#and is probably the worst offender when it comes to not understanding the characters it's working with

[crim-bat]

Poe Dameron is Always Right

Pretty frequently in the sequel Trilogy of Star Wars we see that he is framed as being the one that's in the wrong or at least the one who's always argued about being in the wrong a by other characters.

But when you actually examine what's going on you can kind of see that for the most part he's normally right about things. Let me explain.

In the force awakens we don't really see enough of his character to really establish this character trait. We see enough to know he's a very confident commander and an even more confident pilot. He is a magician behind the stick of an X-Wing and in fact most ships you can pilot

In the last jedi, we start to see that him being wrong is very much an informed trait. Those bombers that got destroyed in the start of the movie? They had already set up their attack. Turning back probably would have caused all of them to be destroyed anyway without them actually doing anything to the enemy. He made a Command Decision and not only was it the right tactical decision but given that it gave them one less massive Star Destroyer to worry about in the upcoming Chase sequence of the movie he was also Vindicated on a strategic level.

But the movie framesman is being wrong. He's demoted from Commander to Captain (which is bullshit because captain is a higher naval rank and commander doesn't exist as a rank in a branch where he'd have been promoted to general but Star Wars is bad at military ranks ik ik) by Leia for pressing the attack. But the only way he's in the wrong here isn't because it was the wrong tactical or strategic decision. It wasn't. It was because of insubordination which is kind of fair

The next we see him clash with authority is with vice admiral holdo and she opens up hostilities like a turbo laser. The first thing he does is ask for Direction on what they're doing next because even if he is just a captain he is still one of the senior officers on board and that is a very fair thing to ask the now acting Commander of the fleet that's being torn apart. So she tells him to just follow orders which he just asked for and didn't get

The movie frames him is being a hot head and just wanting to fight. But that's not really how it's framed for most of the movie. Because strategically and tactically he was right to press the attack against the dreadnaught. And he only expresses his need to engage the enemy and fight when he sees that they are refueling the transports which is a very dumb character decision tbh. Like obviously there's no way they could fight against the ships chasing them at that point and the first time he's actually wrong in the movie it feels like a forced wrongness rather than an informed rockness. Him being wrong never feels both natural and accurate

Then we come to the rise of Skywalker where the real fun begins. I just rolled my eyes by the way. Because we see him open up with hyperspace skipping which is bad for the falcon, which makes sense because it's an older ship and I have no idea how it's still active at this point other than faith and duct tape, and he immediately gets lambasted by the main character. But he was still right to do it because those were hyperspace capable Tie fighters which is kind of a typical. So he gets points for being right or being prepared for a hyperspace Pursuit after what happened last movie when the basic premise of his side of it was being pursued through hyperspace

And then you have him leading the resistance fleet to exogol for final stand against a new empire. This was after Rey decided to just rush headfirst into a problem she had no idea how to handle (standard Star Wars mc flaw, not an indictment of her character to be fair). And honestly? He didn't really have much of a choice because there was almost no better opportunity because the opportunities to do this were only getting worse

All this to say. Very rarely is p

Poe Dameron in the wrong. He might be annoying about it sometimes. But Poe is almost always right on a strategic or tactical level but he only ever gets black or push back on it.

Anyways stan Poe Dameron

[angelic-yandere-doll]

Random danganronpa boys when y/n is sad because they got hurt by someone(part 2)

TW: yandere themes, mild descriptive gore, swearing

Info: headcanons, yandere, comfort, fluff, gn reader, lowercase on purpose, reader is in a relationship with the yanderes, reader is smaller or same height as the yanderes, reader is aware/accepting of the yanderes, no killing game, just despair

Key: y/n, darling is reader

Note: did the girls, now doing the boys

Characters: byakuya togami, mondo owada, kiyotaka ishimaru, nagito komaeda, fuyuhiko kuzuryu, kaito momota, kokichi oma

♡ byakuya togami ♡

offended >:0 how dare someone hurt his darling?

thinks about hiring a hitman, or better, paying a gang to torture that person for days on end. he can get anything done with his money. would rather not get his own hands(too) dirty, it might cause him problems

people might suspect him at first. he'll just make something up. if they still suspect him, he gets some people(toko and makoto) to stand up for him to make his alibi believable. gets y/n to do it too(lol)

not very good at comfort. good at buying y/n things(he’s a rich boy). will buy them clothes, jewelry, chocolate. if y/n wants a hug, he’ll be hesitant, but will give in eventually(it’s not that he doesn’t want to, intimacy is strange to him). uses his free hand to cover the blush on his face ‘cause he’s flustered

“sigh… ok, calm down already. listen. they’re the foolish one, not you. they were dumb enough to think they could hurt you without a punishment. understand? good.”

♡ mondo owada ♡

mad. no. more than mad. he’s furious

hits that person in the face, making their nose bleed(in front of everybody). doesn’t want to kill them at that moment, would rather keep that impulse on hold(as much as he can) until he gets the person to a secluded area. kills them instantly, not(necessarily) the sadistic type to want to take long to see the person’s pain

knows at least enough on how to hide the murder. tries his best to play it cool to avoid any suspicion. if he’s confronted by others, he can get nervous, which can cause him to say some things he shouldn’t say. but his bro(taka) will defend him at all costs, not having a single clue of what he did

gives y/n a hug, brings them to places on his motorcycle, letting them wear his jacket. probably lets them sleep on top of him(he’ll be blushing like mad)

“it’s okay, y/n. fuck them. they’re just a fuckin’ asshole. making you feel that way and all. it ain’t your fault. they’re gonna regret ever doing that! they will.”

♡ kiyotaka ishimaru ♡

what? how could they do that? and to his darling y/n?

more of the type to scold the person if they did something else but this… this crosses the line for him. hurting y/n and not getting in trouble? not on his watch. kills the person even if it goes against what he stands for. someone hurts y/n, they get the worst coming to them

almost nobody would suspect him. he just seems like the type who wouldn’t kill. he just keeps on his day to day life doing his job(and his other job, which is taking care of y/n)

doesn’t let anyone near y/n(except mondo and chihiro), studies with y/n and teaches them about important topics to keep their mind off the pain, brings them food and water, doesn’t let them go anywhere without him. he just wants y/n to be safe and happy

“y/n, please, you have to understand. you’re better than them! they don’t understand! if they did, they wouldn’t have hurt you. and they really shouldn’t have.”

♡ nagito komaeda ♡

surprised. asks himself how someone could hurt his darling. disgust towards the person who hurt y/n

asks hajime to watch over y/n while he’s away, doing what he must do. he considers the person hopeless since they ended up dying at the ultimate hope’s hands. they’re just a talentess scum to him. he has always saw himself as trash, but that person is much more trash to him than he ever thought of himself to be

people have always seen him as quite a strange young man. suspicious, but maybe not enough to suspect him of murder. he’s just… strange to them. he can keep rambling on about how he loves hope and nobody would see anything different(not realizing the hope he talks about is his beloved y/n)

gives y/n anything they want(as long as he can do it). y/n wants a hug? has his arms open. y/n wants a kiss? he puckers up. y/n wants him to sleep with them? already laying on the bed. his darling is his only hope. he needs to protect them

“i know trash like me can’t tell you how much you matter, but, from the bottom of my heart, you’re the most beautiful, most precious thing in the world. and i would never change you for anyone else. never.”

♡ fuyuhiko kuzuryu ♡

angry. ready to kill the person. asks y/n for some details

brings peko along to murder the person. plans to make it agonizing for the person. no mercy. just despair. they will feel the wrath of the ultimate yakuza. that’s what they get for messing with y/n

people are afraid to interrogate him and his ‘tool’. they know it’ll get nasty if they try to fight against the ultimate yakuza and the ultimate swordswoman. they know he won’t hesitate to plan a murder or ambush against them

buys y/n sweets, holds y/n’s hand, doesn’t let them leave to go anywhere. if they want something, they can just ask him. he doesn’t want them to get hurt again

“that motherfucker… they don’t deserve any shit. they don’t deserve any fuckin’ breath of life. i’m gonna fuck them up real bad!”

♡ kaito momota ♡

shocked and full of rage. how could they hurt his shining star y/n?

walks up to that person and hits them with his fist. hits them even more. ends up with the person bleeding and having a broken bone. they might end up dying. if they don’t, he’ll use something else to end them. he doesn’t want them around y/n anymore for what they did

nobody considers him to be suspicious. just an eccentric, hyperactive, space loving guy who has a big heart. but his classmates don’t even realize his big heart is only for y/n. he would do anything for them. anything. as the luminary of the stars, it’s his duty to protect his darling

cuddles with y/n, gives them forehead kisses, brings y/n outside to watch the night sky as he teaches them about constellations

“damn y/n, i just can’t believe they would do that! and to my shining star! but don’t worry! from now on, i won’t let it happen again. i promise! nobody should ever hurt you… nobody.”

