#bc quite frankly I get these two in a way the writers never will

[lanaluthorlang]

Now, I don’t necessarily think that Lexana are that out of character in season six. On the surface at least. With everything the two of them had been through, together and separately, you wouldn’t have to suspend your belief to accept that cracks would begin to show. Those trials could have strengthened their bond, or,they could have brought to the surface any anxieties that might have been lurking in their minds. 

For Lana, this is a new relationship. There’s bound to be doubts or fear that she’s rushing into things. Especially when you take into account everything that happened with Zod possessing Lex. She had to make a choice on the spot to follow him into the unknown. And she did. And once the dust settled she had time to sit and think about what she just got herself into. All her past relationships have either been built on lies, or staying with someone she had fallen out of love with for the sake of the other person’s feelings. 

Nothing new would have ever been easy for someone who’s used to being put on a pedestal until it’s time to discard her and move on. Clana might have had many ups and downs but at the same time, Clark represents a safe place for her to run to when her current situation starts to feel too real or she starts to have second thoughts. Lex might have been her confidant, but Clark had always been her constant, no matter how fragile that base might be.

And there is a version of Lex where his paranoia leads him to do all these awful things. Here is a man that has had every bad thing said about him proven to be true in the eyes of the people he cared for most, and as a result been rejected and abandoned. Who’d been lied to and deceived countless times over. There is a world were his fear of losing Lana, the one person he has left, leads him to going to extremes to keep her in his life. And with this being a sci-fi show, a fake pregnancy or a little cloning wouldn’t be out of the question. I think that’s what this season was going for, but the writing was so cold and detached that we couldn't connect with Lex’s reasoning. 

Also, obviously manipulating situations to keep your partner is wrong in any circumstance, but the point is that they could have given Lex a very human motivation and they didn’t. They wrote a mentally ill character and never followed through in a way that mattered. 

The biggest change in their dynamic this season is the absence of their communication. Y’know, the very foundation their relationship was built upon. I could buy Lex lying to Lana about his secret projects. I could buy Lana hiding her resurfacing feelings for Clark from Lex. I could even buy the clones and the fake pregnancy. But Lana wouldn’t have been afraid to push Lex until he told her the truth. She wouldn’t have been afraid to vent to him about her fears, her feelings, or her insecurities. Lex has had a habit from day one from hiding the truth until it blows up in his face (secret Clark room anyone?) but he wouldn’t have so coldly brushed aside those massive breaches of trust. 

You could make the argument that every single thing Lex did to and for Lana in the previous seasons was leading to him trapping her in this abusive marriage, but quite frankly, I don’t think the Smallville writers were smart enough to plan long term like that. I still respect that reading, but, as with a lot of things, our perception of these characters changes how we perceive their interactions with others and how we read their overall narrative. This entire breakdown is soaked in my bias, but it’s still how I see the show at the end of the day. 

Because I don’t see the Lex from the first half of the show as a scheming mastermind. You can have Lex be the big scary villain all you want, but you can’t go from one season where he’s clearly shown to have empathy and understanding to having him be a volatile gaslighter in the next with no signs leading to that point. As for Lana, I could buy this relationship being an act of rebellion on her part. After all, Clana was the dying star that this show revolved around for eight seasons. Still, it’s a disservice to her character to tie her to a ship we all know is sinking.  

Tldr: the foundations of the Lexana divide is in character for both of Lex and Lana’s traumas, but the execution of how they deal with it, and the framing of Lex as the shallow villain and Lana as the silent victim makes the entire storyline feel cheap and poorly written.

[aprillikesthings]

Queueing this post so it's impossible to connect it to the fic I just read because I don't want this to be personal

BUT PETTY VENT AHOY

I just (as of when I'm queuing this) finished a long fic that was GOOD

But in the second half or so of the fic the author starts basically comment-begging in all their author notes. And I'm a fic writer. I get it! Comments are LIFE.

But also? The writer in question doesn't reply to their comments. Like. Ever.

I left comments all over their fic anyway bc quite frankly it was GOOD

But FFS

IF YOU WANT COMMENTS REPLY TO SOME OF THEM.

Your reply doesn't have to be in-depth, god knows most of my replies are just "Thank you!"

But I know damn well there's fics where I didn't bother to comment (or didn't spend a lot of time on said comment) because I could tell the author never replies!

Don't get me wrong: if you're a well-known writer and your fic has two hundred comments within days of every chapter I can see only replying to some of them--I've had friends who struggled with that in other fandoms.

But not any of them? Ever????

Feedback goes both ways!

Your commenters do not want to be shouting into the void any more than you do.

You want comments! Readers want the author to interact with them! So interact with them!!

(My other usual speech on this topic: I know multiple cohabiting/married people who met their partner(s) via comment threads on fics, including myself. It's one of the best ways to make friends in your fandom(s) and possibly fall in love. I'm not joking.)

[roobylavender]

to switch to something comics related: there's some convos going on today re: the rules of engagement story and talia vs selina powerscaling and like. aside from the way most of the conversations regarding this story, on both ends frankly, are quite reductive bc they often fail to address the bigger picture (i.e., orientalism, misogyny), what i find particularly reductive is any attempt to establish talia or selina as the superior combatant bc frankly the development for either of them across the last two decades with respect to powerscaling has little to do with what's actually effective for them as characters and more to do with exaggerating or piling on their skills for the sake of grandstanding. like prior to full blown investment by dixon, morrison, and even rucka into the idea that talia is some master dragon lady combatant who can carry the title of the deadliest woman in the world (not true lol..), talia's strengths were in three areas: spywork, marskmanship, and strategy. she was a pacifist who largely worked from behind the scenes and only occasionally relied on violence when absolutely necessary, but building up a high level skill in hand-to-hand combat was never necessary to telling her story. similarly, selina is a thief. an escape artist. a woman trying to hoodwink the next big thing from under the eyes of rich goons who would dare taunt her with their prizes. self-defense is something she invested in out of necessity bc of the sexual abuse she experienced at the hands of her pimp, but it wasn't her purpose nor life mission to become a master combatant so as to fulfill the pretty narrow goal of engaging in theft to survive. i'm not sure what giving either talia or selina such extensive combat skills really does to benefit either of their functions narratively. in either case the powerscaling is largely employed to portray an exaggerated version of their characters that is consistently more and more removed from their core motivations and goals

and this doesn't even get into the conversation of why they would need to fight each other specifically. there's no reason for the two of them to come to blows if we look at their individual goals and spheres of influence alone. talia is concerned with large scale environmentalist agendas on a corporate and potentially governmental level, the last time we leave her before she's character assassinated. selina, before volume two progressively drives her into this weird greedy millionaire bounty hunter adjacent development, is concerned with creating security for herself and members of her working class community within gotham. these are two spheres so completely removed from each other it's a wonder why the two of them would even meet each other, let alone develop an antagonism towards one another. but the unfortunate reality is that they have come to blows, as a progressive result of writers only perceiving and writing them through the lens of their relationships with bruce. at some point these conversations need to venture far beyond personal feelings about who you want to win and into the real disservice being done to both of their characters in the name of cat fighting and archetypal exaggeration

[ohmeadows]

[20 Question Fic Writer Tag]

i wasn't tagged, i just wanted to do it 😌

How many works do you have on AO3? 10 currently. if we’re counting all past accounts and orphaned works… easily 50-60.

What is your AO3 word count? currently 149,834. if we account for the grand total, well. more. ha.

What fandoms do you write for? i’ve been in quite a few, mostly video game ones, but right now it’s mostly only honkai star rail on my mind though i have the odd rhaenicent idea rattling around.

What are your top five fics by kudos? you and me are a twisted fantasy (kafhime enemies to milkies), i’m on a leash called you (kafhime with dom himeko), da capo al fine (kafhime time loops), the dew of dying stars (ruanliu mara body horrors and cannibalism), and spark (kafxuan horny).

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? yes, i try to most of the time! i had a lapse this fall where i just didn’t have enough energy to do it for months on end, but i cleared my inbox of that backlog on january 1st. i’m trying to be more consistent going forward.

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? none i can link bc orphaned or on old accounts, but i do love a good angsty ending if it makes sense for the way the story has been going. kinda aching to write one again i won’t lie.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? most of them are quite happy in terms of endings! i know people doomed so hard about da capo was going to have a sad tragic ending but that was… never in the cards for me. i already have it written and i’m very excited about getting there.

Do you get hate on fics? sort of. i wish people would offer up critiques instead of just leaving comments like “ew this is unhygienic”, “disgusting”, “can’t believe i read 8 chapters just for BOTTOM KAFKA” or whatever else pointless stuff i’ve deleted.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? mostly, yes. i think 99% of my writing stems from a very clear and vivid image of a sex scene, and then me building backwards to root that sex in a way that feels natural and consistent to both characters. and i'm always looking for some new angle in smut, or else it'll bore me, so that means exploring new kinks or dynamics each time.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? no, i frankly hate crossovers and it’s one of my blocked tags on ao3.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? oh yeah lol. sucks! what can you do! it always amuses me because if these people just bothered to talk to me in the way of “hey, i love x idea, i want to do my own take of it, can i discuss some ideas with you?” i’d be 100% down to help nurture that. i reblogged a post about it the other day but i definitely feel that fandom community has turned into a fandom clout competition which feeds into this, too many of us looking for a quick boost in some imaginary clout chasing.

Have you ever had a fic translated? several, yes. for a while i had a bunch of old fics translated into russian. it always flatters me that people would go through that effort with my works.

Have you ever cowritten a fic before? yes, i’ve written a ton of unpublished wips with others and enjoyed the process, and then one i co-wrote with junie and published in an old fandom. i’d love to do it again, tbh, it’s incredibly energizing and fun, but wrangling two people’s creativity together over an extended period of time is always a lot of work and agreements, as well as being able to actually produce. you both need to trust each other and deliver.

What's your all-time favourite ship? uhm. i don’t know. i really don’t. ships by themselves don’t make me feel that excited, weirdly enough, but rather what people make exist in them. i have absolutely lost interest in compelling ships because the fandom de-fanged them, pulled their punches or morphed every single aspect about them into “uwu soft healing together”. (i could go into a long rant about how healing tends to be kinda… ugly…. in interpersonal dynamics. but that’s for another time.)

