#but I don't like it when a character dies for the sake of catching the audience off guard

[grimmgrinningghouls]

ngl I'm rewatching fear street again and Kate and Simons deaths felt so...off I guess? like I think the deli cutter kill is insane and really cool, but it felt more like they died for shock value then anything.

I get it, its a horror movie, a borderline slasher at that, but their deaths felt more like "haha surprise!!!! We got you didn't we?!?" then anything else. And its not like they didn't have a role for them, I can easily see them both fitting into the story later on.

[respectthepetty]

Pride Petty Watch (The Untamed) 1/?

I let the crowd pick which two blacklisted shows I would watch from my Petty List, so I flew through the first one knowing I had this 50-episode beast waiting for me. People have warned me that the first two episodes wouldn't make sense, there are a ton of characters to keep track of, I need to watch it at normal speed, and I need to keep the sound on. Therefore, I was already mad before I hit play, yet somehow I started the first episode, blacked out, and emerged five episodes later.

Which means I like it so far, and here's some quick reasons why:

Before I start, these two better be an item because they are my favorite BTS song aka "🔥" and since I haven't seen them in the present yet, I'm fearing something happened to them in that great battle in the past, and if so, I'M GOING TO BE BE LIVID! I've had them for three whole minutes, and they are everything to me, so I feel this story is going to fuck me over.

Everyone is chasing after this golden black snitch, yet nobody is catching it, so although there is a lot of death happening, I'm laughing.

If you squint, My Stand-In and The Untamed are the same. Boys who fell off a cliff come back in another body only to live the same life with the same people and make the same bad decisions. Cool cool cool.

This current lecturer is stating nobody could find the body but he fell into fire/lava, so what body were they thinking they would find?! Also, don't think I didn't catch homeboy getting in trouble in the past for asking in class what happens when a spirit demands revenge and the instructor got upset because look where we are now! Possession of a body for the sake of revenge. Should've entertained the question, professor, because sixteen years later, it will come back to haunt you, literally.

And homeboy applied his own theory of making the possessed bodies work for him to fight the other body. He is a smart cookie, and that's why the original Moo Moo person gave his body up to him.

@dribs-and-drabbles, if this is why you told me I needed the sound on, I'm confident I'm not going to remember this melody. And how is he playing a leaf right now?

I can't take this seriously. This feels like an 80s music video, and he is about to hit me with the hottest synthesizer intro.

And the sword has the golden black snitch in it. *Pikachu face*

I can't play an instrument but for a DIY flute made out of bamboo on the spot, I thought his playing was excellent. For people being saved from being squashed, they are some haters, and I would have stopped playing just so they could suffer.

I picked up that sister is dead in the future, but her kid is a brat, and I would've been mean to him too.

And did the brother really kill him in that battle on the hill because when the entire crowd was like "you killed him, right?", he was looking like . . .

So this is the brat's daddy? It would make sense that a man who shut down an entire hotel for his party would have a son who sets 400 traps so nobody else can catch anything. The privilege is genetic.

I like him AND I respect him. He has priorities and they are to drink and party because even when he came back in that other body, he snatched the liquor. As the opening showed, he's here for a good time, not a long time.

I don't like Fuddy Duddy. He can remember 3,500 rules (this place is where fun goes to die), but couldn't remember to tell my party bro that his sister and brother were inside? Everybody just left homeboy without a note saying where they are, and Fuddy Duddy had the information, yet was too busy lecturing about rules. AND committed the ultimate party foul and wasted the liquor. Make that the 3,501th rule! He's lucky he can lay the synthesizer so well.

This is where the big battle is/was (Nightvale, Nightshade, NightWhatever), and I hope this man died in it because he is doing TOO MUCH! "I don't fear death; I fear boredom" YOU'RE boring! Shut up and go collect the pieces of that dumb rock, Thanos Jr., so we can get this battle going.

HE BROUGHT A BIRD INTO CLASS! This is the everyday American high school class.

Why is everyone in the Fire Nation so pissed? Is it because it's hot there? All of y'all are doing too much except for that sister and her brother. I know that brother was the zombie guy from the statue fight, so that means the main homeboy was talking to Fire Nation sister at the graves. That was her family's grave, and she must be a good person, who is probably dead now too.

So they can all play magical instruments? They're like Josie and the Pussycats, playing gigs between fighting crime.

The brat's dad is gold, the Cloud Recesses (what is this name about because they should be a lot more fun with a name like that?) are white and blue, and the Fire Nation is red, so it's odd that homeboy had the dark blue robes with red underneath before coming to school, and keeps getting really friendly with the fire people. Plus the cloud people's power is blue, but his comes out in bursts of red. Is his daddy really Fire Nation? Get Maury on the line.

So his bird buddy gave him porn, which he gave to Fuddy Duddy, who then ripped it up. No wonder why he is so good at school and remembers 3,500 rules. Got nothing but time on his hands since he isn't using his hands doing anything else by being so repressed.

Fuddy Duddy just said he doesn't touch people, yet in the very beginning he snatched homeboy's hand without hesitation, so he wouldn't fall to his death. Then, he snatched that premium liquor for him. I see you and your heart on your sleeve, my man! Just like this water demon, the feelings are sneaking up on you and snatching you up!

Should've bought her the comb, bro, because she's going to be dead after that big battle since she was sent to snoop for the Fire Nation. Even though she is trying to help her brother, I feel this will be y'alls Romeo and Juliet moment.

So the brother was always going to come back from the dead since he already was cursed(?), and my homeboy is once again proving to be a friend to all. I like you, and I will learn your name, hopefully by episode 28.

Only three marks healed in the present, so whoever is the last mark has to be one of these hoochies, and the more backstory I get, the more I think it's going to hurt when I find out who the last mark is.

Half these people have already died leading up to that big battle and the other half will die as homeboy sets out on his Kill Bill journey, so like . . .

"You and I have unfinished business"

*slams on the 'next' button*

[sexy-sapphic-sorcerer]

1: Magic is a Metaphor < 2: Morgana is a Lesbian < 3: Merlin is Gay > 4: Arthur is Bi

Again with the whole metaphor thing, Merlin's entire character is about having to hide his identity and wishing that he could be free to be himself so that he wouldn't have to lie about how much Arthur means to him. So that's all very gay, but he's also just very queer-coded generally. There are so many jokes about him being more effeminate or wearing women's clothing, most notably in this episode where he dresses in full drag and then takes the opportunity to shamelessly flirt with Arthur. Unhinged.

Basically every other character seems to just assume that he's gay, at least towards the end, because Gaius and Arthur are in utter disbelief that Merlin would be 'seeing a girl'. And of course he isn't, he's actually sneaking around with that druid guy, leading Arthur to question how courting a girl would leave him 'walking with a limp.'

I also think it's very interesting how often Merlin has to pretend to be attracted to women to avoid people discovering his secret, like with Gwen in Series 1 or Morgana in Series 2. Or this scene, where Gwen and Merlin are the only people not affected by the Lamia's seduction charm and they're trying to figure out why. And Merlin says, 'it doesn't affect you because you're a woman'. And firstly, Gwen is like, 'so what?' So, bisexual queen. And then Merlin says, "it only affects men," and Gwen says, "so then why haven't you fallen under her spell?" And Merlin is just like, 'oh shit, I don't know. I can't think of any reason why I wouldn't be seduced by a woman.'

Now, you might be saying, "but Merlin is attracted to women! what about that one female love interest he had for literally one episode who immediately died?" Oh, you mean:

I'm sorry to all of the Freylin shippers out there, but this was so clearly just the writers' last-ditch attempt to make Merlin straight. If you think about it, Freya also 'has magic' if you catch my drift, and that is the only thing that she and Merlin have in common, and the only thing that they talk about. And if you look at their dialogue out of context, it really doesn't seem like it's magic that they're talking about. It's just gay/lesbian solidarity. Also, never forget when Colin Morgan accidentally referred to Merlin's potential love interests as "him or her." So who else could he have been thinking of?

Merlin definitely had a crush on Lancelot. From the moment that they first meet, he just keeps going on about, 'omg, isn't Lancelot so strong and brave and chivalrous? God, I hope he becomes a knight, he would look so good in a suit of armour.' And then he says to Gwen, completely unprompted, "so just for the sake of argument– Arthur or Lancelot?" Why are you thinking about that Merlin? Then that scene ends with Merlin and Lancelot getting drunk and stumbling home together and waking up the next morning having shared Merlin's single bed. So take from that what you will. I don't necessarily think that anything happened between them, not because I think Lancelot is straight, don't get it twisted, just because I think he's a fucking virgin.

But certified pansexual manwhore Gwaine on the other hand, oh they definitely fucked. And it's a very similar situation to Lancelot, Merlin's only flirting technique is just to find some buff guy who's just saved his life and be like, 'oh my god what can I possibly do to repay you? Maybe you could come back to my place and I could tend to your wounds and then we could go down to the tavern, have a few drinks'.

And it works. Merlin literally used his job as apprentice physician to the Knights of the Round Table as his own personal Grindr, and i love that for him. But, of course, these are just side hoes to Merlin's main bitch, Arthur.

You can deny everything else that I've said, but you cannot deny that Merlin was in love with Arthur. And don't even try to say, 'but it's just because it was his destiny'. Because, yeah, like that's any less gay. They're two sides of the same coin, destined to be together, Merlin 'uses magic only for Arthur'. Come on.

Also, it's pretty clear that Merlin cares about Arthur more than he cares about his destiny, throughout the entire show. But it culminates in this scene in series five where, because of very contrived plot reasons, Arthur has to choose between legalizing magic and saving the life of Mordred. And Merlin convinces Arthur not to legalise magic so that he will let Mordred die. He literally enables the genocide of his own people and condemns himself to a lifetime of suffering just on the off chance that he can spend a bit more time with Arthur.

And if that isn't heartbreaking enough, of course, every action that Merlin makes only confirms Arthur's fate. And after he very platonically dies in Merlin's arms, as dudebros do, what does Merlin do? does he go back to Camelot and live a full happy heterosexual life? Of course not. No, he spends the next one and a half thousand years just waiting at Arthur's resting place, waiting for the day that Arthur will be resurrected and they can be together again. What the fuck kind of Greek tragedy, Achilles and Patroclus level shit is that? That is fucking gay.

[venusinx]

ode to a conversation stuck in your throat

itoshi rin x reader smau

bonus chapter: don't stop

cw: cursing, heavy (?) making out, idk at what point i ask minors not to interact ?? but they're only heavy making out so i think it's fine ?? idk, implied sex, awkwardness, lmk if i missed anything

a/n: bonus chapter time !!! busted this out on my flight home so it's not proofread or anything whoops but yeah this is their first little hookup aka the sex that started it all lmfaoo pls tell me if yall have any gentle constructive criticism ily all

chapter XX > series masterlist > the end.

