#I guess I'm just surprised at how unpopular he is

[helluva-hazbins-most-fuckable]

Okay. This is probably a pointless endeavor and the die has already been cast. Nonetheless, I feel I must provide propaganda on behalf of my boy, Striker. If he must die, so be it, but I'm not letting him go without a fight!

Pros:

- Dude had two voice actors and they were both sexy as hell. One was Norman Reedus! Norman Reedus!

- Look at how good he is using ropes! You want to try shibari? Some other type of bondage? He's your guy!

- There's just enough room for interpretation that he can appeal to a variety of tastes. You like doms? Then he could top you 12 ways before breakfast. Look at how he circles Blitz or climbs on top of Stolas. You like subs? We see him getting flustered over sexual stuff sometimes, which could imply he's actually more inexperienced than he lets on. Maybe he'd appreciate letting someone else lead? I dunno! Maybe he's a switch! Guess what! All that and more are possible valid interpretations! Go crazy! He would still be hot in any of the roles!

- This is the monsterfucker website! While I would not count him as a monster, those rattlesnake noises he makes when he's mad? Hello? That's so cool? I want to do that.

- Evil cowboys hot

- STOLAS EVEN DESCRIBES HIM AS SEXY AND THE IMPS KNOW WHO HE'S TALKING ABOUT JUST FROM THAT DESCRIPTION

- Man of mystery! Who is he? What is he? Is he even a full imp? What's set him down this dark path of being such a hater? So much room for speculation! So much potential as an antagonist!

- Other stuff I could list but I need to sleep!

AND NOW

ANTI-PROPAGANDA FOR ADAM:

I feel like he would finish just by flexing in the mirror a bunch and saying his name over and over for twenty seconds. Then he would claim that this was the best lay of his life and leave you behind on the bed with the hotel bill.

There are other reasons (i do not believe the hype over his dick. he is chaz 2.0 in this department to me) but I've decided to narrow this down for time. Striker's still going to lose because the ratio is too big to recover from... But at least now I can sleep in peace...

[fics-n-stuff]

The Interview (and the year and a half to follow)

Pairing: Eddie Munson × Steve Harrington

Summary: When rockstar Eddie Munson reveals that he's married, and to a teacher no less, his fans don't know what to do with themselves. Steve and Eddie, especially Eddie, love the chaos. And he can't help but keep declaring his love for his mystery husband.

Word Count: 2.7k

A/N: This is a modern AU in which Steddie are in their early thirties and everyone else is aged up accordingly, and it's truly incredibly sappy. I wrote this all in one go at 2-4am before a shift at 9am, so it could be a masterpiece or it could be crap. You decide!

"My husband is a middle school teacher." Eddie had said, just trying to give the interviewer a little bit of background on his life. He hadn't expected it to set the internet on fire. 

HE'S MARRIED?? TO A TEACHER?????

I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE WHAT HIS HUSBAND COULD BE LIKE!!!

IS IT AN OPPOSITES ATTRACT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP OR IS EDDIE'S HUSBAND JUST THE MOST HARDCORE TEACHER EVER??

ONLY A LEGEND LIKE EDDIE MUNSON COULD DROP SUCH A BOMBSHELL SO CASUALLY!!

"Eds, what the hell did you do?"

"All I did was say that my husband is a middle school teacher and now everyone's obsessed with you. I think they like the idea that I have a soft side."

"You're nothing but soft sides." Steve chuckled, engulfing Eddie in his arms as they cuddled on the couch. "Maybe I should be the famous one."

"In your dreams, Harrington." Eddie scoffed, playfully smacking him on the shoulder.

"If they like the idea that you're secretly a softie, maybe you should tell them that we're an emergency foster home. Or that we have seven pseudo-children."

"One thing at a time, babe. I don't want to set the world on fire."

Eddie didn't do another interview for a while. He was busy producing his band's next album, their fifth one, and spending time with friends and family between tours. But when Corroded Coffin was invited to be the musical guest on a late night show two months later, partly to promote a movie that Eddie was in (it would be his acting debut and he would be lying if he said he wasn't terrified that people would think he was absolutely horrendous), he had almost forgotten about the frenzy he had whipped his fanbase into at the reveal of the existence of his husband.

"So, a couple of months ago you let slip that your husband is a teacher." The host said to him when he sat down after performing his song, and the audience cheered. These were the questions they wanted answered.

"Yeah, a lot of people were surprised to hear that I'm married but I've been wearing a wedding ring for six years." Eddie smiled, holding his left hand up to the camera to display the simple silver wedding band on his ring finger. "I guess nobody really noticed because I wear a lot of rings."

"That's insane, you've been married for six years?" The host exclaimed, and Eddie nodded with a chuckle. "I have to ask, how did you two meet? I mean, a heavy metal rockstar and a middle school teacher are not a conventional pair."

"We met in high school." Eddie answered, and the audience awed. "Well, technically, he had just graduated high school and I was on my second repeat of senior year. We met through some mutual friends."

"That's so sweet. Isn't that so sweet?" The audience cheered at the host's prompt and Eddie giggled, his hair falling into his face. "Was it a love at first sight thing? How did you end up together?"

"Um, kind of. It was strange, he was a popular jock in high school and I was about as weird and unpopular as they got, but once we got to know each other outside of school we clicked fast. And he's hot, like really hot, so I fell immediately." The crowd laughed.

"Wow, that's fantastic. But, anyway, I need to move on before I get carried away. Let's talk about this movie you're in."

"Yes, let's."

Steve was watching the show at home, sat on the couch with Robin on one side and Dustin on the other who were poking and teasing him as they watched the tooth-rottingly sweet interview. Robin was the one who hopped onto Twitter to see what people were saying, and, once again, social media was ablaze. #eddiemunsonhusband was trending the whole next day, and Steve and Eddie found it hugely amusing. 

Eddie slowly started opening up about his personal life after the overwhelmingly positive response to all his husband talk. At the premier of his movie, he walked Robin down the red carpet with him, telling the interviewers that the two of them and his husband were all roommates for a few years in his early twenties. In a radio interview he did in the lead up to his album release, he talked about how he ran the Hellfire Club in high school and how he was still friends with and still semi-regularly DMed for the kids that were in the club, and he told them about how one of the Hellfire kids was the one to initially introduce him to his husband. When the album released and the band did an interview with Rolling Stone, he told them about how supportive everyone in his life was of his music. He told them about the night's he would stay up writing Corroded Coffin's first album, his husband - then boyfriend - doting on him the entire time. And all of this served to fan the flames of his follower base because, even in opening up about his life and his friends and family, he never revealed who his husband was.

Steve didn't go to many of Eddie's public appearances. He never had; it wasn't his scene. And when he did, they kept their distance and kept things discreet until they were inside and there were no more cameras. When Eddie went out and released another morsel of information about his life, Steve sat at home grading papers or planning lessons and smiling to himself about his chaotic rockstar husband. 

And then it was time for Eddie to go on tour again. Steve hated saying goodbye when Eddie went on tour. 

The tour started in California and slowly snaked it's way across all fifty states, stealing Eddie away from their home in Indianapolis for six months. The faculty at Steve's school kept asking what was wrong in the first few weeks after Eddie left. He told them that his husband was travelling for work.

Eddie missed Steve too. Unapologetically so. For the first time on tour, he felt comfortable mentioning his husband. Every other night he brought up how much he missed him, usually as an introduction to one of their songs; one of the softer ones, off of their third album, that he wrote about Steve right after they got married. The audience ate it up every time. His bandmates always rolled their eyes and teased him after the show.

Eddie's tour landed back in Indiana right after Spring Break. Steve was thrilled to have him back, even if it was brief before he moved on to the next state. And Eddie was thrilled to know that, as he played his first night in Indianapolis, Steve was out in the crowd watching. Will, El and Mike had been out in the crowd when he played in California, Max and Lucas had come to see him in their recent new home of Chicago, and Erica, Nancy and Johnathan would be there when he played in New York City. But tonight he knew that Steve was out there in the crowd, with Dustin and Robin, screaming and cheering for him like he had from the start.

"Alright, this is the part of the show where I normally get all sappy about how much I miss my husband." Eddie said into the microphone, his skin gleaming with sweat. His fans cheered. "But not tonight. Because tonight, I'm pleased to say, my husband is here in the crowd." His fans screamed even louder. "And no matter how much you try you're not gonna spot him. You wanna know why? Because he's wearing my clothes so that he blends in with the crowd." Eddie grinned. The audience went wild. "This next one's just for you, sweetheart." 

Out in the audience, dressed in a pair of Eddie's black jeans, a pair of Eddie's bulky boots and a t-shirt from Corroded Coffin's last tour, Steve felt his heart swell.

A year after the revelation of Eddie Munson's husband came the revelation of Eddie Munson's kid. Like the chaos gremlin he is, Eddie took to Twitter on a Thursday afternoon and casually announced that he and his husband were fostering a kid with the intention to adopt.

Like clockwork, the internet set ablaze.

The eleven year old girl had been in Steve and Eddie's care three times over the past two years before the adoption, spending about eight months in their care over the three stays. Then, when Eddie had been in the last month of his tour, Steve got the call that a kid needed a place to stay. Steve had got the second bedroom ready with clean bedding, made sure the cupboards were stocked with snacks. And when the social workers arrived, the girl had launched herself into Steve's arms, babbling about how happy she was that she had ended up with Steve and Eddie again.

It was unusual for Steve and Eddie to see so much of the same kid. They were an emergency foster home, they usually only saw kids for a few nights or a couple of weeks. And it was the same with her the first time she stayed with them. She stayed for twelve days before she moved to a different home. But then she was back. Only three weeks later she was back in their care and, for whatever reason, that's where she stayed for the next five months. It had been a year since Corroded Coffin released their fourth album, and they had decided they were taking their time with the next one, so Eddie was home and not very busy and perfectly happy hanging out with the kid that they hadn't expected to have for so long.

She went back to her parents at the end of the five months, much to Steve and Eddie's disapproval. But they hoped that they had cleaned up their act and she would be going back to a more child friendly environment. Unfortunately, she was back a year later. The social workers had brought her back to Steve and Eddie and asked if they could keep her for a few months again. Of course, they enthusiastically agreed, and the three of them settled in together for the next three months until she was taken back to her family again.

The third time was the final strike. There was no way she was going to be placed back into her parents' care. Steve had volunteered them to foster her for as long as they could. She had always been a wonderful addition to the home ever since her first stay.

When Eddie got home he was thrilled to see her. He'd been filled in on the situation over call, of course, but you couldn't hug someone over the phone. It was only a couple of weeks after Eddie got home that he and Steve started talking about the possibility of adoption.

Steve and Eddie had always wanted kids. At first, they had planned on adopting a baby, but after involving themselves in the foster system and seeing the demand that there was for people to take in older kids they decided that that was their calling. The girl coming into their lives in the way that she did felt almost like fate. And so they sat her down and asked her how she would feel about the whole thing. Much to their delight, she had enthusiastically agreed to the idea, and they started the process immediately. Eddie felt like this was a major development in his life and he wanted to share it - at least a vague bit of it - and so a month later he took to Twitter.

Things went pretty quiet after that. Eddie's label was organising for a European tour, but he made sure it wasn't too soon so that he would be around for the adoption process. And that was where he put all of his energy: into his kid.

The girl attended the school that Steve taught at, and Eddie signed her up for a dance class when she mentioned an interest. Steve helped her with her homework and bought her books and had long conversations with her in which he taught her things without her even realising that she was learning. Eddie nurtured her creative side, buying her art supplies and teaching her guitar and singing Disney karaoke with her on the weekends.

Corroded Coffin was nominated for a Grammy. It wasn't their first nomination but Eddie was excited about it anyway. They hadn't won a Grammy yet, there only really being one category for metal music and plenty of artists deserving of the award.