♡ kokichi oma ♡

oh he’s really mad. but he won’t show it, he’ll play it off like it’s nothing

very sneaky when it comes to killing the person. he may make somebody else do it for him if he feels that would be the best course of action. but he might want to do it himself. he wants to see the pain in that person’s eyes as he tortures them

people will suspect him. after all, he’s known for lying. but he knows what to say, how to play with people’s minds, how to make them believe him. he can also blame it on somebody else and make it seem like it was them, not him. there may be people who still suspect him but are kind of afraid to accuse him. they don’t know what else he’s capable of other than lying

tries to make y/n laugh, brings them their favorite snacks, trash talks the person, lets them hug him if they need it(but also because he wants to be held by y/n)

“hey, cheer up! they’re soooo stupid to think they could get away with making you feel upset. they must be the dumbest person on the planet to even think of doing that. they must be…since they died so easily.”

{made by angelic-yandere-doll}

[monakisu]

How did the cat tank arc make you like torisai?? Isn't that the chapter where Toritsuka literally betrays him and doesn't believe in him at all, until Saiki shows how unconditionally kind he is despite the betrayal?? And then he still says he has a shitty personality afterward...

TOXIC YAOI BABY!!!! 

saiki will diss toritsuka as much as he wants, will drone over and over how the author should just go ahead and kill off what's obviously deadweight—yet when the chance for precisely that comes, he still risks life and limb to keep this nuisance safe... and toritsuka will whine and whinge abt saiki-san's hardass rules but he still thinks of him as a god?? "our god has returned!!"—i think that's what he cheered when saiki's powers came back, lol? he clearly worships saiki as some super powerful entity/deity, yet he still has the audacity to beg him for dumbass pervert favors... i've never witnessed this breed of worshipper before... fascinating specimen. 

their relationship has a sort of an "enemies to lovers" flavor, except in this case it's more like "haters to enemies to haters again with a tad bit more understanding for each other". at this point, toritsuka mayyy be saiki's closest confidant? arguably the one who knows saiki the best! (subconsciously. he's too dumb to consciously realize it.) he'll likely be one of the first people saiki turns to whenever he needs help, which sucks because toritsuka is sorta useless, power and personality-wise HAHAHA

also toritsuka is probably the only (non-familial) person saiki is so flat-out MEAN to! it's hilarious!! yknow how romantic partners are supposed to bring the best out of each other? Not Happening Here. in the slimy presence of toritsuka, saiki is at his most honest but also his worst. toritsuka is the antithesis to the emotional support puppies zookeepers will pair anxious cheetahs with; he's more like........................

lice.

yeah. he's the lice in saiki's fur. plainly speaking, he's a pest!!!

also toritsuka's betrayal was sorta necessary in my opinion, because this guy's too damn dumb to learn a lesson the normal way. he absolutely needs to be put into Situations in order to walk away with at least a teeny tiny sliver of character growth. and i definitely credit a huge part of his betrayal to kusuke's psychological warfare. pitting a super-human cambridge genius against a sub-human highschool dumbass... poor, pathetic toritsuka never stood a chance!! still, the resentment he'd been harboring definitely also contributed to his backstabbing. howeveeer, now that he's seen firsthand saiki's affection for him, that resentment has vanished! he's been shaken to his core!! the worship has been amplified to the MAX!!!

lastly, i just think it's hopelessly hideously HYSTERICAL to have the world's worst womanizer fall in love with a man!! and have the world's most sexless guy fall in love with a future sex offender!!! they're so fundamentally incompatible it loops back around to being compatible?! it's a real comedy. tragedy. tragicomedy. (saiki and toritsuka would doubtlessly view it as a tragedy)

lastly-lastly: height difference. that is all.

thanks sending for this ask! it let me think (<< very rare) and put into words why i actually like torisai besides "hehehe hater x hater". writing all of this made me like it even more!! but i think this may have made you despise it more? oops. my tastes are strange and off-putting. i mean, kusuke is literally my favorite saiki character, after saiki himself... that's gotta tell you something.

[heartssatoru]

I honestly love your writing sm! 💖 Could you do one of the jjk men and how they comfort reader on a bad day? 🥺 Like when they get quieter and more distant than usual

Awhhwfbbdh thank you so much it means a lot! And of course thank you for the request!

Characters: gojo, geto, sukuna, megumi, yuji.

Warnings: Just fluff!

Gojo

If you were to have a bad day he most likely would easily be able to tell.

He'd tease you a bit but if you were to get upset even more he'd stop

Would ask if you needed anything, if you did then he'd buy it or get it

Would cuddle you! He wants you to get rest and feel relaxed because you had a bad day

If your moody he finds it amusing. But of course he doesn't wanna make you even more upset.

Will spoil you though, name anything and he'll buy it. No matter how expensive it is.

Also if you need personal space then he'll give you it!

Won't pressure you cause he understands! Probably makes a few jokes to try and make you laugh

Doesn't work though😭

However he does try his best to make you feel better i promise

Geto

If it was someone who made you have a bad day then he'll resort to violence

Cause how dare them??? Who do they think they are.

Howeverr if you tell him not to then he'll probably still do it. But reassure you he won't

Liar

and probably kills that person who made you have a bad day in the worse way possible

Will convince you that the smell of blood is just your imagination

Gaslighter at its finest

Anyway if it wasnt a person then he'll try and help you feel better.

Personally I take him as the type to know how to comfort

So I think with him you'd probably be feeling a lot better in no time!

Will cuddle you, watch movies with you, whatever makes you happy really

Will not let you go until your feeling a bit better from your bad day

Will comfort you with sweet words, cuddles, flowers. Whatever you need!

Takes you on walks at night too, cause he sees it as a date

Jokes around a bit but knows when too stop😭

Sukuna

At first he would laugh at you cause like, what do you expect from him

In his mindset why would he comfort a human. The king of curses comforting a human is ridiculous

Will laugh even more if its because he said something that really got to you

Calls you sensitive and stuff, and when you give him silent treatment he finds it funny

Untill you completely start ignoring him and stuff. Because that's just boring

If he were to comfort you itd most definitely come out as sarcastic

And its hard to tell if he means it or not

But for the most part if you really do stop giving him entrainment then he'll do something about it

Acts like he doesn't wanna be near you but does. However he'll never admit that

Akaward. And thats easy to tell. Thats probably what has you laughing and stuff

He would make awkward expressions without even realizing😭

And would get mad offended when you'd laugh too

for him you'd probably just be sitting on his lap or something. Be grateful you even get this chance

Says him

Secretly enjoys when you fall asleep on his lap whiling your clinging onto him

And lowkey secretly wants to be in control of yujis self more cause he wants to see you more often

Megumi

Awkward for sure, he doesn't even know how to comfort his own self

But since its you he'll try cause he loves you and cares for you

Asks gojo for help, and of course gojo gives the worst advice.

Tries to tell jokes while having a straight face. Confused when you laugh

Does feel bad though, cause he feels he's not doing enough

All he wants is really just to see a smile on your face again so he tries whatever he could think of

This time not trusting gojo of course

Moon watching with him or something until you fall asleep on his lap.

Either your playing with his hair or hes playing with yours

Overall pretty chill and comforting. Smiles when you fall asleep sometimes.

Yuji

He thinks he knows how to comfort you, but probably really doesn't

Tells the worst jokes and expects you to laugh☠ and then tells you how your supposed to laugh

If that doesn't work then he'll try his hardest to get a smile on your face

Bad day because you couldn't get work done on time? He'll help you (he probably doesn't understand one bit)

Bad day because of someone? How to curse someone on his google search history

Cuddles you while playing with your hair, but do expect sukuna to throw insults at both of you

(Hes jealous)

Also with that being said do expect for sukuna to randomly be in control

Says cheesy comforting stuff but them gets serious and actually comforts you

Genuinely though tries his best to make you smile and gets a bit upset when you don't

But he's not gonna force you too of course! He'll still try though and won't give up.

Guys my allergies are so bad oh my god😭😭

[novabl]

God, the chapter hasn't even come out yet and people are already starting to demonize Doumeki. I'm really sorry, and it's probably not a popular opinion, but I really don't understand how Doumeki is supposed to know what's going on in Yashiro's head. He feels one thing, but says and does something completely different. We know that. Yes. But Doumeki can't read minds. Yashiro's body says yes. But in words, Yashiro also behaves sarcastic, cold and sometimes cruel towards Doumeki. Nothing changed. It's difficult to understand what's going on in a person's head. To believe that he loves you and if you open up to him again, this time he won’t leave you and you won’t get a bullet from him? Of course, I’m also annoyed by this whole situation and I want them to have a normal conversation! But to really demonize Doumeki... I can understand his behavior. How can I fully understand Yashiro's behavior. Yoneda wrote Doumeki as more than just a love interest. She created an interesting character with many good and bad qualities. With his own past and with his own traumas. Both Yashiro and Doumeki have huge trust issues. The fact that Yashiro is reflecting is already great progress!!! Doumeki keeps to himself but gives Yashiro space. They both go towards each other! Yes, not as quickly as we would like, but still. eh. It just upsets me that it feels like fans are ready to just destroy Doumeki for even the slightest bit of negative feelings towards Yashiro. As if Doumeki has no right to be jealous, offended, insolent... This makes me so frustrated(