What's a WIP you'd like to finish but doubt you ever will? most of my unfinished wips i’m completely at ease with leaving behind in the dust. most. i do spend a lot of time thinking about a dorothea/rhea court drama au.

What are your writing strengths? visuals, i think. i have a very vivid inner eye when writing and the scenes play out like a movie for me, so i pay a lot of attention to the choreography and details of the scenes, where everyone’s hands are, and so on, to try and translate my inner vision to text. i can be a very harsh editor which means i’m always looking at what effect each scene is striving for — does it make sense for it to meander, or does it need to be snappier, sharper?

What are your writing weaknesses? i feel like my vocabulary could do with enrichment. i spend a lot of time looking up synonyms because they never stick in my head, and most of my reading books is spent noting down words in a notepad i’d like to use. sometimes i leave too much to be fixed in editing instead of putting it all down in the first draft. i don’t like involving too many characters so sometimes i think fics can get a bit too narrow — and sometimes i can play that for good effect, i guess.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? if you know it, sure, if you want; or at the very least use a beta who knows the language. i tried reading some fics that made use of my mother tongue and my god was it jarringly obvious google translate as well as irrelevant. i think it is worth asking twice what effect it will have for the reader and if it will come off as jarring.

First fandom you wrote for? lord of the rings! man i loved my mary sue silly era.

Favourite fic you've ever written? completed: spark. the amount of research i poured into it, as well as dedicating myself to convoluting fu xuan’s internal voice and outlook on things was some real hard work, but satisfying in the end. incomplete: the dew of dying stars. this one pushed me to research more, think harder about what i wanted to convey, and make them be worse. it’s been a very fun shift in how much i allow myself to dig deep, and relaxing and trusting the audience more. truly a new level of sicko weirdo fic for me.

[carpisuns]

hello! i saw your tags on that ''if you would be so kind as to reblog this if you feel insecure about your writing skills'' post, and i just wanted to say that i love your writing SO much!!! like.. all of your fics that ive read are so good!!!!!!!! whether youre aiming for a more silly, goofy vibe or heart-shattering angst you do it so well and im amazed at your talent!

''tell me something i dont know'' is one of my all time favourite fics and i remember how much i enjoyed reading it (and crying my eyes out at 2 am adjahsf), and ''where roses bloom'' absolutely broke my heart in the best way possible!! And i loved your collab fic with botherkupo, ''two idiots and a hamster'' SO much, i seriously had to try very hard not to laugh ahdjskdhf. OH and im not in the toh fandom, but i did read ''The Death-Defying Flirting Methods of Captain Willow Park'' and i really really enjoyed it!! like i said, you write both angst, humor and romance so well and your writing is such a beautiful mix of everything!

Youre one of my fav writers on here, and i think that no matter what your goals are for writing, they definetely leave a big impact on your readers- your fics have made me laugh, cry and quite frankly im obsessed with them! I know insecurities dont simply Vanish from one ask lol, but i hope you know how much you and your fics (AND your art and just. in general youre such a nice person) mean to me, and all your other readers! <3333333

I kept this in my inbox for a bit bc it’s just so kind and I didn’t know how to respond 🥺 and then I started answering but didn’t finished and saved it in my drafts and forgot SHSJSK anyway. Thank you so so much!!!!

i reblogged that post kind of in solidarity with other writers cause i know insecurity is something everyone deals with. it’s weird because I feel like at all times I’m simultaneously confident and insecure about my writing lol. I have enough experience/training that I know I can like put together sentences and paragraphs lol but I still fret over pacing and style and characterization and stuff like that a lot. the insecurities make me feel kind of silly bc I feel like at this point i should be over them!!! but I can’t help worrying about how my work will be received by the audience. i am always at least a little nervous to post something new, and sometimes I am very nervous! Cause I just don’t know if it’s gonna land the way I intended.

And the most frustrating part for me is when I read something REALLY good and sometimes feel like pouty and jealous I guess lol going “ugh I could never write like that! I should just give up!” I feel like such a baby!! but I get over it quickly and I’m sure I’m not the only one who falls victim to Pouty Little Binch syndrome. (I mean I hope I’m not the only one or that would be extra pitiful 😂)

Anyway it helps me to remind myself that it’s a good thing that I don’t write the same way my fav writers write! we all have our own ways of thinking and expressing ourselves, and even when we take inspiration from someone else, the Us-ness of our work is always gonna come through. If that makes sense. like if my fav writer is So-and-So, it’s really awesome and cool to enjoy the So-and-So-ness of their work and break down why I enjoy it so much and even incorporate some So-and-So-type flavors in my own writing, but at the end of the day my writing will always be full of carpisuns-ness and that’s cool too! I just think as creators we are so close to our own work and we’re so in the weeds about it that we don’t get a clear view of it like a reader does when they’re coming to it fresh, and that makes us sometimes judge it unkindly. More often than not, your work is better than you think it is. Sometimes when a creator I admire feels down about their work I just wish I could let them borrow my eyes and see it how I see it, because it’s really amazing and makes me feel so much!!

Anyway, I probably got off topic lol but I just wanted to shout out to all the writers who are feeling down about their work. You are doing amazing sweetie!! Better than you think. Dont stop writing.

this is seriously such a kind message and it means so much to me that you would take the time out of your day to write this! 🥺💜 people like you who go out of their way to make others feel good are such a treasure. Im glad you enjoyed those fics!! And that u even read one of my toh fics when you’re not in the fandom? aaaa I’m honored! Blowing u kisses

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

man by the nature of the circles i follow i generally don't see a lot of takes from izzy stans, but both the notes of the post you reblogged and the original twitter thread just make them look like their izzy brainworms have destroyed their reading comprehension and situational awareness. 'hehe there's two ways u could take that' clearly only one was intended. 'ur so right izzy is fucking blackbeard and he can build a pillowfort' YOU'RE SO EMBARRASSING. the show's creator is annoyed enough to actually voice some push back against the racist idea that history's greatest tactician needs this wet purse dog of a man to do basic tasks. these people really said 'i'm gonna ignore the actual issue being pointed out here and make this about my blorbo and my ship instead' and i don't know how anyone like this is gonna get through season two when they find out izzy isn't the main character they think he is.

ok tbh as amused as i am at the interpretation of that tweet as david jenkins getting so annoyed abt people thinking ed is an incompetent imbecile and is tweeting “ed knows how to build a blanket for on his own for fuck’s sake” i dont actually know how much of The Discourse david’s seen or if he’s aware of how many ppl genuinely believe shit like “izzy is the brains behind blackbeard.” it’s possible he just logged onto twitter and saw that tweet at the top of his mentions or whatever (idk how twitter works) and was just casually like “wtf obviously ed can build a fort by himself” and it’s not meant as an @ at any particular fans. and quite frankly i wouldnt want it to BE an @ at any fans. as toxic as parts of this fandom are, if david or any other showrunners started directly @ing people like “hey your headcanon is racist” it would only make shit worse. if i was a writer for ofmd i frankly wouldve stopped looking at ofmd twitter after a month bc it got so choked with rampant racism and it would make me go insane. like i hope jenkins et al have some distance from the fandom discourse for their own sake.

BUT ANYWAY about the izzy fans. as much as i personally am an ed stan first and a human being second i DO understand why izzy fans would make the joke abt “oh so youre saying izzy is having sex with blackbeard AND he knows how to build a blanket fort?” and i also think the majority of izzy fans KNOW theyre making a silly joke. like they know what david is actually saying. as far as im aware Not All Izzy Fans are the type to believe the “izzy is the brains behind blackbeard” headcanon so im not gonna assume every fan making this joke are doing so to intentionally downplay/ignore ed’s intelligence. i think a lot of them are just making a joke abt their favorite blorbo and while yeah i think the main focus should be on MY blorbo and how smart he is, this joke is so low on the list of shitty things ive seen izzy fans do that im basically just like. eh. whatever. definitely SOME of the ppl making this joke are the type to think ed is stupid and who warp the whole show to focus on izzy but i have no idea who or many so im not gonna worry about it. the joke is kinda annoying to me but im ALSO kind of stretching the tweet jokingly to be like “David Jenkins HIMSELF said that izzy is a useless first mate” (which i DO believe, but im not gonna use this tweet as proof that dj himself confirmed it)

that being said i dont think it’s a funny joke bc izzy obviously has never gotten laid before in his life and also izzy’s never experienced any joy so he obviously DOESNT know how to build a fort. and also of course youre right that there are izzy fans who will not be able to cope with the next season of the show not treating izzy like a special little main character but again this tweet is a single line from david abt a silly headcanon im not gonna get mad at ppl for not using it as a talking point abt racist fandom discourse. idk if david meant that line to be lighthearted or not so im not gonna take it too seriously except to say that ed’s blanket fort had better structural engineering than half the boats he’s ever raided. if the Revenge came under attack or if a huge storm blew through, stede’s cabin would be a disaster but the blanket fort would be completely unharmed

[garglyswoof]

Oh which Giana darling books have you read? I’ve only read her anti-heroes in love duet which I did actually really like but I did read it when I was craving a mafia romance. Elena is a true ice queen nd just their chemistry and tension and was insane! They were both really each other’s match too 🥹 and the smut was good 😂

Have you read her fallen men series? I keep wanting to try it but it’s such a big series that it seems intimidating.

But “hmm this is not very good but i'm still enjoying it” makes so much sense! I’ve felt that way about some books I’ve read too and even given some of them 5 stars if I’m being real. But could definitely see that being the vibe with Giana Darling books too so I get it

So this is going to be not the response you expected, but really just a Treatise:tm: on romance books and my relationship with them. doing a read more bc i am verbose

When I read a romance book that I really enjoy, it will never be my favorite book. I can love it, but I know both intellectually and emotionally that it is not something that will stick with me through time. Even books that do attempt to tackle more serious issues simply do not have enough time to do that justice in tandem with a typical romance plotline.

In general, the prose used in contemporary romance is very run-of-the-mill. There are no lines that make me stop in my tracks because of the beauty of them (like i've read in many a romance fanfic). It is to be easily consumed and appreciated. I love romance books so much, I read them nightly. But goodness, the prose runs the gamut from "oh wow this is really bad but im still enjoying it" to "wow, this writer does pacing very well, has some funny lines, and has made efforts to explore some emotional depth". It never hits "I need to share this quote with everyone I know because it struck me to my core."

