#it's so pointless in the end. like he's doing this to spite the team and because they separated him from stalker

[automatonknight]

thinking about patches joining the lovelies again. and by thinking i mean i'm mentally letting hart beat the shit out of him in my head

[nullen-void]

For a long time I wondered if the final TF2 comic would ever come out. For a longer time I wondered if I wanted it to. They built it up so much, hyped the Administrator's big plan so high, and then waited so long, could they possibly ever meet expectations?

I don't know if what they did was what they originally planned, or if there even was a plan, but I think they knocked it out of the park. It feels... right.

And it cemented the Administrator as one of the most terrifying villains in history. But before I discuss that, SPOILERS:

It was all pointless. None of it ever mattered.

The Gravel Wars, the fighting, the Australium, the deaths, the Classic Mercs, none of it mattered at all. Because Helen or whatever her name is just an addict getting her fix.

She kept a man alive for near enough two hundred years, trapped in the moment just before death by a thousand diseases, because she dedicated her life so thoroughly to ending him that when he finally croaked, she had nothing left. So she brought him back to suffer more. And then extended her OWN life so she could keep making him suffer.

And she doesn't even remember why. She was a child when Zepheniah Mann killed her parents, and she's something like a hundred and seventy years old now. It's been three normal lifetimes since then, and she's forgotten. But she never forgot the hate.

She sabotaged two infant's futures by raising them to be bafoons just to hurt their father. She orchestrated a forever war to spite a single man. She was prepared to keep this going until the heat death of the universe.

Do you know what would have happened if Pauling had lost her nerve and admitted they found a new stash of magic metal? With all three Mann brothers dead, she probably would have gone after Olivia. The last Mann standing, and a girl who at the time was only seven and had barely any connection to the Mann legacy at all, and probably didn't know her grandfather's name! And Helen would have gone after her and ruined her life just to make Zepheniah watch as yet another generation of Mann was ruined.

What a pointless, misspent life. What a waste of time. What an ending.

It makes what comes next all the greater. Scout and Soldier are dads with happy children, Spy still can't admit their relation but gets to be part of his grandkids' lives and he and Jeremy trust each other enough that Scout doesn't blink when he takes his mask off. Team Fortress is happy. They moved on. Found new lives.

Helen couldn't. She had all the time in the world and then some, and she just couldn't move on.

What a waste.

[cacospirit]

The Coddled Griffon Case

Davrin: Hey Lucanis, do you… have a minute?

Lucanis: Oh, Davrin, I… sure 

Davrin: I know we haven’t… always seen eye to eye, like, maybe I called you an abomination…

Lucanis: You did, among other things

Davrin: …and maybe I suggested that we should kill you because you’re a demon…

Lucanis: You made a strong case for it. Several times. 

Davrin: …but at the end of the day, I think we are both men that can set our differences aside when it comes to doing what’s best for the team

Lucanis: Davrin… where are you going with this

Davrin: Look… someone has been sneaking Assan extra treats

Lucanis: what 

Davrin: I know, I know! It doesn’t seem like a big deal but… it’s not good for his training! We can’t have him think he can just cozy up to anyone and get rewarded for it

Lucanis: I… sure. I will take your word for it

Davrin: And look, I’m not trying to come after anyone with torch and pitchfork here, I just… need to know who it is, so we can discuss it, as adults

Lucanis: An admirable goal 

Davrin: Right? But the thing is… no one wants to admit to it! I know it’s not any of the ones sleeping at the back of lighthouse, it’s someone out here with us. And first I figured… if it was you I probably wouldn’t have noticed in the first place

Lucanis: I like to do things discretely, it’s true

Davrin: So I talked with everyone else, and we both know that Bellara and Harding can’t tell a lie to save their life, so… it has to be Neve! But talking to her is just pointless because she’s not giving away anything, she’s like a fortress!

Lucanis: She has a certain composure 

Davrin: So… I can’t really accuse her of anything without evidence, and I know she’s not dumb enough to let me catch her in the act, but… she probably wouldn’t be looking out for you 

Lucanis: You want me to spy on Neve for you?

Davrin: It sounds bad when you put it like that

Lucanis: …would you like to put it another way?

Davrin: I would like to do that yea, I just don’t know how to

Lucanis: I feel like that should tell you something 

Davrin: Lucanis... I know that you are an honorable man, that is willing to make the hard choices for the sake of family. And we here… at the Lighthouse… we are like a family. You, me, Assan… Neve, Rook…. even that weird crab-head ghost, we’re all in this together

Lucanis: ..The Caretaker? 

Davrin: Exactly! We should all strive to be the caretakers of each other’s problems 

Lucanis: You know what... sure 

Davrin: And I know Caterina taught you that sometimes you have to be tough one the ones you love if you want them to survive

Lucanis: I’m... not really sure that applies here

Davrin: I think it does. 

Lucanis: Well  

Davrin: And look, I’m no trying to tell you what do to here, because... I trust you to do the right thing. And I don’t want to influence your decision too much but… I’d owe you one, all right? I gotta go, but just… think about it ok? No pressure!

Lucanis: I don’t think… ! *sigh* 

Lucanis: Mierda… I need a cup of coffee after this

// 

Lucanis: The griffon has too much treats…. Has… everyone finally lost their minds… or have I finally lost my mind. 

Spite: You say it like it can’t be both 

Lucanis: Spite. Rhetorical question. We’ve talked about this. 

Neve: Hey Lucanis! Do you mind if I sit down, or am I interrupting something?

Lucanis: Oh I was just… you know what, never mind. Please, Neve, go ahead 

Neve: So Davrin finally caved in 

Lucanis: He… what?

Neve: Honestly, I love that for you. You’ve come so far in your friendship that he’s willing to trust you with his dirty work 

Lucanis: Neve I… I don’t know what you’re talking about

Neve: Of course you don't. But even if you didn't know what I say that I know I still know what you'd know from what I know that he knows 

Lucanis: Neve, please, I haven't had my coffee yet

Neve: Davrin’s been trying to figure out who’s been sneaking Assan extra treats, he knows it’s one of us out here in the courtyard, but out of all the people he’s talked to no one seems to know anything, isn’t that just curious

Lucanis: It’s not the word I’d use but sure 

Neve: Of course, Bel and Lace are as opaque with their intentions as a sheet of glass, and by all reason if it was you he probably wouldn’t have found out in the first place 

Lucanis: I’m glad my talents are getting widely recognized 

Neve: Which really only leaves me, and I can’t deny that I do make for pretty convincing prime suspect for this case

Lucanis: Someone gave snacks to a bird, I hardly think this should be called a case 

Neve: But as sure as he probably is that it’s me, he can’t come accusing me of anything without evidence, because that would make him look irrational, and we can’t have that.

Lucanis: Neve, there is not a single part of this that seems rational to me

Neve: He knows he’s not gonna catch me all by himself, so what can a lone warden do but rally his troupe. He needs eyes out here in the yard, and sure Lace would be pretty handy at the task, but she’d be oh so morally conflicted about it. And even if he managed to convince Bel she would still be pretty useless. Which leaves… you

Lucanis: I wish the only way I had been left, was out of this   

Neve: I just had to keep an eye out for when he’d inevitably come crawling to you. He got the right idea about talking to you when I’m not around, but… he wasn’t exactly discrete in the way he went about it. Sometimes the way you hide something reveals more about the thing you’re hiding than if you never tried to hide it in the first place, you know what I mean?

Lucanis: I don’t think I know what anything means anymore 

Neve: Now he can’t exactly give you a contract, because he’s above that, so he has to try to convince you the comradely way. Which means, right now you are conflicted about what to do

Lucanis: Neve I'm conflicted about what to think 

Neve: Must have felt great for him to finally overcome that hurdle, being able to ask you for help. But… he did take his sweet time with it, guess he had to swallow a lot of pride to get there. Which is… really fortunate for me because it’s given me plenty of time to… indulge, in other things

Lucanis: I feel like I’m not going to like where this is going 

Neve: What was the name of supplier for your fancy coffee? Eligio Mancini? Lives at the upper end of the Treviso east district

Lucanis: Yes that’s… how did you.. 

Neve: Such a great product, or so I’ve been told, I'm not really privy to it. But as it happens I do know a Tevinter noble that is just crazy about the stuff, so naturally I just had to provide them a sample. And what would you know, they loved it. Probably so much that they’d buy out the entire stock… if I gave them the name of the supplier

Lucanis: Neve are you…

Neve: Am I what?

Lucanis: …are you blackmailing me?

Neve: Am I? I’m not playing the board, I’m just pointing out where the pieces are 

Lucanis: Maker help me…

Neve: Oh The Maker can’t save you from me, you know that

Lucanis: That is definitely sacrilege… but also not inaccurate 

Neve: Well, this has been… very informative Lucanis. I gotta go but please… don’t make any decision you will regret later

Lucanis: See you tonight?

Neve: Oh for sure, love you

Lucanis: Love you, bye

[deas-junk-bin]

Something interesting I've noticed.

All the characters in the Veilguard [Edit: All the characters except Emmrich and sort of Taash] assume that Spite is a senselessly destructive problem gremlin, and that Lucanis is reining him in and preventing him from causing harm. Lucanis himself is very insistent that this is the case, and many fans are already accepting this idea as fact. But if you pay attention to Spite's behavior, the reverse is actually true!

Since Dragon Age's handling of mages, demons, and spirits has always invited players to use critical thinking and notice where the characters' cultural biases and prejudices don't line up with what's actually happening, I do think it's weird how few people are talking about this. I suppose it might be possible to miss, if you haven't seen the end of Lucanis' storyline yet and aren't paying close attention to Spite. But even before the scene where Spite's intentions are revealed, there are plenty of clues that he isn't as much of a danger as Lucanis fears.

