. “Yes, I know we also break the law, but the line has to be drawn somewhere. I don’t want you to go to jail, but if you murder people in cold blood, then I am obligated to put you there.”

“But now you won’t because it will piss Dick off, and you wouldn’t want that.”

“Talking with you is an exercise in frustration.”

Jason was kind of impressed that he could still make Bruce get the particular look of aggravation on his face. Alfred and Dick used to refer to it as the ‘Jay special.’

Bruce drew in another calming breath and continued in a surprisingly measured tone. “Even so, that was not the point I was going to make. It’s not about your status as a ‘criminal.’”

Jason could hear the quote marks and it made him seethe. But he miraculously managed to hold his tongue.

Bruce leant forward again, face serious. “It’s because A. Dick is your adopted brother, and that doesn't sit well with me, and won’t sit well with the rest of the League or anyone else. And B. he has brain damage. I'm not sure how much he can consent to this. I don’t think it would have happened at all if he hadn’t been injured.”

Jason sat straighter and placed his foot on the floor, covering his stump with the blanket. “Okay, let’s start with point A, before I ream you the fuck out over point B.”

Bruce mirrored Jason's position. A challenge, the prick. Jason wanted nothing more than to go to to toe with him, but he could hardly do that when he couldn’t stand unaided and his prosthetic was the other side of the room.

“If Dick was banging Tim, or Cass, that would be one thing. But me? We spent time together before I died, sure, but it wasn’t brotherly, it might have become that, if things had been different, but that wasn’t the way the dice fell. It’s more like if two overly competitive childhood friends hooked up. And we didn't even spend that much time together out of uniform, you made damn sure of that by constantly comparing us. You made me feel inferior, so I resented him. You made him feel like he was being replaced as your son as well as Robin so he resented me. That was fucking shit, B, you fucked us over good.”

Bruce opened his mouth, but Jason waved him off, he was warming to his rant now. “And I don’t give a fuck what you or the League or the papers think about it. Jason Todd, adopted son of Bruce Wayne, died . I don’t have a legal name any more, not one that’s actually mine. And you didn’t even adopt Dick until he was twenty! So in the eyes of the law,  we ain't even related.”

He sat back to watch Bruce sort through that. Disappointingly, he was keeping his face tightly controlled, with none of his usual tells on display.

“And the second issue?” Bruce asked, after a moment.

Jason held back the smug smile that wanted to creep onto his face. He had so won that round.  “Are you going to ban Dick from having relationships or sex of any kind?”

Bruce looked vaguely constipated, his eyes narrowing  with realisation of where this was going to go, but he said nothing, so Jason continued, “Just because he has brain damage, doesn't mean he’s not a person who has needs and wants. And what he really wants, is much the same as it has always been – a strong and sappy romantic relationship – and sex has always been a part of that for him. You can’t deny him that. You didn’t like Kory, but you couldn't stop him having a relationship with her. And you can’t choose for him now, either. He’s not a drooling vegetable, he can make his own decisions, although they are often impulsive and stupid, to be fair.”

Bruce digested that for a moment, while Jason resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably. He wished he had his prosthetic on, he felt vulnerable without it.

“You’ve changed, Jason,” Bruce said at last.

Jason scoffed. “No I haven’t, you’re just seeing me different.”

Bruce stood, and Jason tensed, but there was no threat in his posture or face, so he forced himself to relax slightly.

“That may be true, too. But you have changed,” Bruce said, he picked up the prosthetic and lay it next to Jason's bed.

“I haven't,” Jason said stubbornly.

“You have.”

“Have not!” This was a game Bruce would play with him as a kid, when Jason was attempting to bullshit his way into doing something stupid, like going on patrol with stomach flu. It was bittersweet now.

Bruce's lips twitched again. “Well, maybe not completely. But you have grown, we would never have been able to have this conversation six months ago.”

“I’ve had a crash course in controlling my temper. It hardly counts as amazing personal growth.”

“You still can’t take a compliment.”

“You still haven't given me one.”

Bruce sighed, but he still seemed amused. “Why must my family all be so stubborn?” he mused as he headed for the door.

“Karma,” Jason muttered, loudly.  Trying not to show his emotions on his face.

“Well, be that as it may, consider this your compliment: Your insight into Dick’s needs and behaviour and your obvious… affection for him, does you a great deal of credit. Rest now. I will think on what you’ve said, and speak to Dick when he wakes up.”

“Okay,” Jason said, stupidly.

  Jason was left feeling conflicted. There was a measure of forgiveness there, but the anger was also still simmering. Neither of them had apologised for the hurtful words said before – which in Jason's opinion meant they were still out there, festering. And Bruce was never going to be okay with this relationship, that much was obvious. Jason could live with that, but could Dick? Would they even be a relationship after the dust settled?

Feeling suddenly anxious Jason slipped to edge of the bed and began putting on his new prosthetic. It was a perfect fit, and instantly made him feel more centred. So much so he didn't even panic when the door opened while he was still in his shorts, contemplating his new leg.

