#but like...being forced to add some levity

[chuuya-fan-page]

Your thoughts about Stormbringer? (And Chuuyas'relationship with the Flags, Murase, Adam and or course, Dazai)

Hi Anon!

I. LOVE. STORMBRINGER.

It has my overall favourite characters (Rimbaud and Verlaine mwah ily) and the overall story is just SO GOOD, plus the insight we get into Chuuya's character and why he does the things he does. The way we see him go from a liability, someone who's ready to leave the mafia at the first chance, to calling it his family? It's INSANE.

Asagiri truly outdid himself with everything going on, it's insane to see Stormbringer in comparison with all the other light novels, there's such a massive difference in length. Not to mention some of the language is just beautiful, and the descriptions feel like a gut-punch.

Chuuya gets so much depth through Stormbringer, it's really what unlocked his character for me; we now see why he's so loyal, why he allows himself to be controlled, just what he's been seeking, it makes him understandable. Dazai's "dog" jokes suddenly get a deeper meaning, Chuuya is like a dog in many ways, like a dog who returns to an abusive master because he's so damn loyal it hurts him. And god he's so forgiving, just, god.

Shirase stabbed him in the back (literally), and yet he goes to great lengths to protect him, Verlaine uproots Chuuya's entire life, and yet Chuuya forgives him, Dazai is Dazai, but Chuuya puts his life in his hands time and time again.

FUCK he hurts me.

As for his relationships (and I know you didn't mention Verlaine but god I love his relationship with Chuuya) with all of the above;

The Flags have a really interesting and unique relationship with Chuuya, they're a really important step in Chuuya claiming back his past. They solidify the groundwork of Rimbaud's final words from Fifteen; Chuuya is Chuuya, and that's enough for them.

(Tackling them one by one now)

Pianoman seems to see himself as a sort of mentor figure to Chuuya, he is of course the leader of the Flags, and therefore protective of all of them, but he goes to lengths to make Chuuya feel included and cared for. His form of affection seems to be annoying Chuuya with little gestures to make him accept them slowly, he's aware of how volatile Chuuya is at this time and handles him with care. Pianoman was the one behind the whole "one year anniversary" that the Flags threw for Chuuya, so it's clear that he pays attention to Chuuya, and cares for him a great deal. Pianoman is very blunt about some things, he confronts Chuuya out right about his motivations and troubles in order to assist him.

Albatross has a similar form of showing care; by being a little shit. He's a lot less subtle than Pianoman, as he outright pisses Chuuya off on purpose, but in ways that are clearly jokes, a way to add levity to the tense air around Chuuya joining the mafia. He does take notice of Chuuya's moods, tries to calm him down when he gets too riled up, and clearly doesn't want to push him over the edge to the point that it's no longer funny. He's the closest of the Flags with Chuuya, as they live in the same building, and they go on missions together, or rather, Albatross drags Chuuya on missions with him as a forced bonding method, despite the fact that he messes with Chuuya, he also cares about making sure that he's not upset.

Lippmann takes a slight protective air towards Chuuya, similar to Pianoman. He jokes about taking Chuuya under his wing and is also featured laying a soothing hand on Chuuya's shoulder, which leads me to believe that this is something he does often. Lippmann is an actor, and that comes through with some of the calculated ways he guides conversations, carefully pointing Chuuya towards the fact that he is a part of the Flags and ensuring that he feels included. Lippmann is able to read Chuuya's behaviour, that is part of his job, and he tailors his interactions to suit Chuuya's needs, he is described as being gentle, particularly when it comes to topics that are fresh wounds in Chuuya's past.

Doc is a weird little fuck, and I love him dearly. His form of affection seems to be threats??? Which is uh, unique...i guess? The best way I can really describe the way he interacts with Chuuya is just that he's weird, and generally off-putting, although he seems to quickly include Chuuya in with the rest of the Flags, at the very least he treats them all the same. Doc is weird to analyse because everything he says is just one curveball after another. Due to his weird relationship with death and God, I'm inclined to believe that he respects Chuuya for being a fighter, he does comment on the fact that "Poison isn't enough to kill Chuuya", which almost sounds like a begrudged compliment, as Poison is his self-admitted way that he's killed lot's of people. He also put a ton of effort into tracing back Chuuya's medical history, which shows care if not affection.