"yn," rin said, the warning clear in his voice, "put your phone down, for fuck's sake. you're the one that hasn't seen these movies and was looking forward to watching them, so watch." you pouted at his icy tone that only warmed up minimally for you. "rensuke already spoiled it," you grumbled.

"he didn't spoil all of it," rin clarified with an eye roll. you gasped dramatically and let your phone slide out of your grasp to clatter on the floor. "there's more? do other people also die?"

rin couldn't help but crack a small smile at your anger and shock. "i'm not telling you. now watch." he swore your eyes were glassy as you said, "no. i cannot emotionally do that right now."

you reached down for your phone and rin sighed. "get off your phone, yn." you weren't going to listen to him before he added, "please."

he knew you were incapable of resisting him when he was nice to you for a change, so you dropped your phone in your lap with a groan.

the two of you sat in silence for a while, minus your gasps at the movie and rin's low laughs at your reactions. you pressed your face against his chest to hide your tears when one of your favorite characters died, and he ran his fingers through your hair soothingly, although his voice was gruff when he said, "you're such a baby." you didn't deign to respond.

however, it wasn't long before you felt your phone buzz from your lap. you picked it up on habit, just to check the phone screen, you swear, before the device was plucked from your hands.

"hey-!" you protested, reaching wildly into the air where rin was holding it far above your head. "not fair, rinnie, give it back! i was just checking my notifications- aha!"

it took both of your arms, but you successfully pulled his arm enough to snatch the phone back out of his hand.

before you could interpret the unimpressed look he gave you, his fingers were digging into your sides, poking and tickling until you had no choice but to drop the phone to defend yourself.

"rin, stop being an asshole!" you wished you could say you sounded serious, but you were giggling during your futile attempts at pushing his hands away.

"stop going on your phone then," he countered. "fine, fine!" you yelled, mostly because you were out of breath from all the laughing.

he sat back, satisfied, and pocketed your phone. really, you didn't care much about the phone itself anymore; you mostly just wanted to annoy rin. you waited a moment to catch your breath before launching yourself onto him from across the couch.

he saw you coming out of the corner of his eye, of course, and twisted as you jumped. his hands landed on your waist, keeping you from toppling over him and landing on the floor.

you were too busy trying to shove your hand into his pocket to feel his grip tighten on your waist as you shifted your hips.

"got it!" you shouted, victorious. the phone dangled from your fingertips like a prize. you glanced down at rin when he didn't say anything.

your face burned red, more flushed than it was before from the laughing and wrestling around, as you realized the position you were in.

you were straddling him completely, his hands fixed on the curve of your waist. you had one of your own hands on his chest to hold yourself up, although his face felt… dangerously close to yours.

which was ridiculous, because rin was your best friend. there was no such thing as dangerously close between you two.

still, your breathing slowed as your eyes flitted across his face. his eyebrows were pinched together in what you called his concentration face. you recognized it from countless tests and soccer games, and even social interactions when rin would be wondering how best to react to a situation. his eyes were as piercing as ever, with those frustratingly beautiful lower lashes framing them and making him look even more intense.

you told yourself to stop staring, but it was as if you physically couldn't.

almost against your will, your gaze dipped down to his mouth. his lips looked slightly chapped and annoyingly perfect. you wanted to-

what the fuck is wrong with me? you thought wildly.

you met rin's eyes again to apologize profusely, but the words quickly died on your lips.

he was looking at you, too. at your mouth. with a look on his face you'd never seen before. was it… hunger?

no- desire.

your heartbeat spiked in your chest as you realized rin was looking at you like he wanted you.

"uh, i-"

you didn't know what you were planning to say, and you never figured it out either. rin surged forward suddenly, and then his lips were on yours.

he sat up and adjusted so that he was sitting up against the couch with you still firmly in his lap.

shocked, you didn't move for a second, before you let out an embarrassing sound, something between a whimper and a groan, and looped your arms behind his neck, pulling him even closer.

he kissed you like you were oxygen and he was drowning, or, no, that's not quite right. more like he was a wildfire and you were the air he needed to consume to stay alive.

his lips moved easily against yours, and if you were more present mentally, you would've marveled at how natural and normal it felt.

but right now, you were only sensations.

the feeling of his tongue tracing your bottom lip, his teeth pulling lightly on it afterwards. the taste of him, something faintly sweet from the snacks you shared earlier, and something you knew was uniquely rin itoshi. the softness of his sweatpants under the backs of your thighs, and his hands moving across your sides and hips and back. the sounds he was making- you'd only ever heard him this out of breath after a soccer game, but here he was, panting lightly and moaning as you unintentionally moved your hips back and forth over him.

your lips moved to his neck, determined to draw out more of these sounds, to see this brand new, unexplored part of your best friend.

really, the reminder that this was your best friend should've made you hesitate, made you stop and demand he forget about all of this. then you sucked a spot on his neck, right under his jawline, and he-

"fuck, yn."

his voice was low and gravelly, and it sent a jolt through your whole body.

that was when you decided you wouldn't think, not right now. not about how this was your closest friend, and how all you wanted to do was keep doing what you were doing, this act of distinct more-than-friends-ness, and how you didn't want it to stop.

didn't want him to stop, as he weaved a hand through your hair and pulled you away from his neck only to attach his lips to your throat, sucking and nibbling his way up and down your own neck. you gasped at the feeling, your hips moving on their own. his hand tightened in your hair, not enough to hurt, but it made you whimper again. he groaned against your skin.

"don't stop, rin," you gasped. "please, don't stop."

he stopped anyway, pulling back to look you in the eyes. "are you sure?"

"yes," you said, tugging him closer, "don't stop."

•••

your bedroom was silent except for the heavy breathing of both you and rin. you had your sheets pulled up to cover your bare chest as the reality of what you just did fully sank in.

holy shit, i just slept with my best friend.

you turned your head to look at rin, who was already looking at you with wide eyes.

"so, uh, yeah," he said.

"that happened," you said rather uselessly. he nodded anyway. "yeah, it did."

"but, like- it's not a big deal, right? i mean, does this… change things?" you trailed off awkwardly at the end.

an emotion passed over rin's face that you couldn't place before he said, "of course it doesn't change anything, yn. like you said, it's no big deal."

"right," you said, "well. this has been a very long movie night, and i'm feeling kind of tired now, so i should be getting to sleep soon."

"no, yeah, me too." rin stumbled over his words as he stumbled out of bed, too, tripping over the various clothes scattered on the floor. he pulled on his shirt, which you were pretty sure he put on inside out, and somehow managed to pull on his sweats. you grabbed your shirt and shorts, steadfastly avoiding eye contact as you walked by him silently towards your front door.

you could hear him following behind you, but couldn't think of anything to say except-

"well, this was fun! thanks for coming over, see you later!"

you could have sworn rin was blushing.

he took a breath, seeming to take a moment to compose himself (at least to be more composed than you currently were, which was not hard), and said, "right. thanks for having me over. goodnight, yn."

his voice sounded the same as ever. calm, cool, collected.

meanwhile, yours had been high-pitched and squeaky, you were sure of it.

you did nothing except force an obviously-faked grin and close the door awkwardly in his face.

you slid down the closed door onto the floor, your head in your hands.

fuck.

what did you just do?

chapter XX > series masterlist > the end.

THE ENDDDDDD I'M FUCKING CRYING REAL TEARS RN yall have no idea how much every comment & like & reblog means to me like i am so beyond honored yall took time to read this i love you all<33

taglist: @punkhazardlaw @sarah-saystuff @ashnootnoot @xiriela @froggie-zusya23 @vanitasbrainrot @lesliesleisure @shironagi @1isabelfox @celestair @rin1802 @rroxii @reiners-milkbiddies @arxliana @kiopanxp @kawaii-angelanne @sleepygraves @dei-lilxc @y-sabell-a @k0z3me @lilactaro @mellozhi @matchablossomsss @rainb3rrie @vernorexiaaa @httpsanon @bloombb @izumi-astra-123 @karmatiz @msameikanevaeh @ascybous @niko-ash @celioderso @91ed0

[jedi-enthusiast]

Similar Stories, Different Treatments: Anakin Skywalker and Abijah Fowler

Ok, so recently I've been re-watching 'Blue Eye Samauri' on Netflix and last night it dawned on me that, generally speaking, Abijah Fowler and Anakin Skywalker have very similar stories and actions...and yet their respective fandoms react to the two of them very differently.

So, here's my long ass post analyzing the two of them and why people react to them so differently.

----------

First, comparing the two characters...

So, assuming that y'all know me for my Star Wars content, you probably know Anakin's story but, for the sake of this post, I'll explain it briefly.

Anakin was born into slavery and lived as a slave for 9 years. Then one day he and his mother met two Jedi and a handmaiden, and his mother asked the Jedi to take Anakin and train him---which they agreed to do, so Anakin had to leave his mother. At 19 he had nightmares about and then witnessed his mother's death when he went back to Tatooine before being promptly drafted into war along with the rest of the Jedi by the Senate. After a harrowing 3 years of war and having his worst behaviors enabled/encouraged by the villain and his wife, Anakin begins to have nightmares about his pregnant wife dying. He then tries to prevent her dying, even though she's in perfect health.

We know a little less about Abijah Fowler's past, but we do know an integral part of it from this monologue:

"My country's history is one of manufactured suffering. I was a boy when the Tudors burned any food the rebels under O'Neill might think to eat. We starved. Everyone starved. Mouths on the dead stained green from chewing nettles---you get resourceful in a famine. My parents died early, left me and my sister catching rats. The rats ran out quick. Fed my sister on my blood, it kept her alive an extra two weeks. I didn't sleep for three days to protect her body from the starving 'til the ground thawed. I cut out her kidneys and buried her, fat cap on them like a pea. I haven't eaten a single meal since my mind didn't go to that bite. It was the last thing I ever did because I had to. I control my life now, every bite."

-----

From my point of view, Anakin and Abijah are very similar in their motivations.

Both of them started out as, assumedly, sweet and kind and caring young boys. You don't harm yourself to feed your sister and then cause more harm to yourself to protect her after she's already dead, if you're not. Similarly, you don't bring three complete strangers into your home because you're worried about them and then risk your life to help them, if you're not.

Both of them then went through great tragedies and likely felt completely powerless because of these tragedies and the circumstances they found themselves in.

For Abijah it was growing up during a famine, witnessing the horrors of famine and what people had to do during it, witnessing the deaths of his parents, being unable to stop the death of his sister, and being forced into cannibalism---of his sister and likely parents, no less---to prevent himself from starving. For Anakin it was growing up as a slave, having to leave his mother at a young age, witnessing his mother's death, and then being thrust into a war and witnessing the horrors of that.

