#getting some major we will kill them all vibes from this

[iceclew]

BACK TO ART Y'ALL!

(after ....an awful lot of screaming these last days.. ... hey I don't know what is wrong with me, maybe it's the spring vibes finally kicking in or smth..)

Anyway here's the concept art for Hans and Henry - Witcher AU

'Cause I can not enjoy ANY franchise, ANY game, ANY-FUCKING-THING without witcherizing it. For t'is the law here.

Go down to my overly detailed description and non-text versions for AU Hans and AU Henry here. I have my brainworms and i'll spill them out on you, if you don't step aside, so beware.

Also this time I'm not going for a mix, I'm going full Witcher universe here.

Let me tell you there is a LOT of Hansry in the making for canon and Witcher AU right now.. I just need to find a way to finish it, for I am cursed to be stuck at WIPs so far as it seems. BUT I WILL DO MY BEST !!! FOR WE NEED THE HANSRY, DON'T WE?!

YES WE DO!!

So I've read the witcher books, played game 3, and looked up several things on fandom-wikis. If anything's not entirely witcher canon here, my bad. I tried my best ok? Also I took some liberty and smushed timelines and stuff to fit the scene here.

Capon is my fucking dress up doll. I am sorry I could not not. He is so FUCKING Dandelion coded.. PLUS I had so many cool outfit ideas and well...LOOK AT HIM HE JUST EATS, OK? I feel like he could be stuffed in a human-sized sock and still would look great in it... I don't get it either.. the tailors just love him.

have a song recommendation for Hans :3

Hans Capon (House of Leipa) The House of Leipa is a family line of famous military leaders at the nation of Kaedwen. (listen, there is a canon Fort Leida in the witcher universe, how could you blame me for jumping on that?) For generations they reigned over Fort Leipa and the surrounding region in Kaedwen. It was about 19 years ago when the Scoia'tael invaded the fortress and killed almost all members of the major family branch, including Hans' parents. Hans himself survived due to a servant's quick thinking. He was hidden in the servant's quarters in a bedroom's chest. The Scoia'tael focussed on looting the royal belongings. So he was not found until his relatives reconquered the fortress hours later. Hans has no memory of said day since he was still an infant, but suffers from claustrophobia now.

'The Slaughter of Leipa' contributed severly to the following pogrom in Ard Carraigh (Kaedwens capital), causing the deaths of over 400 nonhumans. Hans is not entirely against nonhuman races but has his personal, unprocessed issues with them....

Back in the present (20y/o) his situation is very similar to canon Hans, with Hanush currently being his guardian as long as he's not old enough to reign. He differs a lot from Hanush's imagination of a proper heir of their family tree and arguments are on a daily bases. For political representation Hans gets to travel and stay at the free city of Novigrad for a while. While he loves his home region in Kaedwen, he immediately falls in love with the urban vibes, and modern culture of the city (and of course the freedom of being away from Hanush's monitoring for once). For a few months he's spending a fair amount of coin on every tailor, tavern, brothel and bathhouse in the city.

By now the owners of said etablishements have made appropriate arrangements with every bandit's guilt around, for his regular visits are more profitable to all of them, than robbing him once.

There might have been one or two kidnappings with ransom involved nonetheless, which had Hanush consider hiring a bodyguard for his ward after all...If only just to mend his headache from time to time a bit.

This is were a certain offer from an old friend, plus a witcher's apprentice appears seemingly just at the right time...

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Henry's design and my idea of his witcher character made me painfully aware of just how similar those two universes actually are. I mean - not necessary a bad thing, but it might take the charm out of it a bit. So I tried to add a little twist to Henry here. Let's see how we're doing.

Have a song recommedation for Henry :3

Henry, child of the fate Henry is born a blacksmith's son and lived a slow life in a small village around Kaedwen's hillside. There would be times he would even go as far as to call it straight out boring, but he's not one to complain about stuff like that.

Since his father Martin taught him from young age, Henry practically grew up with swords, especially the kind made of finest silver ore, used to slay monsters. His father's outstanding works, famous in all the northern nations, attracted many witchers from far and wide. Of course the nearby 'School of the Wolf' at Kaer Morhen was a popular and recurring customer at their forge as well.

All peace and quiet ended the day his village was raided by bandits and his parents were murdered. Henry found himself seeking refuge, first at Kaer Morhen, then at Fort Leipa, with a handful of other citizens. At the witchers fortress he recognized one or two faces from back at the forge, but there was one particularly standing out.

Radzig Kobyla, a reknown witcher in all around the region seemed to have special interest in Henry and even offered some first combat training in sword-fighting. With time Henry finds the truth about is bonds with Radzig...

Before he was born Radzig saved Martin from a mountain troll. Half joking, half serious Martin remembered old witcher's tradition of the Law of Suprise - 'for what you find at home, yet did not expect' and offered it. Radzig actually refused the offer, for he was not necessarily fond of said tradition.

It was only a month later that they found out about the pregnancy... While awaiting a child Martin was devastated about his promise. He was not sure if it was to be fulfilled or not. After Henry was born Radzig still refused to ever take the child, arguing he never agreed to any contract like this. But fate finds his way nonetheless and with Henry basically finding him and being robbed his family, friends and home, Radzig finally gives in and offers to train him to become a witcher.

Of course things are way more complicated by now, since Henry is not suitable for a proper 'Trial of the grasses' anymore. He never gained the full immunity and powers of a proper witcher, but with Kaer Morhen's knowledge, plus consultation of several sorcerer Radzig's find a way for Henry to undergo a lighter and also much slower variation of the original changing procedure.

Although the risk of said changing progress is the same, if not higher. Errors or negative effects can only be seen and be treated much later after they have already settled in. The sorceress Katharina of Ard Carraigh was outraged when she heard about Radzig's little experiment, but offered her help with the effects nonetheless. With her help Henry was able to adapt existing witcher potions to handle his new powers and skills easier, and - much more important - to keep them at bay, when they threaten to take over his sanity.

While trying to tackle his new life and witcher training, Henry is also confronted with his first 'witcher' contract (well whatever Radzig found fitting for a half-baked witcher, without much fighting experience, nor complete control over his powers, that is.) Their host at Fort Leipa seemed to have a promising task as bodyguard at hand, and since Radzig had taken a lot of contracts from the house of Leipa in past times, it would not hurt giving it a try. Henry would only have to take care of the spoiled Leipa's offspring for a while. Nothing too much of a task right? Right.

At least until said offspring runs off and jumps into sheets with an Alp and seems to be in need of a witcher now after all, .....

But that's a story for another time...

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*visible exhaustion but I made it*

that's it for now guys.. I ..clearly overdid myself in the description right there, I just know it.

Also - sorry for my spelling , I hate rereading stuff, and tend to miss weird errors...

Hope you liked it, I don't really call myself a good writer, I just want to get out my ideas here. :)

[croik]

Am I an insane person or does Malevolent kind of have like. A thing with queer coded villains. Not in a positive or reclamatory way either; it genuinely reminds me of like, old Disney movies and 2000s anime where all the most evil and inhuman male characters would also be written as campy and effeminate. And it seems like Harlan has no idea that he's doing it which is... interesting...

Like. Kayne is the most obvious example ofc. He's flamboyant and flirty and gives John and Arthur pet names. And at first I really liked it but the more it became clear that Kayne was a major antagonist and not just a mysterious neutral actor the more it started to put a bad taste in my mouth. It honestly still could have been okay if Harlan had maybe leaned more into the idea of Kayne and Arthur being parallels/foils but that ended up not really being a thing at all. Atp in the podcast I just get this really strange vibe where Kayne is simultaneously an incredibly violent, deceptive and predatory individual, and he's being written as basically canonically attracted to Arthur and it just. Seems like those two things are kind of connected. Again maybe I'm seeing things that aren't there but it seems like there are some "predatory creepy gay without boundaries" stereotypes being expressed here.

Similar issue with the Butcher. He actually has the closest to any sort of textual queerness of any Malevolent character, since he "falls in love" with his victims. Ummmm I kind of thought we had progressed past the "gay/queer serial killer who has an erotic fixation on the people he murders" trope. Apparently not. Again Harlan almost does something interesting/subversive by making our Perfect Protagonist have a weird connection/companionship with the Butcher, but in the end it seems like everyone agrees that they didn't actually have that much in common, obviously Arthur is unequivocally morally better than him, and then the Butcher gets his head exploded.

It's been longer since I listened to seasons 1-3 but Larson definitely had some similar queer-coding going on with him, as well as some other minor villains (Kellin comes to mind). It just seems like a pattern of Arthur being contrasted with characters who are not just morally corrupt but also written as (subtextually sexually) predatory or creepy, especially towards Arthur. And then Arthur is disgusted by their unnatural desires and heroically defeats or evades them. I could be making something out of nothing but it just feels... icky.

You are absolutely not an insane person of any caliber, this is something fandom has murmured about for a long time! It is definitely a thing in the show that just about any character that encounters Arthur becomes immediately obsessed with him. When it's an ally, like Noel, Oscar, even Daniel and Alia, they are almost immediately convinced of his goodness and go to great lengths not just to help him, but to reassure him that he's A Good Man (tm). But when it's the villains? It's this invasive flirtatious thing, where they're threatening not just to kill him but to lock him up in their basement or something, intimate tortures and such. (Larson maybe less so - he seems more like Southern Gentleman approach but much less handsy than Kayne and Collins). And then there's Antoine, whooo boy. If Antoine really is meant to be gay, and thus was also gay in Arthur's prime timeline when he was a Supervillain? Yeesh I don't want to think of the connotations from CoC1.

I don't believe it's intentionally homophobic, necessarily. I think these villains all represent pretty common horror tropes from over the decades, and Malevolent just co-ops them without thinking that deeply about it. In the same way that the entrance to the Witch's home is a smelly vagina wall: vagina walls have been gross in horror movies and games forever! It's here because it's a thing that all people find gross, right?? I don't think it's any different to him than shoving Arthur full of maggots, or the guy in Deviser having his fingernails torn off. These are default things people are scared of you can plop into almost any horror plot.

But in 2025 it's not wrong to want a writer to actually think about the greater context of the "things everyone thinks is scary" they put into their work, like straight men being threatened with sexual violence, or old women living in filth. Yes horror has been here hundreds of times before. But does it need to be here again? When the sexual violence is the only overt queerness on display and half of all women on the show are old and live in filth?

And of course, the fandom is doing really deranged and kinky shit with these villains, which I 100000000% support. But I don't think he fully grasps the difference between "fans making things legit queer for their own amusement and wish fulfillment" and "the creator playing at making things queer because it's creepy."

Thanks for the ask anon <3 It's very interesting stuff to talk about, especially as a queer person who sometimes writes horror.

[spoiled-oatmeal]

Modern! Mhin Headcanons

Hiya! I keep imagining Modern College Mhin, so I decided I’d write some headcanons with a small fic in the middle. I just got done with all of my finals, so I figured I’d try to keep writing for Mhin. If I were better at writing, I would try to write for the other characters, but Mhin’s the only one that keeps infiltrating my brain. Maybe in the future I’ll be brave and try, but for now, I will continue to feed the Mhin fans. Enjoy!

~~

<0> next

Since we don’t know how old Mhin is in the game right now, I'm saying that they give off the vibes of a tired master’s student.

I think they would most likely be a biomedical science major or something similar.

They got in shape throughout their undergraduate degree, they picked up odd jobs to pay for their tuition, and the jobs would occasionally end with someone getting upset at them, so they have experience with fighting.

 They decided to continue working out even after they got a better job as a teacher's assistant on campus, because it gave them something to do besides study, go to class, and work.

I haven’t decided if it makes more sense for them to be a TA for Kuras or just a random professor.

Mhin took the time to figure out both when they have free time and when the gym is the least busy to avoid running into people.

They wouldn’t be a part of many clubs in college, preferring to just get home quickly after class, but they would join an astrology club that only meets occasionally for various space phenomena.

The club would only have a few people in it, and they would just provide refreshments while the club's academic sponsor describes the different phenomena.

Since they’ve never really gotten close to many people in the club, Mhin decided to take MC to one of the meetings to keep Mhin company.

Okay, but like imagine there’s a meteor shower that's visible on campus and Mhin decides to invite you on a date and they bring like a cute blanket with a cat pattern on it and make like small little snacks and warm drinks 🤭.

Mhin’s first meeting with you is similar to their canon introduction, by saving you ♥️… with less killing.

Mhin just got done with a long study session, eager to get home and try to steal some sleep before their morning classes. They live close to campus, so they quickly pack up their computer and study guides and prepare for the walk home. Just as they leave the campus library, they hear a commotion in an alleyway in the direction of their home. They decide to keep their head down and walk past without getting involved, that is, until they hear a cry for help while walking past, and they make eye contact with you. You’re being cornered by two drunk-looking college students, trying to excuse yourself and build some distance. Your yelling for help resulted in them getting more insistent and aggressive. Mhin takes a deep breath and, despite wanting to avoid getting involved, they know they couldn’t sleep well knowing they left someone in that situation.

“Hey, leave them alone,” Mhin yells into the alley.

“What’d you care?” the guy furthest from you replies, “We’re their friends, just makin’ sure they get home safe.”

The look in your eyes told Mhin that that was nowhere near the truth. It had been a while since they had a reason to fight, but they figured a gentle breeze would knock these drunk guys over, so Mhin started to approach. The fight… wasn’t a fight at all, one shove and a punch was all it took. Mhin expected you to run off the moment there was an opening, and they’d never have to talk to you. Imagine their surprise when they turn around, dusting themself off, and see you gaping at them.

“Shouldn’t you know better than to walk alone at night?” Mhin chastises, “You won’t always be lucky enough to have a stranger walking by.”

“I stayed around to thank you, but if all you’re going to do is yell at me, then I’ll just leave.” You turn around with a huff, voice dripping in sarcasm, “Thank you again, my knight in shining armor.”

“Wait!” Mhin grabs your wrist before you can get far, “Just wait, this part of town is dangerous in the daytime, worst at night…” They flush, averting their gaze, “If you're going in the same direction, I can walk you at least part of the way to your home.”

You agree and start walking in silence, every once in a while stealing a few glances at them. Their platinum white hair and the silver accents on their navy hoodie catch the moonlight and make them look almost sparkling. They looked annoyed and bored, and it seemed like the last thing they wanted to do was make small talk, but you refused to have them save you and walk you home without learning anything about them.

“My name’s _____.”

“Mhin.”

Great. This is a very good conversation, and Mhin is a great conversation partner.

“Are you a college student?”

