#but its just a little facet

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Across the Universe (A Slavers Moon Supercorp ficlet)

A little while ago I posted a ficlet/idea about Lena being abducted by Roulette and nearly sold on Slavers Moon before Kara comes and saves her. But what if Kara arrived too late to save Lena and Izzy? Please, enjoy the exploration.

---

When Kara finds her people on Argo, her delight is tempered by loss and grief. All of her emotions have been, ever since... ever since Lena.

When she found her friend missing, the last thing she expected was for Roulette to be behind the abduction, let alone that the snake had ferried Lena off earth with a number of other human abductees. Kara chased them to Slavers Moon, but arrived too late-- they were gone. Sold and ferried off the moon to Rao knows where. 

Kara returned a number of times in an attempt to learn where they might have been taken, but had been stonewalled and rebuffed at every turn. The Supergirl name carried no weight there, even after she made it clear she had no intention of freeing other potential slaves-- a decision that pained her but made regardless. She would do anything to find her friend and bring her home.

But on Argo, Kara finds her way into the upper echelons of clientele. Armed with the traditional robes and cloak of Kryptonian style, and bearing the seal of the House of El, she visited the Daxamite stateship as an ambassador. Returning Queen Rhea's son to her had granted her a favor, which Kara immediately traded for an invitation to Slavers Moon next upcoming auction-- one reserved for the galactic elite.

Upon arrival, Kara finds it easy to grow detached from the events happening around her. She's grown detached from most things in the years since Lena's disappearance. She sips on Aldebaaran rum and surveys the people around her, commiting names and faces to memory.

She recognizes many species, knows their home planets from her time on on Krypton. Though they had been an isolated people, they had gathered much information on their neighbors and former allies.

When the auction starts, Kara bids often enough to avoid suspicion but low enough that she's swiftly outbid. Her stomach and jaw clench when a series of humans are issued onto the stage. She's so angry that she almost misses the discovery that each one is purchased by a single patron.

Kara moves swiftly. It's easy to charm the Nelkloran -- they seem to have a fascination with humanoids, and the El crest makes them eager to share their planet with her. Eager enough to shuttle her to Nelklor right then and there.

Finding a secluded corner, Kara contacts the Waverider, who had lent their aid as the only long range space craft Earth had at its disposal. There Alex receives her message, and vows to follow and stand by until further instruction.

Nelklor is beautiful. Lush and green with vibrant flora, even in the heart of the captial city they land in. Kara endures a tour of the landmarks deemed most important by her host, and plays the perfect guest for three days, eating and lounging with beautiful humanoids serving to her every need. None of them are Lena.

On the evening of the third day, Kara pointedly yawns. Suddenly anxious that their guest may be bored, her Nelkloran host begs to know what would interest her most. 

"Beauty," she says. "And pleasures of a more.... sensual nature."

Her host understands her completely. They gladly escort her to a place that translates directly to a 'pleasure house'. There she demands to be left alone.

"I do not enjoy an audience."

She's graciously recieved in the front room, ushered into a plush waiting room where she's offered food and drink and and a catalogue of services. After a few minutes to peruse, an employee approaches her.

"Welcome to our facility," the humanoid concierge begins, a broad smile-- a little too broad to be genuine-- on their face. "Is there anything that piques your interest?"

"So many to choose from," Kara muses. "It would suit me better to choose once I know who I'll share my experience with."

The concierge nods. "Of course. Does my lady have a preference? Please be as specific as you like-- we host a wide variety of interests."

Kara pretends to consider. "Female, I think. Human, with fair skin, and dark hair-- the darker the better."

Their eyes brighten with a nod. "Yes, of course. We have several with such specifications." They tap a small tablet in their hand, and nods when they find what they're looking for. "And one is currently available. Is my lady ready to proceed?"

Kara nods. "I prefer not to be kept waiting."

Being led through the corridors, Kara makes note of windows and doors. The facility is expansive, with many of the rooms they pass fully occupied, judging from the sounds from within-- not all of them pleasurable.

When they come to a stop outside a room, the concierge taps again on their tablet, and the small blue light next to the door turns red. 

"You may take as much time as you please. If you desire refreshment during your stay, please don't hesitate to inform us-- there is a console inside the room to request anything you may require."