Good (and even bad) romance is more about dialogue vs setting, about the moment of falling instead of an intricate plot, and about two people coming together vs. deeply examining each of them on their own. It is about page turning oh my GODDDDD the tension is unreaaaaaaaal vs holy shit that was such a well-written story and im blown away

That being said, we all have the tropes and character archetypes we love. To actually bring it around to your ask, Darling writes pretty good alpha males (though I prefer JT Geissinger's, if you're looking for pseudo-mafia romances) and that's why I enjoyed her books. In fic and books, I am a sucker for things i would not accept in a million years in a real human guy lmao. Many people do not get past the student/teacher aspect of the first fallen man book, but that's a trope i somehow devour despite it being anathema irl. You can frankly read them out of order (@accidental-rambler will tell you no way lmao. yes kate, i still think of you when i think about reading things out of order XD).

So that's what i mean. published romance is for tropey goodness, for light and frothy reading. If i want more emotional depth from my romance, then i will most likely find it in fanfic, because the established nature of the characters allows for far more indepth examinations of feelings, of how the past we've seen in canon affects them emotionally, of these thoughts and feelings that really...matter to me. In fanfic, Ive also been with the character more and have the deep connection already there, and it allows me to dive into their headspace with ease so fics just have a cheat built in lol. Romance books just dont have the time to do that and still tell their story. Also, sometimes I just am not looking for plot in a romance???? I'm just looking for feelings or smut, and the plot is actually in the way lol. Published romance authors can't quite win with me.

In summary, I love romance, but I struggle with my perception of it and perspective because it just doesn't feel deep enough. It's something I continue to work through. Thanks for letting me partially do it here.

[lysteriaposts]

I think a lot of the insane Tor*guel shipping stuff comes from people who HATE Sam and don't want her with Miguel, as well as people who hate Robby and don't want him with Tory. It also doesn't help that one of the showrunners is CONTANTLY tweeting things like "Tor*guel supremacy", like this is a grown man y'all... and it's so bizarre because the show itself doesn't reflect what he's saying. Miguel is all about Sam and he and Tory shared one small look the whole season. And even in s3, they had one scene and it was a fight. I truly think he's trolling the fans because people go nuts in his mentions, but he really needs to stop because he's been doing this for over a year and it makes him look unprofessional. I also don't see Robby and Tory, king and queen of trust issues, running back to two people who betrayed them. Not to mention Sam would look awful if she wants Robby back again now that he's with Tory, and Miguel has all this family drama going on to be thinking about Tory. But hey, this is just me.

Bullseye!

There is a very common denominator where people absolutely despise both Robby and Sam and just want them out of the way. First off, I really don't understand the Robby hate and never will, especially coming from people who love characters like Hawk and Miguel. They've made mistakes too (some imo unforgivable) but they get a free pass? As for Sam she's far from my favorite character but there's really no one I HATE, because I can sort of see where they're all coming from one way or another. It just comes down to who you relate or sympathize most with and those characters will be more likable to you. And also some storylines are just written better and more organically than others.

About Hayden... I personally don't care of his opinion or his trolling. He can do that, it doesn't concern me. What IS damaging though is that it leads to some poor fans taking that as a sign that Tor*guel is still alive, which encourages them to demand it back and for this "fan war". If I was a creator I wouldn't want that pushback if I'm currently writing a blossoming relationship with Tory & Robby.

Even if he's trolling he's at the same time disrespecting his and his co-creators' work... I saw a horrible take from him that went something like: tOrY onLy tOok RoBbY tO pRoM bC sHe diDnT hAVe miGuEL. That's where it gets flat out ridiculous and he starts sounding like a Riverdale writer or a 12 y/o who's never been in a relationship.

If we are to take this statement seriously, which I hope not, then let me point out that SAM sought out Robby this season, SAM said that cringy line about him breaking her heart at the party, SAM stared at him at prom, MIGUEL stared at Tory at prom, MIGUEL was holding onto Tory at the pool. Notice how there is absolutely no effort from Tory & Robby's side? Yeah, that's called being OVER someone. The whole "let's go to prom together to make them jealous" thing was just an excuse both Robby & Tory used to get closer, that's the game they were playing all season, that kind of push and pull dynamic. It's evident from start to finish that the only feelings on their parts are happening between each other.

Now for Miguel and Sam it's more unclear, because the writing is quite frankly bad for them (and I'm going to guess those unnecessary lines and whatnot were added by Hayden who seems biased, or to throw a bone for shippers). They ended of in s3 pretty much picking each other and now they're suddenly hesitant and jealous? It's character assassination (however I won't deny it made me somewhat spiteful cause they did cheat and it was funny watching karma unfold).

And as you said continuing this insufferable love square business would ruin characters further, and Sam REALLY doesn't need that lol. And after S4 being so good to Robby and Tory I would HATE to see them destroy what they've managed to do with these complex characters. And really the interest from Miguel would be completely out of the blue with how little he's cared since s2 and with his ongoing family drama.

All these questionable things aside, I don't think we have anything to fear show-wise. Seeing as s5 has been filmed and Peyton still says that Robby understands Tory and that people should let the idea of Miguel and her go confirms to me they won't be messed with.

[ryansjane]

axelle judges bl shows > Y-Destiny

shitty summary: 7 different love stories from 7 university friends.

where to watch: mega

grade: 7/10

pros:

- the acting was good across the board, even with the less good stories

- the chemistry was also pretty good for most ships!

- the settings were gorgeous. one thing I’ll always applaud copy a bangkok for is the locations they manage to get bc they’re all so beautiful & striking and it feels like we’re travelling to so many different countries while watching the same show... idk where they found those buildings but kudos to them for that bc it looks GOOD!

cons:

- too short. it’s better than close friend with their 15 minutes episodes, but not all the stories of this show were created equal. while some were able to be told completely in two 50 minutes episodes, most weren’t.

- the writing was pretty wobbly & very inconsistent depending on the story.

THE STORIES RANKED:

1. wednesday (puthkaeng)

grade: 8/10

- the most original & interesting story for me

- the chemistry was on FIRE

- the acting was really good!

- the ending is a bit rushed but still works in my eyes

2. tuesday (tueake)

grade: 7,5/10

- enemies to lovers!!!

- the chemistry is v solid

- I like the setting on a school’s trip where they can’t escape each other

- quite rushed, the transition from enemies to friends is pretty brutal

3. thursday (thurspao)

grade: 7/10

- I really like the characters *chop chop*

- the chemistry was v cute

- a bit too cheesy for them to be my faves

4. friday (jiamasuktir)

grade: 6,5/10

- super interesting story that’s much deeper than all of the others

- I’m hella biased bc I love the cast

- kinda badly executed if I must be super honest

5. monday (teammon)

grade: 6/10

- I looove mon, he’s honestly my fave character from this series

- the chemistry was good

- the story is not my cup of tea

- team’s feelings literally seem to come from nowhere, it’s just too random for me

6. sunday (sunnuea)

grade: 5/10

- good chemistry

- this feels so forced & unnatural, even for a bl. nuea just comes off way too strong & it was so cringy to me

- there’s barely a story at all? like I legit don’t remember anything remotely interesting happening

7. saturday (chokesat)

grade: 1/10

- the story was so confusing I still don’t get what actually happened

- they randomly switch from thai & english all the time and it’s never explained why???

- the chemistry was good but frankly them falling in love felt like it came out of nowhere & was pretty forced by the writers...

- honestly finishing these eps was torture...

would I rewatch it: sure, but only my fave ones

This is the classic mediocre bl, but at least since the stories are so short it doesn’t drag on for too long & there’s at least one story you’ll appreciate.

[theinconveniencing]

okay because I know you all care a lot and are simply dying to hear my opinion on heartstopper here it is. I’m gonna be a bitch btw be warned

I will preface this by saying I’ve read the comic like four times and I really liked it! it was very cute and I did plan on gatekeeing this show but. whatever I decided I don’t care enough but I can horde the urls of their instagram @‘s and maybe thats enough. if you’re mad at me too bad I already said I’m a bitch so sue me. 

right off the bat. the acting needs work. like seriously every scene made me wanna rip my ears off like why are you taking like that and standing like that and looking at each other like that. it was painful. the dialogue felt so…unnatural so I guess the delivery was on par with that. anyways. 

I know that some changes were necessary to make the comic into a show so I’m not gonna get upset about that, just the changes I didn’t like.

first of all the comic book editing was not very good. like it would have worked if it was consistent but it felt like every now and then they were like “shit this show is based off a comic let’s add some leaves”

now I’m sure this is a Super revolutionary take but WHY did they have that plot line with Imogen there was literally no fucking reason. I hated it and it was a cheap attempt at more drama and it wasn’t even that dramatic it was just bad.

#1 thing I hated about a change that they made in show was how they had Elle out nick to tao because like. maybe I just know my bff Elle better than the writers but like she would literally never do that like. WHY. anyways.

Tao my bff tao. I think I could talk about this for like a thousand words but I’ll try to keep it to a minimum. he is me and I am him and normally I wouldn’t excuse or support his type of behavior from a character, and certainly not a man, but he is me and I am him and I Get It. like they dialed every character trait of his up to a fucking hundred and I loved it. they just made him suuuuch a bitch. In a good way. the only thing I didn’t like was when he said he didn’t wanna be friends with Charlie but other than that. okay maybe I like him so much because as we have established I am him and he is me we are best friends but I literally would have acted the exact same way as him in these situations. the only time I’ve ever almost gotten into a fight was when I tried to punch a guy in the face because he said something mean to my friend and yes you needed to know that. he literally threw a ball at somebody and was mean to them bc they were mean to Charlie and him and got in a fight and threw apple juice on somebody. anyways sorry for being a tao apologist but somebody has to do it.

I have a theory that they took any potential personality that nick could have had and transferred it into tao. because tao felt so big and real but nick might as well have been a rock. like after the first two episodes I was like. tell me why I should care about this man. and then at the end I was like “okayyyyy so he literally could have been any guy and it wouldn’t have mattered okay” like why did they just decide to make him a brick personified I don’t get it.