 “Yeah.”

It feels almost cruel that they would save you from that situation just to try and kill you with this horrible conversation.

“What do you study?”

 “Biomedical science…” There are several moments of silence and they glance at you and sigh, “What’s your major?”

“Oh my god, thank you so much for asking!” you respond filled with sarcasm, and you see them roll their eyes, “I’m a ___ major.”

“Well, this is my place,” you say, stopping at your front door. You turn around and see Mhin tearing off a piece of scrap paper from one of their notebooks in their bookbag and scribbling something down. 

“If you insist on putting yourself in danger, then here,” they hand you the paper with a number written down, “It’s my number, I stay late on campus pretty often, and I only live a block away from here, send me a text and I can walk you home.”

“Thank you, and again thank you for helping me, I couldn’t have wished for a better knight to be walking by,” you say, slipping the paper into your pocket.

“Whatever, I just happened to be there,” Mhin says, quickly turning around and heading to their own home.

Mhin’s apartment is a small 1-bed 1-bath with minimal decor and a small front porch.

They don’t like to keep a lot of clutter around, but do have a few knick-knacks that have sentimental value.

The one thing they have an overabundance of in their apartment is soft blankets, especially ones with nice patterns.

Mhin also has a cat that lives with them; it’s a small white cat that they found living under their porch.

The kitten was extremely malnourished and seemed to be abandoned.

 Mhin had just finished the last of their undergraduate finals when they found it and decided to take it in.

[slowdrawl]

Whiskey and Want |dbf!Joel x f!reader| | 18+ MINORS DNI | {series masterlist}

Chapter 3: Miller Lite | wordcount | 3.4k {TLOU AU, modern-ish, no outbreak, Sarah lives!} series chapters: one. two.

| a/n| Hey y’all—Chapter 3’s where Bird really starts stirring the pot, and Joel’s already regretting his life choices. This one’s got bar fights, drunk texts, and that dbf!Joel tension we’re all here for. Thanks for sticking with me. hope you enjoy the mess! Let me know what you think, and buckle up for where this shitshow’s headed. xoxo “Before long, you find yourself back in the center of it. The band plays something jazzy, a sensual-sounding R&B track that makes you forget the person grinding up against your ass is Tommy Miller. At this moment, you’d rather keep him on you than anywhere else in the bar starting a fight, so you let it happen. Joel reads your last message and, as he shifts the truck into drive and heads over to Sam’s, curses at himself when he feels his cock twitch.”

Warnings/tags: 18+ only, minors DNI, slow burn, forbidden romance, angst, yearning, Alcohol consumption, drunken behavior, mild violence (brief altercation), sexual tension, suggestive dancing, age gap dynamics, strong language, reckless behavior. series warnings after the fic. reader uses she/her pronouns and has hair. no major physical descriptions of the reader. no use of y/n but has the nickname Bird, Birdie, etc. reader has a backstory.

“Where are you headed off to looking like that?” your dad asks as you head toward the front door. He’s sprawled on the couch with Joel, both nursing beers, the TV droning some game. Joel’s eyes flick up from the screen, catching yours. Dark, quiet, like last night still lingers. “Lookin’ sharp, Bird,” he mutters, voice low, then looks away fast, like he’s scared to hold it. You’d kill for him to say more, not let you slip out that door, but you just turn around to face him and shrug your shoulders.

“Karlie and Mel asked if I wanted to go to the bar. I figure I can’t keep blowing them off to hang out on the couch with you two.” You gesture between him and Joel.

Your dad clutches his chest jokingly.

“Ouch, thanks, that hurt,” he says in a fake pained voice.

“Sorry, old man, I gotta get my fun in while I can, you know?” You laugh.

He nods his head and hums.

“Okay, well, just don’t stay out too late. If you need a ride home, text me, okay, Bird?”

“Yes, sir. I should be back before 2, but I’ll keep you posted. Love you!” you promise as you walk out the door, heels clacking on the hardwood.

The air is thick and warm outside, instantly making you feel sticky—the humidity in the south was something you hadn’t missed one bit while you were away at school. You spot Karlie in the passenger seat of a yellow taxi cab at the end of your driveway.

“Smart girl,” you whisper to yourself as you walk up to the car and hop in.

“Hey, baby! Where are we going tonight?” you ask.

“It’s a surprise!” Karlie replies, twisting her body in the seat to smirk back at you.

“Sam’s it is,” you nod and smile right back at her.

Sam’s Town Point isn’t the worst dive bar in town, but it certainly isn’t the nicest either. The owners hadn’t done a lick of renovations since the seventies, giving it an almost nostalgic, hanging-out-in-your-grandparents’-basement vibe that’s somehow endearing. The pros outweigh the cons for you—the food is alright, drinks are cheap, and they always have a band playing regardless of the day of the week. Sure, the decor is dated, it smells like stale cigarettes, and the health inspector probably gets paid to not shut the place down, but it’s better than any of the newer hipster joints in the city. Austin is filled with unnecessarily bougie speakeasies and clubs, always crawling with douchey university students and even douchier has-beens from your past.

You’d pick Sam’s over any of those joints any day, just to avoid getting hit on by some gym bro named Chad going to school for business with his daddy’s money, or some kid from biology class who’d drunkenly claim he always had a crush on you in school.

You stare out the window as you make the drive into the city, refamiliarizing yourself with home, taking notice of how much it had changed just in the last year alone.

You pull up to the bar, and Karlie hands the cabbie a few bills before jumping out of the front. She turns to the back of the cab and lets you out, grabbing your hand and pulling you in for a hug.

“I missed you so much, babe! Thanks for coming out with us tonight!” she chirps, her big blue eyes gleaming in the glow of the streetlamps above you.

“Mel’s already inside, let’s go!” Karlie locks her hands in yours and leads you up to the front door. Security checks your IDs, and you saunter in, doing a quick sweep to see if you recognize anyone inside. You let your shoulders relax after determining the coast is clear—no ex-flings or high school bullies in sight.

Thank you, God.

Looking around again, you see Mel sitting by the bar with a tall glass in her hand, something pink and filled to the brim with ice, condensation dripping off it. She sees you both come in and waves her hands excitedly, gesturing for you to come over.

You make your way to a table in the corner of the room with your own drink in hand, tucked away just enough that you can hear each other talk without yelling in each other’s ears. You sip your syrupy cocktails through thin black plastic straws, taking turns catching each other up on your lives, gossiping, and complaining about school and work. Karlie gloats about the new guy she’s been seeing—he actually sounds alright, which is shocking coming from her. She had never been lucky finding good guys. Every boy Karlie had dated in high school either cheated or ended up getting physical with her, both situations usually ending with her daddy showing up to the guy’s house and scaring them straight.

In the last semester of your junior year, she caught Jake Campbell making out with Sarah Stringer after a football game; she and Jake had been dating for around five months at the time. Karlie was so pissed she called her dad right then and there. Before Jake could even come up with an excuse, Mr. McKay’s truck was flying into the parking lot, and he had Jake by the collar with his tail between his legs. A crowd of probably thirty kids watched as Mr. McKay forced him to apologize to her in front of everyone, shaking like a leaf as he did it. A few days later, the school called the McKays’ place and politely told him he was never to step foot on school property until graduation day—a stipulation set by Jake’s parents in order for them not to press charges on him. Nobody dared to fuck with Karlie after that one.

You’re caught up in a story from Mel about her family’s trip to Montana earlier in the summer when someone comes up behind you and covers your eyes with their hands. Instinctively, you swing your elbow back and nail the person in the kidney, causing them to let go of your head and buckle over with a loud groan. You recognize who it is immediately and sigh, mentally preparing yourself for whatever shitshow interaction you’re about to have.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Miller?” you snarl, whipping your head behind you to glare up at him. “Are you trying to get your ass beat?”

“It’s nice to see you too, Birdy!” he scoffs back at you. He’s been like this since you met at 18. Tommy, was in his mid-30s then, smirking at a block party, tossing you a beer with a wink while Joel snapped, ‘She’s Kev’s kid, Tom and she ain’t old enough to drink.’ Tommy’s grin said he��d push Joel’s buttons anyway, and he hasn’t stopped.

A moment passes, and your adrenaline surge slows. You move over and slowly let him slide into the booth beside you. Karlie and Mel are looking at each other, snickering, shaking their heads at you both.

“You can’t just put your hands on people like that, Tommy. Feel my fucking heart right now! You scared the shit out of me!” You grab his hand and put it over your sternum, forcing him to feel the way your heart is basically pounding out of your chest.

“Sorry, kid, can’t say I’ve ever really been known to think before I act,” he moves his hand from your heart and slaps it down on your shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “How you been? Need another drink?”

“Yes, actually, you can go buy us a round for pulling that stunt,” you flick your wrist and gesture to the bar. “Go on, we can chat after.” You push him out of the booth with your hip and watch as he walks across the dancefloor and waves down a bartender.

Of course Tommy’s here—you don’t know why you’re so surprised to see him tonight. Tommy is Joel’s younger brother. Like Joel, he too is handsome, in a more boyish way despite only being five or so years younger than him. He has the same dark eyes and hair, less the grey that had started speckling at the temples of his brother. He’s shorter and smaller in build. The Millers were cut from the same cloth, but at the same time, they were so wildly different.

Joel is introverted, reserved, and quiet in comparison to Tommy, who is rowdy, in-your-face, and too loud for his own good. His mouth was always getting him into trouble—trouble that Joel had to constantly get him out of. In the few days that you’ve been home, you had already heard of two occasions when Joel had to pick him up from a bar after getting a bit too drunk and disorderly. The local police station probably has Joel’s number on speed dial and his credit card on file with how many times he’s bailed him out. Frustrating as he was, Tommy was a good man. He had always looked out for you, had your best interest in mind. Tommy was family, and even though he drove you crazy, you loved him dearly.

Tommy returns with a round of tequila shots. You all scrunch your noses as you choke down the drink and bite into limes. By 11:30, you lose count of how many drinks you’ve had, but dancing between Karlie and Tommy tells you it’s one too many.

Tommy hits on you all night—typical—and tonight, the alcohol nudges you to lean in. You ignore the rough denim and belt buckle scraping your cotton dress, now bunching closer to your thighs. His hands grip your hips, and his tequila-scented breath warms your neck when he whispers. Your phone pings. You stumble to the bar, buzzed, fumbling it out of your purse, ‘Mr. Miller’ glows (11:45 PM) Mr.Miller: being a good girl, Bird? Dad said ur at Sams Your gut flips, he’s texting after months of nothing, the last message was from New Years. You smirk, sloppy, texting back (11:48 PM) You: Ya, ud hate it here, toms gettin handsy.. Miss me? 😏 No reply comes, but that “good girl?” It sticks, hot, maddening, sending heat to settle between your legs. You’ll make him feel it. Back on the floor, Tommy’s closer, hands lower.

As the last band of the night sets up, Mel grabs your hand and leads you toward the exit for a cigarette. The air outside cools considerably—a welcome feeling—still damp, but nothing as bad as inside the bar. A group of boys who look like they just celebrated their 21st birthdays saunter up to you, both wearing blue jeans and cowboy hats, likely making a last stop at Sam’s from one of the country bars downtown.

They introduce themselves, and you chat for a while, dragging long and slow on your cigarette, catching the way the men watch your lips as you do it. Ben, who you’ve now learned is indeed 21 and studying engineering at UT Austin, asks you for a smoke, and you hand him your pack and a lighter. You hold in a giggle as you watch him light it up, then see his eyes start to well up, glistening in the moonlight, desperately holding in a cough. He takes a few more drags before his body betrays him and chokes the smoke out of his lungs.

You move in close to him, slowly reach your hand to his head, and turn it. You trail your hand down, grabbing the smoke from his lips as you whisper, “You don’t have to pretend to like it, baby, it’s okay.”

Ben’s face goes flush and then white all at once as Tommy sneaks up behind him and rips him away from you, holding him half an inch off the ground by the collar. Tommy pushes him backward before getting back in his face and yelling something you can’t quite understand. Your heart thumps loud in your ears, but behind it, you think you hear something along the lines of, “Get the fuck away from her, or I’ll beat your ass!”

You watch him spit in the boy’s direction as he runs back toward the bar, following his friend, tail between his legs, pale as a ghost.

You manage to convince Tommy that he did nothing wrong and it isn’t worth it to go back in there to fight the poor kid. You all have another smoke as Tommy cools down, glaring at you every once in a while, almost accusatory.

“Stop looking at me like I did something wrong, Tommy.”

“M’not,” he mumbles back to you, shaking his head at the ground and stomping out his cigarette.

The three of you walk back into the bar. You whisper to Mel to keep an eye on Tommy and head into the bathroom. You pull out your phone while in the stall and click through your contacts back to “Mr. Miller” You scroll up your text thread to a photo of you and Sarah last Christmas. You were both holding up your gingerbread houses, big smiles and smears of white frosting on your noses and cheeks. He had taken the photo and sent it to you. Your heart aches, you feel sick.

You change his name from “Mr. Miller” to “Joel 🤠” You text him impatiently while leaning on the bathroom counter. You want to get to your friends because you have a strong feeling that Tommy is already out there looking for a fight.

//

(12:14 AM) You: You should come get.ur brother before Sam comes here himself and does it.

(12:15 AM) You: Hellooooooooooooo

(12:16 AM) You: Are u allready asleep old man???

(12:17 AM) Joel🤠: Fuck sakes chill out. Gotta get dressed. I’ll be there in 10 (12:17 AM) Joel🤠: also, maybe You do a double take, just in case the booze is getting to your eyes. Nope. He said that, replying to the “you miss me?”

(12:17 AM) You: Thanx 4 the visual, see you soon,cowboy🤠 x (12:17 AM) You: also, lowk crazy to miss me when u saw me earlier 😜 (12:17 AM) You: i miss you You throw you phone into your bag and go back to the bar. Finding Tommy in the corner with Mel and Karlie, you invite him back onto the dance floor, knowing that’s the best way to get him to forget about Ben.

Before long, you find yourself back in the center of it. The band plays something jazzy, a sensual-sounding R&B track that makes you forget the person grinding up against your ass is Tommy Miller. At this moment, you’d rather keep him on you than anywhere else in the bar starting a fight, so you let it happen. //  

Joel reads your last message and, as he shifts the truck into drive and heads over to Sam’s, curses at himself when he feels his cock twitch. He pulls into the parking lot, littered with barely legal girls in daisy dukes and cowboy boots that look like they haven’t been broken in yet. The men standing with them all sport Stetsons they have no real right wearing, bought for show with mommy and daddy’s money, surely. He makes his way through the bar, holding his breath, not knowing what he’s about to walk into.