Yeah, I understand this feeling well. I am not sure if you ever came across my blog a few months ago but I actually started out as almost a Doumeki defense blog lol. Most of my posts were about Doumeki’s pov because I felt there was a lot of harshness towards him. Ultimately I think the main issue those people have against Doumeki is that they don’t like Doumeki outside of being Yashiro’s love interest. That means Doumeki is not allowed to be a fully fleshed out character with his own insecurities and issues; he just needs to be whatever Yashiro needs him to be and he should know that even without any communication from Yashiro. Doumeki is supposed to be Yashiro’s lover, therapist and emotional whipping boy. A large part of the issue maybe certain interpretations of them as characters where there is a belief that Doumeki is this jealous, possessive man who only cares about having Yashiro at his side and Yashiro is the selfless one who only cares about doing what is best for Doumeki have influenced how we view their actions. We believe the worst of Doumeki while Yashiro is only at his mercy. The thing is Doumeki is acting in a way that Yashiro wanted in the past and pushing down his own desires to do it. He is not exactly happy with this arrangement either. Even when he was sweet, sensitive Doumeki, there was a lot of criticism towards him. There was even criticism of him for expressing he wants Yashiro to want only him. Doumeki is trying the best he can but Yashiro’s trauma goes beyond him. He can’t heal Yashiro nor should he be expected to. He also shouldn’t be expected to constantly sacrifice his own needs and desires for Yashiro and to never express any negative emotion about Yashiro’s actions. That is not an equal relationship. Some people have so much empathy for Yashiro but almost none for Doumeki. The most interesting thing is that if you even suggest Doumeki and Yashiro separate, those people would also hate that idea because Yashiro’s happiness is so reliant on Doumeki. I feel your frustration, anon. I feel like I can rant about this forever.

[stormblessed95]

I totally understand your frustrations when it comes to the subject of Jikooker’s current behaviour Storm. I think you were one of the first big blogs to sound the alarm but unfortunately people took your words as an attack against their character and beliefs. I think many Jikookers have so much trauma fighting against Taekookers that they couldn’t possibly imagine that their actions/beliefs were starting to mirror their sworn enemies. No one wants to hear that they are becoming like what they hate so I’m not surprised to see them retaliate against fellow Jikookers who call them out, and the constant need to justify their new mentality. They probably felt insulted to be compared to a group of people that they consider the worst of the worst. It’s a fine line between voicing your opinions/criticisms on Vminkook’s dynamics, and overstepping as a fan by speaking your opinions as facts. I was always more of a casual shipper so it wasn’t as hard for me to see the negative changes to the Jikook community than it would be for someone who is really deeeeeeeeeeeeep into shipping. I think a lot of Jikookers will not take well to being compared to Taekookers because it means that they have to take a step back and admit to themselves that many of their recent actions were harmful to Vminkook, and no one likes to admit that they were wrong/unreasonable/off base. I never thought I would hear the words ‘The company is pushing Taekook and Yoonmin, and hiding Jikook interactions’ but now I hear it so casually thrown around Jikook spaces. Idk how things will play out in the future regarding Jikookers but judging from the state of things now, I’m not that hopeful.

I mean if the shoe fits. I wasn't attacking ANYONE but if what I say offends you because you are doing the things I'm calling out. Then well, as Yoongi says, if someone feels targeted that's their problem. And maybe they should sit with that themselves.

[wowowwild]

Ok Justice For All. This is not going to be exhaustive or comprehensive but here we go.

The first case we don't really need to cover. It's a tutorial, it achieves what it sets out to do, there's not a whole lot else. I really like the amnesia concept and while I wish more had been done with it (like being used in a regular case), I understand the mechanical service it does for a tutorial.

Our second case is solid. It was really fun to figure out exactly what happened and if you've been following my 'game posting' tag you saw exactly how much fun I had. I kind of wish we had gotten more out of Misty, but that wouldn't really work in this medium (lol get it). Obviously I love Pearly I adore her I would be her slave she deserves the world. Phoenix, stop showing her the horrors, please. I just really have to keep coming back to how fun this case was to solve. Sometimes the correct things to do mechanically make no sense to me bc I don't leap far enough with my logic, but this case I was able to do pretty easily which tells me it was very well written with the proper foreshadowing and such (and I am a sucker for properly laid ground work). I like that we get more Fey lore. I am devastated that I guesses the twist ending but I had no one to witness it. It's probably my favorite case this game.

Bigtop is a mess. We're going to ignore the Regina age problem for our sanity and pretend she's 18 bc wtf (I knew this but just now [as I was typing the end of this paragraph] connected the dots that in Japan 16 is viewed as our 18 and they just didn't localize her age). I really like Max! He's my favorite character to come out of this case and I will never let go of my wrightica/galactright ship (is there an official ship name?). He thinks Edgeworth is dead, it could happen. Also! Diversity win! The guy who murdered you is wheelchair bound! But actually I really like the concept of Acro's motivations, driven to madness and murder by grief. I like it less when we come back to Regina's canon age, like even when she's 18 Acro should still view her as a child and personally I could never hold something like that against a child. It was decidedly and accident and not even remotely her fault. It's not her fault your brother was swayed to do something idiotic by the power of boners, my guy. Also Regina is not ok. She needs help and the only one who realizes it is Moe. Everyone else is 'enabling' (that's not exactly the word I'm looking for but it's in the ballpark) her. Her own father was likely the worst offender. Moe may not be funny (I actually liked his jokes) but he is genuinely a great guy.

Our last case: Extremely well written. I went into this already knowing the outcome, how could I not. Despite this, I was so worried about Maya everything else went out the window. For a minute I actually convinced myself of the possibility that Adrian had done it (I am so sorry for everything we put you through, but it was for Maya). This case really put me in Phoenix's shoes. I'd imagine if you don't actually like Maya, this might not do for you what it did for me, but if you don't like Maya I don't know how you've managed to play all the way through the second game. Of course the good ending where you toss Engarde to the wolves (the assassin he hired) is iconic. That's what you get. Again if you've been following my 'game posting' tag you know I had strong feelings about Edgeworth through this. Most of them were due to the stress of Maya being kidnapped (I seriously got waaayyyyyy too in character during this case), but also he was smug as hell for no reason when he showed back up. He was like 'new me!' and refused to elaborate. Phoenix is not a mind reader, my guy. He won me over again so we're good. Also the dinner? At the end it literally says "I wonder if there's anything I can give him to express how I feel...?" I think we can all imagine my first thought... actually I don't trust people to put thoughts in my head, my first thought was a kiss. (You actually give the whip and Miles yet again thinks Phoenix is a mind reader, will it ever end?) I can't forget! Gummy's official stint at Wright Co! My one post about him being a Phoenix Wright weird girl was really popular and then my second (about this case) also got some notes, so clearly this is the Gumshoe content we're all looking for. (Can they please stop firing him though? He's going to end up dead on the street from starvation.) I thought it was really something how much Phoenix trusts Gumshoe. He said

The scene with Franziska and Miles at the end was sorely needed and it was fantastic. They're both growing and healing from shared trauma and it's beautiful.

Over all... I forget, is this the one people don't like out of the trilogy? I liked it. The first is obviously iconic and banger after banger, but I do like this one. Overall it's definitely worth playing and very enjoyable. (Idk bc I haven't tried it personally, but there's a post going around about ds estore emulation or something where you can play games from the ds estore for free now that it's closed, so as far as I know you can play it for free now.)

[archangelsunited]

12, 13, 16!

Choose Violence Ask Game (Skyrim edition? Rolling the dice on this one. I am so sorry if this was meant as a star wars ask)

12.) The unpopular character I like and why more people should like them.

I think I can like any character enough, if they are written well. In my own works, I've had push back on Harkon and Madanach, so let me talk about my violent love affair with political nightmares. As with most things Skyrim, this is conjecture.

Harkon fascinates me, because he is an itty-bitty part of a vast daedric game that has been going on since the daedra have been in play. And he's been mostly silent player- while he was able to gather at least two elder scrolls. He's lord over the vampires, which means he's got to manage a large swathe of area, while being hamstrung for half the day. And I think he's good at it. I think he sends the right people to do the right job. He has the two ambitious members of his court fighting each other, and the competent members overseeing areas- where do we need eyes, where has something gone wrong. I think he looks at problems and finds solutions. I also enjoy the fact he has a terrible family life and that opens so many doors. He's also in a weird place historically. He's a funky little dude. He turns into a smurf (dm whoever came up with that, because it was hilarious) . He's evil, he's good at his job, he's nigh on indestructible. What's a funner villian to play with? Alduin? He couldn't last past the Merethic Era. Miraak? You either play the game of daedra or die. He ended up imprisoned for four thousand years. Please.