Idk what the writers thought they were doing with Darcy but it did not slay. they took her chaotic-ness (I hate that word but that’s the only way I can describe it) and combined it with a complete lack of understanding or respect for boundaries and I was not a fan. I’m gonna be a Darcy apologist tho. I quite frankly I have no complaints about Tara tho I think they did a great job with her

the casting for Harry was some of the best I’ve ever seen it was fantastic. he was soooo English and such an asshole I laughed every time he was on screen I loved it. they made him not only hatable but also annoying and honestly might become a Harry stan in like an ironic way you know exactly what I mean 

okay. was ben… not white in the comic?? if not. WHAT was the reason for making him not white. Okay. Uh. anyways.

oh Charlie my bff Charlie they made him even MORE of a bitch in the show I loved it. that’s why him and tao are besties. again he kinda lacked personality a bit but it was fine. (brief sh and ed mention in the rest of this paragraph btw) However, I know that this point in the comic that Charlie’s mental health wasn’t really that big of a thing but at least in the comic whenever he would say something about not eating it was emphasized. whereas in the show it really was just completely skimmed over. also I can’t remember that if at that point in the comic Charlie had told nick about his self harming but if he had I wish that was in the show.

rapid fire round for characters that were irrelevant to me. hey where the fuck was Oliver btw I loved that lil guy. tragedy of the century. tori was there no complaints about her tbh. Isaac was there as well and he was fine, aled didn’t really do that much in the comic so it’s whatever. Miss singh was great as was that art teacher sorry I can’t remember his name I just don’t care. They took away all of nick’s mom’s personality it’s rough out there for the Nelsons. Taos mom is the best btw I love her.

saved the best for last let’s talk about my best friend Elle. And I mean best friend. I am so happy with what they did with her in the show (aside from the aforementioned outing of nick). They have her so much life and maybe I have my heart shaped glasses on but god I love her so much. I seriously don’t even have any specific thoughts but like. GOD Elle argent is Thee character of all time

and time for the rapid fire round of things that made me raise an eyebrow. Isaac walking in on nick and Charlie almost kissing and it never being resolved or addressed. lol. having Imogen’s dog die although that was pretty funny I did chuckle. sports day. So silly. rugby existing what is rugby. take a shot every time they say “Hi” “hi” and you’ll be so hammered by episode three that you won’t notice that the show isn’t that enjoyable. the school is sooooo ugly if I went there I would be miserable those kids are so strong. this show is so hard to compare to riverdale and it’s concerning considering that riverdale is the cornerstone blueprint etc for all good television. making out in front of a claw machine😐move I want a turn. Nick NOT recommending that he watch but I’m a cheerleader with his mom after he looked up gay movies. not knowing who won the fight between nick and Harry I want to see nick beat his ass. also I’ve seen middle schoolers fight better. 

rapid fire of things that made me want to punch a wall (in a good way!). Harry’s existence he’s so silly fr. commenting on the Elle smells bowling name. hi dani. the British accents which did make the show funnier. the soundtrack was good! I didn’t know or particularly like any of the songs but they fit the vibe. nicks house is so pretty on the outside I love ivy. the your mom jokes. me. 62% gay nick having his Isak valtersen moment. btw this show wants to be skam sooooo bad .Tao’s three story house. so silly. nicks tight ass uniform shirt a boy who plays rugby Would do that. Nick’s ugly ass bedroom decor. he’s here to represent bi boys with no swag. who also dress like elementary schoolers. all THREW of the running through the hallways scenes what if I started crying tears of joy huh then what. Tao’s “you clearly didn’t get hugged much as a child but if you’re craving human contact that badly you could just say so” noora m okay because I know you all care a lot and are simply dying to hear my opinion on heartstopper here it is. I’m gonna be a bitch btw be warned

I will preface this by saying I’ve read the comic like four times and I really liked it! it was very cute and I did plan on gatekeeing this show but. whatever I decided I don’t care enough but I can horde the urls of their instagram @‘s and maybe thats enough. if you’re mad at me too bad I already said I’m a bitch so sue me. 

right off the bat. the acting needs work. like seriously every scene made me wanna rip my ears off like why are you taking like that and standing like that and looking at each other like that. it was painful. the dialogue felt so…unnatural so I guess the delivery was on par with that. anyways.

I know that some changes were necessary to make the comic into a show so I’m not gonna get upset about that, just the changes I didn’t like.

now I’m sure this is a super revolutionary take but WHY did they have that plot line with Imogen there was literally no fucking reason. I hated it and it was a cheap attempt at more drama and it wasn’t even that dramatic it was just bad.

#1 thing I hated about a change made in show was how they had Elle out nick to tao because like. maybe I just know my bff Elle better than the writers but like she would literally never do that like. WHY. anyways

Tao my bff tao. I think I could talk about this for like a thousand words but I’ll try to keep it to a minimum. he is me and I am him and normally I wouldn’t excuse or support his type of behavior from a character, and certainly not a man, but he is me and I am him and I Get It. like they dialed every character trait of his up to a fucking hundred and I loved it. they just made him suuuuch a bitch. In a good way. the only thing I didn’t like was when he said he didn’t wanna be friends with Charlie but other than that. okay maybe I like him so much because as we have established I am him and he is me we are best friends but I literally would have acted the exact same way as him in these situations. the only time I’ve ever almost gotten into a fight was when I tried to punch a guy in the face because he said something mean to my friend and yes you needed to know that. he literally threw a ball at somebody and got in a fight and threw apple juice on somebody. anyways sorry for being a tao apologist but somebody has to do it.

I have a theory that they took any potential personality that nick could have had and transferred it into tao. because tao felt so big and real but nick might as well have been a rock. like after the first two episodes I was like. tell me why I should care about this man. and then at the end I was like “okayyyyy so he literally could have been any guy and it wouldn’t have mattered okay” like why did they just decide to make him a brick personified I don’t get it.

Idk what the writers thought they were doing with Darcy btw but it did not slay. they took her chaotic-ness (I hate that word but that’s the only way I can describe it) and combined it with a complete lack of understanding or respect for boundaries and I was not a fan. I’m gonna be a Darcy apologist tho. I quite frankly I have no complaints about Tara tho I think they did a great job with her

the casting for Harry was some of the best I’ve ever seen it was fantastic. he was soooo English and such an asshole I laughed every time he was on screen I loved it. they made him not only hatable but also annoying and honestly might become a Harry stan in like an ironic way you know exactly what I mean 

okay. was ben not white in the comic. if not. WHAT was the reason for making him not white. Okay. Uh.

oh Charlie my bff Charlie they made him even MORE of a bitch in the show I loved it. that’s why him and tao are besties. again he kinda lacked personality a bit but it was fine. However, I know that this point in the comic that Charlie’s mental health wasn’t really that big of a thing but at least in the comic whenever he would say something about not eating it was emphasized. whereas in the show it really was just completely skimmed over. also I can’t remember that if at that point in the comic Charlie had told nick about his self harming but if he had I wish that was in the show.

rapid fire round for characters that were irrelevant to me. hey where the fuck was Oliver btw I loved that lil guy. tragedy of the century. tori was there no complaints about her tbh. Isaac was there as well and he was fine aled didn’t really do that much in the comic so it’s whatever. Miss singh was great as what that art teacher sorry I can’t remember his name I just don’t care. They took away all of nick’s mom’s personality it’s rough out there for the Nelsons. Taos mom is the best btw I love her.

saved the best for last let’s talk about my best friend Elle. And I mean best friend. I am so happy with what they did with her in the show (aside from the aforementioned outing of nick). They have her so much life and maybe I have my heart shaped glasses on but god I love her so much. I seriously don’t even have any specific thoughts but like. GOD Elle argent is Thee character of all time

and time for the rapid fire round of things that made me raise an eyebrow. Isaac walking in on nick and Charlie almost kissing and it never being resolved or addressed. having Imogen’s dog die although that was pretty funny I did chuckle. sports day. So silly. rugby existing what is rugby. take a shot every time they say “Hi” “hi” and you’ll be so hammered by episode three that you won’t notice that the show isn’t that enjoyable. the school is sooooo ugly if I went there I would be miserable those kids are so strong. this show is so hard to compare to riverdale it’s concerning considering that riverdale is the cornerstone blueprint etc for all good television. making out in front of a claw machine😐move I want a turn. Nick NOT recommending that he watch but I’m a cheerleader with his mom after he looked up gay movies. not knowing who won the fight between nick and Harry I want to see nick beat his ass. anyways I have seen middle schoolers fight better. 

rapid fire of things that made me want to punch a wall (in a good way!). Harry’s existence he’s so silly fr. commenting on the Elle smells bowling name. hi dani. the British accents which did make the show funnier. the soundtrack was good! I didn’t know or particularly like any of the songs but they fit the vibe. nicks house is so pretty on the outside I love ivy. the your mom jokes. me. 62% gay Isak valtersen moment. btw this show wants to be skam sooooo bad .Tao’s three story house. so silly. nicks tight ass uniform shirt a boy who plays rugby Would do that. Nick’s ugly ass bedroom decor. he’s here to represent bi boys with no swag. who also dress like elementary schoolers.all the running through the hallways scenes what if I started crying tears of joy huh then what. Tao’s “you clearly didn’t get hugged much as a child but if you’re craving human contact that badly you could just say so” noora moment. nick is so much stronger than I could ever be if my mom gave me that fuckin 3rd degree when I came out I would have been pissed.

I’m conclusion I don’t think I would have liked the show if I wasn’t already invested in the comic and Elle and tao would have made a much more interesting main couple I’m sorry it had to be said. I just like them better and I Know you do to.  regret staying up late to watch it.

[angelhummel]

Arghh I accidentally read some anti-klaine ship and my brain kinda started malfunctioning and rn I can't enjoy their relationship like I used to... I mean every time I try,the thoughts that constantly pop in my mind are about their cheating incidents (Chandler and Eli) and how other canon couples didn't cheat and I am like so mad at writers cause rn it looks like I just stopped shipping them because of this stupid rant about their worse moments.... I am mad though cause they were my OTP and I still wanna enjoy then,but because of that rant I feel like I can't... what should I do? Did it ever happen to you?