Iceman is another interesting one to analyse. He, like Albatross, takes care to ensure that Chuuya feels comfortable, he admits that he didn't want to hold the celebration for Chuuya, because he thought it might upset him. Iceman is very blunt and upfront with Chuuya, he doesn't sugarcoat or lie to him, he makes it clear that the Flags all believe in Chuuya's strength, and calls out his unnecessary violence, as well as revealing Pianoman's true intentions in watching out for Chuuya. Iceman respects Chuuya, after all, Chuuya was managed to escape being killed by Iceman when he was in the Sheep, and holds no grudges. Although they have the most tense relationship out of Chuuya and the Flags, Iceman still allows Chuuya to see below his cold facade, and shows him his true nature.

Chuuya overall is conflicted when it comes to the Flags. In many ways, he interacts with them the same way he interacts with Dazai, because that's just how he is with people. Anger is a shield for his other emotions, when he's overwhelmed by their kindness and care for him, he threatens to leave and accuses them of trying to make him "weepy" so that he'll apologize. He does let some of his guard down around them, and they're the people he's closest to in the Mafia at that point, he fights well alongside them, and despite their few scuffles, trusts and cares for them.

Murase and Chuuya's relationship is short-lived, but adorable. In some ways, Chuuya and Murase have many connections, Murase's relationship with N can be compared to Chuuya's relationship with Verlaine, mainly in that they have weird-ass older brothers who are batshit insane. There is something to be said about how N inadvertently brought about the end of his younger brother's life, and through his influences drove Murase to be a better person and help people, which is why Murase is so determined to bring Chuuya into the light (Odasaku moment). Murase is such a daggy-dad, every part of me wishes he'd managed to pick up Chuuya before everything had happened. He shows so much care for him, and even though Chuuya insults him flippantly, he doesn't give up on trying to improve his life. God dammit Asagiri, why are you like this.

ADAM. MY SWEET SWEET ROBOT MAN. God I love him. He's got Chuuya's back 10000% and he's there for him every step of the way. I can sooooooo draw a million and one parallels between Verlaine and Adam, but for now we're only talking about one synthetic human. Adam is SO caring, he immediately places Chuuya as the most important person in his system, he buys snacks for him before they go out on their mission, he stands up to Shirase for Chuuya's sake, and god he shows how much he truly admires and cares for Chuuya. Adam is fascinated by human nature, and to him there is nothing more human than Chuuya. One of my favourite scenes is when Chuuya calls Verlaine human, and Adam is overjoyed, thinking that Chuuya has drawn the obvious conclusion that due to his and Verlaine's similarities, if Verlaine is human, so is Chuuya! Silly stupid robot man i love you so much. And he SACRIFICES himself for Chuuya, god, he DIES for him, and we know he did that of his own violation, which makes it WORSE. Chuuya begrudgingly comes to care about Adam, and from the beginning calls him reliable and trustworthy (HE TRSUTS HIMDVJHBJHFG), and is genuinely happy at his return. They make me so sad oh god.

Slotting Verlaine in here real quick because his relationship with Chuuya is one of my favourites. They're besties, they're worsties, they brothers from two different continents. Verlaine is quite literally the stereotypical overprotective brother, except he's also the king of the assassins, so he shows his love by murdering Chuuya's friends. The most painful thing about his actions to me is that he genuinely thought he was helping Chuuya. Verlaine is too lost in his own pain to realise that his and Chuuya's situations are different, that his own past is not what he thought. Verlaine projects heavily onto him, even calls Chuuya his "other self", and he spends most of Stormbringer in denial about his own relationship with Rimbaud, and consequently Chuuya's relationship with those around him. Verlaine's pain runs deep, and it cuts into Chuuya as well.

NOW WE'RE ON TO THE BIG GUNS.