//

Gazing up toward the door, you catch a glimpse of Joel as he makes his way through the sea of people dancing.

You can tell he must have already been lying in bed before you texted him—by the state of his hair, he might have actually been asleep. The curls that usually lay coiled at the base of his neck are frizzy, sticking straight out from his head; the top is messy with a strand hanging over his eyebrow. His warm coffee eyes are framed with bags. He’s wearing black sweatpants and, you guessed it, a flannel.

He looks good, somehow even in his tousled state, better than normal. You move your eyes back down to Mel dancing in front of you before Joel can catch you staring at him.

You look back down and realize the fairly compromising position you’re in with the younger Miller brother and try to wiggle yourself out of Tommy’s embrace, but it’s too late. You look up again and immediately lock eyes with Joel. He looks pissed, and he’s headed right for you both.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, look at the two of you! Come on, let’s go,” he grunts as he grabs Tommy by the collar of his shirt and begins to drag him toward the exit.

You think maybe that’s it—you’ve somehow managed to avoid a scolding from him.

“Thanks, Joel!” you chirp, waving to him with a big smile.

“Yeah, not a chance. You too, kid, not leaving you here neither,” he yells over his shoulder.

“Nah, I’m fine, I’ll cab home,” you slur back.

Joel leaves Tommy by the door and heads back toward you. There’s a serious look on his face that says he’s having none of your bullshit right now.

“I’m not offering you a ride, darlin’, I’m telling you I’m taking you back home. Now move it,” his voice is stern.

For some reason, the alcohol swimming in your stomach tells your head that antagonizing him further is a smart move; it isn’t, but you do it anyway just to rile him up.

“Nu-uh, you’re not my daddy, cowboy. I’m staying here.”

You immediately regret the words as they slip off your vodka-covered tongue.

Joel stops dead in his tracks for a moment, sharpening his gaze on you. You can see his jaw tick as he clenches it. He starts moving again, even quicker this time, reaching toward you, grabbing your left wrist with one of his big hands.

You yelp at the sudden contact and turn your head to your friends, mouthing “I’m sorry” to them before saying, “I’ll text you when I’m home, love you!”

You shake your wrist violently in an attempt to break free from Joel’s grip, but there’s no use—no point arguing with him anymore. Joel is lucky you don’t want to cause a scene tonight; you’re honestly ready to go home now anyway. Instead of fighting him anymore, you just huff and glare up at him, dragging your heels toward the door, following behind him.

He doesn’t say anything as he opens the passenger side of the truck. He just hoists you up and slides you into the middle of the bench, buckling you in before practically throwing Tommy next to you.

“You guys are a pain in my ass, you know that?” he hisses.

Tommy turns to face his brother, staring him down over your shoulder. You can feel the tension rise between them both, making the already humid air feel even thicker.

“Why are you even here? Who called you down?” Tommy asks.

“Every bartender in the city knows my phone number, Tommy, don’t pretend that ain’t a fact,” Joel glances over at you, and his big boba eyes narrow slightly, softer than before in the bar.

You silently thank him for not ratting you out to Tommy by telling him you were the one to contact him. Even in your drunken state, Joel seems to see your appreciation and gives a quick nod of his head, letting his expression relax.

“Whatever, just take me home,” Tommy hisses back at him before leaning his cheek against the window.

Tommy’s place is probably ten minutes outside of town, in the opposite direction of your house.

That means you’re going to have to drive with Joel for at least twenty-five minutes on the way home.

You feel a creep in your spine and shiver at the thought of being alone with him. The vodka-flavored truth elixir still swishes in your stomach, and you can already feel heat spreading between your thighs.

Keep it together. Jesus.

You pull out of the bar parking lot and drive in deafening silence to Tommy’s apartment complex. Joel looks at his brother and says, “I’m glad it wasn’t the sheriff calling this time.” Joel continues berating Tommy. “Next time, I’m letting them take you in, and I’m not fucking bailing you out,” he says, voice serious.

“Whatever, Joel, thanks for the ride,” Tommy says, facing you slowly instead of his brother. The younger Miller puts his hand over your thigh and gives it a squeeze before he pulls you in for a hug and kisses your cheek.

“Glad to have you back home, pretty bird,” he gives you one last wink before jumping out of the truck and heading toward the apartment lobby, leaving the two of you alone. 

series warnings!!! fluff, smut, angst,unprotected p-in-v (please wrap it up), f/m masturbation, fingering, large but legal age-gap (joel is in 40's reader is in mid 20's), size kink?, choking, pervy!obsessive!joel, pervy!mean!Tommy, possessive/rough sex, praise, sex on the phone, drinking/smoking, strong language, sneakin around, lowkey obsessive and reckless Joel, blackmail, competency kink, risky sex, infidelity/implied, semi-public sex, breeding kink lowkey, overstimulation, a tiny bit of coercion, dirty talk, oops its a creampie, brief mentions of grief and implied suicide, Tommy is a jerk in this one, guilt and betrayal, bar-fights @yesjazzywazzylove-blog @brittmb115 @mystickittytaco @your-nightmaredoll @leenieweenie12

[wanderingmind867]

I know The Batman (2004) has been gone for 20 years. It's not likely to get a reboot. But if I could make a new Batman show, I really can't myself wanting to change too much from the show's character concepts. My ideal new Batman show (which I pitched once before) involves Batman and Jason Todd, in a world based on pre-crisis 80s comics. Jason was an acrobat, his parents were killed by Killer Croc, and he never dies. Black Mask would become one of the major recurring foes, because Doug Moench created a beautifully tragic story of social masking and capitalism and just... I'll just find my old post on it later. Point is: Roman Sionis is brilliant. He needs to be a major villian. Kids could understand him, and he's just sad enough to radicalize and warn about the dangers of being forced to hide your true self. And about how capitalism kills the soul.

Anyways...a show about Batman and Robin (Jason Todd) could only be some weird mix of Batman (2004) and Batman: The Brave and The Bold/Batman '66. That serious but heartfelt and funny bronze age vibe. I want to channel the 80s in everything about this show. We've already had Batman shows channeling other decades, so why not do one with a 70s and 80s flair? Some of these characters already work so well in that time period. It's perfect.

Also...a new Batman show would have to have Two-Face and Ethan Bennett as Clayface. They're perfectly distinct characters, damn it! Although we could have one of them debut after the other has already started reforming. I would want to work in some of the other Clayfaces. We at least deserve the Clayface who can't act to save his life. The over dramatic and melodramatic actor who's clearly going crazy because the industry stifles him. We could also adapt some of the others, but that's the most important one.

Really, I know my hyperfixation is going to end sooner than later. And I won't have the drive to continue making ideas for all this. But why do you think I post about it here!? Besides it being an addictive habit, it's also a way to share my ideas and try to ensure they never get forgotten. And I can only hope someone remembers them with them now here for future reference. Because I think my idea is worth exploring, even if i'm not the one to explore it.

[bat-play]

Hi! I don't want to seem rude at all!! I promise I'm not here to hate, I just want to get a grasp on how you see the batfamily?? Is it pure pseudocest? Are there some you think are best platonic? Is there a certain comic/movie/show that made you realise the batfam is better as a non-platonic thing??

I personally don't get it due to Bruce (sort of) raising them from a decently young age but I'm interested in learning and hearing about it from your perspective if you're willing to give it!

If not, that's fine, I don't want this to seem rude or a hate remark.

Look I'm not some philosopher, I just think it's hot dude.

If you want a well-crafted and seriously thought out answer about the history, dynamics and reasons to ship these fictional characters, I'd definitely go to blogs like @inkrats and/or @vintagerobin for that.

What I can add though is another question; Why does the majority of people, including the official writers, think Barbara and Dick are sooo stinking cute together even though that's basically "pseudocest" too?

I mean the modern canon is that Barbara and Dick essentially grew up together. Bruce helped raise them both, considering the amount of time Barbara spent with him. She is a part of the Batfamily. So they are "pseudo siblings" just like Jason and Dick for example. How can antis be like "yeah but it's fine. Oh it's even canon in some stories? yeah that's fine. Yeah no no it's not weird. Also KYS if you ship other batfamily members."

Even if we go by the original canon, Barbara was 7 years older than Dick then if I'm not mistaken. And according to posts I've seen, many antis think anything over a 5 year age difference is pedophilia sooooo. Do you see how stupid this all is?

Hell in the animated version of The Killing Joke, Bruce canonically FUCKED Barbara for no reason other than to just have them do it. And yeah most people didn't really vibe with it but it got MADE dude. It got approved, animated, edited and released without any pushback from the workers/writers involved.  

Like the only real difference I can see is that those ships are straight.

Bottom line is, did anyone get hurt in 2013 when everybody and their mother on this damn site was shipping Levi (30-33) and Eren (15) from AOT? No? That's what I thought. And don't even try denying how big that fucking ship was at that time.

Antis are usually young, passionate kids who mean well but they seriously need to learn how fantasy and reality works. And if they can't? You filter your online experience and take care of yourself.

I personally hate kids for example. I do NOT want to see posts about babies, diapers and pregnant bellies when I'm online. Do I send hate to parents or pregnant people? Demand they stop posting? Of course not. I block, I filter tags, scroll past and move on with my life.

[1thesewordsaremyown1]

Look, I get people being upset about Bobby dying. What I don't get is people turning around and saying "that's it, I'm done with the show" (and I'm not just talking about here among the fandom, I'm talking about what I've seen from the GA as well). But I think we all just need to take a moment and wait for a clear head once our emotions have died down a bit.

For starters, it's an ensemble show - if you were watching it solely for one character, were you really enjoying the show? I'm not quite sure how you could be enjoying any episodes where that character is in the background while someone else is in the spotlight if that was the case.

Secondly, and most importantly, a main character dying is not abnormal for a TV show, especially a procedural (I'll go into this a bit more later). In fact, the fact that 911 is now approaching its 9th season and up until now has had no major character changes since the end of season 1/start of season 2 is in fact abnormal (I'm talking about central, primarily 118/first responder characters here. Yes I know Michael left in Season 5, but I feel he was a main in very much the same way that Chris is a main - they were/are in the show enough to be classified as more than a recurring, but they aren't central to the plot most of the time and are easily left out of episodes, much like Karen). Most shows, particularly ones that have a long shelf life, get that way by rotating characters to keep stories fresh. And I love 911, but let's face it, one of the last "new" storylines was Buck realising he was bi. Everything else has mostly been a rehash/repeat of old storylines (Madney pregnancy, Henren family troubles, Eddie's inability to move on from Shannon, Bobby and the fire that killed his family etc).

And yes, I get that if they wanted to write Bobby off, they could have had him just retire, except for one small problem - his wife is also a main. Having Athena around but Bobby somehow disappearing off the face of the planet and never interacting with anyone else again, especially with Buck who is like a son to him, would have the same vibe as Grace not being around in the final season of Lonestar - very strange and off putting and overall doesn't feel right.

Now, back to main characters dying/leaving in TV shows, particularly procedurals. It happens all the time and has been going on for decades. And guess what? Despite losing beloved characters, those shows continued, some for many years after the fact. Here are some examples: Dr Greene in ER, one of the fans' favourite characters on that show, died in Season 8 - ER finally finished after FIFTEEN seasons. Derek Sheppard in Grey's Anatomy died in Season 11 - they are now up to season 21. Here in Australia, Maggie Doyle was killed in Season 7 of the immensely popular police show Blue Heelers, which ended after 13 seasons. All of these characters were original mains who were around from day 1 of their respective shows and very much loved. They were considered an important part/the heart/the backbone of the shows they were in, and people cried out that the shows would not survive without them. They did.

Now, regarding 911, it all comes down to the writing whether 911 can weather the storm they have created and come out stronger. Many of us have had our criticisms, but if this is the kick up the arse that the show needed and all of a sudden we're back to getting more rescues, more recurring characters (the disappearance/vastly reduced screen time of many secondary characters over the years I feel has hurt the show as it's made it rather insular by only focusing on the 118) and new story lines? If people are willing to give the show a chance, it might very well surprise us and be worth the watch.

Not to mention, there's no guarantee we won't ever see Bobby again. This show has not been afraid to use flashbacks (the Begins episodes anyone?) and if we ever did say a Tommy Begins episode, that could very well involve Bobby as he was his Captain for a significant period of time. Or they could go the Lonestar route, in which Bobby could appear in a coma dream, or (for example) if Buck and Tommy get married or have kids, have the spirit of Bobby watching over them (like they had with TK and his mum at the wedding). I mean, Tim found a way to bring back the actress who played Shannon, even though Shannon died 6 seasons ago - I'm sure if Peter was willing he could find a way to bring Bobby back if he wanted to (not saying they should do a Bobby doppleganger though - once is enough).

Look, I love the show. Has it been perfect? Of course not. Have there been times when I thought, "Oh, this has pissed me off, do I want to keep watching?" Yup (when Maddie and Chim decided to break up was my first, the BuckTommy break up, the second), but I still stuck around because at the end of the day it's one of the few shows I actually enjoy watching - it's quirky, it's fun (usually) and I love ALL the characters. I'm going to miss Bobby, sure, but I'm going to keep giving the show a chance - there are still so many things I want to see! I want Buck to not only get back together with Tommy but finally experience a stable relationship and see where that ultimately leads (crossing fingers for an engagement at some point!). I want to see if Hen takes over the Captain role, and if so, the challenges she has to face taking over from someone as influential as Bobby. I want Chim to have a meaty storyline again! (He was my OG favourite of the show before Buck stole my heart.) And Athena; oh I want to see how she handles her loss - Angela Bassett, the actress that she is, will KILL that story line.

My only hope is that there aren't so many people who decide to abandon the show and the ratings plummet, which triggers a cancellation. I know people are upset, but I hope that in the two weeks until the next episode, once the shock isn't as strong and the emotions aren't running high, people will have calmed down enough to give the show a chance to prove they were right in going in this direction. Because, and call me selfish for wanting this, while I understand tv shows don't last forever, I'm not ready to leave this one behind just yet. I'm not saying people should be forced to watch the show if they don't want to - if it is genuinely making you unhappy and you're not enjoying it, by all means, stop watching. But if people are making the decision to abandon the show based on this one thing, all I ask is for people to stop and take a breath. Give the show one last shot to see where they go from here. If you don't like the direction it's going, then feel free to abandon ship, I certainly wouldn't blame you.

All I'm asking is for the audience to at least give it a chance.