Kara nods. "Thank you."

Her stomach twists with a mix of dread and anticipation. When the concierge takes their leave, Kara pauses a moment to take a deep breath-- then pushes into the room.

The door closes behind her, leaving Kara alone with a slim woman wearing a sheer robe that hid little. The woman's back is to her, as she casually clips jewels to her ears.

"If you know what you'd like, please make your payment."

Kara's heart lurches. The low, smooth voice instantly finds its home in Kara's senses, filling her relief and bringing tears to her eyes.

"Lena," she croaks.

Lena spins, eyes wide with shock. It's not until her gaze settles on the el mayarah on her chest that recognition seems to hit. 

"Supergirl."

The word sounds like the wind has been punched from her lungs, shrouded in disbelief. Kara struggles to speak, but can't find the words around the lump in her throat, even as Lena slowly closes the distance between them, curling her fingers into the cloak wrapped around Kara's shoulders.

With another exhale, Lena's eyes squeeze shut, her chin dipping in relief. Kara reflexively tips her own chin, letting her forehead rest against Lena's. 

"You found me," Lena whispers.

"I never stopped looking."

Lena's fingers tighten, then relax to smooth across the fabric of Kara's robes, caressing her shoulders until her hands come to rest on Kara's arms. Her head pulls back, and their eyes meet again, the connection unspeakably deep.

"Please," Lena asks. "Take me home."

Kara nods, reaching up to grasp Lena's hands. She feels a spark when their fingers brush, a sensation that spreads into a warmth that fills every inch of her. 

"Let's go."

There's a surprising lack of guards in the corridor, but Kara still moves as quickly as she can, pulling Lena along with her. Only a few steps down the hall, however, Lena pulls back.

"Wait, wait, wait!" she issues breathlessly. She scurries back the way they came, barefeet scuffing lightly against the floor. She makes a beeline for a room a few doors down from her own, and frantically turns the knob, only to find it lock.

"Supergirl--"

Kara's already moving. Though Nelklor has a yellow sun, its strength is less than Earth's, leaving her without many of her powers. But she has enough strength to shoulder her way through the door to find another woman inside, this time in bed with a client.

Both woman and client yelp in surprise, recoiling to cover themselves. Lena rushes in past Kara, pulling the woman from the bed.

"Izzy, let's go!"

Izzy doesn't need to be told twice. She springs from the bed and throws on a sheer robe of her own, a light purple to Lena's deep blue. Kara waves both women through the door and ushers them towards a door she'd identified as a likely exit. Sure enough, it opens to the outdoors. All three surge through, freedom itching at their fingertips-- only for it all to come crashing down.

Lena and Izzy both drop their knees with a scream of pain, covering their ears with both hands. Their cries muffle to keening moan as they curl in on themselves to escape an unescapable agony. 

"Lena!" Kara drops to her knees in front of her, gripping her by the wrists and tilting her head up. With a gasp, she sees Lena's eyes glazed and unfocused, completely unseeing. "Lena, what's wrong, tell me--"

Lena releases one ear with a cry, blindly feeling her way until she finds Izzy's arm. She pushes the woman towards Kara.

"Supergirl," Lena moans, gasping. "Go."

The message is clear-- take Izzy and flee. 

Lena must have forgotten what it means to be Supergirl.

Reaching into her belt, Kara pulls out a device designed for this very instance. "Shut your eyes."

She needn't have worried-- both Lena's and Izzy's eyes are screwed shut in pain. With a click of a button, Kara detonates the device and tosses it into the air. A burst of high intensity yellow sunlight envelops them, filling Kara with more than just her  strength.

"Hold on," she urges, collecting a woman in each arm. She launches into the air just as the facility door clangs open, and guards finally spill out after their escaping slaves. Kara quickly zooms out of reach, lifting higher and higher until Alex hails her on the earpiece. 

"Waverider is inbound. Cargo bay door will be open and waiting."

True to her sister's word, Kara lands inside the Waveriders cargo bay. Within moments, they are zooming out of the planet's atmosphere and into the dark of outer space.

Kara shouts for her sister, quickly moving to set Lena and Izzy on their feet, where they soon once again collapse to their knees in pain. 