Because of that powerlessness, both Anakin and Abijah hate the idea of them being powerless and their actions are made from a mix of anger at whoever they blame for what has happened---whether they're actually to blame, or whether they've done nothing---and refusal to ever be powerless again, or at least accept that they're powerless.

These motivations led them both to commit- (Anakin) -or attempt to commit- (Abijah) -mass murder, *genocide, **cultural genocide, and murder of their female main character counterpart.

*Abijah wasn't necessarily setting out to commit physical genocide, but he was willing to do so if the people of Japan weren't willing to go along with his plans.

**I do consider Abijah's plans as including cultural genocide, since he has a whole monologue about the people of Japan being "godless" and how he'd force them into Christianity- (Catholicism?) -if he succeeded in killing the Shogunate.

----------

Now, comparing fandom's reaction to the two...

For Anakin, he succeeds in causing Padme's death, destroying the Republic aka the only democracy in the galaxy, committing cultural and physical genocide against the Jedi, murdering an entire village of Tuskens including the children, and going on to oppress and enslave the rest of the galaxy for decades...

...in contrast, Abijah only succeeds in committing mass murder and fails in all of his other plans---and his success in committing mass murder is partially due to the Shogun's sons and wife locking people inside the burning palace.

But, despite all of this, if you look into how their respective fandoms treat them, you'd assume that it was the opposite.

Anakin is lifted up as this good person who had no agency in any of his actions or, if he did, then the people he murdered "deserved it"---he's loved by most of the fandom and everywhere you look you see think pieces about how Anakin was really a victim, how his actions were justified, how he's not to blame for anything.

Meanwhile Abijah is hated and his actions are labeled by the fandom as bad. He's a terrible person and he's seen as such. I've never seen a single post justifying his actions or trying to say he isn't to blame for his actions.

Now, this is not me saying that the Blue Eye Samauri fandom is wrong to view Abijah this way---on the contrary, I agree that his actions are heinous and he's a terrible person, there's nothing there that I don't agree with.

However, I do think it's interesting how differently both characters are treated when one of them is, unequivocally, worse than the other.

----------

Why is this?

Now, I'm going to preface this section with the disclaimer that part of it is because Anakin is the main character of his media and Abijah is not---however, I believe that this has a very small effect on how fandom treats them since, as we've seen with other characters, screentime doesn't really matter that much when it comes to whether fandom likes a character or not.

Moving on-

-----

I think a lot of it is just that Anakin is conventionally attractive and Abijah isn't.

Anakin and Abijah are both selfish, misogynistic, racist, have violent responses to most things, and have committed atrocities in the name of personal gain. The only difference between them---besides the obvious differences that come with the medias they're in---is that Anakin is pretty to look at and Abijah isn't.

It'd be even worse if Abijah was a POC or a woman, even if he was conventionally attractive---as proven by other Star Wars characters.

Mace Windu? Fandom hates him and makes him out to be a villain.

Saw Gerrera? Same thing.

Rey Skywalker? People hate her and say she's "unrealistic" or "too OP."

Reva Sevander? People fucking CRUCIFIED her!

None of these people even come near Anakin's level of "I'm a terrible person and I do heinous things because why not!" Mace and Rey never did anything wrong, and Saw and Reva did the things they did because of trauma/revenge and/or working to take down a greater evil---and even then, neither of them do anything near as bad as Anakin!

Yet they're hated and held to a higher standard and crucified in a way that Anakin isn't.

-----

Another reason is that people can project onto Anakin in a way they can't project onto Abijah.

With Anakin, they can twist the Jedi's actions to fit whatever trauma they personally relate to, they can shove characters like Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Mace, Yoda, etc. into whatever archetype they want to fit their story, they can excuse away every atrocity Anakin commits because he's doing it out of attachment and they think attachment means love, etc.

Meanwhile it's hard for people to project onto Abijah because everything and everyone around him is harder to change to fit his narrative.

There's no one really around him that you can say manipulated, abused, or otherwise forced him into doing the things he did. The other characters don't really interact with him, so people can't say the characters "deserved" what he did to them. And he openly admits that he's doing things out of greed, whereas Anakin says he's doing things out of love when he's really not.

----------

In conclusion, Abijah Fowler and Anakin Skywalker are both people that experienced tragedy and became terrible people that did heinous things because of it---but people only justify one of their actions because they think he's pretty and project onto him.

They're the same person in different medias ���‍♀️

[aeithalian]

brought to you by walker scobell's correct opinions

okay so this is super unhinged but I've held this opinion for a long time and I was reminded of it when Walker Scobell adressed it in an interview and I need to yell it from the rooftops - Percy Jackson would absolutely kick ass in a fight against Harry Potter. And I say this as a lifelong fan of both series (who obviously knows which author is better).

But it's more nuanced than that. Because apparently I can't be normal about things.

Here's the thing: Percy and Harry both serve completely different purposes as the protagonists of their respective plots. Because Percy's special. Harry's not, at least in the ways that matter. Hence, Percy would absolutely kick ass.

Allow me to explain. We're in the great position here of both stories being set in the "main character has to go learn how to harness their power" archetype for both characters, (Percy at Camp Half-Blood and Harry at Hogwarts) so luckily, this also gives us a pretty good idea of how skilled they are in comparison to their peers.

Percy, over the span of the series, and even in the first book alone, excels above his peers. He's the child of the second most powerful god in the pantheon, he's given a prophecy and a quest almost immediately upon arriving at camp (a privilege other campers have to wait years for), and at the point we've reached in the canon books, is one of the most powerful demigods ever. Like, his power level is compared to that of a minor god, he's a respected leader, and he beat the god of war in single combat at age 12 based on (mostly) skill alone.

But Harry, in comparison to his peers? Painfully average in most regards. Every single life-threatening situation he was in throughout the entire series required some fluke of nature/magic for him to get out alive. As a baby? Only survived by some ancient magical loophole. Book 1? Use of aforementioned magical loophole. Book 2? Sure, he saved the day but he also almost died, but didn't because Dumbledore sent... a bird. Book 3? Harry's mastery of the Patronus charm is one of maybe three exceptions to this rule in the entire series. Books 4, 5, and 7? Magic loophole!!!! And let's be real - Dumbledore saved Harry's ass multiple times in the book 6 climax, but I'll let the bygones be bygones and not question Dumbledore's methods. My point being: Harry sucks at most things. But, you know, at least he's self-aware about it.

Now before anybody comes screaming to me, I know that Harry's not dumb as a rock, or anything. Yes, he's good at DADA, I am aware, thank you. But let's be real - if the aforementioned magical loophole didn't exist, Harry would not have survived a good 80% of his altercations in the series, considering the aforementioned magical loophole literally only works against one person. To be real, he also wouldn't be in those life-threatening altercations to begin with.

FURTHERMORE. They both fall into the "Chosen One" archetype, right? But here's the thing: Percy is powerful in his own right, and being the chosen one isn't what makes him powerful. Harry, on the other hand, is powerful because he's the chosen one, because of all the mysticism built around an arguably average person of middling talent. He's only special because of the whole "[Voldemort] will mark him as his equal" thing from the prophecy.

Even if you assume that an average demigod and an average wizard hold about the same power levels (which, honestly, I don't think you can say, but for the sake of the argument, that's what we're going to go with), the pure fact of the matter is that Percy is like a Dumbledore-level demigod, and Harry is a Michael Yew-level wizard. (Who is Michael Yew, you may ask? To which I say: exactly.)

Are you catching my drift? Percy kicks ass against Harry because he's more powerful. It's as simple as that.

But allow me to extrapolate further, because I fear that some may take this to mean that Harry is a bad protagonist. He's not, he just serves a different narrative purpose as a character. Imagine if you were to swap Percy and Harry into each others' stories:

Harry would probably die in the first PJO book. As an untrained wizard with at most, one year at Hogwarts under his belt, he'd probably die in the initial fight against the Minotaur. Done deal. Sure, you could take it a step further and assume that he does carry good problem-solving skills in moments of high stress, so maybe he could have made it out of that fight alive, but he's probably toast from that moment on. My main point is that Percy's skills that get him through his first quest are inherent. He doesn't necessarily have to practice to have heightened battle senses, water powers, and sensitivity to the Mist, all things that helped him survive. Harry simply does not have those things, and as a wizard of about the same age, doesn't have the skill set to match those powers with his own magical abilities. And by the end of the series, assuming Harry doesn't die immediately, the last book is one long, big battle, and Harry's one-on-one combat skills aren't necessarily bad, but if I have a hard time remembering how many times Harry was in a duel against a fully trained wizard and won in his own right, what makes you think he could beat ultra-powerful Titans like Percy did?

As for Percy - Put him in the climax moment of the first HP book against Quirrell. Harry survived that moment by using the aforementioned magical loophole, but Percy would have probably chopped Quirrell's head off within the first five minutes. No biggie. No moment in the first three books comes to mind as a situation that would have given Percy a ton of trouble at around the same age. And the fact that I think that Percy would definitely give Voldemort a run for his money in a one-on-one duel in the second half of the series should really say something.

Again, that's not to say that Harry's a bad protagonist. I think that their respective power levels serve their respective plots well! Imagine how boring the PJO series would be if Percy wasn't powerful enough to go head-to-head with Titans, or how boring the HP series would be if Harry had no problems beating Voldemort ever.

It's also interesting when you consider the implications of what being the Chosen One means in their respective universes. Percy knows he's the Chosen One, and he's actually more offended when Rachel suggests that he's not the hero of the prophecy, rather Luke is. Harry, on the other hand, has a hard time believing he's the Chosen One, because he knows just how generally unremarkable he is aside from the fact that he keeps surviving against all odds. Percy is the typical Chosen One, Harry is not.

And that gets even more interesting when you consider how they interact with their peers once their "Chosen One status" becomes common knowledge. Percy, who spends most of his time on quests, doesn't interact with his peers much on-page (meaning we don't see him go through everyday life like we see in the HP series), but that aside, he's generally well-respected. People are in awe of him. People know who he is, and have decided that he is deserving of his claims to fame and power. Harry, on the other hand, is generally not respected to the same degree, and people have a hard time believing him when he tells them about his close calls with death. Adults, specifically, find his stories unbelievable, because to them, he's untrained and not significantly powerful. And you know what? They're completely right.