TEEN SOUKOKU BABY, WOOOOOOH I LOVE THEM

Stormbringer is SUCH a turning point for their relationship. There was a trust forged in Fifteen, but that kinda went to shit after Dazai pulled that whole thing with the Sheep. Even so, there's something there, Dazai is still the one who nullifies corruption and takes Chuuya to see the Flags, he's still the one who allows Chuuya to tie him up and spin him around by the ankle as "revenge". And he's the one who gives Chuuya what might be the first choice of his life. Stormbringer shows something very, very important for Dazai's character, which is that he was always capable of change. While many people point to Odasaku as the reason Dazai changed so much, which is true, he was able to change before he met him. It's so important to remember that Dazai always had it in him to change, he just needed to right push, and Chuuya was one of those pushes. Odasaku was just more of a shove. Dazai not only deliberately puts himself in another person's shows for Chuuya, but he gives him a genuine and real choice, one that he intends to uphold. Stormbringer reforges that trust between Soukoku, it shows them once again as equals.

They're perfect.

TY FOR YOUR ASK ANON <33 I love Stormbringer so much

-T

[plural-swag-competition]

Tiptapricot again! I’m not the best for giving recs and info on the comics, but can give some trigger warnings on the show and two of the runs I’ve read! This will all b below cut as it’s as in depth as I can do off the top of my head.

This is a long post, but I’ve tried to make it as informative as possible. It lists some heavy stuff! MK fans are welcome to let me know if there’s things they think I should add, and though I say in the post, anyone is welcome to shoot me an ask about specific triggers! There also may be some typos haha so excuse those.

Without further ado, let’s get into it :-)

First up!

The Lemire Run, 2016

This may not be the best run to jump onto as it has a pre-established cast and is highly referential to past MK work, but it was also the first one I read and I still really enjoyed it! As long as you have a general knowledge of the characters from like a quick wiki read, you should be good.

Warnings for: Medical unreality, unreality, psych ward setting, gaslighting, abusive nurses/orderlies and doctors, shock therapy, drugging, death of friends, warped reality, manipulative Khonshu (the god they work for), further unreality/blending of realities between different headmates, mis-naming, car crashes/ship crashes, death of friends again, arrest/police interrogation, institutionalization as a child though not shown graphically, off-page death of father, internalized ableism/belief that to be normal you must not be a system, invalidation of headmates by another headmate, apparent though not actual alter death (they come back triumphantly, they are all ok), talk of brain and mental space/being “broken” as a form of manipulation.

This is the one I sent a propaganda post in about also! It was one of the first really major positive MK explorations (not the first, the 80s run and a handful of others actually have some real good stuff) and while it still has some funky parts, is a really gorgeous and awesome look at them, and again, has one of my favorite characters!

Second!

The MacKay run, 2021

This one’s the currently ongoing comic run! And while there’s less warnings it should be mentioned that since it’s ongoing, my list may become out of date somewhat soon, esp since issue 25 is apparently going to be 70 pages. But it’s a good time to hop on and join!

Warnings include: general monsters and fighting of them, self hate, internalized ableism and force-fronting by Marc/him being frontstuck for a lot of it, regular therapy sessions with Marc and his therapist that, although not manipulative or toxic or abusive like in other runs, are coerced by the avengers due to a previous run where the system basically took stuff over and took down the avengers for Khonshu (this run is referenced a lot), temporary death of main, discussion of gods, faith, and general theology, vomit in the issue 17 fight, racism/cultural appropriation by the character Jack Russel in the annual, forced switch by an outside partner in the annual.

There’s also a general blanket thing that, while MacKay is doing good at a lot, and issues 14/15 specifically have some really good system conversations facilitated by him working with a system for them, he is still not including Steven and Jake as much as he should, and stuff can feel unbalanced/that he’s forgetting about their systemhood sometimes. It’s overall a very solid run so far, but that’s good to be aware of!

And lastly but not leastly!

Moon Knight, 2022 show

The show is 6 episodes long and on Disney+ or u can pirate it (which. Is what I do haha) and these are what I can think of for warnings.