Sara Lance doesn't wait for Alex. "Get them to the medbay, now."

Kara obeys, depositing Izzy on one bed and Lena on the other. Sara is close on her heels, snapping orders to Gideon.

"Put them under," she instructs, and within moments Lena and Izzy go still, their whimpers quieting as Gideon administers a sedative.

Alex enters a few moments later. "What happened?"

"Initial examination complete," Gideon announces. "They both have devices planted in their ear canals, which are currently emitting a high frequency signal."

Alex sighs, running a hand through her cropped hair. "Damn it. Probably a deterrent."

"Gideon, can you remove the devices?" Sara asks.

There's a beat as the computer thinks. "Yes," she determines a moment later. "Though the procedure will be painful, and may result in partial or total hearing loss."

Alex and Sara looks to Kara, allowing her to make the call.

Kara's decision is easy to make. "Do it," she tells Gideon. To Sara and Alex, she softens her voice. "Whatever will ease their pain."

"Very well," Gideon responds. "It will take some time to prepare--"

"Gideon--" Kara interrupts, suddenly hesitant. "Could you please run another scan? I have reason to believe their vision may be affected as well."

"Certainly. I will notify you as soon as the tests and procedures are complete."

Alex nods, reaching for Kara's hand. "Come on, I have a change of clothes for you--"

Kara pulls her hand away. "I don't need a change of clothes," she clips. Her gaze is glued to Lena, and she has no intention of leaving. "I'm staying."

"Kara--"

"I'm staying," she repeats, this time with the authority of an El. 

Alex withdraws a step, shock and hurt flashing across her features. She takes her hand back, and nods. "Okay."

Sara takes Alex by the shoulders, nudging her towards the medbay door. "Come on. Let's leave Gideon to it."

Finally alone, Kara settles onto a stool next to Lena. She situates herself between the two beds, but it's Lena's hand she reaches for, Lena's hair she smoothes out of her friend's face. 

There she stays, a silent sentinel.

—

The frequency emitter isn't the only deterrent they find. 

A small chip in each of the women's frontal cortex renders them blind, a measure designed to incapacitate them in the event of an attempted escape. This time, they can't remove the devices, nor do they find a way to deactivate them. Their loss of vision is total and permanent.

The one small consolation is that Izzy escapes the removal of the frequency with no complications, her hearing preserved. When Lena is tested, however, they learn that the removal has resulted in unilateral partial hearing loss in her right ear.

“Is there nothing you can do?” Izzy asks, clinging to Lena’s hand. Izzy hasn’t left Lena’s side since waking, desperate for comfort in her newly darkened world. 

Alex shakes her head. “I’m sorry,” she offers. “It’s possible it may come back over time, but Gideon says it’s… not likely.”

Lena covers Izzy’s hand with her own. “It’s okay.”

“Lena–!”

“It could be worse,” Lena states bluntly. Izzy falls quiet, her features falling. 

For several long moments, none of them say anything. Izzy is the first to break the silence.

“Supergirl?”

Kara straightens. “I’m here.”

“You said… you said my mom reached out to you?”

It takes a moment of nodding before Kara remembers that Izzy can’t see it. “Yes,” she says quickly.

“How– how long have we been gone? Is she okay?”

Kara sees Lena’s eyes track towards her in interest– coming close but not quite focusing on her. Kara takes a breath. 

“She misses you,” she starts. “But she never gave up hope of finding you. It’s been… it’s been a long two years.” 

Izzy’s eyes fill with tears. Her hand tightens on Lena’s, who gives it a reassuring rub. “It’s okay,” Lena murmurs. “We’ll be home soon.”

Kara nods, grateful for the silver lining. “That’s right. We’re almost at the Sol system. About 76 hours from Earth. We’ll make sure your mother is waiting when we land.”

As Kara watches, Lena’s features darken. Her jaw tightens, but she says nothing. Sensing the shift in Lena’s mood, Kara shoots a glance at Alex, who understands in an instant. “Hey Izzy, how about we take you to the galley so you can get some food?”

“But Lena–”

“It’s fine, Izz. I’ll join you in a moment. I have some things I’d like to discuss with Supergirl.”

