#(Literally how it goes in Omega Ruby)

[intuitive-revelations]

Live analysis of Wish World!

Sorry for the wait! I'm with family so haven't been able to watch the episode until now. I almost skipped the live reaction aspect of this for this episode, but have managed to work out a system with my laptop + ipad that works so I can write and watch at the same time. I also can't add any screencaps, as I can't PrtScr on this keyboard. Given all this, I'll think I'll hold back on most of my overall thoughts and theories for now, and save that for later this week.

Spoilers below. Again, I think I've been partially spoiled on this episode, but we'll see how this goes:

OK. Straight away it's 1865, so our third member of the unholy trinity is somewhere here?

And a baby, straight away, hm.

Luck? Is the Rani experimenting with the universe's new superstition?

"Sturm-und-drang" Thought that was going to be Gallifreyan for a sec, before I relistened and turned on the subtitles. "Storm and stress"?

Yep, doing something with superstition.

"It's older than that, darling." DARK TIMES MENTION?

"Your child is the fountainhead of a power from beyond this universe." May be spoiled on this being something else, but... Timeless Child link? Or Pantheon?

Hm, the word play with VIolets was a lot better, since it felt intrinsic. The Rani using similes and metaphors feels a lot more arbitrary.

Actually, I think I might discuss that spoiler now. If this goes back to Omega, is the "wish" thing linked to his ability to shape the anti-matter universe, now being applied to N-space too?

This domestic setup feels so expanded universe-y, like the The Natural History of Fear or something, with our main cast projected into a very different kind of story.

Poppy! So we're "casting" her as the Doctor and Belinda's child here?

Yep, and Conrad is the voice of this reality reshaping.

"Doctor Who and the Deadly Wish" Very 1st Edition Philosopher's Stone cover there. Kinda surprised we didn't go in on a Target cover instead. Is there some anti-JKR commentary to be had here, with crypto-fascist Conrad reading it?

WAIT WAIT THAT SAYS I.M. FOREMAN?! (On one hand, yay how can I link this to the EDA character. On the other hand, how dare you put them in the place JKR's name would be.)

"Uncle Connie" Hmm... given Poppy's the Doctor's child here, how can I link this to Brax?

"Once upon a time, the TIme Lords were really clever people from the planet Gallifrey. But one of the Time Lords ran away."

Amma?

What was that big tease RTD gave? "Tables don't act that way"?

Ruby :)

"My name is John Smith" The return!

Doubt. Interesting. So a post-truth-y sort of thing? This feels like it could get pretty poitically disjointed, given Conrad is a conspiracy theorist, but let's see how this goes.

Mel :D

And great skeletal beasts. I know I'm not alone in thinking of Faction Paradox here.

"The people who lived on the Earth were called humans. Doctor Who had lots and lots of human friends." The past tense is fun. Makes me wonder if it will be literal in some way. Also very TARDIS wiki.

"They loved him, they'd travel with him, but sometimes they'd leave him so they could go and fall in love and marry and have babies. And then the Doctor was all alone." Hm, what interesting contrast, after that moment with Mel. What are we getting at here, especially with something so reductive? Is this something to do with the Doctor wishing he could have that life?

"But he travelled on with bravery in his heart, looking for his next best friend." And now we see Shirley. (Also, heart singular? Almost could be interpretted as a "First Doctor had one heart" confirmation.)

Susan Twist!

Hmm, this retro environment feel quite HP-like actually. Like the Ministry of Magic. Hm...

"But then a sad day came along. All the Time Lords were killed, and Doctor Who was the only one left." This is what I've been waiting for, with the Rani back.

Ich, so sexism is alive and well here. Very cool Conrad.

"You're a beautiful man." "What's that supposed to mean?!" Oh God. Yep we're going there, and it's not just flavour.

"Unified National Insurance Team" lol

"And Doctor Who .wished it was like the old days, when he had a faithful companion at his side, but sadly those days were gone." The old days huh? Also, are we really going there, with the Doctor's subconscious wish warping reality and causing Belinda to be stuck with him, like theorised?

Belinda's family!

"Good little girl, good little wife, then good little mother." Triple goddess?

"And as Conrad says, that's what we're here for." Again, very cool Conrad.

Interesting having Poppy here, but clearly a lot more convention in terms of her childhood intelligence. How does that happen?

Ooh, is Belinda breaking out of this?

"It turned out, Doctor Who wasn't the only one left. A Time Lady had survived." Hm, are we going in some "repopulate the species" direction here? Seemingly not conventionally, given the Rani isn't herself acting as the Doctor's wife here, but there's implications from Conrad's lines here.

...what's she riding?

Seal of Rassilon spotted!

Hm, what with these helmetted people? Thought they were passenger-forms for a second.

Wait, the Rani wants people to doubt?

"Is it ok out there? Is it working?" Hm? So Conrad a) seemingly isn't in as much control as he seems, and b) is trying to accomplish something specific.

"Sometimes I forget about the weather and South Africa gets flooded." So reality is flowing through him somehow? It's almost like he's trying to take care of everyone, but is also clearly malicious in other ways.

Ah right. Clear mummy issues. That makes sense.

"The boy who wants the world to be better." Stop trying to make him sound earnest.

THE GIGGLE!

Hm, so the vindicators still have a part to play? I wonder how accurate or not my episode one onwards theory is.

"Tonight, we will find him. The One Who Is Lost." Gee I wonder who that is (disclaimer: I already know who that is). Interesting that this name echoes "The One Who Waits". Are we pulling Omega into the Pantheon too? I kinda hope not, as really can't fit with having a history with the rest. Not like Sutekh with the Titan Comic parallels.

"And then the great work begins." Rebuilding Gallifrey maybe?

"Many years ago when Gallifrey was young, the Doctor and the Time Lady had been terrible enemies." Uhh... 'young' is an interesting choice of phrasing. I'm guessing this is just for the narrative, but taking this literally, this feels like a Fugitive / Morbius Doctor sort of thing. But the Rani doesn't fit into that (unless we really are getting "Time Lord reincarnation is more common than we think" theory confirmed, like I said on that one Chibnall-related post.

"But the Time Lady knew they could be great friends, if only Doctor Who knew how clever she was!" Hmm... this feels interesting. Hopefully we're not making the Rani's research all about the Doctor, are we?

Also, what does this refer to? Ancient Gallifrey (as mentioned above)? Academy era (this arguably could fit best, if we take this as a sort of meet cute of how Ushas joined the Deca)? Classic era? Now?

"So one day she stepped out from the shadows..." "He said her name out loud. And he said, "We shouldn't be enemies any more..." NO, PLEASE LET ME HEAR ALL THIS! ... also by name, do we mean "Rani", "Ushas" or somehting else? I hope Conrad's background speaking is included in the script, whenever Writersroom releases it.

"The disabled, the dispossessed, the ones who don't fit in." Once again, very cool Conrad.

"It's like a glimpse in the corner of my eye, like I can remember something, then... it's gone." Perception filter?

WAIT, are we seriously about to link back to 73 Yards?!

"It's perception bias. He's not disabled, so he can't see us." God I love this. This is such a clever way to use this reality warping actually. Of course Conrad's biases enforce gender roles, homophobia, but he doesn't give a shit about disabled people, for better or worse.

"We're going to bring down God." Huh, so who did the Rani/Flood overthrow to get us to this point?

"But the Time Lady had an idea. She said, 'It's not over, because I know a secret, hidden away.' And the secret came from the depths of Time Lord history. A secret so old and so terrible, everyone had forgotten. But the secret was beginning to wake." OH?

SUSAN! SUSAN! SUSAN!

(Why does her appearing on the screen in white feel so "The End of Time Woman"-core?)

Also, no way, is this going to link back to her origin?

"But the secret was beginning to wake." Dark Times / pre-rationality? The Timeless Child? Omega's betrayal?

"And the Doctor said, 'Tell me the secret'. But the mysterious Time Lady was clever and wise, and she knew that Doctor Who was weak. " Again very curious when this story, if real, actually occurred. It sounds like it must have been right before the episode, but how does that work with the previous episode's cliffhanger?

ROGUE?!!!

'Hell dimension'. So he's not in a Land of Fiction then. So much for that sequel idea.

"Tables don't do that." There we go.

"I miss you. Well... more than that. I love-" And of course Conrad interrupts this!

"I warn you, Doctor. This secret will change reality forever."

Oh, I didn't realise the cups were literally falling through the table. So it is a matter of projection, isn't it? The matter, in a sense, isn't actually there? (Or the force of electromagnetism itself has technically vanished with the surrounding loss of rationality?) Again, reality being held together by the mind, ala the Antimatter universe.

(Also, quite TV Movie esque, with matter's properties changing from the Eye of Harmony being open. Who do we know who was involved in those Black Hole experiments?)

Nope, Belinda is still suppressing then.

OK, I know it being UNIT is what's important, but I chuckled at the "relic from the other world" being a fucking iPad.

Rassilon mention! President Eternal huh?

Hm, the Rani's characterisation is interesting. It's clearly paralleling the Master in some ways, with the emphasis on their history etc. but she also thankfully doesn't actually feel like them at all (though the discoball is cutting it a bit close). Sure it's a bit of a far cry from Kate O'Mara's Rani in some some ways, but I actually really like it. This feels like someone who really was close with the Doctor once upon a time. It also makes sense she may act in a way that builds off those old bonds, given they are both, effectively, among all that's left of Gallifrey. Regardless, Archie is VERY good. I hope we keep her.

The way she's testing him is specifically very Rani though. It shows her inate academic curiosity.

Also, tbf, there are actually a few tender moments between the Rani and the Doctor in previous stories. They're easy to forget, but they are there. Like when she's disguised as Mel and clearly, for a moment, sympathises with Seven as he bemoans the nature of regeneration (one reason I like the interpretation, which I've seen some others share, that the Rani was actually scared of regenerating and hestitated for a long time). Or when the Doctor momentarily begins to wonder if they can be friends again (or maybe more? he doesn't finish the sentence), before dismissing the thought. It's a shame their dynamic is so often slept on tbh.

"We danced once upon a time, you and I, with the city burning around us! People said we were lovers. Can you remember if that's true? Far away in time and space. Were we?" I'm sure people are annoyed at this, and I can see an argument that it's a shame the Rani being being brought back so quickly leads to something romance related, a bit like the discourse around Best Enemies being depicted so strongly once the Master became Missy (I got the unfortunate implications of it all, but disagree it was intentional or anything - it was Moffat's first time writing the Master and I think he just wanted to depict their relationship explicitly while also introducing us to an on-screen cross-gender regeneration, and doing both together just happened to look a bit bad). But the Rani is clearly just teasing the Doctor's lack of memory.

Yay, Kate O'Mara :D

"Yes! I had a different face. So did you, a long time ago." Hm, who danced with her? Logically, it would make most sense to be Six or Seven, but this honestly sounds quite academy era-like? Could this be seen as evidence for O'Mara indeed being the First Rani?

"Because the tragedy is... we were never enemies. Every villain you ever thought wanted death. I only wanted life!"

"But this planet is a lie. This whole world is a wish." Yep, the planet's already gone isn't it? I'm so curious how this all comes together, it feels like the Rani's playing every side. She (presumably) wanted the Earth destroyed (by the TARDIS and the Vindicators?) but is also here holding it together? There's a gamibit here.

"But he made so much of this happen. He stirred the gods, Belinda. He woke the most ancient of powers."

"Desiderium - the god of wishes" Ok, this works for me so far.

"The Vindicator. Hidden in plain sight. Do you remember?" Plain sight is a bit much (we payed plenty of attention to it) but ok. This is what I'm waiting for.

But how does this work to amplify Desiderium's powers? Unless the Rani somehow planted it in the TARDIS, it must be via it's intended purpose, right?

"It crisscrossed the universe, creating a web of power to bring you back here." A Web you say? 👀

Or am I wrong, and it'll be more of a ritual thing, ala the fairy ring in 73 Yards?

"A billion supernovas" wait, is this based on what Rassilon did when Omega was lost? With the energy of the black hole flowing through him, how he changed the laws of physics and created the event horizon?

Kind of? She's using his doubt. Literally the Doctor's own Observer Effect.

"Omega" YEP there we are.

"Omega. The First Time Lord. The creator of the Time Lords. The greatest and most terrifying Time Lord of all."

OMG she's not acting to restore rationality per say (though in a way, using the Doctor's doubt could be seen as doing just that, re-imposing logic on a reality that has ceased to make sense) she's doing this to tear down Rassilon's work, isn't she?

When you think about it, this is the consequence of the Doctor's overthrowing of Rassilon in Hell Bent. The Time Lords finally began to see him for what he was, and the Rani may well have been among them. Only she filled the void of what once was likely a great hero of hers, given his impact on Time Lord science and rationality, with someone else.

And of course she wants to help Omega. The Deca loved him, Morbius, other fearsome Time Lord leaders of legend.

Side note - I can't believe they're actually showing us Omega's seal again too!

The Series 4 version of the Doctor's Theme! Have we even heard it since Eleven regenerated?

Ooh, the purple hues of everything disappearing are very similar to the threshold (I've been thinking about it every time they've said that word) and the portal the Timeless Child was found below. Is that just what portals out of N-Space look like (remember, the Master implied that Gallifrey was in the pocket universe when he destroyed it)?

"I have a daughter. Poppy is real. Do you know what that means?" HUH? THAT'S WHERE WE'RE GOING TO END IT?!

OK, as I said I'm not going to say too much right now, as it's late and writing is a bit inconvenient atm. I'll be saying a lot more later next week.

