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fatkish · 16 days

Note

Hiii Could you do a fluff head cannon with all the mha pro heroes (aizawa,present mic,all might,mirko, And midnight) like little moments with child reader

Pro Heroes x Child Reader:

Fluff Headcannons

Aizawa:

Snuggles with the reader all the time

Probably bought a matching sleeping bag for the reader

Has secretly put up their drawings in his office at school

Lets the reader sleep with him when they can’t sleep or have a nightmare

Will go through the house and make sure no villains or monsters are hiding before bedtime

Reads story books at bedtime or tells the reader stories about uncle Mic or his students

Would definitely have pajama parties

Would help the reader build blanket and pillow forts in the living room and sleeps in them

Helps the reader as best he can with their homework

Hizashi:

Most definitely has dance parties or plays music videos games

Bought the reader one of the children’s karaoke machines and cheers the reader on now matter how bad their singing is

Loves playing hide and seek with the reader

If the kid likes to dress up whenever they play then he’ll definitely help and tries to make the reader look like a mini him

Definitely bought the reader instruments like a toy keyboard or drums to let them explore music and see if they like it

Makes up the weirdest and silly stories for the reader’s bedtime

Helps the reader with their homework by making a game of it or making it entertaining

Has pictures and drawings from the reader all over his desk and office

All might:

Dad jokes 100%. Will tell all kinds of them no matter how lame or stupid they are

Plays pretend and has the reader be the hero who defeats the evil tickle monster

Tries to cook food with the reader like baking cookies or making their own homemade pizza. Has had to try to keep the reader from eating all the ingredients when they were younger

Carries the reader on his shoulders and will toss them in the air

Definitely tries to introduce foreign foods to the reader such as classic American dishes like an American hotdog or apple pie

Tells the reader stories of his hero days when he was younger or his experiences overseas as bedtime stories

Helps the reader understand their homework and shows them how to do it before letting them try if they’re struggling

Let’s the reader wear his shirts since they’re so big on reader and he thinks it’s cute

Proudly shows pictures and the reader’s drawings to his coworkers

Mirko:

Definitely cheers on the reader whenever they play Heroes and villains

Will definitely give actual advice on how to fight a villain

Has morning yoga sessions with the reader to help them increase their flexibility

Would most likely play wrestle with the child

Reader has a bunch or Mirko merch and has all the limited edition items thanks to Mirko

Recounts stories of the villains she fought that day as bedtime stories or makes some up

Tries to help the reader with their homework and will hire a tutor or ask another pro to help them if possible

Definitely has the reader’s drawings in her office and proudly displays them for all to see

Probably has a trampoline and teaches the reader how to do cool jumps

Midnight:

Loves going shopping for clothes with reader

Will definitely play heroes and villains with the child and be the villain

Would also pretend to be a civilian in need of saving

Helps reader design their ‘hero’ costume

If the child can’t sleep then she’ll use her quirk to help them sleep

Will read story books to the reader and tuck them in at bedtime

Helps the reader with their homework by referencing the problems to things they already know or that they like, for example: with math, Midnight will use visual references like pieces of candy to help the reader understand addition and subtraction

Has bought so many stuffed animals for the reader, their room is basically filled with them

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laenordeservedbetter · 1 year

Note

For Samantha Carpenter x fem reader. (If you're doing requests, I'm not 100% sure if you are or not,please.)

Reader is Amber Freeman's half older sister (Sam Carpenter's age). Amber knows that Stu Macher is her sister's father, which she is jealous of. So after attacking Tara and luring Sam back to Woodsboro, Amber attacks Reader at Ambers and rs house. (Sam and Reader dated before Sam left, and once they've all moved to NYC, they get back together. R is also a little reliant on alcohol and weed after everything that happened.)

Holding On To You

Words: 3.3k (I think)

Relationships: Samantha Carpenter x Fem!Reader, Sibling!Amber Freeman x Fem!Reader, Implied/Referenced Tara Carpenter x Amber Freeman, Chad Meeks-Martin x Tara Carpenter, Mindy Meeks-Martin x Anika Kayoko

I wrote this this fic in bits, so the timeline is kinda jumbled. I only arranged which part should go where when I finished writing and decided to imply Tamber last minute because why not? Also, Amber's dad raised r as his own, which is why r refers to them as her parents.

The ' * * *' means a long period of time has passed.

Warnings: (18+) this is definitely not my best work, poorly written fight scene, angst, violence, cussing, grief, suggestive themes, reader has problems with alcohol. lmk if I missed any! (I don't remember if the core four were drinking alcohol in Sam and Tara's apartment, so I put something else here)

A/N: I didn't intend for half the fic to focus on reader's dynamic with Amber, but I felt like it's important to show how torn she is by how she feels with what happened. Sorry if I made it too angsty and not what you (anon) asked for 😭

not my gif. || masterlist || previous work

Your phone buzzed at the same time you were about to go up the stairway leading to your room. Determining that whoever is texting you is more important than sleep, you unlock the cellular device to read the message.

(1:49 a.m.)

Amber: Tara was attacked.

Three words. Fifteen letters.

Your body turns stiff as if there was a supernatural force compelling you to stay still. Tara was attacked. The first thought that went to your mind was ‘is she okay?’ but for some reason you can’t explain, your fingers typed in different words.

(1:50 a.m.)

You: Does Sam know?

Is Tara in the hospital?

How is she?

(1:51 a.m.)

Amber: Such dumb questions. What you should be asking yourself is ‘who’s next?’

Your brows furrow and you frown. She shouldn’t be saying that, you thought. Amber was peculiar but if there was one thing you were sure she’s best at, it was being there for Tara - protecting her. The person on the other side of the screen that you’re talking to feels different from the Amber you know. Something is off.

(1:55 a.m.)

You: Don’t say shit like that, Amber. Tara got hurt. This is serious.

(1:55 a.m.)

Amber: Oh, this isn’t Amber.

(1:56 a.m.)

You: Then who are you?

(1:56 a.m.)

Amber: You’ll find out soon enough.

The chances of being given ample interval to question the sender of the text who is definitely not Amber reduces to zero the second a masked figure creeps behind you and slashes your arm. “What the fuck?!” Blood trickles down your skin, the wound deep enough to nearly make you see your bones. You have to look away from your own body or else you might collapse from the mere sight of it.

You’re panting, looking into the mask of your attacker. He tilts his head at you tauntingly. “And here I thought that the daughter of Stu Macher would put up more of a fight.”

You don’t react, but you run for the kitchen, grabbing the first breakable object you can find: the floral vase.

When Ghostface attempts to lunge forward, you aim the vase at his head, but he dodges swiftly, leaving the vase to smash against the newly-painted wall. You grimace. Your parents were gonna kill you the moment they decide to hop on their plane and get home. “They’re going to be so mad at me.” You complain while grabbing a kitchen knife.

This will do.

“What are you planning to do with that knife?” Ghostface wonders mockingly.

You make a face at him, “No more talking.”

And just like that, you got into a knife fight. You manage to stab Ghostface in the abdomen. He rolls over, his hand going over his stomach to assess the damage. Smiling triumphantly, you let your guard down, which proved to be an error of yours as Ghostface recovers enough to dig his knife near your chest. You drop your weapon, feeling your eyes flutter shut. Your attacker slowly removes his mask, shocking you, yet it was like the time you fade out of consciousness was also planned since you pass out way before you can see what he looks like.

* * *

“We’re waiting for you downstairs.”

You stop what you were doing to look up at Tara. She sends you a sympathetic look and you shoot her one back. “I’ll finish up in 5 minutes.” You say, motioning to the clothes that are yet to be packed into your suitcase.

“Okay.” Tara’s attention is drawn to the picture frame on the nightstand. It was of you and Amber when you were children. She was wearing a pirate costume while you wore a witch’s. “Are you bringing that with you?”

“Yes.” You reply, taking the frame in your hands, fingers ghosting over the photograph. “It was one of our happiest memories together. She was such a sweet kid. I’d like to remember her that way instead of…” You trail off, taking a sharp intake of breath. A month has passed since your sister attacked you and murdered people. You’d never know why she did it nor do you want to. Some things are better left unsaid. Tara, however, felt the opposite. She knew Amber differently and you can understand how she feels, to an extent. “You can keep it if you want. I have other photos in this room stored somewhere.”

Even though Tara shakes her head ‘no’, she is appreciative. “No, it’s fine. I have pictures of my own too.”

The two of you bask in the silence. No other words needed to be shared. Tara leaves you alone after that, but the space she formerly occupied isn’t left empty for long when Sam appears by the doorway.

You grin when you see her, “Hi.” It’s the first time in days that you managed to smile authentically. Going through the worst thing imaginable can dim someone’s light and you were in no position to pretend that everything was okay when circumstances proved the opposite. Although it pained you to think about that night, seeing Sam made you feel that you weren’t alone.

“Hey.” She replies. “Ready to go?”

“Most definitely.” You answer with the truth as you zip up your last bag, ready to leave this place behind and start anew.

Sam holds out her hand, “Come on.”

You don’t take one last look back. You’d be lying if you said you would miss this house. Everything direful that happened in Woodsboro began here, so it is fitting that this is also where it should end.

Or at least, that’s what you thought.

* * *

The bottle in your hand weighs lighter than your grief. That’s what you keep telling yourself during these types of moments. It’s a remedy. Ephemeral, maybe, but it helps you forget. That’s the one thing you could ask for.

You nurse your wounds at a bar stool. The time is a bit early for a Saturday for you to be drinking, just how you like it. You take a sip, then another, and another, making you finish your drink earlier than you’d like. “Fucking hell.” A new bottle slides over in front of you before you can ask the bartender for one more drink. Turning your attention to your side, you note a woman staring right at you, a sly smirk on her lips.

Once you give her a nod as a ‘thank you’ for the booze, you go back to the bottle, indicating you want to be left alone. Unfortunately for you, the woman does not take the hint. She moves to the stool next to yours, hoping to shoot her shot.

“Hey.” She says, her bright blue eyes shining in the dim light of the bar. Although you cannot deny that she’s attractive, you’d rather be gazing into a different pair of eyes, preferably brown ones on the face of the only girl you’ve ever loved. “I’m Jolene.”

“Hi, Jolene.” Putting down the bottle, you purse your lips, hoping that this exchange would end soon. You tense when Jolene places a hand on your right shoulder.

Jolene chuckles, unbothered by the signs that you were uneasy, “You’re a little tense.” She pauses, gauging your reaction, “I can help you relax.”

“Look, I appreciate the offer, but, uh. . . I’m kind of waiting for someone, so if you don’t mind. . .” You pull your arm away, pretending to look at the entrance to the bar as if you were meeting one of your friends. Truthfully, it should be a lost cause since you haven’t told anybody that you would be here, including Sam.

“Well, let me keep you company while they arrive.”

You internally groan. “Respectfully, Jolene, and I mean this in the nicest way possible since you seem like a good person, leave me alone.”

“Are you sure?”

“A hundred percent.”

Jolene smiles understandingly, about to get up and turn away, but then her mouth drops open as if she’s seen a movie star, “Wait, you’re one of the survivors of the murders at that one house in Woodsboro! Your sister tried to kill you and your biological father was a killer too, right?! Stu Macher, that’s what his name was.”

Of course. That’s why she approached you. She only pretended not to know who you were until you tried to convince her to piss off. Great. “Bye now.” You throw a fifty dollar bill on the counter, hastily running out of the place as if you were brought back to those nights spent in that house trying so desperately to get away. The feeling of tightness takes place in your chest. You see a stranger pass by with hair that looks exactly like Amber’s and you turn lugubrious. No matter what she did, she was still your sister. You want to hate her for everything she did to you, to Tara, to everyone you thought she cared for. However, missing her triumphs all the other emotions you have. Though that may not be an excuse for her wrongdoings, it makes you mourn what has and what would have been.

You wanted her to go to college. You wanted to be the one on the front row cheering her on as she accepts her diploma. You wanted to be the person she turns to for relationship advice. You would have wanted her there when both you and Sam began getting harassed online just because your fathers were serial killers. Amber would have fought anyone who attempted to cross a line. Sometimes it felt like she was your big sister even though you are technically older.

And then it hits you.