Reluctantly, Izzy releases her grip on Lena, and carefully slips off the medbay bed. Accepting Alex’s offered arm, she allows herself to be led from the room, her footsteps faltering only slightly as she goes. 

Kara turns back to Lena as the door hisses shut behind them. “It’s just us,” she says, coming a few steps closer so that Lena wouldn’t have to strain to hear. “What’s wrong?”

“Besides the obvious, you mean?” Lena scoffs. The joke carries a dark edge, one that dulls slightly when Lena’s shoulders slump slightly. “Sorry. You didn’t deserve that.”

“It’s okay,” Kara promises. “You’ve been through a lot–”

“My mother,” Lena cuts in, clearly interested in neither platitudes nor presumptions that anyone but Izzy has any idea what the past two years have been like. “I’m assuming she knows I was abducted?”

“Yes.” Kara’s tone is enough for Lena to quirk one eyebrow, prompting Kara to continue. “When she learned what happened, Lillian escaped from prison. Ever since she learned you were taken off world, she’s made it her life’s mission to further her crusade against aliens. Myself and the DEO have managed to thwart the worst of it, but…”

Kara trails off, but Lena has never been one to shy away from harsh truths. “But what?”

“She’s managed to abduct and shuttle several ships of aliens offworld. We’re not exactly sure where to– I don’t even know if she bothered to program a destination.”

Lena releases a shaking breath. “How many?”

“Almost 3,500 so far, and they haven’t stopped. Cadmus doesn’t discriminate either. Anyone who registered under the Alien Amnesty Act is at risk, including children.”

“Jesus,” Lena breathes. She pauses a moment before continuing. “What can I do?”

Hope flares in Kara’s chest. Not only would Lena’s help prove invaluable, but it seems the last two years haven’t managed to break her spirit. “You can rest and recuperate–”

“Don’t patronize me, Supergirl,” Lena snaps, irritation flashing across her features. “It’s been two years. My company has either collapsed or is doing fine without me. I have no friends, and my only family still at large is ruining countless lives. I’m not going to just sit on my hands and wallow in self-pity.”

It seems little about Lena Luthor has changed, then. She’s still the same headstrong, self-possessed woman Kara met in that L-Corp executive suite two years ago– the same woman Kara so quickly grew attached to. The same woman she’s longed to find ever since she learned of her abduction.

“You’re wrong,” Kara informs her. “You do have friends.”

“Izzy doesn’t count–”

“Kara Danvers has missed you every single day since you went missing.”

Lena freezes. “Kara?” She swallows thickly. “She– she missed me?”

Lena’s voice is so small, so doubtful that Kara makes her decision right then and there.

“Yes,” she says. “I did.”

It takes a moment for the words to land, and another still for them to click together. Lena’s eyes widen then, her mouth gaping slightly before her jaw works minutely as she struggles to regain her voice. 

“Oh.”

Kara crosses to stand in front of Lena, making sure to keep her steps loud enough to Lena to hear her approach. She takes Lena’s hand and places it against the El Mayarah, over her heart. 

“There’s not a day that went by that I didn’t think of you. And– and I’m sorry I wasn’t there to save you.” 

“Kara…” Lena curls her hand, clasping Kara’s fingertips. She blinks, and tears spill down her cheeks. “Thank you.”

“You are my friend, Lena.” Kara knows in that moment that she would have crossed a thousand galaxies to bring her home. “No matter what happens next… I promise you won’t do it alone.”

The next thing Kara knows, Lena’s arms have slipped around her middle, squeezing tight. Lena buries her face against Kara’s chest, the position made awkward by the fact Lena is still sitting on the bed, but Kara doesn’t care. She returns the hug as fiercely as she dares. 

“We’re going home.”

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

ough the absolute Rarepair i have in my head rn.... it literally has not been done yet

[meringuejellyfish]

ohohoh

[laesas]

did you ever make a post about pete not liking tankhun ? i know you mentioned it a few times in your tags but i don't remember seeing a post. (i share your opin ions.)

I definitely toyed with the idea of meta or a gifset but I didn't ever make a full post! I love unrequited love and I ESPECIALLY love the extremely rare platonic version which Tankhun and Pete absolutely nail in my opinion!