What I am going to say now though, before I see any other reactions to this? HOLY SHIT I LOVED THAT EPISODE. Low key, might be one of my favourite penultimate episodes (Heaven Sent is still top though obviously). Admittedly it leaves SO many questions open, so we're dependent on it sticking the landing and not copping out of all this, but my hopes are so high right now, even with the bad taste Empire of Death gave me previously. That's not to say it's perfect (there's a few RTDisms in there, with obvious reveals and such, plus things like Rogue kinda coming out of nowhere, but maybe he's back next episode?), but the fact we're actually kinda hinting at all this deep lore, FINALLY some consequences actually making good use of post-Time War Gallifrey (even if it's not around, and to be clear, I did like 90% of the Timeless Child/Division arc too), and giving us compelling characterisation of the Rani?

You've got me Russell, don't let us down.

[evilvillain666]

DW Season Finale Spoilers and rant about treatment of female characters ahead!

Still not over just how much the writers shot themselves in the foot in that last episode???? Like. Okay. Belinda is one of the few characters in New Who who, as a woman, isn't defined by any romantic interests at all, isn't in love with the Doctor, AND is consistently telling the Doctor that she isn't interested in being his companion. Then they just shove her into a mother role in the last episode of the season and completely retcon the entire season's set-up so that her reason for wanting to get home now is to be with her (and the Doctor's) child. Fuck her autonomy and free will I guess because women can only ever be romantic interests or mothers 🙄

And it's made even WORSE when the premise of the finale is a right-wing asshole creating Sexism World out of his cosmic wish, which the narrative acknowledges is unsustainable and oppressive, in which Belinda (and every other woman) is FORCED into the role of a housewife and mother, and we're supposed to believe that even when out of the influence of the wish, Belinda STILL only cares about her (wish-generated) child and is willing to completely give up her life and autonomy and be locked in a metal box forever and not help the Doctor defeat the antagonists because.... why??? And we're supposed to root for this??? We're supposed to say hooray that the beautiful openly gay man and independent woman want to conform to the nuclear family model? And then at the end of the episode, she doesn't even say anything or care when the Doctor just DNA scans her child in front of her without asking her????? It's like they just completely forgot who Belinda is over the course of just 8 episodes 😭

It pisses me off that even when the Doctor is an explicitly gay man, the writers STILL can't manage to conceive of female characters who aren't either in love with him or taking care of him in some way.

And then Ruby also gives Conrad a whole speech about how his world is nice, actually, and oh he just wanted people to have a family and isn't it so sad that he's in pain too :(. Like yeah this is Doctor Who, she's not gonna just kill him, but come on. The writers just fridged a strong female character so they can make her a mother figure, and then you're gonna entertain the idea that Conrad's world is a kind alternative, too? And he never faces ANY consequences for what he did. Ruby doesn't even scold him for it! We know he just gets to go be a happy chef somewhere, but we don't even hear about Ruby again after the Doctor goes on his Poppy side quest? What happened to her?

Not to mention also fridging the Rani for no fucking reason! Like they built up Omega as this powerful antagonist and then have him show up, literally just EAT the Rani because we can't have an interesting woman around apparently, and then the Doctor defeats Omega unceremoniously with his fucking Science Gun? Why did Omega have to be a big rotting corpse who's there for 30 seconds and then dies??? They could have done literally anything else with the concept of the original timelord? And the Rani!!! She gets no resolution!!!!! She barely gets to be a mad scientist!!!! And the Mrs Flood!Rani just runs off!!! And then they waste the rest of the episode's run time with the Poppy subplot. If they needed a reason for the Doctor to regenerate, they could have just had him get injured fighting the Rani and/or Omega! Or literally anything else!

It just pisses me off because Ncuti Gatwa does a really great job portraying the Doctor! It's just that the material is holding him back! They waste so much time on random, mediocre nothing plots within the 16 episodes that they have him. There are like 2.5 episodes where they really explore what it means for the Doctor to be a gay, black man and then they kill him unceremoniously. And they didn't even make Poppy a timelord in the end! I get that a lot of DW is about the importance of a single human person, but they fully destroyed Belinda's character for a nothing resolution. Doesn't she matter? They're always approaching something cool or meaningful with these two seasons, and get really close, and then drop the ball so hard. They keep throwing in references and whatnot to the OG RTD/Tennant era like they're using nostalgia to replace actual, good writing. Maybe it's just Disney holding them back, because I can't think of another reason that they'd spend so much money producing this.

[macaroni-art-fandom]

Very Incoherent Rambling Regarding The Reality War

Anita working for the time hotel had basically no foreshadowing especially since there has not been one Joy to the World reference since that episode.

Anita being pregnant with some unknown man's child is dumb when she clearly had a thing for the Doctor.

I was never a Rogue fan but c'mon. Dude does not deserve to be trapped in gay superhell with Castiel.

Archie Panjabi was great as the Rani but her plan was so stupid.

The Doctor could've provided DNA, River could've, The Master could've, Jenny could've, clearly Susan could've since they keep hinting that she's still alive.

Speaking of which they did nothing with Susan despite having been setting her up since the Devil's Chord.

They've been setting up the Pantheon forever and and that played almost no factor.

Over 30 years of waiting for the Rani to return and she gets eaten less than halfway through.

Coincidentally, it's the brown Rani that gets eaten and not the super ooc white one. (No shade to Anita Dobson. She's a queen)

Also, Last of the Time Lords is so stupid when you consider all the people I listed earlier. The Doctor and the Master have both known the Monk is alive for centuries!

Speaking of which, the Doctor had no reaction to one of his childhood best friends being eaten by Omega? Babes, you cry about the Master every five seconds. Give a reaction to Ushas' death.

Literally any allusion to the Deca would've been nice. I realise it's unlikely but they barely even hinted that the Doctor and the Rani knew each other. They gave Mel and the Rani more context than the Doctor.

Mel was wasted again. Poor girl needs to retire.

Omega was so fucking stupid I can't even. Why bring him back if he's just gonna show up as a fucking mummy baby for five seconds and eat a way better character.

Mrs. Flood being considered separate and subservient to the Rani is weird. Mrs. Flood on general acts nothing like the Rani and I truly believe that they didn't initially plan for her to be the Rani.

Rose getting written out of existence and Shirley and every other disabled person being homeless and all the homophobia and transphobia and they had the audacity to pretend that that reality was worth saving for a fake baby.

Ruby being gaslit for like ten minutes even though everyone knows she has the memory thing is bullshit. She is so distressed and traumatised and everyone is treating her like she's delusional for thinking something that seems incredibly rational in that context.

The world borders being changed is a huge problem actually and no one seems to think that it is.

I love Ruby and I love the way she's been developed this season but you can't deny that RTD is pushing aside a strong woman of colour for his white chosen girl once again.

Speaking of Belinda, I'm not the first and I won't be the last to say that that is one of the worst character assassinations I've ever seen. What they did to her was absolutely disgusting and I have lost what little respect I had left for RTD.

Sidelining the main companion of this season, literally locking her in a box, and changing her entire character into being nothing more than a mother, (right after an episode about how forcing women into those roles is bad!) is revolting and RTD needs to either do better or be fired.

I could go on forever about how Belinda was mistreated but I wouldn't be able to say anything that hasn't already been said.

Conrad getting a happy ending was stupid. He did not earn that. Ruby should've punched him.

Rani, girl, just build some fucking Looms! Great way to bring looms into the TV show would be a biochemist like the Rani trying to restore the Gallifreyan race.

Poppy being important was super stupid. Space Babies was bad. No need to remind us.

Poppy's life being weighed against all of reality for more than a second goes against so many lessons the Doctor's learned. Pompeii, Father's Day, the Time Lord Victorious, Clara. All to teach them that one person isn't more important than every other person.

Ruby just disappeared and nobody cared, I guess.

Belinda's will being completely taken away and basically becoming a mouthpiece for the Doctor was so gross.

Thirteen! But all of the people saying that RTD wrote 13 better than Chibbs need to chill out. She was there for give seconds and acted in character. That is not a win for RTD. I have my issues with Chibbs but saying that five seconds of RTD's writing is better than three seasons of his is stupid.

Also calling the Rani a Time Lady and Thirteen calling fifteen "male" is bioessentialist and stupid and not at all the progressive agenda RTD has been claiming to try and push.

Unit are morally grey! Stop pretending they are entirely good. Chipping employees is weird and not cool, Kate.

Ncuti is genuinely one of my favourite portrayals of the Doctor ever. A lot of people have been singing his praise since the regeneration scene but I knew after his first episode that he had skyrocketed to the top of my list and remains at 2nd place despite the writing and this episode.

That being said this is the most disrespectful way I've ever seen the Doctor die.

Ncuti is the only Doctor to have never faced a single one of the big three. (Daleks, Cybermen and Master.)

He was marketed as a new era and half of his run has been reference to the past. This would be fine if the references weren't bad.

I also think it's horrible that the first full-time black Doctor is being sandwiched between RTD's two favourite white people. (No hate to Tennant of Billie.)

Also, RTD needs to just let Rose die. She was a cool companion is Series 1. She is not more important than every other person who's ever entered the Doctor's life and RTD doesn't seem to know that.

There's probably a ton more that I'm missing but my hands are starting to cramp.

[cryptidjeepers]

just a few storylines/foreshadowing that went nowhere:

-meta doctor who/fourth wall break. Not really sure if it was supposed to be foreshadowing for lux? because they didnt really feel a big enough moment for a whole season and a half of fourth wall breaks. this one irks me because it played in season 1 as well and went nowhere.

-mrs. flood being a bit of a sneaky cunt. immeadiately becomes pathetic after biregeneration. also felt incomplete. like what was the point.

-ruby's mom calling suetek "the beast" in a way that felt purposeful. this could be nothing but it sounded so weird when she said it.

-ruby seemingly having an ability to remember lost timelines. never explained. but god, if they wanted to they had tons of time to decide whether she's got powers or something. she has also had the longest character development. why wasn't she developed during series one, when she was the main companion. why did they need to take over belinda's storyline to flesh her out (when they should've already!!)

-belinda's descendant from boom. the doctor scanned belinda's dna in ep 1 and made a comment about finding out why she looked exactly like her. This could've been an offhand joke to explain away the double casting, but then it was made into a something of a mystery.

-fucking everything about belinda. the tag line of this season was "get her home," but then she stops caring about getting home in like episode 4 and by the finale, she seems to not give a shit at all.

-the doctor invokes superstitions and awakens the gods. and then it goes nowhere big and ends up involving the rani and omega? i dont understand why the literal GODS were sidelined as villains. this is also my opinion but the god shit was corny as hell.

-poppy. okay i haven't seen anyone meniton this but if the Wish World was conrad's wish, why was poppy there? yes, she wished the doctor (and ruby??!!) was her dad, but that shouldn't have happened since she didn't make the wish. not to mention the infertile/sterile shit and the rani wanting to make a new race of time lords came out of left field. they really infused such a convuluted plotline into one episode with zero buildup. ALSO why was belinda her mom when poppy wished for ruby to be her mom??

-susan. fucking susan. the doctor reminces about his granddaught a LOT during his run. and then suddenly susan shows up in his mind (to serve looks i guess) and then just never shows up. instead, the doctor suddenly has this need to have children (never brought up before wish world) that is expressed through poppy?? from two whole seasons ago?

-ROGUE??? okay so how did he get access to a camera to record in superhell. also he loves the doctor? after one night? am i supposed to feel anything about this. what was the point of his cameo if 15 regenerates and we will probably never see him again lmao.

there are more. im just running out of patience writing this lmao

[heyclickadee]

A couple of season three thoughts:

1. We don’t actually know what being clone x’d means. We talk about it as though a clone is completely wiped clean, total mind reset, but the Clone x we met in season two wasn’t really a blank cypher. He was more of a zealot. He had a personality, in fact he had a very strong personality, it was just a terrifying one, and the way he talks about being “elevated” a “believer” makes him seem a lot less like a drone and more like a fanatic. I think what’s happening is another step or two in chip augmentation beyond what we saw happen with Crosshair, so it goes beyond blind obedience and right into almost religious devotion. It’d mean the clone underneath is still there, but twisted around the programming in a terrifying way. I hope our boys find a way to help the X’d clones.

2. I still kind of want the new doggo to be what Rubies look like when they grow up. Partly because I really want to see the Durands come back.

3. One Tech lives possibility that we ought to consider is Tech coming back with a TBI. Aphasia, memory loss, Tech having to re-learn certain motor skills or even how to fly—that could happen. And it could happen through a weird Star Wars lens, of course, but it could happen. It could also be very interesting to watch. And if I see anyone saying that it would have been better if Tech had died if he does come back with a TBI (or a Star Wars metaphor for TBI) then I swear to God that it is ON SIGHT.

4. Angsty possibility: Omega hits a point in Tantiss when she does lose hope, and that’s what pushes Crosshair to start trying to help her with the escape. Not because he has any hope, but because he can’t stand to see her like that.

5. I still think Omega and Crosshair escape Tantiss as early as episode two, mmmaaaaaybe episode one, and that they get separated so that Crosshair reunites with at least Hunter and Wrecker (and Echo if Echo’s not off doing secret things) well before Omega does, but I also: one, hope that we get at least one episode of Omega and Crosshair free, together, and just trying to survive, and; two, I don’t think Omega’s going back to Tantiss after that. I think she gets caught and that she and Crosshair get separated, but I also think that we’re not going back to Tantiss again until the end of the season after the first few episodes, and that when the team does go back, it’ll be as a whole team, and it won’t necessarily be to rescue Omega.