Madanach: From a purely democratic standpoint, the Reach already belongs to the Reachmen. They have the majority of settlements- and it looks like theirs are more populated. So any commentary on the rights of Ignmund or the Silver-Bloods being the proper rulers is, to me, null and void. Every single job you take in the Reach involves killing Reachmen. (Not including Peyite's quest and the Dragon roosts) Your job, as a mercenary, is to kill Reachmen. The guards job, it seems, is to kill Reachmen. The Jarl has decided, when he is giving the jobs, that his duty, is to kill Reachmen. Please consider this to be a sign that the Reachmen are being hunted and systematically killed. I understand a player could be offended that they shot the almighty dragonborn with their arrows (which are worse than iron arrows), but if an armed stranger was coming near my settlement with a weapon I would assume (I hope this isn't out of left field for anyone) that they were coming to kill Reachmen. So, Madanach, little cockroach that he is, survives the systematic killing long enough to take over Markarth. Then he waits in a dungeon for /over a decade/ and both handles the busybody Silverbloods and his fight for the rightful rule of the Reach. He holds onto hope for /over a decade/. I would have given up much sooner. Also, I think his speeches are really good, and that he seems like the sort of verbose person who you never wonder what they are feeling. This delights me.

13.) Worst Blorboficiation

Who to offend.... Who to offend...... Honestly, probably Farkas. (this does not apply to @elfinismsarts, whose fic makes me love Farkas in a way I did not know I could) Very sweet man- also ripped several people to shreds in front of you and sends you to go hunt vampires on your own for 100. 100. It doesn't matter if you are level one or level ninety. That is highway robbery.

16.) I can't understand why so many people like this thing

Aetherium questline. Just. All of it.

[purple-heart-x]

Free Fall

Hi yes. Felt like making some characters go hurty. This is more of an angst piece than whump.

Big trigger warning for suicide mention, thoughts, and attempt. 

Other TWs: depression, stalking and kidnapping mentioned, blackmail, innocent hurt, implied childhood trauma, hospital mention, blood mention, near drowning, stabbing/possible murder... One last specific warning- Character put in the situation of convincing someone not to commit suicide. I know that’s a huge trigger for some. 

Stay safe. Enjoy. It does have a soft ending, I swear.

---

Villain can never leave the Hero alone. Villain tells her colleagues that the Hero wronged her, that she must follow and get revenge...

She saw the Hero’s confusion every time she popped up again to fight him. Because the Hero did not wrong her. The Hero righted her when she was at her worst, showing kindness and gentleness as he fought off the other villains, giving Villain time to safely recover from her broken bones, the consequence of falling off a tall bridge in an effort to escape the villains pursuing her.

That was why Villain was at the bridge again. So was Hero. "Taking in the sights, I see," she panted. Hero did not answer. Villain was almost offended at the thought of him ignoring her, until she saw the lost look in his eyes as he stared downwards. "It's a nasty fall, Hero. Let's just go back. I can make you some tea..." "Please look away and don't look back," his voice cracked on the last part. She reached out, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Like hell am I leaving you. Hero, please..." He shook her hand off. "Don't touch me.” In all her years of villainy she'd never felt her heart pound like this. One wrong move and Hero-- her hero-- would be gone. Forever. The huge ship that had broken her fall wasn't there anymore, and the trip down would be at least a hundred, probably two hundred, feet further and harder. "Please. Talk to me." She'd seen him at what she'd thought was his worst several times. Pacing, muttering... But not like this. Hero swallowed hard. "You weren't supposed to be here." "Neither were you." She batted back an answer like a ping pong ball. Hoping that maybe if she kept doing it, he'd stop. Or stall. Or anything but jump.  "Come back with me, darling. Let's just go back to bed. It's okay now." It had been months since Villain had reluctantly left his hideout to return home. They had agreed it was time to go back to normal life. But then again, maybe if Hero was in this state, he would believe it? Hero looked at her wearily, as he had done the previous night and the night before in the same position. But instead of accepting, he began to weep. "Why won't you let me go? I just want to go. I just want it to stop." She knelt next to him. "I know, darling. I-- I don't know, though, not really. What do you want to stop?" "Everything," he shuddered, curling up against the railing. "Do you want me to go away? Is that part of everything?" "No!" He blurted it out before he could think. "N-No. Not you. Please don't leave me here." Villain inched closer. "I won't leave you, Hero. I'm here for you. I'm here," she whispered, sitting down next to him, back to the water. After a long silence interrupted only by hero's sobs, he spoke again. "I don't want to fight anymore. I- I don't want to dodge muggers every time I leave the heroes' apartment or know that a third of the cars around me are villains hoping to swipe me. A-And I- I don't want them to hurt you to get to me! And I- I- I was so scared! I killed a guy and his b-blood is still in my carpet and-- And he was scared! He'd been forced into it by some villain, and," he paused and sobbed.

"And he just wanted to go home to see his family! He was crying, Villain, crying for mercy, and the- the-- and th-the doctors said he m-might not make it!"

He leaned forward into Villain's arms as she stared in shock. She snapped out of it after a moment, rubbing circles over his back. "Shhh, shhh, Hero. I know. I understand. It's okay now. You're alright. You called the ambulance?" Hero sniffled, nodding while still pressing into her. "Then you did everything you could. You've been stalked and kidnapped and threatened with no end for months, my love. Of course you would immediately protect yourself when someone broke into the apartment. It's okay now. You didn't kill anyone. He's still alive, and that's only because you called for help." Hero wailed into her shirt, clenching his fists against the fabric as he let out the tension and grief he’d held in all night. He suddenly felt himself shaking violently, whines forming in the back of his throat as Villain cupped his face. "Just let it out, Hero. It's okay to not be a hero right now. Let me take care of you just this once." Tears filled his eyes as he melted into her, tiny gasping breaths interrupting his sobs. "Am- Am I doing the right thing? Am I... Am I hurting people by being a hero? I d-don't want to. I wanted to help people." Villain smiled sadly, tears welling in her own eyes as she remembered rolling off the roof of the boat, helpless and drowning until a shadowy figure managed to dive in after her, dragging her to safety. "No, my hero, you aren't hurting anyone by being a hero. You are helping people. And... You're one of the good heroes. You help us villains out when we need it. I think that's worth more than anything." Hero nodded tearfully, craving more reassurance but unable to ask. "I love you, Hero. We all love you. It's going to be okay. We're going to be okay." "You don't hate me?" "Hate y--?" "After... tonight? After forever? When I r-ran away?" "No, Hero. I'm not angry. No one is mad at you. You're safe with me, remember?" He took a long, shaky breath before nodding. "Safe..." he breathed, trying to forget the feeling of his heart pounding every time something went wrong, trying to remain invisible, trying to...

“I trust you, Villain. I love...”

Villain sighed. "Did you really just-- How am I going to bring you home?" Hero's already-asleep form did not answer, only nuzzled into her. "Fine." She straightened, leaning down to plant a kiss on Hero's forehead. "I'll protect you from them. And I'll protect you from you." She tore the note in his pocket to shreds and sprinkled them over the open water before standing and bringing them both home.

[mikuni14]

Pit Babe - Ep 5

This post contains anti Charlie and anti Charlie/Babe content. If you are a fan of the above - read no further!

Thanks to watching Twins first, then Last Twilight and then Pit Babe and thanks to the opening scene in the hospital in PB, I now know why I hate the character Charlie so much and why I dislike the Charlie/Babe relationship dynamic, which I think is probably the worst I've ever seen in a BL series.

To me, Charlie is a mixture of the worst elements of an incel and a helicopter mother/stereotypical mother fixated on her oldest son 😂

This was seen in the first scene in the hospital, where Babe, Alan and Way are talking about serious things, Babe is nervous and stressed. Meanwhile, Charlie is bustling around and his only input is "have you eaten?". Well, isn't this the most patriarchal scene in the world, when men are discussing serious topics in the living room and mommy comes in and asks if they want to eat something, as if she was stupid, incapable of having a serious conversation with them, her role is to serve and take care of the men in the family.

Disclaimer: I absolutely love romances in which lovers take care of each other, make sacrifices, have acts of service in the form of cooking, caring for someone when they are sick, doing various little things for the other person. LOVE IT. BUT Twins and Last Twilight showed that there is loving care without stripping one's dignity and there is being someone's morbidly self-sacrificing, humbling mom. There is nothing attractive about being a MOM in a love relationship, NOTHING. This is just creepy. Mhok and Sprite are incredibly supportive and caring, and you can see that they take pure joy in pampering and taking care of Day and First. BUT THEY NEVER LOSE THEMSELVES IN THIS CARE. In addition, Mhok and Sprite are shown as generally caring people who care not only for their loved ones, but also for other people around them, including those who give them nothing in return. Selflessly. Charlie is only shown to be caring and prising Babe, like some psycho mom fixated on her perfect eldest son. FUCKING CREEPY. Mhok and Sprite are naturally like that and that makes them believable and likable characters, unlike Charlie, who is either good to Babe because he wants something from him, or is good to him because he happens to choose him, WITHOUT KNOWING HIM BEFORE, like a psycho fan and it's not a feature of his personality. Both versions make him unlikable in my eyes.