You’d always be stuck in that goddamn stupid, cursed house, persistently wishing that things had been different. That you hadn’t moved there, that your sister never met Richie, that you have the same biological father as Amber. Standing in the middle of the sidewalk, you realized that maybe you never left the place at all. You are in New York (You’re not deluded. You know that much.), but a piece of your heart would eternally be in Stu Macher’s house with Amber at the doorway while the other half is chasing after a love that might never be.

* * *

Sam drops by in your shared room to ask what you want for dinner. On Saturdays when neither of you are working, you and Sam order food and watch a movie that is preferably a romcom or fantasy. The unspoken rule being: watching horror is out of the equation.

She notices your swollen eyes and discards her phone on the table to comfort you. Sam climbs into your bed, arms circling around your waist in order to ground you. “I’m here. It’s okay.”

You don’t speak, fearing that your voice might crack and that it might show that you are as weak as you think you are.

But of course, Sam notices. “I know you don’t want to talk right now, so I’ll just hold onto you. If or when you want to talk, you can squeeze my hand. Is that okay?”

You shake your head in affirmation, locking your fingers with Sam’s, granting yourself the permission to crumble in her arms.

Once your heartbeat slows to a calm rhythm and the heartache subsides to a low wave that stays at your feet, you squeeze her hand three times.

“I’m listening.” Sam says, sensing your hesitance. Understanding where your diffidence comes from (she sees it in herself too), she adds, “I won’t judge you. I’m here to listen and if you want advice, I’ll try to give one. If you don’t want me to say anything, that’s fine too. Whatever works best for you.”

She is giving you the space to feel. Not a lot of people can say that and still stay after you’ve poured your heart out. Sam is different from most people because she cares. You are each other’s anchor. That’s why it doesn't take much convincing for you speak of your feelings bit by bit without worrying about falling into a rabbit hole. Knowing that Sam is there with you, listening, holding your hand, is more than enough motivation to keep going.

“. . . Sam, is it wrong? To miss Amber? The whole world tells me what she is. A murderer. But I- I saw it in her eyes that night at the party. Hesitation. Remorse. She told me that she was jealous that I got to be the one whose father was a serial killer but when she pointed the gun at my head, I saw something else flicker in her eyes. I don’t know. It’s probably just my brain making things up to make me feel better. Maybe I should just accept that my sister was a killer and move on. I shouldn’t even be feeling like this when I know she murdered people in cold blood — people I used to know. Am I crazy?” Once you started talking, you couldn’t stop. It was like you’ve been bottling this up to release it at the right moment. The memories of that night resurfaced in the forefront of your mind, acknowledging them for the first time. By now, you were laying on your back while Sam had an arm wrapped around your shoulder and the other still on your waist. For less than a minute, you were scared that she would push you away in a literal sense.

She didn’t.

“It’s not wrong, Y/n. She was your sister, of course you have the right to miss her. Now, I still don’t understand her motive and I won’t try to because she hurt Tara and you. But you knew her better than me or the people calling her names. You knew the kid that she was. You know what’s real. You are allowed to have your own opinion of Amber even if it isn’t what others want you to think. You’re not crazy for feeling these things. I’d be scared if you didn’t feel anything at all. It’s normal. You’re human. Don’t be too hard on yourself because of something you can’t control.” Sam says, soft but stern.

You take this opportunity to gaze into her eyes, seeing reverence, sympathy, and devotion all in one. She took the parts of yourself that you hated and treated them as if they were something sacred. When you have a person like that in your life - one who helps you accept your flaws instead of turning them away -, you start to see flowers bloom in the pieces you considered damaged. She loved the things about you that you execrated.

Before Sam, you gave love a definition: it is a thing that enfeebles you - yet that’s not all that there is to it. Love can be a chain, it can be suffocating, and there is no doubt that it can shatter you until the only thing you have left is a piece of a broken mirror to prove that it existed; but it can also be a tune (like the song you sung as a kid that you never paid much thought to), a soft bed, a dance, or a simple look a person gives that sends your heart fluttering no matter how many times you have been on the receiving end of it.

“Sam?” You call out, realizing that you’ve spent a while not responding.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for listening,” You say quietly. “and for not becoming a stranger.”

She smiles gently.

Your heart flutters.

* * *

Tara lets out a deep breath. She’s laying down with a novel in her hand that became abandoned three minutes ago, her attention now focused on glaring at you and Sam from her position on the couch. “Just get back together already. I’m so tired of watching you two tiptoe around each other with your unresolved feelings!” She yells, roughly flipping a page of the book in order to prove her annoyance. Sam, who was currently on dish duty, dropped a plate upon hearing Tara’s comment. (It didn’t break, fortunately.)

“Are you talking about the book or…?” Of course, Chad would be the one to make the situation far more awkward than it needs to be. You don’t hate the kid, but he does get oblivious at times, which you normally wouldn’t mind if it doesn’t affect you. Mindy punches him in the shoulder. His mouth gapes. He looks at you, then at Sam. “Ohhhh.”

“Idiot.” Mindy mumbles.

“I agree with Tara though.” Anika comments, pointing her apple drink at Tara. (You and Sam don’t allow the kids to drink at the apartment, so the only beverages available are apple and orange juice boxes.)

“Me too, babe.” Mindy beams proudly as if Anika gave the answer to an unsolvable mathematical equation and gives her girlfriend a peck on the lips.

Chad makes gagging noises, averting his eyes away from the couple.

You see the scene unfold in front of you with a smile before you turn away to take the popcorn out of the microwave. “I think we’re driving Tara crazy with the suspense.” You joke, transferring the popcorn to a bowl and placing another bag inside the microwave. Sam shoots you a questioning glance, referring to the amount of popcorn bags that were already cooked. “I was thinking that each couple would have a bag or bowl each. Mindy and Anika, Chad and Tara. I wasn’t sure if you wanted to share with me, which is why I put another-”

Sam takes out the uncooked popcorn from the microwave, interrupting what would have been your rambling, “Of course I’d share with you. You’re my girlfriend.”

You look away, unable to keep a smile off your face. “I will never get tired of hearing that.” As you busy yourself with placing the popcorn on three separate bowls, Sam observes the group on the living room.

“I think we should tell them.”

“Huh?”

“About us. It’s time, don’t you think?”

“Yeah.” You take Sam’s hands in your own, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “I’m ready.” You look at her lovingly. “How should we do it?”

Sam sports a mischievous smirk, “I know just the right way.” She ‘accidentally’ drops another plate (which, amazingly, didn’t break as well), drawing the attention of Tara, Chad, Mindy, and Anika. She gives you the go signal and you kiss her, bringing your bodies closer.

“TARA, SOMETHING’S HAPPENING IN THE KITCHEN!”

“WHAT ARE YOU- OH MY GOD!” Tara exclaims.

“CHAD, GIVE ME THE CAMERA!” Anika flails her arms chaotically for Chad’s phone, instantly snapping pictures of you and Sam the moment the device is handed to her.

Chad grins, giving you a thumbs up.

When you pull away from Sam for air, Tara runs up to you with questions at the ready. Sam did most of the talking. You added a few things here and there, looking back at how far you’ve come. The grief never went away. It’s still lingering. Except this time, you don’t feel the panic. You focus on the memories - the good and the bad. Those things are the reason why you’re where you're at right now. Although you’d have liked some of it to turn out differently, you can’t change the past, hence why you don’t shy away from what happened as much as you used to. You hold on to the memories the way you’d want to hold on to the love of your life.

“You okay?” Sam asks, rubbing a comforting hand on your shoulder.

You realize that you’ve been crying. “Yeah, they’re happy tears. It’s just. . .” You breathe out, feeling the weight of hopelessness on your shoulders disappear.

It felt like finally coming home after a long journey.

#sam carpenter x reader #sam carpenter #samantha carpenter #scream 6 #scream vi #scream #tamber #tara carpenter #amber freeman #anika kayoko #chad meeks martin #mindy meeks martin #stu macher

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jaqobis · 7 months

Text

sorting out some finale impressions after sleeping on it

it's like.

moiraine being able to burn the ships despite the oaths; the protracted scene of renna's murder; perrin going into a rage and killing bornhald senior; rand one-shotting turak etc; mat stabbing people left and right with the dagger; nynaeve torturing the sul'dam but that plot coming to nothing (returning to that in a moment). like i read the interview, i know what the rand scene referenced. i can imagine the perrin scene was buildup for fear of the wolf. it's not that i just don't get it.

but like did dain necessarily need Valid Reason to hate perrin lol. again, i can see what they're doing. but What If The Whitecloaks Were Here To Fight The Seanchan -- which, yeah, they do oppose the seanchan in the books. but the specific framing of them to help and whatever, when no one else was willing to. specifically also throwing siuan under the bus bc allegedly the amyrlin also got a letter about this. even if this turns out to be a lie, this is the standing narrative for now, and in combination with everything else they did with siuan this season, yikes.

i read the interview, i know what the rand thing was referencing, but also that's a scene of rand acting in self-defense against darkfriends that were literally about to murder him. if he'd struck a second later, or waited, they might have succeeded. more importantly that's where he's in a situation where people have been trying to murder him literally day and night for, like, months. he hasn't slept in as long. the context is totally different. there is also a rand scene in TFOH where he talks about how it feels unfair to use saidin against non-channelers. you can just as easily argue that he Wouldn't do this.

i actually, personally, think it's very important for the egwene/rand parallels that her friends were there to save her from the seanchan, and that he later has to save himself from the box. i also think it was important for her development that she could know she has friends who would and do come for her. i also personally find that narrative much more satisfying, cool as her Moment was. i'd been spoiled about her killing renna going in, and like we can discuss morality whether rj was Right to ask if revenge is justice or if it's More Right for egwene to kill renna, we'd be here forever. i'm not really looking to comment on that. it is kind of a weird vibe to remove a meditation on violence, however, in a series that is anti-war, in a finale that seemed to make a lot of choices to depict and make this battle Cool, etc. that had us watch renna die for quite a long moment. renna certainly got what was coming to her, but idk.

Violence Is Cool. Traumatic Experiences Lead To Empowering Moments. that's the vibe it's giving.

lan continued to be used just to prop up moiraine and explain how she's feeling and talk about how good she is. at least daniel henney got a pretty cool fight scene!

tbf leaning on the whitecloaks and ishamael as sad and sympathetic has sanderson written all over it

making the sul'dam weak channelers seems to lose some of the hypocrisy central to the seanchan empire; losing some of the hypocrisy and deep societal rot undercuts the commentary on institutional-level change needed to remove the damane system. combined with the deaths of both collared sul'dams, that secret also goes lost.

(they certainly might bring it back and address it later, but arguing that It's 100% Coming, Shut Up & Stop Whining is just as much of a bad faith argument as claiming the show sucks bc hurin isn't in it. i can only comment to what exists now. also, frankly, i've been told things i was criticising previously were OBVIOUSLY going to be addressed in the finale and. weren't? so like.)

nynaeve really was allowed to accomplish nothing useful huh. no speech about justice, no part of the successful figuring out how to uncollar, no healing, no protecting her friends from forsaken, nothing. for all that elayne was immediately walking around everywhere after her dramatic wound, they could've just. let nynaeve do that.

like i obviously understand that they're showing the block is a real problem, which it is, but this is a choice that was made.

also not a single mention of ryma after her big sacrifice huh. it would add approximately 5 seconds to runtime for the wondergirls to talk about saving egwene and ryma at any point.

loial's speech about them all being heroes + mat's hero of the horn thing + crowds cheering (yes i remember the end of tdr) + etc etc really building up this idea of Heroism As Cool. could be something they'll work to subvert later but it's certainly an element that existed in the books at this point. that they've stripped out.

also like why even bother destroying the heron mark sword without the buildup of why it matters to rand or why its destruction was narratively impactful. unearned. rand saying he won't serve ishamael in a thousand lifetimes, unearned. there were plenty of other moments that didn't feel earned to me that escape me now, which. a shame!

i've already rb'd a post that laid out my feelings about rand thus far pretty well so i'll mostly spare y'all but. it's an incredible disservice to his character to take a scene where he tries to sacrifice himself for egwene/his loved ones, knowingly opens himself up to terrible pain, and thereby gets the wound that gives him chronic pain for the rest of his life and kills him, and make it...a mistake of mat's. like. yes, we've seen him try to sacrifice himself at the eye. there's nothing wrong with repeating this beat? it's called a consistent character trait. it was already a subversion of the conceit of a 1v1 op heroic battle. they tried to fix something that didn't need fixing, to make a point it was already making. also rand just immediately up and about after getting this wound, even with healing, where he was out for days in the book. it just doesn't bode super well for depiction of chronic pain sufferer rand al'thor. i don't doubt they intend to show us the wound breaking open etc etc but you're also undercutting significance on multiple levels out the gate. it bothers me! but i'm chronically ill with chronic pain so i'm not going to pretend this is some coldly logical clear-eyed opinion.

also perrin killing bornhald sr the same way he killed laila. except it's not even an immediate heat of the moment in the same way, he had to go out and find bornhald sr and stab him repeatedly and be held back. like i love hopper too (another death that felt really. gratuitous in handling.) but christ's sake. it's sure a Look.

tl;dr the themes??? ? ? the themes ???? ? ? and then i remember the sanderson of it all and i understand lmao.