Mm nope. I get tired of people shitting on them, but the ship itself has never worn me out

Alsooo not to be rude lmao but what world are we in where the other couples didn't cheat?? I mean between Finn, Quinn, Puck, Rachel, Sam, and Santana, there was cheating in like every other episode of the first two seasons

And quite frankly I don't give a fuck about Br*ttana's whole "I would never cheat on you" bc they literally cheat on everyone else. The offense is still there. And either Br*ttany is mean enough to cheat on Artie on purpose, or dumb enough to get manipulated by S@tana into cheating. Either way, one of them is nasty

Tina cheated on Artie to hook up with Mike, Mercedes cheated on Shane to kiss Sam. And if you only care about them cheating WITH each other instead of ON each other, then Kurt cheated on Adam to get ENGAGED to Blaine lmao, and Blaine cheated on Dave to kiss Kurt so. The universe has balanced itself out again

And sorry to sound like I'm handing out religious pamphlets or something buuut... If you'd like to read more of my thoughts on the matter, here is my recent post talking about why every anti Blaine/Klaine argument is hot garbage lol. Here is me explaining why Blaine's cheating was the least offensive of the many many many instances of cheating on the show. And here are some Klaine positivity posts to cleanse your palette and hopefully give you some nice warm fuzzies once again

But in all seriousness it's just fandom, and fandom should be fun. Interests wax and wane all the time. Some feelings I've felt since I first watched the show (loving Klaine, hating F*nchel, etc) but most things have changed. Like Santana and Sam moving down on my favorites list, and Rachel moving from one of the worst to one of the best. Used to love ships like Faberry, Hevans, and Samcedes whereas now I'm like ...meh. Kind of shipped Br*ttana back in the day too, I think. I used to hate the s4 newbies. Hell, even Will has moved up a few spots from my absolute least favorite character of all time. Things change, so just like what you like without worrying about what you think you should like. And learn to curate your blog experience to tailor what you do and don't want to see bc it really helps!

[enn-tea]

When I was younger, I used to play otome games, which were and continue to be hilarious for their absurdity e.g. getting transported back to the Warring States period and romancing Oda Nobunaga et al. I’d play these with my friends because of the bad storylines, and frankly questionable love interests and we’d spend all our time literally breaking down how bad these stories were, like jfc please actually do something, protagonist. Also in no way feel obligated to read this because this is just...word vomit for my own personal reference haha. Honestly don’t read this. Maybe one day I’ll turn this into some kind of actual essay about the impact on these games on wider culture or something (after I write about why romance in AOT is fine and everyone’s just reading it wrong and actually Isayama is peak romance writer and should write a massive Mills & Boon franchise around uh...some characters). But anyway. 

However, amongst all of these was probably the game with the most generic concept was Wizardess Heart, which was this magic school which the protagonist attended. Over the course of two weeks, she would have to be partnered up with a “buddy” and they would help each other with their magic (they also fell in love over these two weeks LOL and quite honestly her best romantic choice was her roommate, which was never an option :( She was, for a while also the only other female character in the school who actually had a personality).

Anyway, the point is - the setting was clearly a riff on certain franchises, the whole system was super basic...but. These stories had no right to be as good as they were. Or perhaps they had every right. Because from the ones I played, they were...genuinely really interesting. Each storyline was a season, and there were three romanceable characters, who all had their own individual plotlines but...tied into one coherent plot, as either a protagonist or an antagonist, which I still find - kind of revolutionary for an otome game haha (I’m not counting Mystic Messenger bc I actually enjoyed getting to set up a bakery and cult investigation).

But honestly? These were within the universe, believable but also super crazy stories. I only ever played two “seasons” fully, because of the ticket mechanic, but the second one has literally stayed with me in terms of really interesting perspective, and the characters themselves because if the first season was mildly crazy, season two was insane and focused on these three characters: Klaus Goldstein (...no comment lmao, I do hate how he’s the figurehead of the game), Serge Durandal (the best character tbh) and Azusa Kuze (a piece of shit and not in a good way, what are the messages this game is telling us). Each season had a mystery as a premise, and the second one was about mysterious animal deaths occurring around the school.

I don’t think I’ll ever really be able to explain Wizardess Heart comprehensively, but the personal lives of these characters? Was crazy. I loved they all had cameos in each other’s storylines and were so tightly linked. Like you have Klaus who does actually have the least interesting plotline, but a shared tragic backstory with Serge (more on that later, because this is literally peak melodrama lmao). You have Azusa who comes from fantasy Japan in that universe, which has been overrun by nature spirits who are taking over because they think humans are overstepping their boundaries, and Azusa has signed a deal with one of them to bring back his dead brother, and in fact is being manipulated by visions of said brother (and even with that in context, he’s still actual trash for other reasons, and I can’t believe the happy end for his route is to get married and have kids with him EW). 

My favourite character in this however was Serge Durandal who is also a premium shit-stirrer but never super maliciously haha (apparently I have a favourite character archetype I’m a fan of). Even now he’s literally the best character because he’s such a passive aggressive individual to Klaus (who deserves it).  But their shared backstory cracks me up, is kind of sad and ridiculously absurd because they’re both so fixated on the past. I also personally find his storyline interesting from a character progression viewpoint, because he’s the main character’s idol when she starts at the school, but has mysteriously disappeared.

So basically in Klaus’ storyline, he always references this dead friend he’s hung up over (although the “friend” part is debatable maybe haha) and you help him investigate the dead pigeons. Ofc you then find out that polite, charming Azusa is the antagonist of the season and you have to play through the next routes in order to get a better picture of this. But throughout Klaus’ route, this character called Randy March (unfortunate name lmao)  keeps on popping up. He’s funny, doesn’t treat the main character as inconvenience (best friend goals right there) but what’s more interesting is how he’s never in the same room as Klaus; as soon as he hears that he’s approaching, he just...disappears. And this continues for the whole of the story until the end, when they finally meet each other face to face, and Klaus reacts badly. Not quite in an upset way, more shocked - but it’s clear that they have a History. 

So - cue “Randy’s” route. He is the same as he is in Klaus’ route, and still dodges bumping into Klaus, but then - then, they bump into each other far earlier in his route (one thing I do like about these stories is how the main character does actually have some impact on the plot. It all follows the same storyline, with the same conclusion, but they do diverge because the character happens to interact with different characters and some things can’t happen if she isn’t there for it). Leading up to this, Randy has been very cagey about being the main character’s “buddy” and insists he already has one, and he really, really gets awkward when the main character states that she really idolises Serge Durandal (who in this is like, IDK good at animal magic like the main character). 

And then, my god, the reveal. The fact that Randy March is not, in fact, Randy March, but Serge Durandal (which honestly is such a cool name comparatively lol, I named all my other otome protagonists Serge Durandal). And that Randy March, is in fact, the dead friend of Klaus who Serge has been impersonating for literal years. On top of this? Serge was also a best friend of Randy, who was his “buddy” and leading up to Randy’s death, he and Klaus were involved in a rivalry over his friendship (and I’m not joking I do actually think this was some kind of unvoiced love triangle, because both Serge and Klaus genuinely say that they’re attracted to the main character because she reminds them of Randy, they need to get over this before they can actually engage in a romantic relationship with anyone else kthx. Also at some point, Serge actually says he loved Randy in a way that really can’t be construed as entirely platonic, and the main character says it as well, and considering her personality and the way she interprets things, when she says love - she definitely means romantically). 

Klaus holds Serge responsible for Randy’s death, as the two were working on a project together which led directly to it. His first reaction on ever hearing Serge’s name is “the murderer” which continues all the way up until the end of the story when they resolve their character arcs (also incredibly satisfying). 

Apparently the reason behind Serge impersonating his dead friend is because he felt so guilty and so ashamed and willingly accepted the blame that Klaus placed on him, he felt that if he became Randy, it would basically be like letting his friend experience the life he didn’t get to have, and he’s spent years searching for a cure to revive him. This has taken him to Hinomoto, where he’s become friends with Azusa (drawing him into the storyline) and back to the main setting of Gedonelune. Side note, Azusa, I’m not going to even go into your character because you’re such a piece of shit and I only played through your storyline because I felt compelled to get the full picture. 

Ofc, this all links to the main plot - because at this time of year, there’s a whole thing related to a unicorn appearing in the nearby forest. This is a unicorn who has struck a deal with Serge years prior to the main storyline who is Serge’s last hope of reviving Randy, and Azusa finds out about this and wants to bring his brother back etc. and this all culminates in a massive showdown. 

Intense.

Anyway, at the end of this, peace returns etc. and there’s a sequel I haven’t actually played but you know what’s perfect about the ending? Serge ends up staying on as a prefect - the same role as Klaus and they have to share a room. I cannot describe how funny their interactions are for the rest of the story and the other storylines they have to live together.

I’m not entirely sure what the point of this was, apart from an exercise in pinning down precisely what I liked about this story but - it’s certainly one that’s stuck with me through a LOT of otome haha. 

[naturedust]

The Arcana characters during the Covid-19 pandemic: Part 1 (Asra, Julian, Valerius)

hi everyone! i felt really happy whilst writing this. in each set of headcanons, the apprentice lives with that character! i don’t specify if there’s anything romantic or sexual going on between them though. this is VERY detailed, i’m still writing out muriel, nadia, portia, and lucio’s headcanons so they’ll come in part 2 <3 i hope you enjoy!! AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27529276/chapters/67324228

Asra

asra hosts weekly magic workshops (covering very very basic magic) with the apprentice over microsoft teams 💻 each workshop has a small fee, with all proceeds going to local vesuvian charities like mask suppliers, and food banks (who he tries to donate extra food to every week) supporting the poorest amongst their population. it was the apprentice who first suggested he do this, on a day he was feeling really afraid in the face of the pandemic.

i think he has days when he feels really helpless and trapped – and it runs a little deeper than cabin fever and restlessness. other than the pain he’d experience if he lost the apprentice again, being unable to do things freely is the worst situation he can think of... as much as asra prioritises the apprentice’s mental health, he doesn’t practice emotional expression a lot. he truly strives to be there for the apprentice and even when he remembers how they suffered after coming back...asra only cries silently at night when they are asleep – when he knows they can’t hear him. 