Best to skim beforehand and then peek at each chunk for each ep as you go. Id be able to give times if I was live watching with someone but I hope these cover stuff generally ok, and you can also look up specific stuff if you need, or send me an ask if you watch about a specific moment and I can find the time stamp! My inbox is always open :-)

Disclaimer that the show also has a lot of levity and comedy and calmer moments within everything I’m going to list. These are just the triggers, and since it is a heavy show it will seem dense, but it’s not just hell all the way through.

Ep 1, The Goldfish Problem—At the very beginning there is a scene where glass is put in shoes and stepped on, there is no blood or pain reaction or visuals of the skin, but that is a constant presence in the background for the whole show as the main antagonist is a cult leader who uses it for self flagellation. Lot of sudden and discombobulating switches accompanied by minor flashing, confusion and paranoia as it involves the beginning of system discovery by a headmate who has no idea what’s going on, a generally eerie vibe involving a large bird headed skeleton creature (Khonshu) popping up, voices from indeterminant origin/people seen in mirrors, scene in the mountains involves seeing the cult, and ideas of good and bad and predestined morality, car chase involving car crashes, guns and blood but not really gore or any especially violent ways of taking out bad guys, missing an important event due to amnesia and lost time, apparent stalking by cult and unreliable coworkers, mild panic attack.

Episode 2, Summon The Suit—More of eerie vibe from first ep and more of big bird man and some flashing, uncomfortable firing from job for perceived mental health reasons, headmates arguing, headmate freaking out and jumping to internalized ableism, person who knows one headmate but not ab the system being confused and frustrated/believing the one fronting is putting on an act, police arrest/kidnapping, more of the cult, discussion of eugenics ideology from cult, panic attacks, one use of the word “Psycho” during a joke, headmates arguing worse and lashing out at each other, manipulation by Khonshu, brief use of alcohol in an obviously unhappy state as coping.

Episode 3, The Friendly Type—Sudden and abrupt switches, coming to mid fight/after an adversary has been killed, confusion, non-graphic suicide as form of escape from protags (falling off cliff, body not shown in detail or close up at all), very intense trial scene involving possession by a god, and weaponized ableism and personality language against mains from antag, both demonizing and infantilizing them, somewhat of a breakdown/lashing out from main because of it, another fight at rich guys place involving guns and knives, as well as choking, and impaling of mains, but impalement has no blood or gore shown, the poles r kinda just through them and they’re alright, some more possible flashing triggers at end with sky scene though more mild.

Episode 4, The Tomb—Headmates arguing/tension, choice to pursue relationship action without direct discussion about it, sounds of dissection of human by a monster (dissection is blurred in background and not shown in detail), scary undead creatures coming out of the dark and fighting with a main, emotional manipulation by cult leader, argument with a partner causing a forced switch, intense guilt and mention of believing one should’ve died, main character death, and at very end and also big one for next ep: unreality, medical unreality, psych ward setting, drugging and restraint of patient, gaslighting, feeling like an “it was all a dream” twist (which is proven to be false, the psych ward here is not real and is a construct of the afterlife, but it is a big scare and can be triggering).

Episode 5, Asylum (biggest ones here and very intense episode)—More of same medical unreality and gaslighting by a doctor, on screen drugging of patient/mains with a syringe, forced trauma memory exploration involving static dead bodies, passive suicidal ideation, off screen drowning, off screen sibling/child death, intense verbal abuse from mother, passive father, alcoholic abusive parent, guilty flashback to older Marc the night Khonshu contacted him which involves an attempted suicide (gun put against chin) and manipulation, headmate hitting their head rapidly during a breakdown, physical abuse from parent with belt (action not shown on screen but build up is and there is briefly audio of impacts), headmates arguing, internalized ableism, discovery of being an introject and negative thoughts about “realness” and self as a result, emotionally abusive doctor, parental/abuser death, alcoholism by main, breakdown at funeral, hitting of kippah on ground during breakdown, intense switch in time of distress, apparent alter death (not permanent but is not resolved in this episode).

IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BY ME TO WATCH EPISODES 5 AND 6 IN THE SAME SITTING OR CLOSE TOGETHER. 5 is really fucking intense, and even while being very well done, it can really fuck up your brain and mental space. Episode 6 is a huge balm onto that and makes me cry every time because of it.