Once you do reach that scene, it's pretty clearly revealed that Spite has been trying to keep Lucanis' self-destructive behavior in check all along. His efforts were dismissed as troublemaking by the team, but he's actually trying to look after Lucanis, in his weird demon-y way. However, even before his true goal is revealed, Spite's behavior is always consistent with that goal, not with the generic malevolence that Lucanis and some of the other companions ascribe to him. He typically isn't hostile towards anyone Lucanis isn't, with only one major exception. Spite is a bit more emotionally reactive and vindictive than Lucanis, for sure. Lucanis comparing him to a child throwing a tantrum certainly seems to ring true. But he doesn't do pointlessly evil things for no reason.

(That one exception was obviously unusual, too. That dude did something very blatantly rude, which provoked Spite. It was genuine douchebag behavior, and he had bad vibes and needed to get his ass kicked anyway. Spite's violent response was likely an overreaction, based on the information he had at the time, but he was still reacting to someone else's actions, not just randomly turning hostile.)

Of course, you could argue that Spite is acting out of self-interest, since everything that happens to Lucanis also happens to him. However, practically speaking, I don't think that matters very much. Their priorities align a lot, way more than Lucanis realizes they do. Lucanis and Spite share a common interest in survival, something Lucanis himself will point out shortly after you recruit him, and they grow to become a true team with shared goals by the end of their storyline. Under such circumstances, it seems a little pointless to try to distinguish whether Spite is being selfish or genuinely cares for Lucanis. Both amount to the same thing in the end.

In all three previous Dragon Age games, we hear Thedosians assume demons always want indiscriminate violence and can't be reasoned with or appeased, and in all three previous Dragon Age games, we repeatedly see this assumption proven wrong. It's at best a flawed guideline based on edge cases, or at worst, a hateful stereotype. Lucanis claims Spite can't be negotiated with, that "talk doesn't work on Spite" because of his fundamental nature. But by the end of the storyline, talking to Spite and reaching a verbal agreement is actually the only thing that successfully resolves Lucanis' conflict with him!

I don't think it's a stretch to suggest that Lucanis is simply wrong about how demons work. He's ashamed, scared, and traumatized by his experience in the Ossuary, which makes him prone to to intrusive ruminations about potential worst-case scenarios. And since he's not a mage, he is, through no fault of his own, practically guaranteed to be ignorant on this topic. Even many mages don't understand demons very well. It takes a specialist in spirit magic to explain certain things, as we saw in Inquisition with Cole and Solas. Lucanis is perfectly poised to have basically zero factual information about demons, but a ton of cultural and personal reasons to vilify his new possessed self. Considering this context, it really seems odd that fans are interpreting Lucanis' statements about Spite as unbiased narrative fact.

Then again, this is the same fandom where a lot of people apparently still think Fenris' mansion formerly belonged to Danarius. Fenris mistakenly thought it did in Act I, but he later explicitly corrects his mistake aloud! (As Fenris explains, Danarius was only staying there as a guest. The house actually belonged to a merchant who was an acquaintance of his.) So maybe I'm just overly optimistic about how much detail is going to stick for people. These games have a lot going on in them, after all, so I guess it's inevitable for people to miss some things.

[inejinn]

Sunrises

---------- ͙͘͡★

Ava centric oneshot ! In which multiple sunrises happen while she's awake, most of the time in the kitchen, sometimes in the presence of John or Bob, always following the events of the movie (though Antonia is alive)

take place in the same universe as this oneshot I did. Prompt coming from a dc server!

also I'm half asleep betareading that so if there's weird stuff that's why

Usually, they all wake up pretty early, sometimes before the sun can rise in the sky.

The only exception might be Bob, but that's assuming it's a night where he didn't get any nightmares. Those are pretty uncommon.

And so most of the time, they're awake to see the sun grace the earth with its first rays.

Awake and not as gracious as the sun itself.

Walker drops a cup of coffee near Ava's toast with a grunt that might be a hello. Or a " I don't know what the fuck you're doing awake but take this and leave me alone" grunt, who knows.

She answers with one as well.

Today's not a morning chit-chat day. It's more like a "drowning anyone who annoys me in my coffee" morning .

Walker settles at the opposite side of the kitchen, resolutely staring at anything but the other alive person there.

Definitely not a chit chat day, then. They end up staring at different things, him the sunrise, her the crumbs of her toast dissolving inside of the swirling liquid. Inside of the cup of hot beverage.

If she glares at it hard enough, she might will it not to go right through her hands after she's picked it up. Treating burns is no fun, and she really doesn't feel like asking Antonia for some aloe vera.

This isn't a bad pain day, she hasn't been feeling the familiar ache that goes with them, but this might be an on and off incorporeal day. She definitely spent too much time in the training room yesterday. It's not excruciating like it used to be, but, still.

If she's lucky, she'll only feel like the molecules inside of her bones are vibrating a little bit.

If she's not, then she'll have to go through missions, adding bruises-aches as well as her usual ones, or go through the day cooped up in her room.

If she really, really isn't lucky, worst come to worst, she could just bail out of there. Meets everyone's expectations of one of them giving up on this whole team idea: before they've even hit the one month mark.

They've been keeping score. Alexei's been tallying the days up on a whiteboard on the fridge, next to the list of chores they have to do (so Antonia won't forget, he says, but really, it's because three quarter of them are likely to forget to keep their space sanitary, including him).

3 weeks' already pretty much of a miracle, she'd say if she was asked.

It's, also, a miracle her and John haven't dissolved into pointless arguments or any further bickering yet.

When she stands up to grab cereals, she finds the sun is totally up now.

Same cups in front of them both. Different morning.

It's more early than last time : it's still dark outside. Wich means that there's only so many reasons for them to be up before the early lights of the day.

They don't talk about it. Don't even hint to it, as she just adds sugar cubes to her coffee and he just drinks his.

A car honk outside.

She waits for her sugar to melt. Takes a sip of her beverage.

It's a little while before John breaks the silence.

"The punching-bag holder's broken again"

That probably means his anger issues hit too hard on said punching bag again. Theoretically, she could be a little shit and teases him about it, but it's too early for that. This has nothing to do with the coffee he made.

"Yeah? I'm not going to be the one putting it back"

"I assumed ", he rolls his eyes so hard that must have gotten him a headache. "I don't feel like any of you are very enthusiastic about cleaning up"

Nevermind. It didn't, or he's just able to be snarky in spite of it.

It'd be unfair if it didn't.

The peace treaty has been broken once again. That man can not spend more than 5minutes being silent and agreeable.

"Says the man who's left his uncooked pasta in the fridge for 3days now", she mutters, rolling her eyes while turning towards the open living room.

"I didnt-", he starts, and she tunes his ass out immediately.

'There are three plates colonizing the space inside the fridge that are definitely full of pasta.', she's almost tempted to add, but.

The sun still hasn't fully rised, so this means she can just deal with social interactions later. Once it has risen. Fully. And then some. Her social batteries are even less replineshed than they usually are, wich means that they're at zero right now.

She hasn't slept in as long as Walker's pastas have been in the fridge, she's not going to bother keeping up with him.

No, she gazes at the far skyline instead. Huh. It'll almost be 7am soon already.

Usually, in the mornings, she has to ignore whatever's around her to focus on her body, the way it feels, what she'll get to do with it today. How she'll deal with the things around her.

Today, it's the opposite. As in, as she stands near the fridge, she's focusing on the sun on her skin and nothing else.

Nobody else in the tower is awake right now, or if they are, they're keeping to their room. Rare instance.

She's currently alone.

It's not an unwelcomed thing.

It means that she gets to sit on the couch with her shoes still on without Yelena or Alexei or John nabbing her about it. That she gets to sit without being annoyed or even stressed out.

Wich also means she's free to contemplate the fact it's been almost 5weeks since she hasn't taken an assignments. 32 days by now.

Except for Valentina's missions, obviously, but those are different now.

She's a different type of asset now. An asset that has teammates, for one.

And that gets to lounge around and enjoy her morning, for two.

That's free to take a nap there or wherever if she'd like to, catnapping under the newly regenerated sun beams.

"You know, I've never really enjoyed those", Bob says out of the blue, and she reconsider any thought about leaving to her room.

When Bob speaks out of the blue like that, you shut up and you listen, that's practically an untold rule of the Tower.

And so she shifts a little toward Bob, shutting up and only raising an eyebrow in acknowledgement.

"The sunrises, I mean. They're-- pretty great, right? I never used to consider them in a bad light, but, well. They're actually pretty nice when you pay attention to them.? "

Cluing in to the way he starts trailing off, she nods. "I get what you mean, I never really considered them before aswell. " It's not even a lie.

That seems to reassure him, even as he keeps fidgeting a little with his napkin.

She turns her gaze to the outside, and, yeah, the sunrise's actually pretty nice. There was a time when she didn't get to see them much, for reasons others than not being able to sleep.

"I mean, I'd prefer being able to sleep, but.. It's not that bad? This and the vibe and breakfast, I like it."

He's not mentioning being in other's company in those moments. She's not going to either, but she notices his body subtly move a little closer to her seat, and a tiny smile slips on her lips.

" I do too. Some of the others? They can be a pain in the ass when awake this early, but. They're not always too annoying"

She could mention that this is new to her aswell, but she doesn't, and since he doesn't ask her more about it, well.

It's not like she doesn't want to be honest, she usually doesn't care about being blunt, it's just. "Want to keep taking or just look at the sun? It is really nice." And, also: "I also don't feel all like talking about my childhood traumas this morning." Bobis fine, but being emotionally aware of herself and her feelings, this early in the morning no thanks you.

"Oh, no no, yeah, I understand! That's understandable. The tower's really great for that, looking at the sun and the sky. And the skyline. It's very nice."

" It *is* the best place for sightseeing. Did you ever try out the roof? It could force anyone into liking clouds or pastel blue."

"Oh no, please not you too.", he bemoans. For a second, she thinks he's being insulted on the behalf of the colour blue, but that quite obviously isn't the case.

There's got to be a story behind that. Seems like she has something to do for the few following minutes, then.