that’s part of the reason why he’s always seemed so mysterious in the game — growing up without his parents meant that he learnt to push down his fear and put on a brave face... and one of the reasons why he goes on trips without much explanation is to escape reality for a bit. he lets his vulnerability show only on the worst of days (like the day the apprentice died). on days where asra feels really afraid of the world and defeated, the apprentice takes over his shop duties and brews much more lapsang souchong than usual to comfort him. so much that even passerbys outside the shop are caught in the smokiness of it! unlike the red plague, every community in the world is affected, and there is nowhere for asra to escape to. this includes nopal. after vesuvia’s Covid-19 situation gets better though, he and the apprentice stay there sometimes as a mini vacation of sorts and it brings him peace 🏜

asra’s leading an effort to make high quality masks more accessible to vesuvians. in fact, that local mask provider i mentioned earlier is his initiative. he set it up after seeing people buy all the beaked plague doctor masks (the PPE of vesuvia) that actual working doctors need access to. he would never admit it but, when asra thinks about the doctors, julian is the first who comes to mind. anyways, the masks asra designs are stunning. he spends tireless nights testing their 3-ply efficacy, and they aren’t just plain blue or white – there are intricate details imprinted on them through his magic 🔮 

i think asra would also be really into coming up with new herbal concoctions for customers, after he notices how tired people look from being indoors all day – for example, he’s developed an immune system-boosting drink that’s a gorgeous swirly purple colour 🍶 it’s similar to traditional chinese medicine. also he only uses ethically sourced, 100% local herbs (by local, i mean from nopal and the tarske forest, where muriel helps him collect wildflowers and herbs!!)  🌿 he uses spells to counter the toxicity of his favourite belladonna flower and it becomes a superfood staple of his concoctions

he goes out every couple of days just to gather herbs and ingredients for aforementioned concoctions, always prioritising the ones he makes for the apprentice and always making those sweeter, taking more time to create colourful depths in them that resemble galaxies. asra also makes particular effort to bring back a wide range of fruits from his local trips as it always cheers the apprentice up 🍈

asra invents the most effective, affordable, environmentally-friendly, non-toxic and skin-friendly hand sanitiser and because this magician is the sweetest person ever and cares much more about people’s lives than making a profit during the pandemic, he shares the recipe online for free & magicians all around the world recreate the hand sanitiser for their local neighbourhoods. he’s since been featured in a couple of “Top 10 People You Should Follow” lists in business magazines and there’s an online petition with over 200k signatures calling for his nobel prize nomination lol. asra insists he doesn’t care about fame but when the apprentice laughs about these recognitions, they always notice asra’s eyes crinkling

asra would also become a lot more active on his youtube channel. that’s right, he’s always had a youtube channel, he’s just had a million hiatuses because of all his adventures. he has around 20,000 subscribers (and a similar amount on instagram...his feed is colourful and full of pictures depicting his travels, the shop, and above all, the apprentice). since he’s decided to stay at the shop with the apprentice – who is actually a little more vulnerable than others to viruses, because of their “reborn” form – he has the time to post weekly videos again. i think asra wouldn’t want to show his face in any of the videos, and not on his instagram either... and it’s got nothing to do with his self-esteem – he just wants the focus to be on what he’s doing rather than how he looks. the videos vary from very domestic vlogs with titles like “what two magicians do in a day” to packed af guides like “🐍 SPELLS TO REFINE AT HOME 🐍” & “crystals that can calm you during these times” and his wildly popular “carving crystals i mined: in real time” ⏳ the apprentice is a permanent fixture in all of them <3 viewers always assume they’re together and whether they are or not...that’s for you to think about ;)

asra is big on healing crystals and gemstones. like really, really big on them. he always makes sure to inform his customers and audiences that they are alternatives and not substitutes, and that sicknesses need real medicine & they can’t just wear a crystal in place of a mask (bc that’s happened before and he felt so guilty for carving and selling the crystal in question) what’s strange is, even though he usually sources his crystals from other countries during his travels, there seem to more than ever all around the shop and the apartment upstairs..

when the apprentice asks about it, it turns out that asra goes mining alone in nopal! he doesn’t really like to mine the actual desert as he’s only ever dug up gold and silver there. one time, he accidentally stumbled upon a cave at the edge of nopal and – ever the curious wandering magician – he ventured deep within it and found amazing crystals and gemstones everywhere 💎 he never mentioned it to the apprentice because he always thought it was too dangerous for them to go, until they remind him it’s dangerous for him too. from that day onwards they go looking for crystals every weekend together :’)

if asra was living alone, he would be fine with just wearing a mask to go outside. but since he lives with the apprentice – and especially after what happened during the red plague – he’s not risking ANYTHING. he wears aviator goggles and eco-vinyl gloves when he’s in the market, just to be extra safe, though when he’s out foraging he takes off his mask because there’s usually no one else there & it’s way too humid. the apprentice likes to make fun of how steampunk he looks & the way the big goggles make his hair extra poofy  🤍 

Julian

julian is on the frontlines of the vesuvian pandemic response. with his experience as a doctor – specifically, a frontline doctor during the red plague who discovered the cure (!!!) – he is revered by new doctors and nurses, most of whom are volunteers. when the pandemic first begins, there aren’t formal hospitals or medical schools set up in vesuvia, so he has to make do by reopening his clinic in the centre city, as an alternative to valdemar’s one in the palace – which, quite frankly is the stuff of nightmares for most of the population

as you know, julian is universally loved by the vesuvian people... so the waiting list of the hospital branch he works at is ALWAYS full. patients always report how gentle and attentive he is and how comforted they feel in his presence. even though he has to wear a hazmat suit and the plague doctor beak mask, he is known for visiting the most severely affect Covid-19 patients and holding their hands in their last moments.

the apprentice brings different flowers to put inside his beak mask every day (this is a headcanon that i’m pretty sure originated from the writer telanaris on AO3!!) to give julian some small comfort amongst all the death and suffering he’s witness to every day. they go out to the tarske forest or even to nopal with asra, or sometimes alone. because julian mentioned wolfsbane was his favourite flower once, the apprentice picked some without knowing that they’re poisonous. long story short, they blacked out and woke up in his clinic with an extremely worried julian nearly in tears launching into a self-blame monologue, about to black out himself from staying by their side the whole night

i also think julian would be featured in the news a lot and sometimes pretty randomly. he gives official weekly Covid-19 updates on the main vesuvian tv news channel – though the apprentice stands in for him after the first two weeks (he tries very hard to refuse their help because he doesn’t want to burden them, even though they assure him they actually want to relieve him of at least one of his burdens since he’s a full-time pandemic doctor – and because he almost fainted from exhaustion the second time. the apprentice kindly, but sternly asks him to take care of himself too, as he does everyone else)

he would just be on the news in general too...his random acts of kindness would go viral on social media – “Vesuvian Doctor Helps Elderly In Race for Toilet Paper.” ❤️ “Local Doctor Delivers Groceries for Struggling Families.” and his “grandmothers” in nevivon always get excited when they see him on the news and send letters to congratulate him (much to his embarrassment). julian would also go viral on twitter. one photo of him has 100k retweets: “oh my fcking god i just rounded the corner and there’s this really fucking t a l l man handing out free bottles of sanitiser. i don’t need to see him under his plague beak to know he’s hot af HELP” and the apprentice would retweet it saying “so proud of my bf” and the internet would go wild over this comment. it’s up to you to decide if they’re actually together or not hehe bc who knows the apprentice might’ve meant best friend 🤷🏻‍♀️

he sets up a youtube channel with no profile picture or description to upload a single video... “How to PROPERLY use hand sanitiser!” and all the comments are just about his looks and voice 😚 it reaches cities outside of vesuvia and because the hand sanitiser in the video is locally made (by asra!) it quickly becomes sold out by either those who don’t know how to do magic or people without access to the products being replicated by other magicians... because a lot of them actually marked up the price :(  + even communities that are afraid of magic buy it because asra’s detailed method and julian’s instructive marketing combined are that effective. a power couple... in another life, perhaps 💫

julian would then be invited to do a city-sponsored video guide on how to wash your hands (the idea is helmed by nadia, of course, who recognises the usefulness of his newfound fame). not only would he be extremely exhausted from full-day shifts, he’d also be overthinking to the point of hyperventilation before filming starts – but he surprises the apprentice with how professional and clear he is in the videos. a true thespian at heart, instead of happy birthday, he improvises on set and sings an old tune from nevivon instead as he washes his hands for 20 seconds 🌊 lemme just say...his hands also go viral lol. also, julian could be a tik tok star if he wanted to. he’s certainly got the moves for it, and can easily achieve the e-boy vibe – plus, he’s gone viral on there several times already!

even though julian doesn’t seem to care when he’s in danger, he’s very meticulous when it comes to the apprentice’s safety. living through his second pandemic and working with patients first hand means that he is very aware of how severe the situation is. every morning he prepares a 99:1 water:bleach ratio spray to spray his shoes when he comes home. he refuses to even touch the apprentice (for fear of passing on anything from the clinic) before he’s taken off his mask, thrown it away safely – then showering and washing his hair thoroughly.

having grown up in nevivon, i like to think that julian is really environmentally conscious, especially with regards to the sea. he used to go diving in the sea to retrieve trash, and as a young man he made a habit of going to the docks every weekend to remove plastic containers and wires from around the necks of salt seals 🌫. so, no matter how tired he is, when he comes home to the apprentice, julian never forgets to snip the ear loops of his surgical masks in half, as he knows sea creatures can get caught up in them. i’m sure he makes a second youtube video at some point to talk about this issue. tldr julian is an environmental activist <3

Valerius

so it’s been a long while since valerius was freed from you-know-who. his personality has definitely changed a lot since then... he’s back to his old and real self (which we never really saw in the game) 🌄 he works side by side with nadia now, not only as colleagues but also genuine friends, and he oversees the health department. he sets up dozens of hospitals and more general clinics in and out of vesuvia, consulting experienced doctors in vesuvia like julian as well as officials from neighbouring countries and states. as a side note, valerius is actually a very humble person and the most attentive listener you will ever meet. people from neighbouring governments & royal households admire him immensely as a result <3

out of everyone, i think valerius would be the most careful during the pandemic. during the red plague he witnessed lucio’s illness up close and it’s had a profound impact on him. he worries about the apprentice, a lot. more than anyone who knows him expects him to. he’s always the first to notice and remind them if their mask is falling down their nose, or if they’re about to rub their eyes with unwashed hands. you will never catch him forgetting to wear a mask or touching his face at all when he’s outside. he takes the time to use disinfectant wipes to clean everything he brings back home one by one, and though valerius is adamant it’s not the apprentice’s responsibility (because most of the things are usually files from the palace he has to go through before the next morning or things he brings back from the market) the apprentice always insists they want to help out :’) so it becomes a nice daily evening ritual, sitting together on the floor after returning from the palace, cleaning their things in silence together 💜

speaking of things he buys, valerius loves the marketplace. he discovers it one day by accident when looking for a bouquet of 🌹 red roses 🌹 to bring back for the apprentice, who was particularly upset that day after helping valerius out at the new hospitals and not being able to help any of the patients as much as they would have liked with their magic. when valerius stumbles across the marketplace, he is absolutely amazed by the colours and smells that surround him. he spends a lot of his free time and lunch hours looking through jewellery stalls – especially hairpins and hair sticks. 