#idk this is a bunch of rambling

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ssahopelessly · 11 months

Note

gonna need this in a fic now ma'am (respectfully)

https://www.tumblr.com/ssahopelessly/720685489891540993/hey-everyone-not-that-it-matters-but-i-gotta

Link referenced here! And without further ado…

Pushed Back

Synopsis: Reader has a fear of Spencer’s forehead and it finally comes out.

Warnings: the 100-30 rule, couple cuddles, fear for loss of future, anxiety, angst, guilt, talks of physical appearance, reference to S5, reference to Mean Girls (2004), reference to S12 prison arc, talks of aging, crying / let me know any I missed!

Word Count: 2.1k

Masterlist

It was as close to a normal night as we could come by lately. While Spencer had found the new contingency to his work at the bureau restraining at times, I was just happy to know that for at least 30 nights, he would be home, safe and sound with me. And tonight was thankfully one of those nights.

It was still a work night for him though, as the local college had agreed to let him host a series of speaking engagements for the month. A crash course on Criminal Psychology and the Implications of Danger in a Digital World. A series he had given before but one he was still thrilled to speak on. Somehow though, he had found himself absolutely tired by the time he stepped into our home, immediately crawling onto the couch before even taking off his suit jacket for the evening. For as uncomfortable as I thought he would be, the pure bliss and state of relaxation smoothed over his face calmed any of my anxieties and as he laid between my legs, his back to my chest, I couldn’t help but run my fingers through his hair, combing it away from his face so maybe he could fall into sleep without a whisp tickling his skin. “I know what you’re doing.” He soon mumbled out, settling further into my body.

“What is that?” My hands didn’t stop, but his eyes soon opened to look up in an effort to try and find me.

“You’re trying to get me to fall asleep.” A smile spread over my lips at my Tired Genius Boyfriend and the way he seemed to keep up with my antics.

“Is it working?”

“Almost.” I couldn’t help but hear the hum he let out, one of his hands blindly reaching for one of my mine. With the only hand I had left, I let a finger start curling a small strand around itself, thinking how soft his hair felt then. It was one of the moments I wanted to keep forever. To stay there on that couch with him, safe and sound between my legs in a state of rest. One of the moments I would call upon the next 100 nights where he would be gone and cell phone unresponsive at night due to a case. But just as the hair slipped between my fingers, I could almost feel our future slip away. I tried to hide away the anxious train of thoughts that would start, and so far he seemed none the wiser. I let my finger twirl that strand as I tried to slow the thoughts, but I had been locked out from the conductor's box.

I tried not to think of how he hated the 100-30 policy but it was my saving grace. How every time his phone would ring, it felt one more ring closer to the end of it all. How I had once been scared of our future but now knew it was the one thing I was ready to fight for after so many had tried already to take it from us. How I wanted to see us grow old together, surrounded by the lives we built for the other. How at one point, I was scared the oldest I would see him age to was 35 and he would be forever stuck as he was in those terrible mugshots. One of the mugshots having been a thing made of my absolute fears and nightmares. The most epitomal nightmare fuel. “What are you thinking?”

“Hm?” I realised then, as his voice had tore through my anxieties and stopped that train, ripping daylight into that endless forest, that my hands had ceased fiddling, and if he was falling asleep, it was no more due to the sudden stop of my motions.

“That hand stopped while this hand,” he squeezed my one hand he hadn’t let go of, “has been straining my fingers for the last 37 seconds.” His amber eyes tried to look up at me then, albeit still upside down, but still at me. And while normally I would find comfort in them, I was scared to look in them. Scared he might see a brewing guilt in my iris. Somehow, he twisted his body from me and up so that he could sit next to me, all before moving my legs to drape over his lap. It was his turn now to move calming strokes over my skin, or in this case, a ghost of a feather touch to one of my ankles. It would’ve been as cold as his skin if not for the way the simplest touch always sent a current of electricity through the cells that dwelled at the sight. “What is it?” He cut through the dark again, his voice a calming clarity to the storm. But as they tried to rage on, I could only remember one thing. That stupid mugshot.

And then I realised how vain it must’ve sounded. How after all this time he might reconsider everything if I let this one sentence out. I was overthinking again. “You won’t hate me for saying this right?”

“What? You thought about dying my gray hairs again?” I tried not to laugh but gosh dang it if I hadn’t already let slip my silly concerns for the superficial points of our lives. “Tell me.”

“Years ago…” the eyes that only offered me comfort in the most chaotic of moments still held their own. His bottom lip had slipped slightly under his top as he waited for my words. Reaching for the hand not on my ankle, I began playing with our fingers again. “I used to have the biggest fear of your forehead.” The absolute smile that plastered itself to his lips took over his expression, his eyes crinkling in the corner as he somehow found something to be amused by in my statement.

“My forehead?” He asked through a breath, trying to suppress his laughter but it was already infectious, a chuckle slipping from my lips before the anxieties returned. “What’s wrong with my forehead?” He asked incredulously.

“Forget it.” Spencer tried to pull me closer then and try as I might, I was not as strong as him. He had successfully pulled me into his chest so I was not only forced to look up at him amidst my confession, but we were also now in a 180 of the position this had all started with. The back of his middle finger ran up my cheek bone in a soothing motion as his eyes continued to bore into me.

“Tell me? Please?” The hand that didn't let go of mine had pulled it to his lips so he could kiss it whilst whispering, “What’s wrong with my forehead.”

“There’s nothing wrong with your forehead!” I tried to explain without digging into my anxieties.

“Are you just scared of the brain it’s protecting?”

“You can’t be serious-“ I had started to roll my eyes, attempting to push him off of me. I still wasn’t nearly as strong.

“Then tell me!” He squeezed my hand then, trying to reassure me that anything I could say was worth his concern too.

“I was scared of a lot of things.” I had started, trying to ease into it. Moving my eyes away from his, I found a spot on the ceiling to focus on while our fingers fiddled with the other again. “I have this thing with receding hairlines, that dates back to middle school really.”

“Are you saying I have a receding hairline?”

“Hush.” He placed a gentle kiss to my forehead, and I tried once more to say what I wanted. But my eyes got caught on a photo of us from years ago. It was months after I had started at the bureau, and just after he got off the crutches and cane, he had somehow let me convince him to get a haircut. His hair was so short back then. But his style at the time perfectly covered the subject at hand. “You know in Mean Girls, the movie?”

“Sure?” It was a classic and I had tried many times to get him to watch it, but he always had more fun stopping the movie to either point out inaccuracies or discuss how certain elements of torment and bullying in a school environment could actually have devastating effects on the adolescent psyche.

“Well, Regina George at one point is taunting Cady, telling her to tell her boyfriend and Cady’s crush that his hair looks sexy pushed back.” I watched as his jaw opened, waiting for his response to spill out as his mind tried to remember the events.

“Okay?” Was all he seemed able to say.

“Well… for a time… your hair was not sexy pushed back.”

“Wait- for a time?” Body rolling myself over, I took to sitting criss crossed between his legs now, both of us leveled with the other. That way, no look we could offer could be misconstrued or not seen. That way, he could see me as I got to the next part. “What do you mean?”

“Years ago, sometime around prison, I really hated your forehead. Not for a receding hairline, not even for your beautiful brain.” Our hands were still except for his thumb rubbing comforting circles into the surface. “I hated your forehead for the wrinkles that had started to form. For the reminder that our youth was behind us and we were older and-“ the words were spilling out and it was only with the sudden tears that had started to form and pressure to my airway that I had stopped.

“And?” He tried to prompt me with a sense of hope in his eyes. Concern was also there, but I would never stop seeing the hope.

“And for the fear it showed me. Fear that we wouldn’t get to grow older. That-“ The moment a tear broke loose, Spencer didn’t let it travel far, the pad of his thumb immediately wiping it away. “That our lives could’ve ended in that courtroom. That you would grow old behind those prison bars and I wouldn’t be there to marvel or adore those silly little lines that started forming on your forehead. That somehow, the universe that never seemed to let you rest had succeeded in taking you from me.” My words caught in my throat again as sobs had started to rack my body. Spencer was quick to pull me into his chest, this time giving my tears a place to land against the heathered material. A soothing hand moved up and down my back and the sense of it all reminded me once how my parents would try to calm me. They had lost their magic touch before I had grown to know his, but this was something Spencer would always be great at.

My breathing started to match his movements and soon enough the cries had stopped as my face remained nestled against his neck. My hands had slipped under the jacket though, finding their home joined together on the small of his back. I gave his body one squeeze before a hand had slipped under my chin, gently trying to bring it out so my attention may be redirected toward him. With an ever gentle kiss to my forehead, Spencer ran his thumb along my cheekbone again, a slight moisture having gathered in his stare. “The universe could never take me from you. I wouldn’t allow it.” I wanted to argue. To tell him he could not make a deal with universal fate but something told me it would be a fruitless effort. “I’m not in prison anymore.”

“I know.” Was what I said instead, finding the strength once again to look into his eyes. “And I’m not scared of your forehead anymore.” Running my fingers through his hair, I smiled at the sight. “I don’t even hate it.”

“Tell me,” he started before using one of his own hands to push his hair away from his hairline. “Does my hair look sexy pushed back?” It was his best impression of the quote earlier, said with almost the same breathiness and cadence to match. I smiled then as my hands moved to the sides of his head, bringing his forehead closer to me so I could kiss the surface. My lips lingered in an effort to whisper a wordless proclamation of love before his hands found mine again, his head rising so he could look at me one last time.

“Yes. Your hair looks sexy pushed back.” I couldn’t help the laughter that filled my lungs and forced its way out, soon inhaled into his lungs and taking over him. Arms moving to secure around me, he pulled me into a hug before somehow wrestling our bodies to lay with the other on the couch.

I could’ve stayed in that moment forever. With Spencer safe around me, knowing the universe could not come for us on that couch. Not that night.

Thank you for reading!

Originally writter: June 20, 2023

I would leave a link to my asks box but it seems to be broken. 😔

#criminal minds #spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fandom #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x y/n #angst #oneshot #mean girls #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid angst #hurt comfort #fluff

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mysteriouslybluepirate · 7 months

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Can't send asks from my sideblog, but this is @chewing-the-drywall

I feel like much of s2 fell into Frenchie's "we put it in the box and then lock it and don't open it again" in the sense that it set up A LOT that I was intrigued about how they would address it, but it either never was mentioned again or was handled poorly.

Examples range from light, like how I wish we saw more of the crew interacting with each other in ways that built on their characters from S1, where in S2 they didn't feel any more developed, or even regressed. (Example, Fang used the word Fingies 2-3 times through S2, and it felt like they were using it almost as a shorthand for his character, rather than making him feel more real and multidimensional as a character.)

100% @chewing-the-drywall. When I first heard that line I had I was so excited for the story to prove Frenchie wrong. Or show how important it can be to put aside problems to stay alive in the moment. But in the end, this one line summarized how the season handled everyone, besides Stede and Ed. Below, is an in depth discussion on where this season decided to spend it's limited amount of time. Instead of focusing on the characters and plotlines they'd already established.