"What, don't like those? "

"No, no I don't, that's not the problem"-

[itssomeonetofightfor]

Things I hate about part 2 of Cobra Kai (a rant if you will)

This is an absolute deconstruction of everything that was set up for the last 6 seasons!

Johnny and Daniel STILL fighting about idiocies instead of focusing on the absolute fucking mind fuck that has just been played on both their kids ( not blaming Tory by the way) . Robby is her boyfriend and the last I knew Johnny was aware of Sam and Tory's budding friendship. They decided to best do nothing for them except blame each other. YAY! Off to a good start.

Lets follow it up with the least efficient support system in the world for your captain. Apparently Robby is not allowed to be fucking devastated by the fact that the ONLY person that he trusts fully has abandoned him . Apparently they, and by they I mean Miguel and Sam ( who should know better by now) , in spite of hearing endless Johnny sob sories of how he left his child behind, decides to chide him and undermine him about how he doesn't deserve to be captain. Even though we have had to put up with all his girlfriend drama, INCLUDING him re- dislocating Robby's shoulder to get a win in season 1 because he was jealous. You want to be a leader? Prop him up! God knows he needs it after everything, but NOO lets make him feel less than. And please, when he asks you to back him up you stay silent. Thats the way! It doesn't help whem Sam piles on with half winded information. That is enough to get the rest of the team to demoralize him some more..

Hawk and Demetri becoming the most hypocritical and spineless duo of the season, reverting all the work done in previous seasons. They were annoying as all hell and I couldn't care less if they were there or not. If I was an athlete on their team I would rather withdraw...what a draaag. How they acted about Kenny was so ludicrous that I wanted to punch them in the face. They also acted as if it was only Robby's fault they were failing FUCK OFF!! AND FUCK MIT HAHA.

That's how the writers made me feel, undoing all the greatness that these characters once were. I loved Miguels struggles and Sams defiance of her father. I loved the picked kid Eli becoming Hawk. I even loved Demetri's neurotic insecurities maqueraded in a ball of sarcasm. But what the writers did this season is make everybody useless so that one common purpose could be reached...MIGUEL AND JOHNNY! It would be beautiful if it wasn't at the expense of every single character in the show.It was built up only to be flattened down at the end. That's what pisses me off.

Daniel has all but forgotten the he had a mentee once. Let's give him a pointless kiddnapping story only for him to be off balance and be obsessed about Miyagi ( who these writers should not be messing with btw).

Let's keep Robby off balance for most of the five episodes. Which became a fucking nonsensical plot point by the 1000th time he looked at at Tory.

Yes, Miguel shines as the glue and hope of Miyagi-do..the only one who can keep it together for everyone., and it would be fine IF it wasn't at the expense of everyone else performing down and out of character.

But ALAS!! His lightbulb moment comes only after Johnny assures him that he is is top dawg even if he alludes that he supports Robby ( must have missed it, but if you SAY so) and finally he starts giving Robby some encouragement.

Only then, they let Robby have his well earnt moment, not only with his protegeé Kenny but for himself. IT. IS. GLORIOUS! But then, they undo it the next day by returning his rival to the tournament just to swiftly kill him... why all this you ask? Well to set up the next rival. Who for? Yes you guessed it it's for Miguel using Sam as bait.

My question is why the writers went this way and now unfortunately, because the internet internets I know leaks.

 Why? Why kill Cobra Kai's captain in the most idiotic way.

Why make Robby seem like the most undisciplined and unfocused member of the team?

Why make Sam the most irrelevant party in this tournament (unless it has to do with next rival drama).

Why neither Sensei is there for their kids (Except Miguel of course, how silly of me).

Why keep Tory in Cobra Kai?

Because in one season they are going to deconstruct all of this for it to fit Johnny and Miguel winning together as father and son as it was always meant to ( nevermind his own son who he hasn't had a scene with, but they are going to gaslight you into thinking they did)  All in the name of unity and family. They have done all characters dirty, including Hawk,  Demetri, Devon, Kenny and lets not forget..lets get Daniel distracted with Mr. Miyagi ( and ruin his legacy in the process) so that there can only be the sole father and son combo for the win. Why else make a fake miscarriage about if not for them to be reignited in the fight for the win. Miguel and Johnny. Our heroes!! They will never take accountability or flack for anything. Just as fan service in media loves it. Fuck the overarching story.

Don't get me wrong, I love Miguel and Johnny, I just don't love how they want to get to their endgame.

[adejareve]

WIP Wednesday

Shout out to @epiphany-jones for the tag; I am very excited to scream incoherently for a very long time about the rest of that story, when you post it.

Still doing tinkering on it, but the current WIP started as general messing around and somehow ballooned into an incredibly weird demon sex ed two parter? Idk y’all. I’ve generally been on team Spirits Don’t Get Sexy but apparently that is extremely negotiable.

* * *

It starts slowly.

Lucanis is used to—grateful for, in a sense—Spite's decided non-interest in sex.

Well, perhaps 'non-interest' isn't the word, exactly, but it's… academic, in his own odd way. The same type of probing, sometimes frustrated interest he applies to why different people wear different kinds of clothes, or to learning to read.

Once he realizes that the physical sensations themselves aren't directly translating, it makes a little more sense. Spite's tried to explain, to mimic it. It never works. Lucanis only ends up feeling disoriented and, sometimes, almost itchy in an unscratchable way he can't articulate.

He thinks it might be his fault.

Those first weeks together in the Ossuary were… beyond comprehension. He tries not to think about them much, feels sick and panicked when he does, even now. As a boy, Caterina had taught him very well how to withdraw from pain, to close himself away in his own mind until the cause stopped or it was, at least, bearable. A simmering fracture point between them for many, many years, then.

An… extremely necessary professional skill, later.

He had gone away, at first. He thinks for a long time. As far, as deep as he could. Not deep enough not to feel it, that wasn't possible, but to dull the agony to something that wouldn't shatter him—yes. Deep enough for that.

Spite hasn't even been Spite, then. Or he was, but different. A thrashing, incoherent thing. Confused.

Terrified.

And Lucanis had gone away from that too, as far as he could for as long as he could.

He tries not to think about that much, either. Tries not to wonder if things might have been different, if he had been…

Well. They lived.

He does feel guilty, sometimes, though. Spite can smell, taste, hear. See, once Lucanis got out of the way.

To feel, though… it just doesn't seem to come across the same way. Maybe that's what happens, when you get forced into a mind actively pulling as far away from the body it's inhabiting hard as it possibly can.

Or maybe it's just a spirit thing. That's a… preferable thought. Less likely. But preferable.

Spite, at least, doesn't seem too bothered by it. And it has been a somewhat convenient misalignment, occasionally. In a fight, unbothered by an injury. At the end of a particularly long day, easing protesting muscles and joints into a tub of ice water without worrying about objection.

And with sex. Convenient, that Spite finds it puzzling and pointless, at best. Boring, usually.

The problem, of course, is Rook. Spite might find sex odd and uninteresting, but Rook? He's turned towards her like the sun from the first moment.

So, really—Lucanis should have seen this coming.

It starts slowly.

* * *

Tagging @styxdysnomia. Full grabby hands over here. Gimme.

[wiredaughter]

@fluffyfebruary 16: kiss and makeup/reconciliation

×××

Heckle for a Pistol

I’m always telling him not to kill my drones. Not to let go of the proton gun I’ve spent eons working on and was still a bloody prototype anyway. Not to take the carbon based armour I’ve made exclusively for him for a swim in the Pacific, since I’ve not tested the material’s salt resistance. I suppose it’s on me for not asking him not to total my own motorbike I made him take with in case he needed a quick getaway. So totaled it is. Funny how that works.

I glare at the pieces of the aforementioned gun Sapien delivered back two missions ago, and throw myself despondently back on the chair. He cannot die, or I don’t think he can, but still he’d have been hard pressed to make it against those ghouls in Sonoma, say, without my hydrochloric devices. This time, he’d have got a bit chewed up by that sea abomination had he stayed close, and he didn’t. He drove my bike away, not fast enough to escape its spiked limbs, though, and it ended in a crash that left him without longterm issues, and my bike a piece of rubble.

Glad as I am he’s not dead, and of course I’m glad but that’s not the matter at hand, I’m getting tired of the way this place overlooks my department. And it’s my own fault, I joked I’d be just like Morgan Freeman for the Batman, and that’s the regard given to the rooms allocated for me to create a research and development team. What’s the point, I muse, when everything I develop gets thrashed before a patent can be finalised?

Of course, the point is keeping me away from the field, this is where I’m most useful, wouldn’t you agree? I think Manning does. Much as he resents me, he understands acting like my job here has a value gives him an edge. I smoke, indoors as I am, it’s one of the pointless rebellious acts I allow myself. I’m done with looking at diagrams for the day, and I’m mad at the loss of my bike, but honestly, my father will buy me a new one and I’ll actually have fun modding it.

It’s the gun that still eats at me, and for good reason. I’m working on a way to defeat ghosts without having to guess which amulet will do it this time, and what do I get for my troubles? A very blue agent taking it for a spin when he’s facing down demons? Please. I make tea as I try to rework the model, but my blueprints are as indescifrable for me as anyone else. That’s why I keep the prototypes.

I’ve got two nerds slaving at them all the same, in the next room. Manning had preened and boasted when he told me he’d got them on loan all the way from Washington to help me keep his agents on gear, but I don’t care much for them. They’re an alright help, but one can’t stop hinting at wanting to dine with me and the other won’t stop asking whether I went to Eton or Winchester; ever since I declared I’d never set foot on a university. A lie, of course, but I thought it’d make him back off.

Great, now I’m thinking of my temps, chainsmoking and drinking a tea that’s long gone cold as I stare hatefully through the window I insisted on, if I was to have an office. As I curse them and their families, trying to remember their names, they prove their usefulness all the same when someone walks into the office they share and I hear them protest I said no visitors. I’m thinking of humouring the one who’s not a bitch about public schools and sharing a nightcap to spite Sapien when the object of my loathing and the man I’m trying to keep safe no matter how many of my robots he gets slaughtered walks through the door, my favourite employee clinging to him. I cross my arms, blow some smoke in their general direction.