I absolutely HATE how Charlie humiliates himself, degrades himself, and allows himself to be treated this bad. Babe treats him the worst, physically pushes him away, calls him like a dog, Charlie doesn't call himself Charlie but "Babe's boy". Charlie also acts like an incel with a hot chick, doing some weird role play, duck-faced and waddling around in his oversized clothes and degrading himself in her presence. Charlie never sets any demands or boundaries, there's absolutely nothing he won't stoop to to keep a hot chick by his side. They don't behave like a couple, like a couple in love, they don't talk to each other like normal people. When I watch their scenes I feel like I'm watching some creepy role-play, not real, normal people. I will never understand how this can be attractive. "If I'm sweet, love me" jfc!!!!! 🤮

Likewise, although I like Jeff's character, I'm a bit annoyed with him ;) The way he was offended at Alan was so childish, Alan behaved absolutely correctly, even nice for Jeff, because he could have immediately reported him to the police, there was evidence of his guilt. Jeff acts like he doesn't understand that Alan had no other choice and this wasn't an investigation into someone eating someone's yogurt from the employee's fridge, but an accident in which someone could have died. And Alan calmly explained everything to him and offered an apology, but Jeff (who comes to the mechanic's work in a luxury car, which is not suspicious at all) just took it personally. On the other hand, this is someone very young and very sensitive, who probably trusted someone for the first time since Charlie, so I won't complain too much :)

I love Babe but this is an extremely dumb bitch and not a funny, likeable way. Charlie is acting suspiciously on all, ALL levels, hiding things from him, lying to him, gaslighting his worries, having cameras installed in Babe's workshop????? and Babe just… trusts him more and more and even allows him to participate in races in his place, ignoring other racers, his own friends.

This series is packed with good, interesting characters, has the potential to be a really good BL series, and decided to create an MLs composed of the most charismatic, magnetic character and… his incel mom omfg WHY 😭

I keep watching this series because of the really great side characters. But MY GOD, fuck Charlie and fuck Charlie/Babe :P

[bookaddict24-7]

REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

Books I’ve read so far in 2023!

Friend me on Goodreads here to follow my more up to date reading journey for the year!

___

132. Garnet Flats by Devney Perry--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

While I really enjoyed this one, I miss that suspenseful mystery that filled the first book and a little bit of the second book. With that being said, however, I LOVED the tension between the characters here and how he has to grovel to win her back.

I'm normally not a fan of second chance romances, but I ate this one up. I couldn't stop reading it and I just wanted to know why he has to win her back in the first place (like, what did you do, dude?)

The twist was a bit...listen, you need to super suspend your disbelief because this was some telenovela twists and turns LOL. But that spice was spicy (definitely spicier than the first book). I know this is probably mid-spice for a lot of seasoned romance readers, but I think there should be a fine balance.

I have started the fourth book, but my brain isn't in the vacation mentality anymore. Will I ever finish it? We will see.

___

133. The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb by R.L. Stine--⭐️⭐️

Sigh.

I never read these as a kid and some of these books make me wonder what 10 year-old me would have thought. This one was just...it feels like a misleading book. I don't know why I expected more LOL. The key is to not expect anything.

___

134. Broken Promise by Linwood Barclay--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am convinced that every book this author writes will always throw me for a loop.

I picked this one up knowing it was the first in a series because I accidentally read book four earlier this month or last month. I needed to know what had started it all! Of course, there were allusions to other characters from earlier books, so maybe I will never truly be caught up lol.

This one started with a bunch of characters and I'll admit that I was lost at first, wondering if I was going to enjoy this. Then twists started to pop up and I was hooked. Then one of the bigger twists happened and my jaw dropped. Barclay is one of the only authors that will ever get that reaction from me. His books are like a drug for those twisty turns.

I will definitely be checking out the rest of this series, where I will probably encounter more characters from other books I still haven't read by him.

Also, another thing to note is how well Barclay is setting up the rest of this series--especially with that cliffhanger.

___

135. Jude Saves the World by Ronnie Riley--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am absolutely adoring seeing all of this representation in younger fiction!

I loved the wholesome friendship between Jude and their best friend, and how open they were to someone new who needed companionship and friendship during a hard time. I also think a lot of kids in Jude's position may be able to relate with the difficulty of living with a mask on in order to not offend the family in their life who might not be able to understand the nuances of gender and sexuality.

I think the most important aspect of this book, however, is how Jude uses their voice to give voice to others who might feel voiceless--especially in a community that might not be as open as others when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community. I think it's so important to not only see the kindness and large heart that Jude has, but how they were able to create a community for others of any age who may not have the space to be themselves and speak out about their experiences. It goes to show that age isn't a limit when it comes to wanting to create a space for others.

This was a sweet, oftentimes jarring, and heartfelt story. I loved all of it!

___

136. The Getaway by Lamar Giles--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Listen, a good horror book doesn't have to be gory to freak you out. Giles proves this in his novel, THE GETAWAY. Not only did he create a strangely familiar environment (so we could imagine ourselves there), but he also infuses it with some of the worst behaviours and prejudices (read: racism) in our society.

I didn't know what to expect when I went into this book. The cover was incredible, so I'll admit that this was a complete cover buy. The themes inside the book gave me as much chills as the cover, since the racism and prejudices were unflinching. This made me think of GET OUT if it was set in Disney World. Like...creepy af setting with a super disturbing story of white rich people who are living out their wildest dreams in the face of an apocalypse. Also, a perfect and creepy example of "the good ones" stereotype that we so often see when there is a Black family living among the rich white people.

If you're going to jump into this one, and I highly recommend it, be prepared for the TWs. I'm not kidding when I say that the racism is unflinching in this one. There's the unaliving Black people in a horrible but historical way, and so many comments made that it will make you want to take a breather.

Be prepared.

___

137. Bad Cree by Jessica Johns--⭐️⭐️⭐️

While this book had some entertaining points, in the end, I found it to be just OK. I was neither disappointed, nor feeling all sorts of ways by the end of the book. I just shrugged because it felt like it was missing something.

I kind of almost feel like I was catfished with this book, in a way. I did appreciate the Indigenous mythology and they monster (because THAT was pretty cool). I also enjoyed the familial relationships. My meh-ness stems from the lack of horror I felt while reading this. Sure, there were one or two creepy moments at the beginning, but by the end of the book, I was just patiently waiting for it to end.

I feel kind of bad because so many of my friends loved it, so I know I'm an outlier here. But I just expected more?

Anyway, I recommend it if you want to dive into a spooky book that isn't really spooky. Also, if you want to read an indigenous story but explores familial bonds and culture (highly recommend it for those parts!). In a way, it made me think a little of EMPIRE OF THE WILD and how that one freaked so many people out, but I just felt meh by the end.

___

138. The Visitor by K.A. Applegate--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

After reading the wild twist at the end of the first book, we jump right into the story where the kids are trying to find a way to keep their planet safe. I liked that this one delved into the effects of these aliens taking over the people around them. It also had some pretty heartbreaking moments since the changes are heavily affecting the friend of the mc of this book. (each book changes narrator between the kids in the group).

I will always find it so fun and fascinating seeing their minds when they change into a new animal.

Loving this series so far and also, justice for the one kid whose life changed so much after book one.

___

139. Scorpia Rising by Anthony Horowitz--⭐️⭐️⭐️

One step closer to finishing this series!!

I'll be honest, this wasn't my favourite of the collection. While I enjoyed the later action and twists (even though one twist was like a knife to the heart), I wasn't a big fan of how much we saw of the villain's plans. One of the things I really enjoy about this series is how twisty it can be, but in telling us everything that the villains are planning for Alex, it kind of ruined it for me. I like being surprised, not being shown a map of what's going to happen (and then actually going through with it). It made the beginning of the book a little meh and dragged on.

I'm looking forward to the next books, but while I'm not as excited about this one, like I said before, this one had some fun and typical Alex moments--like the villains completely underestimating Alex. I don't know how this kid is still alive.

I AM curious, however, about how the next books will be after that big twist that just destroyed Alex.

Hopefully will read the next one sometime this year lol

___

Have you read any of these books? Would you recommend them?

___

Happy reading!

[anhed-nia]

BLOGTOBER 10/26/2022: TERRIFIER 2 (and various other TERRIFIERS)

I've been trying to wrap my head around the Art the Clown phenomenon for a minute now, and I may be developing a kind of begrudging respect for it, but I still don't know if I really get it. The thing that keeps me from dismissing it outright as just a bunch of edgelord nonsense is that even at their worst, these movies seem like a ton of work to make, featuring elaborate gore gags that would be a huge pain in the ass for a small, independent crew to create. On their tiny budgetary scale, movies like ALL HALLOW'S EVE and TERRIFIER 1 & 2 really have to run on love and desire, which I think are the most important ingredients in any production. What I struggle with is the everything-else part: I'm not sure these movies are motivated by anything other than the urge to offend, which is kind of lame when it stands alone. The best thing about them for me, personally, is that they challenge me to question if I really am offended by them for reasons other than their prurient nature—and if so, how and why.

The Art the Clown trilogy is less like a collection of three movies starring a central character, and more like a single movie that has been gestating over the course of three releases. TERRIFIER 2 is inarguably the most creative and mature (am I really saying this?) of the three, amalgamating choice elements of its two predecessors into something that is more like a "real movie" and less like an excuse to try out a bunch of fucked-up ideas. And I don't mean to shit on the idea of making a movie as a sandbox for special effects; people have been doing that from the earliest origins of the horror genre. But, there's something a little different about modern projects that should benefit from the films that have gone before. I find it hard not to judge movies a little more harshly if they've come out during my own lifetime. I assume that those filmmakers know what I know, and I might expect them to use that knowledge a certain way.