There are loads of moments where Pete's smile drops around Tankhun very quickly, or he insults Tankhun behind his back. Instead of laughing things off like Arm and Pol, he almost has a wincing fear-response to Tankhun, which we don't really see at all from the other bodyguards.

I think that Tankhun likes to think of himself as being close friends with his bodyguards, and he does genuinely show a lot of open affection for Pete and eventually concern for his safety. But I think ultimately for Pete, Tankhun is just a part of Pete's job, and over time resentment has built up until he thinks of Tankhun as one of the *worst* parts of it. I definitely don't think he resents Tankhun enough to hurt or endanger him, but that's about as far as it goes, there's certainly very little love there.

Something about that dynamic is just particularly brilliant, especially when combined with Pete's eventual defection from Tankhun's side to Vegas'. He chooses a man who has beaten and tortured him over a man who showers him in affection and throws parties on his return.

I utterly adore Tankhun but I think as a character that's grown up in a gilded cage, he doesn't really understand that what Pete needs is a sense of his own autonomy rather than being dragged to "fun" "lets cheer up Pete" parties that Tankhun has demanded on his behalf. At least with Vegas he *chose* to go back, he handed Vegas the ropes, let him lock him back up again. Even before he develops feelings for Vegas, Pete has clearly felt like a subhuman pet for Tankhun and the main family for a long, long time and I think ironically Vegas acknowledging Pete's humanity is the tipping point for him.

I think even without their nascent romantic love as a factor, Pete would always choose Vegas. Because despite the threat of suffering, he offers a sense of freedom that Tankhun's gilded cage does not. It all makes for an incredibly interesting betrayal, and makes Pete choosing Vegas over Tankhun all the more pointed. By choosing to be Vegas' pet, he chooses to be human.

[waywardsalt]

im actually going to tear into totk’s dragon’s tears/ memories rn bc i remember feeling distinctly unsatisfied with them when i got all of them so im just going to write some general bullet points about them, about what i dislike or maybe what i do actually like about them, leaving out both master sword scenes and the mummydorf one because i’m here to talk about the stuff in the past not that

- off the bat (i play this game in english btw so all of this is based on the english text and translation i am aware some stuff is slightly different in other languages) im not really a fan of how the descriptions of all of the tears is just a literal description of what happens?? i think my issue with it is that some of the text is a little bit too in depth, as in it just tells you literally everything about the scene. this might be nitpick-y but i personally dont like it

- what’s up with zelda saying ‘but that must mean...!’ at the end of the scene. is it suggesting that she’s made the realization that rauru and sonia are the first king and queen of hyrule? because they literally tell her that like ten seconds before. i guess it’s suggesting she’s realizing she’s in the past but... idk the texts says ‘she’s left startled by a suspicion that she’s heard those names before’ yeah theyre the first king and queen of hyrule?? they tell her that. they tell her their names and that they are the first leaders of hyrule is she just now connecting the dots that she’s in the past? that’s what the next cutscene implies. but all of the surrounding dialogue and the description don’t suggest that that’s what she’s realizing i feel like this was kind of muddled in the translation

- why did sonia elbow rauru he was just standing weird he didnt say anything this isnt a nitpick im just confused. is it because he’s not being very empathetic towards what zelda’s going through? she elbows him and then she goes and talks to zelda why even elbow rauru. ordinarily you elbow someone like that if you mean for them to go do something why elbow someone if you’re going to do the thing you want anyways

- why doesnt zelda offer to help with the purah pad or anything like that. what happened to her sheikah tech fascination from botw. not even as someone actually familiar with the technology who could give mineru some points as to how it works

- what are sonia and zelda doing behind rauru when he shoots that insane fucking beam at the mulduga swarm they’re clearly doing something with their stones but like... are they amplifying rauru’s power somehow?? what do time powers have to do with the beam of light i dont- what were they doing please the text description only mentions him using his powers so are sonia and zelda just... supporting his powers? idk man

- dragon tear #5 is a whole can of worms with its worse-than-oot reenactment of that one scene from oot. why the focus on sonia and her tear btw. i mean yeah she dies to motivate rauru and zelda but like. why not aim for the new girl who probably doesn’t know how to use it as much and is probably more likely to be separate from the king who can shot insane lasers. im really not a fan of this scene for how strongly the game sides with rauru and zelda being passive and judgemental but ganondorf is literally the best part of it there’s a lot of character in just how he picks up his sword and stands up to leave