‘I told him you were not seeing anyone!’

‘Yes, thank you…’ I trail off, make a note to learn his name. ‘You can show him around, I’m done today.’

I move towards them at the door, and he makes a valiant attempt to pull Sapien out of the way.

‘We need to talk.’

‘Unless your name is Johnny Walker I’ve got nothing else to say.’

I turn around, open the window and climb out, for I will not be deterred. He’ll want to apologise for the bike and sure it was cool but I’m just done with the entire thing, and unwilling to explain it. I don’t want to think about it. I hear an argument break out and the affected speech of my least favourite intern before I’m walking away.

I’m about six drinks in or eight, paging despondently through Dorian Gray’s excesses when he knocks on my door. ‘I said go away!’

I’m trying to set the door on flames with my eyes and sheer willpower, and that’s the only reason I see a paper sliding beneath it. I get up, ready to tell him where he can shove it, but when I pick it up I realise it’s not some old timey apology letter, but diagrams. Of my gun. I open the door, annoyed at him not being there anymore, and step out to see him walking away.

‘Sapien!’ I jog to reach him, papers held tight on my hand. ‘What’s this?’

‘I was sorry about taking the proton gun the moment I did it. I thought it might help with the case, but I should have asked. I created a working schema from your notes.’

I snort, notes is maybe too kind, considering my work process. I hold his arm to steady myself, surprised in equal parts at his work and his correct guess it wasn’t about the motorbike.

‘How?’

‘I got copies of the material from Philip.’

I tilt my head. ‘Who’s Philip?'

His mouth twists, almost a smile. ‘Your staff?’

‘Oh. Well, does this work?’

‘We won’t know until you build it.’

I laugh, begin pulling him along towards my room. ‘I’ll build it when I’m not drunk. Or hungover.’

He hums as I slam the door behind us. No use letting everyone know they can annoy me with bogstandard IT issues without fearing my wrath again. Abraham goes easily when I shove him to sit on my bed, step back to put the brilliant, legible, workable pages in my desk.

‘And what are you doing now, being drunk?’

I arch a brow. So, he’s got better at innuendo. For all I like that I’d like it better if he wasn’t speaking right now, and move to climb on him to rectify that. His kisses are sweet, and I missed this, so I huff when he pulls back.

‘I’m sorry about the bike too.’

I roll my eyes. ‘Oh, fuck my bike.

[mademoiselle-cookie]

The Green lost

And I have mixed feelings about it.

1. First, good.

In-universe, bc having the good guys teams being eliminated first is so bittersweet and I love this shit. No one is free of sin, everyone did something wrong and fucked-up at some point, but each team has its thing : the Red are the crazy one, the Blue the bad guy one and the Green are the kind one. It's the group who's leader has forbidden to burn stuff bc it's not nice, who chose to help a team even after they destroy their stuff in the most cowardly and spiteful way, who still had principles in this nightmare of an island. They had really strong members with exp in this kind of situations. And they lost. Wonderful.

Out-of-universe, bc whatever shit the admins have in mind, the player can leave now. Etoiles was starting to get tired of Minecraft and it was taking up a lot of his time. Taking a week's break and getting away from the drama will be good for the team (especially Bagi, poor girl got harassed a lot. I love you Bagi)

2. Wasted potential.

If the event was really for pvp, and the team members had been able to be present earlier, the Greens would have been the strongest. And now we will never have the opportunity to see the full extent of their strength and talent.

BUT ABOVE ALL, their team dynamic. The players weren't that used to playing together, so it was an opportunity to see them exchange more, create or explore their relationships more… The creation of a found family is super interesting!

Seeing the friendship between Roier and Etoiles, two fighters who absolutely want to fight but still have honor (what an idea to put them in the same team) with the added dynamic of a knight and his leader to protect (Mario and Peach lol), Forever very intelligent and strategist who calls himself the mother of the team, Elquackity the traitor who did not show his true potential (except when he voluntarily gave victory to the Red on the 2nd day), Ironmouse who had a very touching and interesting moment with Etoiles about their chronic illness… is something I wanted to see develop. And it will never happened.

3. It was a foregone conclusion.

The competition with the punishment of being eliminated for the loser was announced a few hours before said competition. The day when many Green players are normally not there, where the leader and strongest and most present member on the server had another more important event at the same time. You're not going to make me believe that any of the admins didn't know that this tournament existed, or that Etoiles, a Smash player, would ignore it despite its great importance. The competition could have taken place on Saturday instead of shutting down the server, or it could have been closed for another day, or the admins could have warned the players that something important would happen on Sunday so they could have tried to work something out.

I ask everyone watching Green's POV, did you even have hope that they would win? Well not me. I love them, I think they're the best, but I had no illusions. They were going to lose. The tie was impossible, the event would have been pointless otherwise, and the victory too because the clues indicate very clearly that the Blue are the cursed team. The Greens could not, and should not, win.

It sucks to be a Green Team fan.

4. I'm afraid of what's next.

I'm hoping for two scenarios now that the Greens have been "terminated":

They die and players can do other things until the end of the event. That would be great but unlikely. QSMP is not going to exclude several of its players like that, that would be unfair. There aren't that many of them already.

The Greens are sent elsewhere. That would be giga top. This would promise interesting and different content (and perhaps allow players who want blood to obtain satisfaction) in addition to making the threat of Purgatory credible. The players are inaccessible to others - even considered dead - and must suffer because of some thing that the eye has invented.

See my vision: Cellbit mourning his dead husband, while Roier is having the time of his life in whatever hell the Eye send the Green. That will be so perfect.

But that would require a lot of preparation, while the admins are not even sure that the players will stay or that they will like these new changes.

What I really don't want to happen but is very, very likely:

The Greens are redistributed among the other teams. Lost their new team dynamic, lost everything they had started to create, they now have to adapt to a new group, who were once their enemies and who have at one time or another done a nasty deed to them, and fght their former comrades. They will also have to obey a new leader whom they did not elect. You can think what you want about Etoiles but he was chosen, and him as leader allowed a certain dynamic that would not be possible with other people and another leader. And that would ruin the danger and credibility of Purgatory which threatens people's lives and then leaves them alive and in the company of their friends.

Worse, Etoiles ends up on the Red team. First, I want to see them lose (which should happen anyway since they're not the cursed team), and also because I don't trust the Red fanbase with Etoiles at all. Not even with an anti-atomic suit. There's a reason I hate Bolas, and it's not the cc's fault. (One day we'll have to talk about using a character played by an Algerian to be a literal white man's dog)

[simantopia]

i feel like what really gets me about sims 4 is in spite of being 'the game where your sims have emotions' it doesn't really feel like it? like in sims 2, if a sim was mad at your sim - you felt that shit. meanwhile last night my husband sim cheated on his wife and within ten in-game minutes they were back to kissing and hugging and woohooing in spite of her being angry. everything just feels so much more limited.

if sims 4 is gonna be THE forever sims game, they REALLY need to do an overhaul of the emotion system because the moodlets are absolutely broken! to try to explain what i think the team was going for is that -- moodlets also existed in TS3. howeverrr, in TS3, the moodlets tend to be not as aggressive or as often. When they happen, they're usually pretty strong. meaning it's unlikely for one happy moodlet to cancel out a bad mood.

but in TS4, the problem is that every single action feels like it adds a moodlet. which i feel the devs INTENDED to add more moodlets to make the sims feel even more "emotional" but. the ish is. most moodlets are like only a 1+ - 3+ per moodlet. so, your sim can be pissed off, but then they watch a romance show -- and suddenly their flirtiness overcomes their anger moodlet. the way moodlets work and how frequent they are causes sims to "forget" their moods, and make every character feel as though they're emotionally unstable. i watched a simmer on youtube say that moodlets are actually useless in the game and don't affect gameplay in any way, and it's actually true. with how rapidly they change, they really don't matter in the game. your sim is uncomfortable? you can easily do a task to make them no longer uncomfortable and etc. sims moods are completely pointless in this game.

TS2 also has a great memory system. so even if your sim is in a great mood, they can't instantly forgive their partner because they have the memory of being cheated on. that made the emotions feel way more realistic.

another problem with the emotions is...... the constant smiling from idle sims.

this is actually a problem that many simmers do talk about. and it's that if you sim isn't affected by a negative mood, then they will always have a goofy grin on their face by default. this is... annoying to a lotta ppl (myself included LOL) because real people don't just smile ALL the time. hell, by default -- ppl only usually smile if they see or do something that makes them smile. them simply standing or sitting there isn't going to make them smile. i mean, can you imagine if you smiled as much as sims smile in this game? your cheeks would be in constant pain.

in S2 or S3, you may catch your sim randomly smiling -- but often, they had pretty normal expressions.

this is even worse because in S2 (and i believe S3) -- whenever an event happens, especially a big one, sims react to it the MOMENT it starts happening. (for example, if your sim catches their partner cheating, the animation will speed up just so that sim can instantly slap the cheater) but in S4? the response times / AI is so bad, that it takes a moment for sims to react to anything in their surroundings. like in the example here, her fiancee was LITERALLY DYING IN FRONT OF HER. and she doesn't even react until he's already dead.

i bring this up because this is where the constant smiling becomes an even bigger issue. she's literally just standing there and SMILING as her fiancee dies because her AI hasn't acknowledged what's happening. it REALLY takes you out of the immersion -- and again, makes the emotions in this game feel worse.

aaaaand... that finally my biggest problem with TS4 is how you ended your sentence. everything just feels so much more limited. and that's why i now get so bored of TS4, because everything DOES feel more limited compared to the previous entries. that i just question why i bother playing when i could be playing the other games, where it feels like i can just do more in them.