“Hey,” Tim said, pushing into the room without even a by your leave. He was carrying two steaming mugs in his hands though, so Jason was inclined to forgive him.

“Earl Grey with milk, you heathen,” Tim said, handing over the cup of tea in his right hand and casually sitting in the chair Bruce had vacated.

“Thanks.” Jason casually attempted to put his pants on, without looking like he was flustered. Tim just sipped his tea impassively. “I thought you were grounded?” Jason asked.

Tim shrugged. “He’s not the boss of me.”

“Yes he is, you breaking the rules to come see me?”

Tim sniffed. “It’s hardly breaking the rules if it’s still within the house I live in.  That went okay didn’t it?” He looked mildly smug.  

“You were watching,” Jason said flatly. Because of course he was.

“Surveillance is how we show love.”

“Yeah? Well it’s creepy and weird.”

Tim just lifted a casual shoulder. “What now?”

Good question. Jason didn’t want to stay here and he didn’t want to be alone, alone he would start thinking about the things Bruce had said. Whether he was just lashing, out or if his words had come from the heart, didn’t matter, some of that shit had cut deep. “You missed the first show down,” Jason said, following his own line of thought. “It wasn’t so nice.”

“You know he probably didn’t mean anything awful he said. He loves you.”

“ Loved me. Young, starry-eyed me. Not the person I am now, not the fuck up screwing his favourite son. Or trying to anyway.”

Tim made a moue of distaste, but didn’t otherwise comment on the sex thing. “He finds you hard to deal with – hard to categorize. You make him feel very conflicted emotions so he responds aggressively. Dick does the same thing when he’s wound up. Even before the head injury it could be brutal.”

“Yeah, B didn’t like that comparison.”

“You do like to go the hard route don’t you?”

“Seems to be that way. Anyway, I guess I can’t do much except leave. I agree with Bruce when he suggests me and Dick spend some time apart. So I need to see if he wants the apartment. I have other places I can go.”

Tim’s brows drew down, and his mouth opened, to give some, no doubt infuriatingly good advice, when he was cut off by a screech from the hall.

“ Clunk fizz! ” That ear-splitting yell was followed up by some scuffling and a cry of, “Fucknugget!”

Tim and Jason looked at each other of a moment, before getting up and heading to the door. Jason opened it to find PB looking shifty and slightly ruffled. Behind him, the huge, hulking form of Titus was staring at him intently, his ears pricked forward and his head cocked curiously.

“Motherfucker,” PB tried, eyeing Titus suspiciously.

Titus gave a soft, ‘woof’ and wagged his tail.

“Made a friend, PB?” Jason asked, as the parrot sidled over and began climbing his pant leg.

“Motherfucker,” PB said again.

“ Woof ,” Titus said.

“I think they're communicating,” Tim was still sipping his tea, and looked very amused.

“Yeah, it’s like fucking Disney in here.” If PB was wandering the halls, where was Dick? There was never a freaking moment of downtime in Jason's life, what with Dick and the Parrot and his high maintenance family. “Do you think we need to mount a search party?” he asked.

“No, Dick is with B, they probably left the door open. PB isn’t a big fan of his namesake, so maybe he slipped out to come and complain about it to you.”

“Is that what happened?” Jason asked the bird, looking into his beady eye as he perched on his shoulder. He belatedly realised he must sound like an idiot, asking a bird a question like he was expecting an answer.

“Motherfucker,” PB told him, sullenly.

“ Woof !” Titus wagged his tail again.

“Okay then,” Jason said. “I’m going the fuck back to bed.”

  Jason next woke as the bed shifted beside him. A moment of panic was followed by recognition.

“Hey, Dick.”

“Hey, Jay.” Dick reached out and ran gentle fingers over the bruises on Jason’s face. “I’m sorry,” he said.

Jason closed his eyes, but otherwise remained still under the caressing touch. “You have nothing to be sorry for. And I have too much. I would give my life to take it back.”

“I know. I know you regret what happened. I just wished you would have told me sooner. And I wish I had better control of how I react to things. I can’t stand this violence in me.”

“I deserved it.”

“Yeah, maybe you did, in theory. But not in practice. It’s the last thing in the world I want to do. I was mad enough I could have killed you.”

“But you didn’t.”

“This time.”

Jason wanted to protest that, but there was truth in it. He could hold his own in a fight against Dick, he would probably lose, but he could defend himself. But if Dick had taken a gun out and threatened to shoot him, he would have let him. And as ridiculously unlikely as that particular scenario was, the emotional clusterfuck behind it was dangerous, for both of them.

“I think it’s a good idea if I stay here for a while,” Dick said, quietly.

Jason was glad of the darkness in the room, he didn’t think he would be able to hide the pain on his face otherwise. “You can take the apartment,” he said, and he thought his voice sounded mostly impassive.