6. The moment Crosshair finds out that the boys kept his armor is going to kill me. You know they could have sold it. They’ve been broke and struggling enough the whole show to have had justification in doing so, but they didn’t.

7. I kind of want to see an episode where everyone’s separated. No two or three together, everyone just on their own.

8. They’ve been dragging AZ around for two seasons. I mean, not literally, they left him on Kamino and then on Ord Mantell, but they’ve kept that little medical droid around on the show and made him accessible to the gang, and I would like to know why. Chekov’s AZ

9. Also chekov’s zillo beast, chekov’s Romar’s last words to Omega, etc.

10. I’m. Very excited for Hunter this season.

[cornus27florida]

4, 5, 6, 7 and 22? :)

4) Like what I answer previously, most non-canon pairings - as fandom make hard to make it could happen by literally doing anything to make that possible.. Especially by bashing a character that opposing/as obstacle for the ship of "their" intent. Read those kinds just make my blood and head boils

I just want my fanfics to be my comfort stuffs, alright? :/

5) Lust and Chastity (Deadly 7 Inside Me), Severus Snape and Harry Potter (the mentorship/apprentice, severitus is dabest), Whitney of Monochrome Kingdom and Frederick of Plaid Kingdom (Cursed Princess Club) along with Prez (Calpernia) and Princess Gwendolyn, Chrome and Senkuu Ishigami (Dr. Stone), Mem-Cho with literally everyone especially her B - komachi girls Ruby and Kana (Oshi no Ko), Hakuba Saguru and Kaito Kuroba (Magic Kaito) and FBI gangs (James Black, Akai Shuuichi, Jodie Starling | Saintemillion, Andre Camel)...

6) CANON DIVERGENCE!!! FIX-IT TROPES! "EARN YOUR HAPPY ENDING!!" / Great Fanfic Writers will excel for those ! In any way of possible to make that could happen, be it redemption arc come earlier - time travelling to the past to making amends to the ones that they are wronged - OR... somehow gets forced to join forces against shared Big Bad as "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" thingy... I am so sucker of those stuffs as I am very aware of most favorite characters are initially "bad" but later on gets character developments

7) My least favorite headcannon is? Errr this is highly specific niche as depending on the fandom, and I am multifandom enjoyer girl lmao so this is hard to answer as headcannon of a fandom technically can't works on for other fandom but imho if we could gets the pattern of groupings will become these:

Tunnel without the light at the end = Shakespear-like works

Nonsense "fluffs" scenes that won't happen as too delusional

22) Anything that twisting the canon things characterization especially if doing do make it so lewd as : underage, r@p3, omega/beta/alpha dynamics + lewd furries... FORBIDDEN LOVE = IMMORAL RELATIONSHIPS = INCEST?? to your twin siblings even?! WHAT THE HECK - To anyone that writes it, please f*ck yourself (like you deserves hell or prison in my opinion) as to me is not self-indulgence (main motivation of most fanfic writers) BUT SHOWS HOW DIGUSTING YOU ARE - Please get help by professional means, but I guess your therapist will immediately need therapist 'to fix you' :@ EW

Hmm to ending things and please take it as personal opinion..

I always feel the creative works outputs in any media (both goes way as you the one that make canon thing, or simply do fanworks) are reflecting yourself somehow even what you make is very fictional that's technically can't happen IRL. Like your (fan)arts, (fan)fictions, and other editings as well songs - shows what's in your heart as well your personality a lot...

So anyone that like making a good full-written redemption stories of multi-chaptered fanfic (heck, I could consume the one with 250 chapters and even do reread while commenting it!) show how dedicated you are as the writer, and most of them shows that they are truly grieving for their real lives somehow (dream's shattered, their loved ones passed away and they still struggle to accepting reality that their present world won't be never same, they are unfortunately counting their days as maybe gets terminal illness and/or truly in confusion/overwhelmed about what they need to do for their life even try to attempting to taking their own life as not only once but likely multiple times, or they are unsatisfied with the life they're experienced like wishing for things to happened differently as "what-if" in the past I choose that one instead) BUT MAKING THOSE NEGATIVE FEELINGS TO BECOME POWER OF WRITINGS IN THE WAY OF ANY CREATIVE ART AND MEDIA LIKE WRITING - even, yes Fanfictions...

I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU!!! YOU ARE NOT ALONE AS WELL YOU ARE SO VALUABLE, PRECIOUS ONE AND DESERVES TO BE HEALED AS WELL TO GETS WHAT YOU WANTS - You aren't greedy or ungratefull or worthless or only could doing mistakes or keeps getting series of unluck or a monster like you depict yourself or anything negatives to be while likely overthinking everything, you are just want to be acknowledged - cared - be happy - loved by more people

I feel I do too, in the way of my fave fanfics especially fits the themes somehow... [Also I am working on my first mega AU project that I kinda hope you at least give a look, and I will be on hearts over the moons if you give me kudo and comment in any way about what you think - as long as you read it properly of course, I dislike anyone that commenting without even try things first). Here my fanfiction that I refer :

How to breaks free from abuse, bullying, grieving the passing of loved ones etc (Honestly I am not experiencing everything and I am sorry I won't be specific about what I experienced but somehow as I likely be autistic person with my therapists confirmed spectrum: anxiety disorder that even makes me at my worse by got paralyzed half body for half month last year) BUT we are the victors not victims so we definetely didn't anyone pity (ew no Pity Party, thanks) especially if those are all fakes... Please understand that everyone experienced and feels will be very different - AND they are likely the most self- aware of how fucked up their situations is (so gets repeated the list of what happens for them, especially if forced to tells the details of what happened is SO TRAUMATIC to the points anyone gets freeze/stutters/trying to escape the situation = Please don't do these especially if you are not mental health professional by any means and just based on your 'internet' assumptions)... So what you can do? Actually very simple, just be there alongside them - let your presence known by any ways (if they are OK with skinships, hug them or pats) and be patient and KIND... They are truly want to telling about themself but various and likely multiple things make them unable to so, and highly distrust everyone for now....

But if you are there, simply by being there... It's so healing....

P.S.S: Wah my answer box turning to be therapy sessions, these are free ones of course - in the way of me rantings and ramblings but also for Anons to somehow be happy too

Have a nice future ahead, Anon ^^ Even if you are truly happy and content with everything, life always changes - but it's OK

[percontaion-points]

Clawless chapters 19 & 20

Today's review might be difficult for some; reader discretion is advised

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Click here for the rest of the series!

Chapter 19

I’d always known Jasper was in deep with Vail, but as I headed to the gym the next morning, I had to wonder if his obsession wasn’t tipping him over the edge.

I kind of feel like that ship has already sailed. 

She gave a tired laugh. “You think a few classes are going to help me? Thanks, but we know they’re a ruse. Just another of Jasper’s control freak ideas to keep the vulnerable wolves in line.”

Considering that all of the times Vail has been in trouble, knowing how to karate-chop a block of wood (or whatever, I don’t know self-defence moves?) was in no way actually going to help her out. There were usually multiple assailants. And in the case of the lab, Vail was literally drugged and cuffed. 

I’m not saying that learning self-defence is a bad thing. But let’s not pretend like it’s a magical cure-all for Vail’s troubles. 

 Looking directly at the collar for more than a moment was impossible, but close proximity of any kind still stung. Part of me was impressed with the alpha power Jay had pumped into the thing, but the larger part thought he was a fucking lunatic. Vail seemed oblivious to my reaction, or maybe she shared Jay’s sadistic streak, because she planted her feet and wiggled her fingers at me.

Maybe it’s me and my insistence that she isn’t actually a wolf… But if she was a wolf, why can’t she feel the alpha-energy from the collar? 

She nodded happily, and there was a devilish glint in her eye as she said, “Wait until I introduce you to the Strangle Hold Alpha. There’s nothing like a little neck submission to teach you who’s boss.”

Chapter 19 summary: The next morning, Reed fumes on his way to the gym. Outside of the locker room, a bunch of freshmen omegas run out and complain that the other girls are basically bullying Vail about her collar. Reed goes in and tells Pearl off. Pearl doesn’t seem to give a shit about Reed’s opinion on what she should and shouldn’t do. 

He then pulls Vail into a private practice room, where he finds out that she’s a lot tougher than she seems. And that she has previous fighting experience, which he chalks up to her having grown up in a bad area. However, he insists that fighting like a human isn’t going to help her against a wolf. She tells him a bit about how she fought off the wolves at the start of the book, and Reed feels really sorry for her because she went through that. They continue their lesson. 

After, Reed gives her a Marrow pack ruby ring, saying that he would have give it to her at the dinner dance. This leads to the two of them basically making googoo eyes at one another, and Reed reminding himself that he “doesn’t kiss his omegas”. She asks if her collar hurts him, but he says “No as much as it should.” 

Chapter 20

“Then prove it!” I grabbed the collar, squeezing the pendant so tight it bit into my skin. “Take it off!” 

“I can’t!” He spun back to me, and I was retreating before I could stop myself. “If you stopped and thought about it for one goddamn minute, you’d see I’m doing this for you. And I gave you exactly what you wanted! To take it all away.”

Going back to a Horace the Dead Horse thing here, but if these assholes bothered to fucking tell Vail a goddamned thing, maybe she wouldn’t be in this position. 

Instead, they punish Vail for not knowing the rules that they refuse to tell her. There is literally not a single situation in which she can possibly get ahead. 

“No more secrets, Vail. And no more letters. You want to invite Marrow onto my lands, you ask me first.”

Chapter 20 summary: After her self-defence class, Vail goes to meet Marnie for lunch. Although they’re now in the same clan, since Marnie is still classified as a dud, the two of them don’t see each other. Vail basically unloads all of the shit she’s been through, and how hard of a time she’s been having. In turn, Marnie tells her that she had a hand wolf-out, which is the most she’s ever shifted. 

Vail then goes to her “deportment” class. The teacher is exactly how you’d think Ms. Manners would physically look and act like. She scoffs over Vail not having a partner, and chooses one of the boys at random. However, poor Xavier is having a difficult time thanks to Vail’s collar. 

Jasper shows up and quickly shoves Xavier away, and forces Vail to dance with him. After a moment, he sends literally everybody from the room simply so that he and Vail can hash it out. Or rather, Vail can beg for her freedom while Jasper lords it over her. You know, the usual. 

He then pins her up against a wall and demands that she show him what she learnt from Reed earlier. And I’m not going to lie: the entire thing is insanely rape-y. Even when the two of them start kissing, I’m like “Do you really want to be kissing him, Vail? He’s literally holding you hostage.” But it seems as though she’s going along with this mainly to try and convince him to take the collar off. Which again, he keeps refusing to do. 

Jasper finally shoves the letter she’d tried to write to her grandfather into her face. That if she wants to invite Alpha Marrow to the school, then the invite must go through him first. Because of course he saw it, and he has opinions on it. 

[thetimelordbatgirl]

*Ruby trying to talk down the alt-right stand in and mentioning his lack of dad...oh boy... *TARDIS???? My queen??? *....Well I'm not a huge Omega fan....but even I can go, "The fuck-" at the design. *....Did they just kill one of the Rani's off via fucking Omega??? I know we called overshadowing the Rani's via Omega but holy shit! *Mrs. Flood fleeing the bad shit happening...mood. *...Bruh, what??? That's the solution to alt-right stand in??? Using the baby god of wishes to be happy???? *And its technically doctor and ruby who did all the main shit while Belinda stood in a vault with Poppy...for fucks sake... *The TARDIS was apart of bone balance whole time....well, that theorist was correct at least. *Okay yay Poppy survived can we get something with Belinda now??? *So we ditching the baby god of wishes in present? ...Okay...also bold to call Carla best mom when like...show's not done a great job showing that... *Eh, don't worry, TARDIS likely a great babysitter. *....So they really had Belinda not question SHIT with Poppy by this point...and she and Doctor are acting like family mode now....when we didn't get this development for these two... *Yeah ironic to reveal Belinda wanted to go home but now doesn't when we didn't get much development for this change. *"Whose Poppy?"-...well there goes Poppy I guess despite everything. *Going back to Robot Revolution details...stop reminding me of good writing... *And that's literally how we deal with the fucking star name thing...just nothing until now and yeeting it into space...the one bit of Belinda's plot left and... *Them laughing at the idea of having a baby together is me with all this writing tbh. *But also why the fuck is Ruby the only one able to remember... *Yay...UNIT....not... *Yeah I'm mood with Kate stans, the fuck is this ship with UNIT guy whose name always slips me... *Anita you were the total MVP. *NOT KATE TRYING TO RECRUIT HER FOR UNIT- GIRL YOUR NEVER BEATING THE ALLEGATIONS- *So much of the shit has been dealt with but so much time left...what the fuck is next.... *Yay...the alt-right stand in is happy...so happy to see that for him...for fucks sake.... *Okay but mood, I'd want Poppy to survive over Conrad any day. *Oh hey bringing back the doctor seeing Poppy as a baby...and revealing he saved her when younger from a car??? *And back to remembering Poppy so Ruby no longer looks insane. *There's another all the Doctor's screen....AND JODIE?! JODIE?! QUEEN WHO DESERVED BETTER WRITING AND SUCH?! YOUR BACK?! *"Have you redecorated? I don't like it!"-insert HA HE SAID IT HE SAID IT- meme. *Honestly, Thirteenth wouldn't stop him at all so at least she says it was never gonna work. *"Timey-wimey."-"Is that still a thing?"-"Going strong."-as long as this show knows it can use it as a reference, pretty accurate. *This entire time though they hinting at shit...girl fifteenth better not... *"I should say that to Yaz."-"You never do...but she knows."-crumbs for the thirteenth/yaz shippers out there I guess. *SHOW DON'T YOU DARE- HE BETTER JUST BE USING THE ENERGY FOR WHAT HE NEEDS TO DO- *Oh that shattering of the screen for shattering reality...perfection. *HE'S STILL GOT REGENERATION ENERGY? ARE YOU KIDDING ME- *"Not yet, not yet."-me and every fifteenth doctor. *...Poppy is back now??? *I guess this is the reality where after Rani's and shit dealt with??? *.....Now we fucking altering lines for her to be a mom to Poppy??? They literally turned her into a mom all this time???? What the fuck??? *This...makes no fucking sense still given Belinda's...whole situation back in robot revolution but... *...And now we altering Lux dialogue about Belinda having had a partner which led to Poppy...meaning Poppy is no longer timelord...well there goes that shit. *Okay so if this is the conclusion for Poppy...what the fuck is the shit with Susan??? That's the only plot thread left hanging...especially with Doctor now saying timelord's can't have kids...