[aeoki]

SS Finals - Crown: Chapter 5

Location: ES Dome Red Team Waiting Room Characters: Eichi & Wataru

Eichi: In any case, “Switch” has won against “Valkyrie” just as planned.

Poor “Valkyrie”... They knew nothing and just found out that our dear Touri had been kidnapped. I’m sure they must be quite shocked to hear that the one behind it was the “General Leader” of their own team.

Itsuki-kun has always been fussy when it comes to keeping things clean. I think it’s rather odd that he cherishes such a grimy doll, though.

Wataru: Shuu is an artist – It simply means he has grasped the real meaning of beauty and its value. After all, a flower that only grows in swamps does exist.

Eichi: That must be true beauty. Beauty and value are both from comparison. You won’t be able to tell the difference between pretty things if you just lined them up.

Only when they bear darkness and filth is there light and beauty. Am I wrong?

Wataru: No? I’m sure Shuu would say something along the lines of “Stop talking as if you think you understand!” or “You should be the last person to talk about art!”, though.

After all, you’re just talking about the laws of physics, aren’t you, Eichi?

Light only exists because of darkness. It’s a matter of fact.

Eichi: It’s just that you can simply find a scientific explanation for everything. You could even say so for the human heart. “That” is the one thing that I don’t believe is an exception – in spite of everything.

Humans are the perfect creations produced by God? Why, that’s just the sort of religious dialogue that everyone dislikes in one way or another, no?

You can analyse all of our components with physics.

There isn’t anything beyond human intellect. Miracles don’t exist.

If it’s something mysterious and fantastical – something fitting to be called a miracle then…

It’s something that we have yet to be able to dissect with the scalpel of reason. That’s all there is to it.

If humanity can perfectly grasp that knowledge, then we’ll even be able to kill gods. Let’s take hold of “its” neck, bring its breathing to a stop and put it out of its misery.

At the earliest, it’ll be during this year’s “SS”. At the latest, until I draw my very last breath.

I’d pray and pray to God for salvation and he never once answered… Oh, how I always wanted to strike him across the face.

Wataru: Even if that is part of God’s plan?

Eichi: Still, it’ll be a valuable opportunity to touch God. I won’t let that opportunity go to waste.

I’ll let him feel the pain, at the very least. I’ve already made the proper arrangements to do that.

First, we’ll win against the “White Team”. The table has already been set – there is no reason for us not to partake, is there?

Everything is a trap until “Switch” wins against “Valkyrie” in the first round. In other words, I had predicted that the “White Team” would have come up with their own strategy.

But we should keep our guard up until the very end.

I don’t think Nagisa-kun would do something pointless like losing a battle he could definitely win.

What would he gain by making “Valkyrie” lose? The answer would be a loss, a sense of distrust and causing us to feel a little anxious. It would make us wary of everything.

And that sense of distrust works perfectly in our favour. I was born frail and inferior to others.

I could finally beat the able-bodied after desperately working hard and using my head to find the best strategies. I bear no arrogance – no ego of a winner.

The more anxious I am, the more desperate my thinking becomes.

But during the War, I was over the moon about my first victory and ended up losing my footing. That’s why I won’t make the same mistake.

At the very least, I’ll be careful to not let that happen again. Tell me, what meaning is there in making me – making us – stronger?

Are you thinking of shounen manga villains who grow stronger by devouring those stronger than them?

In most cases, the protagonist would have already grown far too strong by the time the villains are leisurely doing that.

The villain would, thus, say: “N–No! This shouldn’t have been possible…!”

Wataru: I see. I did feel as though the members of “Eden” were putting on a play, but perhaps that’s exactly what they’re doing.

Eichi: What do you mean?

Wataru: They’re doing the same thing you did during the first “DDD”, Eichi. They’re pretending to be the villains on purpose.

I don’t know if it was their real intention to be in that position, but their acting was rather uncomfortable, though.

Eichi: Your criticism towards theatre is as harsh as always, Wataru… I have an idea as to why they may be doing such a thing.

But the curtains have risen. We, too, must fulfil the roles we were given.

All the while predicting the lines that are hidden away from us.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ← Previous Chapter ᠂ ⚘ ˚⊹˚ ⚘ ᠂  Next Chapter →

[rhetoricandlogic]

Katharine Coldiron Reviews These Lifeless Things by Premee Mohamed

May 11, 2021

These Lifeless Things by Premee Mohamed tan­talizes with evocative ideas, excellent characteriza­tion, and beautiful language. It is a perfect story to tell in novella form, a snippet of a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has been defeated too many times to make sense of its struggle. Mohamed alternates the book’s narration between tense, hopeless diary entries and commentary by an anthropologist who has discovered the diary in question decades later. This isn’t a plot-driven tale; rather, it’s thematically rich, with layered backstory and worldbuilding which rewards a second read.

The two narrators are Emerson, the anthro­pologist, and Eva, the diarist. Emerson lives in a comfortable world not too different from our own (phones, computers, and other technology are mentioned), part of a team of scientists visit­ing a “siege city” on a research trip. Eva lives in a nightmarish combat zone, scavenging supplies from the destroyed city and eating human flesh to survive. The event that occupies both people is the Setback, a near-extinction of human life by extradimensional aliens – Eva is living through it and Emerson is studying it. The Setback “knocked the entire world back to the stone age and every­thing had to be recreated from scratch,” but many of its details remain fuzzy, decades later.

Eva faces deadly challenges and tries to root out a spy among her group. Eventually she discovers that the aliens have been kidnapping and holding children, and she assembles a plan to free them. She does this in spite of her fear and exhaustion and the near-certainty that she won’t survive. The story implies that this specific action allowed humanity to survive the Setback, and in this way and others, These Lifeless Things exhibits the power of implication rather than explanation. For example, the city in which the team is studying seems to be haunted, causing the researchers to sleepwalk and otherwise act strangely. These is­sues link to the threats of Eva’s world – statues and animals – which in turn link to the aliens. Mohamed never fully solidifies these links, but these suggestions, this seeming, add mood.

Despite this lack of clarity, the book is mesmer­izing. Eva’s voice is finely tuned, at once despon­dent and determined, traumatized and yet loving, turning on a dime from humor to lyricism: “After the world ended I thought we would resemble the dusty movies of the eighties, you know, studs, spikes, leather. Instead we all look like extras from Fiddler on the Roof, our clothes worn-down, exhaustively beaten up at the riverside, mangled and hung in the sun.” Emerson is as moved by her as the reader is. Once Eva finds a purpose (rescu­ing the children), the book’s tone changes a little, becomes more focused but also more sentimental. This is not a change for the better. As a record of an apocalyptic time and the person studying it decades later, These Lifeless Things is fascinating enough. It almost doesn’t need the plot that kicks in during its last third.

Plus, the conflict between Emerson and their team has interesting reverberations for our current moment. Emerson’s occupation as an anthropolo­gist studying the Setback seems pointless to the team; they gather scientific data while Emerson reads and analyzes the journal and tries to map the city. As Damien, the leader of Emerson’s team, puts it:

All we can do now is use what happened for the future. That’s what I’m doing. Getting data to build better buildings, stronger foundations. Bunkers for war, to protect soldiers. Even better bombs. And what are you doing? Wallowing in the past with them, and bringing nothing into the future. What’s that worth?

Of course he’s wrong. Anyone with a grasp of epistemology knows that anthropology is just as valuable as hard science, and maybe more so when human behavior affects the outcome of a world-changing event. But it’s still difficult to study such things. As Emerson puts it, “Instead of the micro­scope of the world being trained on the Setback, everyone looked away.” Anthropological study of the COVID-19 pandemic does not sound too ap­pealing, either, but how we lived during this time matters a lot to our future, if we are to have one.

Although Premee Mohamed’s vision of the apocalypse in These Lifeless Things is bleak, it is not as terrifyingly likely as other scenarios, and that makes this book a scary pleasure without being a chilling one. She upsets us only to a point. The core of the story is humanity and humanism – how critical it is that we study the former, feel the latter, and act as if both matter more than our individual safety. Hence, These Lifeless Things is an optimistic book, and a surprisingly heartfelt one.

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things The Bully Review

Synopsis: It’s been a year since Troy had his arm broken by Eleven. Still struggling with nightmares over the encounter, Troy enlists James’s help as he attempts to prove that what happened to him was only a trick. However, as he becomes entangled in events beyond his control, he begins to realize he might be way in over his head........

Observations:

Of all the tie-in comics, books, and graphic novels related to Stranger Things, this is by far my least favorite. I didn’t have high expectations when I first heard what the premise was going to be, and reading it did nothing to endear it to me.

I’ll say right now that the only thing I liked about this graphic novel was the artwork and coloring. This is by the same team that did Stranger Things Zombie Boys and Stranger Things Erica the Great, and it looks amazing. Sadly, that’s all it has going for it because the story, and the main character they chose to focus on, ends up bringing this down.

This will be a short review because there isn’t a lot to talk about. Nothing that takes place here will likely play any important role in season 5, and it's seriously doubtful the Duffer Brothers are bringing back Troy and James for the final season.

The entire time I was reading, there was one persistent thought going through my head: What is the point of this?

I get the comics, graphic novels, and books are meant to expand the world of Stranger Things and flesh-out aspects and characters that the show didn’t have time to focus on, but this particular instance felt pointless and time-consuming. Troy and James are not characters that have appeared since season 1, and they’ve had absolutely no role in driving the plot forward since that time. They were just there to exist as stock bullies who made the main characters lives a living hell (similar to Angela and her ilk from season 4). Once they served their purpose (and got a humiliating comeuppance for their behavior), there was no need for them to be on the show anymore.

So you’d think if they were going to bring those particular characters back, they’d do something meaningful with them. Unfortunately, they don’t.

The story is set during season 2, with the major difference being we get to see it from Troy’s perspective as he witnesses key events: Will getting bullied on Halloween Night and (unbeknownst to Troy) hallucinating the Mind Flayer, the pollywogs, the rotten pumpkin patch, the demodogs attack in the junkyard, and so on. Troy and James basically act as observers during all of this.