Episode 6, Gods and Monsters—Cult carrying out goals, intense grief from living main, dead bodies talking, brief possession by a god, guilt tripping and trauma leveraging by antag onto mains, sudden switch, brief return of psych ward setting (though in a context of triumphing over it/proving it to be a construct), after credits scene involves abduction of antag from a care facility, and murder.

Also general note that the show is really complicated and nuanced in its rep. It has a lot that’s really good but they also made some mistakes. The term DID/Dissociative Identity Disorder is not said on screen, for example, largely because the system themselves don’t know what’s going on/are dealing with a lot of internalized ableism, however it was still a choice by the writers. Some cast and crew members have also said not great things in interviews, but on the flip side, a lot of them have shown they really care.

Oscar Isaac specifically did a whole lot of research for his roles, and has been very respectful and awesome in interviews and in his pushing for the characters to be given the best they can. There’s a lot of discussion to have around all of it, and a lot they can improve in a season 2 if/when we get it, but it’s still a really complex and empathetic exploration of the system in general.

But also, it may not be for everyone!

I’m a singlet, and I’ve talked and discussed stuff a lot with the groups I’m in including systems in fandom, and there’s a lot in it people connect to, but it also may not be the type of show others want to watch and that’s ok. Rep is so nuanced and complicated especially with something so stigmatized, every step forward doing its best but not always nailing it, that everyone will have their varying relationships to it, and what works for some may not be good for others.

But yeah! I love moon knight a lot, and all of the things recommended here while none are perfect each do really amazing things with their stories, art, and explorations. I hope this can help some people interested in checking them out do so in an informed and safe way. My inbox is open if anyone has questions, and I can also point to some other really cool people in the community for specific discussions, recommendations, and more!

Hope you all have an epic and wonderful day! Good job on a swaggy bracket :-D

(ID in ALT)

[moviewarfare]

A Review of “Dune: Part Two (2024)”

I enjoyed Dune (2021) but it definitely felt like mostly setup and world-building. It even ends right when things are about to get interesting. Does Dune Part 2 deliver on all the setup?

Short answer, Yes! The story is incredibly engaging and thought-provoking. What makes Dune so special is that it isn't just a typical revenge or good vs evil or chosen hero-type story. There is more to everything, with very creative dilemmas that our main character has. It does have the typical romance story in the first act but it is handled wonderfully and then used with great effectiveness afterwards. The second and third acts are just phenomenal storytelling. The director, Denis Villeneuve, just pulls you into this world and manages to deliver an emotional rollercoaster experience that will mesmerize you.

On that note, every actor is amazing. Timothée Chalamet had to convince the audience that his character was becoming a frightening leader in part 2 and he absolutes excels. Zendaya is great and has excellent chemistry with Timothée which makes their character's romance believable. Javier returns with more of a substantial role and he is magnificent. He provides some levity to a very dark story but does it naturally compared to the forced humour that is thanks to MCU movies. In terms of newcomers, Austin Butler gives a very top-notch psychotic performance as Feyd. He felt like a frightening presence. Additionally, Christopher Walken is a crazy casting for the Emperor but he absolutely works. All the returning actors continue to deliver terrific performances, and newcomers such as Florence are excellent additions.

Part 2 also has a lot more action set pieces. These sequences are a lot better than the first movie as they are choreographed and shot more clearly. The 3rd act has a very entertaining sequence and the final fight itself is an epic way to end. Greig Fraser returns as the cinematographer and he might be one of the best since Roger Deakins. Every shot is just beautiful and really captures the world of Dune perfectly. Hans Zimmer also returns and he delivers more or less the same epic music score as the first film. The set design is still gorgeous and the costumes are still as wonderful as ever.

I only have minor nitpicks and that is the movie can feel a bit fast at times. This is notable during the first act where it sort of breezes over Paul's initial time with the Fremen. I also kind of wished the Emperor and Princess Irulan had more appearances considering their vital roles. The character Thufir Hawat from Dune (2021) is also nowhere to be seen in part 2 despite his fate being unclear from the first film. I honestly wouldn't have minded if this film had 15 more minutes to add these additional scenes.