Steve and Eddie had their first Christmas with a kid. Wayne came over like he did every year, making it a real family affair. They went overboard with the decorations and wracked their brains for the best gifts to buy. They made a gingerbread house and watched an obscene amount of Christmas movies, and it was the best Christmas they'd ever had.

The adoption was finalised at the end of January. The whole thing had been smooth sailing, Steve and Eddie having proved more than capable of taking care of a child over the years. And now they had a kid and they were officially a family and things couldn't have been better.

And then Corroded Coffin won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance. Steve and their daughter had leapt off of the couch with cheers and whoops and fists waving in the air. And after his bandmates had taken turns at the microphone thanking their management and their fans and their families, Eddie had taken his turn for a speech.

"I have so many people that I want to thank, and they know who they are. My uncle Wayne, the Hellfire kids and all my other friends from back home, all of our fans and every friend we've made in the industry. But, obviously, I want to thank my amazing husband for tolerating my chaos and the fact that I write best in the middle of the night. And I also promise to try and change that habit now that we have a kid in the house, and you're allowed to hold me to that." He gave his speech with a massive grin, trophy gripped tightly in his hands, and when he stepped off stage he split off from his band and excused himself to call Steve, who had secretly bought a bottle of champagne and Eddie's favourite cake from his favourite place to celebrate the victory (because he'd had a gut feeling that Corroded Coffin was going to finally win this one).

Then, as if it had crept up on them, it was time for the European tour, which would steal Eddie away from his husband and daughter for even longer than the US tour. 

Right before he boarded the plane, Eddie opened up Instagram, ready to cause one last stir.

The picture was one of Eddie's new favourites. Robin had taken it in their garden when she came over to hang out one random afternoon. Eddie was dressed peak rockstar, distressed black jeans and a studded leather jacket, chains dangling off him and hands covered in rings. And Steve was peak teacher, all blue jeans and a soft grey sweater, and glasses balanced on his nose. He was giving their daughter a piggyback, but the picture was from just an angle that you couldn't see her face, because she deserved her privacy even if her new dad was a rockstar. 

Now that it's all official and I find myself with this perfect little family, I think it's time to finally show you all the amazing man that I share my life with. Everyone, meet Steve.

And, for the final time, the internet went crazy. It was unanimous; they loved Steve. And Eddie couldn't blame them, because he loved Steve too.

[justabigassnerd]

Hidden Talent

Pairing - Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell x daughter!reader

Word count - 1,615

Warnings - little pinch of angst, mostly fluff, an unpopular trope I guess, don't like it don't read it

Summary - after some convincing, you finally take part in karaoke night and surprise the Daggers and your dad

A/N - I guess I should apologise for disappearing again... I'm so sorry I've been picking up a lot more shifts recently at work so I'm in a permanent state of exhaustion right now and I'm trying to get myself writing for y'all it's just a fight right now. I know this trope isn't popular but like... it was a request so just scroll if you don't like it and yes I chucked Taylor Swift in there because I was listening to her music while writing so yeah. anyway I won't ramble anymore, as per y'all please send in requests, feedback, and enjoy!!

Karaoke night at the Hard Deck had very quickly become popular among the Daggers when Penny implemented it every Saturday night. It usually consisted of the Daggers singing various songs off-key while a few drinks in. It was great entertainment for you, watching the people your dad worked with to be up on their feet singing the likes of Celine Dion and various attempts to sing the whole of Bohemian Rhapsody.

Each of the Daggers had invited you to get involved on multiple occasions but you always turned them down, saying you got stage fright and that seemed to get them to back off enough although they did reconvene together and whisper about how uncharacteristic it was for you, the daughter of Pete Mitchell to experience anything like stage fright.

One night, you were hanging out at the Hard Deck with the Daggers and watching Jake sing what he has dubbed as one of his favourite country songs, but you weren’t too sure how serious he was about it since he claimed almost every country song as his favourite. As Jake sang, beer bottle in one hand, microphone in the other, Bradley sidled up alongside you in front of the bar where Penny had just handed you a soda and spoke up.

“You going to sing anything?” He asks, keeping his tone as casual as possible.

“Not a chance.” You reply with a slight laugh tagged onto the end as you glance up at Bradley. You knew if you went up there and sang you might get made fun of. You were sure you could sing, after all you had made the school choir but that didn’t stop you from being terrified that the Daggers would tease you and then somehow word would spread to your dad, and you’d become a disappointment in his eyes.

“Come on. Just one song? Please?” Bradley pleads, making you roll your eyes with a light scoff. Since your dad and Bradley had made up, Bradley had no issues stepping in as an annoying yet loveable big brother to you.

“Bradley… have I ever said yes?” You question, raising an eyebrow as Bradley falls silent for a moment before speaking up.

“Just this once and then I’ll never ask you to do it again. Promise.” Bradley insists, nudging you lightly with his elbow, chuckling when you squirm at the tickling sensation that came with the friendly nudge.

“I’ll do it if you and the Daggers promise not to make fun of me or tell dad.” You say after a brief moment of consideration and when at first you saw Bradley light up at you saying you’d do it and then when he heard the rest of your sentence his expression shifted.

“You’d think we’d make fun of you?” Bradley asks softly, eyes regarding you gently as you begin to feel guilty for your words at the crushed look on Bradley’s face.

“Well… you guys always tease each other when you sing so I just assumed you’d act the same towards me. I don’t mind the teasing I’m just nervous enough at the thought of singing in front of you guys that any teasing might just- I don’t know.” You try explaining, not really knowing how to say what you want to say without sounding rude. You never minded a bit of fun with the Daggers, you were able to keep up with their usual banter with ease but there was something so terrifying about singing in front of them. You had grown more passionate about singing the more you did it at school and you weren’t ready for everyone around you to make fun of your interests and passions.

“y/n/n, I promise we will not make fun of you. We can go and speak to them now to get all of them to promise.” Bradley offers, making you nod with the slightest of smiles on your face as you follow Bradley from the bar to where the Daggers had congregated.

“Hey, y/n! Is everything, okay?” Reuben asks as you approach, all of the Daggers noticing how you stuck to Bradley’s side.

“Is something wrong?” Bob asks worriedly, eyes flicking between you, Bradley, and the other Daggers to try and figure out what was wrong.

“Do you want to tell them of should I?” Bradley asks quietly, glancing down at you softly.

“I’ll tell them.” You say, taking a small step forward and addressing the group who give you their undivided attention.

“Bradley has coerced me into singing a song tonight. But I will only do it on two conditions. One, you don’t make fun of me if I sound awful or anything. Two, no one tells dad about it. I’m not ready to potentially embarrass or disappoint him.” You say clearly, the way you command the group eerily reminding them all of Maverick and how he could control the group much easier than any other superior officer. After you finish speaking, the Daggers all exchange looks once more before softening.

“I promise we will not make fun of you, kid.” Jake says sincerely, as the rest of the Daggers agree and give you their own promises to not make fun of you or tell your dad. They were all a bit confused as to why you were so shy about your dad knowing about you taking part in karaoke night but since you didn’t want him to know, they promised they wouldn’t tell him. With their promise secured, you cross to Penny and tell her what song you want to play, and Penny is quick to find you a karaoke version before letting you take the stage.

As the opening bars of Fearless play, you divert your attention away from where the Daggers are sitting and instead focus your attention on the furthest wall to keep yourself distracted as you begin to sing.

When you started to sing, the Daggers exchanged looks of shock and awe. They had no clue what to expect when you took to the stage, but you had taken control of the stage and sung your heart out.

Unbeknownst to you and the Daggers, Maverick had entered the Hard Deck, ready to pick you up but instead of finding you talking and laughing with the Daggers, he saw you up on the small karaoke stage singing. You seemed so happy and confident as you sang, and Maverick couldn’t help but feel his heart surge with pride at the sight. He had no idea you could sing so well. You had never sung in front of Maverick before, not even in the car or singing around the house.

“Hey Pete.” Penny’s soft voice shakes Maverick from his stupor, and he turns to face her as you sing in the background.

“Did you know y/n could sing like that?” Maverick says, awe written across his face as he speaks, making Penny softly laugh at the expression.

“No, I didn’t. And neither did the Daggers by the looks of things. She’s never taken part until today.” Penny says, nodding her head in the direction of where Maverick’s squadron was sat, all of them looking just as shocked as Maverick was, and constantly turning to whisper to each other about your performance.

When you finished the song, the Daggers were quick to cheer and the second you stepped off the small stage Mickey and Javy grabbed you into a hug.

“That was amazing y/n/n!” Natasha says excitedly, pulling you into a hug the moment Mickey and Javy released you from their hug. You couldn’t help but laugh at how everyone was scrabbling to give you a hug or congratulate you. When the group finally dispersed, you came face to face with your dad and you stiffened slightly, worried about what was to come.

“Hi, dad.” You say nervously, trying to anticipate his next words.

“Hi y/n. I didn’t know you could sing like that.” Maverick says, a smile soon breaking out on his face which makes you relax and smile in return.

“That was amazing! I’ve got one talented kid.” Maverick continues, pulling you into his arms gently, holding you close as you wrap your arms around him with a grin.

“Thank you, dad.” You say softly, squeezing him a little tighter as you feel him press a kiss to the top of your head before pulling away.

“I hope we’ll get to hear more of your singing from now on. You can’t keep a talent like that hidden away now.” Maverick says, unable to wipe the grin from his face as you shrug lightly.

“Well, I did make the school choir… maybe you and the others can come to some performances or something?” You suggest, and Maverick wasted no time in agreeing.

“I’ll be there for every performance I can be.” He swears, making your smile widen as you go in for another hug, grateful that your dad was supporting your passion instead of shooting it down like you had feared.

“Hey, pops! Stop hogging the future superstar!” Jake calls over to you and Maverick, making you both laugh out loud as you pull away, turning around to look at him and the rest of the Daggers as Bradley steps forward.

“I just think the most important thing is I finally found myself a singing partner.” Bradley says proudly, slinging an arm around your shoulders and pulling you close to his side as everyone chuckles.

“Bold assumption that I want to be your singing partner there Bradley.” You say with a laugh as Bradley’s jaw drops in mock shock.

“Come on! At least one song a week. Deal?” Bradley bargains, everyone falling silent and awaiting your response.

“Okay. Deal.”

[balloooonn]

GRAVITY FALLS X EDDSWORLD !! ★

HEYA GUYS GIRLS NON BINARY NO GENDER ALL OF YOU HOW ARE YOU!!! (Long text aheadd!) (Plus grammatic isn't that good I think, apologizes for that)

So I can't stop combining my fixations together. I had to mix Eddsworld with Gravity Falls, since this last one revived haha. Sorry not sorry! As I said on Instagram, this is TOTALLY NOT an excuse for making eduarjon/jonuardo... Yeah, yeah totally not... Anyways, look at these guys, Eduardo as stanford, Jon as mcgucket!!

I have to say these are just my own, personal interpretations for the characters. It's totally OK if you don't think the same as me!! I made this for fun, and oh boy It was so fun while making it and deciding which characters could fit in each other's papers.

Let me show you some more!! :D

To my surprise (not really LOL), I searched if anyone made the same in the past, and I found out they thought exactly the same as me! Tom is dipper, Matilda is Mabel, Stanley is Edd and Stanford is Eduardo. Makes sense to me.

And I thought it would be funnier (and better!) if instead of normal Edd, it was Future Edd. Thinking about an old man like Future Edd, who just wants to die but has to maintain a work for 30 years just to re-meet his brother... That makes me laugh, for some reason. XDD Look at his face. Poor guy!

And for Bill, well, guess who is it here? Tord, because I couldn't think about anyone else! And it wouldn't make sense if he had a human design, because you know what kind of interdimensional, two-dimensional triangle without real physical form he is. Mm, maybe I'm wrong and he could actually have a human form. Should I try making a design for Tord Cipher later?