It’s a similar premise to the Stranger Things Summer Special comic that came out last year: It rehashes the events of a certain season, except they stick in unimportant side characters who coincidentally happened to be there when those events were taking place. The difference is the Summer Special focused on Officers Callahan and Powell and was set during season 3.

Like Callahan and Powell in the Summer Special, Troy and James don't have a purpose here. You could cut all of their scenes in The Bully, and it would have no impact on the overall plot of season 2.

It doesn't help that Troy is extremely unlikable during all of this. If you despised him in season 1, you're not going to think any better of him here. He spends most of the story being an asshole, continues to harass Mike and his friends (and at one point is about to slash their bike tires out of sheer spite), throws rocks at squirrels because he can, and repeatedly treats James like shit (to the point James starts to get fed up with him).

They try to give Troy a Freudian Excuse in the form of his parents (similar to what they did with Billy on the show) with Troy's mom being a Karen and Troy's dad being one of those "Don't Apologize, It Shows Weakness" type of guys. However, it still doesn't do anything to make Troy likeable because the problem is Troy doesn't have any other redeeming qualities to fall back on. He's still a bully, and whatever measly attempts there are to make him look sympathetic fall flat. I remember this was discussed on the Stranger Things TV Tropes page at one point when someone tried to put Troy in the "Unintentionally Sympathetic" category, rationalizing that it's hard not to feel bad for him even if he's irredeemable, to which other users pointed out that since Troy is irredeemable, he isn't sympathetic.

The ending is where the graphic novel completely falls apart. Long story short, Troy and James end up near the same junkyard the night Steve is fighting off the demodogs to protect Dustin, Lucas, and Max on the bus. Despite James's meek suggestion that maybe they should go help Steve and the others (brownie points for that I guess?), Troy flat-out refuses. Both Troy and James later get chased by demodogs, and James ends up tripping and falling down as one of the demodogs closes in on him. Troy initially looks like he's going to help James, but chooses to save his own skin instead. Just when the demodogs are about to attack them, the Mind Flayer calls them back to raid Hawkins Lab. In the aftermath, Troy begins berating James again, and James finally reaches his limit with Troy, gives him a scathing "Reason You Suck" speech, and leaves. The next day, just before Troy is set to move out of Hawkins with his parents (because his dad lost his job), he goes to apologize to James and they briefly reconcile before Troy heads out.

Putting aside how the ending glosses over the severity of Troy leaving James to the mercy of the demodogs and expecting us to buy that James would ever want to be his friend again after that, the biggest problem is the moment doesn't feel earned. You can't spend 99% of a story having your main character be this awful, have him do the bare minimum to make up for it, and still expect the readers to care about him.

It doesn't help that this small, pathetic reconciliation Troy has with James doesn’t address the issues audiences had with Troy in the first place. Fans were angry and disgusted with him because of things he'd done on the show: Bullying Mike and his friends, making homophobic (and in Lucas's case, racist) remarks towards them, mocking Will's death when it supposedly happened, and threatening to cut out Dustin's teeth with a knife if Mike didn't walk off a cliff that would have inevitably led to Mike's death had El not intervened. They made Troy too much of a Hate Sink to the point it's borderline impossible to make him redeemable, and this graphic novel does nothing to alleviate that.

If Troy's story had been about realizing how awful of a person he'd become and making a genuine attempt to atone for his treatment of the Party, from apologizing to them to putting in the hard effort of making amends and maybe even trying to become their friends (similar to the arc Steve had in the first 2 seasons), that would be one thing. I don't know how many people would have bought it or cared, but there would have at least been a purpose in that. It would have given Troy some much needed character development, and it would have added depth to a character who was pretty one-dimensional to begin with. But the way it's done here doesn't work. It also doesn't help that other comics (like Zombie Boys and Dungeons and Dragons) demonstrate that Troy really hasn't changed and is still the same bully he's always been:

Imagine if they came out with a comic or graphic novel centered around Angela from season 4 that had Angela continue to be a vicious bully to others (even after El smashed her face in with a roller-skate), gave her a flimsy sob story to justify her cruel behavior (which would do absolutely nothing to make her look sympathetic), enlisted her friends to get revenge on El by following her all the way to Hawkins, consistently treated her boyfriend Jake like shit during all of this, ran afoul of Vecna's monsters by chance and proceeded to abandon her friends to save herself like the coward she is, and then offered a measly "I'm sorry" to them later which would get treated as a heartwarming moment. All the while, Angela would have no further role in the show and wouldn't ever appear in season 5.

Would anyone care about this story? Would there be any point to this? Would it change anything about how awful of a person Angela is?

If your answer to these questions is a resounding NO, then you can understand the issues I have with The Bully.

I wouldn't recommend this graphic novel. It's a shame because, as I said before, the artwork and coloring is pretty, but that arguably makes it worse. At least with the Summer Special starring Officers Callahan and Powell, it was a one-shot comic that's currently available on Kindle for a low price. This graphic novel clearly had effort put into it, it's pretty pricey to buy, and the result only highlights just how mediocre and inconsequential it is.

And to be clear: I've liked other graphic novels Greg Pak has written (Zombie Boys is one of my favorites). I don't know if this was a story he decided to write, or if it was mandated from the higher-ups at Netflix and/or Dark Horse, but either way, it's a major miss.

[transxfiles]

i see you've been train to busaned, how was it?

THIS WAS HIDDEN IN MY ASK BOX IDK HOW I MISSED IT BFEORE.. IM ASSUMING THIS IS FROM WHEN I FIRST WATCHED TRAIN TO BUSAN AND I NEED YOU TO KNOW. I AM TRULY FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED AS A PERSON.. like not only was it a PHENOMENAL zombie film and i won't think about the zombie subgenre the same way again but also its message about what it means to be human which really is a core idea that should be at the center of every zombie film wasj ust so so so beautifula nd had me sobbing at the end and i love that we get an ending that in spite of everything ends wiht hope and i cannot stop thinking about it just in general... and seok-woo learning what it really means to be a good father and figuring out whats important to him when the world starts to fall apart and su-an's unrelenting kindness in the face of the end of humanity and the fact that her father can be so cruel or maybe not even cruel necessarily but just acting out of self-preservation and she is the light in his world and she keeps telling him that the only way out is through kindness and he's afraid to see what that could mean in a way and just in general the way the film shows how destruction and violence only lead to more destruction and how deceiving others is ultimately pointless and how kindness and love are really the only way to make it through tragedy and how you cannot survive an ordeal like this without a reason to continue living and the reason is love and other people.... and as a zombie film too the mechanics it introduces are fantastic, the entire idea of it being set on a train and the world outside the train versus the world inside being so drastically different and i love the creature design where the zombies don't attack unless they see someone it's so interesting and from an internal narrative point it's just so cool, this means the virus is actually pretty easy to contain and it means that wearing camo gear might actually help against zombies which again is just an interesting thought and when i tell you i GASPED when the small group of survivors on the train realized that they could travel through the cars of infected when the train was going through tunnels because of the low visibility THAT WAS SO COOL!! like what a neat idea!! what a fucking amazing design to put in your monsters!!!

and the way the movie is written it's just so beautiful... i love the boy's baseball team and i love the two old women on the train, the sisters, and i love seong-kyeong and her husband and i love how every person in the film feels so real and i LOVE the conductor and how he is determined to do his job as best as he can even as the world falls apart around him, and he keeps his train on the tracks as long as possible and he does everything he can to save everyone he can and AAAA ahg im probably not making a whole lot of sense right now but this movie is really just SO so good. i think it's probably the best zombie movie i've seen and it's one of my favorite pieces of zombie media ever. it really gets to the heart of what zombies as a concept are supposed to be about and it delivers on all fronts. from beginning to end i couldn't take my eyes away from this film it was incredible.

[iridescent-honey]

Mysterion characterization

In my opinion, he is one of the most mischaracterized people in the hero franchise.

He is often portrayed as an angsty, edgy, and a ruthless antihero.

Although I can see how that conclusion is come to, here are my thoughts:

*TL;DR at the bottom in red*

*This information is coming from both the game and show, if I can find direct clips, I will show them*

I used the word anti hero, allow me to elaborate on that briefly. For anyone unaware, an antihero is described as “a central character in a story, movie, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes.” I would also describe it as someone who is fighting for good while being uncaring/unhelpful to others if it means the majority of the public is helped. Note that the definition of what an antihero is varies from person to person. Poorly characterized antiheroes are written as villains who are part of the hero’s team for some unknown reason.

The first episode we see Mysterion in is in S13E2, he is seen as a rival to The Coon, however he does not view himself that way, in his eyes, he is helping because that’s what he should do, not to spite Cartman.

I think this episode is often forgotten when people view him as an anti hero. We see him expose his identity and putting himself in danger to not have citizens caught in The Coon’s attempt at blackmail. Not my exact idea of an antihero however I digress.

Spoilers for the the game

In the game, the entirety of freedom pals aren’t introduced until the halfway point, however Mysterion, Wonder Tweek, and Tuppaware are introduced very early as opposition. After a lovers quarrel between Tweek and Craig, Doctor Timothy have an argument causing the two factions to fight. Craig is a mandatory player on your team.

While you fight the Freedom Pals, Tweek is the one doing the most talking (I say Tweek because it is very out of character for Wonder Tweek). Throwing insult after insult at Craig, even when the insults aren’t at him directly, Craig respondes as though they were. Tuppaware is not to important, he does his job and fights you, nothing too noteworthy there. But this is about Mysterion so I’ll move on.