This season had so MANY ideas it wanted to touch on.

Izzy trying to deal with his unrequited love and opening up to a new way of living. The traumatized 'Revenge' crew trying to adapt to a softer way of life again. The abandoned crew learning how to help their traumatized friends. Introducing new characters like Zheng, Auntie, and Archie into our main group. Setting up a conflict to resolve in season three. Along the way, referencing Pirates of history like Ned Low, Mary Reed, and Anne Bonny.

Notice, I've said all this and we're not even at our romantic leads.

Which is fine. Stories are fluid things. As long as the story knows how to flow from our leads to our side characters. Which leads us to how I feel this show took a lot of time away from establishing our central crew-

[Warning- this will be a controversial opinion- I want to know what y'all think about this] Zheng/Oluwande. This seasons habit of retreading old plotlines and referencing scenes from S1.

What S1 did so well was paralleling the side stories with what was going on with Ed/Stede. Usually, highlighting how well Stede/Ed worked by showing how much Ed/Izzy DIDN'T work. Or general hijinks that tied into the plot (Oluwande and Frenchie on the French ship).

Season 2 chose to parallel our main story with what was going on between Zheng/Oluwande as a budding romance and Izzy's slow recovery. The reason Zheng/Oluwande scenes felt like a waste for me in that the story was JUST a retelling the story we watched from S1.

A frustrated first mate(Auntie), and a legendary captain(Zheng) fighting over the captain falling in love with an idiot(Olu). In season 2, much like every callback for me, it felt like it slowed down the plot by pulling us out of the story. Like...yeah, you did the thing again, do you want me to applaud you for it?

I LIKE Zheng and Oluwande as a couple! I like that Oluwande was debating leaving Stede and taking Jim and Archie with him. But at the same time, I didn't care about Zheng until episode 7 when she beat up Stede, showing that yes. She's not just some all powerful woman taken down by a mix of love(the crew in ep3) and thinking that she was above it all (ep 7). She's fast on her feet, smart, and willing to stab someone who gets in her way. She's her own person. But.

Every other scene that established her was about her romance, felt like we could have put Rhys and Taika in there. It didn't feel...unique. It's as if the show only knows 1 way to write a romance between a badass and a bumbling idiot. Again. Oluwande in season 1 wasn't dumb in the same way everyone else was. He was protective of Jim, a bit nervous overall, but he was the person the crew chose to lead them. The season just dumbed everyone down a bit and called it a day.

This comes to the larger issue. When we only have eight episodes I don't want to rewatch the exact same plot beats with different characters. Time spent here ends up taking away from other stories we could have told about trauma and growing as a family and other forms of growing as a family. We didn't need another romance plot line. Imagine taking this time instead to show Lucius reaching out to Pete AND the crew for help. Or Frenchie finally feeling safe enough to play his lute. Or Roach helping Fang get over his thing with cakes-you get my point.

The fact we took all the found family stuff from season one, and pushed it onto only Izzy in S2 means when he dies, all the found family shit falls away. His death makes us realize we've been ignoring the central family we were supposed to care about. Because in so many words, their trauma was ignored.

[I even theorize if Izzy was alive and sailed away with them. Showing how he was taken in and loved by his crew, the ending wouldn't feel so hollow. This crew doesn't feel like a caring family. The person who protected them for months died, wasn't mourned, and then they threw a wedding the same day. Not even a full day to mourn. The 'New Revenge' feels like a heartless crew of characters we barely recognize because they aren't a family like they were at the end of S1. More like coworkers who sometimes fall in love with eachother.]

Trauma, Timelines, and Tonal issues when jumping from Episodes 1-3 to Episodes 4-5.

When the crews meet up, the story chooses to focus on the fun plot. Ed and Stede recovering their relationship, only dipping back into that serious tone when Izzy or Lucius come on screen to 'make things sad' again. I don't think the transition from 'serious' to 'comedy' was handled well.

I don't have an official timeline of the events of season two. But from what I remember, everything happens within 2 weeks.

In episode 4, Stede ignored the vote of his crew- to let the man who was torturing half his 'FAMILY' for at least 80 days- back aboard. This rubbed me the wrong way, as it showed Stede being a selfish prick in a way that could seriously harm his crew. That's when I started to see how not adding a *single* time-skip mid-season would hurt S2.

Imagine if we had a one-week off-screen time skip between episodes 4 and 5.

Maybe it's implied that they stay in that town for a bit. Izzy would a bit more time to learn to move on his new leg and start to open up to those he already trusts. Include a scene of Izzy WITH the crew, maybe laughing about something with the old traumatized crew, even if it's just a 30-second opener. Imply that the traumatized crew would have more time to settle in with the family they miss. Show that yeah, the traumatized crew needs more time to heal. Imply at the start of the 'Ed apology' that Ed and Stede have had more time to talk their issues out.

THEN have Ed apologize. You can even keep the bullshit corporate to show that Ed still has to work for this.

Healing takes time. Setting a series over the span of two weeks after half your cast was tortured by your lead love interest? After five of your main crew thought they would sail off into a storm and die after months of stress and life threatening battles? Why did that shit get shoved to the side so quickly?

Framing episode 5 as the START of Ed making amends with the crew, only to drop the plot by episode 7? Not a smart move. Because let's be honest, 'poison into positivity' in episode 6, referring to the fact that they sold all of Ed's loot to pay for the party, ignores the sacrifices the crew made to live that long. (The death of Ivan, and intense trauma they all need to work through). In a way, Ed throwing this party was him asking the crew to start putting everything away in that imaginary box.

It's Ed retroactively letting himself say 'hey, that time I spent torturing my captives was worth it because we got something good out of it' while still ignoring his own guilt. Ed needed to take accountability for his actions. No more 'I took 'a' mans leg' bullshit. The reason his arc feels so unsatisfying is that the plot easily forgives him. Fuck. I hate what they did for Ed's arc, but that's not the point.

Overall.

My issue with this season is not that it chose to do these topics, it's that it didn't think about the implications of what they were bringing up. It didn't dare to think 'maybe it's fucked if we quickly brush off a trauma like this'. Again. I know we have to blame MAX for cutting off two episodes. But I don't think 2 additional episodes would fix a tone problem seen going from episodes 3-4.

Fucking hell. Each member of the revenge had the potential for their own arc, so it's baffling to see them all reduced to 'well meaning idiot' when they all felt so fleshed out in S1.

When izzy gives his speech about belonging, there's a reason the only image in the show of the crew all together was from S1.

At the end of the day, Season 2 didn't let our surviving side characters grow. This is a mean spirited bit on how I feel the writers see the their own characters.

Stede and Ed are our leads. They won't die, not in this genera. Their shitty actions will be forgiven because it's a comedy, and as long as it's joked about, it holds no weight. They won't die. They won't get fatally hurt. Their trauma will be taken seriously, but it's a 50/50 on if they'll talk about it before breaking up again. They will eventually get a happy ending, their trauma looked at head on, because duh.

Jim, Olu, Lucius, Pete? Characters who used to have defined personalities in S1, but haven't been defined much beyond their relationships with their partners? Whose trauma might be mentioned, but will quickly be 'resolved' in one scene? Shame. Seems like they're only useful as set dressing, But we might make you useful as interchangeable side characters to riff against. Oh, and you're in love! Isn't that cool!

Izzy? I'll just quote Jenkins here. "To have him become a father figure to Blackbeard, and on some level to the rest of the crew, and to see him become the heart of why we’re giving pirates the chance to stand for being able to live how you choose. In reality, they’re thieves and criminals, but what our pirates stand for is a life of belonging to something larger than they are in the face of a crushing, slightly fascist normalcy." So...Is Izzy a pirate and accepted into the Revenge family? Or is he still an outsider? Jenkins gave us a romcom but still defines Izzy's character as that of one stuck in a drama/tragedy. Point and laugh, because tonally these two things clash HARD and will make an audience lose trust in it's writers unless well established. Leading us to the entire issue we've pointed out of not letting your characters actions hold in dramatic weight in your story.

Frenchie, Wee John, Roach, and Fang- Ah. No love interests again...shit. Well. Background actors it is... for now. We'll see. But we need 2 more scenes of the couple breaking up, so MAYBE you'll get some backstory hinted at in dialogue. You all have 1 thing your good at, so that's easy enough to put you where you belong.

Buttons and Swede? Well. They're still alive!! Don't be sad, fans :) The actors just couldn't show up anymore. We don't want our silly happy queer pirate rom com to not end on a happy ending! (Closes the lid of the trash can where they're keep Con O'Neill a bit tighter, thanking God Con was silenced by a strike this entire season from social media)

Do you agree, or disagree? Leave any lingering thoughts down below!

I'd love to chat down below.

#I am absolutely screwing myself over spelling-wise by adding a poll but fuck it. That's what we do #Overall: Just because you can fit something into your story doesn't mean it needs to be shown on screen.#I wanted to add a section of all the scenes I'd cut/tighten to make my added scenes work but I don't think we're there yet as a fandom #I theorize that the reason they couldn't change the script and had to hack it up was due to them already having 10 episodes fully written #also I SWEAR I LIKE ZHENG- but the part of me that sees her as a hollow Ed 'narrative mirror' finds her a bit boring until episode 7 #I LOVED her ship and how she hated Stede. But that's just because I generally don't enjoy Stede when he's unquestioned #Stede on her ship was a pacified lamb slowly getting fattened for the slaughter. She would have turned on him SO EASILY. She almost did too #I semi-tolerated Ed/Stede's love story of not communicating and puppy love. Seeing it again but sped up didn't make me like it more #ofmd s2 #ofmd season 2 #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd critical #?#yeah I'll tag that just to be safe #izzy hands #edward teach #ofmd s2 finale #ofmd season 2 spoilers #ofmd s2 meta #ofmd s2 analysis #trauma

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finch-velutina · 2 months

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Gear 5 Foreshadowing/Analysis

One of the things that absolutely delighted me about gear 5 was how natural it felt for Luffy. It was Luffy to a T - which is what makes it so incredible! That's the best part of him :)

I learned about Gear 5/Joyboy/Sun God Nika like a month after starting One Piece, and I was just able to see how every element of the show was building up to this.

luffy vs. kaido fight spoilers under readmore

GEAR 5 GEAR 5 GEAR 5!!

Part of the reason it feels so natural is because of how it shows that the Devil Fruit's Awakening builds on Luffy's growth and understanding of his powers, particularly his use of all 4 gears, which are all incorporated and clearly referenced in the Gear 5 fight:

Gear 1- Luffy interacting with lightning!! Because since we have known since Skypiea, rubber is nonconductive, meaning luffy isn't affected by it. Luffy grabbing the lightning strikes and using it to catapult him around? That's gomu gomu no rocket! On top of that, he manages to become the lightning and swoop towards Kaido (in a move that looks a lot like Python). He's able to combine his base rubber powers in a wild and wacky way, and absolutely loves it :)

Gear 2 comes in play in this incredible screenshot from the fight after Luffy restarts the Drums of Liberation. Gear 2 is also about controlling bloodflow and breathing - and by extension, the heartbeat!! Its all there. Thank Gear 2 for luffy's auto-defibrillation skills.

Gomu Gomu no Giant is the logical progression of Gear 4 Boundman, (which builds on gear 2 and gear 3 as well). It's like a version of Luffy without the additions

Gear 3: ... Yeah, this one is pretty obvious.

But the most important aspect of Luffy it brings in from his previous fights is his silliness. From the shocked face Crocodile gives him when he sees Water Luffy to Kaido's eyes popping out as he uses him as a jump rope. Things that seem meaningless, like his Gomu Gomu no UFO move. (I had to include this because I thought about how Joyboy it was from the moment i saw it. He's just joyously having fun in weird ways!! <3)

The magic of Gear 5 is in how everything from before comes together and combines seamlessly, which brings us to section 2:

Foreshadowing of Joyboy

Luffy has always been the sun. Tanjiro has nothing on Luffy for Most Sun Coded Anime Protagonist. Luffy is from the East Blue on Dawn Isle. One could say he rose from the East. The beginning of his story is called romance DAWN. This is from other posts that delve into it more, but luffy has been liberating people from the start- Koby, Zoro, Shells Town. Thats just how he rolls, it's part of his existence- Luffy will see someone oppressed, think "Is anyone going to help them free themselves?" and not wait for an answer. Punching a celestial dragon? That's ridiculous. But Luffy was made to do ridiculous things.