That one looks silly! He's just Bill, technically red, has a weird hat and Tord's typical band-aid at the right. Didn't know how to draw this one haha

That's all for now! I'm thinking about the other characters. For now, in my mind, Laurel is Wendy, but mmmmm I don't agree too much, idk. Diwi could be Soos, and I'd LOVE seeing Bing and Larry as the stupid police xD

And MAAAAAYBE an unpopular opinion and somewhat obvious?, But I'd love mixing Eddsworld and Gravity Falls characters personalities together and other things that make them unique, not just switching them fully. What I try to say is, for example, I imagine Edd having his obsession with cola as always, Eduardo with diet cola as well. Edd could have his lucky can, somewhere, and he's just as pathetic as Stanley, despite he's usually more pessimistic, dark and irritable than him sometimes. Tom still haves that sarcastic, rude? essence, but is fascinated with mistery and you know, the weird things that happens in town! And he still conservates liking ska bands. You know, some ideas like that!

Just sharing my silly ideas here. Hope you like it :3 ! Thanks for watching.

[thebluemallet]

EARLY Predictions for Bridgerton Season 4

BENEDICT IS OFFICIALLY CONFIRMED TO BE THE LEAD FOR SEASON 4!

I've had this in my drafts for a couple of weeks. But now that Benophie is officially happening next season, I have some EARLY predictions for the next season. I'll have more predictions when we finally have a clip or a trailer, but for now I'm gonna cast a wide net for what I think will happen in season 4.

1- MASQUERADE!

They really name-dropped that masquerade ball like Tahani Al-Jamil name drops her celebrity friends. And they mentioned it in the promo with Luke T. The masquerade ball is happening! My guess is it'll happen somewhere in the first two episodes of season 4. This will be where Benedict meets his Cinderella/mysterious Lady In Silver/Sophie Beckett.

The code name for season 4 is supposed to be Vauxhall, where we saw Daphne and Simon launch their fake dating plot in season 1. That was a public ball, which means that anybody who could pay the fee could get into it. Perhaps we'll return there for the masquerade ball. Makes much more sense for Sophie to be able to crash that instead of a private ball at the Bridgerton house.

Let's just hope her carriage doesn't turn into a pumpkin before she can make her escape.

2- A Possible Time Jump

In Benedict's book, he meets Sophie at the masquerade, she runs away at midnight, and then he doesn't see her again for another two years. I think a time jump could happen again. Specifically for a few of my upcoming predictions.

Also, it would add to the drama.

Can you imagine the reaction from the fans with the screen fades to black and then some text fades in that reads TWO YEARS LATER?

3- Kate and Anthony Might Not Make An Appearance Next Season

Possibly an unpopular opinion, but I almost dont know why they bothered with having Kate and Anthony in season 3. It seemed like it boiled down to "We're here! We're hot! We're horny! And we're fucking off now! Bye!"

At least when Daphne showed up in Anthony's season she helped drive the plot forward and tried to help guide her brother on the bumpy road to matrimony. Anthony had one half-assed conversation with Colin about his engagement to Penelope. Kate did most of the heavy-lifting when it came to important talks with the family. She did most of the talking to Colin the night before his wedding to Penelope. (Not that it mattered because all of her work was undone the moment Charlotte showed up to the wedding.)

Kate also gets credit for speaking with Eloise to try and smooth things over between her and Colin. And then they left their family for a third time to go all the way to India, a journey that's going to take them six months one way.

But with a time jump, that would give enough time for Anthony and Kate to go to India, have their baby, spend some time there, and then make the long journey back to be present after the time jump with a toddler.

(With how pregnant Kate was looking at the wedding, I would not be surprised if she gave birth at sea. She and Anthony did not think that plan through at all. And why the hell did they leave without attending Francesca's wedding??? And when the Queen was certain that a Bridgerton was behind Lady Whistledown???)

Anthony and Kate being absent would also be a convenient way to keep the Bridgerton House set around for a little while longer.

Anyway, sending Kate and Anthony off to India felt like a way to let Jonny and Simone do other projects for a season instead. Jonny himself is probably gonna be busy with all of the press for the upcoming Wicked movie. So if the announcement comes that they won't be around, I wouldn't be surprised.

4- Last Season for Queen Charlotte Queen Charlotte Lives Forever!

Bridgerton is not known for being 100% historically accurate. And let's face it, even if it were, people would still be complaining about the historical inconsistencies. But one thing Bridgerton is creeping up on is the year 1818. And it's in November of that year that the real-life Queen Charlotte passed away.

Season 4 will, I assume, start in 1816. If they do a one-year time jump, we'll get the rest of the season in 1817 when the main events of Benedict's book take place. If they do a two-year time jump, like they did in the books, then we'll be in 1818 and we'll be in the year we say goodbye to Queen Charlotte.

BUT, the showrunners have pretty much said that they've decided the show exists in an "alternate universe" and they're just going to keep Queen Charlotte around for a while.

The Queen lives. Long live the Queen.

5- Eloise Meets Sir Phillip Crane (?)

While the masquerade references were heavy-handed, the references to Philoise were more subtle. In episode 3x02, Eloise wears a dress that is patterned with the same flower that was gifted to her by Sir Phillip in the books. And in 3x05, when trying to make herself feel better about her betrothal, Cressida tells Eloise that the two of them can "flirt with widowers." The showrunners are slowly setting up the Eloise/Phillip dynamic--they have been since season 1. I think they'll set more things into motion in season 4 and set them up for season 5.

Eloise already expressed to Kate how she felt as if everyone was pairing off and leaving her behind. Benedict's marriage will end up being the tipping point for Eloise.

Phillip would have lived the life of a botanist/academic if it weren't for his brother's tragic passing. Perhaps his academic connections could play a part in Eloise's desire to meet new people and change the world?

If they meet in season 4, it could be the catalyst for them to begin to exchange letters like they did in the books. Which will ultimately set them up for their story in season 5.

Of course, this also means that Marina is going to have to die offscreen at some point 😐

6- Cressida Redemption (?)

One of my major gripes with season 3 was that they gave so much time to the threesome subplot that two other subplots seemed to have no real conclusion or were dropped completely. One of the subplots that didn't get wrapped up as nicely as it could have was Cressida's. We didn't see her reaction to Penelope unmasking herself as Lady Whistledown. She just kind of...left.

There is a long-standing fan theory that Cressida will have a part to play in the Benedict/Sophie story based on a piece of script that named Cressida's mother "Araminta". If this is true, then I think we'll see Cressida in some way next season. And maybe she'll get a happier ending. I never thought at the beginning of the show that I'd want Cressida to end up happy somewhere, but boy season 3 did a great job of making me actually sympathetic to her character.

7- Another Offscreen Wedding

One thing that I know frustrated Kathony fans last season was not seeing an onscreen wedding for Kate and Anthony. I mean, we saw a wedding, and Kate and Anthony were there, but he almost got married to the wrong person. The closest we got was Anthony disassociating so hard that he astral projected himself into an alternate reality.

The only onscreen weddings to canonical spouses we've seen have been the Daphne/Simon, Colin/Penelope, and Francesca/John weddings. But if anybody was hoping to see an onscreen wedding with Benedict in season 4, think again.

I believe that the drama of Benedict and Sophie's story will keep up through all eight episodes of their season. And, like Kate and Anthony's season, we'll flash forward in time at the end of the episode to Benedict and Sophie several months into their marriage. But we won't get to see the actual wedding.

8- Crossdressing Sophie (?)

Admittedly, this is less of a prediction and more wishful thinking on my part. This is the route I would go down if I was writing for the show, anyway.

Show!Benedict now being canonically pansexual has opened up the possibility for him to have an LGBTQ+ partner. But I have a slightly different idea. One plot point of Benedict's book is that Sophie, after running away from her stepmother's house, cuts off all of her hair to sell when she's desperate for money.

I think Show!Sophie could still get her hair cut off like in the book, and then go around disguised as a man for safety/freedom of movement/job opportunities. Then Benedict gets confused when he discovers Sophie in "boy mode" because he hasn't felt this level of attraction to someone since his Lady In Silver.

Maybe we'll get a Victor/Victoria scenario out of it (woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman).

Like I said, this is less of a prediction and more of the route I would go down if I was writing for the show. It probably won't happen this way. But maybe I'll give fanfic writers some plot bunnies.

[skyeslittlecorner]

can you post some photos on chapter five? ive been struggling to get to it and im impatient if ykwim 😭😭

Don't worry anon, I got you covered! Let's break this chapter for three parts - one for story and for one for both H-scenes. There are a lot of things to look forward to~

Warning: HEAVY SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT. In fact, I'll try to shorten the whole thing and focus on plot-relevant facts, so for those who want to go through chapter 5 on their own, come back when you're done! (Or just skip to h-scene, they are marked.)

Ch5 - STORY

First, I would like to warn that my opinion about it may be unpopular. As someone who hadn't paid much attention to Hades before, I fell in love with it after this episode. I adore ch5. A lot of people hate these boys to the core for what they did, and I understand and respect their opinion, but I'm with Hades here. I would love to analyze their behavior in more detail, but we don't have time for that today.

Summarizing this chapter is going to be hard because a lot of things happened. Let's go!

We start by going down a slide sponsored by Leviathan and his Lovecraftian friends (TM). But worry not! It seems we have friends even in the realm of death. Say hello to grandpa!

We talk a little, being in a questionable mood. Well, who wouldn't be? But we have the opportunity to know Solomon better, and I'm getting to understand why all devils love him. By the way, it turns out that we are his last descendant.

Sorry Solomon, you're still a peepaw.

He also advises us not to be afraid of Leviathan and not to be submissive to him, and then in a brilliant way he sends us back to the world of the living. Of course, our beautiful king is delighted.

We take Grandpa's advice to heart and finally stand up to Levi. He's surprised, but he doesn't try to kill us again (for now). We witness him hanging one of his subjects, who dared to ask about an accident from 311 years ago.

Fun fact. Devils must have much stronger spines. Do you know how people used to die by hanging? The first methods involved cutting off oxygen, but later they involved into breaking the cervical spine and this was considered a standard hanging execution. Leviathan must be gentle (how bad it sounds in this context), he could kill instantly with a loop like that.

Back to the point. We find out that we also have a noose around our neck, and Leviathan makes use of it. We're hanging, but we finally begin to meet Leviathan's nobles one by one.

Glasyal plots (and ends up hanging for it), Foras argues with him, along the way we learn that Leviathan needs us in his plan, and, you know, maybe killing us isn't the smartest thing he can do. Only Barbatos realizes that maybe it's a good idea to stop hanging us like wet laundry. He's the only one so openly nice to us.

Remember that.

Another fun fact, our MC is of medium height (~160 cm I guess). Leviathan is 187cm, Foras should be similar. I only noticed this because I myself am 180 cm so they are not so strappingly tall for me.

Foras wants to take us away from Levi and explain everything calmly, but the king does not agree. We learn that the guys know where the seed from the Tree of Knowledge is. We're supposed to go with them, and we have about a 50/50 chance of survival. Also, we have the opportunity to see a very rare phenomenon, a joking Leviathan.

Sweetie.

Colossally shortening the rest, the cavalry arrives! You didn't have to. I haven't had time to fuck them yet.

And this cavalry is very much at odds with the nobles of Hades. Most of the time is them arguing. Fortunately, they didn't kill each other…

...because Barbie decided to kill us.

Barbatos is poisoning us to force Bimet and Valefor to join the plan. While we are unconscious, we have flashes of Leviathan's past, which is too sad to analyze considering that we are about to jump to hot scenes now. Besides, most of us already know what this is about. Experience it for yourself. Really. We also learn that not only angels experimented on children, and a little about Mammon's childhood.