In this fight, nearly every time you attack him or his teammates, he responds with how we are only being used by The Coon and we can do better than the Coon and Friends franchise. Also, note that when the opposition show interest in attacking Wonder Tweek he appears fearful, Tuppaware looks disgusted, but Mysterion appears surprised? Disappointed? I’m not quite sure but it’s definitely different than the rest of the Freedom Pals’s reaction. (I know how pointless it may seem to analyze the facial expression when they’re drawn, well, like that. But also consider this! I don’t care.) The best way I could describe it is as being upset/disappointed that that he is being attacked. It is my belief that this is because he doesn’t want to fight. This is countered by the fact that he is a relentless fighter. The only time he isn’t is stated before: the first time you fight him.

The second time however is a different story, he attacks you ruthlessly. He gives you one chance at the beginning of the of the fight, saying that “Fighting Doctor Timothy is a mistake beyond your comprehension.” But afterwards makes no attempts to help you, instead changing to his one liners.

This is another thing I need to talk about. I have a post made for the future where I talk about way too many of his quotes but I’ll summarize it for you.

Being angsty

Being ruthlessly

Being dark

Being concerned for his teammates

Cheering his teammates on

There are some more types but these are the most important because a lot of his lines are dark, angsty, and ruthless and tend to overshadow his other quotes. The appeal to throw in the towel and say that he’s an antihero would be very easy but I truly don’t see it. Despite his quotes he isn’t as angsty in most parts and is seen being distressed for other teammates and trying to help whoever he can.

I believe that he says his quotes only to scare the opposition. When he interacts with his teammates and civilians he stops the angsty-ness and acts as a protector. In my opinion, an antihero would not care about their perception, if the job gets done that’s all that matters. But clearly Mysterion doesn’t abide by those rules.

Although alignment charts are a gross oversimplification for explaining characterization but I think it is a very simple way to explain it. On the character sheets, the alignment is more simplified and only allows lawful, neutral or evil. He describes himself as lawful but that is not a proper alignment. I am still torn on his alignment but I will show three alignments definitions then my thoughts.

Definitions

Lawful Good

A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. They combine a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. They tell the truth, keep their word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished.

Lawful good is the best alignment you can be because it combines honor and compassion.

Lawful good can be a dangerous alignment when it restricts freedom and criminalizes self-interest.

Lawful Neutral

A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs them. Order and organization are paramount to them. They may believe in personal order and live by a code or standard, or they may believe in order for all and favor a strong, organized government.

Lawful neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you are reliable and honorable without being a zealot.

Lawful neutral can be a dangerous alignment when it seeks to eliminate all freedom, choice, and diversity in society.

Neutral Good

A neutral good character does the best that a good person can do. They are devoted to helping others. They work with kings and magistrates but do not feel beholden to them.

Neutral good is the best alignment you can be because it means doing what is good without bias for or against order.

Neutral good can be a dangerous alignment when it advances mediocrity by limiting the actions of the truly capable.

*I did not add lawful evil because it is so wildly out of character there is no point in talking about it.*

Breaking it down

Lawful Good

A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act.

Mysterion shows himself to be a good person without wanting payment many times. Most notably when he reveals his identity to prevent harm to other citizens, and when he shows kindness and hope to the player despite the character and their teammates showing none back.

They combine a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly.

The commitment to fight evil seems self explanatory so I will not acknowledge that, what I will elaborate on is the “discipline to fight relentlessly”. Earlier in the post, I explain how he seems to not want to fight but does so fiercely. This explains it. He is the calmest out of the heroes at nearly all times, the only time this is false is when a teammate is unjustly injured. While he does get angry, he is never seen actively trying to start a fight, but he will always end one.

They tell the truth, keep their word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice.

Throughout the series and the game, he never lies, however, he is never asked to tell the truth and I’m hesitant on saying that the lack of evidence is evidence. Despite that he does keep his word, his promise to protect his city, and promise to protect Karen are always fulfilled. When the Coon acts against the group, Mysterion is quick to shut him down.

A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished.

In the game, he tells us multiple times that being a hero is ugly. That the merciless don’t deserve mercy. He has made it clear that he is the bringer of karma.

Lawful Neutral

A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs them.

Mysterion is an upholder of morals. His own ethics pave how he reacts and behaves. For the most part, he follows the law very closely, but he will break off and actions will become unforgiving if the person deserves it.

Order and organization are paramount to them. They may believe in personal order and live by a code or standard…

His origin as Mysterion was to organize the town through peace and to help stop crime. He tries to keep his team peaceful and succeeds when part of freedom pals. When the franchise was whole, the Coon could break his peaceful exterior.

or they may believe in order for all and favor a strong, organized government.

This is the most difficult to defend. Yes, he does feed information to the police, but only when they are passive crimes. When active crimes occur, he attempts to deal with the issue himself.

Neutral Good

This is not in line with his personal alignment identity, but this seems the most plausible. Allow me to elaborate:

A neutral good character does the best that a good person can do.

This has been explained in many places throughout this post and so I do not feel the need to repeat it.

They are devoted to helping others.

Once again, Mysterion is constantly seen putting others first: revealing his identity, handling Hindsight by himself, and risking his life and immortality to save them from Cthulhu.

They work with kings and magistrates but do not feel beholden to them.

This feels more natural than the last explanation for lawful neutral. He works with the cops in certain situations but is quick to work by himself or with his teammates if needed.

The alignments have been broken down and the evidence has been laid out, feel free to make your own decision.

TL;DR

Mysterion is not a dark antihero, he is a vigilante, a defender of peace, and beacon of hope to his citizens. He puts the needs and safety of others before himself.

Alignment possibilities: lawful good, lawful neutral, neutral good.

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Tea Shop Part One - Zuko x female reader series

Imagine being an air acolyte searching for the avatar in Ba Sing Sei and instead finding yourself working beside the dragon of the west and the banished prince of the fire nation, but of course you know them as Mushi and Lee. From the start you and Zuko clash, you hate his angry rude attitude and he hates how often you call him out on his poor behaviour. Your dislike grows until it’s almost unbearable and then his life is suddenly placed in your hands. After that and things change...

Part two here

Part three here

Part four here

(Note, in the readers view Zuko = Lee and Iroh = Mushi but when it’s from Zuko’s or Iroh’s pov they will be Zuko and Iroh. Hope that’s not too confusing!

Prologue: You were descended from air benders and were one of the last air aceloytes in the world. Your family was not in the air nation when the fire nation attacked a century ago, by luck your grandfather was in Omashu. When he heard the news he was devastated but crippled with fear he stayed and hid in the Earth kingdom. He married your grandmother and tried to assimilate into the earth kingdom. Your grandparents were terrified of the fire nation and therefore keeping the air nation traditions alive was not something they were focused on. So by the time you were born only your Uncle Pathik made an effort to keep the air nation traditions alive, even becoming a monk to devote himself to the cause. Your family was under the belief if they kept quiet the fire nation wouldn’t find them but of course they did. The fire nation arrested your family for the suspicion of practicing air bending, despite the fact none of you could actual airbend. The association enough was worth a life long imprisonment and so your family we’re shipped away to the deepest prison known. Your father managed to smuggle you out of the city but he wasn’t so lucky. You were devestated but after your escape headed to the only family you had left, your eccentric uncle’s home at the eastern air temple. You managed to avoid warrants for your arrest with shows of earth bending, a skill inhertited by your grandmother. Fire nation guards couldn’t comprehend someone being an air aceloyte and an earth bender and so the gift saved your life. You finally tracked down your uncle and decided that day to dedicate yourself to the air nation in spite of the fire nation. They’d taken your family but they wouldn’t take your culture. You asked your uncle to teach you all he knew and worked hard to become an air acolyte like your grandfather. It all seemed pointless, you and your uncle against the whole fire nation and then you heard the avatar was back. You made it your mission to find him and help him rebuild the air nation. You told your uncle your plan and he told you to go to Ba Sing Sei, always allusuive, he told you nothing more than you’d find what you needed there and so you set off. You expected to find the avatar quickly but had been there a whole year with no sign of him. You we’re giving up hope you’d ever find him and you’d be stuck working as a waitress in the lower ring forever when two new staff members changed that.  

Your POV

You showed up for your shift at the tea shop to find your boss had finally hired some more staff. You were thrilled and eyed the two newcomers with interest as your boss discussed the basic tasks with them while you ran the tea shop, eventually the tour brought them to you and you were introduced. "This is my main waitress" your boss said to the two men "y/n these are your two new coworkers". You nodded looking them over, the older man smiled at you but the younger one stared at the ground, or more accurately glared. He definitely did not seem pleased to be here. "Nice to meet you" you offered and the old man smiled and told you his name. You looked to the younger one expectantly and the man nudged him. "’I’m Lee" he replied flatly barely glancing at you. “Well welcome” you smiled and Mushi smiled at you but the boy, Lee, didn’t even look at you. “Now on with the tour” your boss cried and you watched Mushi talk to him while Lee sulked. Great your new co-worker was a pouty angry teenager. He’d be fun to work with.  

1 week later

Your prediction was true, you were an easy going person who could usually get along with anyone...expect this new boy. The boy was miserable and moody. He was inconsiderate and obviously didn’t work well in teams. His customer service poor and his tea making skills only just adequate. The fact he was so rude prompted you to mess with him, rude people were fair game as far as you were concerned and so you made sure not to help him. If the waiter couldn’t show common courtesy than neither would you. This resulted in a lot of shared glares and bickering between the two of you. You knew it went against your air nomad roots to pick on people but when the person was a moody rude immature man who never got your name right, surely the monks saw that as an exception right?

You arrived at the tea shop for your afternoon shift and saw Lee was leaving. That was nice. Things between you had gotten worse over the past week and shifts with him were almost unbareable. Being mean didn’t come naturally to you but something about this man made your blood boil. Lee noticed you come into the shop and held out an apron to you. Suprised you went to take it when he dropped it on the floor with a laugh. You rolled your eyes at him and snatched it up off the floor. Lee smirked and you glared. You watched him place his belongings on the counter as he prepared to leave, something you’d told him not to do many times as it wasn’t sanitary and got an idea. A glass of water was also on the counter and you smirked, because your manager was such a cheapskate the counter was made of earth. You flicked your hand and knocked the glass over onto Lee’s stuff. Lee cried out and groaned as it soaked his bag and coat. Lee looked around and caught you smiling. “You....” he started when Mushi appeared “y/n I need three jasmine teas”. You nodded “on it” and grinned at Lee’s angry glare that was glued to you as you walked past him.