[doodledrawsthings]

Opinions on the Sols from Nine Sols immediately. Please. Your au is delish.

Keep in mind these are my very off-the-top-of-my-head, surface level impressions of them after having recently beaten the game on story mode once, while streaming. I won’t be giving any deep analysis or anything lol so the tone will be pretty jokey and unserious.

MAJOR major Nine Sols spoilers under the cut. Please do not read if you haven’t finished the game.

Kuafu: second favorite character. I love him so much. He’s such a pal, everybody likes him. Hou Yi left him as the final sun standing after shooting down the other nine cuz he’s just a stand up guy. The fact that he’s the one who pled keep Abacus around and set his settings to High Sympathy and kept coming in to talk to him out of guilt over what happened to Yi kills me. Smart, silly, handsome, the last remaining Solarian in existence and he can never go home for the remainder of his life. He’s my ride or die bestie, he’s one of my several husbands who babysit my little brother while I go off on a revenge murder spree and I’m kissing him on the mouth.

Goumang: I like her design and concepts and think she’s a fun character. She was the first boss I fought and i thought she was pretty fun, though I didn’t find the fight as memorable as others. I wish she had more presence throughout the game, I heard from a friend she had some more stuff that was cut apparently? Curious about her rivalry with Yi and relationship with Eigong. And since Yi technically never killled her I’ve considered including her in the Dont Worry About It AU.

Yanlao: Grampa!! I think he and Yi’s back and forth throughout the warehouse area was pretty funny. I was so ready to kick his ass the entire time, especially after the segment where he’s shooting at you as you navigate a maze. Loved his bossfight, first fight of the first three i started with where I really felt the parry/dodge/attack rhythm for the first time. Rip gramps.

Jiequan: BASTARD!! (Half-affectionate but only half) he’s giving Fruity Disney Villain Who Flirts With You As He Stabs You In The Chest. He sucks <3 but he’s such a FUN character, what a great antagonist. His fake out fight is so intense, the prison scene is so intense, his boss fight kicked my ass and his theme goes hard. He’s a war criminal, he’s a freak, he looks like All Might MHA and he regularly irradiates himself as part of his body building routine. “Heroes are forged in agony!” 10/10 Disney villain, very stylish. Defeating him was so satisfying especially after the Kanghui fight in the prison and learning what happened with THAT horror show.

Lady Ethereal: I LOVE HER!! SO MUCH!!! UGH!!! she makes me so sad! But everything about her is SO cool! Her fate! Her backstory!! Her design! Her boss fight! Her entire platforming area!!! Just!!! Aah! I won’t say too much but it’s just so good she had my favorite fight in the game, the dance for that one is so much fun. I was streaming the game on discord for my partner and another friend and when we first went into the cortex, she was like “oh you should keep going left and see what’s over there ;)” and then I did and just!!! So cool that Red Candle started off making horror games, it’s really great. Love it. Awesome character, awesome boss, awesome theme.

Fuxi and Nuwa: Rich asshole twins!! These two suck lol but I do think they’re fun characters. The entire empyrean district is experiencing a resident evil style zombie infection and Nuwa is throwing a rager at the club for the rich cryosleepers only. It’s really eerie over there though, I love the vibe of the east side and the discovery of the mutants and destruction of the west half is spooky as hell. And then I got to the area where you get Fuxi’s sol seal and didn’t even notice he was sitting there until my partner pointed him out. I thought he was furniture lol. She’s really puppeting around her brother’s pustule-riddled zombie corpse Weekend at Bernie’s style cuz she’s that much in denial. Also absolutely horrifying that the district supposedly once held 100,000 sleeping solarians that is whittled down to 300 after the mutated virus wreaks havoc through the area. Personally, I’m mixed on their bossfight, the first half with just Fuxi was fun once I got the rhythm but the 2nd half when Nuwa comes in with her attacks gets a bit too chaotic for me. Their boss theme, however, is probably my favorite in the game. I love the opera samples, it’s so cool.

Ji: I think about them a lot. Like, wow what a guy. I think a lot about his immortality, and that if he had not left Penglai with the council he would have been stuck there, alone for eternity. I think about the fact that because they will never get Tianhuo, there would be no need for them to be in cryosleep, which probably means that in the 502 years that Yi was recovering, he was probably up and about the entire time, probably wandering around new Kunlun mostly alone. I wonder if they ever hung out with the dusk guardians, or if they just stayed in the grotto for the most part. Their boss fight felt the most like a dance to me, or like friends sparring. Do you think they thought of Lear as you attacked them with the moves he taught you in the spiritual realm? He makes me sad, but he is very stylish!

Eigong: FUCK HER! SHES SO COOL, BUT FUCK HER!!! EVIL GRANDMA! this games story is like peeling back an onion of horrors where each layer you peel back brings new, mortifying understanding of the situation at large until it ALL. COMES BACK. TO HER! AND HER FRUITLESS PURSUIT OF IMMORTALITY! Her boss fight KICKED MY ASS. I was streaming my first playthrough, so I was already prone to doing worse than I probably would without an audience (emphasis on probably) but in my first attempt I was fighting her for like 6 HOURS STRAIGHT. And for the true ending too, which meant three boss phases. I just could not get her pattern down and my hands were cramping but i really wanted to finish the game that weekend so I could finally talk about it so I ended up turning up the accessibility options to one punch man her. I did eventually go back and do her fight by myself with the story mode settings and MAN what a fun boss battle once you get the dance down (I’m still so bad at unbound counter), and it is SO satisfying to beat. Incredible character, we love fictional old women who commit atrocities in the name of science.

Yi: and finally we have the man, the myth, the legend. I could probably write a whole separate post about him and Heng and his relationships with the other characters but to keep it short- I LOVE HIM SO MUCH! BUT IM ALSO BITING HIM AND PUTTING HIM IN A BLENDER AND RUNNING HIM THROUGH THE DISHWASHER AND HANGING HIM UP TO DRY. Just UGH! It’s not common for the main character of a thing to be my favorite character but Yi is my favorite character. It’s the fact that he is his own character, and we, the player, must gradually find out things that HE already knows. And his budding and flowering relationships with the other characters, especially those who set up shop in the pavillion which leads into his character development is just AUGH. AND THE ENDINGS. YOU ALREADY KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT GHE ENDINGS. THEYRE GOOD BUT AUGH. I love him, I’m rotating him in my mind on a skewer, he’s my little manlet, my poor little “I’m not a good person” shadow the hedgehog energy meow meow cat boy. I love him so much, I’m so distraught over his terrible life choices. Incredible character.

Ok hope that was entertaining to read, bye.

[shadowgast-recs-weekly]

Time Travel and Time Loops: A Shadowgast Rec List

This week, we have time travel/time loops! Check under the cut for 9 (nein!) fics that explore all kinds of time shenanigans, and don't forget to comment and kudos if you like them!

Something Worth Saving by Cow_Queen (13898, Not Rated) Reccer's Content Notes: Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence

A Shadowgast Groundhog Day AU where Essek is just trying to keep his only friends from dying and that leads to some other discoveries involving his feelings for a certain wizard.

Reccer says: A classic, a fun time loop story

Another Time, Another Place by Operafloozy (9780, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Loosely based on This is How You Lose the Time War but make it Shadowgast with brilliant letter-writing time-unravelling wizard assassins

Reccer says: It's clever and well written - those wizards' devious plans against each other would succeed if only they weren't so smitten

In 100 years and Time You'll Know Me. by Fish_O_Cola (17924, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

On an adventure in Aeor, Essek swaps places with a past version of himself

Reccer says: Caleb comforting young Essek is so sweet, I also love the small glimpses into what Essek's childhood could have been like

if only for a moment by saturdaysky (2035, General) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

"After a spellwork accident, Caleb slips through time. Centuries in the future, Essek Thelyss is waiting to catch him."

Reccer says: I liked it!

every reflection of you by NinjaAtticus (86396, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: Choose Not to Warn

Trent does some spell that sends present day Caleb back to the past before he killed his parents and Teen Caleb to the present, switching them. Adult Caleb tries to get back and Teen Caleb has conflicting loyalties, Essek is in both timelines and it’s established relationship for present day.

Reccer says: I’m genuinely obsessed with this fic right now, it’s amazing. Past Essek and Caleb both get so attached to the Present day versions of their partner and the dynamics are just great. Bonus points for yearning across timelines and Essek&Jester best friendship.

Meeting you counterclockwise by Chiakery (116139, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Essek meets Caleb in Rosohna. And then again, a hundred years later. But the second time Caleb is younger than during their first meeting and doesn't recognise Essek at all

Reccer says: Nice mix of intrigue and imagining of Essek's youth and his POV of the campaign. You can see that a lot of care was put into details of this fic. A+ Found Family vibes

Twelve Thousand and Sixty-Five Seconds by LessAttitudeMoreAltitude (13186, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: Dubcon/Consensual Non Consent, Non-permanent major character death and suicide

The day Essek is to be executed Caleb tried to rescue him. Again and again and again.

Reccer says: A fascinating time loop set up followed by the pair dealing with the consequences (with sex)

The following two fics each recived two recs:

a certain future by wristpockets (26977, Mature) Reccer's Content Notes: Choose Not to Warn

"Every time Essek dies, he wakes up on the day he meets the Mighty Nein. He's tried everything to avoid, subvert or kill them, but so far nothing has worked. He's already died fifteen times. He refuses to die a sixteenth."

Reccer 1 says: It's very funny Reccer 2 says: Such an interesting concept and beautifully executed! The growth throughout the whole thing is lovely.

Displacement by mllekurtz (12834, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: very light dubcon (due to misunderstanding that is cleared up)

After the peace talks, with only silence and loneliness left where the Mighty Nein used to be, Essek thinks he's ruined everything. So why, when he's mysteriously displaced in his own future, does he find only acceptance, comfort and love?

Reccer 1 says: So many good Essek emotions Reccer 2 says: It's sweet and comforting

This is one of our weekly communally-generated shadowgast rec lists. Every week we announce a new theme and allow anyone to submit a fic recommendation. 

And hey, anyone includes you!

Next week, we'll be featuring fics that involve marriage and engagement!

Any fics coming to mind? Well, then use this form to submit!

[daemon-is-perfectly-unhinged]

HTTYD List of Dragons that I’ve compiled including some of the most important, the freakiest, and generally ones I loved the most. And plenty of them that I believe Rhaegar would geek out about in a Viserys-Lego-Years-Long style.

@syndrossi I hope you enjoy the read.

I figured to start out with the main dragons we meet in the first film as well as the ones we follow the most in the series since the main characters are their riders. These are the ones that have the most personality as well since we spend so much time with them, but almost always see personality in every dragon we meet in the show. The fun thing about these dragons is that not one of them have a whole ‘monster’ vibe ‘we gotta kill it’ no, there’s a reason why they act this way, sometimes they’re hungry, they’re searching for something, it’s about survival, but overall, the majority on this list are intelligent but wild animals. Some can be trainable, some can’t be, and that’s fine.

Dragons in this universe have a type of Class. I’ve never delved fully into it but from my recent research I’ve seen:

Stoker Class - mainly fire types, although a majority of all dragons have fire-breathing these are the main direct fire ones that rely on it the most.

Boulder Class - heavy, tough scales, mainly shoot lava type fire and eat rocks.

Sharp Class - contain some sharp anatomy body-types or sharp extremities, like spikes or horns.

Strike Class - very fast, very agile, amazing accuracy.

Tidal Class - water dwellers

Tracker Class - a new class in the show, it can be given to other dragons from other classes, it’s in the name, they’re able to track almost anything from miles away.

Fear Class - stealth, sneaky, terrifying.

Mystery Class - generally where dragons are placed when there isn’t much known about them or they’re very rare. It isn’t unusual for dragons to show up in Mystery Class only to be placed in a Class they fit in better after getting to learn their abilities and traits.

Now, onto the dragons! Dragons in this universe are ‘trainable’ in the sense that with enough time and trust, a dragon can technically be bonded to any human. This does not apply to all dragons of course and not to all humans, as a human needs to be as open as the dragon to form a bond. A rider is also not limited to their dragon and vice-versa. While they don’t typically switch around, there have been moments when main characters ride other dragons momentarily or their dragons are ridden by other people (again, rarely.)

Their diet is also mainly fish-related and raw. Although it depends on the dragon, some prefer chicken or goats, even fruits. And as we know, Boulder class enjoy rocks.

Night Fury

The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. The only one we ever really meet is Toothless. He is the fastest of the other dragons, a Strike Class and his flame is typically referred to as Plasma Blasts. Quick and powerful projectiles that land heavy damage to their enemies. Night Furies also tend to dive-bomb in a fight, using speed as their weapon and they have echolocation! They have retractable teeth and amazing accuracy, Hiccup himself says that Toothless “never misses”. They also have great acute senses, in the first movie, Toothless was able to hear his rider screaming all the way across the village in a hidden cove. This also showed how loyal Night Furies are as Toothless clawed his way out of that cove to get to Hiccup (something he tried before but couldn’t achieve before their bond was formed). They’re also intelligent creatures, when Hiccup spares his life upon their first meeting and decides to let him go, Toothless could have just killed him but recognizing mercy, let him go as well.

Deadly Nadder

Nadders are very beautiful and they know this. They enjoy pruning and keeping themselves clean. Nadders are in the Tracker Class (used to belong to the Sharp Class). They have folded spikes on their tails that they can extend and shoot like projectiles at enemies. Nadders are similar to birds or chickens in their walking stance, they have a blind spot right below their jaw but be careful! They have excellent hearing. They enjoy hunting in packs. Nadders are also very loyal to their riders, putting themselves in harms way to keep them safe.

Gronkle

A Boulder Class dragon, Gronkles love to eat rocks and shoot molten lava (and lava rocks) as their main fire power. They have thick heavy scales and a tail made for offense. They’re not the fastest with their small wings and they prefer to be on the ground (thats where you find rocks!) In the show, our main Gronkle, Meatlug, was fed a particular combination of rocks that led to her molten lava coming out and forming a type of light but incredibly tough metal. (Think of it as their version of Valyrian steel.) Sociable and like packs.

Monstrous Nightmare

These can be a bit of a show off, they like to think they’re the toughest of the tough in their Stoker Class. Perhaps that’s because they can light themselves on fire! Yep, Nightmares’ scales produce this flammable gel that they can activate to light on command. Hookfang, our resident Nightmare, doesn’t get to do it as often because it would burn his rider.

But since Jon and Rhaegar don't burn it wouldn't be much of a problem, although I doubt they'd like going into battle naked. OTOH, Daemon next to a flaming Caraxes is a new-level of terrifying.