The Reality War Liveblog

*Still not sure really if doctor who should keep doing these high stakes endings...just means we know it's not gonna last and be undone at the end. *ANITA?! So that shit from joy to the world is coming in use? *Carla actually being a good mom? RTD finally doing that now? *...Somehow the time hotel is the key to undoing what the rani's were doing? ....Well, guess that's...both making sense but also a cop out... *Anita now knowing about everything, damn girl got more development off-screen then Belinda's gotten on-screen. *Do get why they can't show all of the doctor's via time hotel...but would have been fun lol- but nice to see Matt Smith and Jon Pertwee. *Anita pausing on the gay shit...she is all of us. *"Alright, I had Christmas off."-come on bad guys gotta have time off as well. *...So wait they back to Conrad's reality now too??? *"But she isn't real."-"How dare you?!"-I mean...unless plot makes sense of Poppy now...Anita ain't wrong. *...And we back to Belinda in Conrad reality... *Oh that fit...god damn... *And now Belinda and Poppy is in the time hotel as well, well at least Belinda has her memories back finally. *"We've had a baby."-...so Belinda isnt even gonna question having a baby with the doctor???? Again, what happened to Robot Revolution Belinda??? *Them making her plot about Poppy fears being true here. *Well guess they gonna pull all of UNIT back to reality via time hotel. *Vinx was in that box the whole time? ....Somehow the same amount of work he did in main universe. *Well explains lack of Rose Noble, Conrad couldn't imagine trans people existing...but why is she in the same fit as Legend of Ruby Sunday/Empire of Death??? *"This is our daughter, Poppy."-we really running with this huh... *UNIT has everyone chipped in the fucking necks??? The fuck??? No one questioning the space military is doing this??? *Shirley zooming off in her wheelchair is iconic as fuck though. *Seriously, why is Belinda not questioning the Poppy shit?? *"I have been a house wife."-my worst nightmare too, Mel. *"She's still alive?"-somehow, Mel. *...So basically Belinda is nothing in the Poppy plot beyond being there with how the Doctor admits Poppy is based on memories of his and Ruby's... *Mel and the Rani meeting...oh toxic yuri... *One way to explain surviving...all of Timelord's differing deaths over time. *"I've never met you in my life."-new Thanos' "I don't know who you are" meme found. *Well one way to explain Mrs Flood being Ruby's and Belinda's neighbors...just to find the Doctor. *She really said well old Gallifrey didn't like me, but if new Gallifrey is made by me, won't be the case. *Timelord's basically confirmed unable to have kids I guess...fits up with Gallifrey's reproduction means in other DW media. *Again WHY IS BELINDA NOT QUESTIONING ANYTHING TO DO WITH POPPY BECAUSE SHE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH POPPY- *"She is timelord DNA."-...she is??? I mean...guess makes sense with them acting like she is their daughter, but she was made from a wish, the fuck??? *Now its become erase Conrad's world and take out Poppy in the process or not...oh no... *...Yeah Belinda's plot has become about Poppy...for fucks sake... *Well about time this reality war has some war shit happen. *Closest Sue gets to do I guess now beyond being a tea maker and harbinger. *"My battle is in there saving my daughter."-what even is Belinda if not whatever the plot needs...though one way to save Poppy, lock her in a vault with Belinda. *Rose last finale was tapping on her ipad...here she's doing nothing but getting Ruby ready to go after Conrad...dunno if upgrade or not... *...So Belinda is stuck in mom plot and Ruby gets to do Conrad plot...I'm hating it here... *Yeah Belinda get comfortable in that vault with Poppy, your gonna be stuck there for a while I feel... *Why would Rani give a shit about having Doctor with her in a rebuilt Gallifrey again??? She literally never gave a shit unless she could use him in a bad way in his plans, not have him on her side.

[rowinablx]

Everything Wrong With Avengers Vs X-Men, a thread

@beardedbarba @axelwolf8109 @greek-freak101

1. The use of the Phoenix Force makes Jean’s death completely void of any emotion

2. Captain America beat Gambit, Gambit, his use of kinetic energy should have killed Steve!!!!

3. None of the Omega level X-Men are a threat, like c’mon

4. Thor and Ms. Marvel fight the Phoenix Force, I am not kidding

5. Steve is extremely OOC, he literally tries to tell Scott not to try and reverse Wanda’s accidental depowering of the mutant kind,

 6. Spider Man beats Magik and Colossus by trolling them

7. Namor goes down too easily

8. Iron Man is the idiot who splits the Phoenix Force and no one hates him

9. Psylocke stabs Hawkeye and he’s okay

10, Vision verbally abuses Wanda, blaming her for everything. Only good thing about that was Carol flying Wanda away and Jessica Drew calling Vision an asshole

11. Black Widow fights Magik and lives

12. Valkyrie does absolutely nothing she’s just there for some reason

13. Many of the X-Men who fight in the beginning do nothing later on

14. T’Challa nullified his marriage to Storm even though SHE WAS IMPARTIAL TO BOTH PARTIES AND NOT THE X-MEN EXCLUSIVELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

15. The X-Men was framed as the bad guys before the Phoenix Five become a thing

16. Magneto and Polaris don’t seem to care about Wanda or Pietro

17.Cyclops going Dark Phoenix and killing Professor X has zero build up. He takes Emma’s power, kills Xavier and boom Dark Phoenix. The original saga had build up

18. Cyclops’ Dark Phoenix form is the worse I have ever seen.

19. Hope is a Mary Sue in the end

20. HOW THE FUCK DID THEY GET ENOUGH RUBY QUARTZ FOR A PRISON IT’S FUCKING RARE THAT’S WHY CYCLOPS HAVING IT FOR A VISOR WAS SO IMPORTANT IT WAS RARE AAAHJDJSAHDJEFHURW7FEWUFRAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

21. No one hates Logan for trying to kill Hope like ten times

22. Hope is too unlikable in the early comics, I get she's a teenager but c'mon Bobby was like fifteen in the first comic and he was a cinnamon roll

[kitchenisking]

Fic Rec Passover Day 6😁

What the Hell is an Umi? by one-fandom-became-all-fandoms  - (Rating: Mature, Words: 5270, sterek)

The unthinkable happens and Derek has to save Stiles's life. His humanity is gone now, so...

What remains?

Alpha Stiles by GenesisPhoenixDragon - (Rating: Mature, Words: 6099, sterek)

Stiles is kidnapped and shit happens

Careful What You Wish For by KaliopeShipsIt - (Rating: Mature, Words: 10276, sterek)

"Want it so badly Derek, fuck, want to be so big and round with your cubs!”

“Your wish is my command!”

“What the fuck?”

Aka, the one where Derek has a bit of a breeding kink, Stiles recently rubbed a lamp, and Ruby the Genie pops in at a most inopportune time and takes things literally.

Can't Hide What I Feel For You by whenwordsmakesense - (Rating: T, Words: 2106, sterek)

Derek and Stiles are co-actors. Their characters are in love with each other, or that's how the fans interpret their interactions in the show; the truth is that stiles and derek like each other irl and have slowly fallen in love over the course of the show, and the looks they give each other are real. Except they're oblivious, and it takes a little bit of drunken/late night confession to get to the truth.

No Rest for the Wicked by the_deep_magic - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 27438, sterek)

Stiles is an IT genius, Derek is a PR rep, and they’ve been happily married for five years. Except none of that is actually true. (NOW COMPLETE 10/27/18)

Animal Control by An_Optimist_Prime - (Rating: T, Words: 1722, sterek)

Bobby, meanwhile, changes tact. “What’s your name?”

“Stiles,” The kid – Stiles – answers, before gesturing to the wolf beside him. “This is Sourwolf.”

‘Stiles’ has to be a nickname or alias, and the “dogs” name isn’t exactly reassuring either, but Bobby will work with it. “Okay Stiles, would you like to explain how and why you’re walking the streets of Los Angeles with a wolf?”

-

Or, the pack meet the wee-woo fam.

I love you too, or whatever by yodasyoyo - (Rating: T, Words: 2737, sterek)

“You. Love me too.”

“Yeah well,” Stiles grumbles. “It’s either love or I’ve had really bad indigestion for the past five years. I don’t know. Take your pick.” He waves a hand airily, cheeks flushing pink.

The corner of Derek’s mouth tugs up in a smile. “Well you do eat like a pig. It could be indigestion.”

Stiles goes to kick him, and then sucks in a pained breath between his teeth. “Shit motherfucker, fuck, shit.”

Be Good for Me by AMatchInWater - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 5548. sterek)

Stiles presents as an Omega right before Derek comes back to town. Though on suppressants, after the Alpha offers to court him, Derek's scent and proximity sends him into heat and they mate together in the woods.

Meant to Be by StaciNadia - (Rating: G, Words: 1337, sterek)

Stiles has a strange dream with a mysterious voice repeating the same thing.

(still couldn't figure out how to get it like the others)

[itsclydebitches]

I’ve been seeing an uptick in “anti-RWDE” posts lately  — which is a phenomenon I’d like to comment on at a later date  — but for now one of them (quite unintentionally) made me realize something about the finale that I haven’t seen others discuss yet. 

So RWBYJNOR saves everyone, right? Let’s just put aside the animation for a moment  — which didn’t show any army members making it out  — as well as the forgotten side characters  — Maria, Pietro, Qrow’s group isn’t forgotten, but still left behind  — and take things on good faith here. We’ll read the finale through the thematic intention: RWBYJNOR saved “everyone” in the Kingdom of Atlas in Volume 8, deliberately contrasting them with Ironwood who was willing to sacrifice a chunk of the Kingdom in Volume 7. Forget all the messiness and just accept that regardless of the consequences  — like a destroyed Kingdom and a “dead” team  — the heroes are heroic because they didn’t give into a “lesser evil” thinking and managed to save everyone. 

Now, how was that possible? 

Let’s go back to the beginning of the seventh episode of Volume 8, “War.” Salem’s grimm have just burrowed through Atlas’ defenses and taken them out. The shields are gone. She flies Monstra into the fields and releases an army of darkness that immediately heads for the city. What’s the very first thing Ironwood does? 

Soldier: Yes, sir?

Ironwood: I am evacuating all citizens to the subway. Prepare Manta Squad Omega, and dispatch to every part of Atlas.

Soldier: But sir-

Ironwood: Now!

He evacuates the people, with “the people” meaning all the Atlesians and however many Mantle folk got to the city prior to Salem’s arrival. When this episode aired I mentioned being confused as to why the soldier was so hesitant. Why wouldn’t you want the people to get to safety when a grimm army is heading their way? Fans against Ironwood took the soldier’s side, claiming that Mountain Glenn proved that any underground evacuation is a death sentence and thus he obviously doesn’t really care about the peoples’ safety. Fans in support of/neutral towards Ironwood pointed out that this is a pretty big leap, no one is coming up with a better idea for what he should do instead, and that within these circumstances it reads like the soldiers is illogically against this idea simply because everyone is against Ironwood now. The show wants characters criticizing his decisions and making him out to look like a crazed dictator... even during moments when it doesn’t make any sense to be upset with him. Shooting the councilman yes, trying to keep the people safe no. Basically, this small exchange was a mess, but the rest of the volume proved that this was a sound call. The subway never collapsed and no grimm ever made it to that enclosed space to pick the civilians off like fish in an underground barrel. 

So, why didn’t that happen? Well, one answer is because Oscar and Ozpin destroyed the whale. But how did they have time to do that? Without the people dying while they were being tortured, talking to Hazel, escaping with Emerald, fighting Salem, etc.? A lot happened between Salem starting her attack and Oscar ending it, so why wasn’t 2/3rds of the Kingdom’s population decimated during that time? 

Because Ironwood sent his army out to keep the grimm occupied. 

Outside of Ironwood’s cartoon villain actions  — random murders and bomb threats  — which get the most attention due to how deliberately, over-the-top horrific they are, these are the two actions that get the most negative attention from both the story and the fanbase. The soldier seems horrified by the order to evacuate. Marrow is devastated that young adults are fighting in this battle. The fandom is disgusted by both aspects of Ironwood’s character: giving orders that, as general, he expects to be obeyed and having an army that follows those orders. Putting side that cartoon villainy, this is what supposedly makes Ironwood the antagonist here. These are the qualities that have existed since Volume 2, resulting in a “he was always a bad guy” interpretation. These are the qualities that have resulted in anyone who likes his character being labeled as a “bootlicker.” We know these qualities make the fandom hate him because otherwise, more people would be confused as to why a presumably heroic character randomly shot Oscar. Orders, armies, and general military associations are at the heart of Ironwood’s presumed villainy. 