Iroh’s POV

Iroh noticed Zuko pouting about something and paused as you left to go make the tea like he’d asked. Zuko was angrily shaking his jacket and Iroh frowned “Lee are you...”. “She! She is the worst! Did you see what she just did to me” Zuko cried holding his bag out to Iroh who frowned. The bag had a tiny wet stain. “Ow yes this is very serious...the sun might not even dry it before you reach home!” Iroh cried. Zuko rolled his eyes “y/n did this! Did you know she’s an earth bender?”. “No but we are in the greatest earth city in the world...it’s not suprising”. “She can’t treat me like that” Zuko carried on ignoring Iroh’s comment “she can’t get away with this, who does she think she is?”. “Hasn’t she told you numerous times not to put your stuff on the counter?”. “She...I don’t know! I don’t listen to her! She’s always telling me how to do stuff like i’m a...”. “New employee?” Iroh asked with a smile and Zuko scoffed. “This is ridiculous i’m sick of this” and he stormed from the tea shop. Iroh laughed and glanced to where you stood serving customers, you’d certainly gotten under his nephew’s skin and it was entertaining if nothing else.

Your POV

When the afternoon rush finally died down you got a chance to chat to Mushi. Thank god he was nothing like his nephew, there was a down side though. Despite not be liked him he loved talking about his nephew and seemed to constantly mention him to you, like today. “Y/n do you think you’d be able to work the late shift with me tomorrow night?" he asked "it was supposed to be Lee’s shift but he has a date". "Really?" you asked more than fairly suprised, "is it that girl who’s always in here?". Mushi nodded "yes!" and you laughed "i knew it! She asked for Lee to serve her even though his waiter skills are awful!". Mushi laughed "love is blind, she’s hopefully seen past his moody exterior to the man he is beneath” Mushi smiled at you but his hint went right over your head. "I can cover his shift" you agreed and Mushi grinned "Thank you y/n!". You told him it was fine and smirked, just the idea of Lee on a date was enough to make you laugh.

2 days later

You probably shouldn’t have offered to work that late shift for Mushi when you were opening in the morning too but you needed the money so you dragged yourself out of bed way earlier than you would’ve liked. The idea of teasing Lee about his date motivating you and when you saw him waiting outside the tea shop you smirked. "Morning" you called loudly making him jump. He swore and you smirked unlocking the door. "It’s your shift?” he complained “why are you always here?". "Because i work here idiot" you said going to roll your eyes before you calmed yourself, Lee wouldn’t ruin your good mood...or stop you teasing him about his night out. "So how was the date?" you asked smirking. Lee didn’t look at you, he didn’t even show he’d so much as heard you. It made him so much harder to annoy when he didn’t respond so you tried again. "Hey i covered for you I expect some payment" you informed him but he just shrugged "i didn’t ask you to cover for me". "Yeah but i was still the person who did so you could run around on a date" you said annoyed. The man always managed to do this, you’d start messing with him and come off angrier than him somehow. Lee only shrugged "not my problem" and you glared. Your good mood was slipping.

All day Lee’s attitude annoyed you more and more. He was in a worse mood than ever and it showed. He was rude to customers, he mixed up orders and refused to correct them, he spoke back to you when you were only trying to help him. So by the end of your shift you were ready to strangle him. When Mushi and another worker showed up to relieve you, a sigh of relief escaped without you even realising. You let all your anger go, prepared to move...and then you turned around and tripped over the rubbish bag you’d asked Lee to take out 3 times. From your crumpled position of the floor you spotted him already ready to leave and your anger flared back up. You marched to him and pressed the bag into him “here”. “Why would I want this?” he asked and you glared “it’s the rubbish you forgot to take out”. “I didn’t forget I just didn’t want to” he shrugged and you twitched. “Wow that’s a great attitude, take it outside now”. “No, you’re not my boss, you can’t tell me what to do”. He opened the back door and sauntered out and you followed him seeing red. You threw the bag at him hitting him on the shoulder and let out an angry groan. “What’s your problem?” you cried. “What’s your problem” Lee replied squaring up to you but you wouldn’t back down. “My problem is you’re an awful waiter and an intolerable human”. “Wow that hurts me so much” Lee said sarcastically and you balled your fists. “What is wrong with you?” you called “nobodies making you work here, if it’s so awful find another job! It’s not my fault you’re miserable all the time so stop acting like it is!" you yelled "you’re mad at the world? Well get in line! Nothing gets better by you acting like a jerk but if you hate it here so much leave!" and you slammed the door in his face.

Later that day

Your day hadn’t gotten much better as it went on but the end was finally in sight. You'd just finished your shift at a nearby restaurant you also worked at when you noticed two men fighting. You frowned but turned the other way. Sure it wasn’t the noble thing to do but you'd learnt to only seek trouble in certain situations and in back alleys at night was not one of those moments. The trouble apparently didn’t want to leave you alone however and you heard sounds telling you the fighting was following you. Suddenly one of them crashed past you, the other following with a sword. You glared and then gaped to see Lee was one of the men fighting. It didn't suprise you he’d be in a street fight but to be fair he seemed to be the one getting attacked. Shocked you watched, impressed by how skilled the two men were. Lee was obviously not a tea maker and according to the other guy he was actually a fire bender.

The man managed to disarm Lee and he smirked. "you’re defence less, you’ll have to firebend to stop me doing this" and swept his sword towards Lee. Lee closed his eyes unable to get out of his grip and just accepted the swing. You couldn't. Call it the airbender roots in you but you wouldn’t watch senseless violence and just do nothing, even for someone as annoying as Lee. "No" you shouted and sent a rock hurtling towards the man. You knocked him off Lee and stepped forwards "leave him alone". "Who’s this your body guard?" the boy asked and you raised an eyebrow "actually i’m a waitress". Lee stood beside you and you both faced the attacker when you heard yelling. Suddenly two Dai Li agents arrived and looked between you and Lee to the boy. "What’s going on here?" they asked and you turned to them. You’d gotten pretty good at maniuplating the authorities in your hidden life so knew how to play the Dai Li. “Officers thank god you’re here! This man attacked me and my friend for no reason, he was going to hurt him so i had to earth bend! I didn’t mean to hurt anyone I swear". "She’s right" a man who’d been watching called and the Dai Li fixed their eyes on the other boy. He tried to resist but they forced him into a cart and it disappeared down the road. "I’m sorry this happened to you" the agent told you and Lee "please go on and enjoy your night". You and Lee nodded and turned to walk away, when you were out of ear shot Lee spoke. "You didn’t have to help me" he started and you rolled your eyes sick of this and started to walk away. "No!" he said catching you up "i didn’t mean it like that, i just meant...after today i figured you hated me". "I don’t hate anyone" you replied "but you come pretty close sometimes". You thought his mouth almost curved into a smile and he nodded. "What were you doing out here?" he asked "and are you in a uniform". "I work at a restaurant near here" you explained. "You have two jobs?". "Three" you said embarassed "rent’s hard". Lee nodded his head down and you were pleased he didn’t give you sympathy. "I’m not you know" he said suddenly and you frowned “what?”. “A firebender...i’m not one" he clarified. "I wouldn’t care if you are" you shrugged and Lee frowned "really i assumed because of your..." and he trailed off. "Because of my what?" you asked turning to face him and Lee paled. He looked to your arm without meaning to and you knew he’d seen the scar that lay there. "i didn’t mean to, your sleeve was pushed up the other day..." he rushed to explain reading your expression "’i’m sorry for mentioning it". You touched your arm self consciously, the place where your burn crisscrossed it and frowned. A fire nation solider had give it you on your trip to the eastern air temple, he was annoyed your earth bending proved you couldn’t be the run away air acolyte and so he burned you as punishment.  "It’s okay" you said after a while "but no it doesn’t change things, i don’t blame all firebenders just because one burnt me". Lee looked shocked at that and you got a feeling he didn’t have that same view about the person who burnt him. "It doesn’t matter to me if you're a fire bender or the earth king himself, we’re all just human". Lee paused suprised to hear you say something so philosophical and nodded. "’I’m sorry, for earlier not this" he said softly "i have been...difficult". "Just difficult?" you asked and he shot you a glare. "Sorry...you were saying?". He sighed and glanced back at you "i’m working on my anger" he told you "i’ll try and be less of a jerk". "I’ll believe it when i see it" you replied but smirked to let him know you were joking.

You walked the rest of the way in silence and reached the tea house quickly. Mushi was cleaning up damage that must’ve been caused by the fight but dropped his broom when he saw Lee. “Z..Lee you’re okay” he cried rushing over “what happened?”. “It was fine, y/n helped me and Jet was arrested”. “You helped him?” Mushi asked smiling between you both and you and Lee rolled your eyes simultaneously. “It was nothing” you said quickly “i’d have done it for anyone”. You thought Lee’s eyes narrowed at that comment and so quickly added “but i’m glad you’re okay”. Lee looked at you suprised but nodded “thanks”. You nodded awkwardly and turned “so i’ll be going home, see you guys tomorrow”. “Bye y/n and thanks again” Mushi called after you.

Zuko and Iroh’s POV

As soon as you were gone Iroh smirked at Zuko “so...the two of you seem to have bonded”. “Don’t” Zuko replied pushing past him. Iroh’s smirk grew as he noticed the slight blush on his nephews cheek, he knew he’d sensed chemistry there. Thank god the two of you finally were realising it too.

____

I made a new Zuko series! I always love how angsty and stroppy season 2 Zuko was so thought I’d write a series around that. Hope you like it!!!