Hideous Zippelback

Our only main Mystery Class dragon, oh! And did I mention he has TWO heads? Meet Barf and Belch, one head (on the left) breathes a green awful gas while the other has a sparking-type flame that sets the gas ablaze. After a while, dragons tend to mimic their riders personalities more often than usual, so when their riders, a pair of twins called Ruffnut and Tuffnut, start bickering or fighting, it’s not long before Barf and Belch start literally butting heads with each other.

Zippelbacks are also notoriously loyal to those that help or save them. When Hiccup and Toothless save them from a rock avalanche, the dragon sticks to the pair, in debt to them until it was repaid.

I particularly love how each head has a specific function and it isn't just random or basic like fire and ice (IYKYK). They're part of a cohesive system and work together, they need each other.

all these previous dragons mentioned are easily trainable and sociable with both dragons and humans after the effort is put in.

bonus: Hiccup reading the Book of Dragons for the first time, we see a bunch of different dragons here for the first time! This is where we get to see the different types of dragons as well, and we do eventually meet all of them throughout the large franchise.

Time for more dragons! The following are dragons we get to see in the show, a few more recurring than most. The show does have a usual dragon-of-the-week format but not always. And it always depends on the situation but regardless we always add more to the dragon lore.

Whispering Death:

Boulder Class dragon that prefers to be underneath the earth than flying above it, uses its thousands of teeth to drill into the very earth.

Very lamprey-esque that still fills me with nightmares.

Have poor eyesight and a terrifying roar.

Hold grudges against dragons and humans.

Not the best fliers as they prefer to be on land.

They don't often travel in packs but they can, although it isn't brought up much.

not trainable.

Screaming Death

He’s just a lil guy.

An albino giant Whispering Death called the Screaming Death in the show. It's said that a Screaming Death only comes to be every one hundred years. This one is a recurring obstacle in season 2 for the gang of dragon riders.

The Screaming Death we meet is a thousand times more ferocious than any previous Whispering Deaths’s we’ve seen before. He’s also barely a year old.

More than that, he was taken from his mother which is the cause of most of his behavior until he reunites with her in a season finale where he had been an ongoing obstacle for the the mains.

untrainable— DON'T EVEN TRY IT

Boneknapper

What a name.

A Mystery Class dragon that, because of its weak scales, uses the bones of dead dragons to protect itself.

Very stubborn, it will go far and wide for years on end to find the perfect fit for his armor, even risking its life in the process.

Has a deafening roar that can send Vikings ten feet away from him. He's incredibly stealthy and able to sneak up on anyone.

We meet this dragon in a special short film.

trainable after some effort and offering something he wants.

The Scauldron

A Tidal Class dragon, meaning he's a water dweller.

The Scauldron shoots boiling hot water at its enemies.

Typical loners, and like most water dwellers they can't go long when stuck on land.

That’s how we meet Scauldy, a Scauldron that is stuck on land and the riders wish to rescue. He forms a bond with Ruffnut thanks to her fish-scented hair.

trainable, but rare and under the right circumstances.

Timberjack

A Sharp Class dragon that we actually don't get to meet in the main series but rather the sequel series set in the future (it's eh)

Timberjacks have sharp wings that can cut through entire forests (and enemies).

They closely resemble Monstrous Nightmares in a way.

Loyal to their riders regardless of anything, these aren't dragons to mess with.

Trainable

Usually solitary.

Extra extra: EVEN MORE dragons for Rhaegar to go crazy over.

Terrible Terror

So, in the books, Toothless was just a small common Garden dragon that got his name from the fact that his teeth just hadn't come in (and then when he got one, he lost it in a fight to an adult dragon).

When the writers began planning for the movies, they knew they wanted Hiccup to have a dragon big enough to ride, thus the size and species changed.

And so the Terrible Terror was born as an homage to the original Toothless.

Terrors are the size of a large cat or an iguana, they purr like cats and are part of the Stoker Class, so they are fire breathers.

But what they lack in size they make up for by attacking in large packs.

Terrors ended up being something of a comic relief from time to time. Although Hiccup did begin to train them to deliver messages, inventing 'Terror Mail'.

trainable

Thunderdrum

One of the few Tidal Class dragons able to breath fire although they don't use it often, their main method of attack is actually a strong concussive sound that can kill a human in close range.

They can dwell easily on either land or water, and they can expel the oxygen from their body to flaten their bodies to be able to glide across the surface and easily catch their prey.

They can be reclusive but enjoy travelling in pods.

Thunderdrums are also hard of hearing, making them the only dragons known to be immune to the Deathsong dragon.

trainable but they are stubborn and a challenge.

Changewing

This Mystery Class dragon is able to camaflouge using its chamaleon-like scales to blend into their surroundings.

Instead of fire, they shoot hot, corrosive acid that burn rocks and wood (as well as humans). They're also incredibly fast and stealthy.

One alone is a threat but can be taken down, thus why they hunt in packs. But they're large enough to defend themselves too.

Their packs also follow a typical lion pride style, as their females are the hunters.

Aggressive to humans and other dragons, they're also not opposed to eat both.

not trainable

Night Terrors

Not exactly cousins to Terrible Terrors although they do receive their name from them.

These nocturnal Stoker Class bat-like dragons opperate best as a team.

They unite in masses to form a large shape as their main defense to scare off predators, typically following their Alpha (a slightly larger sized and white scaled Night Terror.)

We meet them in the beginning of Race to the Edge, the riders claim an empty island of their own and come across these little guys. By taking away the leader, the rest scramble and run, not able to function together as a group. They get along well and name the Alpha Night Terror, Smidvarg.

Since it's their island too, they come to an agreement and the Night Terrors act as sentries or sentinels for the island.

trainable.

Armorwing

Not unlike the Boneknapper, this Mystery Class dragon uses metals to protect their scaleless bodies.

Their bodies are also somewhat magnetic, any metal coming into direct contact stays there until they can properly forge it.

Speaking of forging, when they do melt metal onto their body, their fire is unsually bright and one of the hottest seen.

I wouldn't be surprised if they were to be reclassified as a Stoker Class, even their shape is very Monstrous Nightmare-like.

Some actually have a preference for specific metals. It could range from iron, bronze, silver, or even gold.

Smothering Smokebreath

They get their name from the fact that they can't breathe fire but rather exhale extreme thick plumes of black smoke.

These guys are not inherintly aggressive at all, they actually prefer to avoid fights.

They're always in packs due to their small size, only slightly bigger than Night Terrors. Together, their joint smoke breath appears like a natural fog bank, keeping them hidden and safe from predators.

Their reputation has been quite supernatural for years, thanks to their smoke, no one has ever gotten a good look at what they look like, making them larger than life and spreading scary tales.

They're also little thieves that like shiny things, typically stealing anything metal to keep in their caves.

not trainable, they don't like to leave their home, although i wouldn't 100% rule it out.

Speed Stinger

Okay, I know, they look like velociraptors from Jurassic Park, bear with me.

For decades they were believed to be a rumor or legend.

The ultimate of the Strike Class, they don't have wings but are the fastest dragons on land that you'll ever meet. And I hope you never do.

They're scavengers and hunters, always in packs and never alone, using their poison tipped tails to paralyze any victims they claim.

Incredible aggressive and not an easily susceptible threat.

They typically get to places by running across glaciers and frozen bodies of water, but over time other packs have evolved and even developed webbing to be able to run across water.

They aren't trainable but it's not impossible, the riders once found an injured adolescent Stinger, nursed him back to health and managed to train him for months before sending him back to his pack.

This was a specific circumstances case, so I would still call them untrainable.

Deathsong

The Deathsong is one of new dragons we get to meet and name along the way.

Very beautiful on the outside, resembling a butterfly to attract prey from afar but that's not all it can do. Coming from its name, the Deathsong's most potent form of attack is its siren song.

Able to attract and disoritent humans and dragons alike.

Once prey has arrived, the Deathsong is able to shoot out an orange hot type of lava at its victims that hardens instantly like amber.

This way it keeps its victims on standby before consuming them, dragon and human alike.

Aggressive and solitary.

Not trainable as an adult, but we did see the riders train one since he was a hatchling, forming a bond that lasted even years after being in the wild.

Foreverwing

The only dragon we don't get to see in the movies or the shows but I included him since he was just so interesting.

He's one of the Titan dragons due to his colossal size and has thick foliage and trees that grow on his back.

Foreverwings sleep for a long time, typically on mountains so their backs grow larger and denser, becoming homes for all matter of creatures, dragons and animals alike, able to live in peace and harmony amongst each other.

It also spews copious amounts of lava able to take down entire villages.

More dragons:

Dramillion - this dragon is capable of mimicing fire blasts of other dragons

Snow Wraith - a cold dwelling dragon, entirely white with red eyes, solitary and impossible to find

Catastrophic Quaken - her mouth opens in a split way that makes it terrifying. also can curl into itself like an armadillo and smashing themself against enemies or large rocks

Typhoomerang - A new species of dragon that the gang encounters. Their first dragon that isn't in the Book of Dragons actually, so they get to name the species and spend time with a hatchling for a while. These Dragons leave scorch marks on the ground not unlike a typhoon sigil and tend to come back down the same way, like a boomerang.

And there are so, so, so many more.

[phantomoftheorpheum]

School Spirits Season 2 (episodes 1-3) liveblog/thoughts

**Spoilers for School Spirits Seasons 1 and 2x01-2x03

note: so last season I wrote up a lot of really detailed timeline stuff as I watched, and I don't think I'm going to do that this season, because 1. it's not a murder mystery anymore and 2. since a lot of the "mystery" elements of last season didn't tie back to Maddie at all, I can't expect all the little details to necessarily come together for the main plot. There are a couple of loose threads from that which I will keep an eye out for (honestly, I think they're just accidental loose threads), but my approach this season is more just ~vibes~

2x01

ROFL I completely forget Xavier got hit by a car at the end of season 1, like it completely slipped my mind. I possibly should have done a rewatch leading up to this, but I didn't and I'm here now, so I'm gonna go with it. I am watching the recap, though.

First question remains the same- what does Mr. Martin want? He tells Janet "the only way out is to go back in" and tells her that she needs to "go in deeper" which she does not want to do. He later tells Maddie that he wishes he had never pursued "this," though we know we can't trust him, so who knows if he actually has regrets or not. However, the fact that he runs from Maddie (and vanishes to who knows where?) suggests to me that he is genuinely afraid of something. If he were completely in control, I don't see why he would run away, what are the ghosts going to do him? Kill him?

Okay, Simon, my boy, please think clearly. Maddie literally gave you information that would have been impossible for you to have otherwise. The only reason you even found out Claire was involved in the blackmail was because of this stuff.

Lots of setup, some refreshers for the start of the season, fairly standard for a season opener. The budget feels higher already.

Unsurprisingly, it looks like Janet's past is going to play a big role in the season. Her dad seems like he sucks. I guess my immediate question is- are we getting all this backstory because it's emotionally relevant to Janet's storyline, or are we getting all this backstory because there's going to be a big plot element around it? When Janet goes to the graveyard, we see her grandmother's and her father's grave. Are those characters still in play as ghosts?

So far it does seem like the ghost characters are going to get the majority of the emotional weight. Rhonda, Charley, and Wally all already feel like they've been set up for some character development, while Nicole, Claire, and Xavier (until the end) don't have particularly clear set up for anything. Simon and Maddie have always been central, so no surprises there.

Okay, tbh, I did not think the car hitting Xavier looked that bad, but I'm going to assume he suffered a head injury or like that thing where if you get hit really hard at just the wrong moment it stops your heart, or something like that until told otherwise, because otherwise I can't figure out why he literally died for a minute.

So, my big question for the end of episode 1 is- how will this tie Xavier to the ghost world? Will he be able to see ghosts now? (I can see them not wanting to do this because Simon being the only person who can see Maddie is portrayed so heavily as a special bond, but also linking Xavier to the supernatural seems like the obvious reason they would kill him briefly, so....) Maybe it's just to get him onboard with everything because Claire is clearly not going to buy this story and Nicole seems pretty skeptical, too. I guess I'll just have to keep watching to find out.

Also seems important to mention that Janet is clearly pretty messed up from both what she's been through (and possibly her life before her death) and she appears to have been locked in a basement for like a year and I didn't miss all of that, I just don't have much commentary for it other than- I can't blame her.

2x02

Okay, so far it does feel like Xavier's brush with death is mainly to get him to be more open to everything, but I think it would be cool if he has some sort of lingering supernatural effects of the experience. Having a character die and then be brought back feels like the sort of thing that majorly changes them. If this weren't a supernatural story, I would assume that would be emotional/metaphorical change, but this show is about ghosts, so I'm kind of expecting something more than that.

I hate to say it, because I adore Wally and I hate love triangles, but it's making me itchy to watch all the Simon/Maddie/Wally scenes where Wally very clearly feels threatened. It's not there for no reason.

New additions to the cast, Yuri and Quinn. I wonder why Yuri never thought it was odd that Janet could make permanent stuff? Does he also have that skill? Because if not, surely he would notice that his stuff resets and (at least some) hers doesn't? I do like Yuri so far, though. I'm about halfway through the ep, don't feel like I know much about Quinn yet.

So we now know Janet's dad definitely sucked a lot. With that confirmed, and with the scene of Janet hiding under the stairs (as Maddie) with the person going up and down, do we think that's her father's ghost? (It wouldn't surprise me at all if Janet sees ghosts even though she's technically alive now). And... How did he die? did she (or her grandmother) kill him?

Xavier, my dude, I know I was tough on you last season, but cheating on Maddie does not mean you deserved to be hit and killed by a car.

Mr. Martin is engaged? (well, was) Interesting.

I hope someone realizes how triggering the Mr. Martin & Janet stuff clearly is for Rhonda. Obviously (so far) in the flashbacks we aren't getting the impression that it's an exact reflection of Rhonda's experiences, but close enough.

Okay, I wasn't expecting the Wally conflict to directly come up so soon, but I hope this at least means that we'll get some happy-go-lucky glimpses of him this season because it's one of my favorite elements of his character and (as Maddie basically called out) it's been very lowkey recently. I understand why he's upset/struggling, I like the layers, I just hope that's not the only side we see of him this season.

Alright, they just said Xaiver has a concussion. I'm no MD, but I did do some sports medicine training (unfortunately saw my fair share of concussions, including a couple that required ambulances, paramedics, and a trip to the hospital) and I do not think if you actually almost died of a head injury that anyone would let you back in school like the next day, even if you aren't expected in class. The lights alone would be problematic. But that's probably just me nitpicking.