When Joe Bob Briggs ran John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN on The Last Drive-In, he remarked (approximately) that it was the first time a violent slasher movie starred a psychopath, where audiences didn't have to worry that the film itself was made BY psychopaths, unlike the gnarlier material that circulated in the Times Square grindhouses of the 1970s. HALLOWEEN was obviously made by UCLA-trained professionals with mainstream aspirations, and if it suffered from accusations of misogyny and sadism, this was because it was being compared to more mainstream fare by people who saw it in suburban theaters; those critics didn't have the context of the world's many LAST HOUSEs (ON THE LEFT, or ON DEAD END STREET, or wherever), movies made by former pornographers and angry young men whose main motivation, besides making a quick and dirty buck, was just to be extremely antisocial. As a modern viewer, when I watch something like HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK, I understand that it comes from a different universe than the one I live in; it's darker, more desperate, forged by different historical and socioeconomic forces, and I relish the opportunity to delve into that psycho-social space without being directly subjected to the grim reality from whence it came. It's all sort of academic for me. Nowadays, people who make really antisocial movies are all nerds; their movies tend to be an act of fandom, and even if they're trying to one-up young Sam Raimi or Peter Jackson in the fucked-uppedness department, you can tell where they're coming from culturally. You don't have to risk life and limb to see their movies in the woebegone grindhouses of yesteryear, and if you've even heard of them, you're probably a nerd, too. All this can make these productions less threatening and more familiar, regardless of how demented their content is.

As a brief aside, though: Apparently there are reports going around of people vomiting and fainting in theatrical audiences for TERRIFIER 2, and who knows if that's true or just an exciting rumor, but it's astounding to me that A) a movie like this is playing in the kinds of theaters that serve vulnerable normie viewers to begin with, and b) the rumor of this visceral audience response has been repeated in USA Today. I mean when I was growing up, if something like EVIL DEAD or DEAD ALIVE turned up in an extremely mainstream publication, it would be because of the Satanic Panic, it would be because the 700 Club was going after it or something. And in my mind, the TERRIFIER series is in a sub-basement way beneath the level of EVIL DEAD; it's from a grimy, underground place that's barely even connected to the world where fans of SCREAM or Chucky live. The fact that it's in movie theaters when fewer and fewer films are getting theatrical releases at all is wild enough to me, but a spotlight in USA Today is way, way beyond my comprehension. It's like if Olaf Ittenbach's BURNING MOON were reviewed by Leonard Maltin. I almost love that this is happening. It's like, am I on another planet?

Anyway.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, whether it's fair or not, I tend to hold modern creators of "fucked up" movies to a different standard than their predecessors. I think the new kids can be accused of lacking the innocence of the exploitation artists of previous decades. Someone like Herschell Gordon Lewis would have been aware of the rising tide of social change, but he wasn't raised with political correctness as the norm; he was an entrepreneur who knew that the then-new splatter subgenre would be a must-see novelty for contemporary audiences. And, on some level, misogynistic anger was ordinary and unquestioned. On the other hand, when you make a movie in 2016 at the beginning of the Trump era where a crazed killer saws a teenage girl in half vagina-first, it has a different vibe. The ironic pleasure of seeing a really uninhibited film from a more ignorant era is nowhere to be found, and you have to ask yourself: What the fuck is this movie's problem?

To be really, really clear, I don't think that media should be constrained to saying whatever we think is good for society in real life. I think artists have as much right to say whatever they want, as audiences have to criticize it as harshly as they like, or to simply change the channel. (I'd put a boundary on this only where we're talking about out in the open political propaganda whose obvious motivation is a call to action, but fortunately, that's not what I'm dealing with in this piece) There is no level on which I'm suggesting that filmmaker Damien Leone shouldn't be doing what he does, and in our intensely moralizing cultural moment, I hope that nothing I say about his movies is taken as a recommendation to censure him. I just find it impossible to talk about his invention of Art the Clown without addressing the extreme, misogynistic hostility that pours out of these projects. It's probably reasonable to assume that creators of this ilk stage gonzo attacks on female victims out of an affectionate nostalgia for films like MANIAC and THE TOOLBOX MURDERS that so worried second wave feminists. In the case of the TERRIFIER movies, though, one might feel like they push things past the point of homage and into what can come off as a real love of the thought of chopping up girls.

Damien Leone's 2013 anthology film ALL HALLOW'S EVE is best known as a container for his 2011 short TERRIFIER, in which a young, horror-loving costume designer is tormented by the silent, psychotic Art the Clown. In that segment, after decorating a gas station bathroom with his own excretia, Art hounds the young woman, whipping her with a scourge made out of all sorts of sharp objects, and eventually amputating her limbs and carving slurs like SLUT and CUNT all over what remains of her body. Some of these images made their way into the feature version of TERRIFIER five years later, though notably not the latter bit, which—and I know this is going to make me sound insane considering the context—is just really unnecessary. Art the Clown functions best as a chaos agent who dismantles everyone and everything in his way purely for his own amusement, so there's something off about him focusing on a hatred of attractive young women specifically. You kind of want Art to be like a slasher movie version of Bugs Bunny; when he expresses this incel obsession with women as sources of sexual frustration, it's limiting and distracting. It feels like something the movie insists on to its own detriment…and like, why?

2016's TERRIFIER may have disposed of the idea of vandalizing a woman's body with "whore"-type epithets, but it sticks with the notion of targeting attractive girls and taking away their beauty to punish them. Sure, there are a few male victims in this movie, but who could possibly remember them when the movie's centerpiece is a nude teenage girl who Art bisects with a hacksaw, beginning at her crotch? The doomed men don't quite get the same gender-specific treatment as a bag lady whose severed breasts Art parades around in, or the girl whose face Art eats, leaving her as a circus freak version of herself whose outrageous ugliness drives her insane. TERRIFIER moves so single-mindedly from one gore gag to another, without anything resembling character or plot development, that it's hard not to focus on the rather specific spectacle of violence against women and their femininity.

By contrast, 2022's TERRIFIER 2 is a masterpiece of dramaturgy. Sure, it takes almost two and a half hours to make its point (?!), but this movie has distinct characters, a story, and more experimentation to offer than its predecessors. Interestingly, it also represents a culmination of all of Damien Leone's creative work. All three have an opening salvo that involves a bunch of literal shit, a cat o' nine tails scene, and the idea of women losing their minds when they lose their attractiveness. TERRIFIER 2 also brings the realization of failed plans Leone had for his first short, THE 9TH CIRCLE, which was originally meant to involve an angel figure battling Art the Clown. Finally, the latest film blows up a detail from the least of the three components of ALL HALLOW'S EVE, and makes it a central piece of the puzzle: The middle section of the anthology features a woman being terrorized by an alien invader, but a stray piece of that story is that her absent husband makes disturbing paintings featuring Art. That's a loose thread in ALL HALLOW'S, but in TERRIFIER 2 it becomes the key to the protagonist's destiny. I may not love these movies, but I respect Leone's long-term focus, and it has brought him a long way from his humbler origins.

TERRIFIER 2 finds aspiring costume designer Sienna (the very appealing Laura LaVera) painstakingly assembling a She-Ra-like Halloween costume based on her late father's designs. Sienna and her little brother Jonathan (Elliott Fullam) have both inherited his interest in dark fantasy, but where Sienna channels it into productively chasing after her career goals, Jonathan is haunted by their father's visions. He pores over an old sketch book containing images suggestive of the Miles County Massacre that took place in the first TERRIFIER film, and plans to go as Art the Clown for Halloween. Sienna and their mother Barbara (Sarah Voigt) worry that Jonathan is a burgeoning psycho, but we see him as a sensitive young man who his ambivalently drawn to what frightens him—a relatable characteristic for any horror fan—and moreover, these images are all he has left of his dad, who committed suicide after a battle with brain cancer. The family speculates that their patriarch's disturbing visions resulted from his tumor, but both Sienna and Jonathan suffer similarly: while Jonathan fixates helplessly on Art, Sienna has disturbing nightmares about the clown, and is already being medicated for psychological issues. Art (David Howard Thornton who, let's face it, makes these movies), meanwhile, is having his own familial experience with a new character credited as the Little Pale Girl (Amelie McLain), a psychotic tot made in Art's image who accompanies him on his new killing spree. Only Sienna and Jonathan can see the Pale Girl, suggesting that she is the product of whatever supernatural force resurrected Art at the end of the first TERRIFIER film; furthermore, it becomes clear that Jonathan and Sienna's father was not deranged by illness, but he had actually channeled a vision of how his children could put a stop to the clown's rampage.

Whether or not this story achieves real coherence is beside the point, which I posit is about how you channel your id material. The kids' father was tormented by it unto death; Art and his daughter (?) enjoy it shamelessly; Jonathan tries to understand what scares him; Sienna makes herself into an avenging angel that can defeat it. It's an interesting meditation for a series of movies that appear to be all about pure aggression and the pleasure of stirring people up. After fifteen years of hard work, Damien Leone has refined his vision into an essay on the faces of horror fandom: Many people are happy to accuse horror fans of psychopathy, ignoring the fact that fans are often sensitive types who use the genre to safely explore difficult feelings and experiences. Sure, some of us turn into assholes, but others find paths that are creative and productive, not destructive. And this is how, after hours of sometimes-painful viewing and chewing, I have somehow found my way to finding something nice to say about the TERRIFIER series. I may not have enjoyed it, but I came to respect it (or at least, the incredible work ethic required to get it done), and I think maybe I finally get it. Still and all, I'm glad I can finally stop watching it. Onto the next!