I tend to also see that manifest a lot in their personalities. Percy, as the Chosen One, tends to struggle a lot with the fact that there are a lot of expectations placed upon him. People come to him for help all the time, and the gods tend to take him for granted, so he ends up with this very 'leave me alone let me live my life in peace' kind of thing going on. Harry, on the other hand, struggles in the different way of, as I said before, never being believed, and while he also struggles a lot with expectations, has this issue that he doesn't, nor will he ever, live up to them because that's not who he is (insert rant here about why Harry becoming an Auror was so out of character, and why he should have become the DADA professor instead, kindly fu JKR). Harry isn't some overpowered godling, he's just some random kid, placed well enough in society that Voldemort took an unhealthy interest in him.

I'm getting off track here. But my point stands: while both Percy and Harry serve the Chosen One protagonist archetype, they are inherently different characters and serve different purposes. Harry is atypical, and doesn't succeed in his own rights as much as you'd predict from a YA protagonist, regardless of the fact that he's got an über-powerful failsafe button. Percy, on the other hand, is a much more cliche example of a main character, being overpowered and wildly successful with barebones training.

Now, this is not me saying that PJO is a cliche YA story. I would never say that, because Rick Riordan is a masterful writer who still incorporates Percy's struggles as a person into a world where he's considered extremely powerful (meaning he's not a Mary Sue). That, and the fact that Percy isn't actually the 'hero of the prophecy', but the main villain is, is what should disprove that statement in a split second.

All is is basically saying that, while Percy would absolutely whoop ass against Harry, that does not mean that Harry is a bad character. Harry is, I think, the only kind of character that could fit well enough in the HP series for it to be considered a fulfilling story (insert rant here about how the final fight in movie 8 is stupid and Harry could have never held his own in a duel against Voldemort for that long, and completely missed the point of the finale of book 7 and it's been pissing me off for years).

Anyways, yeah, point made, come yell at me if you think I'm wrong, but I don't think I'm wrong.

More (mostly TOA) rants here if you want them.

[sky-is-the-limit]

My opinion on Dutch van der Linde.

Ever since I started playing this game, I've seen many fans claim that the change happened when Dutch hit his head etc or blame it on everything else but the man himself so I wanted to pitch in and say my opinion as someone who went from adoring him to hating him even more than Micah. Way more.

I truly believe that this man was always a manipulative narcissist with a 'hero complex' just to feed his delusions that he was an idealistic leader, a good man with big dreams who had such a big heart to take weaker people in, only to use them for his arrogant ambitions and throw them out when they'd no longer 'need' him or start questioning his means to achieve whatever he set his mind to.

Arthur was used for his loyalty to be a brainless soldier that would not raise his voice, never question, never ask for further explanation and always blindly follow orders to pay him off for his act of kindness, to take Arthur in when he was a child and give him a family.

When Dutch realised that Arthur was starting to become his own man and disagree with the dangerous and hopeless plans to a "better life", Dutch turned to the only man who openly voiced that he disliked Arthur and was shamelessly kissing his ass for his own selfish reasons (Micah).

Dutch raised a weapon and when that weapon was no longer needed, he threw it out. He didn't raise him as a son, he gave Arthur that illusion to have his blinded/unconditional dedication and love. Because a son is not meant to go against his father but to take orders and do as he's told.

Now John, I think he was always a wild card for Dutch. Yes, he raised him to be just like Arthur, but in the end, he could not tame him. And what did he do when John was locked up, in serious trouble and about to get killed? He found the easiest way to get rid of a future problem. Because if 'loyal Arthur' was starting to voice concerns, imagine John.

Though they had disagreements and fights, John was always loyal to Arthur. It was clear that if Arthur was to stray away from Dutch, John would follow him, no questions asked. His ride or die. And John being John, his way out would come with a bang. He masked it as not the right time to save John and tested the waters.

Arthur went to get him, but of course he did. They were raised as brothers. Dutch feared that because he intended for both of them to belong to him, not to choose each other. He tried to get rid of him twice so the threat would get minimised.

To him, Arthur was easier to manipulate because he truly loved Dutch. John was more careless and that saved him in the end. The only man he was loyal to, the only man he'd give his life for, ended up giving his life for him.

Now Hosea, I don't doubt that Dutch cared about him but to an extent. I wholeheartedly believe that he would not hesitate to leave him behind for the sake of his ambitions. Lenny as well. Which is why when they died, to him it was like they opened new spots for people who would follow him and have the same selfish mindset (aka Micah and his men.) as it was clear that his old gang/what was left of it, was catching up to him.

Now, in the epilogue when Dutch kills Micah, some say that it was guilt or shame for what they both did to Arthur, perhaps even guilt and sympathy for John.. I disagree.

I see it more realistically tbh. He saw Micah as a future problem (aka like Arthur but in a man that was dangerous, selfish and would not hesitate to betray him) and ended it before it was too late. It was clear that John was there to avenge his brother, not to mess with Dutch and so he took out the only opponent.

Anyway, I'm not saying my opinion is right, it's just what I feel about Dutch as a character. I adore the way he was written bc no matter how many times you play the game, he manages to evoke such anger and sadness in you that is truly remarkable and what I love about good storytelling. In my opinion, the 2nd time you play it, it hurts even more because you see him treat Arthur as his son knowing exactly what will follow.

[ewanmitchellcrumbs]

Ange, I swear this isn't the Aemond thirsty girlie in me talking-

but what the FUCK?

Aemond literally only had TWO scenes in this episode....like, where was he in the council right after Jaehaerys died? Did we need to see Cole be an ass, or another sex scene of Cole and Alicent AGAIN? I feel like he had more scenes in the last episodes of s1 he was in than the first two episodes of s2, am I alone in that? Yes, Tom, Phia, and the cast are acting phenomenally, whether or not I agree with certain directions for certain storylines. But hello? Aemond? Where is he, going to see Helaena after Blood and Cheese? Instead he's with the god awful brothel woman, bragging about how Daemon sees him as such a foe that he came for him? Wtf? Where is his grief? His brother, sister, mother- all grieving. I know maybe it can be interpreted as him going to that woman in his grief, but he did state he was also there the night of the attack itself, so I'm sorry I don't buy it. Is he just gonna pop up again for Rook's Rest, play villain and become Prince Regent? Where's the development? Maybe I'm reading into it too much, perhaps it's my post-episode adrenaline, but for fuck's sake. Especially when you think about how in the press and promo he was front and centre. I have other thoughts about the episode, obviously, but this one I had to get off my chest.

-🦋 anon

Okay. I am here. Watched the episode at 2am BST and have been patiently waiting for people to catch up. Once more I will be using your ask to dump my thoughts, I hope you don't mind!

This episode was better than last week's. Helaena's grief and discomfort over the funeral procession was superb. Aegon rushing away from her, his rage, his tears?! Ugh, the acting from TGC so far this season has been phenomenal.

Rhaenyra and Daemon's interaction was spot on. They've softened show Rhaenyra up compared to her book counterpart, but I don't hate it. It was really nice to see some meaningful interactions between Jace and Baela, and Rhaenys and Corlys. I am obsessed with Addam.

I despise Criston, and I am tired of being beaten over the head with Alicole sex scenes; we get it, they're fucking, move on.

Erryk and Arryk's deaths were so poignant, and perfectly indicative of what a waste of life this war is.

We are not getting enough Aemond. The scene in the brothel made my blood run cold. The madame is infantilising Aemond - they have clearly just had sex, and yet she is letting him lay in her lap while she teaches him the difference between right and wrong as though he's a toddler. It felt incredibly weird to me, and creeped me out, but I suppose it's valuable insight into Aemond's state of mind. I do feel like lots of meaningful character development is being rushed, or not touched upon at all though. We never saw him reprimanded for Luke's death, he has no reaction whatsoever to the death of Jaehaerys. I feel like our guy is just gonna rock up at Rook's Rest, betray Aegon and we're just gonna have to deal with the fact that we've seen none of the unravelling that's occurred mentally to get him there.

We shall see. Overall, I enjoyed this episode. Otto absolutely stole the show for me. Him shouting made me so violently horny that I had to get up and pace around.

[xnewtiebooty]

I've gotta say...I really don't like Teresa.

I knew going in she was a controversial character, and that may have coloured my perception of her negatively from the offset/made me biased. And I tried to like her, I really did. I'm trying to do the mature thing, to appreciate her nuance and complexity, but boy does she make it difficult. In fact I did like her in the first film, when she really was just a scared, guarded, but sweet and funny girl who didn't remember who she was.

And I can in fact understand and even appreciate her motivations for what she did. I realize it can't have been, and wasn't exactly easy for her, sacrificing her relationships to the people she was closest to, for the sake of everyone else. Throwing that all away, knowing they'd probably hate her. I appreciate her empathy for what other people were going through, on a worldwide scale. I really do.

But also...she strikes me as disingenuous. If her reasons really were so pure, why then was she alright with being in a lab coat, being on the other side of the glass, watching, actively participating while someone who was once her friend was suffering? (Along with others, *children.*) Why wasn't she the first to offer *herself* up to WICKD, to allow them to perform experiments on *her* and force *her* to endure what suffering they felt was necessary in order to achieve the desired results? Instead, she signed up her friends to do it. And yes, I realize she was clearly guilty, at least to an extent, and conflicted watching Minho be tortured. But that was directly a result of her doing. And ultimately, she stood by, and let it happen, watched. She, on some level, was okay with it enough to stand by and watch it happen. That's the difference between her and Thomas. Thomas wasn't.

Not to mention all the pain she caused, the domino effect it had. I mean...first off, in her doing what she did, she basically pissed on Winston's grave. He died directly as a result of them escaping from WICKD, again, and she was fully ready to deliver them all right back into the hands of their abusers. His death would have been for nothing, had all the others been caught.

Mary Cooper also died directly as a result of what she did. And not only was she an innocent woman who was wrongfully killed, but she was an invaluable resource. She was the one, aside from Teresa, who could make the serum amongst them.

Then, Minho was taken and tortured. What he went through was absolutely disgusting, and unforgiveable on it's own.

And with the ripple affect her choice had, she already (indirectly or no) caused Newt's death. And that is something I can never, ever look past or get over, can never forgive her for. Had she not turned them in, they all would have made it to the Safe Haven, together. Mary would still be alive, and even in the event that Newt still ended up catching The Flare later on, he could have easily been given the serum and cured.

Not least of all, the impact her betrayal had on Thomas, the way she hurt him. The chances of having a connection like what they did is often once in a lifetime, not something everyone even gets, and she completely threw all chances of a relationship away. She made Thomas completely question himself and his judgement, and feel stupid for trusting her.

Yes, I understand she tried to tell Thomas he could save Newt. I understand she tried to finally do the right thing (although I haven't failed to notice it was after Ava had already been killed and Janson, who was clearly corrupt, took over.) I understand she did help Thomas, and ultimately died doing so. And I don't necessarily even think she deserved to die, but it also doesn't undo what she did or the damage she caused.