Skypiea, which is where we learn about Joyboy, has Luffy facing off against Enel and winning easily because of his nonconductiveness - the true god destroying the false one.

On Fishman Island, he frees Shirahoshi from her prison and promises to take her to see the sun. Another aspect is the symbol of the sun pirates being changing the celestial dragon's slavemark into a SUN. Luffy also takes away the giant shadow of Noah hanging over them.

Dressrosa? Known for it's SUNflowers.

When Luffy loves and accepts sanji, freeing him, the sun literally dawns on him. One of my fave moments with him. (To go into sanji & his wano arc i would need a whole different 1000 word essay on him. Bbg u are simply so fucked up)

Wano arc amps up the dawn = freedom references by 100. referencing the dawn 24/7, having luffy become a slave

Luffy has always been free because he is himself.

#one piece analysis #monkey d. luffy #one piece

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zahri-melitor · 8 months

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Casspoll!

Okay I really had to think about this one and I quickly dipped into the runs I have not touched yet rather than just using their reputations:

Kelley Puckett – It’s Puckett. He created Cass. Some of her very best stories happened here – the first two Shiva fights, delivering a man’s final wishes, Nobody Dies Tonight, Thicker than Water. The absolute heart that Cass cannot allow people to be killed hits hard here. She’s still learning about what a society is.

Dylan Horrocks takes Cass and her growth and lets her mess up and brings Bruce and Barbara more into conflict over what Cass needs, but also allows Cass to be in conflict with them over what she wants. It has the Ivy twofer “The City is a Garden/The City is a Jungle” which I think is Horrocks’ best plot. It has Tough Love, where Bruce and Cass have their conversation over what the Bat means to Cass. It has Cooking the Books, where we see the abrasive side of Barbara’s personality come out and hurt her relationship with Cass. It has Cass taking her first steps into relationships, with her attraction to Tai’Darshan and Kon. It’s a messier, more complicated time.

Andersen Gabrynch has the best conversation of Fresh Blood with Tim over their life goals and their reflections on War Games. He has Destruction’s Daughter/Blood Matters and everything that comes with the culmination of that storyline. He gives Cass her first taste of civilian life. Gabrynch is the ‘how far will Cass go’ writer.

Adam Beechen: you’re all mean! Oh Beechen. He screwed up first time around, no question, but I continue to maintain he did useful things with Cass in Batgirl 2008. He brought in the chance to parallel Slade and Rose’s relationship with David and Cass’. He worked hard to find fixes for the mistakes he made. And if Fresh Blood set up the situation where we saw Tim and Cass become closer and start establishing a sibling-like relationship, then Beechen solidified it to the point that it was expected from that point onwards.

Joe Kelly: oh, Justice League Elite. You are certainly a story. I think the most important thing Kelly actually did in JLE was when Cass stabbed Kendra. It broke her. There is some beautiful writing in JLE surrounding Cass basically sobbing to Bruce over this incident, and Bruce promising her that she doesn’t have to stay undercover, he’ll pull her out, her happiness is more important to him than this mission, and Cass refusing to be extracted. And Ollie remaining there the whole time to keep an eye on Cass on Bruce’s behalf. It’s such a good paternal moment on both Bruce and Ollie’s parts, and they so very rarely get them in concert. It’s also a moment of growth in Cass that is rarely referenced, because as I must repeat, it happens in JUSTICE LEAGUE ELITE.

Bryan Hill: I have heard good things! And immediately on picking it up and going through the first three issues I saw the exact thing I’d enjoyed and wanted more of from Dixon’s 2008 BatO run – Tatsu working with and mentoring Cass – which is a solid recommendation in itself. Will 100% be coming back to this when I get up to this era in my reading.

Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad: I dipped into #1 and #14. It suffers from the modern era problem of light and bright fluffy content without a solid base behind it. Also the fact that the writers didn’t initially realise that two of the characters they were assigned were ADULTS and were writing them that immaturely is certainly not reassuring. Um. I also know I’m not fully across modern era Cass yet, but #14 seems to miss something that’s basic to my understanding of Cass – talking can be hard but READING is harder. Cass not talking but having reading comprehension showing up constantly? It feels off. (Also I’m fascinated in how an issue like Batgirls #1 manages to be that off while still managing the Cass shower robe scene, which to my eye echoes and references the BatO 2008 Cass shower scene. Suspect they just got lucky and I’m reading too much in)

Mariko Tamaki: okay I have not yet read Shadows of the Bat: The Tower, but I have read Sounds, so I’m basing on that. Tamaki really seems to get Cass, her hand with the character work in Sounds hit some very fundamental parts of Cass’ character and struggles, and I really enjoyed it.

Overlooked: ALYSSA WONG. Wong’s work with Cass in Spirit World not only has been busy recanonising a bunch of things from Batgirl 2000, but is touching on some central aspects of Cass’s view of killing and death in beautiful resonance of things originally established by Puckett. Also it’s given Cass some narrative space back on her own, and while I think Cass’s relationship with Steph is important, I also think she’s more functional and useful to DC writers when she’s not assumed to be part of an automatic pair.

Plus a plug for Scott Snyder for Gates of Gotham and giving us proper insight into the Reborn era Cass relationships with her brothers.

#cassandra cain #writer comparisons

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discluded · 9 months

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I am trying to take P*nd's words with a pinch of salt and you have to leave room for understanding with translations but this whole it's not a Y movie think....is really doing a disservice to not only to his own argument by labeling Y movies/series as limiting/ bad but also seems insensitive towards his own actor's work who worked hard to show a nuanced relationship that had very real emotions for the characters who were as open as the characters felt they could have in that setting. It kinda feels like we are back to square one with everyone fighting about whether this movie will have romance and whether MA will be each other's love interest (which from the way the actors played in seems very much present only for the director to come out and say they are not a couple)

Hi!!!

Okay, your skepticism and criticism is valid, but I think there is a little more context as well. Let's take a look at Mile's speech from yesterday at SF Cinema.

I’m going to make a speech*… that actually, to be straightforward, Thai films have lots of potential, but it’s a shame that the proportion of Thai films that people should come see is only about 10% of all** (the films being shown)… 10 in 100 is very little na krub. I want to increase the proportion to like 50%, 70%, 80% if it’s possible… right? And most importantly, Man Suang is a film that I believe everyone can watch. When everyone can watch it, some might be curious as to… take it this way, the comments from the behind (the scene) to me said that ‘It’s at least worth watching it’ and they feel that ,hey, they profit from the happiness of some moment in the film and that’s all, krub. So I want people to spread (the news) word of mouth. If you want someone to be happy while watching a movie, show lots of love to Man Suang, and most importantly, I thank everyone who came by and I feel like they are the voice (of promoting this film). I’m making a speech very seriously na… many voices that help talk, help present in social media, really thank you, and please show lots of love to Man Suang na krub, thank you krub. [translation] *Mile making a joke about how he's always talking like a politician, and also referencing the current political climate in Thailand **Mile referring to the issue of the major cinemas in Thailand not showing local films but only blockbuster films causing Thai films to not make money and subsequently lose their funding

A little more context: the two major distributors of films in Thailand are SF Cinema and Major Group, along with a smaller group of independent Thai cinemas. Usually one of SF Cinema and Major Group will show Thai films, but not both. In terms of Man Suang promo, the Thai fans themselves said it was rare and good work that the team got both film distributors to show Man Suang while still being a smaller/new company, and that the independent theatres also agreed to show it. I believe that's partly what the Man Suang Roadshow is meant to do, because they know that their own presence will draw fans to theatres.

Remember, one facet of soft power includes making domestic products more appealing to citizens compared to imports, which sounds like a major issue for Thai cinema right now. If Man Suang can revitalize interest in Thai cinema beyond just their film too, I think MileApo will have achieved some of their goal with this project.

But back to your overall comment, one of the challenges of BL/Y series is that it's still stigmatized as a genre.

I'm wondering now if people thought Mile's acting was bad because they primed themselves to think that actors doing BL/QL series were bad at acting :/ And oftentimes, the skills to get into one of these positions isn't very high, which is why some actors will use it as stepping stone in their career in Thailand, and why so many solo fans expected Mile and Apo to part ways as an acting pair after the success of their first project because they feel like MA "relegated" themselves to doing a BL series. There is still a lot of stigma against LGBTQ people in Thailand, even though it's one of the more progressive Asian countries.

So Pond, as the Exec Producer, Director, and owner of BOC is between a rock and a hard place. They both want to reduce stigma of queer storytelling but also promote Thai cinema. Also, calling back again to this:

I don't think most people think of CMBYN as a BL. In fact, it, alongside Carol, are considered one of the best romantic dramas* of all time. (*mostly western/english films) And that's without the qualification of queer romantic drama, etc. etc.

So I'm going to give Pond a little bit of a break here. Also, this user also reminded me Man Suang was supposed to be three hours long? I thought I hallucinated Apo said that, so we gotta wonder what happened to 1/3rd of the film. I hope the director's cut makes it to streaming like the way La Forte did

#pond krisda #man suang #man suang promo #kinnporsche #soft power #thai soft power

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lovesongbracket · 1 year

Text

Reminder: Vote based on the song, not the artist or specific recording! The tracks referenced are the original artist, aside from a few rare cases where a cover is the most widely known.

Lyrics, videos, info, and notable covers under the cut. (Spotify playlist available in pinned post)

Everytime We Touch

Written By: Stuart MacKillop, Peter Risavy & Maggie Reilly

Artist: Cascada

Released: 2005

The hit single by Eurodance group Cascada, “Everytime We Touch” was released in the United States on August 16, 2005, reaching number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remaining on the charts for twenty-five weeks in territories around the world. It was also certified platinum in the US. It was written, composed, and produced by the band's DJs, Manian and Yanou; however, the only writing/composing credits were given to Maggie Reilly, Stuart Mackilliop, and Peter Risavy, as the song borrows its chorus from Maggie Reilly’s 1992 single of the same name.

[Verse 1] I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me I still feel your touch in my dream (In my dream) Forgive me, my weakness, but I don't know why Without you, it's hard to survive [Chorus] 'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling And every time we kiss, I swear I could fly Can't you feel my heart beat fast? I want this to last Need you by my side 'Cause every time we touch, I feel the static And every time we kiss, I reach for the sky Can't you hear my heart beat so? I can't let you go Want you in my life [Instrumental Post-Chorus] [Verse 2] Your arms are my castle, your heart is my sky They wipe away tears that I cry (That I cry) The good and the bad times, we've been through them all You make me rise when I fall [Chorus] 'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling And every time we kiss, I swear I could fly Can't you feel my heart beat fast? I want this to last Need you by my side 'Cause every time we touch, I feel the static And every time we kiss, I reach for the sky Can't you hear my heart beat so? I can't let you go Want you in my life [Instrumental Post-Chorus] [Outro] 'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling And every time we kiss, I swear I could fly Can't you feel my heart beat fast? I want this to last Need you by my side

youtube

Iris

Written By: John Rzeznik

Artist: The Goo Goo Dolls

Released: 1998

“Iris” was written for the 1998 film City of Angels starring Nicolas Cage. John Rzeznik explained: “When I wrote it, I was thinking about the situation of the Nicolas Cage character in the movie. This guy is completely willing to give up his own immortality, just to be able to feel something very human. And I think, ‘Wow! What an amazing thing it must be like to love someone so much that you give up everything to be with them.’ That’s a pretty heavy thought.” “Iris” eventually became one of the Goo Goo Dolls' biggest and most recognizable hits, eclipsing the movie it was written for.