[arkhein-steorra]

//Ok so since I am always wanting to explore new characters I will probably add Alhaitham since I’ve been waiting for more about his character to come out first (and Kaveh) since both have interested me from the get go. Honestly feels like Dazai and Chuuya if anyone here gets me but somehow slightly more civil.

So for my own sake more own sake than anything else here are a few notes while I am trying to flesh this shit all out (granted I’m sure most of this will be disproven by canon I don’t care and it is up to being edited with character development and other mun’s preferences for their muses):

About Alhaitham:

- Alhaitham is deaf. Those ear pieces are hearing aids. When he really needs peace and quiet he takes them out but also hates doing that because it takes away control in any given situation and he knows he is basically a sitting duck for anyone to come after him.

- He is the reincarnation of the Scarlet King with no memory of his past life. He occasionally gets little inklings here and there but that is basically it. The only real hint he’s gotten about it his entire life was when he realized that he could just barely use the Forbidden Knowledge Capsule without going completely insane but simply chalked it up to everyone else before him not having the proper protections in place.

- He does have lasting effects following using it. He got headache for sometime and had strange nightmares that were scary in the moment but as soon as he woke up felt ‘weird’ and he didn’t really understand them.

- A huge motivation of his in the plan to take down the Grand Scribe is the fact definitely the fact he wanted to protect Sumeru but there is also underlying factors, one including the fact that he was just angry that the Grand Scribe tried to use his own curiosity against him.

- While he tries to hide it he does occasionally try offering aid to others, though often fails to realize that his way of ‘helping’ can come off as cruel, condescending and mean spirited.

- Alhaitham didn’t immediately reject Kshahrewar’s request for extra funding like he said he would. No actually he waited to see what Kaveh would say after he realized Alhaitham wasn’t lying; if Kaveh apologized or at least was cordial about it then he would approve it BUT if Kaveh confronted him about his motivations or did anything else before that following morning than he was going to reject it just to spite him.

- Alhaitham is a man of spite through and through. He doesn’t even bother hiding it either. Piss him off and he will make that person’s life hell.

- When he mocked Kaveh for not ‘being there when Sumeru needed him’ he had somewhat genuinely meant it. While he enjoyed the peace of Kaveh being gone he would have somewhat liked having Kaveh there to help just a little bit.

About Kaveh: 

- THE MAN IS TERRIBLE WITH FINANCES. He is horrible with money and gets offended when anyone points it out to him.

- Kaveh firmly believes that Alhaitham doesn’t knows how to help others out of the goodness of his heart. He thinks everything Alhaitham does is for his own self centered gain and chalks up anything seemingly good that Alhaitham does was just him being self serving.

- Kaveh is literally positive that there was no way that Alhaitham had helped stop whatever insane plan the grand sage had, because in his mind it there simply was no way that Alhaitham would be part of a good change in Sumeru.

- To everyone outside of anything regarding Alhaitham he is generally pretty nice.

About Alhaitham and Kaveh:

- They literally bring out the worst in each other and yet both want the best from the other.

- They are mutually physically and verbally abusive. They tend to save their words for out in public but there have been quite a few times where there arguments have escalated into physical violence. They usually don’t get physical with one another for different reasons;

Alhaitham: He doesn’t feel like explaining away bruises or replace anything that gets broken.

Kaveh: He really hates using physical violence to resolve conflict with just about everyone else and fully realizes hitting one another doesn’t solve the problem just makes both of them angrier, he also worries that one day Alhaitham will just lose it during one of their fights and actually throw him out.

- More than once their arguments have gotten so bad that Alhaitham threatened to throw Kaveh out or used his position of financial power to threaten Kaveh, only for him to go back on it because he is fully aware that Kaveh is screwed if left on his own.

- If anyone asked Alhaitham and Kaveh what they hate most about each other this would be the gist of their answers.

Kaveh: He hates how every good thing Alhaitham seems to do has an ulterior motive and feels like the man adamantly refuses to do something just because it is the right thing to do and firmly believes while Alhaitham doesn’t necessarily commit evil acts for the sake it anything other than logic he does believe that unless it affects him personally that if anyone were to make him angry enough that he would ruin other people’s life for the pettiest reasons and then ignore greater issues go on around him because doing anything about it is seemingly to inconvenient.

If he were being completely honest he would also admit that he knows Alhaitham can be good, he can do good, he just wants Alhaitham to do it because he wants to not because he has something to gain.

Alhaitham: Hates how he can’t do anything without being criticized by Kaveh and hates how unrealistic and toxically optimistic he feels that Kaveh is and hates how the man can’t just leave people to self destruct on their own despite being in no better position himself and he feels that Kaveh has no desire to change it for himself despite his desire to help others.

At least that is what Alhaitham would say out loud, if he were being totally honest he would probably also mention he wishes that he could simply do things he knows are right once in a while without having to worry about being criticized for it.

[crisp-sweet-pink-lady]

Summer of Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Bitty Adventures webisodes

In 2018, the SSC youtube channel uploaded five 4 minute webisodes, all based on stories from the 2016 comics run: Market Yourself, A Haunting in Berry Bitty City, Yes to the Dress, A Leg to Dance (Summer Dance Bummer), and Promotion Commotion (The Cane Critique). Each of these webisodes altered the stories slightly, including making the short stories longer and the longer stories shorter, and changing up which characters were involved, probably so they wouldn't have to make too many character models. They also didn't bring back the original voice actors (as far as I can tell, anyway--Sour Grapes' VA might be the same, but that's it), so everyone sounds a bit off, especially Orange and Sweet Grapes. These webisodes existing does mean that Raisin Cane and Steve Piemanne get voices, so there's that. I'm not sure if this was the intent, but Piemanne's voice sounds like a mix of the original 80s and SSC03 Pieman.

Watching the webisodes right after reading the comic stories they were based on gave me a new perspective on the changes made. When these websiodes first aired, it had been about a year since I last read the comics, and so the fact that the stories were changed stood out more than what exactly was changed.

Yes to the Dress is the story that had the most positive changes, even if they still made it so Orange was in Raspberry's role for no good reason. The original story was one of the shorter ones, so they added some extra scenes to the dress designing sequence and some extra dialogue after Sour storms out and at the end. In the comic, Sour Grapes attributes her liking the dress to her picking out a good design, while in the webisode she gives all the credit to Orange, telling her that not everyone gets her style. There's a scene in the comic where she gripes that Sweet picked the dress on purpose to mess with her that isn't in the webisode, and in the webisode she elaborates that she tries to be different from Sweet but ends up being the same more often than not.

Probably the worst offender when it comes to changes is A Haunting in Berry Bitty City, which tries to pretend that Strawberry's cafe is Blueberry's bookstore and trades Huck for Sweet Grapes. Plus it ruins the timing of my favorite gag in the story, having Sour's comment "Since when do ghosts know graphic design" come after the explanation that the "You're Next" written on the wall is just a flyer for a new book (I think the intention was for that to be a sarcastic comment, but if that's the case, the VA doesn't sell it). I still don't understand why they didn't just use Blueberry herself, since we saw that they made a model for her in Market Yourself.

Speaking of Market Yourself, this one is not too bad, though the biggest change (besides truncating the story to fit the four minute runtime, and altering the end a bit) is that it's made more explicit that Raisin is posting the videos to her own page to boost her own followers count, whereas in the comic she seems to be more concerned with what will go viral, regardless of whose page the videos are on.

A Leg to Dance is the most changed overall, as the original story takes place at a dance party and involved Plum Pudding and Apple Dumplin', and while Plum's initial dance move was also called The Unicorn, Apple's dance solution was The Berry Hop, patent pending. Also, the squirrel doctor from Berry Bitty World Record gave the No Dancing pronouncement, and Raisin Cane was not involved at all.

I'm not surprised that of the stories involving the Purple Pieman, the webisodes went with (a very abridged version of) The Cane Critique. The other competitions these two competed in were too involved to shrink down to just four minutes. And the whole "Pieman wins, but realizes he can't make good on Raisin's promises so he throws himself on Strawberry's mercy" bit is more amusing than the other stories where he cheats but Strawberry wins anyway. And this one has probably the best joke added to the webisodes: Sour Grapes' "Trust me, the internet never lies" (later) "Internet, how could you betray me like this!" Strawberry's commentary on comments is a close second: "They're not even looking at the menus...or using vowels!"

Final thoughts: the webisodes definitely could have been better, but most of them are not as bad as I remembered, and a couple were even better than I initially thought.