Perhaps I'm not giving her enough credit. Maybe her reasons were completely selfless, and maybe there are legitimate reasons that can explain why she didn't offer herself up to WICKD as one of their subjects. If anyone has any answers or ideas I'm open to hearing them.

But ultimately, her seeing firsthand what WICKD did, what they were capable of, the absolutely horrific, dehumanizing ways in which they treated *children* who were unlucky enough to be born with the right genetics, should have been enough for her. I don't care what WICKD's reasons were, even if they were claiming to try to save humanity. If it's at the expense of a whole group of innocent people, treating them like chattel, is it even still worth it at that point? (And yes, I am aware of the Immunes producing the enzyme more quickly under states of stress. I understand why they were put through the maze trials, I just don't care.)

I should make it abundantly clear my dislike of her has nothing to do with my liking Newtmas either, or her "getting in the way." I'm aware Thomas and Brenda end up together in the books, and while I don't ship them, I absolutely love Brenda. She's one of my favourite characters.

I have nothing against people who do like Teresa, or who have a greater appreciation of her character, and I don't want this post to alienate them. I just had to get this off my chest.

That being said, from what I've seen floating around, she evidently is expanded upon more in the books and made much more likeable, so we'll see I guess. As for film Teresa, my point still stands.

[radiobelle-bitxch]

I know I made this account to simp about Charlastor, but I've also been thinking a lot about the possibility of Alastor bonding with the other residents in s2, like probably by accident, or maybe trying to manipulate them and catching feelings about it, and I started to think about what things he could possibly bond over with them:

Angel Dust: You know? I can see them finding some commonality on hating the Vees, after all, before Charlie, Angel was in the (not really) privileged position of being privy to their mean girls drama 24/7, and I doubt he has a good opinion on Vox and Velvette, and Alastor could try to fish information from him, and he can be petty enough to reveal how Vox was before he presented himself as the composed (lol) ceo is now, and this is more of a hc territory, but since their deaths weren't as far apart as others, who knows? Maybe in life, Angel knew or heard about Al, either his radio or serial killer persona? And we know Alastor's ego would love that :P

Vaggie: While I don't believe she trusts him 100%, the finale song shows her being glad that Alastor didn't die, so maybe her opinions has already shifted a little? We know Alastor values the art of war, or at least of combat, and wouldn't it be cool if s2 had a training session where both of them being the more experienced in the battlefield try to train the others? Vaggie can teach them how to fight with melee weapons against angels specifically, and Alastor can try and teach them more hands-on combat, maybe straight-up how to use their demonic powers, maybe even a training sequence of the two giving a demostration? The tentative bonding could start from there.

Lucifer: Since they're gonna be roomies from now on, I really want to see them being like sitcom arch-nemesis for a while, just doing little things to annoy the other, until something happens and maybe they have to work together, I wouldn't necessarily want them to be besties afterwards, but it could be like for Charlie's sake, they could try to be civil at least in front of her.

Husk: I admit I'm not sure if bonding with him is possible given their master-servant relationship and that glare Husk gave him when he came back talks volumes that he couldn't give less of a shit if Al dies, and who can blame him? The best I can think that could happen is if Husk starts noticing Alastor changing, he's good at reading people, so perhaps he starts noticing how Al seems more... genuine? Perhaps in his own backwards and creepy way he starts treating them a little better, and depending on where Husk's character goes in s2, he may try to confront him about it or keep it to himself until later idk

[zenosanalytic]

So I was reading Karen from HR(go read it!) by Unpretty(go follow her!!) last night and I think it crystalized for me part of why I LOVE her characterization of Bruce Wayne so much(I mean: just basically that she treats ALL the characters as WHOLE PEOPLE rather than split-personalities ala the wornout Kill Bill analysis of Superman[which you weren't SUPPOSED to agree with! Bill's the VILLAIN GUYS!! But that's a different essay u_u] is Enough but she does so much more...), namely:

"Batman" isn't a way Bruce deals with his trauma, it's a way he AVOIDS dealing with his trauma.

Yes this is an analysis post about a fanfic |:| Obvsl, ***Spoilers*** |:| |:|

Ok so here we go: This is Bruce reacting to the grief of Corinne's co-workers at her death

He wanted to put distance between them. It wasn't fair to any of them to be irritated. It wasn't their fault. Nails on a chalkboard, their noisy grief repulsive. The self-centered way the living mourned their memory of the dead. Accepted death as a force of nature, an act of god. No fury in them, no action. No problems to be fixed. A hole in their lives to fill with tears until they couldn't feel the emptiness anymore.

Don't worry, he knows how fucked up it is to think this way and there are lines immediately following which show that(he is so well characterized in this and all related works PLEASE Trust me, Dear Readers) but I want to focus on THIS and what it says about how BRUCE relates to grief and mourning.

He thinks mourning is a way to put death behind you; a way to center your OWN feelings of grief and loss in the midst of something terrible which has happened to SOMEONE ELSE. Right off the bat(heh) this is telling us he has NEVER let himself mourn for his parents because he's talking about it in 3rd Person; as something separate from himself(and please don't sleep on how he also talks about The Living in the same way, implicitly classifying himself outside that category as well) Bruce is a Raw-Fucking-Nerve 24/7, and has been since his parents' were killed right in front of him, and refuses to heal or even face his emotions about that event because doing either might mean moving on and he thinks that would be selfish.

Actually, let's look at another line from before this which I think clarifies his emotional reality wonderfully:

He looked out at all the employees, all huddled together in different groups, whispering and checking their phones and waiting for the police to tell them they could leave. Some of them crying. Everyone giving him a wide berth. There was blood on his shirt. Bruce Wayne didn't have any reason to be handling this well. Shouldn't have been handling this well. Safer for the sake of secrets not to handle it well. With that decided, he found the nearest trash can and started heaving into it. Better. He hadn't done that in years. He grabbed a flute of champagne from the abandoned buffet table and downed it like a shot, then another. It helped get the taste of acid off his tongue. He let his hands shake. It felt like a normal thing to happen, his hands shaking.

Allowing himself the physical expressions of grief and trauma soothes him; feels normal. Because it's not something he's let himself do in years(probably lying to himself here; probably since the murders). He can only psychologically allow himself to physically grieve as an act to keep up appearances; he can only grieve by disassociating. Which of course also means he's never PRIVATELY allowed himself this grief. Jesus-Fuck

Let's jump forward, to an exchange with Dick Grayson(first robin/nightwing), to drive this point home. It's a longer dialogue I don't want to include all of so the context: Corinne died before earlier in the week and Nightwing found her, but she revived and left the scene before he returned from catching the culprit, and Dick just told this to Bruce:

"You could have talked to me about it," Bruce added, looking at the ballroom and not at him. "When that happened. How you were. Feeling." Nightwing huffed a sound that wasn't a laugh. "Right," he said. "Sure." Bruce grit his teeth. Nightwing clapped him on the shoulder. "Let's do that," he said. "You can come over later, tell me how you're feeling about all this." Bruce said nothing. "Yeah," Nightwing said, patting his shoulder as he disengaged and stepped away. "That's what I figured."

There is so much here, and it all hurts so good. 1)Bruce is thinking of himself as Bruce; again Unpretty treats the "secret-identity" superheroes as what they are, facades; Bruce does not think of himself as Batman, Batman is a persona-tool(one might say a worksona :3) Bruce uses 2) but Dick isn't Dick even when he's in his civvies he's Nightwing, because Bruce needs to distance and disassociate himself from the emotions he won't let himself process and that's what he uses the personas to do 3)this is made explicit by both his passive refusal of Dick's sympathy and offer of comfort, and the bitter sarcasm of Dick's offer of it, which communicates this is an offer that has always been there, and always been denied. Dick cares for Bruce and wants to help him heal but knows Bruce won't let him care for him and won't heal, and this refusal has visibly damaged their relationship.

Oh and 4) "You could have talked to me about it": Bruce's desire to help others is tied directly to his refusal to let others help him, and his refusal to mourn his parents/let himself grieve/heal. Because his desire to help IS a trauma-response, because you Can't Actually Just Suppress This Shit Away. This situation is So Fucked Up for Dick: Dick wants to be comforted by Bruce as much as he wants to comfort him, but he knows letting Bruce comfort him would Only Reinforce His Pain; Would Only PUSH HIM FURTHER AWAY. Again I say to you: Jesus-Fuck.

Ok so: this next bit isn't directly related to this, it's more of like a second-order thing, but a few chapters later Bruce is helping Corinne make empanadas and he talks about his dad and I think this is also Quite Revealing:

..."My father liked to cook," Bruce said eventually as he peeled paper away from garlic to pull away cloves. "He was very passionate about food. About joy."...

I'm going to skip around a bit here cuz it's in the context of a much longer/larger scene

..."We had a chef, but he liked to make meals himself when he could. Food as a symbol, food as a way to love himself, to love life. Finding joy in the work it takes for even a fleeting moment of happiness, gone in the time it takes to clear a plate."... .... "I don't have that," Bruce said. "His sense of taste. I don't think I've ever enjoyed anything as much as he enjoyed good soup."

BRUUUUUUUUCE!!!! No wonder everyone wants to fuck this man. We can fix him, guys; WE CAN FIX HIM NO SHUTUP EVERYBODY BEFORE WERE ALL DOING IT WRONG BUT WE GET IT WE CA- ok I'll stop now.

First I want to be mean for a little bit and call bullshit here cuz unpretty's Bruce is One of the most Eloquent Motherfuckers Around. Fuck You You don't enjoy things "Food as a symbol, food as a way to love himself, to love life" Goddaminit just admit you love your dad you son of a bitch!!! And while you're at it, admit you like to talk so that words sound good leaving noisehole!!! Admit that you love Competence; Admit it!! ADMIT IT!!!(*entirely metaphorically shaking this take of Bruce Wayne by his lapels tho not really cuz he's conservatively the size of a hardwood armoire*)

But seriously: I again point you at disassociation. Batman seems like a really active response to grief, and the way unpretty writes it it physically IS... in the same way that a person who responds to grief by turning to alcohol or sex or thrill-seeking instead of going to the funeral is very actively partaking in those activities. Psychologically though it's actually a passive, avoidant response; a refusal to feel, to face, to deal with that pain. It's not Bruce's fault that he doesn't realize that he enjoys being poetic and eloquent or that he enjoys being GOOD at things(or that he enjoys LOOKING good and FEELING LIKE HE LOOKS GOOD and BEING ADMIRED FOR HIS BEAUTY, for that matter, or that helping someone cook connects him with his Dad) because BRUCE DOES NOT LET HIMSELF EXPERIENCE HIS EMOTIONS DIRECTLY. All of his emotions are exactly like that Horror and Trauma and Grief at the top right after Corinne had been shot: Moderated through performance as a 3rd Person experience of himself. He has no idea what he's feeling, and he hasn't had any idea what he's feeling since the night his parents were killed and he won't LET himself have any idea what he's feeling because to do so would be to MOVE ON and (he thinks)FORGET and ACCEPT THAT THEY REALLY ARE DEAD and he thinks that would be SELFISH!! BRUUUCE! BRUUUUUUCE!!!