So what you're telling me is Yuri saw a ghost with extra abilities and he was just like "eh 🤷‍♂️"? honestly, kinda valid. I'm glad Charley is addressing that.

I just had a thought that probably won't happen, but could be interesting, since Simon & Xavier are headed to the house that Janet is burning down, is it possible that Xavier will see Janet (Maddie) as Janet and not as Maddie? That would be an interesting effect of his death that's different from Simon's ability to talk to Maddie's ghost. I don't know how it would be helpful, but it could be cool.

Also was I right and Janet's father's ghost was actually there, or was she just imagining/remembering him? Clearly we don't know the extent of her abilities, or how the other ghosts factor in, but considering Janet's love of science and all the documentation, it would follow that she was running different experiments and she needed a bunch of different test subjects to do so. The big question being- what negative effects did she know/assume this had on them, because if it didn't have any, there would be no reason to hide it and they might do it voluntarily (they have very little to lose). Is it just that she was actively keeping them from crossing over? It seems like it would be something worse than that.

Mr. Martin is afraid of something "bigger," so clocked that. I do have an idea of what the red light means from the trailer, so not going to pretend to be super confused or speculate a lot, but not gonna explicitly say here because in case people haven't seen the trailer that addresses this.

2x03

So... do we think Claire is going to get an actual storyline, or?

Ah, there's some Wally lightness I was looking for.

Just got to the scene with Nicole's brother who I do not believe existed last season & I could be wrong, but he very much feels like a character that's been introduced to provide Claire with a new love interest and I am questioning if this would have absolutely anything to do with the central plot.

Janet's quite possibly a genius, but also she managed to leave her bag in a bathroom and lose all the money she stole, so brains aren't everything. I can't even laugh at her because I left my purse in a public bathroom a few months ago and didn't realize until I had driven an hour and half away and then had to drive an hour and half back (luckily it had been turned in) and then an hour and half the other way again.

I didn't realize I wanted more Xavier & Simon detective squad scenes until just now, but I do. I think they're really funny together, the actors bounce really well off of each other.

Okay, wait, wait, I immediately take back what I said about Nicole's brother because Janet's just been offered a ride to a college, and they just told us five minutes ago that Diego is in college, so what are the odds on "Diego sees his sister's missing best friend"? High, I'm guessing.

Well. That happened a lot faster than I was expecting it to, but okay. lol.

Can someone explain to me how the hell is Mr. Anderson is not in jail?? Stealing that much money is definitely a felony.

I can't tell if we're setting Nicole and Xavier up for a legit romance or just absolute horror and hilarity, like right now I could honestly see it going either way.

I just had to pause for like ten minutes from the secondhand embarrassment of the Wally/Janet scene. I know that's not the important part of that, but omg.

I don't understand how everyone else thought what Rhonda relayed about the party made Janet look bad instead of Mr. Martin. She literally says "no more experiments" and it seems like she wanted to give back the objects taken from the other ghosts, and I don't really get why Rhonda had to spell that out for everyone, like exercise some common sense my guys. I'm not saying that I fully buy that Mr. Martin is the ultimate evil (the man is scared of something) or that Janet is the ultimate good (setting aside the whole "stealing Maddie's body" thing, she was willing to kill Xavier with a car, so not a paragon of good morals, but still), just that I don't get what they missed about Rhonda's story to see Janet as the bad guy there.

I'm back to "Diego exists as a character solely for Claire" even though they technically used him for the plot briefly.

How did five of you lose Janet? She was literally right there.

So is it (the "hellscapes" so to speak) like a "you have to confront your death before you can move past it" kinda thing, or??

Unexpected MVP dynamic Simon & Xavier! But also Xavier should not be driving either and the girls really should have dropped both him and Simon off.

I'm not sure where Janet falls on a morality scale, but approaching Maddie's mom is rough if she doesn't intend to try to give Maddie's body back, because she has been through enough and like... oof.

It took me several hours to get through these episodes because this show has the misfortune of being on the most buggy streaming platform of all time, so my brain is tired at this point. I'll start a new post if I have any additional thoughts.

[bikananjarrus]

i have a few thoughts about how the lost hero actually sets up the darker tone for HoO really well and then. well. there was never any follow through.

now some of my hindsight about TLH is probably fueled by nostalgia (i actually am really fond of tlh and also i was 14 when i read. impressionable on my teen brain). i’ve reread it several times, but i have really strong memories of the first time i read the book too, and i just remember it having a very gloomy, dark vibe to it. (the way that TTC is set in winter and definitely feels like a winter book, this is the HoO equivalent for me.)

looking at the actual contents of the book, the book starting off with jason's pov, who has no idea who he is, so immediately the feeling is 'oh shit. something happened to this guy. and it's not good.' and then almost immediately after that, getting sucker punched with the “she's been looking for one of our campers, who’s been missing three days…her boyfriend. A guy named percy jackson.” percy??? thee percy jackson. MISSING???? (look, that put 14 year old me flat on the floor. it still hits. but in 2010 when we had no idea percy was going to even be in these books….you kinda just had to be there okay.)

alongside jason, we have piper, whose dad got kidnapped by a giant and she'd being blackmailed! all before she finds out she's a demigod!! like she's already having a ROUGH time. we find out leo was manipulated by gaea to use his flame powers, which resulted in the fire that killed his mom (genuinely wtf).

their quest starting the lead up to the second great prophecy, which is happening so soon after percy's great prophecy (like they JUST finished fighting a war. give them a chance to breathe dammit. but also implying that some major things stirred with the defeat of kronos. But how could there be something more horrifying than kronos?).

their quest taking them to all these abandoned and/or cold places (the run down wolf house, they're hiding in the sewers at one point, the cyclops lair in that abandoned warehouse, the cave where they shelter from the cold and where the hunters of artemis find them, boreas’s house being in canada, even the mall where they meet medea being empty iirc). jason being abandoned by his mother. piper feeling abandoned by a father who doesn't have enough time for her. leo being alone too (not his mom's fault she died; not his fault for the fire; but he's alone nonetheless). even their primary mode of transportation being flying on festus feels strange and out of the place, bc for so long, we were seeing through percy's eyes and he had to stay on the ground.

and then to end the book with jason dying, however briefly. literally a dead man walking from the very beginning.

the tone was something different and darker, and combined with percy, hazel, and frank going to alaska, the land beyond the gods, in SoN, we were really venturing into unknown territory. it felt like our heroes would be tested. that gaea truly was something to be feared, even more so than kronos, and that it would take the generation's seven greatest demigods to defeat her.

and then it never followed through with that set up.

[markantonys]

3x08 might reveal something that makes a fool of me for this prediction, but until then: since lord luc was kinda giving Just Cameo vibes this season rather than giving off the impression that he's a character to keep an eye on for a bigger role later, what if we've already seen the extent of him and he won't return again, and instead in s4, berelain=graendal=slayer?

say perrin gets brought to a city of some sort in advance of his trial, and once there, he meets a friendly noblewoman (berelain) who takes his side against the whitecloaks and offers some help in preparing for the trial. at the same time, perrin is getting involved in the wolf dream and there is a mysterious evil presence lurking around, who the wolves call slayer. eventually it all comes out that berelain is actually graendal, and she's the one who's been fucking around in TAR and killing wolves & antagonizing perrin there. this preserves the whole "slayer is actually somebody i already know in the waking world and have been hanging out with" vibe that luc-as-slayer had in TSR. (casting-wise, they could use just one actress and have perrin never quite catch a glimpse of slayer in TAR so that we don't realize it's berelain, or they could have a different actress for the berelain disguise which graendal permanently sheds after s4 once perrin has uncovered her, and in this scenario perrin fully sees Real Graendal in TAR but just doesn't know either that she's a forsaken or that she's "berelain" in the waking world.)

in the books, graendal and perrin are both involved in TAR shenanigans during the last battle, and a quick wiki check confirms to me that they even fight each other in TAR during the last battle, though they both end up getting away and moving on to do other stuff for the rest of the battle. in addition, graendal is pretty far-removed from any EF5 and from the main plot for the vast majority of the series, besides her brief beef with rand in TGS. likewise, perrin is far-removed from the main plot a lot of the time because he is so often off doing his own sidequests and because his main antagonist is slayer who has basically no relevance to any of the other main characters or storylines (besides the brief crossover with egwene in TOM and besides the family connections to rand & lan that go absolutely nowhere). therefore, turning graendal into perrin's Forsaken Archnemesis would be a great move for several reasons: it pits their TAR abilities against each other and could create a final showdown between them in the last battle, it gives graendal a bigger role in the story directly antagonizing one of the main characters, and it keeps perrin more connected with the main story by having him dealing with a forsaken just like everybody else is and puts his story on level footing with everyone else's if they're all dealing with forsaken instead of many of them dealing with forsaken while perrin's busy with Just Some Guy.

the berelain-graendal merger has been theorized for a long time, and it makes a lot of sense. both their MOs are basically "being really beautiful and trying to seduce people for their own ends" so it's easy to merge them because they are so similar in vibe, and perrin's pursuer being a forsaken rather than just some lady turns the whole situation from a pointless and petty love triangle that isn't a love triangle because perrin is not interested in berelain whatsoever into a truly scary and tense conflict with him being stalked by a forsaken. i'd say berelain either has to be cut or has to be graendal, because berelain as her own character just doesn't contribute enough to the story to justify having her there in this streamlined version.

so let's say "berelain" is included but is actually graendal. even in this scenario, a beautiful woman trying and failing to seduce perrin would have to be a short-term beat, they can't just keep on that for multiple seasons. so it would have to be going on for maybe one season, and then perrin and the audience finds out this is actually graendal. now what? that's where graendal-as-slayer comes in.

skimming the wiki, the main thing graendal is doing prior to the last battle is causing trouble in arad doman offscreen (until rand goes there for 1 book) and messing with ituralde and his efforts against the seanchan. i speculate that ituralde will be cut and mat will take over as the Great General leading a military campaign against the seanchan, and perhaps semirhage will be the main forsaken he's dealing with in that whole situation since she's attached to tuon. this would leave graendal without much to do, so rehoming her in perrin's notably forsaken-free storyline would work, and giving slayer's activities to her as her main role in perrin's story (once the jig is up with the berelain-esque seduction scheme) would also work because TAR fuckery is perfectly within her standard MO and abilities, and it keeps the heart of the slayer story intact while hugely simplifying the lore and fully cutting out the ABUNDANCE of explaining that slayer-luc-isam would require in order to be even remotely coherent (even if they axe the jekyll/hyde situation and make it just luc by himself, we still have to explain why This Random Guy is so skilled in TAR and his backstory with tigraine and family connection with rand and ideally we would make something out of that family connection so it doesn't feel like a random thread that goes nowhere etc etc etc, it's just a lot of information the audience needs to get in order for the character to function well in the story, and absolutely none of that is required for graendal-as-slayer because we already know that the forsaken are dangerous in TAR and love fucking around there, no further explanation needed).

when we first heard that luc would be in s3, i thought "oh interesting, luc/slayer seemed like a prime candidate for some cutting & merging since it's a thread that feels somewhat random and unrelated to the main story and main set of antagonists, but maybe they're planning to expand his role and make him feel connected to the rest of the story and also beef him up so that he's sufficiently on par with the other antagonists". however, the two rivers arc of s3 came and went and luc had about 3 lines the whole time and no particular attention was drawn to him, which is now leading me towards thinking maybe he's just a cameo as faile's hunter companion to lend credence to her being part of the hunt (instead of just showing up randomly all by herself), and maybe we won't ever see him again. glancing at the actor's imdb page, he tends towards 1-2 episode stints in a variety of shows and no long-term role in any, which would support the idea that his role in WOT was a short one and won't recur. plus, nothing about his show aesthetic seemed to indicate that they were setting up for a reveal that he's andoran royalty and related to rand (surely they would've made him a redhead or strawberry blond to set up for that, but he has dark hair in the show), so that's another point leading me to think he is Just Some Guy in the show and doesn't have book!luc's whole backstory or overall plot importance.

but i could be completely wrong! he does seem to be hanging out with the whitecloaks, which is where perrin will be in s4, so maybe they intend to do him as slayer next season and simply didn't have time to give him much setup in s3, and maybe my whole graendal theory will turn out to be silly. we shall see!

[sometimesoliloquy]

The Handmaid's Tale 6x04 - "Promotion" (or IDK, how about just “STFU Luke?”)👀

Look, this was a hard episode to write about. I was so triggered by the immature acting out throughout the most part that the first draft of this was pretty much just "ahHfUUUuuuckyouuUUUuLuuuke”. So yeah, I really just want to get the thoughts out of my brain so I can finally stop thinking about this episode (before my blood pressure gets too high) and focus on the new one dropping today.

(Just me or does it look like June has a weird crooked halo?)

We open with June back in the Mayday camp at the grand old resort-thing place, watching a mad scientist dude welding shit together to (ostensibly) make bombs, as we soon find out will become a major plot point--and point of contention. It would be cool except June looks like she wished she'd skipped class pretty bored, and what we are actually hearing is Luke pedantically droning on in the background from the other room and this is where my teeth set to gnashing because we're less than a minute in and already I just know he is going to be completely insufferable for the rest of the episode. June pops up to go talk to him and yep, he's completely condescending, holding up a finger for her to wait sorry the middle of things, k sweet thing? come back later, You understand. You know what I ALMOST feel bad for him here because he's so cocky and expecting June to be SO impressed but she just looks at him skeptically like ok, that's cute. Oh dear.

When Tuello delivers the incredible news that Luke's case has been dismissed (because of the intel he and Moira brought back, thanks Nick!) and can go ahead and hop on a flight to Alaska, Luke is clearly not happy. It seems he's been super busy becoming the big man on campus developing plans for bombing commanders and now has much better things to do than go be a family with June and Holly like he's been cajoling her to do since the day she arrived on Canadian soil. After getting pulled away again for more planning, he tracks her down to give the most half-hearted apology I've ever seen (about not telling her he was going on the Mayday mission): "You know, I was thinking I should have told you what I was doing" YA THINK? June brushes it off, but a bit passive aggressively so yeh, this tension is going no where (yeah, something's about to blow up, Luke, you got that right anyway!). It's also of note that June's somewhat frantic "we..we have to go back and we have to build a life together!" is very much giving are you trying to convince me or are you trying to convince yourself vibes and we will see more on this later...