- putting memories 6 and 7 together just because of how there was just. no fucking care put into the idea of zelda learning to use her time powers. memory 6 zelda talks about wanting to use her time powers and sonia gives her tips on how she could use it and visualize the use of it and then in memory 7 she can just use it perfectly with great control and timing. why even bother talking about her nothing yet understanding how to use it when the very next scene she just uses it like it’s nothing. how much time has passed we get nothing to show us zelda trying to practice this power just. nope. she’s good she can use it perfectly. also more awkward dialogue sonia saying ‘what a picture zelda paints of him’ as she is. looking directly at zelda. change the line to like, ‘what a picture you paint of him’ she is literally looking right at zelda so why would she say it like that

- generally i feel like memory six should have been before 4 and 5 (4 being where she uses some power to... support??? rauru and it being before memory 5 so that there isnt this weird break in between the memories concerning ganondorf.) memory 6 does not have anything to do with memory 4 or 5 so just put it earlier so there isnt a weird shift in focus between the two big ganondorf scenes

- good god they introduce the idea of sonia and zelda being aware of ganondorf using a fake zelda but theres literally nothing about it having been a problem or them having experience or like. anything. they just TELL you that they know and suggest that it’s been like. a thing for a bit??? also obligatory ganondorf’s face model rigging is fucked comment he’s still the best part

- the pacing of these memories is just weird in general, memories 7 and 8 being separate but the same scene is strange when other memories are long as fuck but cover one event each, plus theres clearly barely any passage of time between memories 7 and 8 it almost feels like they were split up to fill space or just because otherwise it’d be... too long? man idk

- ‘queen sonia needs you!’ girl she is DEAD good fucking luck doing anything to help her

- ganondorf’s horse and its armor both look sick as fuck i really wish you got to see more of it outside the memory it appears in

- everything about the original sages honestly sucks. they aren’t characters they’re just walking macguffins. they have no names and are not relevant or mentioned or make any appearance until they are needed by the story. why does the zora sage talk about getting word about the attacked gerudo village in this scene when like. they’ve all met up and have clearly. been together for a bit. when she gives them the news it’s clearly the first they’ve heard of it... but... why would she wait until this moments to give this info unless for the benefit of the player watching the scene. why does the ZORA sage have this news and not... the gerudo sage?? what’s with the masks. they’re all made of zonaite or whatever sure theyre gifts from rauru but like. i hate that it kind of denotes them being subservient and lower than him and the zonai. honestly i really hate this scene in general mostly because of the uncomfortable showing of how rauru absolutely holds power over them and despite them being leaders as well they are expected to be wholly blindly loyal to him. rauru only gives them these stones when he needs their aid and they swear loyalty too him soon after but you also see that sonia and mineru have stones, too, so they’re clearly withholding these things despite it being kind of reasonable for him to give each race their own secret stone as further proof of their pact? there is so much shit to be said about the imperialistic themes or whatever in this fucking story and i really hate it

- i do kinda like how the next scene shows you that the one rock in the corner of that first hidden room in the forgotten temple is sonia’s grave

- zelda’s phrasing and description of how she and link found ganondorf is weird to me ‘he’s still alive’ ‘he lives on’ girl that was a mummy. he was not moving until you got there. he’s undead at best as far as you know. this is def a nitpick but eh. also the reliance on link is a... bit odd when zelda does not actually know that link is safe until she gets the master sword. its fine but still. also her shell-shocked expression after rauru talks about her being in the past for a reason is a bit... it doesn’t fit her emotion it’s kind of similar to the expression she had when sonia was killed

- the memory about the imprisoning war starts with practically the whole story up until now being repeated back to you by mineru with a decent amount of bias on mineru’s part and while it’s fine because of some of the extra stuff you learn but it does a lot more telling rather than showing when it comes to the actual imprisoning war and... idk the whole thing about their ‘fight’ kind of falls flat when you don’t actually see any fighting you just see that the sages have gotten their asses beat. i think it would have been a little interesting if in the god-awful repetitive sage-awakening scenes they had actually showed you the og sages fighting ganondorf instead of just. slow-mo freeze-frames for whatever. once again ganondorf if the best part of the scene