So let’s remove them. 

Ironwood has no evil army. Ironwood gives no evil orders. Power and control lies solely in the hands of our non-military heroes. Everything is better! 

...well, no. Because we saw in Volume 8 precisely the choices our heroes made when the attack started: half of them focused on saving a single individual (Oscar) and the other half kept to the sidelines. At no point did our RWB group act after sending the message and prior to securing the Staff. AKA, during the attack of Salem’s army. We got a very explicit moment in which Ruby looked out the window at the battle going on and turned away from it, continuing to discuss ethics instead of joining the fight. The people of Atlas (which, again, includes many Mantle citizens) had no one but Ironwood and his army because a third of the group was trying to rescue Oscar (they never even had a plan to blow up Monstra — that was also Ironwood), a third of the group was up in Amity, and a third was sitting in the mansion. They did nothing to help the people of Atlas being attacked by grimm. 

Thus, if you remove Ironwood’s actions, everything goes to hell. There is no longer an order to evacuate to the subway. Maybe some people go there anyway. Most probably don’t. They run in a panic wherever they can. Hide wherever they can. Go back home for some semblance of safety. 

There’s no longer an army. Either it doesn’t exist because we’ve determined it’s simplistically bad despite RWBY’s grimm-specific context, or Ironwood likewise never gives the order to protect Atlas’ border. Salem’s army moves unimpeded through the city, killing countless people as it goes. How do we know? Because they’re civilians who can’t defend themselves and there’s literally no one else to help. Remember: Ironwood is not giving orders, there is no army, RWB is in the mansion, YJOR is in the whale, Penny is out of commission, the Happy Huntresses are in Mantle. Those in Atlas are entirely alone. In time, Oscar destroys the whale, but by then it’s too late. There’s no concrete way to theorize how many have died, but it’s inevitably a lot. Everyone else is scatted across the city, trying to survive. 

So this scene 

no longer exists. 

When the group gets the Staff and creates portals for “everyone” to escape through, Mantle is ready to go. They’ve gotten everyone into the crater and can funnel them straight to Vacuo. Atlas, however, is in chaos. When Jaune enters the subway there’s only a few people there, many of which may be wounded or dying. He’s right back where he started, in Mantle at the beginning of Volume 8: needing to go door-to-door to find where people have hidden themselves, trying to convince them all to follow him (remember Oscar commenting to Ozpin about how difficult that was?). Except now, he and Nora are the only ones trying to get people to safey, the city is filled with far more grimm, a significant amount of time has passed for people to be killed or injured (making evacuating them even harder, both due to injuries and an unwillingness to leave hurt/dead/missing loved ones behind), he’s trying to convince these panicking people to go through magic portals, not just walk to a crater, and he’s aware that there’s a very short time limit for this task. 

Jaune returns in a panic of his own, explaining how difficult it will be to get that 2/3rds of the Kingdom to Vacuo. How many are already dead. Barricaded. Missing. Closeup on Ruby looking horrified, but then she rallies. They can do it. Atlas is falling, but residual dust gives them just enough time to find, calm, and evacuate those people. They’re heroes after all. Beating the odds is what they do. 

Then Cinder attacks. 

Suddenly, the group can’t evacuate people because they’re trying to keep themselves safe from her. Maybe Cinder gets the powers because Jaune was off looking for civilians, leaving Penny without a mercy kill. Maybe Nora dies because she’s still trying to help people on the city that plows into the one below. Regardless of how details might change, they’re not getting a spread out, decimated population through those portals before Cinder changes the wish and makes them disappear.  

In this version, the story starts with Ironwood wanting to sacrifice 1/3rd of the population to save 2/3rds and the future of the war. It ends with 2/3rds of the population dying instead. 

This is what I mean when I say the majority of the fandom wants to view a very complex situation through a ridiculously simple lens. The fandom wants to denounce every bit of RWBY’s fictionalized military, the context issues of that aside. The story wants to paint RWBYJNOR as the only heroes, in part because they succeeded in saving everyone (“everyone”) in the Kingdom when Ironwood gave up. 

But they only managed to save everyone because of Ironwood. Because he kept fighting for his people to the bitter end. This is why, though his horrific actions obviously exist in the story, they make no sense (he’ll threaten to kill his people so he can... save his people?) and mess up what little is working in the finale. The story wants us to celebrate the group for evacuating Mantle and Atlas, but the Atlas evacuation would not have happened if not for Ironwood’s actions  — the actions that are ignored in favor of having Winter blame him for everything and then killing him off. The rescue of “everyone” was very much a joint effort. RWBYJNOR’s win is not actually a contrast to Ironwood’s intended sacrifice, for the simple reason that their win depended entirely on Ironwood’s actions. 

If we’re going to celebrate the group getting everyone to safety, we should probably also celebrate the guy who got them all to an easy evacuation point and ensured they weren’t eaten before then. Does that mean Ironwood never did anything wrong? Of course not. As established, the story went out of its way to make him into a villain. Rather, it means that other parts of the story failed to maintain that black and white view, complicating the heroism of RWBYJNOR in the process. If we want Ironwood to be incapable of heroic action, always the bad guy, nothing good to say about him whatsoever... then we likewise need to accept that the group is rather unheroic in many regards too. That, on their own, they would have failed to save everyone, just as Ironwood’s plan failed to save everyone at the end of Volume 7. Because they chose their friend over a kingdom. Because they sat around in a mansion. Because by the time they took action again and tried to escape, without Ironwood’s help they would have lost a larger majority than they originally insisted be saved. 

[tracer85s]

yizhan fic rec (2)

part 1

glute bridges by sunstainedsheets

[explicit, 29k, complete]

personal trainer and dancer yibo and graphic designer xiao zhan. GYM AU omg i love this. xiao zhan signs up for a gym membership and personal training sessions where he’s totally not ogling his coach. there’s also a scene with xiao zhan attempting to converse with yibo in korean that got me cackling lmao, our resident koreaboo indeed. it was also great to see mentor yibo here, it reminded me of his prod 101 days when he was so intimidating as a mentor, also... very sexy. anyway i adore this, they’re just thirsting over each other, especially yibo checking out the zhass, it’s okay bobo we’ve all been there

i’d wear gucci for you by Anonymous

[teen and up, 16k, complete]

abo au where alpha yibo and omega xiao zhan are photographed going into xiao zhan’s apartment together so they’re forced to pretend that they’re mated to prevent a scandal. this has become my favourite fics because i’m an absolute sucker for fake/pretend relationships and the way the writer incorporated canon stuff like yibo answering interview questions for xiao zhan ugh guys i love this fic. when yibo was so exasperated near the end and said “i’m wearing gucci for you” & waving his hand i really lost it. JUST READ THIS I PROMISE IT’S A GOOD READ

if you would only let you by gdgdbaby

[explicit, 32k, complete]

ah where do i even start with this one? xiao zhan gets drunk and texts yibo, yibo shows up at his house and whisks him away on a road trip. i felt so much emotions reading this fic, everything was so raw and it really deals with the pressures of being famous and homophobia. this is a super realistic fic and there’s a lot of emotional hurt/comfort, you’ll literally end up wanting to wrap these two in a big blanket and just protect them from the world (lol like we don’t already want to do that). my absolute favourite part was the confession scene, like it was so messy and funny, and it’s just so them, especially the pokemon part lmao. this art is based on that scene and it’s exactly how i imagined it 🥺 this is just so well written and it’s one of my favs!

love in the time of coding by theivoryflute

[explicit, 26k, complete]

hacker yibo and cyber security engineer xiao zhan. yibo cyber flirts with xiao zhan and also flirts with him in real life. *SCREAMS* i never thought we’d have a hacker au in the fandom but i’ve been blessed, this was literally the cutest online romance fic with a bunch of mutual pining. my favourite dialogue is “the whiplash from wanting to ride yibo to wanting to coddle him was severe” i’m literally wheezing, this is a perfect representation of the fandom, also the usernames that yibo picked got me cackling there’s one in particular that made me laugh, you’ll know what it is when you see it so go read this gem!

Peace & Love by ella_minnow

[explicit, 51k, complete]

my favourite writer is back again with this baby! idol dance captain xiao zhan and non-famous dancer yibo!!! ARE WE KIDDING? slow burn sdoc au? I’M SO IN WTF. guys listen to me. yibo has a low ponytail and arm tattoos *goes feral* one of my favourite scenes from this fic is when xiao zhan had to convince yibo to join his team (bro. he didn’t even have to try) because yibo says “no, Xiao-laoshi. I would of course never leave you.” i’m screeching, totally gave me tgcf hua cheng vibes. my absolute favourite scene, however, is when yibo says xiao zhan doesn’t have to worry about sending him home because he’s going to win everything... like... the sheer bde this man exudes in real life and fiction... very sexy of him. i also love how this showcases how well they work together and of course the *whispers* celebratory sex!

Hyacinth by stickyriceu

[explicit, 76k, complete]

racer yibo celebrates after a competition and meets hyacinth’s number one host, zhan-er. slow burn with LOTS of pining and angst. i finished this in one sitting and i’m still screaming over it, it’s so good!!! genuinely felt my soul leave my body reading this because zhan zhan with shoulder length hair? tied up in a messy bun? *SCREECHES* everyone go read and get your angst on, don’t worry, there’s a happy ending ;)

Song of the Sea by LaMachina17

[explicit, 48k, complete]

mermaid xiao zhan and pirate yibo !!! xiao zhan meets yibo and has one very exciting night with him so he ends up following him aboard their pirate ship! i’m literally on my knees praising this fic. i will re-read this until i die, it’s perfect. AND THEY’RE CAT DADS IN THIS FIC TOO. seriously i don’t need to say anything else go read this gem

The Dragons by MadFilaments

[explicit, 31k, complete]

xiao zhan is his village’s marriage offering to dragon lord yibo. are you kidding me? shapeshifter yibo? arranged marriage fic? YES. this is one of my favourites, i always re-read it because the way their relationship just naturally progresses in the story warms my heart 😩 AND they call each other husband and i just *melts* they’re ! so ! domestic ! there’s angst but it’s not too bad and i’m in love with yibo’s speech about how dragons love forever *cries*

golden hour by Deinde

[explicit, 35k, complete]

professional snowboarder yibo teaches actor xiao zhan how to snowboard in a show! OH MY GOD THIS WAS SO GOOD *SCREAMS* it’s literally just them flirting and being absolutely thirsty for each other, especially in the photoshoot scene dear lord. i’m so annoying, this fic tab has been open in my safari for forever and i forgot about it until i watched ddu’s snow sports episode so don’t do the same thing as me and go! read! this! fic! immediately!

Falling In Love by beeswaxing

[mature, 65k, complete]

celebrities yibo and xiao zhan star in a we got married/hello baby inspired reality show! oh my god. the domestic fluff in this i am reeling, THIS IS JUST ADORABLE. this is definitely the domestic kid fic i so desperately needed 😭 and the way the writer added in those canon bjyx details is just perfect, everyone go read this please!!

Legend of the Jade Rabbit: The Musical by emma_screams

[explicit, 12k, complete]

high school au with lion hybrid yibo and bunny hybrid xiao zhan. this fic has musicals! it’s really quite fluffy, yibo literally calls zhan zhan “bunny gege” and i’m just *SCREECHING* also i love protective yibo 😭 i really love this it’s so cute & has a very refreshing plot!

pick me, pick me up by domeeneec

[mature, 10k, complete]

college/uni wrong number au where xiao zhan keeps accidentally calling yibo to bail him out of his bad dates and yibo ends up becoming his “personal dating assistant” this was the FLUFFIEST. although there is some light angst when xiao zhan drunk dials yibo and cries about not being able to find love, but i swear this is super soft and fluffy!!! READ THIS FOR SEROTONIN

Ruby and Gold by aces_low

[explicit, 16k, complete]

mob boss xiao zhan and his trophy husband yibo. HELLO? MURD3R HUSBANDS YIZHAN? this was such a fun read! trigger warnings for blood and violence though so look out for those! yizhan will literally not hesitate to beat you tf up in this fic they’re so badass here but they’re so soft with each other. xiao zhan literally calls yibo gǒu zǎizǎi and tiánxīn i am. Melting. also there’s a proposal. it’s unromantic but still so romantic, i love it. i also saw this art and i think this would be how they look in the fic

To Be Human by purplemonster

[teen and up, 19k, complete]

humanoid yibo and ceo xiao zhan. xiao zhan tests out his company’s newest creation and falls in love along the way. android aus always hurt me so. good. and this one’s not an exception. it’s pretty slow burn and definitely angst-y but it has a happy ending! i love the domesticity, i have no idea why i love grocery scenes so much? but anyway this is perfect for a rainy day and you’ll coo at the ending

Falling by brooklinegirl

[explicit, 42k, complete]

yb and xz behind the scenes while filming. this was such a melancholic read for me (even though there’s so much papapa) because they pine SO HARD at the start, don’t get me wrong though, it’s also cute because there’s so much canon flirting!but my heart really broke when filming was ending and yb’s thoughts were “We could run away together. Miss our flights. Stay here in Hengdian, or fuck it, go somewhere where no one knows us and just...” *sobs* pls go read!!!

What’s Your Emergency? by bluefloral

[general, 2k, complete]

police officer yibo and single father xiao zhan! yuan, xiao zhan’s son calls 911 for help with his math homework and officer yibo helps him 🥺 this was such an adorable short read!