anyone looking at him would be able to see how much care valerius puts into maintaining his hair. because he washes his hair every day (to avoid bringing any Covid-19 related germs into bed), and because being free from you-know-who has made him a lot more open to magic... not to mention because he actually lives with the apprentice now 💜 i think valerius would also consult asra about magical hair masks and conditioners, to keep his very long and thick hair healthy and soft, despite washing it every day.

he knows from accidentally overhearing asra a long time ago that the apprentice loves pumpkin bread, so he asks around for hours until he finally finds the baker’s stall 🍞 it takes hours because valerius is really bad with directions and gets lost a few times... it doesn’t help that he’s distracted by all the different foods and jewellery that he’s never seen before (he picks up a nice ring for the apprentice, and yes he’s so attentive and familiar with jewellery that he guesses their ring band size correctly). from that day onwards, once or twice a week, he wakes up a little earlier than usual to sneak out of his estate and buy the bread, so that the apprentice can enjoy it – freshly made, warm, and their favourite – for breakfast 🥣

yes, he has an estate (this mr. darcy-like headcanon is from jane_ways on AO3!!) and he treats his household employees very well, offering paid leave for all of them so that they can stay with their own families. in their absence, he proves to be an incredible cook, albeit a little rusty because he hasn’t cooked anything substantial since being under you-know-who’s influence and because he’s been too busy at the palace to eat anything that isn’t catered. 

due to social distancing, the apprentice and him eat in a lot more – valerius is very ambitious and soon moves past making homemade dishes... he cooks blown out, elaborate dinners and prepares creative and (visually) beautiful packed lunches to bring to work 🍴 whenever the apprentice has to work late he brings them dinners inspired by the colours of the shop that day – he is hesitant to admit it, at first, but he’s always admired the crystals there, and he is often inspired by them in his food presentations. asra is ever perceptive and gifts him a few (polished amethyst because he used to be an insomniac, black tourmaline and selenite to keep you-know-who at bay 💎) soon after the apprentice frees him from the curse

i really see valerius as someone who against all expectations is really into hands-on work like welding and carving – things that can get messy. he’s slowly trying to get rid of it, but since he first started working at the palace he’s maintained a very prim and posh appearance. he really loves to weld jewellery like rings and earrings. before the pandemic began, he took a few classes in the marketplace – classes which are on hiatus now, of course. he's set up a little studio in his estate and wears a blacksmith’s apron and goggles and everything. it’s honestly quite the sight. whenever the apprentice is working longer hours at the shop making potions with asra, he goes into the studio to continue his projects. some of the ones he’s proudest of are: the pure-silver wine rack, the gold headbands and rings he makes for himself – and then for the apprentice too when they keep “borrowing” his – and his favourite of all is his first ever project: the cast iron skillet that took him over a week to weld. he hand engraved the apprentice and his initials onto its handle <3  you don't need to read any of this as a romantic gesture, because friends can definitely do the same!

i like to think that prakra managed the pandemic especially well, and that valerius sits down to have zoom calls with queen nasrin to discuss ways the two places can collaborate and help each other 👑 she becomes his mentor of sorts, as he’s still relatively young and inexperienced when it comes to governing a city-state like vesuvia. when nasrin visited nadia before at the palace, she was not a fan of valerius at all and was just as wary of him as nadia was. however she becomes very fond of him as a result of their collaboration, and even starts to see him as a son ❕ other than the apprentice, nasrin would be the second person valerius talks the most freely with. initially he is very reluctant to share anything about his life, let alone his past before landing the consul job – but he eventually opens up and nasrin plays a role in helping him move past his failures (his eyes are opened after the apprentice frees him, and he feels immense shame from how he didn’t lead vesuvia very successfully in nadia’s absence)

[fyeahbatcat]

Your previous mentions of Nolan's Batman films reminded me of how me and a friend of mine kept going back to Batman Begins and how solid of a first Batman movie it was in just showing the development of Bruce into Batman and also into who he is as himself. Not to say that they're perfect but I do think that maybe part of the reason why Reeves took a detour with this first Batman movie from his origin story is because technically it's already been done before, and everyone "knows" who Batman is as potential audience members. But this goes back to what you mentioned about it feeling like merely a setup for another movie, which is sort of the problem with this as a first film. On its own, Batman Begins can stand easily as an origin story and as part of a trilogy, but The Batman, while having a solid detective plot, kind of feels hollow as an introduction to who Batman/Bruce is bc it expects everyone to just know who everyone else is in the story. So it feels more like a comic book arc adaptation like Hush rather than something akin to Batman Begins.

Bruce not really having a personality outside of Batman and not doing any charity was definitely intentional though. He's completely dedicated himself to Batman and enacting vengeance for his parents murder, to the point that he fully neglects his mental and physical health (he even winces at sunlight because he spends all his time in the cave) as well as all his social and economical responsibilities as Bruce Wayne (he didn't shut down the charity projects, that's not what Bella meant. He simply neglects them and doesn't open any new ones/ doesn't host charity events like his parents did) He just doesn't care, the only thing he cares about is being Batman, and the worst version of Batman he could be none the less.

Learning that that's something that has to change, that he has to be more than "vengeance" and that he has privilege/doesn't know how the poor people in Gotham live, as well as his lack of care for charity having extremely negative consequences (via the orphanage fund being up for grabs because he doesn't care enough to oversee it) is his entire character arc in the movie, and likely will result in a visible character and personality change in the sequel. It's basically like the scene you mentioned from Batman Begins, as well as the other Batman Begins scene where he wants to shoot his parents killer and learns vengeance isn't the right path - except this time instead of two 5 minute scenes that arc spans over an entire 3 hour movie. And imo that whole "he dedicated himself fully to Batman and neglected everything else" is also why he is so awkward in his romantic scenes with catwoman - he barely had any human contact except for Alfred for who knows how many years, he doesn't know how to interact with people, much less someone as forward and emotionally open as Selina, so he's just standing there like "help :|" (2/2)

I think this is pretty much what I've already said about the movie, but again I think you're giving Matt Reeves way too much credit.

I know that what Matt Reeves did was intentional, but intent doesn't make it immune to criticism. Anytime a writer assumes that their audience is just going to *understand* what they're going for without conveying the reason you're going to run into trouble. Yes, everyone knows Batman's backstory. Everyone knows that he became Batman because of his parents' murder. What I don't get is why that made this particular Batman so detached, uncaring, and quite frankly selfish because we've never seen that from him before and Reeves didn't explain it to us. A Bruce Wayne that is so disconnected from everything around him that he doesn’t even care about the local orphans and isn’t involved in his parents’ charities, requires some kind of exposition. That's where he messed up, and he neglected opportunities to give us more insight. 

Learning that that's something that has to change, that he has to be more than "vengeance" and that he has privilege/doesn't know how the poor people in Gotham live, as well as his lack of care for charity having extremely negative consequences (via the orphanage fund being up for grabs because he doesn't care enough to oversee it) is his entire character arc in the movie, and likely will result in a visible character and personality change in the sequel.

This is exactly the main point of my original review; this hasn't happened. It was implied that Batman was going to change. In the last five minutes of a three hour movie no less. If and how that change will occur has yet to be seen. There’s no such thing as implied character development; it either happened or it didn’t and it didn’t happen in this movie. You're giving Reeves preemptive points for something that might happen in a movie that doesn't yet exist. I'm just not going to give Reeves credit for character development that hasn't happened yet or development that might happen in the future.

There may very well be for a reason for why he chose to characterize Bruce and Batman the way he did here and it might make more sense in the context of a series versus a solo movie. I’m open to amending my opinion as my mind might change as the series develops and new information is presented. But right now this is the movie I’m talking about because this is the only movie that we’ve seen; and this is the characterization we were given; and this is how my opinion has been formed so it's fair game for criticism. Especially since it impacted other aspects of the film (i.e Batman and Catwoman’s relationship). For now he's just going to have to take the L.

Two or three years down the road we could end up with a Batman that's more well rounded, who has seen the wrong in how he operated before and changes to really help the people of Gotham. Or we could get a Batman that's just as thinly characterized as he was in this movie, who does the absolute bare minimum needed to be considered a hero because characterization is taking a backseat to story. I hope it's the former example. I think that's where this is going, but we won't know until we see the next film.

[ethvn-torchio]

Walls Could Talk | Chapter Two

a/n: sorry this chapter took so long! writer’s block is a bitch 😩✌

Summary: Steve and Peggy's search brings them to Paris - where they happen to meet up with an old friend.

Warnings: an intense makeout session/implied sexual content (it’s not smut, i haven’t decided if I’m putting actual smut in this fic)

Wordcount: 1.5k (unedited, also I'm sorry it's so short 🙃)

AO3 | prev chapter | next chapter (coming soon!)

ᴏᴄᴛ 𝟸𝟿, 𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟿

ᴏxғᴏʀᴅ, ᴇɴɢʟᴀɴᴅ

Steve wakes up in a cold sweat, bolting upright in bed. Was he still dreaming? Was this...was this real?

He gazes at Peggy - to make sure she was there, that all of this wasn't a mere fantasy, who begins to stir.

So, not a dream then, at least. His heart is racing, his mind buzzing and yet still confused and his breathing erratic. She's speaking to him, saying something, and he isn't quite listening, his heart thundering his ears. Adrenaline surges through his veins.

“I’m...I’m sorry, Peg. I didn’t mean to wake you up,” he whispers. His pulse was still racing.

Lightning illuminates the room for a split second and he can see the sympathy in her eyes.

"It's quite alright, Darling. Will you tell me what's wrong?" She asks, trailing her fingers through his hair.

"I...I don't- I don't remember much," he admits. "It was just...some stuff from the past...or, future..." he could almost laugh at that if he was in a better mood.