[Verse 1] And I'd give up forever to touch you 'Cause I know that you feel me somehow You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be And I don't wanna go home right now [Verse 2] And all I can taste is this moment And all I can breathe is your life And sooner or later, it's over I just don't wanna miss you tonight [Chorus] And I don't want the world to see me 'Cause I don't think that they'd understand When everything's made to be broken I just want you to know who I am [Instrumental] [Verse 3] And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming Or the moment of truth in your lies When everything feels like the movies Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive [Chorus] And I don't want the world to see me 'Cause I don't think that they'd understand When everything's made to be broken I just want you to know who I am [Instrumental Break] [Chorus] And I don't want the world to see me 'Cause I don't think that they'd understand When everything's made to be broken I just want you to know who I am [Chorus] And I don't want the world to see me 'Cause I don't think that they'd understand When everything's made to be broken I just want you to know who I am [Outro] I just want you to know who I am I just want you to know who I am I just want you to know who I am

youtube

#polls #poll tournament #poll bracket #tournament #bracket #lovesongbracket #round4 #everytime we touch #cascada #iris #the goo goo dolls

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blazehedgehog · 9 months

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Apart from animated shorts, IDW comics and Sonic Frontiers, I don't know Ian Flynn. However, I always hear great things about him. What makes Ian Flynn so special to the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise? If you had to rate his work on Sonic out of /100, how would you rate him?

I mean, in my mind, he's one of the few Sonic writers who just... understands how to write. He's great at natural sounding dialog, he understands how to imbue characterization, he knows how to setup and pay off story arcs...

To some degree these are very basic things but when it comes to people who write Sonic the Hedgehog media it can be a surprisingly scarce thing to come by at times.

Like the thing I always come back to is when he started having to do reboots for Archie Sonic. Starting in issue #225, Dr. Eggman, after being away for a long time, suddenly turns up again. (spoilers for what would lead into Archie Sonic's "finale" follow)

But he doesn't just suddenly reappear, he launches a new Death Egg, too. Now, in 2023, you're like, "so what?" because Sonic's proclivity for nostalgiabait has seen some version of the Death Egg relaunch like, six times now. But this story predates Sonic Generations. Bringing the Death Egg back here, now, is a big deal.

The story arc that follows is basically a rewriting of the comicbook's canon. The Death Egg mk.2's big new trick this time is effectively shifting the timeline. Sort of a combination of time travel and multi-dimensional travel. The freedom fighters assault the Death Egg, but Eggman isn't playing around this time. He holds all the cards and there's no time to formulate a plan; all they can really do is storm in there and hope for the best. Sonic and Princess Sally make it to the core of the Death Egg, but before they can do anything, Sonic gets distracted just long enough for a security turret to put several shots into Sally.

Before Sonic can assess whether or not she's even still alive, Eggman activates the Death Egg.

He's won.

The next four or five issues show Sonic meeting the cast of the comics for the first time, but now everyone has been mysteriously transplanted into the universe of the Genesis games. Nobody really knows how they got there, and there's this unshakable feeling they can't really articulate. Sonic is right at home in Green Hill Zone, but everyone else... They're supposed to be here, but they aren't supposed to be here at the same time.

Bits and pieces of their original dimension slowly start to leak back into their memories. Things that used to have happened, but now apparently no longer do. There's a strange melancholy to see characters remember a particularly dramatic moment from this book's long history, even if it's only for one or two panels.

Sonic's dimension has been stretched and twisted, and like rubber, it's trying snap back into place -- but Eggman is trying to take advantage of the confusion to activate the Death Egg mk.2's other new ability: to roboticize the entire planet in a single shot. It's his hope that in doing so, he can solidify this as the new reality and prevent it from going back to normal. The only thing stopping him is, of course, Sonic, who suddenly gets a flash of his own memories and begins putting together what's going on.

Sonic makes it up on to the Death Egg alone and faces off with Eggman in a recreation of the final fight in Sonic 2. In the case of this Archie Sonic story arc, it features a moment that would go on to be referenced in the Sonic movie. (Spoilers)

Something about Super Sonic's presence is causing the old reality to reassert itself faster than ever before, not helped by the fact Sonic himself uses his rapidly returning memories to activate Chaos Control. As reality corrects itself, we're unsure of what world our characters may be returning to or who will survive. Her memories returning to her, Sally shares some comfort in that, no matter what happens, Sonic will make things right.

Everybody re-emerges in the original timeline, and it's clear that things have changed ever so slightly. Sonic and Sally are still storming the interior of the Death Egg, but little things are different. And time appears to have been rewound a few seconds; Sally hasn't been shot yet. Sonic manages to rush in and save her before the turret can get to her. Sally is confused how Sonic could have known about the turret, but he just warns her to be more careful.

The thing is, Sally seems to have some distant, far off memory of being shot. But she shakes it as they work their way deeper in to the core.

There, they meet Eggman. He may not have been able to roboticize his shifted reality, but his planet roboticizer is still primed and ready to fire on the current reality. Sonic and Sally do their best to explain that roboticizing the entire planet all at once may give Eggman a victory by technicality, but it will be an impossible nightmare for him to deal with all the side effects and repercussions. Eggman doesn't care. This is how he wins. All he has to do is give the order.

Sonic obviously won't let that happen, but Eggman has both Metal Sonic and Silver Sonic at his side. One by itself is enough to give Sonic trouble, but both at once might actually kill him. Sonic is too busy fighting for survival to even get close to Eggman.

Eggman turns to gloat at Princess Sally, but she's gone. Crawled into a nearby duct, where she's trying to use her personal computer, Nicole, to find something -- anything -- to shut down the Planet Roboticizer.

Anything Nicole can do here would take days to process. They have seconds. There is but one option: invert the roboticizer. Part of Sonic and Sally's attempt to reason with Eggman was realizing that if the roboticizer tries to convert something that's already mechanical, that thing explodes. Ergo, inverting the roboticizer into the Death Egg will cause it to explode, along with whoever inside of it.

Out of time, out of options, Sally forces Nicole to back up her files somewhere safe and inverts the beam.

The Planet Roboticizer overloads, destroying itself before it can destroy the Death Egg. But the room that Sonic, Eggman, and Sally are in gets caught in the blast.

And though Sonic himself appears to be fine...

Sally is not.

Princess Sally was always "the tactician" of the Freedom Fighters. Her ability to weigh risk and strategize a plan of attack was deeply important to their success rate. Now that mind works for Eggman -- and he quickly sets about upgrading her tech to make her faster and more deadly, turning her into one of the most dangerous threats the book had ever seen. She is cold, calculating, and ruthless beyond anything else. Not only that, but the book has also established that customizing a roboticized person makes it impossible to turn them back -- by modifying Metal Sally, Eggman is ensuring she remains his forever.

The Freedom Fighters, now without their leader, are scattered and confused. Every part of this is a worst case scenario.

It's a wonderful disaster and a hell of a story. Metal Sally stuck around for over a year, but before Ian could finish what he wanted to do with her, the legal battle with Ken Penders got more aggressive, necessitating yet another reboot that ultimately returned the Princess to normal.

If it wasn't for the fact that they did this second reboot inside of the Mega Man crossover comic, it'd probably hurt a lot worse, but that first Mega Man crossover is legit one of the best things Archie Sonic ever did. Using that as a springboard to say "Sally's fine! Orbot and Cubot are here now! Don't worry about it!" is actually totally okay.

All throughout this, the thing to keep in mind is pacing. These stories are action packed, they move quickly, they playing on long standing feelings the reader has developed for these characters over hundreds of issues, and they never feel like they're pulling their punches. Rarely are they confusing or tedious or feel like they're dragging. There's always stakes. Things are always happening for a good reason.

Ian Flynn knows how to write and spin a good yarn, and he's good at understanding the dynamics of these characters and how they all fit together. The fact that his work on Sonic got him jobs all over the comics industry should tell you that much.

He's not perfect, though, and I do wonder if this recent stint on IDW is showing that something in the writing process is getting stretched a little thin. I know IDW has been broadening their writing pool as Ian becomes more busy with things like Sonic Frontiers and other projects, but it's clear something unexpected is causing a dip in quality as of late. I wish only the best for everyone involved and whatever is happening over there.

#questions #Anonymous #ian flynn #sonic comics #sonic the hedgehog #sega #sonic team #idw sonic #archie sonic #LONG #LOTS OF IMAGES

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animehouse-moe · 1 year

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Chainsaw Man Chapter 120: Triangle

⚠️Warning: Manga Spoilers⚠️

Getting a Nayuta chapter was 100% worth it. So much going on! I think the biggest thing personally, is how much of Nayuta is a mix of stuff that we associate with Makima and Denji. I mean, she does the whole finger gun thing, then follows it up with the peace sign, some pretty well defined aspects of Makima and Denji's characters.

The best part though is her making reference to Denji's luck with ladies, was not at all expecting it so got a good laugh out of me.

Nayuta as a character really is incredibly fun already. I love her approach, perfect amounts of aloof and oblivious. I wouldn't say the aloof is Makima, but rather a characteristic of the Control Devil, and the latter half of Nayuta is her being raised by Denji. With that you get all sorts of fun and interesting pieces out of her like this page of her laughing at Yoru being a dog, and then turning around and being incredibly controlling/possessive of Denji.

Overall it really gives a better look into what a Devil can end up as. We don't have many "human" Devils so it can be hard to really extrapolate what makes them tick, but Nayuta provides a great example. Devils are a combination of Nature and Nurture. Nayuta (and by extension Makima) have intrinsic traits that rest at the core of their existence that will appear regardless of when and where they are. The finger gun, the possessive nature, the dogs (though sorta not really), even potentially stuff as simple as hairstyle; there are pieces of the Control Devil that exist separate of Nayuta and Makima. And on the other end we have the aspects that they learned through their lives. Look at Nayuta and how she eats or speaks, or even her laugh. Denji is apparent in all of them, providing opposition to the nature of the Control Devil. It's really cool, and it very casually proves that Makima and Nayuta are not at all the same people, but are the same Control Devil.

Anyways, Asa's long winded monologues really are quite fun, especially with how she always dives into a tsundere act to avoid self-deprecation. That, and Yoru's little "Uh-huh" at the end coupled with her sort of distant and awkwardly avoidant stare makes it even better.

The biggest thing to come of this chapter though is absolutely Yoshida meeting up with Asa.

If he finds her this late at school, with nobody else around, was he actually tailing Asa when she went to Denji's? How much does he really know? He saw Fami at the aquarium, but how much does he know of Asa/Yoru? What's he planning on with meeting up with her? And are we gonna get to see Denji jealous when he inevitably see Asa with Yoshida?

And when the hell are we gonna find out who the imposter Chainsaw Man is!?

Regardless, it was a really fun chapter that continued the sort of tangent we've been on lately, making for a far slower story. This second part really has been a whole bunch of fun so far, constantly referencing part 1 while also keeping its distance. It hasn't really gotten into any "big" moments yet, but Fujimoto has what seems to be a winning formula without having to jump from fight to fight. Definitely looking forward to next week's chapter!

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ladyluscinia · 6 months

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and okay okay okay i know you said you're done, i KNOW. but i've been discussing this with my friend and your post about how to rethink the kraken era and i think you could probably still do the leg with that if you made it, weirdly, more historically accurate? like. as far as we're aware, the real life israel hands was shot by accident when blackbeard meant to shoot someone else. that's why when he asked "why the fuck did you just do that" he got the nonanswer of "if i didn't they'd forget who i am"--because teach didn't actually have a reason to shoot hands, it was a mistake. you could absolutely keep izzy losing the leg as ed's darkest moment in a friendly fire situation--up until then he's targeting other people and is mostly mopey and neglectful and just not really a fun boss to the crew without being outright abusive, and then izzy gets shot by accident while ed is wildly ignoring gun safety and waving a pistol around on deck or something and ed. or izzy says "we shouldn't attack this ship, that's a terrible idea" and loses the leg during the attack, thus making it more indirectly ed's fault while still kind of being enough of ed's fault to make the plot go forward. either of those would be much more compatible with a "sorryboutyourleg" apology if you kept that or with izzy just brushing it off and moving on because he's knd of fucked up like that, because he could very easily compartmentalize that as not ed's fault. you could even get some interesting plot out of "izzy insisting it's not ed's fault and ed wanting to take that and just leave it be and also not being totally willing to do that because he does still recognize that it is in fact his fault"

(Post being referenced)

Yeah, an accident was one of the scenarios I was thinking could work if you really wanted to keep Izzy losing his leg in the story without having to deal with the fallout of it as something that Edward chose to do. Which has positives and negatives. It is easier and in-character for them to brush it into the past, as you point out, which might reduce the impact of it in the Edward-Izzy relationship. But the Crew-Izzy relationship using his leg as a point for them to all gather around and support was pretty well liked as an arc. Good addition of disabled rep, or bad look majorly disabling the S1 antagonist with "karmic" bad luck in what's still a romcom to everyone else? Things to consider.