[darkelite020]

Bad Batch thoughts & predictions Ep 7

Continuing these written reactions/predictions somewhere cause itd be fun I think to see what actually ends up happening and remembering what I thought at the time so im dumping it here, youre welcome. (Feel free to discuss if you want) if you want to keep up with it im gonna be tagging these as #jay rambles about bb

- Ruby? Did I forget? Who/what is Ruby? -- Oh ok. Interesting bounty I suppose. - Wrecker and Omega have a completing mission tradition? That is SO cute. - Hooded person is here >>  -- I’m still holding out on my rex or ahsoka predicition because I think it would make sense for the sisters to call them since theyre friends with ahsoka and obviously she knows about clones and Rex is/was with her last we saw him... but the hooded persons eyes definitely aren’t ahsokas so I think it’s rex and if it is Im gonna be so happy - “Thats not her ugly side?” FFF Tech you bastard I love you - I SEE THE WHITE AND BLUE ARMORED ARM IM GONNA SCREAM - I’M SCREAMING -- REX I MISSED YOU SO MUCH I’M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU AGAIN AHHHHH --- I KIND OF POKED FUN AT MYSELF THIS WEEK REBLOGGING A MEME OF A GRANDMA SAYING ‘REX WILL BE IN THE NEXT EPISODE’ AND SOME YOUNGER PERSON EXCORTING THEM AND SAYING SOMETHING LIKE ‘OK GRANDMA LETS GET YOU INSIDE’ OR SOME SHIT BUT **VIOLENTLY POINTING AT THE SCREEN** MY LOVE IS HERE - Cid shut the fuck up he is a KING how dare you - Oh no. Oh god. “thats a long story.” Is he going to talk to him about his pov with 66 and about the ship and Jesse AND FIVES OH FUCK -- So it skipped to Rex talking about the end of the war but we didn’t hear really the story itself, and I really hope thats not all we get when it comes to him talking about the people he and at least echo knew. Like if he talked about Fives learning about the chips and not being listened to and that resulted in 66 because of the chips where activated and made them betray the jedi but we get no reaction from Echo I’m going to be pretty disappointed honestly. Like I get the bad batch not really knowing the squad so they have excuses but Echo did, and I really hope they don’t do the thing “Oh well Echo was caught by droids so now he doesn’t care about them anymore” because... that sucks. Like honestly Echo wasn’t even super crazy about seeing Rex either tbh (I get that Echo feels like he doesn’t fit in with regs and thats all fine and dandy) but it kinda feels like he doesn’t give a shit about what he’s gone through with other people. ---Rambling and getting off topic now because I have some shit between Echo and Fives: but if thats the case like we all know it fucked up Fives when he thought Echo was dead so if Echo isn’t the same way about Fives I guess thats just like... depressing and it sucks because everyone sees them as “that duo”. Again we really don’t know what Rex said exactly so its possible it didnt get brought up but if it did...  - Wrecker picking up Rex is so cute but you can see the fucking worry in Rex’s eyes for being picked up by him cause Wrecker would throw him and agjsdb I love it. - Omega straight up being like “youre old” while looking at Rex’s face PFFT no filter kid. - REX KNOWS ABOUT WRECKER -- Good I’m very happy Rex is calling them out on this inhibitor chip shit. ‘Oh crosshair was just an exception’ should definitely not be an excuse. - Oh alright so the glimpse in the trailer was a junkyard and not the same thing. Same kind of ship but not where the graveyard is. Honestly thats kind of a relief. - OH SHIT I WAS TALKING ABOUT FIVES NOW THEY ARE BRINGING HIM UP IM GONNA CRY ABOUT FIVES ALL OVER AGAIN -- wait.... now I don’t know if they know or not about him. - The scenery in this show is really pretty im just gonna go ahead and give some appreciation. - Oh no Wrecker! Pull up the rope!!!!!! He can climb but you can also pull him!!!! -- Thank god. - Omega talking about if something goes wrong? It’s not like theyre all gonna die at the same exact time.... like theyre only gonna do the surgery one at a time so... Omega what are you imagining sis? Like if one person turns? It’s still kind of unlikely that they could defeat the other very talented people in the room. - OH SHIT TECH YELL FOR HELP - HEY THIS HURTS MY FEELINGS DAVE HEY HEY -- LIKE YEAH THEY CANT POSSIBLY KILL THEM ALL CAUSE THE SHOW NEEDS TO GO ON BUT HEY --- Lowkey predicting they could all turn by the end of the show season cause like if they dont beat wrecker and cant use the medical bay then they are fucked. Also especially think this is gonna happen because one of the directors literally said the second half of season 1 is gonna get emotional and holy shit can you imagine. ---- WHAT IF THEY DO AND ITS JUST OMEGA AND REX TEAMING UP TO SAVE THEM HOLY SHIT AND ITD GIVE EVEN MORE OF A MEANING TO THE WORDS “THE BAD BATCH” - Holy shit this fight Wrecker grabbed ECHO BY HIS FUCKING FACE - Ok I was seriously wondering about Omega’s concerns but now HOLY SHIT CAUSE THATS ALL I CAN SAY LIKE THEYRE NOT DEAD BUT OH MY GOD I DIDN’T THINK ITD GO DOWN LIKE THIS - THANK YOU REX OUR HERO - I know we’re all having a moment after Wrecker but can you guys like team up to move him off the table and get your own done like even if its a bit risky cause we don’t need a repeat of what just happened like yeah theres not enough time in the episode for it but still - The *immediate* little head pat “Hey kid” ;-;

- Ok I’m glad theyre getting them out - THE GENTLE REASSURING TOUCHES IN THIS EPISODE *deep breath* ARE GIVING ME SERATONIN  - Wreckers apology ;-; THIS IS SO FUCKING SAD AND CUTE - Rex is leaving already? :( Be safe you funky little space soldier. - Not really surprised the empire is gonna know they were there cause it was only a matter of time but if theyre smart theyd get off planet and back to Cid before the empire gets there to see whats up.  -- Im sure they’ll realize they removed their chips though, I wonder if crosshair will show up (he probably will) but if he does rather its gonna be a fight there between the empire and bb maybe the bb can win and save crosshair or they have to retreat and something else goes on idk. - Would love if Crosshair was saved because he really got the short end of the stick and is being called “the bad batch” but like he’s not even really there with them for the show so far... also you can tell subtly that he doesn’t like being alone which is fucking sad :tm: because all his friends are gone and it hurts even more now because wrecker was talking about how he didn’t want to do things and he was trying not to hurt them and stuff in his apology and you know damn well Crosshair is the same way about his friends he’s probably just a lot less expressive about it.  -- Honestly even bad batch aside can you imagine how terrible all of the clones feel like all the regs over all knowing theyre the downfall of the jedi and thinking that they were trying to resist it too. Like they know whats happening and deep inside theyre themselves but they cant do shit about it. That fucking hurts me.  This is a longer post but this episode was a roller coaster for my emotions.

[corancoranthemagicalman]

C’s (1/?) Destiel Rec List:

That gets less and less coherent as it goes.

So here is a rec list by order in which I read them and not by preference. They’re like, All Destiel, because that’s how Post-November C rolls:

First on the list is The Courtship of Combat by bendingsignpost 18k

I KNOW it’s not Thee fic by bendingsignpost that everyone is talking about. I know. BUT, I dearly enjoyed it. It’s the first in a series and it’s A/B/O. (I know. I know. Don’t @ me. Or do.) It’s pre-relationship and the characters are definitely themed toward early-Destiel if you catch my drift. Omega!Dean’s hand is being fought over. This wouldn’t matter to Castiel except he totally told Michael that the reason he wouldn’t marry anyone is because he’s head over heels for the Winchester Omega that he doesn’t even have a real recollection of ever meeting. It’s like the perfect balance of a meet-cute and meet-ugly. I just LOVE bendingsignpost’s Castiel voice. It’s such a great characterization.

I’M GONNA SCREAM THE SECOND ON THE LIST IS ANOTHER A/B/O?!? I swear I don’t read that much A/B/O, but this is another exception because it’s Biological Imperatives (Or Not) by tiamatv  29k

Tiamatv is one of my favorite writers. If you’re unfamiliar with their work, I’m gonna rec more of it to you. No worries. THIS lovely piece of work is a Beta/Beta narrative that focuses on how hilarious A/B/O tropes are from an outsider perspective, but doesn’t do it in a way that feels insulting to the classical tropes. It’s just people living their lives where these situations happen not often but enough that they know how to deal with it. Dean and Cas have several first dates trying to figure out what’s happening between the two of them. Castiel is thee love of my life in this piece. And Dean’s headspace makes for a witty narrative.

If you know me at all, you know this next one HAD to be a regency and it’s Of Lords and Letters by MalMuses 14k

Dean is the master of the Winchester estate after his father passes. Unfortunately for the estate (but much to Dean’s pleasure), he can’t run it personally because he’s at war. Not that he likes war all that much, but it’s what he knows. War he knows. Sam is a conniving but well-meaning little brother and puts him in contact with Mister Castiel Shurley. (I KNOW. I KNOW. I allow Castiel Shurley in recent fics only if Chuck is cast as an asshole, and he is :)) But seriously, it’s SO Regency. There’s letters, pining, propriety, and men in period suits. What more could you ask for?

Y’all probably gonna immediately peg who I am as a person when I say Always Together, Eternally Apart by EmiliaOagi 27k is probably one of my top ten Destiel fics.

Here’s the thing—Ladyhawke is probably my second favorite movie in the entire world beat only by The Princess Bride. (Seriously, if y’all wanna bribe me with anything, it will always be that.) NOT ONLY does EmiliaOagi beautifully incorporate the source material, but once more Dean Winchester is SO Dean Winchester it hurts. This piece is from Sam’s perspective, and his running inner monologue is both insightful and entertaining. If you’re unfamiliar with the plot of Ladyhawke, I refuse to spoil it for you. Some things must be experienced, and this is one of them. Either by reading this lovely work or by viewing the original film, you’ll understand the legend that so captivates me.

OH ANOTHER DELICIOUS ONE and it’s like in that vein of Retired Hunters But Not Yet Together Destiel is Welcome to Pine Shores! by andimeantittosting (Saylee) 20k

It’s always fun reading Dean character studies, and this is definitely one of them. So the long and short of it is PINING FOR DAYS (this was written for Pinefest) and Dean trying to set up Cas with other people because he thinks Cas might want more. Oh, and did I mention they’ve been running this motel for like thirteen years? And they share a bed? *Tropes Intensify*

There is also Dean Winchester and the Patron Saint of Blind Dates by goldenraeofsun 18k which I think some of y’all are familiar with.

Sort of what it says on the tin, to be honest, folks. Dean’s friends set him up with some blind dates and the bartender—Castiel—grips his Purple Nurple tight and raises him from perdition. (And no, it’s not a euphemism.) The dates are sort of outrageously in character and interestingly enough this is a Sam/Ruby fic too! I sort of liked how it played out in this piece. If you’re worried about the Sam/Ruby dynamic, fear not! They were both former addicts and have since been clean for (a year or two? I don’t recall the time frame.) Dean has a love/hate sort of relationship with an emphasis on hate with Ruby since she’s the one who got Sam into drugs (allegory for the demon blood) but she’s also the one to try to go clean first. I just thought that was an interesting take, and one I would’ve linked to have seen the show pursue to be honest, but Supernatural has to keep the hot ladies dead or villains or both haha ;)) I digress. It’s a smaller read but the subject matter is pretty heavy. From former religious cults to the former addicts, please keep in mind if mentions of these things make you uncomfortable. It’s definitely the one whose subject matter stuck out the most to me. So apologize if I’ve missed mentioning anything specific for y’all in the previous recs or this one.

WAIT THIS NAME LOOKS FAMILIAR!??! IT’S andimeantittosting (Saylee) BACK AT IT AGAIN BUT THIS TIME WITH The Winchester Affair 34k !!

SAYLEE YOU HAD TO MAKE IT ONTO THIS LIST TWICE. Another Regency, except this time Castiel is long time friends (with benefits *eyebrow wiggles*) with Dean. He’s in love with him, obviously, so this means that an asshole named Zachariah that we all know and loathe comes around planning to frame his poor sister (Hael) with stealing Mary Winchester’s brooch if Castiel doesn’t find some damning evidence on the Winchesters for him. DRAMA AHOY!!! This is a very harlequin/regency novel. It’s actually based off of a novel called Ware the Marquess as is the wont of the Destiel Harlequin Challenge. Very good challenge to check out; very excellent fic to read. And the author so nice we listed them twice. ;) SIDE NOTE: This is totally one of those Regency ones where It Simply Isn’t Done, if you know what I mean. Like, no one is outright slurring or something that I can recall (and it isn’t tagged so I doubt there is), but it Isn’t Done, But They Love Each Other Very Much.

So you guys know Scoobynatural is my comfort episode, right? Well, one of my favorite things that I’ve delightfully discovered is the trope of building off of Cas’ one-liner about being effin’ married, so have The Nikkah by Maxine (WinchesterPooja) 28k!

Reads like a Case-fic as there’s an entire sub-plot happening with Sam. So this story happens well within the canon despite being canon-divergent. This one does end happy!! There’s a view episode like fics I might rec that end in canon-fashion with Dean repression and I love the pining and all but sometimes I need sweet fandom closure. Long and short of it: Djinn culture? Djinn queen? Fake-relationships? Sam dealing with nightmares? This baby can fit SO MUCH ACTION into a fic.