- the rest of the memories are fine idc

i get the feeling that the japanese-to-english translation was either all-around rough or somehow rushed, because some of the phrases in the game as well as some of the dialogue is really awkward and... could have been better. i don’t know how it works but it feels like a lot of it was very literal, direct translation and no one at noa thought that it ought to be tweaked just a little bit

these memories also do a fuck-ton of telling rather than showing and it really is like they don’t really trust you to connect the dots, and some of it does come off like they either didn’t want to make more memories or ran out of time or something. i felt like the memory of ganondorf just summoning his monsters and riding on his cool horse could have been a bit longer to actually show us the forces of hyrule fighting him and having a hard time with it

a lot of the character animations doesn’t have a whole lot of personality to them, ganondorf is the character who had the most distinct and interesting movements. rauru and sonia had their... singular movement (rauru putting a hand to his chin and sonia taking zelda’s hands) and zelda was kind of just... standing around and reacting to stuff, and neither mineru nor any of the other sages had any really interesting animations asides from mineru’s coughing fit in memory 16 (plus her reclining chair that was a nice touch). very few of their movements really express anything about the characters besides some really baseline values or traits.

the ordering of some memories is kind of odd, the excessive flashbacks in memory 17 are a bit much, the telling rather than showing, the sometimes awkward dialogue, a lot of the scenes are characters just... talking at each other, you don’t actually see very much of hyrule in the past or any characters beyond the main four, and it really did nothing to actually get me to care about these characters at all.

tldr i dont like totk’s dragon tears

[trainingdummyrabbit]

and how much was argalia Like That before the pianist???? how much of him is just Him and how much of it is him in the aftermath of dealing with this loss??? is this nonchalance just the way he is or was it a development to adapt to the new way his world works? who Is Argalia??????

[lion-buddy]

being the resident nezuko liker is such a challenge sometimes

[july-19th-club]

i think the failure of the yellowjackets approach and (to an extent, because it absolutely doesn't land perfectly all the time) success of the umbrella academy approach to the "teens in life-changing danger must reconnect all grown up" plot is that yellowjackets contains very grounded concepts treated with almost TOO much *oomph* and TUA contains very elaborate concepts that it treats elaborately. with yellowjackets whenever there's ten different chaotically overlapping plots i just get annoyed that they can't stick with one or two, settle down and really stew in them, whereas when there's ten different chaotically overlapping plots on the bad sibling show im like yeah comic book. that's exactly where you're supposed to be . but no that's not it actually. still thinking out loud. it's that yellowjackets sometimes deviates from its central question which is 'how do we live the rest of our lives with Who We Became Out There' to do other stuff that doesn't connect well and comes off over-the-top because it's disconnected. but TUA's central question is 'how do we live the rest of our lives with Who We Became Because Of Dad' and absolutely every single poor decision they make or relationship they bungle or disaster they fail to avert comes right back to that question no matter how wacky a path it takes to get there

[boxchewr]

im not really a homestuck fan anymore nor do i ever have the patience or time to reread it properly but. i will still fight tooth and nail for the fact that there's still a lot of value to that comic

[theygender]

Mine and my girlfriend's special interests are so funny to me bc I'm just like "hi I'm autistic and my special interest is dinosaurs uwu" and then you ask what her special interests are and it's like

The wreck of the Titanic

The Russian Revolution

The assassination of JFK

Unsolved murder cases from the 1800s

Stage magic

[thepavementsings]

you think pierre will be forgotten about next year?

This has been sitting in my inbox for a HOT minute, I think based on some tags I may have made a few weeks ago? And now that i'm done finals I'm finally answering it lol what a treat for me.

I think the thing about Pierre is that in the larger fandom, he's already served his big narrative purpose™. The whole narrative arc of getting beat down and shoved away by Red Bull, and pushing through that? Persevering despite everyone telling him "you're as good as done"? Becoming lost in all of the personal and professional tragedy of 2019 and then finding himself again? Becoming a fantastic teammate and someone trusted to lead and then finally finally breaking out of the mold that has shaped him for so long? He's had his little hero's journey already.