In the end, we learn that in Ch6 we must visit the abandoned laboratory in Tartaros, where the seed from the tree of knowledge should be, because as Solomon's descendants, we may be the only ones who will not be killed by it.

Ch5 - VALEFOR H-SCENE

(I really wanted to post CG from Valefor's scene here, but I don't know if Tumblr will block it.)

TIME FOR DESSERT!

Bimet is the first to realize that we lack devil energy. He wants to take care of it, but Valefor brushes him off, sends him to scout, and overall Bimet is our wingman, what a bro lol

Since we are away from Satan and Gehenna, we cannot summon Minhyeok's room. MC thinks she's outgrown it anyway. So we can count on the next scenes to be more and more creative.

It all starts with us telling Valefor that he reminds us of Mammon. And what a beast it brings out of him.

And he loves it.

...aaand then, someone wants to interrupt. Bimet informs us about this and goes to chase them out. Valefor stands with us at the door to see if anyone else is coming. Yes. Naked. With us. In us.

Fortunately, no one catches us and after the entire session we fall asleep in our knight's arms.

I really would like to do more screenshots, but tumblr is blocked… and there's one more part to come.

Ch5 - LEVIATHAN H-SCENE

At least you look beautiful and the platform won't block you.

And here's what I love the most. It was sick. I'd love to experience it again.

I would love to make a whole post ONLY about this and just leave the screenshots.

We are in Leviathan's office, and he interrogates us when we feel like we are lacking devil energy. We want to go to Bimet, but do you think our jealous king will allow it? Oh no no no. And of course, his hands land on our chin and then our neck. He doesn't like our hickeys.

We start asking him valid questions like "why are you jealous of us if you hate us?" So he silences us with a kiss. A deep, suffocating kiss. This is also how Leviathan discovers that we gain their energy through "intercourse with the devil".

And how can I not fall in love with this idiot.

The conversation that follows gives us some light on his approach to sex and to relationships in general. Which is… sad. It fits him perfectly, but it's sad. And I would also like to analyze this someday, this character is beautiful and how he's written is even more beautiful, especially from writer's point of view. He does not want the admiration of his people or the hatred of angels. The only thing he can believe and consider to be sincere is that someone's dislike. This is something that might actually turn him on.

At first he rules, he asks questions and he hangs us. And he does everything he can to piss us off. He hands us a whip and lowers us down.

Just disliking him isn't enough, and he works diligently to make us hate him. He insults Minhyeok, us, wishes us dead, and the more he sees our anger, the more he gets excited and talks more. He knows that we are connected to Satan and we will know how to release our anger. On him.

He finally got what he wanted. We straddle him and, with the help of Satan's strength, begin to strangle him. Neither you nor he are gentle.

Also, his words (unfortunately, I already have a limit on screenshots). "Do not bite your lips. Bite mine instead." I beg, let me violate him even more.

Compliment from Leviathan, nice. In the end, we fall asleep cuddled up to him, and he has no intention of giving us up to anyone. As in the case of Sitri, he only opens up to us when we are so unconscious that we do not see his softer side.

꧁:･ ✡ ･:꧂

AND THATS ALL! What a ride it was, I hope I was a good guide. One day I will go into the Hades boys in more depth, but for now, let this be a shortcut for everyone who is still struggling with ch5.

[eldaryasharbinger]

MCL New Gen Ep 4 Review

I played the episode on early access so now it's review time! Like last time, I'll give a more generic and spoiler free opinion and leave all the spoilers below the cut!

First thing I want to say is that this might be my favorite episode so far, I've gasped in surprise A LOT while playing it, due to all the information we get to know about all the other characters, like there's a lot to unpack from this episode... I can't wait to hear what others will think of it when it's avaible to everyone!

The episode costed me exactly 1716 APs, uncle Archibald included! (I also finally found him and got the right answer! I forgot to look for him in ep 2 and 3 and missed taki's costumes :( )

So far I've only seen Jason's, Amanda's and Devon's illustrations so I'm really curious about the others. Amanda's is very very pretty and the special scene was soo good,, Devon's is pretty cute as well, I liked the idea and I wonder what the interaction was like!

Jason's kind of let me down, I didn't have much expectations and I'm not saying that it's bad, I just wish it was a little bit... more? Still the special scene was so good it fit the way I see Petronilla's personality/way of thinking if that makes sense?? Also I really enjoyed the story so me being low-key disappointed by illu is probably a me-only problem because it was perfect for the context

I'd say more but idk what others might consider spoilers or not so I'm playing safe and leaving all the other details below the cut, spoilers ahead! From the future: It's super long I really had so much to say, so if you're stopping here, remember to come back after playing the episode!

OKAY BUT THE GASP I GASPED WHEN I SAW LYNN?? Absolutely loved seeing her animated, or yk, seeing her in general! I wasn't really expecting it but I loved the surprise!

Also lmao not Thomas just telling Lynn that he loved her as a kid I WAS SHOCKED but simply because the possibility never crossed my mind... Consider my flabbers, gasted...

Like when I said we'd be learning a LOT about the others, I MEANT IT!! I didn't know how we'd even end up in the situation to talk about love and relationship with our coworkers in the first place (which was the premise of the episode) but it basically started after Thomas randomly revealed he loved Lynn as a kid, Elenda teasing him and him revealing (kind of) that she had a childhood crush on someone as well which is, well, DEVON!! It was so much because at that point anything could've happened... I was already so surprised and impressed by what was going on... BUT THEN !!

I love how everyone was going crazy about Roy and Brune being in a relationship when these two have been together for two weeks, never kissed, slept together or anything

And we just have to watch these two having a the realization and simply breaking up like it was nothing...

To be honest I didn't even find it strange or weird although the other characters were kind of annoying about it, and that just because they were so chill with it?? Like, not every break up has to be screams and tears idk, maybe I didn't find it strange because I've only had good breakups? (lots of heartbreaks from relationships that never even started too ofc) Like, once two people both agree that the love is gone/was never there or anything like that I think it's only normal for it to go ok? idk I found it very icky how literally no other character said anything like this, they were all shocked because of the lack of drama? Honestly, Brune is a queen for saying "go watch a soap opera if you want drama" lmao, I love her (unpopular opinion?)

Yeah you guessed it, I gasped AGAIN when Jason arrived at the café!

AND I GASPED AGAIN WHEN THOMAS SAID THIS??????? HELLOOOOOOO??????? LMAO IDEK WHAT TO SAY I'm on cloud nine y'all with how the story with Jason is going, I'm THRIVING, my brain is getting back into brainrot, like everything I could've wanted, like this kind of silly fanfic trope, I'm loving it

Okay Brune, ouch, but I still love you, you can call me anything lol

AND ELENDAAA!! SAME AS THOMAS !!! Yes keep saying these things as if we're teenagers/pos it's so so funny to me it gets me giggling and kicking my feet,, Like oooo he has a crush on you hehehehe hohohoho,, yeah I think it's the worms writing rn, they got control of my brain ;w;,

Okay so next, after we all saw Jason, we stayed on theme and Thomas started talking about how he follows him on insta in secret and how he's seen him with A LOT of women but never twice with the same one... then...

I kind of felt bad for him because seriously, they not only started talking about his private life, they were also saying bad things about him and were so judgemental, and I get not liking the guy but at the same time it felt uncalled? all he did was go to cozy bear cafe at the same time as us and he didn't even approach us,, come on y'all no one taught you how to behave?? There's this saying that basically says "don't speak about those who are not here to listen" or something like that and I believe in that, if I'm with people who start doing this I either stay shut or remind them that they're being mean, they're supposed to be adults but some of them really think in a rather "twisted" way, like Thomas for instance, he said that since Jason uploaded those pictures himself, it was public (therefore they were allowed to talk sh*t) and man... that's such a scary way to think (I'm not calling him a creep, I get why he might htink that way), I've already stated before that I'm very paranoid and knowing that some people actually think this way (with evil intentions) is the reason why I feel so scared to post anything online, I want my life to remain private,, (these are just my experience with the situation, I'm not trying to make it sound like a big deal it just made me uncomfortable because of my personal beliefs)

Imagine "poor" Jason going for a coffee and then finding your rivals gossiping about your love life etc, and honestly the fact that I like Jason so much isn't even important because I swear I would've felt compassion for him even if I hated him with all my guts... BTW I'm not complaining about the writing, the story was very intresting and I wouldnt've wanted for it to go any diffrent!! "But Kaf! How can you say you liked it if it made you uncomfortable?" you see, I'm a weirdo and got questionable taste, I love me a pityful, loser and not really evil character, this is only making me root for Jason more, as well as making me want to put him in my mouth (means nothing I say this about all things I like so much that I just feel like I have to eat them,,)

Now get ready because next up we have the answer to Candy's question "why do we hate Jason?"

Guys.

GIRLS.

Y'ALL.

HE'S EVEN MORE PITIFUL TO MY EYES THAN BEFORE, LITERALLY MY FAVORITE KIND OF CHARACTER!! THE UNSUFFERABLE, MISERABLE BUT ACTUALLY JUST VERY VERY SAD ONES!! (I have decided he's like this, just my interpretation/headcanon)

They werent even friends to begin with, Jason was just this random guy who worked there, probably done with his job he saw Devon's file and decided to Plagiarise and try to get a chance at a better job, got caught, fired and decided that he was now enemies with this other random guy as if he didn't literally steal from him because HE IS A SORE LOSER!!!!!!!! He's unsufferable on purpose, probably very very sad inside and he kind of showed that when he caught them talking sh*t because he looked very serioius, no smile or anything

today is a great day for me, because I've now decided that I'm 100% right and this is how the story goes for Petronilla's story, even if in the future we might a diffrent story, this is how it is in my mind :D!

I love how she's like "i'm just investigating the rival! I'm totally not zooming in on each and every picture!" she's so real this is 100% 'Nilla behaviour (me too)

This is Jason's illustration and now you can understand what I meant with "I wish it were more"

More than a picture of a picture on my phone!! It's still accurate so I can't really complain about it too much, in the end I think it's good to have different perspectives (Also how pretty is he... wow...)

Girl you're cooked

yeah well, in my head I've already estabilished that Jason saw that and that he'll be overthinking it so much or he'll be like "ha ha, of course she liked this picture of me on purpose to send me a sign, she wants me, but of course cause she can't resist my charm! no one can!" and then feel so confident etc (a loser)

Now let's fast forward to sharing a taxi ride with our beautiful Amanda!

do you want to kiss already or

LMAO THIS IS WHERE MY STUPID ASS THOUGHT THAT SHE WAS ASKING ME OUT

I don't even know why I thought that but with how things were going... the atmosphere yk... And yeah, I gasped about this too

;A;, (yes, that's all the commentary I have left)

The illu is so cute and I loved the outfit, just like last time I ended up buying the illustration becase the outfit was different for Jason... Although I think that this one is pefert for Petronilla! (I unlocked it in the shop with 150 hearts at the end of the episode)

aaand this for last! to back up one of my recent reblogs talking about how Amanda isn't that bad and had her reason to be upset (in case you had the party at your house, I didn't)

That's all and wow, it's a lot

[birdmitosis]

oh, you doin' this too? (referring to the ask game) Tell me your Contra thoughts :3

[ask game here]

Ohoho, a total surprise that you would ask about the blorbo... >:3

First impression

OHHH I LOVE HIM IMMEDIATELY. FUNNY GUY MESSING WITH THE NARRATOR 💕 (Paranoid is the voice I love most, but I think Contrarian was the one I most quickly loved...)