Overall, it is rare for a sequel to be this good but Dune Part 2 is one of the best sequels. It delivers on everything the first movie setup while also being a stellar Sci-Fi film. Denis Villeneuve is one of my favourite modern directors and I hope he gets to make that final Dune movie that he wants. I know I will 100% be there to watch it if it happens!

For more reviews like this visit:

https://moviewarfarereviews.blogspot.com/

[daintyduck99]

"you stayed up...all night...for them. oh dude you're in love." for Bobby/Julie because I need more Bobby/Julie from your brain plz and thank

When Bobby's phone lights up with Shooting Star 💜, he answers it automatically.

"Hey, Julie."

"Hey." There's a note of uncertainty in her voice, and he can picture her biting her lip, winding her curls around her fingers. "I didn't think…I should let you sleep."

Sleep? It's only—

Another quick glance at his screen reminds him that he's still screwed up from his latest international stint of being paraded around as his parent's little trophy pet. It's almost two am.

Fuck.

Said stints are the closest thing he has to a scholarship, though, so he'll continue to grit his teeth and bear it for now.

It's sweet that Julie had assumed he'd be any semblance of adjusted, at least.

"It's fine," he reassures her, leaning back in his chair, "I'm not back on California time yet. What's up?"

Her voice quavers a bit as she says, "Me?," but he knows that she's aiming for levity, so he huffs a laugh, which at least makes her let out a genuine little giggle.

He doesn't press her, and eventually, she sighs. It's her "I'm about to rip off the bandaid" sigh, and he sits up straighter.

"It's my mom's birthday. So I guess I just…I still talk to her all the time. But I needed to talk to someone I miss who could talk back. Does that make sense?"

"Of course it does. I'm haunted by some of the bridges I nearly burned when I was an angry teen, Jules." Bobby swallows. "I'm lucky that Reggie forced Luke and me to get our heads out of our asses, you know. I'd be a lonely, surly asshole without them."

"You aren't a surly asshole now?"

He gasps in mock offense as she giggles.

"Damn, Molina. You're ruthless."

"Not my fault when you make it so easy."

He's smiling. He can't help it.

"But yeah. If I couldn't talk to them, I guess the next best thing would be talking to someone about them. That's still some kind of closure. It makes perfect sense."

"I'm glad you get me." She's smiling too, he hears it in the sheer warmth of her words, and his heart stutters in his chest as she adds, "And I do want to talk about her, but I think you missed the part where I also said that I missed you. You'd better tell me about yourself too, Shaw."

The rest of the morning flies by. His head feels like it's full of lead, but—

It's Julie. It’s worth it.

She's mostly laughing by the end, and when she finally has to go because her dad is calling for her, she tells him thank you so sweetly and genuinely that the back of his neck gets hot.

He stumbles into the kitchen about half an hour later, summoned by the smell of coffee. It's a Sunday, so he could crash, but he really shouldn't fuck up his sleep schedule any further.

It's Reggie who's grinning at him from the kitchen counter, swinging his feet. Of course it is. He's generally the early riser of the four of them, followed by Luke.

"Good morning."

"Morning," Bobby murmurs warily, eyeing the coffee pot. It'd be silly to say that Reggie’s guarding it, but he sort of is.

Sure enough, he grabs Bobby's hand when he goes to snatch the carafe, lacing their fingers together, instead.

"Who were you talking to all night?"

"It wasn't all night. Can I have my hand back before your boyfriend decides to join the fray? I need caffeine first."

"Bobby. It was basically all night."

"How would you know that unless you were also up all night?"

Reggie reddens but refuses to back down or be baited, maintaining eye contact and a hold of Bobby's hand. "Was it Julie?"

Bobby's poker face is way better.

"Why do you want to know?"

Reggie knows him too well, though.

"Why don't you want me to know?"

"Because you're acting like it means something, and it doesn't." He sighs as Reggie's nose wrinkles judgmentally. "I'm not saying it meant nothing at all. I'm just saying that you're being weird about it."