Even this year, I think so much of him got... maybe flattened out is not the right word. But I think there was something genuinely SO interesting about the way Pierre rubbed up against everything this past season that was TOTALLY missed under the media-pushed Yukierre and shit car of it all. IMO it was HARD to dig into the meat of it when so much of it was presented like, candy coated rotten apples lol. Especially if you aren't like... in it like the Pierries are. A lot of it got missed (like that 5-10 minutes before people realized what was actually happening in Japan was a perfect microcosm for this season w Pierre LOL but but let's not get into that). I also just think how Pierre was this year hit less of the broad strokes big dynamic and character interests of the fandom than he did in 2020/2021 maybe!

So I think the popularity of him as a character continues to go down at Alpine too, yeah. Because the new story is about chipping away at a new thing. It's not as sexy for him alone: people who don't care about Pierre's story and only care about the narrative will watch for it to blow up with Esteban and thats about it. So much of I think the actual compelling stuff for him happens behind the scenes now, in these next few months before the season starts. It'll be about someone who is so strict and used to routine and one structure and has pre-existing expectations for a lot of usually goes on around him being thrust into a completely new environment and having to figure out how to swim after so long. It's the "Red Bull is the longest relationship I've ever had", and now what? Have you really learned have you really grown etc etc? But so much of that we wont be able to see!!

He's never really been main character compelling to people, which I get. Cause I think his typecast is harder to get into or even figure than the Maxes Or Charleses or Daniels of it all for example. He's often a useful secondary character to a slash or a gen pairing but a hard primary!! God gives his hardest tests etc etc.

The question is really what is the next big arc? And I dont know if there is one thats super clear. Which is fine for me because unfortunately I like it better when less people talk about the people I like because they dont know the lore! or whatever lol you know what I mean. But anyways I think he's just filled his narrative purpose in wider fandom. I am ok with him being put back on the proverbial doll shelf for now though!

[gazelessmenagerie]

No one:

me, waking up bc for some reason the heater is up and I am sweating to have to get up and crack open the window: .... The reason I focus hard on the personal struggles and inner turmoil of Broly is just because that’s how I see his character aside from the terrifying psycho he is when all hell breaks loose from him after years of what could be trauma. Yeah everyone loves his lssj form but fuck if i don’t like seeing what could possibly go on beneath the surface. What aspects could be warped or driven to be a certain way because its all he ever knew and how would it affect him when small changes are coaxed into him through repeated interactions and slowly getting used to having someone around that he legitimately becomes accustomed to.

another part of my brain: ... is this also an elaborate way to say I have no goddamn idea what to do with the lssj because in my head, he can basically obliterate just about anything? yes. yes it is. the only valid way I can see him actually getting into trouble outside of powerful transformations by capable individuals or their own power alone is actually Himself because his Anger is so prevalent that it stresses him out without the aid of that suppression device forcing him to calm down (or having certain people in some cases that manage to have enough of a bond to him that he is capable of calming down to their efforts or ways they employ). Honestly, what sort of after effects could happen to him being used to this device and the feelings it forced upon and then suddenly getting his freedom away from it? The bastard’s more intelligent than he lets on and its evident through watching him fight with what could very well just be ambush tactics and throwing his weight around as what he probably learned from growing up watching other predatory animals as he grew into power.

The Heehoo part of my brain: ... Him being a fucking psycho is hot but lmfao I don’t think I can use it much outside of plotted threads or drabbles. I blame some artists for capturing that side of him so well in illustrative mediums and I hope to one day get to that level but in a literary sense (along with artistic but that’s already a bit of a work in progress)

My body: can the cold air get in here faster? sweating up a damn storm from the heater being too high.

[tidesandseas]

playlist-crafting is the highest form of art in postmodernity . shoutout to all the little 12 year olds out there making aesthetic spotify playlists of your favorite tiktok songs i see you and you are known 🫶

[gifti3]

They really needed to do another draft for book 2

[sanctamater]

the way zachary redirects the narrative from amelia and back to him. shrimpteresting.

[spookysnooty]

My two 70s themed Sims!!

Crystal Sunshine, a young painter and dancer and Russian Immigrant and her best friend in the whole world- Weston Applegate, a young Cherokee singer songwriter.

They started out as completely randomized with no real idea in mind but tbh I love them