Impression now

I still absolutely love them, honestly even more now! Unlike with Paranoid, where I was a little worried about her shtick getting old, I unexpectedly did start finding Contrarian's shtick a little old on occasion (okay, mostly in the Wild chapter going the Networked route, where I felt like Connie was messing with the tone of things a bit too much, and I was a bit more eh on them in Fury than some people seem to be though I've come around on that!). But with the full context of the Stranger versions of the endings and even seeing the Wounded Wild version of things with them... Oof, I adore them and they just completely fascinate me, that they have so much character development in this little visual novel where they're basically a side character... And I just adore jesters in all fiction and so I 1000% agree with all the Jester Contrarian people out there! Love them so much!!!!

Favorite moment

I mean, the Stranger version of the ending, honestly. Though to be more specific, I love the way that throwing the blade out the window comes back around in the Stranger ending -- especially if you choose to do it, giving Contrarian their unexpected third beat and them finding it funny that you did it even though this time they discouraged it.

Honorable mention to the little moment they have when you meet the Wounded Wild properly, though. While they discourage you from slaying her by saying it's going against what the Narrator wants, their voice just sounds so shaken that it's obvious that's a justification. Connie really doesn't like seeing the state the Wild is in and doesn't like thinking about hurting her further like this. It goes to show that he can get that Stranger ending development even if you don't go for the Stranger ending, and I love that!

(Also honorable mention to the way they deliver two of their lines in No Way Out: "Too late, because we already did it, didn't we?" and "You're not the only one who can figure out how to do things" are just such fuckin funny lines mostly on the strength of their delivery!)

Idea for a story

I NEED TO CONTINUE [Wear whatever feathers you choose.] I REALLY DO...

But okay, other ideas!

I love the possibility that I believe you brought up at one point, of Contrarian and Cold hanging out and egging each other on to do reckless shit but Cold straight-up getting hurt from it and Contrarian panicking because they hadn't wanted that and hadn't quite expected Cold to go that far.

I could also really love an exploration of how to get, or what it might be like to get, Contrarian in either version of Wraith or in Thorn... Or even a theoretical Stranger Chapter III (likely with Cheated)!

Unpopular opinion

I'm not really sure I have any, honestly! I think a lot of people have similar but different takes on Contrarian and nothing I could say is that unpopular... I guess maybe that pre-development, they were more of an asshole in-game than some people seem to think, but also less of one than others seem to think? (They did reassure Hero multiple times in the Stranger chapter, after all!)

Favorite relationship

Oh, absolutely, romance-wise ContraHero is my secondary OTP for this game! Platonically, though (...and okay in some cases romantically), I am really into Contrarian's dynamic and (potential) relationships with Broken, Cheated, Cold, Opportunist, Fury, Stranger, Thorn, Wounded Wild, and the Narrator.

Favorite headcanon

Contrarian being nonbinary is my absolute favorite thing! Some runners-up though: Human!Contrarian (or if Contrarian had to give a human name) would be Connie, Contrarian would absolutely get along great with Cold, and Contrarian would learn how to beatbox and get super good at it.

[dandelion-wings]

For the ask meme, Jean and Venti? :>

Thank you for the ask! :>

JEAN

How I feel about this character

This should be no surprise to anyone, but I adore her. #1 absolute favorite Genshin character, bar none. She's already an archetype I love (honorable lady knight torn between duty/family and her own desires, bonus points for blondness; see also, FE3H Ingrid), enough so that the friend who got me into Genshin lured me in with her ("read the manga at least until you get to Jean, and if you like her, you have to start playing"), and a lot of her individual characteristics are also deeply endearing to me. I am not rational about Jean. She is my beloved precious blorbo who can do no wrong and I will write out her flaws and make her perfect if I want to, and I will write her outmatching and one-upping the male characters who are supposed to be just as or more cool, and I will write her whump and fluff and hurt/comfort where everyone goes "oh we have been unfair to Jean, let us rush to care about her," and I feel no shame on any of these points. I am holding her up and showing her to everyone like a beloved pet.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Okay, so, the thing about me is that I usually make my favorite character a fandom bicycle because I just like seeing how I think they'd interact with other characters I like? I have at least idle shipping thoughts about Jean and... so much of the rest of Genshin. But my primary ships for her are most of the other Knights of Favonius, particularly any combo, OTP or OT3 or OT4, of Lisa, Kaeya, and Eula, with some particularly energetic mental dabbling (less likely to make it on the page) in Jean/Ningguang, Jean/Rosaria, Jean/Diluc, and Jean/Sara. Those are probably the ones outside the OT4 and its permutations that I'm most likely to actively play with without some outside trigger or inspiration!

My non-romantic OTP for this character

See above, just without the kissing. That said, I think everyone knows it's Jean and Kaeya. XD And beyond that the platonic relationships within the OT4!

My unpopular opinion about this character

I... am not sure I have one? The people I choose to follow have Good Opinions, and I do not follow people with Bad Opinions so I don't know how popular they are (also I don't go into her main tag because main character tags get SO spammed with 'this character appeared once briefly in the background of this comic' sorts of tags. I follow individual artists and the rarepair tags). I like to think she could take Diluc, I guess? Who often gets presented in fanon and a little bit in canon as the Ultimate Mondstadt badass.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

More cool action scenes! And also FIXING HER RELATIONSHIP WITH BARBARA.

---

VENTI

How I feel about this character

I like him! I have somehow ended up following and being followed by many Venti fans who love him much more intensely, and he's one of those characters I already like enough that I can be enjoyably swept up in that love, such that for the duration of the post I'm reading or the discussion we're having, I love him just as much. Then it goes back to 'sure, he's cool and I enjoy seeing him'. :> Which I definitely do.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Venti isn't a fandom bicycle for me just because he's not in my top faves, but he definitely would have the potential if he was. >> That said, Dvalin, Zhongli, and Xiao are the only people I regularly seek out pairing content with him for; I enjoy incidentally seeing him with pretty much any of the world's other immortal/long-lived-non-human characters and all the now-dead past character's he's been with, and he's fun with a lot of the Mondstadt characters as well. Honorable mention to Jean/Venti for occupying the same mental space as Venti himself: a pairing I'm not personally invested in but, while I'm talking to @esmeraldablazingsky and/or reading their stuff, am temporarily 110% high-enthusiasm about.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Broadly speaking, his various friends over the centuries and, currently, especially Dvalin, but I will admit that my Thing for Jean means that I am most fascinated with his relationship with her (the only person in canon who knows him in both his forms and is still respectful! XD) and, by extension, Gunnhildrs of the past.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I again don't know enough about general fandom opinion to have one. XD;; Most of my opinions about Venti are accumulated from the people I follow who love him, and I haven't seen any general popular ones among them that I disagree strongly with!

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I put "Venti takes the Traveler to Celestia, or at least gives them a very strong hint and boost" in a lot of my speculative endgame scenarios because I feel like there are hints in canon that it COULD be what happens, and I really really hope that it WILL be. It feels like how the narrative around him should pay off, to me.

[thebreakfastgenie]

I know you dislike Donna’s “ girl boss” story line, but how do you think Josh should’ve handled her asking for more opportunities? He was pretty dismissive of her, and then Gaza happened.

Well I think the issue is actually how Donna handled it. Donna needed to stop expecting to get those opportunities from Josh. Josh... I mean, ideally he would be nicer to her about it and listen to what she's saying more closely but materially it wouldn't really be different. I don't expect Josh to tell her "if you want to do that you have to go somewhere else" and encourage her, even if maybe he should, because I don't expect him or really most people to be that focused on Donna over himself.

I think what Josh really did wrong was intermittently treating Donna like something other than his assistant for all those years leading up to it. I think it created unreasonable expectations and it was unprofessional and kind of unfair, and he shouldn't have been surprised when Donna wanted all of that to amount to something eventually. This is kind of an unpopular opinion I think because we all love watching Josh give Donna a chance to shine in the first 5 seasons. I do too, and I'm not saying I wish he hadn't done it. But I think Josh doing that despite there not really being more opportunities for Donna within the White House created the problem we see later.

I also think because Josh has this slightly deranged, starry-eyed view of what working in the White House means (and it's not just him, it's most of the characters especially in the Sorkin era) on some level he thinks Donna should just be grateful to be there and that's where some of his dismissiveness comes from.

Am I remembering correctly that before Gaza she's upset about not getting to go on a trip after she worked hard during the preparation, even though she's not going because Josh isn't going? It sucks, yeah, but I'm with Josh on this one: them's the breaks. The president needs what the president needs.

I think Donna is just at a place in her life where she needs to focus on herself and growing her career more than serving the president, but that means the White House isn't the right place to do it. Josh should understand that because he's been in that place in his own career before, but I think it's in-character that he wouldn't.

I guess the "right" thing would be to have an honest conversation about what Donna's role is and what she wants. The one time they try do that in that arc is in Impact Winter and it's so annoying, because Donna schedules a meeting but doesn't give Josh any information about what it is. She takes it so personally that it keeps being rescheduled, but Donna knows better than anyone that Josh's schedule is that insane and getting repeatedly bumped doesn't mean you're not important, it just means fifteen more important things are happening. On top of that, we actually see her eating breakfast with Josh and hanging out, so she had an opportunity to tell him the meeting was important, but she chose not to do it.

Also I think a lot of what I hate about Donna's girlboss arc would be solved by Donna getting more screentime to actually be a person in the later seasons, but that falls into the same trap as everything in the last two seasons: so many characters, so little time.

[cherrytimemachine]

Character breakdown for any of the G1 Stunticons? Motormaster or Dead End, Wildrider, etc? Whichever you feel implored to discuss?

Imma do Breakdown for this one. There will be some overlapping of other continuities and I will talk about the other Stunticons, so no worries.

How I feel about this character: Nervous himbo energy. I. G1 he's an anxious boi who just follows what the others are doing. I was surprised by that since I grew up watching TFP and I knew him as the buff fighter who doubled as his husband's partner's medical assistant. It makes sense given his name is Breakdown, and I guess G1 and TFP took that word and used different meanings for it.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Nobody in G1, I'm a KOBD shipper all the way. They're adorable in IDW1 too. Wish they showed more of how Knock Out cared about him when he died in TFP. One of the only things the United Warriors comic did kinda well.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: The rest of the Stunticons. Motormaster is just a big angry himbo, Drag Strip is that bitch who always makes fun of you, Dead End is literally dead inside and frankly I can't blame the guy I would be too if I looked like a light switch, and Wildrider is batshit insane and they should contain him bro is like a rabid dog ready to bite somebody. All of them are chaotic in their own ways and as a whole, which is why they're probably my favorite of the Decepticon combiner teams in G1.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Not an unpopular opinion really, but Breakdown shouldn't have been killed off like that in TFP. If they wanted to kill him off, it could've been done so much better. And I'm kinda interested in Emperor Kumquat's idea of Autobot Breakdown.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: This applies to a lot of characters in G1 to be honest, but I wish we got more character development with them. A lot of characters have the bare minimum of a personality, but I think the Stunticons are some of the most diversified characters when it comes to combiner teams. Most of the characters we get more nuance for are Autobots, so it's nice to have some more Decepticons that stand out. I wish they were more expanded on in the show, but I wasn't expecting it to happen since the show only existed to sell pre-made toys.

[karamazovposting]

Ivan!

I was hoping someone would ask me about Ivan (duh), thank you very much.

First impression:

I was lowkey in love with him at the beginning, when he didn't remind me of myself and my own psychiatric diagnosis yet lmao, and I remember being surprised because he was so different from what other people described. Also I could already sense he'd become my favorite.

Impression now:

This whole blog is basically an Ivan Karamazov stan account so yeah there's no need for me to elaborate.

Favorite moment:

When he pushes Maksimov off the carriage with no explanation. It's such a small thing and I know he has many other more significant and objectively better moments but I remember that striking me. And it was basically the start of my bipolar Ivan Karamazov agenda.