[atherix0]

hello :3 nothing better than waking up to a new midnight series update. and coming back from work to another update, i get so happy whenever you post something new<3

also . grian and mumbo in the previous one<3 grian got his homoerotic wing preening yess that's what he deserves!! god they're both so possessive and fucked up in the head and completely in love with each other<3 and it's soo grian that he didn't just straight up said he wants mumbo but decided to use bird language instead to show him .

they went to visit scar in his shop!! AND TUBBO IS HEREEE MY BOY!!! :D SCAR IS HAVING MORE DAD MOMENTS YESSSS. they make me so happy, dad scar is everything to me fr. but poor mumbo, i felt so bad for him in that scene:( hope he gets the chance to co-parent tubbo in the future . hehehe

grian and mumbo saw scar with his hair braided and thought "i sure hope this doesn't awaken anything in me" LMAO. who can blame them though, scar is really pretty and he deserves to be complimented all the time<3 and scar's reaction was so cute, it's probably a very high praise to compliment an elf on their hair because it's so important to them. also i'm so happy they got to see dad scar in action. tubbo and grian are so silly together hehe. grian is the type of guy who would always side with tubbo just to annoy scar lmaoo

scar let them into his home…. it means so much especially considering scar is a rather private person and he likes to keep his personal life to himself. plus he's super protective of tubbo. but he trusts grian and mumbo enough to let them into his home when he's not ever there

MUMBO IS DOING RESEARCH ABOUT THE FAE HE'S SO SWEET AHHH he tries so hard to understand scar. the mental image of mumbo sitting in his room and reading long ass books about the fae just so he can know more about scar and avoid possibly offending him…. he's so dear to me . i don't think scar is the only one obsessed hehe

they went on another date<3 and scar rambling about history and architecture??? he's just like me oh my godd i'm a big history nerd, i would listen to him anytime .

the woman who touched grian's wing made me so mad . and she hates scar too, like, pick a struggle. but protective scar<3 i'm obsessed with scar being all serious and scary because it's such a contrast to his usual personality. like you see him being all nice and silly but once you hurt the people he cares about, he will murder you in cold blood. feral little elf

JOEL AND LIZZY ARE HEREE!! i love how scar just gives people these silly nicknames. and cleo mention ahh she used to babysit scar?? that's. definitely interesting. plus mumbo being sooo petty HELP he takes his ties very seriously, don't insult them Ever

scar invited them to a sleepover at his place this time<3 he invited them to sleep in his home, in his own bed… yeah i'm normal about this . they are so domestic already and they aren't even dating yet

ohhh and if you would ever want more song recs that remind me of your series, i have some<3 you mentioned a playlist and i like making character playlists smile. it will come back by hozier is a very midnight!scar song. likeee your scar has the energy of a feral animal that's desperate for affection and once he gets some, he will always yearn for more. and that song has that kind of vibe. it's like saying "don't give me affection, don't care for me 'cause if you do, i might just stay with you forever and it will be the worst thing that happens to you. i'll keep coming back and i'll always want more so it's better not to love me at all". so very scar vibes. sorry i love talking about music :3

aand this ask got really long, i'm physically incapable of Not Rambling. gotta live up to the name essay anon huh .

Hii welcome back <3 I love coming home to your asks so in joy we are equally matched!

Yessss <3 Grian be like "how to ask him to be mine. Oh I know, I'll be Bird." Luckily Mumbo's sharp and noticed because a certain someone else definitely would not have picked up on that wrecking ball of a hint lmao. They are so possessive and I love it, they're equally matched in that regard and absolutely love that about each other <3 This possessive/jealous tendency of both of theirs might come back to bite them later on when they realize they love another person and don't know how to bring this up buuut <3 (Grian and Mumbo have one possessive partner, Scar gets two lmao but Scar loves it, he loves feeling wanted and seeing them get all weird possessive/jealous just absolutely is so- hh hjkkgdfslk)

I NEED MORE DAD!SCAR. Their relationship to each other is either chaotic and hilarious or tender and sweet, lemme tell ya there's a scene in my head with them that WILL make you cry. I know because I haven't even written it yet and it gets me tearing up <3 Mumbo </3 It might be a little late to coparent Tubbo, being that Tubbo's 19 now, but he will absolutely be an amazing second/third dad <3 And he may or may not become a dad to other kids later hjgfdkj

They took one look at his outfit and realized he's REALLY PRETTY when he's NOT wearing THAT, but you know the braid is nice, keep the braid- Oh gods yes, complimenting an Elf's hair is <3 <3 Also helps who the compliments came from ofc but <3 There are many compliments in Scar's future, he'll just have to get used to them <3 He absolutely is. They bring out the worst in each other but in the best way <3 they're both chaos gremlins and they double the chaos when they're together <3 Now accepting prayers for Mumbo and Scar <3

YES it's an extension of trust, a little contrast to a few stories ago when he divided his life in two and basically said they weren't part of this side of his life <3 He's letting them in to THIS SIDE of his life, the side of his life that has his magic shop and his son and his house full of plants and photographs and all the soft moments he's never let them see before and just AGH-

HE IS. He was serious when he said they'd start over, and he doesn't want to take any steps back because he cares so much <3 It's even better when you consider the fact that I insinuated in Midnight Ambush that accurate books about the Fae is hard to come by.... <3 He put EFFORT into finding the right books, like <3 Haha oh no, he certainly isn't <3 And he won't be the more obvious one for long-

YESSS I love history too I could listen to someone ramble passionately about the city they call home for hours <3 Grian and Mumbo can too but only because it's Scar speaking hjfdskj

She is the worst kind of Human smh, just a little reminder that the non-Supernatural world still exists and is just as full of bad as the Supernatural one <3 One of my favorite writing/movie tropes is OOC is Serious, I love when people switch gears and go dangerous scary when someone they care about is in danger <3 And that was just over someone grabbing Grian's wing, imagine if someone frikkin stabs him haha not like that's gonna happen right-

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH <3 Lizzie is a Chaos Gremlin too, she has absolutely embraced being Mrs. Beans <3 Scar will give everyone a nickname, no exceptions. Well, except Cleo, because reasons lmao. YEAH the Cleo thing will be explained more in the future but Cleo is like a reeaallly old Vampire, like she's older than Mumbo. I can't explain much more than that ofc without spoilers but haha I like irony- MUMBO IS PETTY he's wonderful lmaooo hjfd

More than that HE INVITED THEM IN HIS ROOM. After Mumbo had already told Grian how the Fae feel about their private spaces- Scar invited them to stay in his room <3 That's like one step away from just cuddling like- (jk jk BUT)

Send me any songs that make you think of Midnight Series in any way, shape or form, even if it's just one character in the tiniest bridge of the song <3 HJFSJKS Scar is absolutely affection-starved and has so many issues, he tried pushing Grian away at first but after he started accepting Grian's friendship/affection he couldn't stand to lose it <3 bbyy (this fact also going in hand with the fact that Scar loves feeling wanted by his partners and their jealousy/possessiveness/tendency to leave marks makes him way too happy for any healthily-adjusted adult. He doesn't even do it on purpose they're just Like That <3 they're all a little messed up but jhgfdkj)

It's okay I love the rambles~! <3 It gives me a chance to ramble, too, so! Haha <3 I love to read your essays, Anon <3

[rosesloveletters]

Any idea of how to deal with people who shame your f/o for being a horrible person/ evil in their source material?

Of course!

I have personally never received hate or anything over my f/os, which is surprising since I have some pretty bad ones on my list - I know now that I've said this, I've probably jinxed myself😂

I don't know if you mean whether someone is sending you nasty things about your f/o or if you're referring to others in the fandom who are speaking badly about your f/o, so I'll advise you how to handle both:

The block button is your best friend.

Don't feel bad for blocking someone who is saying things that upset you. We are responsible for curating our own spaces online and while it may not be possible to avoid upsetting or triggering content all of the time, when we do come across it, what is important is how we respond to it. The best thing you can do is ignore what is being said, block the offender and move on. Other people are entitled to their opinions, but at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter because you are entitled to yours too. We can agree to disagree sometimes and that is okay. Curate your own space, clear out the negativity and maintain your safe space. Don't send anybody hate just because they disagree with you, but that's a given.

Alternately, if someone is actually sending you hate about your f/o, just delete it and don't engage. They want to get a rise out of you and the best thing you can do is just to ignore it. They'll get bored and go away eventually.

Life is too short to give a damn what someone else's opinion about your fave is. Do your very best to enjoy yourself, be kind to others, harm no one, including yourself and have fun! As long as we do not blur the line between fiction and reality, it's all okay to indulge with the worst of the worst because, after all, it isn't real. I would never condone a lot of the things my own f/os do if it were real, but it is not.

Some people think that morality is based on what you like/don't like in fiction and I simply don't think that is necessarily true. Again, it's a fine line and it is our own responsibility to define that for ourselves and maintain it. As long as we understand that problematic f/os are wonderful, but that what they do would never be acceptable, right or good in real life, then it's okay and you've got nothing to worry about!

I hope this helps, dear! People can be mean when it comes to horrible, villain/evil f/os because some just aren't comfortable with it, but that does not make it okay to shame others for liking them. Personally, I think evil/villain characters are usually a lot more interesting. I hope no one gives you trouble over your f/os. You deserve to ship with them in peace ❤️

And remember, your F/Os love you very much!!