UUUGH! Ok, that was actually a tangent and not what I ACTUALLY wanted to talk about here(tho also: EXACTLY what I wanted to talk about here):

"I don't have that," Bruce said. "His sense of taste. I don't think I've ever enjoyed anything as much as he enjoyed good soup."

This sentence is so huge, but you really need a bit more context to understand why. One: even aside from his trauma Bruce has a very detached and clinical way of thinking

The knife moved quickly and looked much fancier than when she did it. "You're really good at that," she said. "You should get your knives sharpened," he said. "Yeah," she agreed, pouring eggy water into her bowl to mix with a spoon. "Do you cook a lot?" "No." There was silence before he clarified. "I dislike the inefficiency." "Oh." "It's necessary to function," he said. "I prefer to spend my time on other things." ... "It isn't a matter of health or moral fortitude," he said carefully. "No more than you not drinking coffee. It isn't particularly admirable to not do things you don't enjoy. I don't enjoy food as much as other people do. That's all."

Two: Karen from HR is part of a wider body of work called Sorrowful and Immaculate Hearts(Read It!!!), and in it there is a fic about Bruce's parents, set when Bruce is a child, called Wayne Manor(You know the drill u_u), and in Wayne Manor it's very clear that Bruce is autistic, which the above way of thinking about things is an expression of. His parents are wonderful about this, and there's allot of evidence that Bruce's mother is also autistic and makes such a point about being wonderful about it due to her own abuse for being autistic as a child, and as a child Bruce seems to feel nothing but confidence and happiness in his autistic qualities. But the trauma of the death of his parents has somehow changed that.

I would argue that Bruce ties these autistic qualities, which he associates with his parents because they affirmed and celebrated and shared them, with the way he has responded to their murders, with Batman, which he is deeply conflicted about; something he consciously deems a MORE ethical, active, and "problem-solving" approach to death than mourning, while subconsciously recognizing is deeply fucked up and unhealthy for him and everyone in his life. He's come to attach his clinicality, his "dislike [for] inefficiency", to Batman, and thus as something which sets apart and isolates him; something "lacking" in himself which denies him the joy his father was able to feel. Again: obvsl that's bullshit for the reasons I listed above --his interest in doing things well is THE SAME THING his father felt, is something which his own decision to bring up his father shows connects him to his father IN THAT VERY SCENE and it is his disassociation from his trauma which prevents him from acknowledging and experiencing the joy he finds in doing things well-- but thoughts don't have to be rational for us to believe and hurt ourselves with them. Humans are irrational; human psychology is irrational.

Unpretty understands this so fucking well. She writes Bruce Wayne(and all these characters really) so fucking well. Unpretty's Bruce Wayne is a Deeply Irrational, Hyperrational, Hypercompetent Man. She has turned the power-fantasy of multiple generations of USian men into the Saddest and Wettest of Meow-Meows. This stuff is So Tasty numnumnum I eats it up I EATS IT!! Bruce is such a fucked up dude; his loves and self hatred all wound up and tied together and hiding themselves from him within a trauma Too Huge for him to ever face; "making himself useful" and "solving problems" to everyone and everywhere as an act of ultimate self-annihilation; Heroism as Self Healing as Self Destruction; The Noblest and most Beautiful of Lies; Delicious this Gourmet Fucking Meal she is serving us.

I don't read the comics and I can't call myself a huge fan of the movies, but I SO wish I could see a theatrical take on this character that understood as well as Unpretty does that Batman is a story Bruce Wayne tells himself and that it Isn't Fucking Helping.

[obsidiancreates]

Okay so here's how I would've done Yang 3

Let's say the Inarguable Concepts in the episode are 1) Yin dies, 2) Yang met Shawn when he was young, 3) Yang is the one who gets to kill her dad, and 4) we're drawing clear and explicit parallels between the Ying/Yang family and the Spencer family. All good points to jump off of conceptually.

First of I'm cutting Allison out, she's a strange and ill-fitting addition to this storyline and I get what they were going for... kind of... but I don't think it's Right. So she's gone.

Kick-off is Yin sending a message to the department: This is his last romp, and their last chance to serve him justice before he disappears forever. He hasn't killed anyone yet, he hasn't set up a puzzle- just sent a little notice. Puts everyone on edge.

A lot of the episode is built around a sense of Tension and Unease- they're all on a tightrope, and it's fraying. Yin is leaving little clues on how to find him, but he's escaping every time, and Shawn is getting more and more desperate and feeling more and more pressure the whole time. I think Jules's PTSD moments in the OG episode are great, so let's keep that and have it be one of Shawn's big drives to make sure they catch Yin this time- and also why he's doing most of it without telling anyone but Gus, because he doesn't want Jules having to deal with all of this so soon. Show the protectiveness, the serious side he's been burying even more than he used to since Jules and Abigail got kidnapped the last time, push him to his limits as a detective with the clues Yin gives him. He also finds that picture of him with Yang himself, which puts him into even more of a tailspin because we'll keep the element of him not remembering taking that photo.

And have this conclusion come about- chasing after Yin is never going to work. They need to bring Yin to them. Shawn and Gus visit Yang to get her help with it- and to ask about the picture, which Shawn has been avoiding even thinking about and Gus has been fixated on because Shawn doesn't forget stuff like that. So they come to Yang with an idea. They're going to set up a trap, just like Yin sets up for his victims, to lure him into the open and catch him.

And Yang refuses to help. She sits back and she pouts and she says she can't. Shawn is at a loss, until he has an idea and pulls out the picture and says "For old time's sake?" and her eyes lock onto it, and she finally agrees.

Shawn finally goes to everyone else and tells them he has a plan, they need to get Yang out for it and they need to be fast because the window is closing. They set something up- I'll admit this is all off-the-cuff so I don't have some clever elaborate trap to offer you wonderful readers at the moment, but I'm sure we can all imagine something cool and fitting as individuals. Yang helps, not only with the setup but with how to lure Yin in. I'm thinking they stage an escape for her, but given in the OG episode Yin considers her a traitor maybe not- maybe they pretend Yang has taken Shawn captive to make Yin angry that his game has been interrupted. Yes, that's it, they make Yin think the focus has been taken away from him and put onto his daughter- Yang reveals Yin is her father during the scene where Shawn and Gus convince her to help.

Yin shows up. He's characterized to be closer to Henry in this version, since there was some missed but intentional points of it in the OG episode- he criticizes Yang's work as sloppy, he says he trained her better, he tells her he's always having to come clean up her messes and screw-ups and cover for her. Maybe we use this as a catalyst for Henry- he hears some of his own words in Yin's beratements and realizes he's making the same mistakes over and over and he needs t reevaluate how he interacts with his son. Set up a character arc for Season 6 that makes Santabarbaratown hit even harder because we've just spent a whole season watching Henry and Shawn move past their dysfunctional dynamic into one that's a little healthier, a little clearer, a little better for them both, and then just when things finally don't have this constant underlying tension and resentment BAM! Henry gets shot.

But we've gotten off-topic. While Yang and the gang helped this requires Shawn to be the kind of Main brain behind this trap. Obviously Yang sort of leads him to it, as she does, but he's ultimately the one who comes up with most of this plan. They're beating Yin at his own game.

And Yin shows.

But things go wrong- Yin is able to predict some elements of the trap and he makes sure Lassie, Jules, The Chief, Henry, and whatever other backup can't get to him quite yet. It's Shawn and Gus and Yang alone, and none of them are sure what move to make now.

And Yin looks at Shawn and says "It's terrible for my apprentice, but very good for your first. I knew I saw something in you."

We establish the story behind the picture in this moment of Relative Calm through flashback, with Yin prompting Shawn's memory- Yang dropped the groceries she'd been getting out of the car and called out to ask Shawn for help as he rode by on his bike, and he stopped and helped her and Yin came out and commented on what a rare thing that is these days, a kid being willing to help out a stranger for no reward, could he take a picture of the little hero? It's Shawn, he loves attention and praise, he agrees, and Yin takes the picture and Shawn gets on his bike and then- nothing. Nothing until later when he wakes up on the ground somewhere else a couple hours later being told by a completely different concerned adult that it looks like he wrecked his bike, does he need help getting home?

He correctly concludes that Yang knocked him out, they kidnapped him- but Yang had a change of heart. Maybe Henry went around looking for his son, and Yang realized that for all their similarities (they'd been stalking him of course- Yin had planned to make Henry his next big targeted foe but Shawn proved to be intriguing and he decided to Wait) Shawn's father does love him, unlike hers. So she sneaks him out, stages a bike accident, and lets him be found.

That's why he didn't remember the picture- literal head trauma, maybe a drugging. Ties him and Yang closer together, gives a reason why Yin is also targeting him because that "Yang was obsessed, not me," stuff in the OG doesn't make sense, especially with Allison's lines about Yin praising Shawn to her.

And Yin praises Shawn again, openly, and says he's very impressed and very proud- Shawn really does have the makings of a great puppeteer, why, he barely realized this was a trap until the last minute! And sadly he'll never be able to see Shawn through to his best potential because he has to disappear now, but he'll be satisfied just knowing he put a little Crack in Shawn's life before he killed him.

That is when Yang overcomes her freeze from this confrontation and kills Yin, to protect Shawn- again, drawing parallels between her and him, with a protective rise-to-the-occassion nature. Shawn could have been her- but he had Gus, and for all Henry's faults and his (in my opinion Unforgivable) unintentional abuse he did love his son, and that made a difference.

Ends roughly the same otherwise- Yang is taken back to the care facility where she stays until The Musical, Shawn and Jules have a moment at the end that reveals their relationship to Lassie. Maybe there's an element in there of everyone else having heard Yin's little speech the whole entire time and kind of having to assure Shawn that Yin didn't know what he was talking about, Shawn could never have ended up like him or Yang, but it's clear none of them are blind to the similarities even if they're pretending to be for Shawn's sake.

And like with Mr. Yin Presents it's of course a catalyst for Shawn to disconnect from his intelligence and unpleasant emotions even more, so Season 6 continues in it's increased wackiness as before, but maybe with one or two instances of other characters pointing out that this is not a healthy way to deal with what Yin said about him- and Shawn promptly denying that's what's happening, of course.