Idea for a story:

Considering his very open ending, something about what happens to him after the events of TBK I guess. But on a more original note, I'd like to know what happened with Lise, what their conversations were about and what they were like; if I was a better writer and a not so mediocre philosopher I think that's what I'd write about. Maybe something about his days as a student too, there's a lot of potential.

Unpopular opinion:

I've noticed the general consensus is that Ivan is a believer who wants to be an atheist while I think he's an atheist who wants to believe, but it also depends on the definition of atheist we're going with. Personally, I think the end of his talk with the devil makes him an atheist.

Favorite relationship:

I really like his dynamic with Pavel and his relationship with Alyosha, but I've been vicariously rereading TBK through a friend of mine and I've found myself being fascinated with the relationship he has with his father so I'm gonna go with that. He seems to be the one who has the most ambivalent relationship with Fyodor out of all the brothers: he hates him to the point of wanting him dead, yet they can have civil conversations with each other and Ivan even told him about Katya (which reminded me of a tweet I saw some time ago that said something like when your life gets so bad you open up to your parents lmao); Ivan is said to have a particular influence on his father and to be the only person who can stop his nonsense by both Alyosha and the narrator, yet Fyodor doesn't even remember he was also Sofia's son and doesn't really care about him. There's indeed a lot going on here and it's very interesting.

Favorite headcanon:

I like to think that, just like Alyosha, he resembles his mother a lot, but in a different and more subtle way than his brother does. While people see Alyosha and can immediately tell he's Sofia's son even at first glance because of how much he looks like her, it takes a while for them to see all the little pieces of her in Ivan: her mannerism, her eyes, her walk, her smile, her laugh (if only Ivan smiled and laughed more often, they'd instantly be able to tell).

[pseudo-hero]

Conner Kent basically is a child from (medical) rape. Not calling him Clark's child is basically the mentally healthiest way to cope with this for everyone involved.

Note #1: I first want to apologize for taking this long to respond, though it's not the only time that's happened and probably won't be the last. I'm still surprised that this particular blog even got an "ask", to be honest! That being said:

WARNING: This post is about—among other things—sexual assault, properly defining/utilizing the terms and has a few violent descriptions within it. Some possibly unpopular and controversial opinions are below. Absolutely no harm or insult to any person or group was intended while I typed this out (including to the "asker"). I hope any possible readers will make it to the end before judging. I've typed this up for anybody, with no one in particular in mind, so 'you' therefore, refers to anyone as well as what's said in the "ask". This gets into and brings up a lot different subjects and ideas in regards to the Kal-Kon family relationship (both in-universe ones and meta ones), so apologies to the above anonymous user if it ever seems like I'm going off on a tangent; although I like to think all of this was relevant to the "ask" in some way.

As always, I'll try to be open-minded to differing opinions/information and I hope any possible errors made can be forgiven. This is also going to be really, REALLY L--O--N--G because I have a hard time giving short, straight-to-the-point responses for anything, I guess. Especially topics that have wide-reaching implications. I switch between character names a lot (and other quirks), may get a little repetitive (but I will try to make new points each time) and I also may at times be harsh on Clark here (but it's arguably DC Comics and their partners that are truly at fault, not him).

Note #2: I've always wanted to make a post about why Clark's treatment of Conner throughout the years has been questionable writing at best and detrimental to Clark's character at worst [as part of a not-yet-completed series on what's destroying Superman's character and legacy these days, in fact] but maybe this will end up being that post [or they'll just share many points/arguments in common].

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Sorry, but I'm not playing that game. Only rape is rape. You comparing (and perhaps twisting) Conner Kent's/Kon-El's creation to being that of a "child from (medical) rape"—which, mind you, I can't help but be reminded of "rape baby" (one of the names unfortunately often used on such victims-by-proxy for the wrong reasons) when I read it—is not only, to me, an insult to any version of the character's backstory and the hardship they've gone through, but to those who have actually experienced the trauma of rape or other forms of sexual assault (or being conceived from any such act).

While I understand why some interpret Kon's creation that way/where the belief comes from, I feel that's only one possible interpretation and one that unfortunately—on top of promoting offensive and less-than-rational conclusions—might actually be missing the point about the real reason(s) Kon got and still gets treated the way he does.

First off, let's get down to how every version of Kon was created before getting into the details of the origin of one or another, and proving how none of them sprouted from rape: Kon is, put simply, a genetically engineered progeny; a form of "test tube baby" (not meant to be disparaging). He was made in an undoubtedly sterile (purposefully loaded word) lab from the ideas, research-based input and experimentation of dozens of scientists and geniuses, his human parent typically included. (Note how I didn't name a human parent? I'll get to that.) After many failed attempts, there was a success, first dubbed Experiment 13.

There was no warmth or genuine intimacy involved in E13's creation, just as is the case with 95% to 100% of sexual assaults (I'm trying not to assume how it went for all victims). However, there was also no physical contact, beyond perhaps the extraction/finding and adding together of DNA-type substances. (You know, what with every version of Kon being treated solely as science experiments in their early days and all.) Without physical contact, specifically/particularly/especially of the sexual variety, already the case for Superman being "raped" begins to fall apart and we can get closer to what fandom/societal problem is really behind this idea being pushed and what truth is continually missed/hidden due to said problem acting as a cover.

Continuing from before: So, as we all know, almost every version of Kon-El/Conner Kent get's his DNA from a male kryptonian progenitor (always Kal-El/Clark Kent unless stated otherwise) together with the also-male human progenitor's, and rarely anywhere else. These days most versions of Conner seem to be the half-human genetic child of Lex Luthor and Superman, and it's been like that for a while. In the beginning however, he was solely a clone of Superman before it was later decided that he was actually an altered clone of some now-forgotten man named Paul Westfield and that he only mimicked Superman's powers. They later changed it up again ("retconned" it) to the Lex Luthor/Superman combination origin(s) for the 2000's version of him, but in doing so, made it clear in BIG, bright letters that Kon is not a "clone" anymore.

Unless—we're calling him a binary clone (what we all are).

That's right, a binary clone is one of many words for child. It's just a specific type of child/progeny. Here's another definition example, with the same description. I would hope no one needs to see the definition for child, too, but you never know. So, notice how so many of the definitions for child match up with what Kon is? What are the people that argue that Superboy is not Superman's—or that he's neither Clark's nor Lex's child—really trying to say or inadvertently saying, I wonder? That Kon is no one's child? That he isn't even a child (unless someone wants him)?? Good luck using that logic with real life "test tube children" (in-vitro children, if we want to be clinical), foster children and adoptees. Bet they'll really appreciate the insensitivity.

As for his age? Why does that matter? At his oldest, he's an upper teen, so still an impressionable minor. And who ever said you needed to pop up in someone's life as a perfect, little chubby cherub to be their child? Who said your parents needed to accept you/get the chance to raise you, for you to be directly descended from them? If a parent dies before a child is born (and stays dead), is the child not their child anymore? Even if someone meets their kid—that may appear to others, to have been created when the parent was a teenager—when the youngling is already a teenager him/herself now, that's still their child, isn't it? Look at all the questions that we are forced to ask when certain fans try and come up with arbitrary definitions, explanations and excuses (or ignore preexisting ones) for what makes a child a child.

As far as I can see, Superman is not delusional nor prone to denialism and isn't known for letting his emotions (or what some believe his emotions are or should be) get the best of him. At least, he's not supposed to be. Some writers in the past have had different ideas on that. In my opinion, they often ruin things for a large amount of us though, seeing as engaging in poor, contradictory behavior will never automatically = a character being more complex. It's more likely that the character will just come across as very petty, selfish, obnoxious or callous, things Superman generally should not be; maybe even should never be.

All that is to say that the need to pretend Kon is anything but Clark's (and Lex's) child in-universe and based on real-life standards, has nothing to do with authentic science or logic and at times doesn't even involve an agreed on continuity. You (the "asker") may already realize this (since you mentioned mental health and coping in your "ask") but many others don't seem to yet. In fact, the exact science isn't what matters, considering how the situation is fictional and therefore mostly pseudoscience anyway.

And even if it wasn't fictional, consider that animal reproduction is technically considered sexual whether two organisms had sex/copulated or not because of the act of the male and female gametes (sex cells) coming together. Based on that, can or can't Kon be considered just another typical mammal (mammal-alien hybrid?) made through a form of sexual reproduction, even if he wasn't made from the combining of male cells and female cells (typically not used in his case) nor (most likely) any sexual cells at all? Does it even make a difference in regards to his parentage? In reality, it actually doesn't and that question is only a pedantic-semantics one. All such questions are.

What actually matters here is the basics. Cells/DNA from these two beings were melded together to make another being. No intercourse was needed or involved. A large amount of people would still consider that as a child being made, with or without the added story context. (Many mythologies have had similar events happen in them, fwiw.) So why shouldn't our honest, selfless and compassionate Superman view it that way? Where is the extensive evidence that this is solely about Clark and his family's feelings anyway, especially in the present day? I'm sure that may be the excuse some writers hide behind, but let's be real here.

Clark, in multiple continuities, has had no problem giving Kon a name (twice, if you count Conner Kent too), encouraging him to have a secret identity like Clark, so he also gets to live his life outside of being a hero, has occasionally been seen spending time with Kon by choice, mentoring him, fighting alongside him, sending Kon to the boy's grandparents for raising in the calm, warm town of Smallville (where Clark himself was raised), enrolling him in school in that same town, literally considering him family...but he won't dare go as far as to call him son??

Now, don't get me wrong. Do I believe Superman knew what was going on just before and during Superboy's artificial development? No. He never knows until after Superboy is already out in the world flying around. Does that make it non-consensual and somewhat or very violative to him? Of course. But besides these adjectives/descriptors and (if you want to count it) the springing of a child from the experiments, the situation actually—again, I say—has little in common with rape.

(POSSIBLY VERY TRIGGERING LANGUAGE FOUND BELOW. If you can, pay special attention to what words I put emphasis on.)

Rape can be and is many awful things. The severity of the act can range from little to no bodily injury but major emotional/psychological harm from awareness of the unwanted/forced sexual contact you were put through, to very extreme bodily and mental harm. It can cause tearing, often-heavy bleeding and infection in any targeted orifice (vagina, anus, mouth and/or throat) that can take months to heal from or that the person never fully recovers from. It can make it painful to move and do certain positions with the body. For specifically the female reproductive system, it can lead to damage that's so horrible that a woman can no longer reproduce and so is left infertile. Or she can be left with a pregnancy that's taken root in her own body that she of course was not planning—since it was forced into her—and one she often won't feel like she can handle birthing. There's also always a chance that she could die during the months before the labor begins, if not during the birth itself.

In the case of one form of medical rape (which again, I don't believe Clark was put through, unless you're talking about a different definition for it), it's rape because the victim gets impregnated by semen that they did not agree to have used on them. So it's rape by deception, if not also due to the disturbingly forceful nature that 'fertility treatment' often comes with.

Can someone tell me what about any of that, purposefully emphasized words and all, is the same as how Kon was created? Am I really supposed to believe that Superboy's surprise creation through indirect means, is equivalent to the above in any way for any person involved? In the early years of the character's creation, it was implied or outright stated that Superboy got his Superman DNA from scientists—I believe CADMUS—stealing Clark's presumed-dead body and taking a bit from it (Kon was originally supposed to replace Clark, but not destroy him). What did they get? Maybe a hair? A skin cell from one of his arms? I'm not sure.

However, this was in the early years and the most violative it ever got. (Actually, I don't recall that version of Superman being all that shaken up over the matter compared to how some seem to think every version has been regarding Kon's creation, even though that one probably had some of the biggest reasons to be; he even reached out to Superboy first, in fact. Only to be rejected by him.) It also wasn't, and is still, not rape. It's overall more comparable to someone stealing his/her ex's or one night stand's condom off their body or from the trash to cause a pregnancy. A horrendous deed—but not rape.