Alternatively, Izzy lost his toe in S1 because that was Edward's response to getting pulled out of his hardcore denial/depression phase of Stede-grief. It sorta seemed like shooting Izzy's leg in S2 was an echo of that - what with it being prompted by Izzy confessing his love AND bringing up Stede again - but with everything else going on it didn't really hit like a true snap so much as an inevitability where Edward was waiting for an excuse. I do wonder if, in reframing Kraken Era a step to the left (no crew abuse / active pursuit of dying by mutiny) but still fundamentally as another form of avoidance via 100% focus on externalizing his pain without addressing it, that action as part of an actual "pressure has been building and finally snapped" point could still work?

It would probably need to be a real fight between them - something built up to where Izzy decides they need to yank down the curtains and address that thing they aren't talking about and damn the consequences, because the situation has become untenable for some reason. Maybe it is Edward spiraling into suicidality for real? Idk. I haven't actually figured it out, but I do think you could potentially go that way and have Izzy lose his leg due to a completely in-the-moment action that spurs whatever rock bottom moment Edward goes through in a way that doesn't feel like a premeditated strike or part of a pattern of abuse that we need to worry about repeating in less fraught circumstances. It would probably depend on how exactly Edward's mindset was framed, and there would be pitfalls to watch out for re: POC and abuse (and just sympathetic romance protagonists and abuse). Like my first instinct would be that Edward should probably pull the trigger for a reason that makes sense with something he's trying to do (even if that goal is clearly a mental health spiral like killing himself), not just to hurt Izzy. Again, things to consider both at a character level - how is this reflecting on Edward's characterization / arc? - and on a broader story level - what will this take to resolve and will it be worth the genre shift required?

I really just can't say for sure, other than, like, general writing advice, don't include limb loss as a character beat unless you have worked through the big implications of that with all characters involved? 🤷‍♀️ Which I do not think the S2 that we were given did.

And I guess dealer's choice for fix-it fics?

#our flag means death #ofmd s2 #ofmd critical #blackbeard ofmd #izzy hands ofmd #tw suicide #kraken era #ask #changelingirl #ladyluscinia

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bloomstruck · 1 year

Text

How I Would Fare in Fighting Against the Cast of IAPTBAP

the title folks. i'm over-confident and i'm sure my fiance is gonna see this like "you can't fight at all" but i once downed a man in a parking lot and i will keep up that energy did this in order of appearance (mostly)

MC — Now why tf would I wanna fight the baddest bitch there is? Before Beau's tale, I might be able to win. Afterwards, she'd probably win. But it's okay, I'm not gonna fight her anyways. WINNER: No one

Aurelio — I would win 100%. I don't have really any reasoning, just that I'm confident. The issue here is, again, I wouldn't want to fight him. Too precious. WINNER: Me

Winter White — He tried to pick MC up and couldn't handle her weight lmao he's kinda weak. I also have weak arms but I have really strong leg muscles and flexibility to kick him in the face. He's my fave but irl I would want to fight him. So creepy. WINNER: Me

Eli — I think he's too nice to beat me up without a really good reason. With that said, if I picked a fight with him, I wouldn't win. He's really nice though so I don't want to pick a fight with him. He's had it rough, why would I add onto that 😭 WINNER: Eli?

Arien — This... Is hard. Technically, Arien bests me in physical strength. He would totally end me if he wasn't a lil' bitchbaby. He's also masochistic so I'm afraid he'd let me get a couple hits in and then I wouldn't want to fight and I'd run away crying. With that said, I really don't like Arien... But is it worth it? Is it worth it? WINNER: . . . Arien???? Maybe???????

Beau — OKAY, he might be able to outsmart me. Not to toot my own horn, I'm pretty smart myself, but if Beau is Sherlock Holmes, I am John Watson (I mean, in intelligence wise, not referencing their relationship at all). He's a genius. With that said, he's also a twink and a bookworm and I have leg muscles for days from soccer and dancing. A couple of well-placed kicks and he's not standing back up. WINNER: Most likely me.

Jasmir — Now why tf am I gonna put a target on my back like that 🤨 The people around Jasmir are batshit nuts. WINNER: Jasmir (by default)

Espen — Depends. If Espen is allowed his ice powers, how tf am I supposed to compete with that? If it's just fists tho and he gets no powers, I'm pretty confident I could win this fight. When's the last time this man went outside to touch grass? Exactly. WINNER: Circumstantial

Anton — Anton might win if only because I'd chicken out and wouldn't be able to fight him. Not out of fear, but he's just... gestures vaguely. He's sweet. WINNER: Anton (by default)

Tyrian — Nah I ain't winning this one y'all. First off, Tyrian is so nice, he works hard, and is a great cook... Why am I gonna challenge him to a fight? If we did fight, for whatever reason though, he would win. And I would let him. He could punch me and I'd thank him. (Please don't though because I'll also cry). WINNER: Tyrian

Charlie — I think I could take him on. IDK why though but punching him feels kind of homophobic, plus I'd have to deal with Tyrian and Charlie's father so... Nah, no thanks WINNER: Me? Maybe?

Rampion — I'm... Not sure. I'm going to say Rampion is gonna win this one, especially if he has a frying pan. WINNER: Probably Rampion

Sen — HAHAHAHAHA. The moment Sen shows even a teensy bit of hostility towards me, I'm fucking BOLTING. This man could snap me in half like a fucking glow stick. Like he's breaking some pasta noodles to fit into a pot. I'm taking this L, there's no way I could fuckin win THAT fight. Fuck that. WINNER: SEN

Alistair — I'm fairly confident I could win against Alistair but it'd be a really dirty fight. He strikes me as the type to scratch and pull hair and do petty shit. But it's okay! I do too, and the difference is is that half the time I do my nails stiletto style so you better watch out babygirl. The only way Alistair would win is if he makes me cry before we fight. Which is definitely possible. WINNER: Physically, me. Verbally, Alistair.

Rojo — why would I fight such a bean 😭 (also, rojo could wreck my shit) WINNER: Rojo

Miriam — Now this feels REALLY homophobic, how tf am I gonna fight her. Why would I do that? Why would I try to fight her? I wanna be besties with her. If we fought, I would let her win hands down. WINNER: Miriam

#iaptbap #noor #my toxic trait is thinking i could beat some of these characters when in reality i cry over ray every time i watch princess and the frog #i am not a bad bitch i am a cry baby

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distort-opia · 2 years

Note

do you have any comic recommendations of joker's humanity being explored? Or just comics where he is handled as a complex, multidimensional human being?

Oh boy do I! [rolls out 100-slides Power Point]

I must make the note that these are specifically comics in which Joker is portrayed as either becoming sane (however briefly shown), exploring Joker’s psyche in a more detailed way (with his many recollections and reinventions of his own past -- but which are all very telling in themselves), or with him empathizing or displaying emotional reactions/decisions that one would not expect of him. These are not a primer on the whole of Joker’s character; there are many Joker classics I did not include, because a lot of great Joker comics are rather about Joker’s choice to be a monster, and persevering in that choice. I also did not include every single Joker origin story/recollection that I know of, because not all of them show off Joker’s vulnerabilities. In essence, I tried to keep this centred around comics that offer glimpses of his long-buried humanity. To my best attempt, these are also in chronological order of publishing.

*Heath Ledger voice* Here... we... go.

+ Batman: The Killing Joke (1988)

Joker initiates a psychological battle with Batman, in which he tries to use Jim Gordon as an example of everyone being capable of succumbing to madness after ‘one bad day’. It doesn’t work, and he proves himself wrong -- but it’s the first and only time he’s genuinely shown to consider rehabilitation. Had to include this one, it’s THE Joker story and what kickstarted references to Joker’s prior family and his humanity in later 90′s/00′s comics.

+ Batman (1937) #450-451

Joker deals with the emotional aftermath of being left to die, and of killing Jason in Death in the Family.

+ Batman: Going Sane (1997)

The Joker seemingly kills Batman. Faced with the loss of his nemesis, Joker gives up crime and becomes Joe Kerr, an average man who only wants to dote on his girlfriend and live his quiet life. But of course Batman isn’t actually dead.

+ Deathstroke (1991) #58

Joker pretty much empathizes with and tries to help (in his own way) an abused little girl who's been writing letters to him. All while Deathstroke is trying to stop him from destroying a whole city.

+ The Spectre (1992) #51

The Spectre tries to pass judgment onto Joker, but Batman fights to save him and argues on his behalf. Briefly, Joker becomes sane, and immediately begs for death as he regrets his actions (which becomes a bit of a recurring theme).

+ Batman: Shadow of the Bat #37-38 (1995)

Joker kidnaps a bunch of people from Gotham University and hatches a plan to kill them, because he recalls his days as a comedian -- and he blames them for not laughing at his jokes. This is clearly referencing The Killing Joke (TKJ).

+ The Joker: Devil’s Advocate (1996)

The Joker has been captured and sentenced to death for mass murder, but he was wrongfully convicted, since he was actually framed. Batman cannot let him die when he discovers the truth; but Joker refuses to try and help in stopping his impending demise, too drunk on getting Gotham’s attention.

+ JLA (1997) #15

Conclusion of the Rock of Ages arc. Martian Manhunter manages to briefly turn Joker ‘sane’, to get him to hand over the Philosopher’s Stone. But he cannot hold the madness down for long. However, in that brief moment of sanity, Joker expresses regret once again.

+ JLA (1997) #35

The Spectre is considering destroying Earth because there’s so much evil inside the heart of humanity, including the very hearts of the Justice League. But then Martian Manhunter takes him inside Joker's head, and things get interesting. (I have an older meta on this issue here. TKJ is once again referenced.)

+ Batman: It’s Joker Time (2000)

Through a mix of comic book shenanigans (and some very unsubtle ‘TV rots your brain!’ messaging that was typical for the times), Joker ends up as the star of a TV show, where his mind gets probed by psychologists for the masses’ entertainment. This results in some very interesting stories and embellishments of his past, with the final version being another TKJ callback.

+ Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #145 (2001)

Joker gets captured and killed by Ra’s Al Ghul as part of a plot to destroy the world. Batman revives him in a Lazarus Pit because Joker has crucial information for saving the world. After waking up, instead of going psychotic, Joker briefly regains his sanity and begins to regret his actions, begging for death.

+ Robin (1993) #85

Between delivering ever-more exaggerated lies about his childhood to the therapists at Slabside Penitentiary, the Joker discusses his history with the Robins.

- Batman: Gotham Knights #52, #54 (2001)

Part of the Pushback arc. Riddler knows the name of the cop who shot Joker’s wife, and reveals it to him. This comic wildly contradicts other canon titles with the exception of Batman: The Three Jokers, so I do not consider it canon. The Joker in this story, while showing vulnerability, is one who perfectly remembers his TKJ origin, and that ruins the unreliable narrator multiple-choice-past integral component of the character. Gotta say, not a big fan of Dan DiDio’s choices.

+ JLA (1997) #84

First part of the Trial of Fire arc. Burning Martians force the minds of prisoners in multiple places into sanity, including Arkham Asylum. Joker expresses regret and the desire to die for his actions.

- Batman Confidential: Lovers and Madmen (2007)

Alternative origin of the Joker. Taking place within Batman’s first year, a psychopathic hitman by the name of Jack comes to Gotham, and becomes obsessed with Batman because in a world where nothing matters, Batman makes him feel something. He becomes the Joker when Batman slashes his mouth open into a permanent smile with a batarang, and he also takes a bath in chemicals. Since it contradicts Joker having been Red Hood prior to his clown days, it cannot be canon, but it’s a good story.

+ Superman: Emperor Joker (2007)

When Joker is accidentally given unlimited reality-shaping powers by Mr. Mxyzptlk, he reshapes the universe in his image. He keeps torturing Batman for fun until he breaks his mind. But Superman figures out the flaw in Joker's psyche that would fix everything, and uses it to save everyone -- except Bruce, who needs his memories taken away just so he can function. (I think this is where the pattern of Joker mentioning he needs to be stopped begins.)