The Mayday folks hold assembly a meeting to debrief on Luke and Moira's (ultimately) successful (again, thanks Nick!) mission, and the next step which is apparently going to be killing the commanders at Jezebels. June immediately points out the danger to the woman trapped there (you know, as traumatized sex slaves), becoming a bit of a thorn in the leader, Ellen’s, side. It seems they are largely ok with some collateral damage as long as they get to hit their targets (paralleling Luke's new trajectory, apparently) but June at least gets them to agree to send someone in to warn the Jezebels and get them out before they get caught in the crossfire. Of course it's Moira who volunteers--she looks terrified but says it's her who has to go, as she astutely points out she knows that place (and its residents) far better than anyone else here.

I have to say, although June IS being a bit of a smug know-it-all here, she's mostly not wrong and I did feel a tiny bit bad for her that in this environment she seems to have been demoted in status from "June Fucking Osborne" who did Angels' Flight and poisoned a country club full of commanders, to apparently "just June", who is just kind of hanging out and getting in the way, interrupting your v important bomb talk, etc. Apparently she's a bit old news—yeah but what have you done lately? I mean except fly in and link up w/your secret spy commander boyfriend to pull the last mission out of the gutter. Ok she does get a quick shout out for that, not Nick though, we're not talking about that here, either because Gilead commanders are a volatile subject or because we don't want to hurt Luke's fee fees.

It seems an interesting contrast to when June and Moira visited Lily's Mayday camp in s5 and June was praised as a hero. Overall this season, there seems to be a bit of tonal shift as it comes to Mayday. Last season when we learned that yes, Mayday was an actual thing that's been there all along, helping, it was such a beautifully hopeful moment--that there has been after all this network of just regular people doing what they can to help, to fight, to do the right thing. Now as we're actually seeing them more in action and the fight is becoming a more tangible thing enfolding in front of June's--and the viewers'--eyes, the fact that these are just ordinary people, civilians mostly with no military training, no insurgence experience or for the large part having even been to Gilead, shifts the overall feeling a bit from inspiring to slightly worrisome, as we have to wonder if they really can pull this off without creating more of a mess. Of course it's still fantastic to see people fighting back, but there's an underlying sense of unease that it's just not enough, especially going up against the Goliath of Gilead, and with it having somehow become Tuello's first line of defense.

June goes to find Moira as she is prepping for the Jezebels mission (apparently to try and talk her out of it). They start to argue when a print out of Janine comes through their fax machine, they're both stunned and June says "oh no, no not her". She'd thought Janine was at least as safe as a handmaid could be (not saying much, I know) at the red center with Aunt Lydia who she knows has a giant soft spot for her. The amount of guilt that hits her here must be tremendous (although now that I'm thinking of it, it is a bit annoying we really don't see her think of Janine til now, wtf!) which gives her the perfect excuse to try and grabby hands this mission away from Moira, so off to the leader she runs, eventually getting the OK once she reminds Ellen of her secret weapon, her secret commander boyfriend on the inside.

This of course all comes to a head with the ultimate three way blow up fight outside. Look, it’s just incredibly ironic, right? Luke and Moira have both essentially been treating June like a pariah, a damaged crazy person for nearly two whole seasons now. Like there was something inherently wrong and broken in her that she couldn’t just “let things go” and just be happy to be free and have Nichole and be a family again. Now there is a sudden (somewhat seemingly unearned) turning of the tables, and it's understandably leaving June feeling somewhat unmoored and off balance.

And here’s the thing: they’re not wrong in this new motivation, not at all. It’s good that they finally want to fight, and have found an avenue to do so. Moira always had such a fighting spirit when he saw her in the red center and on the before flashbacks, and it’s so good to see that spark reignited, to see her finally set out of the shell she seemed to find herself in in Canada, trying to make herself continually smaller and quieter to appease anti-refugee rhetoric and even society at large. And while I don’t think she is really being fair here—June never asked her to “live June’s life”—I am glad she’s finally got that off her chest and is ready to live her life how she wants to.

Don't even get me started on Luke. Ok, I guess I'm already started. Look, I absolutely cannot blame him for enjoying finally feeling useful but honestly alI can see in this scene is a big man-baby toddler throwing a tantrum, stomping his foot and yelling about "MY BOMBS, MY TURN, it's not FAIR". Come on, man, if you don't want to be infantilized, if you want to be treated like an adult who can make his own choices... maybe just rethink this behavior, that's all I'm saying. Aside from the totally immature attitude and the hypocrisy, I'm confused and bothered by the implication that he was somehow "prevented" from fighting Gilead until now. Look, the fact is Luke is a smart guy; he seems to have a really intelligent analytical brain and city planning/engineering/construction experience that can come in very useful (I mean, ok, his whole “building codes” thing in s5 actually did end up helping). That is his strength and what’s frustrating is that it DOES seem like he could have been actual help to the resistance--sticking to his behind the scenes analytical strengths and not letting ego take the wheel thinking he knows all about stealth ops or going in guns blazing. But it really seems like his own fault that he hasn’t. Is his inability to think outside the box, that has kept him sitting on his hands for years, feeling useless, really anyone else's fault? Is he trying to blame it on June by saying he was "too busy" waiting and worrying for her, and then looking after Holly/Nichole, to find another way to fight? Ok, maybe he's got a point about the kid, but come on, that's not really the reason. He was just unable to conceive of a different way to fight until he was shown this. And that's ok, but he just needs to admit it and move on.

Ok, let's face it (as she finally admits out loud at the end), June was never really going to be satisfied to skip off to Alaska with Luke and just leave Hannah to whatever fate, no matter how much she loves both Holly's, or how much she may crave some peace and normalcy. But hey, it seems like she had been willing to try and FFS I think it would have been nice if Luke (and Moira) could have some goddamn self-awareness and acknowledgment of this. But whatever, I guess we can't have nice things!

And so finally, we have somewhat of a resolution: Luke finds June looking out towards the mountains and joins her for (finally) the most honest (without insults anyway) conversation we've seen them have since she got free to Canada... or you know what, maybe ever?? Luke finally admits "I get it" (ok THANKYOU maybe we can have some kind of OK things eventually). Now that he's had a tiny taste, he finally gets her need to fight, and he wants to as well. We get the much-contested "If you want to fight, let's fight together" line, and ok, it's better than him being a condescending a-hole so I guess I'll take it. June cautions him about how intensely hard it is to fight and feel like you're getting so close to Hannah, only to keep coming up empty-handed, but they agree they still have to try. Finally, June admits "I had this idea that we could be a family again", at last realizing (and saying out loud), that this was merely an illusion, a distraction. But they just can't be that family again, they're broken. They recommit to fighting for Hannah and say mutual "you know I love you('s), right?" but it feels like there’s a "BUT" implicit here: we'll always have love for each other, but we're not in love with each other. We'll always be family but we're not A Family anymore.

In New Bethlehem, Rita is arrives to town on the official NB bus, looking quite nervous (I can't blame her) and is greeted by Serena the ambassador of NB Queen of Gilead herself (she's definitely got the queen wave down, I wonder if she was a pageant-queen-for-Jesus when she was younger). Serena soon gets ditched though and watches on a bit sadly as Rita spies her long-lost sister in the crowd: this is why she came, to reunite with the only family she has left, and it's a truly emotional reunion. We see people embracing all around them as well, more tragically separated loved-ones now brought back together in this supposed paradise... but will it end up as a nightmare?? I have a bad feeling. Not according to Nick, it seems like he really believes this new haven is about as safe as you can get (this close to Gilead anyway) and he is definitely an expert on safety having helped keep June alive for this long with all her crazy hijinks(!!). It was nice seeing Rita and Nick reunite and chat; there is a well-acquainted sort of warmth and familiarity there, and Nick says he will try and help her and her family get out, though it "could take a while, a year or two". But we clearly see how much family means to Rita: "For my family? Anything". Nick just nods knowingly, he can relate.

Of course we can't forget about Lawrence’s Big Day: his promotion to Grand Poobah High Commander, which gives Naomi a chance to awkwardly hit on her husband, only to be summarily rejected (this “poor” woman just keeps striking out, at least has her Parisian jewelry to keep her warm). And of course it gives the menfolk an opportunity for bizarre dress-up rituals followed by some good old fashioned fun at Jezebels. Unfortunately for Lawrence, his appeal to his old buddy s4/5 wingman is overruled by new daddy in law’s edict: “Rose is waiting for us”, and Nick’s relief is palpable. Lawrence looks sad that he's lost his puppy commander pet like he wishes he could get out of it also, but it seems perhaps Naomi’s words about what these commanders value are running through his head (omg someone listened to her for once?) and so off they and their gold watches go for some shitbag commander highjinks.

And who is there to “entertain” them but poor Janine, who is seems the slimy new Commander Bell Jr. has decided is his new “pet” (gag). By which I mean he is the kind of small-dicked douchbag who gets off on shitty power plays and humiliating women. Not one to pass up the chance to make as many decent people as possible miserable, he clocks Lawrence’s discomfort and says “oh that’s right, she was yours”, egging him on to “have a round” with Janine.

We of course know he’s not going to do anything, and are flashed painfully back to Lawrence trying to reassure Eleanor “we’re all just going to sit here” before June drops the terrible truth bomb that they are going to have to follow through with the “ceremony”. Of course, thankfully, there is no creepy “checking” afterwards here, so they can in fact just talk (and Janine can call him “scary” lol). And then, a small gift, an offering: Lawrence reveals the drawing little Charlotte/Angela (sorry, I have to honor her given name!) gave him earlier in the episode. Though he can’t resist just a bit of snark, he ultimately makes the genuine promise to look out for her. It reminds me in a way, heartbreakingly, of June desperately trying to find her unborn baby a godmother before Serena banishes her from the house “I want my baby to know kindness”.

And that he delivers on, as we next see him at home with little Angela (Charlotte) on his knee, the very picture of fatherly/grandfatherly kindness. He is reading to her from "A Little Princess", which he tells her she will hopefully read herself someday (I'm tearing up). "My Eleanor's favorite book as a little girl" he says (and I'm now crying that he knows and remembers this sweet, intimate little fact about his late wife, their love story really is so tragic). I'm sure there's a ton of symbolism in this choice... from what I can recall (spoiler alert for "A Little Princess!" lol), it's revealed at the end that Sara's father is not actually dead and she is reunited with him. Could this possibly be foreshadowing that Janine may be end up reuniting with her beloved Charlotte? If this could be the case, I also have to wonder if Lawrence's redemption ultimately will be not some grand re-imagining of society as he's planned, but perhaps instead a key role in a much smaller but more personal and incredibly meaningful act of good (I have to think Eleanor would be pleased). The site of Lawrence and Angela, heads bent over the book, also brings to mind a bittersweet sort of alternate-life image of the child/grandchild Joseph and Eleanor never had, and we have to wonder if Lawrence is thinking of this as well as he pauses and starts choking up a little. just between the words "a little girl" and "sat in a cab with her father". The scene fades out as the sound of him reading plays over That's all I have to say about this scene for now, except that I now NEED Bradley Whitford to record a series of audio books narrating children's classics (preferably over a background of soothing nature sounds). This would absolutely cure insomnia worldwide, CONSIDER IT A SERVICE TO HUMANITY, BRAD.

Meanwhile that night, Serena and Wharton are cosplaying early 1940's part of The Notebook (wait, seriously though, where did that music even come from??) as he walks her home after their store-bought pie date, when Aunt Lydia suddenly pops up out of freaking nowhere (she really has a special talent for ruining the moment, don't you think?). Blessed EVEning! (I wonder whatever could she want!)

***

Ok, yada yada, Promotion (did I mention I'm over this episode?). Obviously we have Lawrence's big promotion to High Commander, which brings both greater power and greater scrutiny. Hopefully he can dodge the latter while putting the former to good use (even if it may end up being a different use than he thinks now). In a way I suppose Angela/Charlotte fully gets "promoted" to cared after step-daughter status. Moira's (re)promoted to her previous fierce fighter status. And I guess Luke has also been promoted to Mr. Know-it-all Big Man on Campus Mansplainer "an effective leader".

As annoyed as I was for most of the episode, I was so very glad June and Luke had that little chat at the end. And visually it was a really gorgeous scene: the picturesque setting, the music, and the way it fades out to the sounds of Lawrence reading mixed with soft rain and distant thunder (again, I'm gonna need that audio book, Bradley). I can't help feeling like there's still something missing to the conversation. Maybe it's the elephant (let's face it, a stegosaurus at this point) in their relationship that is NICK. It’s insane to me that they still haven't had that conversation when it's so clear how much that particular insecurity (how emasculated he feels from having to be rescued by June and her boyfriend, and how much he wants to be a "man of action" like Nick) is driving Luke and his attitude earlier in the episode. Maybe it's also the (spoiler alert if you haven't watched the trailer! And if you haven't I want to have a talk with you about willpower and how I can get some of it!) kiss we know is coming (which at this point I have to think/hope is like a final "we're going into a dangerous mission so goodbye in case I never see you again" kiss(??). Hm.

But yeah. At least they finally said some important things to each other, both with words and subtext, and from their final facial expressions in the scene it seems pretty plain that they know, in one way at least, they're coming to the end of the road. And it's a great final image: the two of them against this grand backdrop, together here but clearly on the precipice of an inevitable divergence, where they will be united in the cause of fighting for their daughter, but not as as a couple. They're nearly there. They're so close, they just need that final push to finally free themselves both of the shared shackles of painful history and obligation, and each set off on the path they need to walk, to be true to the people they've become and will continue to evolve into.

*screencaps & captions sourced by me*

[the-wordsmith-streetscarf]

An Assortment of Thoughts about Daredevil Born Again episode 9

Putting my (mostly positive) thoughts here because I wanted to talk about the episode and figure this is marginally better than just bouncing them around in my head.

First of all, to all my fellow whump lovers, we've finally been given a Major Whump Event, and I am quite pleased.

A couple things of note, that I can't stop thinking about:

Matt lying in a hospital bed calling out Karen's name in his drug induced state continues to live rent free in my head, almost twenty-four hours later. It's so cliché, but I'm so here for it this time.

Heather's reaction in the hospital was so interesting to me. Initially I only read it as her being hurt over Matt calling out for Karen, and then annoyed that he didn't want to rest. Which of course is Classic Matt -- a bullet hole in his body? No time for rest, he has work to do. But upon re-watch, the way she steps away from him, body stiff… and the way she points out that the Fisks were the ones being shot at… as though that makes them innocent of any potential wrongdoings... she's annoyed that Matt is trying to villainize the Fisks. Even before she joins the mayor's team, she's firmly on their side. She either somehow doesn't know about Fisk's criminal history, or she's so anti-vigilante that she doesn't care. Almost like her fascination about vigilantes was never about trying to understand them, but rather trying to justify the point of view she already had on them. And by the end, Matt has Fisk in his pocket, further illustrating the growing wedge between Heather and Matt regarding what they believe in and why they can't work as a couple.