She nods sympathetically. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

He drinks in her appearance, nodding slightly. He presses his lips against hers softly.

He kisses her, gently and imploringly at first.

His one hand softly trails down her back, and he notices her sharp intake of breath when his hand ghosts over her lower back.

"This hurt?" he asks.

She nods stiffly. "I do believe I forgot to tell you with everything that happened tonight. I had a bit of a scuffle in the restroom with a Hydra agent. She slammed me against the sink," Peggy explains.

An idea forms in Steve's head; a single minded goal to make her forget.

He would make the only thing on her mind be him.

Wordlessly, he smiles and dips his head towards her neck, brushing his lips against it. His teeth graze against a sensitive spot on her neck and she makes a soft "Oh,"

His hands go to rest against either of her thighs. He pulls back, pupils blown.

“Steve,” she whispers. She lifts her hips in a silent invitation.

He leans down to kiss her, his lips against hers, and she's already breathless. He doesn't want to rush things, but he can't resist her.

Her hand slides down his back, and she lets out a soft moan against his mouth. His hands trail up her shirt, he can feel the goosebumps on her skin. He kisses her neck, and she can feel his hot breath against her skin.

"God, you're so beautiful. I love you," he whispers.

"I love you too," she replies.

He pulls her in for a desperate kiss once again, pulling her close.

—

The rain came and went, and with it sunshine followed.

“Peggy. Peggy, wake up,” is the first thing Peggy is greeted with in the morning.

Peggy groans, rolling over in an effort to ignore him. “No, not now,” she mutters, burying her face in the pillow.

Peggy feels weight on the bed as Steve sits down next to her. She tries in vain to ignore him.

"Oh, c'mon now, Peg. It's a new day, it's time to get up," he says.

“You are far too cheerful considering how early it is,” Peggy complains, shielding her eyes from the light pouring in from the blinds.

“...Peggy, it’s eleven in the morning.”

Peggy groans, glancing at the clock as if to make sure he’s right. “Point withstanding, you’re still too cheerful.”

“Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” Steve teases, narrowly missing a pillow flung haphazardly at him.

“Do shut up, Steve.”

He snickers.

Peggy yawns, stretching her sleep-infused joints. "Where are we going, again?"

"Word is our target's in Paris,” Steve replies. “Or at the very least, someone important is.”

Peggy hums, sitting up. The blanket wrapped around her falls off, revealing her bruised back.

"Jesus, Peg. Have you seen your back? That looks like it hurts," Steve notes.

"Yes, thank you for that insightful observation."

"I just mean- do you want ice or something?"

Peggy shrugs nonchalantly. "It doesn’t quite hurt. I can deal with it, I’ve faced worse."

“To be fair, you are the woman who fell asleep standing up in a trench.”

“Exactly,” Peggy winks. She stands up, beginning to sift through her suitcase. “So tell me, Steve. When’s our train leaving?”

—

ᴘᴀʀɪs, ғʀᴀɴᴄᴇ

A few hours later, they arrive at their dingy, rundown hotel just outside of Paris. The lobby smells like bleach and old carpet, and a radio plays a somber, mellow jazz tune.

Peggy clears her throat, waiting for the receptionist to acknowledge them.

The receptionist does not, however, care to notice.

“Can we have a room, please?” Peggy asks the woman at the front desk.

The woman hardly looks up from her magazine. “Name?”

“Carver,” Peggy answers automatically before Steve can.

The receptionist takes a long, seemingly never ending sip of her tea. Finally, she says. “Take the elevator to the third room, first one on the left. Here’s your key,” the woman says, sounding as disinterested as she possibly can. “Enjoy your stay,” she adds dryly.

Peggy eyes her warily. There was something a bit...off, about that woman.

Perhaps it was just her imagination.

They make their way to the elevator, and Steve finally breaks the silence. “So...is it just me or was there something weird about her? I mean, she could’ve just been a disgruntled employee, but…” he trails off, scratching the back of his neck.

Peggy hums. “No, I happen to agree. Though, perhaps we were just inconveniencing her by making her do her job.”

The smile fades from her face. “Stop,” Peggy whispers. She tilts her head toward the door, which was ajar. She clutches her gun in her purse.

Steve snorts. “Maybe,”

She laughs right along with him, but she pauses abruptly outside their door.

It could be the maid...but they haven’t even gotten into the room once.

Silently, the two stalk toward the door. The smell of smoke escapes from the room when Steve nudges the door open.

Which, in both of their experiences, usually did not happen to be a good thing.

In the chair in the corner, there sat...

Howard Stark.

A collective groan escapes the couple.

“Howard, must you break into our hotel room?” Peggy scolds, turning on the light.

“We thought you were an intruder.” Steve adds.

Howard smirks, taking a long drag of his cigar. “Technically, I am. But don’t you kids worry - I bring a peace offering. By peace offering, I mean I’m inviting you to stay in my Paris apartment instead of this dump,” Howard gestures loosely. “I mean, I don’t think this building even has heat.”

Steve shrugs. “Wouldn’t it be better to stay somewhere inconspicuous?”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Peggy agrees, her arms crossed.

Howard sniffs. “Okay, fine, don’t accept my extremely generous offer to let you stay at my apartment. I know when I’m not wanted. Just know I’ll remember that in the summer when you want to come over because I have air conditioning and you don’t.”

Peggy rolls her eyes. “Quit the melodramatics, Howard. We’ll stay with you,”

Steve wraps an arm around her. “Yeah, we- wait, we will?”

“...What? This building doesn’t have heat, and quite frankly I enjoy summer visits to Howard’s house.”

“Attagirl, Peg.” Howard beams. “I’ll meet you two in the lobby,”

—

Later, the trio eats lunch at Howard’s apartment.

"-you are not funny, Howard." Peggy informs him, pointing at him with her fork. "You could've at least feigned innocence."

"Innocent? If you looked up "innocent' in the dictionary, you'd see my picture on it," Howard says defensively.

Peggy snorts at that. "Oh, please, Howard. With your history you could easily father a small country,"

Howard grimaces. "Eugh, kids hate me. Plus, who has time to tend to a baby all the time? I mean sure, kids probably aren't annoying when they're...late teenagers? But for most of their lives, kids just seem so clingy and needy."

Steve picks at his plate absentmindedly, reminded of a conversation he had with Tony.

"Clearly, you must've met a different version of my father. He was cold. He was calculating. He never told me he loved me, he never even told me he liked me."

The sound of Peggy’s voice brings him back to reality. "...That's because they're children, Howard. Babies aren't self-sufficient from birth. Do you expect them to come out of the womb ready for rocket science?"

"Well, thank you for absolutely shattering my argument, Agent Carter." Howard mutters, downing his coffee. Deciding to change the subject in order to deflect attention off of himself, he says, "Steve, you still with us?"

Steve snaps to attention. "I, uh, yeah. I was just daydreaming, I guess."

Peggy makes a mental note to ask Steve about that later.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Howard asks.

Steve shrugs noncommittally, continuing to eat with much less gusto than before. "Just thinking about our mission,”

Peggy eyes him carefully, choosing to say nothing but clearly knowing something was wrong. In due time, she would ask.

In due time hopefully meant whenever Howard left the room.

—

lmao so like i was listening to a bunch of james bond songs bc they’re dramatic and spy-ey right (cough cough tho a song that fits the general tone of the fic would be "the world is not enough" by garbage)?? and then there’s absolutely none of that in this chapter lmao. sorry if this chapter was boring compared to last one but i mean we can’t have constant action in the fic, silly goose. 

also can we talk about how it took me like 8 DAYS TO WRITE THIS and it’s this short i’m sorry ajsjdfkgjjklk 😶✌

taglist (dm me if you’d like to be added!):

everything taglist: @return-of-the-simp​ @thereblogcrusader @stillmourningtonystark ​

walls could talk taglist: @deedepee​ @rizwritesfandom​ (extra thanks to riz for helping me when i was struggling with being descriptive u a real one) @mcu-academy​​

If you enjoyed, please rb/leave a comment! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

[brw]

🔥Wanda Maximoff

WANDA........ there's a weird thing that ppl have abt her where they don't really seem to want to admit that she IS one of the most famous and recogniseable and loved superheroes. part of this is of course bc of that racist whitewashed show but even before that i saw way more scarlet witch blogs, fansites, forums etc than ones for pietro, vision, etc. so i always find it SO weird when ppl are like "oh you just reduce wanda to her role as a sister/wife/daughter" etc bc in my experience its always been pietro and vision (less so erik but even then sometimes) who are reduced to their roles in her life, not vise versa.

which isn't to say that she doesn't get reduced to things but rather than getting reduced to the men ("men") in her life she instead gets reduced to that awful ableist caricature that bendis brought in. maybe like, in the 80s she had a more exclusive wife role but genuinely whenever i see that one "all my life i have only been magento's daughter... quicksilver's sister.... the vision's wife...." from children's crusade i'm just like girl WHAT are you talking about when was the last time people saw you as vision's wife and not the crazy psychopath who might kill everyone and reality too like she is far, far more popular than any of the afterformentioned characters and what she gets reduced to is bendis' awful ableist mess, NOT pietro or vision or simon or whatever.

on a completely seperate tangent but one i also feel a lot abt, genuinely in the last decade or two specifically it has been consistently x books where she has suffered the most imo. not to say avengers are great or anything (avengers dissassembled was uh a lot), but i cannot think of one single x comic or x adjacent comic she appeared in that wasn't disrespectful in some way. and quite frankly this year specifically has also shown me personally that x writers cannot be trusted with her at ALL. all of her appearances in x comics have been in that STUPID bathing suit costume, and it just rlly shows how x comics refuse to acknowledge her growth to milk the angst machine. i don't like the magneto relation at the best of times quite frankly and if THIS is gonna be how they're going to treat her i hope she never has to go near them, especially magneto again tbh :/ they didn't even have the decency to kill her off in the main title it was leah williams' shitty series like, ARE you fucking kidding me. x comics do not deserve wanda and there's no reason for her to die again for her ex abuser's man pain, and YES magneto was her abuser and i will not be taking criticism on this point. certainly magneto is capable of change and has made himself a better person numerous times since but wanda does not owe him forgiveness at all and if i have to sit through this again i want a genuine, serious conversation on what he did to them, and what he did to her by standing by while krakoa dug her name through the dirt.

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