What do y'all think? I think it ties everything up more cleanly and makes the themes and elements they were going for clearer.

[cerruleanmonarch]

Relationship Call!

I haven't done one of these for a character in a long while, but I figure it's a good way to figure out where to take Lucia in terms of RP!

Basically, by liking this, you're saying you're interested in Lucia having one of these relationships with your muse. You're also giving me permission to hit you up either on tumblr DM or on Discord for plotting/discussion, and giving me permission to throw memes at you on meme day!

Friends

I'll be honest: Lucia could really use more of these. People she can be herself with, talk to, and trust. She's very much relearning how to trust and feel safe, since Spirale has changed her personal game so much from what she'd been playing back at home. Unless someone catches her with her wings out, with a few exceptions, it will take a bit of time and talking before Lucia will feel secure enough to reveal her wings, ears, and the entire fact that she's a fairy. Eventually, anyone she considers a friend will probably know she's a fairy, especially if she reaches a point where she's no longer hiding the fact. Having more friends, and people she trusts in general, will push her closer to coming entirely out of hiding.

Family

Lucia's fathers died tragically in front of her eyes, the event traumatizing enough that she lost the memories soon after. She was raised by a man who forced her to hide she was a fairy from everyone, including his daughter Kirsi, whom Lucia regarded as a close friend, even a sister, and whom Lucia grew up beside and became her Lady in Waiting when Kirsi left to marry the king. All of this is to say, Lucia is no stranger to considering someone not necessarily blood-related to her a family member. Sometimes people click in a way that goes beyond friendship, and Lucia would benefit from having people like that in her life here.

Romance

In Isola, I plan to keep Lucia single-ship. The author has specifically stated that Lucia's sexuality is unlabeled. Although in canon, Lucia has a past weirdness with the mage Norrix, and is currently nursing a mutual crush with the enchanted suit of armor Modeus, I can absolutely be convinced to do a crossover ship for her. It would need to be discussed plotted out beforehand, and I'd ideally like to see some non-romantic interaction before jumping into anything, but regardless of a character's gender, I can see Lucia falling for someone new here!

Antagonistic/Enemies

I don't foresee a lot of this, mostly because I'm just not fond of writing a lot of enmity-toned relationships and interactions. However, for as kind and accepting of people as Lucia can be, she has a deep sense of justice, she's known to have a bitter side, and boy-howdy can she hold a grudge. If you wrong her or someone she cares about, she will remember it.

Other Ideas?

Just because I didn't name it here, doesn't mean we can't do it! There's a lot going on with Lucia, including things like wing-training, trauma from home and her childhood, magic-learning, combat-training... for goodness sake, the woman can't really see romantic feelings for what they are, whether they're her own or someone else's, and yet somehow she's flirting with an enchanted suit of armor. She's got layers, and if you feel like your muse will resonate with something she has going on, lmk!

[luckyshotwrites]

Ch. 94 // Weren't You Happy? // Day 68

Contents (Warnings): Happy? (Angst, slight blood mention, character and monster info as always). Read full chapter on A03

Wordcount: 3,000+

Song I correlate to this Chapter: None Yet

-------------------------------------------------------------------

(Current Day)

Drake

His thoughts that went on all night were interrupted by Lynette stirring awake. Her sound quickened realizing that everything that had happened wasn't a dream and she was trapped with him in a cell. There was little to no light within—Drake could only see because of his species. 

He wouldn't suppose she could. 

"D-drake." Her shaken voice called for reassurance, looking in his direction but too afraid to physically reach out for it. 

He hadn't moved his back from the corner. "Yeah..." The ease of her relief did nothing to calm his nerves. 

His anger festered and bubbled like flesh in frying oil. I should have fought like hell. I should have died trying to do something. Drake gave in for her sake more than his. 

Lynette was innocent. 

"Are you still hurt?"

"Physically, no." He felt the words expelling from his mouth. "I let this maniac catch us. He somehow was able to perfectly imitate Ace, and now I'm stuck as his damn merchandise, and he's keeping you here as a hostage and for me to drink from. This whole situation is-" Drake wanted to yell. "If I ever get the fucking chance, I'm going to rip his smug head from his body."

When Lynette's heart rate spiked, he noticed the guttural growl in his vocal cords. He wasn't going to apologize for what he said. He meant it. 

It created silence between them. Usually, it was something Drake enjoyed. At the moment, it felt heavier, like his torn clothes, hair, limbs, and even the air pulled him to the ground. 

"I'm just glad you're not alone," Lynette said. His ears felt the honesty past her fear. 

Drake winced—he thought the same. "You shouldn't have gotten involved." 

"Neither should you have."

Yet I did.

An encroaching heartbeat made his fangs tense together. It's that girl. He heard Victoria through the others whom he listened to all night.

It made Andras's words flood his mind.

"However, starting tomorrow, you and your battery will be getting your work cut out for you. I expect you to have at least five to ten clients daily." [...] "Until you make up for all that precious time I lost not having you."

I can't do that. I'll go insane. It's only midnight. Drake masked his panic with anger. His eyes darted across the room to Lynette. He barely pulled back yesterday. He couldn't imagine it being a repetitive cycle.

"If either of you," Victoria said with a slight irritation, "move in a way I don't like, I'm covering your 'home' in fire." She gestured to the cells she stepped in front of it. "And I only think one of you guys will survive being a crisp."

He could feel Lynette's frustration. They both remained still as Victoria opened the gates and walked in. Drake contained his reflexes. He knew Andras had little purpose for Lynette, so Victoria's threat wasn't a bluff. 

Her boots thumped with each step. 

"Turn around." She ordered. 

He did so. 

She roughly snapped them shut and made sure he was held with his arms behind himself. He pulled at the dampeners, much like their cell. They drained the user of energy when they used magic. 

Given my defect, I'll probably be close to dying, if not dead. 

"Open your mouth." She instructed next.

Drake hesitated. He didn't want to feel the metal tendrils dig and squirm inside his mouth and throat again. Damn it. She moved the slightly luminescent metal piece closer.

"That hurts him," Lynette whispered. 

Don't be stupid. Drake knew she'd move. It was something he knew Lynette shared with a particular friend of his. The need to meddle. 

"LYNETTE." Drake snarled viciously. 

Victoria didn't seem to care since Lynette's movement was stopped. 

She put the item to Drake, and it activated. It broke into the tendrils and wrapped around the inside, clinging and tearing anything it could: teeth, flesh, even in the back of his throat. It barely left him enough room to breathe.

Victoria then flipped him around and made him march out of the cage, leaving the cell and Lynette behind. 

...

His mind tugged back and forth between his yearning for blood and logical thought—his instincts were winning. 

The promise of clarity after drinking blood tempted him as his energy dipped dangerously toward less functional levels. He balanced on the cusp of going rabid and making anyone his meal if he could. 

Until he was brought into the office. 

Andras sat on the front of his desk, facing the door where Drake entered. He seemed to be reading over some odd book missing its cover. 

As he glanced up, Andras put down his book and approached Drake. "You look in a lot better shape than before. Glad to see you're playing your role better." 

Drake's muscles started to flex with anticipation to end him.

Andras put his hand up and out to Drake's face. He got the part of the bar that had forced his jaw open and tore it out, tendrils and all. 

His bloody mouth soon healed, and he stared at Andras as it did. The tendrils shook themselves off and returned to the shape of a bar. "Since Drake has another client in two hours, why don't you go downstairs and get-" He scanned over Terrance, who still held Drake's arms. "On second thought, can you retrieve Zetsu to do it instead? He should be assisting a client a few doors down."

Terrance let Drake go, leaving him alone in the room with Andras.

"I hope one of these days I don't forget that Terrance eats humans," Andras muttered.

Without sparing another moment, Drake twisted his head and pushed himself to Andras so he could bite into him. 

...

Lynette

It wasn't a time for self-pity.

Not that I could focus on that. My mind was too busy running what happened hours ago, like reruns of a Christmas special. He couldn't have...he didn't even think twice.

I perked up at every noise and little shuffle. I assumed it might be someone bringing Drake back. 

I can't even remember what happened when he attacked me. The whole thing seemed to blur when I tried to think about it. 

I hope they bring him back. 

I didn't want to imagine Andras eating Drake the same way. He went through all that effort. He wouldn't kill Drake just like that. I chose to believe that. 

The faint ding from the elevator caught my attention. I used the wall to bring myself up. What's the point of getting up? I still did so. 

I can't do anything. This is different than with Claudia. I'm not going to get lucky for being reckless.

I softly took another breath and heard a voice beyond the bars.

"I'm sorry."

That's not Drake, Andras, or Victoria. Their sound was far too timid, almost like they held tears welling up in their eyes.

"Zetsu?"

I didn't receive a response right away, just the creak of the cell door. "Andras sent me to get you," he muttered.

"You don't sound like you want to do this," I replied. I followed his blob in the darkness. I couldn't fully discern it. 

He struggled to speak. "You seem nice."

I can't imagine how he feels. "And you don't seem bad either." Should I really think like this? He's working for them or was somehow.

He approached. I kept myself in place. He stood over me, and his fingers gently touched my shoulder. He was guiding me out of the cell. We walked down the corridor amidst murmurs from the others trapped in theirs. 

"I don't know what I want. I wanted to be free of him for so long. I thought it'd make me free..." His fingers dug slightly into my shoulder. I flinched. "I didn't even want Osiris to die. I just wanted him to stop."

All I knew was that Osiris worked with Andras to do this. There were undoubtedly countless others that Osiris might have tricked or forced into doing what he wanted.

'I just wanted him to stop.' What he said reintroduced a painful memory. "You didn't do it to him. Andras did." I said, through hurt breathes. It had been so many years, and my guilt, though settled, never truly left.

"I should have died, not him."

"No." I said sharply. I grabbed his hand. I don't know what he's done. Whether he's good or bad. He might be manipulating me. We're in trouble, so why do I care.

We neared the elevator. He wouldn't gain anything by saying this. Andras has us both. 

"You should find a way to leave," I said when we reached the elevator doors. It's what I wanted. I wanted to leave safe and sound with Drake. Yet...I can't leave these people down here. If we did escape, he'd relocate, right? Would they be able to find them? I can't even call Wicks. Can Wicks even find me? I didn't want him to. I don't want him to die trying to help me. 

Zetsu stirred me from my thoughts. "I can't." He put his hand on my back again.

The elevator door opened and blinded me. It was as if I were engaged in a staring match with the sun. It took thirty more seconds for my eyes to fully readjust, and I saw my reflection staring back at me. My clothes were slightly bloodied near my neck, my hair a frizzled mess of curls, and my face was dirtied from being on the ground. 