Okay, so you know the fic with the Bee Movie allegory? (It’ll come up on this reclist.) This has the same vibe, except for the relationship is out of order and Dean is Diagnosed with If I Do It This Way It’s Okay. Yeah, it’s Command Me to Be Well by prosopopeya 28k

Human Cas, back from the dead, post-finale, and Dean is trying to figure out how to get his happy ending. I’ve seen this one make the rounds on fic rec’ing so I think it’s a bit familiar, but I enjoyed it. Even though—as my bookmark says—I usually don’t go in for hurt/comforts with heavy on the hurt because my poor heart can’t take it. This is one of my few exceptions. This one has a healthy dose of Castiel standing up for himself with the bittersweet tang of him literally willing to do so much for Dean. But it’s a Dean perspective, so it really deals with a lot of his inner thoughts.

This one is,,,, in a similar vein as Command Me to Be Well. I guess I was in a mood. Baby, Come On Home by woodenducks 9k.

IT’S SEASON NINE WITH A SIDE OF PINE. What more could you ask for angst? Human Cas in Rexford trying to make a life for himself when all he wants is to go home. But he’s also trying to figure out what home even is for him. There’s a lot of drama between Dean and Cas, because of course Dean wants him there. But blah blah angels and blah blah whatever excuse the writers wanted so we couldn’t have human Cas and Dean in the bunker. We KNOW obviously the only thing keeping canon Dean from snapping was the fact that Cas was not human around him. *heavy eyeroll*. Anyways, this is a heartbreaking read from Castiel’s perspective.

One of my favorite Rescue Cas from the Empty fics is (they'll never break) the shape we take by auroralynches (teresavampa) 9k.

There’s this super cool concept of how Castiel experiences his regrets within the Empty and how Dean navigates through them to get to Castiel. I really enjoyed it, and of course the greatest love story ever told has got to have SOME theatrics and sentiments that are definitely reflected in this fic. My point is, I really love when Empty Rescue fics include analyzing Castiel’s regrets, and this one does so but from Dean’s perspective. As in Dean is viewing Castiel’s memories and trying to perceive his regrets.

Sooooo Epistolary by tiamatv 9k eh?

I love love LOVEEEEEE epistolary fics. I love them. I’ll always read them. And I totally told you I loved tiamatv. This is probably another one for the top ten fics just because it plays into my things. Love letters, music, and misunderstandings, oh my!!

HERE’S A VERY SEXY TERRIBLE LIFE ----> Ties that Bind Us by TheTwistedWillow 13k

Okay, so BASICALLY what if It’s A Terrible Life happened in like, circa-season 13 and Castiel was thrown in with Dean Smith and Sam Wesson. Literally all that I wanted in this fic. I do mean it’s sexy, by the way. I can’t even begin to explain this fic beyond it’s Castiel’s perspective, and he has some awareness that something is off. And being inside Castiel’s head when he’s not Castiel gets me every time.

OKAY I KNOW THIS IS THE THIRD A/B/O FIC ON THIS LIST I KNOW I KNOW The Mills School for Distinguished Girls by SillyBlue 13k IS WORTH IT THOUGH?!?!

Alpha Dean Winchester is going off to war. In the meantime, his family still doesn’t know about his marriage to Omega Castiel (in fact, they still think Castiel is a Beta.) Male Omegas are very rare in this universe, and it is addressed along with the fact that just because Castiel might look different on the outside doesn’t make him any different than the girls. Which I thought was a thought-provoking interpretation. There’s prejudices here—a lot of them against women and omegas—and a temporary character death which actually moved me to tears. I bookmarked this saying bring the tissues; bring the tissues.

THE BEE MOVIE FIC THE BEE MOVIE FIC THE BEE MOVI— according to all known laws of life by sobsicles 29k sobsicles I owe you a great slice of pie.

Sobsicles, my beloved, my bestie <3 (am I allowed to say that? I mean it affectionately. Well and truly.) You REALLY got in my head with this one. This is literally such an insane read that I read it twice in a row. Yeah, whoops. Cas is back from the empty and Dean is an asshole about it because feelings are hard. Here is what I bookmarked this fic with: “Dean Winchester has issues. He gets through them. Like a Bull in a China Shop, but he gets through them. The metaphor works.” And that is EXACTLY what happens. Dean is such an asshole and I LOVE IT. 14yr me would cry at the concept of reading this but 14yr me is a tasteless bitch. This is where it’s at. Dean has so much he’s mentally working through and Cas won’t take no shit and Sam is tired. It’s great. I love it. I know we rec sobsicles left and right over here (and I know there’s a new one I haven’t read yet) but this one is really my favorite. And I know some people feel uncertain when fics/authors get popular in a fandom, so if this isn’t for you that’s okay!! But well and truly this is just one of those in the top ten Destiel fics of my heart.

Baby Jack during the Widower Arc truther here like Trial and Tribulations of Raising a Nephilim by Sickandtiredofyou 14k

I’ve seen this one rec’d before but not enough. Like this one SHOULD be talked about. Because I am a Baby Jack Truther, and putting a baby in the widower arc is my literal weakness. Dean goes crib shopping. He paints the nursery. He does that season 2&3 thing he does where he wrecks something so that he has to rebuild it. He’s mourning. He’s crying. Sam is afraid to hold a baby. There’s a lot of emotions and they’re raw. Promise there’s a happy ending, but be ready to cry first.

Another sam pov because i love my little brother Letters to Nowhere by Goodluckdetective (scorpiontales) 28k

AWWW YES. So this is another Empty Rescue fic. This one plays up the Orpheus and Eurydice lore, but in a surprising twist this is Sam’s POV!! Sam doesn’t know the full story, and we as the audience aren’t granted omnipresence for this fic either. It’s just point blank is his emotions. Him worrying for Dean, missing Cas, and wanting a happy ending for all of them. It’s sort of epistolary with how Sam is texting Castiel’s phone, but in general it is Sam Winchester wanting to save both of his brothers. So despite it being Destiel, the Destiel is almost the background ship since this story is Sam’s story and how Sam witnesses their story. It’s pretty meta in that sense, in that he’s aware there’s this grand story going on and we as an audience know there’s this grand love story happening, but we’re reading Sam’s story.

One of those i mentioned where its like an episode and they just end with tension between them >:((( but SO enjoyable and very much like an actual MotW Soul Searching by Lottiethroughthelookingglass 13k

It is in a screenplay format, but I didn’t mind that. It’s definitely a fun read! I thought the characterizations were pretty grand all-in-all. No get together though in this one if you’re looking for Destiel. Sorry. But it does make its way on to the list because we deserved a body swap episode and never got it.

This is like the third fic by tia and im not sorry and it’s Filoplume by tiamatv 8k !!!!

Its SOULMATES BAYBEEEE!!! But it’s not destined Soulmates. It’s like… soul compatibility, but only AFTER you’ve forged the bond. Self-Made Soulmates as it were. Very achingly and lovingly sentimental. Like, I think I’ve read this one four times in one week? It’s the shortest rec on this list (and while I definitely have shorter works bookmarked, I wanted this rec list to be longer ones for some reason I guess) but it feels longer. Maybe because every paragraph is like a gut punch. egGH. It’s another Empty Rescue by-the-by and Dean’s soulmark (given to him by Cas after Castiel’s Despair Confession) helps get him into the Empty.

OHOHOH LEVERAGE AU!!?! The Jericho Job by giantteenwolforgy 20k

The first in a series and I am SO EXCITED FOR MORE. I absolutely adore Leverage, so seeing this was like clearing my skin with care products I’ve never used. The characterizations are amazingly well done and vivid. They feel so unbelievably real and it makes me an eager beaver to get to the meat of them connecting as a team and family, but the slow burn is well worth it.

Yes, yes, Dean needs him, and need = love for Dean’s vocab but what does dEAN WANT and what does want mean to Dean? Find out in if you try sometimes, well you just might find by JenTheSweetie 9k

I’ve always been a huge fan of metas that dissect Dean’s differeniation of need vs want, and this whole work was like one of those metas. It’s a Cas POV of him trying to figure out how to read this man that he knows so well. It pulls out the angst and it makes me ache, but promises there IS a happy ending and Dean WANTS it.

Shush you know you want Goodbye Stranger meets Detroit: Become Human you knOW YOU WANT IT Digital Heartbeat by Chancy_Lurking 14k

MHM IT’S SO GOOD. Talk about good characterization. This work is almost a time piece? There’s a few skips in the timeline but you get the good parts and what’s needed for a full narrative. Castiel is an android sent by Cyberlife to the Men of Letters for aiding in hunting. He’s—of course—assigned to the brothers Winchester.

Shush delicious content right here mwah Heartstring Promenade by SaltyWords (agent4hire22) 17k

Another Empty Rescue?!? Yeah, yeah it is. Dean is sort of reckless. And by that, I mean a lot. But it’s fine. All happy endings, and smutty endings too. ;))

This is one of two 36-questions inspired fics I’ve got bookmarked, but the sex in this one hits my preferences too perfectly so it gets the spot and this list is getting too long to include all of my bookmarks to include both of them anyways but Seek to Know You Better by ahurston 32k mhmmmmmm

This fic is very personal to me. I couldn’t explain even if you asked me to. It might be the Florida Citrus Tree expressionism in Cas’ thoughts, but idk it's such a mystery (the way you know me) by fleeceframe 20k has got it on the list.

Cas loses his memories for a short period of time. Dean and Sam introduce Castiel to Cas, and Dean and Cas have a heart to heart. <3

A vERY interesting premise in a fool's kind of careless by Paclipas 9k

Dean is SUPER off his game when he can’t tell the difference between Cas and Not-Cas over the summer. Canon-fic.

A FIC FROM 2018?!?! WITH TIME TRAVEL??!? Ye ye it is Crazy Diamonds by pantheon_of_discord 24k

Dean of 2018, married to Castiel, swaps places with his newly dragged from Hell 2008 self. Time shenanigans and Bobby Frickin’ Singer ensue.

This one is ONE I AM OBSESSED WITH ACTUALLY And Neither Do You by callsigntango 45k like if it's not the one everyone starts talking about :((( is SO GROSS how callsigntango describes the empty and i lOOOVEEEE ITTTTT. Also plays into a Florida myth I totally forgot about so high-key freaked me out. Hahah.

[1863-project]

I’m at the end of my first-ever Omega Ruby run, and I’ve honestly had a great time getting to know Hoenn. I just have to evolve some Pokemon and catch the Regis and Deoxys before I move along (I’m waiting to trade with folks to finish the Dex properly, but I can do that at any point), but I think it’s worth doing a retrospective on the characters and Pokemon I met along the way.

As a region, Hoenn is unique in that it has a LOT of water routes. You spend a large portion of the second half of the game traveling via Surf. The Azumarill in my party, Pikablue, ended the game knowing Waterfall, Surf, and Dive (it also carries Play Rough), and it was one of the most crucial members of my party for transport purposes.

When I won the Hoenn League, the team May (named ‘Hatshepsut’ in my playthrough because we love cool historical figures in this house) had with her was her evolved starter, a Blaziken named Cluck You, along with Pikablue the Azumarill, Pangaea the Groudon, Charles II the Shiftry, Friendo the Latios, and the team anchor, Bastet the overleveled Skitty. I beat Steven because Bastet dodged a Zen Headbutt from Metagross and gave me the time I needed to revive both Blaziken and Groudon in the back, and their fire moves handled the rest. Bastet went on to become the first party member to reach level 100, way ahead of everyone else. She was absolutely incredible and I love her. Her final moveset: Heal Bell (surprisingly useful, especially in Doubles), Thunder, Ice Beam, and Play Rough. She’s a Dragon Slayer.

As soon as I got my hands on the Eon Flute I started running around to check every Mirage location that came up in the hopes that it would be a Mirage Cave. I knew that was where Tynamo was, and I needed Eelektross to complete the Submas team I was building (the other nine members are in SwSh at the moment; Eelektross will hopefully someday join them). On November 30th, my persistence paid off, and I went and caught three Tynamos so I could have the entire evolutionary line in my National Dex in Pokemon HOME. As it turns out, Eelektross still hasn’t been added to HOME because Third Rail has become a vital member of my party in postgame and I love him and he loves me. (I’m just Emmet, really.) The Eon Flute is also really nice in that using it allows you to literally fly in real time over the entire region, and I prefer doing that to using Fly because it’s just so aesthetically nice. Friendo just swoops down and picks me up, and we have a nice time exploring together. It’s especially pretty at night when everything is all lit up. It’s a lovely little feature exclusive to Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, and it’s so great.

Character-wise, Hoenn has produced some notables. Magma and Aqua are two of the most beloved villain teams in the entire franchise, and the reboots gave them so much more personality and gave the leaders and admins some excellent updated designs. (Years ago, when the remakes were first released, my dash was filled to the brim with Hardenshipping.) I had OR, so I had Magma to contend with, and one of the single most entertaining things in the entire game is Maxie’s losing animation. It’s perfect, it suits his character so well, and it’s just really funny. Also, shout-out to the Team Magma grunt that I met in the Extremely Obvious Hideout who told me how proud he was of kicking his soda habit whilst standing next to the vending machines. I love that guy. In terms of reformation, Magma and Aqua come around very easily when they realize that they’ve had a very bad idea - they ultimately were well-intentioned but made a really horrible mistake and set out to set things right (with the player’s help, of course). It ultimately makes both teams very likeable.