+ Batman: Secrets (2007)

One of Joker and Batman’s fights gets caught on camera, and it appears as if Batman is pummeling his archenemy without mercy. The Joker uses this to frame Batman in the court of public opinion while the media hovers like vultures. Much like Devil’s Advocate, this story is an interesting exploration of Joker’s overwhelming need for an audience, and what he’s willing to do for Gotham’s attention and approval. This comic references TKJ too, and in one of my favorite ways.

+ Batman: R.I.P (2008)

While Batman is believed to be dead, Joker assumes a new identity with the goal of exposing and defeating the organization that orchestrated Batman’s ‘death’, and its leader. (Second time he thinks Batman is dead, and his response is again to become someone else -- though the first time it’s to run away. The second time it’s to exact revenge, and in a roundabout way, he helps Batman and Gotham here.)

+ The Brave and the Bold #31 (2010)

The Atom goes into the Joker's mind to cure him of a rare disease. While there, he sees Joker's memories, specifically him burning his parents after they catch him killing animals and him killing his accomplice after robbing a store. (This doesn’t sound like vulnerability, but I’m pretty sure this memory is a fabrication and a defensive mechanism. I’ve mentioned my interpretation of it in an older meta here, which talks about a couple of the titles here as part of an attempt to piece together a potential version of Joker’s past.)

+ Batman: Streets of Gotham: The House of Hush (2011)

Part of the bigger Streets of Gotham story, but this one details the story of a little boy called ‘Sonny’, and the abuse he suffers at the hands of mobsters. Later, the boy is clearly revealed to have been Joker, who enacts his revenge.

+ Batman #23.1 (2013)

In the middle of a job, Joker recalls how he once lived with his abusive Aunt Eunice. He also bonds with a gorilla. (This is where a specific meme of Joker going :/ is from, hah.)

+ Batman (2011) #17

Conclusion of the Death of the Family arc. When Batman bluffs about knowing Joker’s past and identity, he becomes so terrified he pretty much jumps off a cliff.

+ Batman (2011) #40

Conclusion of the Endgame arc. When Batman stops him from healing himself while they’re both dying, Joker begs for him to let go and has a breakdown before the caves crumble on top of them.

+ Batman (2011) #48

Both Batman and Joker are amnesiacs after coming back to life, not remembering their past identities, and yet still meeting each other. While clearly suicidal and not remembering his past as Joker at all, he encourages Bruce to not become Batman again.

+ Dark Days: The Casting (2017)

Part of DC’s wider Dark Nights: Metal event. Joker was captured by Batman and kept in the Cave for his knowledge, and he uselessly tries to stop Batman from unleashing Barbatos and the Dark Multiverse on all their heads. Bruce, however, is very stubborn.

+ Dark Nights: Metal #6 (2018)

Joker teams up with Batman to defeat The Batman Who Laughs.

+ Batman (2016) #49

Joker attempts to kill Selina Kyle, due to Batman and Catwoman’s impending wedding. In doing so, he talks about his need for Batman to keep existing, since no one else would be able to stop him.

- Batman: White Knight (2017)

Set in a world where the Joker is cured of his insanity and homicidal tendencies, Joker, now known as “Jack,” sets about trying to right his wrongs. Black Label, not canon. Mentioning it because technically Joker is made sane in it, and shown to be vulnerable emotionally multiple times, but I hate it. When he’s Joker he’s insane and obsessively in love with Batman, but when he’s sane and Jack he’s an upstanding citizen and in love with Harley. Congrats on downright saying being gay makes you crazy and that only the love of woman can heal you, DC. You’d think they’d stop it with the Predatory Gay trope in our day and age, but nah.

+ The Batman Who Laughs (2019) (#1, #4, #7)

After Joker intentionally infects Batman with the toxin in his heart that would turn him into Batman Who Laughs (all to give him an advantage in the fight against the villain), he expresses a desire for neither himself or Batman to ever win, and swears to kill Batman if he crossed the line. A promise which he keeps by actually shooting him, the mad lad.

+ The Joker 80th Anniversary: Birthday Bugs (2020)

Joker empathizes with a psychopathic child, who wants his peers to join his birthday party. It’s a dark kind of empathy, but still a form of caring.

+ The Joker 80th Anniversary: The Last Smile (2020)

Harley recalls a frequent nightmare that had Joker terrified: dying on the electric chair while Batman laughed at him.

- Harleen (2020)

A reimagining of Harley Quinn’s origin: a young promising psychologist encounters a very smart and manipulative serial killer, spinning story after story of his own past. A Black Label comic, so technically not in continuity, but I did like it.

+ Batman: Gotham Nights #9 (2020) -- Joker’s Wild

Joker recalls another version of his comedian days, while he holds the owner of comedy clubs in Gotham at gunpoint.

- Batman: Three Jokers (2020)

Very debatable if I should even list it, but Joker’s family is revealed to be alive in this comic, with the implication that they need to be kept safe from him. Black Label. Not in continuity and I will die on this hill no matter what Justice League #50 and the stupid Mobius Chair say.

Eyyy, hope you found this really long list helpful! Thank you for the ask <3

#me including comics I hated through gritted teeth: TECHNICALLY it belongs on the list but it sucks #does that time Joker adopts Ace count. I mean he pretty much traumatizes the poor dog so maybe not #if I got something wrong I do apologize!#and if anyone has other examples I am very interested #asks #batman #joker #joker comics #joker meta #my comic recs #my meta

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stuffgoeswrong · 1 year

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Yes i 100% agree with you on what you said about soukoku but now i MUST ask you to talk about odazai as well if you're up for it because i love them too. They are so important to me

Yes, absolutely! Sorry I didn't get to this sooner, it was past midnight last night and I've had classes all day. Odazai has become my OTP to end all OTPs, like it is unfathomable how much I love them. I could literally talk about them all day, so I'm sorry this got so long. I'm so happy you're a chill member of the fandom and love them too! By the way, I wanted to say I totally agree with your opinions on Kousano and respect your Chuuaku ones too! Kousano very much feels like a "these two are cool, put them together" kind of ship without a lot of concern for their development and similarities. While I do love Kouyou as a character, I don't have fond feelings for her when she's presented just by herself (as opposed to her other canon relationships like with Kyouka), and liking both parties of a ship is pretty much a requirement for me. Luckily, this happened with Odazai!

In general I do view this ship through a Dazai heavy lens because I relate to him hardcore and it's hard for me to understand/get attached to stoic characters like Oda. This is weird because I'm probably more like him irl than Dazai lol. I always feel like I'm not looking as deeply into Oda's character as I could be, and I try to be conscious of not lessening his role in comparison to Dazai's, but keep that in mind and judge me if you want as you read this lol.

What made you ship it?

The fact that Dazai showed the most emotion I've ever seen on his face and in his voice (amazing job by Miyano Mamoru) around Oda and the later realization that Dazai was Oda's first and one of his only friends. Not to say other characters *coughcoughchuuyacough* haven't made a significant impact on Dazai. I try not to compare these two ships a lot cause they are both meaningful in their own ways to the story and the characters. But anyway, I cried like a little bitch before Oda's big fight/death scene even happened, when Dazai just is begging him not to go throw away his life and trying to relate to him on a deeply personal level to get him to stay. That really showed to me how much he cared for Oda and how different that relationship was to him whether he knew it or not. Someone also edited the Dead Apple scene beautifully to be more shippy and I can never forget it. Also, Scarlet Sky playing every time Oda is talked about or Dark Era is referenced in the main storyline got me sobbing. I guess what truly made me ship Odazai is just the abundance of a suggested romantic connection (very obvious on Dazai's part). Dark Era (confronting Mori about this massive betrayal and leaving the mafia feels like "you have destroyed everything that was ever important to me, bye"), how Oda thinks of Dazai, not Ango or the orphans, when he believes he's dying after getting poisoned, Dazai literally ruining peoples' lives that he holds dear in the present just so Oda can live and be happy even without him in Beast, Dear Prince (a love song) playing when Dazai recalls that moment in Dead Apple and in the flashback later on, "Was it someone you loved?" and dodging the question LIKE HOW OBVIOUS can you get!!

2. As I fell further into the rabbit hole. . .

So I joined an Odazai discord server around a year ago, love it there, everyone's so creative and lovely, here if interested: https://discord.gg/tnA3mzyB. There's also a lot of analyses on Odazai on Tumblr that make sense! This post about Oda and Dazai being each other's regrets (from Dark Era light novel, Oda says, "Ango and I could stay by Dazai's side because we can understand the loneliness that revolves around Dazai. Even though we are by his side, we would never step within. But now, I'm a little regretful that I never stepped into that loneliness impolitely." Oda just say you wanna hold his hand lol), this whole post about them filling each other's unmet childhood needs, this which basically puts all Odazai moments and mentions together, I absolutely love this theory that there's a physical change in Dazai's ability after he meets Oda, there's just so much to love about them.

3. What I don't like:

Putting this here cause I don't want to end on this note. This ain't even about Oda and Dazai, it's just about the fandom. I don't think any of us who like this ship like the people who complain about the 5 year age difference. It's not a lot at all, especially when you take literally everything else about their relationship into account and the fact that it's fictional and fun. But since side A and B have come out (which I haven't read) I've seen people kind of using it as further evidence that the age gap is a problem and let it cloud their judgement on Oda and Dazai's respective personalities and boundary abiding tendencies. In addition to that I always see the, "but Oda calls him a child and views him like that in the novel" argument, which I don't really get. I watched some YouTube video a while ago that was like, why do partners call each other baby or babe? It's because those words represent a yearning to take care of the other and foster a better, more committed relationship or something like that. Saying your friend has a hurt expression like a lost kid doesn't necessarily mean you think of them as significantly younger or immature compared to you. This especially applies in fictional writing where it can just be used as a helpful visual for something that will be adapted to a screen. I don't have a problem with fans who dislike Odazai romantically, but I do when they completely deny their equal footing. Come on, Oda mixes up his fairytales and Dazai is insanely smart, their relationship would never be abusive on an age basis. Anyway.

4.. What are your favorite things about the ship?

Well for one, I'm a sucker for angst and pain and two, I love childhood friends/best friends to lovers so so so much. Add in the possibility of enemies to lovers in Beast and they have it all. I guess I like the ambiguity and flow of how their relationship could go too. Like, they both would think moving in with each other is totally natural friend behavior, and then there'll be this phase of realization and it'll just pass by like yeah, we're married now. From Dark Era, we get that Oda, Dazai, and Ango can all be friends outside their different ranking mafia positions because they all feel that they think similarly and understand each other. They're all on equal ground, so Dazai and Oda having a profound connection built off that is something I think can be an accurate reflection of real life. At their cores, both want the best for each other. Oda wants Dazai to have a life meaningful to him and suggests that path through what he knows, Dazai wants Oda to live out his dream, helping him to do that in whatever way possible. They are separated by time and space, yet so closely linked by what they've found with each other it hurts. There's literally already a family there with the kiddos too! These two seem to get dumber in each other's presence like SSKK also does and I find that amusing lol. I appreciate that Oda is serious about the people he cares about and doesn't take Dazai's suicide obsession as lightly as a lot of other characters, as some shippers speculate because he has also had depression at one point or another. I love that in several peoples' minds, Odazai would only have conflict when they're upset the other isn't taking care of themself properly. I love that Oda is such an oblivious himbo. I love that people speculate Dazai's bolo tie reminds him of Oda's eyes and that he picked the spot for the grave that overlooks a beautiful view even if he didn't know Oda loved the ocean. I love that they both realize they care about each other when it's too late, that they will meet in the afterlife.

I have many feelings and thoughts. Thank you so much if you listened to me rant and read this whole thing!

#okay but where the fuck did beast dazai get that picture of oda that's shown in the official art when he jumps off the building #asks #ships #bsd ships #bsd #odazai #and my dad doesn't understand why i want a tattoo #i don't know if i'll get something specifically odazai related in the future #but i definitely want a spider lilies design with “goodbye my love” in chinese or japanese kanji to remind me of them #dazai osamu #oda sakunosuke

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