I'm stating all this because your claim is built on a false premise. One that likely comes from an over-reliance on and desire for extreme comparisons/equivalencies. One that appears to be a very common opinion in the fandom, but which is still misguided. It's imperative that we try not use the word rape (or related words) to seriously describe any other different action just because we disapprove of it. It's superbly harmful and frankly, disingenuous.

Are you calling the situation rape because you truly feel that this is what happened or because it's the worst word you could think of to try to make people feel even more horrified than they may already feel about the situation, and to shut down conversation on Clark's strange behavior toward and relationship with, Conner? Is it that you do realize that sexual assault is a severe issue and definitely no laughing matter, so you use mention of it so flippantly to emphasize your point, not realizing that this is only contributing to the problem?

I often wonder if a huge reason for this is because many nowadays are, thankfully, far more knowledgable of the importance of consent, but to the unfortunate extent that they separate it from the actual acts that make sexual assault, well, sexual assault. Again, lack of consent by itself is not what makes something rape. There has to at the least be forced penetration involved, too and arguably blatant sexual intention.

Likewise: Stealing someone's wallet or squeezing all the money out of their bank account without their knowing, is not "financial rape". Beating someone to a pulp and leaving them there injured is not "punching rape". Wiping someone's mind of memories is not, technically, "mind rape" (despite how popular that term is now). Leaving a baby or puppy on someone's doorstep and hoping/expecting that the owner of the home will sacrifice their time to raise them, is not "nurture rape" (or "nurture coercion" for that matter). You know why all the previous is true? Because, again, only rape is rape!

Languages are always changing, adapting, sometimes shrinking but also expanding. We often add definitions to words that may not have been implied before and use metaphors and other figurative speak to make points. However, words have those original definitions for a reason and especially in the case of crime and morality, it is not wise to dilute the meanings of words for your personal opinions/arguments/headcanons. That is not only hurtful but possibly dangerous.

If you feel that this or that version of Clark is right to be weirded out by Conner for being created 'unnaturally' (based on average, modern human POV), just say so. If you feel some version(s) of Clark is right to be disgusted by Conner for being made without his knowledge or ability to stop it (presumed dead or alive), just say so. If you feel modern versions of Clark are in the right to reject Kon solely because of who the human parent typically is, i.e. Lex Luthor (since we all know that connection and Lex's intentions when creating Kon must somewhat play an enormous factor in some people's view of Kon's existence), just say so.

If you, for similar reasons, despise every version of Lex Luthor and believe he's an irredeemable monster (which I find understandable, even though I personally do like the character) and therefore that everything connected to him is tainted too, just say so. If you are so preoccupied with comparing Damian Wayne's (usual/modern/recent/current?) conception origin to Kon's own, to the point of only noticing possible similarities and wanting to claim the situations are exactly the same, despite the obvious differences (and despite how that makes Superman/Clark negatively appear but in comparison to Batman/Bruce this time who accepts his child, regardless of the actual sexual assault that took place to create him), just say so.

If you just have a certain set of characteristics in mind for Superman or think it should be anything goes if it entertains you, as the rule of thumb for Superman writing, then please, just say so. That way people with a different opinion than you will know what worldview they're really arguing with when you debate. You do not need to use a word (rape) with an already established definition that's important enough to be referenced in laws the world over, to emphasize your point. Your argument should be able to stand on its own without doing so.

It wouldn't surprise me if one of the biggest contributors to modern people's current view of Clark and Conner's relationship is due to largely popular, dramatic media like the animated series Young Justice. The show had a take on them that was based on certain older-but-still-modern comic interactions with the more modern look/personality for Kon and it was considered by many to be realistic/relatable in regards to Superman's viscerally perturbed reactions toward and avoidance of Kon. However, some others saw it for what it also was: An excuse to seep out as much angst as possible to make us feel for Kon, but at the expense of Superman's characterization.

Compare their relationship here to the one they had in the DC Animated Movie Universe film, Reign of the Supermen (a sequel to The Death of Superman movie from the same universe; both are based on the 90's Bronze Age comic(s) that I've mentioned already). It was Lex in that movie that was being unquestionably vile toward Kon. As you might expect! And it was Clark who, only after knowing Kon for a short period—probably 20 minutes at most in-movie and a few days in their world—showed the poor mentally-abused child compassion and immediately took him under his bright red cape of hope and, as often happens these days, got help from Kon's grandparents in raising Kon. As you'd definitely expect! Although it wasn't exactly explicitly said in the movie whether he considers Conner his son or not, their relationship there was still handled infinitely better from the jump than was the case with alternate versions of their relationship. The reactions from these two men from different media that are supposed to be the same character, are like night and day! It's almost like they're not the same character (hint, hint)!

There was no unnecessary drama or hypocrisy on Clark's part in ROTSM (remember they'd both be seen as dangerous in the eyes of regular earthlings). Beyond a moment of eyebrow raising, and some possible annoyance or hesitance, Clark seems to grow accustomed to Kon's existence very quickly (after Lois already had, without his realizing!) and starts acting sensibly about it afterward (while still coming across as a warm but stern and outraged father; again, as you'd expect!) which I think was a good thing and arguably just as realistic as the reverse, with the added benefit of not making Clark look douchey, un-empathetic and unreasonably judgmental. We should be way past acts of actual!superdickery in this day and age, imho. Considering the universe he exists in, Clark should be ready to take on whatever is thrown his way, even a hormonal teenage "clone" of himself, no matter if they have a human parent or not, and even if Clark doesn't get along with that parent. Seriously, more writers need to remember that. The DC world is insane and anything could happen; so the characters ought to be mindful of that at all times.

Which leads me to ask: Why should Clark be extremely upset almost every single time Kon pops up anyway? Why does he have to be extremely upset at all? He didn't get a choice to thumb up or thumb down Kon's creation but beyond that, what was forced on him? As I noted earlier, he didn't get forcefully impregnated or even deceived. No one made him let Kon into his life either and Kon is a good kid anyway who wants to be the best superhero he can be and who's typically no worse than cocky. (Though some versions of Superman surprisingly need to be convinced/reminded of Kon's innocence.) Less honest people will try and dance around the elephant in the room, which is that they wouldn't think what was done with Clark's DNA was a big deal if Kon hadn't come from it. "Well, duh!" you might say. Duh indeed, because without Kon's existence, literally no argument can reasonably be made that Kal was harmed in anyway. (Unlike with physical attacks, which are obvious. The harm done to him would then, at most, be emotional/psychological but only if Clark acknowledges on some level what/who Conner is (his son!) but struggles to accept him/rejects him despite/because of it. Superman (and the fans that do the directly-above), should focus their ire on the true wrong-doers, not a victim. I mean really, Conner has only done wrong to Clark and his family/friends once, while brainwashed by somebody else!! (It was Lex Luthor, of course.)

This means that they know Kon is his own person with endless potential, who is vulnerable and always at risk of manipulation, who deserves sympathy regardless of how he was made and who just needs an outstretched hand from someone who cares and wants him to stay on the right path, despite where he came from. Which means they also know what it says about Superman for him to neglect Conner, but just accept it as "a blind spot" as opposed to calling it out as the horrible writing decision that it always is. Kon in the ROTSM movie is the biggest victim in that scenario and it's made clear there. In that movie, Superman didn't turn his back on or avoid Superboy at any point and dived right into a father-son relationship with him. Thank goodness.

I repeat: The parent in the movie that actively created him without the other parent's knowledge, treated him like fresh garbage, like a toy that doubled as a tool/weapon, like an object. The other parent on the other hand refused to do the same and instead did right by him and took him in. Kon's feelings and needs were acknowledged as they deserved to be. Clark was called dad by the boy and he more or less stood in his role that wasn't gonna change whether he wanted it to or not, nor whether he accepted it or not. A parent is a parent the moment they have a kid, even if they choose not to be there for them. Adoption is one way of becoming a parent that I admire (as long as no cruelty was committed for it to happen) and I'm happy for those happy to be adopted. However, mind you, Clark or The Kents raising Kon who is one of Clark's own bio kids, would be regular parenting/grand-parenting; not adoption or fostering.

He also did have a choice btw, when it came to that movie, as he always does and like everyone else has/would. He could have chosen to ignore/avoid Kon and left him to teach himself how to swim, but this is Superman we're talking about here and he, more than anyone, would ideally never behave that way to someone in need (least of all a child/his own child!). Even if other people in his place would unfortunately be unable to (which I understand and can sympathize with). Superboy did appear to be physically younger (if not emotionally) in ROTSM than he was in YJ, but my point still stands for both stories and related.

In fact, if memory serves right, (as briefly referenced earlier) the 90's version of Superman which the TDOSM and ROTSM movies are loosely based on somehow wasn't near as avoidant around or upset by the 90's Kon-El Superboy (Kon sure was annoyed by him though) as the character was in some later writers' stories, despite supposedly being of the same continuity and despite the fact that Superboy became a better person and hero as years passed. Which actually kinda adds to my point about how ridiculous this behavior/flaw from modern versions of Clark is. Funny. It also sort of reeks of higher-up interference to me... Almost like they needed an excuse to keep the two apart; very separated and in their own books with rarely any overlap, before eventually deciding to recurringly erase one of the characters from "canon" and/or their connection/closeness to the other more prominent character...

Which, finally, is what the reasoning for constantly excluding and distancing Kal-El from Kon-El really all comes down to. Seven things actually, which are all often/always connected: 1. Keeping tradition going which often causes 2. Plain old homophobia to win when it comes to writing decisions, but also usually leads to 3. Clois favoritism, both of which are due in part to 4. Fear of trying anything new and 5. Peeving off the fanbases within the fanbase, whose members all have their own version of Superman in mind (think about the YJ vs ROTSM example), which brings about 6. Laziness and simplicity for simplicity's sake and we can't forget 7. That probably more than anything else (and where the other seven stem from) there's the issue of THE FOCUS ON $$$ [profit, with as little effort and change put forward to gain it as possible, or in some cases too much effort used on the wrong thing(s)].

The need to always hold on, in some way, shape or form, to tradition is a tale as old as time and an obvious reason for Kon's constant alienation from Kal and the larger Superfamily.

I mean really, think about it. Although I focus a lot on how Conner is treated by DC and specifically Clark, he's not the only child from his life that Clark's failed to raise or be there for to the best of his ability. It's just the most glaringly obvious with him.

Every reappears-in-"canon" minor (so not imaginary story character) that pops up at Clark's doorstep gets the short end of the stick, often multiple times at different points. In fact, it's happened so many times now that it's becoming a fandom "joke" and is even—for me at least—starting to become an expected outcome on Clark's part. And guess who it began with?

That's right; Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl: Cousin of Kal-El/Superman.

In the earlier Silver Age comics, Superman got up to some very weird or borderline abusive acts that he often involved Supergirl in. From refusing to take her in and keeping others from adopting this innocent teenage orphan, to forcing her to play pretend as his love-interest (likely as a not-so-veiled excuse to kiss her on the lips), to admitting he actually wanted her in that way, but couldn't, solely because of Krypton's cousin marriage laws?? Supergirl admittedly came across at times like she had an unnatural attachment of her own to her cousin but all the same, she was far younger—even underaged by many standards—traumatized and in need of guidance, yet that version of Superman didn't notice or care and even took advantage of this fact.