“I don’t need it. Bruce is getting me some specialist help. Lots of it apparently, and time apart is a good idea. I need to process and learn to control my feelings more.”

“You can still have the apartment, though. It wouldn't feel right staying in it without you.” He didn’t think he could stand it, being there alone and knowing how he had fucked up their lives, how he had fucked up this stupid relationship, which was always destined to be a disaster. God, he felt like shit.  

Dick poked him on his bruised cheekbone. “Why do you sound so weird, do you have a cold coming on? Or did I break your nose? Anyway, you may as well stay, it has all your cripple gear already there, and that’s harder to move than my brain damage stuff.”

Despite himself, and his regret and guilt and grief, Jason snorted with laughter. Cripple gear and brain-damage stuff? Such a Dick thing to say, in both senses of the word.

“And anyway,” Dick said, poking him again, “It won’t be forever, I can come visit, and I’ll move back eventually.”

That was unexpected and let in a flood of glorious hope. Confusion and hope were uncomfortable bedfellows and Jason reached out and grabbed Dick’s fingers “You’re coming back?”

“Er, yeah?”  Dick sounded perplexed. “That is, if you want me to?”

Jason leaned to the side and switched the bedside lamp on, blinking at Dick in the sudden light. “So you’re just staying here for therapy? You’re not actually breaking up with me? I kind of need you to clarify.”

“Break up with you? Over a bit of violence and being blown up? Nah.” Dick pushed at him, “Shove over, there’s room in here for two.”

“Fucknugget.”

“Sorry, PB. Room in here for three.”

Jason sighed and shuffled over a bit, laying back and looking at the ceiling. It was the same as it had been when he was a kid. The whole room was kind of stuck in time. But everything else about the boy he had been had changed, was still changing. He wasn’t sure how he felt about those shifts yet. Dick pulled back the covers and let in all the chill air before clambering in beside him. PB walked across Jason’s face and over to Dick, who scooped him up and cuddled him like he was a fluffy kitten and not a half bald dinorat.

“So no, I don’t want to break up with you, Jason.” Dick said, after a moment. “I just need a little distance to get my head on straight.”

“Why wouldn’t you though?” Jason asked, baffled. “After everything?”

“Because I am totally and disgustingly in love with you, you dope.”

“Oh,” Jason said.

Dick snorted. “Oh he says, oh . Romance is not your strong suit is it? Nor is sex really, I guess, but I’m sure we can work on it.”

“Yeah thanks for that, Dickface.”

“For what?”

“Never mind. Bruce is going to have an aneurysm if he catches you in my bed tomorrow.”

“Don’t care.”

“You’re a rebel.”

Dick leaned over and kissed him on the nose. “I’m the original rebel wonder, don’t n ya know.”

“I did it better.” Jason was aware there was a dopey smile on his face but he couldn’t seem to tramp it down.

Dick waved an imperious hand above their heads. “You died, so it doesn’t count.”

“Ass,”

“Cooter flooter.”

“That’s still not a thing, Dick. Stop trying to make cooter flooter happen.”

“I can’t believe you’ve seen mean girls!” Dick said, delighted.

Jason decided not to remind him that they had in fact watched it together, not that long ago. The occasional gaps in Dick’s memory still upset him and Jason didn’t want to ruin this moment.

Dick snuggled down and into Jason’s space, so they were sharing the pillow. Unlike the first few times it had happened, having Dick invade his personal bubble felt pleasant and something in his chest loosened a little.

“I’m going to see the social worker tomorrow. Will you come too?” Dick asked.

“Don’t ruin the moment,” Jason said, and he could hear the whine in his own voice. He hated that sanctimonious asshat.

“Will you?”

“I guess, if I have to.” He would do whatever it took. But he didn’t have to like it.

“Because you love me too?”

“I guess, for my sins,” Jason sighed after a moment. God knows how it had happened, but he was kind of disgustingly, stupidly in love right back.

“You say the sweetest things,” Dick said with a smile in his voice.

“I know I do, I’m charming that way.”

“Anything to add, PB?” Dick asked. “Do you love us too?”

PB seemed to think about that for a moment, then ruffled his feathers and settled down on the pillow. “ Woof ,” he said, decisively.

Dick chuckled, the sound reverberating through Jason’s body, it felt good and he grinned into the darkness. He was missing a leg, and a working penis, but he had Dick and PB and Tim and some sort of semi truce with B. All things considered things were actually pretty awesome. There was still a long way to go, but he felt at peace and more hopeful than he probably had a right to be.

END NOTES:

So thats a wrap... mostly. I know some people are dying to know if Jason regains full use of his penis, so there is a follow up fic in the works (after this years Xmas exchange has been written.) Tentatively titled:

36 Times Jason and Dick Attempted to Have Sex (and mostly failed)

It will no doubt be very silly and contain gratuitous parrots.

Thanks again! <3

#jaydick #jason todd #dick grayson #nightwing #red hood #mik trys to write stuff #My fic #My writing #awbf #and who by fire #omg finally finished #mostly