It'll only get worse. 

I attempted to fix what I could and glanced at the looming, scared figure. "You have more of a chance than me." The honesty tasted bitter. "Take it."

His stared at the floor, his words left without emotion. "I don't have enough power to leave alone."

...

Drake

He couldn't buck Andras off. The dealer sat on his back like he was a bench. He couldn't do anything but argue, until his senses made him tune in on the heartbeat, hers. It came closer, rising from the elevator shaft toward them.

And then his eyes locked onto her, he could feel his body pull toward her. He also saw Lynette react as well, unlike his initial eyes that never left her, she went out toward them.

Andras leaned forward, "don't worry, he's fine." Andras's hand patted Drake's head. "Don't be so hostile, you did this to yourself."

Drake snapped his head back and Andras smiled, "Get the hell off me."

"You don't want her to know do you?"

"That you made me believe in your lies?!" Drake painfully twisted his wrists, he wanted to break out form his shackles.

Andras worked up a chuckle, "those 'lies' made you happy though, didn't they?" He said. "You wanted to be be looked at like everyone else." He moved his hand by Drake's mouth, he snapped at it, Andras moved it away in time.

"But they only looked at you with pity. Poor Poor little flawless."

He struggled profusely and it made Andras leap up.

"I gave you a way out of that, one that you loved, remember?"

"SHUT UP!" Drake stumbled up to his feet, his cuffs kept his arms locked.

His focus wanted to drift, he sickeningly didn't let it. He refused to be part of this game. His own heart beat like it had been bruised. "I wasn't happy at all!" He shouted, less confidently, at the time he knew he was.

"You were," Andras took his chance to tease. He approached Drake, slowly. "So happy in fact you wanted my help to cut the only tie holding you back."

His vocal cords twinged and tightened. They wouldn't let him hum out a single word. He exhaled in response, his lips trembled before they pushed into one another.

Everything was quiet. The eyes fell on him. Their piercing gaze choked him and it sent him into a frantic haze.

He had forgotten why he held himself back.

He launched himself at Andras. He was powerless. His best idea was to smash his head into the dealer. At least to shut him up.

Andras moved his head to the side, and threw his hand up. It caught Drake's forehead and eyes. Andras made sure Drake's ear was at his lips.

"Wipe that guilt from your face," Andras snickered, "I can tell you still hate him, don't you?"

Andras curled his fingers tighter around Drake's face before he could answer. It felt like a clamp. Is he using enhancements? His eyes weren't glowing again.

"I missed your tenacity," he said, "so how about this. If you answer me honestly, we can work as a team again."

Fuck you. Drake wanted to say as his energy was being syphoned.

Andras's tone pulled Drake's ear, "all you have to do is tell me, Drake. Do you still want to kill, Alexander?"

...

Hey, you, thank you so much for reading. I'm glad I put out a story that people can enjoy! I hope you continue to enjoy it as WE have a LOT more to go! YOU BETTER KEEP PROSPERING! (Nonnegotiable, as always~).

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What I’d do for a Livable Income Part 2 (Synopsis/Chapter - List)

[exammole]

Link to Miraculous master thread here, polishing my rewrite of Season 0 and the Magic System

I'm slowly beginning to get reinvested in this rewrite, so I wanted to update my Season 0 plans. I only will be explaining the changes relating to the previous posts linked above, so make sure you read them.

Paragraphs highlighted in red relate to the Miraculous, ones highlighted in green relate to the story/characters

The origins of the Miraculous remain the same, they're made by Gimme and given form by the mage guy in the comic. In the original drafts of this rewrite I was keeping the Chinese Miracle Box, but I've decided to remove every single one but Barkk. Having twelve Kwami in the story makes everything too crowded and takes away screen time from the OG's. So in the rewrites current version, only the main seven survived the Guardian Temple's destruction.

Bringing up Barkk, I ended up changing the name of her power from Adoration to Location. Barkk isn't one of the main seven Kwami Fu saved from the Temple's destruction, but instead who's Miraculous was recreated in modern day by Lila. (I tried so hard to give this power to Fluff you don't even know 😭😭😭)

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this part, but in the Season 0 post I mentioned the mage who created the Miraculous passed down his magic to his children, and to theirs, and that was the new origins of the Order. Lila is a descendant of that mage, meaning she can both read Miraculous texts and create new Kwami.

Shown in the Magic System post, I gave a rundown through each Kwami's power, but I'm feeling like the way I wrote them down was too intricate and boring, so here is the updated definitions:

Tikki - Creation - Can create anything

Plagg - Destruction - Can destroy anything

Nooroo - Transmission - Can send anything

Wayzz - Protection - Can protect anything

Trixx - Perception - Can project anything

Pollen - Action - Can move anything

Duusu - Emotion - Can change anything

Barkk - Location - Can track anything

In this updated version, any power the user can think of that relates to the Kwami's concept, they can have that power. The catch is that the user can only use that one power forever. Using Tikki as an example, you could manifest the power of Creation as creating any object, or you could make little minions, or maybe you could fix damaged objects.

For the sake of the plot, these powers can't infringe on another active Kwami's magic, so you can't manifest the powers as to reveal a users identity (mostly due to Quantum masking), nor could you nullify or prevent another's power.

The Prodigious in my rewrite stays the same, the Guardians wanted to see if they could make Miraculous on their own and created a highly volatile and unsafe object, so they sealed it away with the help of the Mages and Gimmie. The Prodigious allows the user to transform into eight different animals correlating with different values. if you're motivated by the virtue you can transform safely, but if not, you will get your life force drained (kinda like what happened to Gabriel when he didn't feed his Kwami's) and die horrifically or something.

Since the Dragon Kwami doesn't exist anymore, I'm thinking of giving the Prodigious to Kagami instead of Fei Wu, this gives me an excuse to give Tomoe an actual motive, that in return of kick starting Gabriel's fame, he'll give her the Prodigious for power. And then we can repeat mirror the Adrien/Cat Noir, Gabriel/Hawkmoth dynamic with Kagami and Tomoe.

Kagami isn't an amok anymore, but Adrien still is. Felix and his whole side of the family have been cut, and Emilie is a non-royal, only child now. Alike my Season 0 rewrite, Fu gave Marianne the Butterfly Miraculous to help her fight during Frances occupation, never got it back because he ran off as soon as he heard of Marianne's engagement, X years passed and she gave birth to Gabi Grassette, and his dad gave him the Butterfly Miraculous after she died.

Because I like to give characters unnecessary connections; Gabriel, Natalie and Emilie all attended Francoise Dupont as children, and the old Grassette family home is the now the Boulangerie Patisserie.

Atm I've left character backstories on hold, however since I've pretty much done an yet-to-be-updated Marinette's, maybe I'll post that soon. I'm also trying to figure out the villain order, I'll be shifting and rewriting villains from different seasons into the first one, but that's all for a later date. Sorry for the break, if you have any questions I'm free to ask :P

Edit: Changed the colour of a few paragraphs, mb

[loonela]

I'm currently behind on typing up my current progress on Mirror Souls so I decided to write an alt POV! Life's been really shitty lol and I gotta take it out on fictional characters.

I took issue with Itadori's willingness to go along with the prank on Kugisaki and Fushiguro. That's the only point in S1 I wish didn't happen because it felt OOC. So like any good writer in denial, I'm changing it. Plus, daemons change A Lot! I want to bring out the emotional intelligence Itadori shows from the start. He does what he feels is right, and he's perceptive of when people aren't being truthful to him. He just needs his experience and wisdom to catch up. His teacher, in comparison, hides behind walls higher than China's. How does it feel to be perceived past those walls? How does Gojo navigate the tendency for daemons to reveal more than what is wanted? They're questions that Gojo can't even answer himself despite me being nice and giving him better mental health than canon.

So, I've been writing the alt POV of Gojo facing Itadori's death in the Curse Womb arc. I don't think it'll be in his POV, and I may never end up posting this in full, but I like sharing snippets and I like yapping about my writing. This is just after Itadori dies and the other first years return to Jujutsu Tech.

Some references of note:

Getou is still alive. SaShiSu my beloved.

Yonezawa Kiho (OC), is an upperclassmen of Gojo Gojo was stated to be overseas rescuing a grade 1 sorcerer, implied to be dead. Kiho is that sorcerer. She's touted as the next Kusakabe in New Shadow Style, focusing on polearms.

Gojo and Hakushin have a pretty mangled bond. It's not broken, but heavy damage was done at some point.

Shoko typically heals daemons either by forming a bridge or Shinobu directly heals them. If the damage isn't severe, Shinobu usually heals.

My interpretation of Six Eyes has them as metaphorical, but Gojo can send individual Eyes out on specific areas. They also have a presence that can be detected if he's not careful. Normally, he keeps an Eye on Shoko for both of their sake.

Shoko's RCT is vastly expanded on. She can read positive energy feedback, and her energy levels are hard to see because she's constantly converting cursed -> positive. There's more too.

Sorcerers can "share" energy with each other in some cases.

Hakushin paces between Satoru's legs, agitation working its way through both of them until he's almost choking in their cursed energy. Their shared energy toes the boundary of tolerable and suffocating even without failure choking him. Itadori Yuuji, dead because of hasty measures taken. Because someone targeted Kiho and he has to keep her alive both for his own selfish reasons and because she is good and kind and a force of change where Satoru can't reach. Because a mission to send three first years into a curse womb is completely within the moral lines that the higher ups are willing to jump like a fucking skip rope, because they dislike Satoru and the easiest way to him now is either Shoko or his students. Because he isn't enough, never has been, and never will be

"I'll tell Shoko you're thinking that way," his soul presses into him more, and Satoru stiffens in response, withdrawing Six Eyes into himself. "We both know it's the higher ups that want these children dead that have sole responsibility for this." Right.

"They targeted Megumi and Kugisaki too, right?" another voice chimes in. Hakushin stoops to greet Shinobu, even as the other daemon avoids the touch and just returns with a head bob. "I healed Kugisaki's daemon first, she will be here soon. Don't want to accidentally surge by touching you, sorry Hakushin." 

"Will she need my energy?" It's pure habit that has Satoru asking the question, the most careful extension of Hakushin's energy that he's ever felt weaving over to Shoko just down the hall. For all that Six Eyes gifted him and him alone, not his soul, he's never been able to sense Shoko's true energy, just like he can't sense her mother and grandmother's. He's forced to ping her the same way she does him, just much more clumsily.

"She should be okay, but you know us. Just like we know you." Shinobu turns his eyes on Satoru especially, and he thanks the blindfold for hiding his vulnerabilities. "Come down to earth, you two." 

"Already here, Shinobu. No need to worry."

The door flies open, the click of heels following. "We do anyways."