The tradition has been, for a while, to have Superman treat/neglect the children in his care so horribly that any chance of them having something of a father figure-child type relationship or mentor-student relationship is nullified. In one of the most recent issues of this current run of Action Comics (2016), Superman has once again come across a child, no, two children in fact, and actually took them both in. This isn't the first time he's done that (Lor-Zod/Chris Kent ring a bell?) but knowing how every other attempt at parenting by main universe Clark has ended, I'm hoping and praying that his sweet, impressionable, ill-raised, adopted twins named Otho-Ra and Osul-Ra (girl and boy) aren't destined for tragedy. Or outside involvement that cuts their childhood short. Or somehow still getting rejected in the end after the fact because it's not convenient enough for Superman/Clark and Status Quo. Considering how cluttered the current Action Comics's Super-Family is starting to seem...it wouldn't surprise me one bit if any of these options happened to them in due time.

Now, the homophobia. Do I really need to explain this one? The closest we've ever gotten to a gay/bi main-universe (not alternate) Superman...WASN'T EVEN SUPERMAN. Not really. It was his son who I bet you the editors at DC wanted people to confuse for the other when it came to the news article titles. Perhaps as a sort of "test" to see how much they could get away with doing with the real deal. I don't say this to shade Jon, only to tell is as it appears. Clearly a large amount of the fanbase failed the test. So although we do get to have a bi-Jon now (And possibly a basically-bi-Kon? Bicon?) whether or not some people hate it, the backlash over that Superman's coming out (and maybe even the anger over his secret identity being revealed) is proof enough for DC that Clark literally cannot come out, even if he wants to. Decades of subtext be damned.

Clois is and always will be the favored partner for Superman by writers. There's nothing wrong with that imho. It truly is the quintessential superhero comic romance. The issue is that any deviation from this (even if just for a short amount of time) is often met with outrage from a huge (or just loud) portion of the fanbase, causing writers to have to find a way to backtrack, cutting back on creativity. Now it often seems they're scared to try anything genuinely new and fresh with Superman. Who could blame them? They have previous examples that prove what will happen if they do.

It should also be noted again that keeping characters as separated/distant as possible (in this case, Superfamily characters) allows for DC to have each of those characters to have a series of their own so more comics can be made and sold!!

I understand we all have a version of Superman in our heads that's "the correct one" but that's exactly why arguments about what's "right" or what could "work" for the character often go nowhere. It leads to the quality of stories being affected and the companies putting in less effort into creating, knowing that simple and typical is what's wanted anyway. It's like: Why even bother?

So to reiterate one more time: The #1 concern will always be about making as big a buck as possible through as little a means as necessary. If editors and co believe lack of change is the way to achieve that, then that's what they'll do. Them continuing into the present day to stop just short of acknowledging what Kon actually is to the Superfamily likely has very little to do with the usual excuses, and a whole lot to do with the aforementioned, with everything else leading back to it.

[tiny-breadcrumbs]

Unpopular opinion but I'm on my third attempt to watch love and redemption and I still didn't have enough patience to get through more than ep 3 :(

This is actually the main reason why I only go into mysterious lotus casebook around last month. No hate to cheng yi, I enjoy his visual like any other but its the matter of among his past drama, I can never finish one. Love and redemption, I repeatedly push it back, something in that drama trigger my patience. Maybe its the overly naive borderline dumb female lead, maybe its the slow pace, maybe its the colour, I'm not sure! All the same with immortal samsara, except for that one, I probably will never going back to try again. I've seen mysterious lotus casebook's poster since the very first time it released and immediately put it on the middle tier of my watchlist (one that I probably watch if I'm bored enough with my life). Still, the drama just kept popping up into my recomendation but not until my friend say it's "quite good" I finally start to watch. She is a big cheng yi fans tho, so I'm not fully convinced at first, a total big zero expectation. With all her screaming about I will come out of that being a cheng yi fans and will finally have enough mental power to push through love of redemption, I actually watch it with "at least it have zeng shunxi.." mentality.

Well, big surprise, guess who got distracted with di feisheng (and his pretty eyelashes) since the first five minute? Me. It got worse from eps 5 and above. God knows how that man catch my eyes everytime he is on screen. And through him, I actually stay to enjoy the rest of the character. Hell, I even watch through the cringe survival show because apparently I need more xiao shunyao content after that.

So far, I can say li lianhua was the only cheng yi role that I can watch without the urge to write three pages rant. And I'm still not sure about love and redemption. Does it really good? At what point it got exciting? I kept seeing people say its really good, like the best xianxia of the year level of good. Maybe I want to believe that everytime I come back to give it a new try. But I found myself returning it back to the shelf each try too.

[faksyan]

12/16/19 :3

ooohh boyy that got really long. lots of mgs rambles under the cut. thanks for the ask!!! very slight nsfw mention in the second one, nothing major.

12) the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

I'll be honest I'm actually still familiar with some of the games only on surface-level (fake fan I know), and I don't think I have anyone like that from those I know well.

Well, Paz, but I talked about her a bit in the last ask already. She is full of rage and loneliness and gets just a glimpse of real affection and friendship and I find a lot of these themes very compelling. And I guess all the women in general, because fandom spaces usually gravitate towards men, and with mgs it's even less surprising. I really, really like Eva in Snake Eater, but that's mostly due to my own interpretation rather than the writing. I feel like her understanding of love must be really interesting as someone who was taught to pretend/actually feel on some level love on command, and I also think it's interesting that she was the one The Boss opened to. I really wish so many mgs women's traits weren't so tightly linked with romance, man. Quiet is also so cool, but she too suffers from being reduced to just that.

I really like The Boss, she's such a interesting contradiction - cold and strict, but also full of love for the while world and ready to give everything she has to make it just that much better. I would love to see in more detail things about her and Sorrow, an actual game with her as a protagonist would be awesome. Strangelove's tapes in pw are absolutely fascinating as well, the one where she's talking to Joy's ai almost made me cry, and she generally has some pretty interesting take on some things. I really liked the part where she talks about how ai would be an amalgamation of people's consciousness rather than of individual's in the future, because that put into words part of why I hate ai-generated images and text that people call art.

16) you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

Well, I can get people liking anything on account of different tastes, so this is more about popular takes I don't really get because of how different my reading of canon is, I guess? Like the idea of bbkaz being abusive to a point where Kaz was having a horrible terrible time every day at every corner. I've seen it in some fics, and kind of get where people go with it, but I think Kaz "almost blew himself up with a grenade so he wouldn't be taken prisoner" Miller would rather die than be treated like shit. He would blow up their shared tent if it ever came to it ya feel me. He is too proud and too impulsive and too much of everything. They respected and listened to each other and I'd say a lot of their issues were kind of more subtle? in a way. What they had definitely wasn't healthy in many aspects, but it was in ways where they both could ignore/didn't feel it was that bad at the moment, that type of thing.

I read through almost the entirety of ocelhira tag on ao3, and i could write a whole list of stuff about them that I personally see differently as that part of the fandom. I'm very picky when it comes to them, in no way those are bad, and I've /seen/ them being executed in a way I enjoyed, I just don't really get them. The main things I don't really see are, as follows:

That they hate each other (next to zero basis of that before the ending of v, and even this can be argued about.)

They would punch each other on the first meeting or shortly after (never seen either of them as people who would resort to violence in a more business-like setting. because that's how I see them approach what they have. Ocelot mainly uses violence in specific scenarios like interrogations and is good at controlling his emotions. Kaz is impulsive but he is a businessman to the bone. Maybe he'd punch Ocelot at some point but definitely not early on. I feel like the main instigator of random CQC is Snake after all, and without him they would figure things out differently.)

They would fuck on the first meeting or shortly after (Ocelot is weird about intimacy and doesn't trust anyone and is a spy who's probably never had friends or lovers, in any meaningful sence of the words. Also he's on aroace spectrum to me. I don't think Kaz would have sex with a person he genuinely despises even if he found them appealing, out of sheer stubbornness. If he hates a person he hates them, same reason why I don't think bbkaz would work in any way past v. Even if Kaz tried to hook up with Ocelot in the beginning, he would probably kill him for a mere insinuation. Give me the intricate details of getting to know a person and figuring shit out, they had nine whole years.)

There's probably more, but this is getting like. super long sorry my bad. And sorry so much of it is about ships, the platonic tags are barren as a desert I gotta write and draw some myself✌️

19) you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

Vocelot a bit maybe (not necessarily romantic or sexual) because the whole concept of them having a close relationship could go a very fucked-up route (like a bit more than the average mgs level). Not really ashamed, that's why I like it, it has a sort of a Hannigram feel to it. Even in case where they genuinely care about each other, there are still some weird power dynamics and mind games and codependency. I just generally find ideas of brainwashing really unsettling.

Also I really like Huey as a character. am I allowed to say that. am I getting fed to the bears. I can and will elaborate at some point, I just really like characters who are unredeemable impossible hypocrites (hey, that's part of why I'm a Kaz Miller fan) and Huey is just. vastly misunderstood when it comes to what caused him to spiral, none of which helps his case but it's INTERESTING. Instead he's just being reduced to a punching bag without taking a look at what exactly led up to it all. Grantedly, I don't think Kojima thought about it that deeply at all, but it came out as a vivid critique of how society and especially military treats men who are disabled/not "masculine" enough/can't stand up for themselves. to me. and I like that.

[hxhhasmysoul]

For ships: ItaFushi, Higuruma/Kusakabe, Sukuna/Kashimo

ItaFushi

it's complicated

What made you lose interest in shipping it actively?

I think there is a lot material in canon to get this ship going, especially from Megumi's side. The problem is I don't like canon Megumi much, I actively dislike fanon Megumi. And this ship tag is overwhelmingly fanon melancholic emo boy Megumi POV with Yuuji as his manic pixie dream himbo. And it actually drives me up the fucking wall. Or even worse, some of them write Yuuji as a selfish asshole jock?! Stumbling on a few of those really made me disinterested in even trying to look for the good stuff in that tag.

What would make you reconcile with this ship?

If at least like 30% of the writers actually put any effort into Yuuji's characterisation and at the same time wrote Megumi like he is in canon. He is very unpleasant in canon but that could make for an interesting dynamic. Also less Gojou as Megumi's loving caretaker would be great because that is not canon at all, I kinda can stomach Touji trying not to be a deadbeat dad in an AU but the Gojou thing is a slap in Megumi's face, and especially Tsumiki's if she's a part of the story. Oh, and what @yuujispinkhair actually mentioned today in a reply to an ask. This ship is much more tolerable when it's top!Megumi. Top!Yuuji is usually basically where the manic pixie dream himbo shit goes.

Do you have anything positive to say about it?

It's not all bad, there are a few really good fics there, it's just that sifting through the aggravating stuff takes a lot of time and I usually just feel like it. The art can be cute too.

Higuruma/Kusakabe

hmm? not really

Why don’t you ship it?

I don't really respect Kusakabe, he's kinda spineless. He did everything to do nothing during Shibuya. And then blamed Yuuji for Sukuna's crimes... And Higuruma is a very principled guy, one who was broken and disillusioned by the world but meeting Yuuji made him find himself again.

What would have made you like it?

Idk, actual growth on Kusakabe's part? Higuruma showing any interest in Kusakabe? Them having some interesting interaction?

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

Some people draw nice art of it.

Sukuna/Kashimo

seriously no, as crack it could work

What could make you ship it?

I find the Sukuna groupies funny.

What could you like about the ship?

And all of them could work as one-sided crushes, though when it comes to Yorozu, I'd actually be more interested in her getting over her crush and falling for Uro or Angel, or even some other guy. Like they all very strongly project their issues onto Sukuna, it's a very selfish kind of love they offer, one that really doesn't care for his opinion and he's very valid in having no interest in that.

In an AU setting where there's no fighting, Sukuna could sleep with his groupies instead of the fights. Or have like fan meetings? Or something else where they could try to catch his interest. And maybe succeed for a brief moment.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I'm honestly surprised this ship isn't more popular here considering how popular Kashimo is. Or their ship with Hakari. I guess their fight with Sukuna wasn't interesting enough, and Sukuna dismissing them didn't get the fan imagination going. Maybe it's more popular on other social media.