In terms of other characters, not every Gym Leader from Hoenn is a complete standout, but a few are very, very popular. Flannery is a perfect time capsule of 2003 fashion and I love that so much, and I don’t think I need to say much about Wallace. He’s just Wallace. He’s so freaking entertaining. Steven is also a very popular Champion, and he plays a pretty big role in the plot, so you see a lot of him throughout the game. (He and Wallace are also a very popular ship, with Originshipping - named for the Cave of Origin which Wallace has to grant you access to - actually being referenced in Pokemon Masters on, of all days, Valentine’s Day. Make of this what you will, but I’m here for it.) The Gym Leaders all received redesigns as well, with a lot of them benefiting greatly from it - I like Roxanne’s new school uniform so much better than her old one, for example, and once again, Wallace outshines everyone with an ensemble that would go wonderfully at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade. I wish we got to know the Gym Leaders a bit more as people, because they don’t get to stand out as characters as much. Galar actually did this very well by allowing us a lot of interactions with the Leaders outside the Gyms and as teammates and rivals in the Galarian Star Tournament. A big part of the reason Wallace is so popular as a Gym Leader here is that you see him outside the Gym multiple times and can even compete with him in Contests. You get to know him as a person more and not just as the eighth Gym Leader, and it makes him a much more interesting character.

In short, here’s how the League stacks up for me:

Roxanne: Benefited massively from her character redesign, which gives her a lot more personality. Would like to see her and Steven interact since they’re apparently friends, which I imagine revolves around going out and licking rocks together or whatever geologists do with their geologist friends.

Brawly: He still isn’t very distinct. He’s a surfer who trains Fighting-types, which is a bit of a subversion since you’d expect Water-types from someone like that, but nothing about him really pops for me.

Wattson: Gives off Grandpa Vibes. Wattson actually gets a lot of expository development via his work on New Mauville and Sea Mauville, where you find out he halted the projects to protect the Pokemon ecosystems in both locations. A lot of employees were angry about this and he was even investigated briefly for stopping the projects, even being called a traitor to the company (which appeared to overwork its employees and prevent them from unionizing), but it was apparently evidently clear that he did things out of environmental concerns, and the employees were able to find work on other projects elsewhere. This actually slots nicely into the themes of the game involving environmentalism and how to ensure the livelihoods of people and nature both.

Flannery: Time capsule from 2003! I was, of course, around in 2003 (I turned 14), and Flannery was at the peak of fashion back then. Flares were in, and I miss that trend so much. For that alone, she’s one of my favorite Gym Leaders in this generation, but I also appreciate that she’s shown trying to find her footing and figure out who she is instead of pretending to be someone else. There’s a certain performative aspect to being a Gym Leader, but it needs to come naturally from them and be an extension of their own personality, not be artificial. I would, however, love to know who her grandfather is. It’s still never been confirmed. (As a side note, a lot of people headcanon her to be Kabu’s niece, since he’s from Hoenn, which is cute.)

Norman: A Dad. More specifically, the player character’s dad. There’s really nothing that stands out about him except for that damn Slaking, which gives a lot of people trouble. I did, however, appreciate the conversation he had with Wally’s father as Wally and the player character departed together, because I’m actually pretty close to my own father (who I’m very similar to in many aspects). I’m 31 years old and I still get emotional every time my parents tell me they’re proud of me. Notably, Norman is the only player character father we have ever seen in Pokemon, though, which is odd.

Winona: In-game, she doesn’t feel like she has much of a personality, although she goes off on aesthetics pretty well. It just weirds me out that that’s her hair coming out from under the helmet and not wings attached to it. She could have been really cool but she gets the short end of the development stick.

Tate and Liza: The two of them intentionally playing up the ‘weird twins’ angle by completing each other’s sentences actually comes across really cutely because they’re kids. You can also run into them in the Lilycove Department Store being children and buying toys, a good reminder that they’re still very young and evidently very skilled for their ages. Battle-wise, my Azumarill knew Surf by this point so I ended things quickly because I’m into Doubles as it is and like using spread moves when I can.

Wallace: I’ve discussed him a lot above, so I don’t need to say much else, but he really is the most notable Gym Leader in the region, and not just because he’s the last one you face. He has a lot of personality and development, you meet him outside the Gym several times, his niece Lisia is also out and about in the game and the family resemblance is notable, and you find an old magazine in Sea Mauville featuring a woman on the cover who looks like Lisia - likely Wallace’s older sister, Lisia’s mother. The entire family gets more development than a lot of the other Gym Leaders in this region.

Sidney: The first member of the Elite Four you face...I’d actually like to know more about him. He seems like an interesting person, and I personally enjoy Dark-types myself so I always appreciate seeing Dark-type users not being portrayed as evil. His upbeat nature is nice, and it’s a pleasant surprise to run into him at the Battle Resort, even if he was only there to track down Steven.

Phoebe: I love how much her appearance contrasts with her Pokemon typing. She’s a Ghost-type trainer and you’d never guess that from her outfit! Her grandmother is the old woman on Mt. Pyre, which is why Phoebe has an affinity for Ghost-Types, and I’d love to see more interactions involving them together. You can run into Phoebe on Mt. Pyre after you beat the League and talk to her briefly - she was likely visiting her grandmother - but sadly she doesn’t get much development outside of that.

Glacia: An Ice-type trainer who we learn next to nothing about. Glacia is mentioned outside of the context of the Elite Four by an NPC in the Mauville Food Court who says she was slurping down ramen so intensely that she broke a sweat, but that’s all we know about her aside from that she’s originally from a different region, and she tells us that herself. Not very memorable.

Drake: Yet another Dragon trainer late in the game, and not one of the more notable ones. Lance and Clair are remembered for being cousins and for being the first Dragon trainers you really come across in the series, and later Dragon-type trainers like Iris (who becomes Champion of Unova in B2W2) and Raihan are carried by their personalities and distinct looks. Drake is just an old sea captain with Dragon-types, and he doesn’t really jump out at me much either.

Steven: A major player in the plot - one of the most active Champions we’ve had in the franchise - and a perpetually popular character. I never minded running into Steven out and about in Hoenn, even if it meant I’d have to listen to an infodump about rocks, and his Champion battle was actually fairly difficult for the team I brought in despite having two team members with Fire-type attacks to handle the Steel. As I mentioned above, it was my Skitty that made the decisive dodge to allow me to bring in the team member I needed to deliver the final blow, meaning this is now the second time in my life I’ve beaten the Champion with an unevolved house cat. (Rick Pratt the Purrloin is a vital member of my beloved Young Ones Galar Championship Team.) Overall, Steven’s a very likeable Champion, and I did enjoy the little detail of the rocks on display in his home - he has them labeled so you can see where he found them, and they’re from every region featured in the games up to that point.

Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire also have the Delta Episode, which features Rayquaza (which you’re forced to catch) and a character named Zinnia, who isn’t in RSE at all and is new to ORAS. Besides being named after my favorite flower, Zinnia’s personality is actually very interesting because although she comes across as cheery it’s clear she feels the weight of a massive responsibility and that the cheeriness is covering a lot of pain. Her Whismur named Aster is evidently named after someone important to her who is no longer around, and it’s never revealed in-game who the original Aster was. Whoever Aster was, though, Zinnia misses her deeply. In a 2015 interview, Ohmori Shigeru stated that the original Aster was the person who held the position of Lorekeeper before Zinnia, but we don’t know anything more than that - a shame, really, because that makes for some interesting backstory.

Overall, I had a lovely time in Hoenn, and I’ll be moving on to Kalos in the next few weeks once I finish up this Dex business first. I just wish I got to get to know so many of the characters I’ve met a little better, but I adore the team I put together and I’m super proud of them and all they’ve accomplished.

[miraculouscontent]

You said that you could roast XY&Z for days in your last post. What about it didn't you like?

Keeping things short (...well, short for my standards anyway):

In terms of strictly just the anime, XY did a lot of things right and was a step-up compared to Black & White. It raised a lot of people’s hopes and seemed to be taking things more seriously in terms of plot, like how Ash’s team was actually getting fully evolved and such (some cases of which are admittedly ridiculous since the series is pretty short yet he has a Goodra and a Noivern, the latter of whom he raised from an egg), but ultimately, XY&Z just brings back all of the old formulas.

me when anything involving Zygarde happens: Wow, it would be great if any of this actually existed or happened within the games instead of just the show flexing like, “Hey, look at this cool thing you can’t personally experience!”

Serena losing her final contest performance. I know they’re actually showcases but it’s just Pokemon contests with a different coat of paint, let’s be honest. I was already sour about the fact that someone in the show, again, gets to experience something we can’t (Gen 5 had Pokemon Musicals and that was the closest thing we got to this, but that was in Gen 5, not 6), but the thing about Serena losing her final contest performance is that it’s irritating for a multitude of reasons, not just the fact that we can’t do showcases ourselves (to be clear, it’s not about how exciting/unexciting showcases would’ve been in-game; it’s that they had to make up showcases to give Serena something to do because XY was so light on content).

- First is that what we saw of Aria’s performance was really generic and unimpressive, but the second thing is big and just--I’m sorry, whichever writer decided that it was a smart idea to have the winner between Serena (a rando from Vaniville Town who’s only just making a name for herself) and Aria (essentially a celebrity who’s been around for a long time) be decided by the people in the audience needs to be fired. It makes sense when it’s a bunch of no-names all competing against each other, but when it’s a no-name versus a celebrity? For Arceus’ sake, the whole reason contests were originally decided by judges is because judges are (at least supposed to be) impartial. Did it suck when May and Dawn lost their Grand Festival? Yes, of course it did, but at least it didn’t feel so much like it was weighed against them.

- Like, imagine sitting and watching this episode and seeing the in-show audience decide who wins, most of whom probably have Aria merchandise like posters and figures and just, like--”Wow, gee, it really seemed like Serena could’ve had it! Wonder what tipped the scales for the audience!”

- To put this into perspective, imagine if the show decided that the viewers - the actual, real-life viewers - of the show got to decide who won the showcase. Even if some of them honestly thought that Serena deserved to win, you don’t think a majority were like, “Who cares about Aria? Serena’s our main girl and she’s gotta WIN!”?

Speaking of Serena--

- Serena at Ash before leaving to go to Hoenn: Hippity hoppity your lips are now my (implied) property.

Ash Greninja was a cool concept that amounted to nothing. The idea that Ash has this special link with one of his Pokemon (”Hey, look at this really cool thing that you can’t actually experience in-game!” until Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire and it’s underwhelming at best) and can feel their pain, but the link can cause him to get carried away because now he’s really experiencing the adrenaline rush of battle... that’s incredible! That’s a really neat idea!

- But... ultimately, it’s giving preferential treatment to a starter... again. Gen 6 already threw Charizard an extra bone by giving him a second Mega (and even when they got rid of Megas in Gen 8, they were like “lol let’s give him a Gigantimax form in advance and give him to the champion”; by the way, no, I didn’t play Sword & Shield because I’m a Living Dexer so the lack of - you know - Pokemon was a deal-breaker) and now here they are again not treating the starter lines fairly (even in-game, we have Protean Greninja, so it’s a double hitter). I was open to the idea and was getting swept up in the excitement, but... what does it mean in the end? It doesn’t amount to anything; Greninja is still another Pokemon who gets released essentially.

- Why didn’t they just do something with Pikachu (Ash Hat Pikachu was eventually a thing after all), which is something they could’ve easily carried over to future seasons and continued expanding upon? I mean, Ash’s Pikachu is already special in its own right and this would be like giving it the evolution it’s never going to get. Heck, even just like... they could have it where it wasn’t even either Ash nor Pikachu being special, but they engaged in some sort of special bonding ritual at some special place (anyone remember Ashachu? That was a cool concept too and they wasted it; could’ve even been a reason for them to make this connection at that place because Ash had been a Pikachu once before).

Alain’s existence. Just--like, his entire existence, fanservice Charizard X and all.

- I want to make it clear for anyone who didn’t experience XY&Z (count your blessings) that, when the Mega Evolutions specials were coming out, we were given at least the impression that it wasn’t going to have anything to do with the series. Then things started happening and this is essentially how it went down.

- everyone, seeing that Alain is part of the main series now: oh no

- everyone, seeing Ash plant the seed in Alain’s head about entering the League: oh no

- everyone, seeing Alain having a near-loss against Ash (after having a couple wins before) before Ash blacks out, ending the battle abruptly and leaving the battle undecided, which is similar to what they pulled with Sawyer (having Sawyer win once against Ash before the League so it would still have suspense and wouldn’t just be Ash wrecking him again) except now it’s in the opposite direction: OH NO

- The League finale episode, in Japanese, was essentially called, “Kalos League Victory! Satoshi's Ultimate Match!!” and yeah, it was blatant clickbait.

- Ash!Greninja pulls off a Giant Mega Death Water Shuriken for the final exchange of blows in the match (Water Shuriken VS Charizard X’s Blast Burn) and it amounts to literally nothing because Greninja goes down anyway (to a Fire move of all things, which somehow feels even more offensive).

- They didn’t play Ash’s theme when said Water Shuriken happened so it was semi-obvious that he wasn’t going to win. Heck, his mom didn’t even show up to watch the match from what I remember.

- So yeah, Ash lost and--People. Were. Livid. The dislike bar on the Japanese trailer for the following episode was insane. I think what it ultimately amounted to was that people were so sick of the formula and XY seemed like such a step up from the last attempt and people really thought that the writers were finally learning their lesson. They really thought everything was going to turn around, and--yeah. It just ended up being more of the same except worse because they did everything to make it look like they cared.