Vanessa's cough. That had to be intentional, right? Early in the season, I had a theory that part of the reason she was distant from Fisk at the beginning of the season is because while he was away, she was diagnosed with something, and now that he's back, she doesn't know how to reconcile the two. Of course, the only reason I was thinking this was because I'm still convinced that Foggy is alive and in witness protection thanks to Vanessa, and if the show follows the comics, Vanessa being sick is a part of that. I had forgotten about that theory until that suspicious cough… the one in which Wilson responded with, "I know."

Buck with the Get Well bag giving Ranskahov brothers with the flowers vibes.

Now, just about everything that took place in Matt's apartment…

We were blessed with another classic "Matt Injured and Sprawled On The Sofa" moment.

The back and forth that comes so easily with the two of them. Frank doesn't bother to ask if Matt's okay, just admonishes him for not having any way to make coffee during a power outage. How he asks "did you clock that?" about the van. Matt flipping him off. I don't ship Fratt, but their love language is snark.

Also can't help thinking about how Frank met Matt at his home, not at the hospital. So did he go to the hospital first, realize he wasn't there, and then beat him back to the apartment? Or did he just already assume he'd find him there?

And then there's Frank asking Matt why he'd take a bullet for Fisk, and Matt answering with "that's a good question." I don't have anything more to say about this one yet, but I want to think about it some more.

Now, I've seen some criticism of the choreography, which yeah, I think it could have been better. (Less slow-mo, please). But I saw someone compare it to a specific fight from the OG show that took place in a large open space, rather than inside a confined and crowded space like Matt's tiny apartment. It's gonna be different. It has to be. I think the chaos was intentional and necessary. But the second Matt dropped down from the skylight, I was locked in. I felt like I was watching the OG show for much of it. The chaos… Matt trying to knock out as many people as possible before Frank just kills them, but not trying very hard to actively stop Frank because the stakes are too high in that moment. Matt fighting injured. Matt still adhering to his code, knowing that killing Cole won't change anything, just like "killing" Dex didn't change anything with Foggy. (I'm not entirely convinced Cole killed Hector though. He never actually admitted it. Unless I missed something). Matt and Frank arguing and Frank's continued casual murder "how about him, is he worth it?" * bang * as he tries to push Matt.

On that note, it did throw me at first, how much Frank was pushing Matt, especially when in season 2 of the OG, he said "just this once? you cross that line you can't come back." But…. Matt did cross that line. Sure, Dex survived, but Matt still pushed him. I don't see how Frank would see that as anything else.

Something else to think about: While Matt and Frank are arguing, Matt says he's "always a liability." In the heat of their argument, Matt says "shut up" and Frank does -- immediately. When he tells Frank to run, he does. Neither of them hesitate leaping off the balcony, at least five stories up, as Matt throws an arm around Frank and slows their fall with his grapple. I don't know about the rest of you, but all this screams to me that they've worked together more than once in the years since the original show. Frank knows that when Matt says to shut up it's because he hears something important. Frank knows that Matt is reliable with his grappling hook. Love that way of world building. The show doesn't have to explicitly tell us, we're shown it in how they interact with each other. And my goodness… the fic possibilities this produces.

Though I'm very curious if or how Cole North survived. I think he's supposed to be in season 2?

The og DD theme played when Karen pulled up in the car. Beautiful in more ways than one.

Karen… I've missed her so much. "Will you be my eyes?" "Anytime."

"Do you remember I once asked you what it was like living in the darkness? Remember what you said?" "It's not dark, it's like a thousand suns." (That last one in particular is a scene I want, maybe need, even if only in fanfiction).

I just really like the scenes we got with Karen and Matt. It really feels like they had found a good place with each other in the time between the shows, where they've found a way to be much more open and honest with each other, allowing them to really understand each other. Chaos and mercy and everything in between. Which also just might further explain why Karen left when Matt's grief closed him off to her. The way she talked about Foggy too? Like… ugh, why did they have to break up our avocados!? I know why, but yeah.

Speaking of, AVOCADOS AT LAW!!!! I don't care if it's fan service. I'm a fan. I'm being served.

I appreciate the detail of showing the stars in the sky because the blackout means no light pollution, even if it probably wouldn't look like that. And I can't tell you how much I love the moment where Matt sat listening to the chaos of the city while he was at Red Hook.

I miss Brett, but I don't think the man's mental health could take this. It's a good thing he most likely retired to Florida with his mom.

And at the end, we have The Fisks being comically evil and I'm here for it. They aren't afraid of anything. They're leaning fully into themselves.

Admittedly, I'm disappointed that the end credits scene wasn't a Foggy reveal, in the same vein as the stinger at the end of that one Brubaker comic. (Imagine Foggy reading a headline about Matt Murdock taking a bullet for Fisk, then going missing, and wondering what he's up to, while being told he has to get away from the windows because he has to stay out of sight?) But I'm also somehow not surprised. If he's alive, (which I still 100% believe he is… I think Vanessa intended to kill him, but he was revived in the ambulance and lived, so she tucked him away. Especially after re-watching the last episode and noticed that she was watching Matt when he arrived, and then she told Matt "you need to relax" as he accused her of putting the hit out on Foggy, and of course… the cough) then I wouldn't be surprised if they drag out the reveal until later. But I was half expecting, the way they kept showing Frank look to the side, that they'd pan out and show Foggy in another cage. Glad he wasn't though. That'd be some shitty witness protection. (But I mean, I guess, they are storing rich people in a dungeon.)

But what we did get was Frank's escape. My first thought was: Frank sitting in that cage like "I've been through worse." And sure enough, that cage couldn't hold him. I so love the way he just managed to use his personality to get himself halfway there. All of this Frank stuff has me really looking forward to the Punisher special that we're getting.

A couple more things of note:

I'm so curious what they're going to do with Dex. Not just because we know he'll be in season 2, but because he looked so sad at the end. (And the beginning of the episode). He's been so lost, and now that he's out, he's still lost. And I think Matt saving Fisk really messed with him.

And are we to assume that Josie knows now that Matt is Daredevil? Not that I think everyone in the bar knows, but they did make a point of Josie noticing Matt leave without using his cane. And also those season 2 leaks of DD interacting with Josie may mean something.

And they showed a shot of Kirsten holding onto Foggy's paperwork at the end… I'm guessing she's going to take the reigns on that while Matt and Karen are in hiding, but I can't help but wonder if she knows something more.

Hopefully there's some others out there as excited as I am with what we got and what's to come. It's a weird feeling watching this show in real time when I watched the original years after it ended and the fandom was existing basically on life support. Now there's other people actively posting about it, making gifs. Much of it buried under hate and disdain.

It's not the original show. It was never going to be the original show. And I feel like I keep coming across others who are holding that against DDBA. Does it have its flaws? Yes. Especially when compared directly to the original show. I would have liked less licensed music, slower scenes, and less instances of two scenes cutting back and forth between each other, four more episodes, better fight choreography, I think Muse was underutilized, and I wish we got more out of the side characters like Kirsten, Cherry, and Heather.

But I can't stress how much good we got in this show. More than I'm willing to list because I think the majority of the show is good. Bendis and Waid are wildly different from each other, and I love them both. DD and DDBA are different, and I feel the same. There's an excellent story being told here. A story that takes place seven years after the original, where things are naturally going to have changed from where we left off.

I don't know, I know not everyone has to like it. That's fair. But I guess I'm just tired of being made to feel like I'm dumb or wrong for enjoying or at all liking DDBA. But personally, the finale felt like the closest we've gotten to the original show. And if the last two episodes are any indication, I think the next season is going to be even better. Better than the worst episodes of DDBA season 1, and better even than the best episodes of DDBA season 1.

[laserbeamss]

my fav bbc merlin fics

Uhhh, I just wanted to compile them all as of May 2025. This list includes overwhelmingly Merthur, since I tend to get attached to a singular ship within a fandom.

1. And like the cycle of the year, we begin again - katherynfromphilly (Complete, 207k words, Mature, Merlin/Arthur): Set post-canon in the modern day and totally functions as the season 6 we all deserved: Arthur rises up from the Lake of Avalon, and Merlin, who has mostly adjusted to modern life, has to deal with ancient emotions resurfacing, all while teaching a disoriented and traumatised Arthur about the modern world. I devoured this fic in two days; the writing is beautiful, the pacing is genuinely the best that I've ever seen for such a large word count, and I felt every emotion under the sun.

2. Tributes - TheAvalonian (Complete, 87.5k words, Mature, Merlin/Arthur): A story with the characters of Merlin that is set in the Hunger Games universe, with the events taking place a few years before the trilogy. It's enemies to lovers and has a lot of hurt/comfort, and some of the subplots genuinely had me in a chokehold, along with the main plot, of course. Not for the faint of heart, though, since there is a lot of character death and injury, as can be expected from a Hunger Games story, but no major character death.

3. it'll be a cakewalk, as long as it's me and you - qigiined (Complete, 5.1k words, Mature, mainly Merlin & Arthur, but could be read as Merlin/Arthur): A short Arthur-returns fic with Merlin trying to deal with the fact that Arthur's immune system cannot sustain 21st century life, and also Arthur being himself despite not knowing a word of English.

4. Not In This Land Alone - torakowalski (Complete, 36.4k words, Teen And Up, Merlin/Arthur): Modern AU in which Merlin gets a job at Buckingham Palace, where Arthur is the newly appointed King of England, and they're not supposed to ever really have interacted but they do anyway, and also there's a plot to kill the king, as per usual. Featuring magic and sentient paintings. Very fun to read.

5. glow in grey - helloearthlings (Complete, 3.3k words, Teen And Up, Merlin/Arthur): Modern AU, outsider POV of Morgana and friends witnessing Arthur and Merlin's relationship for the first time, after Arthur having years of bad luck with partners. Short and very, very sweet.

6. Zero Gravity - Sorceressofdragons (Complete, 12.7k words, Teen And Up, Merlin/Arthur, only visible to people with an AO3 account): Basically, Arthur and Merlin get trapped together in outer space, and discover they really, really like each other. Genuinely one of the sweetest things I've ever read, and the space nerd in me was freaking out.

7. The Crown of the Summer Court - astolat (Complete, 24.3k words, Explicit, Merlin/Arthur): Merlin has to partake in a competition in order to fight for his rightful claim to the throne of the elves (he is half-elf), choosing Arthur as his champion. They only realise belatedly that this also means Arthur is now de-facto married to Merlin. The characters are all portrayed shockingly accurately despite the very non-canon plot, and some of the more descriptive parts blew my mind.

8. Emrys the Really, Truly Terrible - lindenwaverly (Complete, 15.2k words, Teen And Up, Merlin/Arthur): Arthur decides to appoint Emrys as his court sorcerer. Merlin... still hasn't told Arthur he's Emrys, because he doesn't want Arthur to feel betrayed. Also, basically everyone knows they're in love. The writing is wickedly funny, then there's a sucker-punch of angst, and then it's super funny again.

9. burn the page, my little dark age - lancelotdulac (mrcogito) (Complete, 33.1k words, Teen And Up, Merlin/Arthur, Gwen/Morgana): Modern AU with magic but also kind of a reincarnation AU, in which Morgana gets to become the person she deserves to be. Very found family, very whack plot, and the writing style is actually to die for, like it has me in a chokehold. Both the character study vibes and the interpersonal relationships between the characters were portrayed so beautifully that I tore through this story but also never wanted it to end.

10. You Have To Chase It - arthurandhisswordbros (Complete, 42.4k words, Mature, Merlin/Arthur): Heavily Arthur-centric; his life as he rises up from the Lake and adjusts to modern life, realises he doesn't have to be alone, that it's okay to feel emotions and make friends and have hobbies and feel alright. Also, he meets a mysterious wizard person online that he gets along swimmingly with and who reminds him all too much of the Merlin he used to know (and love). This fic made me so, so emotional. Arthur's journey throughout it was achingly lovely to follow along with, and the ending pays off so well.

11. the true physics of all things pathetic - deniigiq (Complete, 26.6k words, Teen And Up, Gwen/Arthur, sort of Merlin/Arthur, almost Merlin/Arthur/Gwen, sort of Lancelot/Merlin): Okay, I know the relationship tags are confusing, but to Merlin's defense he really doesn't want more people he loves to die, so he just kind of rejects everyone. In the beginning, it turns out Merlin had given up his heart in a magical transaction to save Arthur at Camlann, and in return, Arthur has had to give up his vision. Merlin cannot truly die, and his friends find him. This fic is a strange (but very beautiful) amalgamation of POV shifts, character dynamics, some plot, and slice-of life that comes together to make a gorgeous whole. The writing style is genuinely one of the prettiest things I've ever lain my eyes on, and I would await every update hungrily when it was still ongoing.

12. Lines in the Sand - Papysanzo, s0mmerspr0ssen (Ongoing, 49.2k words 12/25 chapters as of May 2025, Explicit, Merlin/Arthur): Set in a modern-day Camelot city that Arthur basically owns, and Merlin is homeless and needs employment so is semi-manipulated into becoming Arthur's live-in sub. This story is definitely NOT for everyone; the power dynamics are messed up and the consent aspect is extremely dubious, or even non-existent, in most cases. But that's why I like it -- the dynamics are explored very, very well from Merlin's perspective, and despite the extreme power imbalance, the characters still feel like themselves. I'm so upset this fic went on hiatus because of all the hate; I hope the author feels okay enough to come back to it someday, because even despite the fact that the future of this fic is uncertain right now, I love it so much that it has still made its way onto this list.

13. Wooden Dragons - CaffeinatedFlumadiddle (Ongoing, 78.6k words 15/20 chapters as of May 2025, General Audiences, Merlin/Arthur): In an attempt to save Arthur's life at Camlann, Merlin accidentally transports them both back to the time of their parents' youth. They try to navigate this world of familiarly unfamiliar people whilst also not giving their true identities away, whilst ALSO coming to terms with the secrets Merlin has hidden for so long and the shift in their dynamic. All the different character relationships and dynamics explored in this fic are so amazing, especially everything involving Ygraine. I love the fact that both Arthur and Merlin have to come to terms with the guilt of some of their actions because their past is now their future. I'm usually not even a fan of time travel fics, but this one was just too good to pass up.

I'm sure this list will grow.