"Bobby," Reggie says slowly, searching his eyes. "You really should've slept last night. You're a bear when your schedule gets all fucked up. But instead, you stayed up…all night…for Julie. Dude. You're in love."

He wants to protest, to say that she'd needed him, but he'd sooner walk through fire than divulge anything she'd told him before seven am, those vulnerable pieces of herself that she'd shown him.

Even if she hadn't needed him—it wouldn't have mattered. He may not be as bold as her, unable to say it outright, but he'd missed her, too. That, she must know.

Had she also been trying to tell him—

Luke interrupts with a loud, "Oh, are we finally acknowledging that Julie and Bobby are head over heels for each other?"

Bobby scoffs, peeling his fingers free from Reggie’s and nabbing the coffee pot.

"I'm sorry, how long were you two hooking up before you finally confessed?"

Luke and Reggie splutter at Bobby's back as he speeds back to his room with a smirk, heart knocking hopefully on his ribs.

Today's not the day, and maybe he still can't even get the words out in his mind, but he needs to try, and he needs to stay awake. He cues up his sister's contact.

He has another phone call to make.

[watching-pictures-move]

Put On Your Raincoats | Forced Entry (Costello, 1973)

If there's one bit of levity about Shaun Costello's Forced Entry, it's that the poster makes the hilt of the knife look like a giant mountie hat floating over Harry Reems' head. If there's another bit of levity you can find here, it's that if you want, you can read the tagline like a punchline. I mean, it's pretty awful, but if you try real hard and deliver it just right, you can maybe squeeze a few chuckles out of it. I dunno, the exclamation mark is kinda funny, sorry. And there's a guy who looks like if David Cross wore a hairpiece. Okay, that's about all there is in terms of laffs, and what I'm trying to get across is that this is a monumentally unpleasant movie, that plays out as vilely and noxiously as the premise allows.

If there is one arguably morally redeeming factor here, it's that its hard to picture anyone getting off on this. I've seen my share of roughies, and while they're often depicting acts that would be monstrous in real life, they'll usually find ways to play things less unpleasantly and more overtly titillating. Not here (and one can read the ending as a rebuke to the genre). The camera is almost always pushed up too close, into the anguished faces of the victims, from uncomfortable low angles so we're trapped with them. (One of the few times it pulls back, it begins to zoom in and out from the dreaded under the balls angle, as if to rub our faces in the participants' pasty, pallid posteriors as they fill the screen.) And if you kinda, sorta begin to find snippets of this arousing, the movie delivers on its premise of graphic murder and, as a bonus, hits you with documentary footage of the Vietnam War, combat scenes and real corpses presented as the vilest of punchlines. This is real dark side cinema.

There is some semblance of cinematic style here, in the way it finds a certain rhythm between the street scenes, the documentary footage and the pornographic and violent elements, and even blatant cost-cutting methods like the recycled audio ("Scummy hippies! Fucking hippies coming in my station!" repeated like "Dental plan" / "Lisa needs braces") arguably add to the sense of psychological isolation. But the overall crudeness of the film's style adds to its impact, stretches of boredom punctuated by truly pungent rape scenes, the film stock seemingly being torn apart by the sheer vileness of what transpires. A hard movie to look at. A hard movie to look away from.

[francostrider]

Tales of Arise: Padding and Minimal Localization

So, from a technical stand point, Tales of Arise certainly plays better than Vesperia. The combat is much easier to come to grips with, while still maintaining the challenge. There’s a lot of weight to the finishing moves and the big limit breaks are flashy without taking five years to get through. The environments are pretty and the character models are great. No one dresses like a stripper maid and the monsters look and animate well.

But let’s address the elephant in the room that is the title of this passage.

On a broad, surface level, I like the high concepts of each character. Again, they have a lot of appeal and the broad storyline (I’m near the end, not at the end) is compelling. But everytime I hear someone say how great the voice acting and writing is, I’m sitting there wondering “Well, where is it?” Especially after Tales of Vesperia, the writing in Arise is a complete let down. It’s padded, heavy handed and repeating to the point of a broken record sometimes.

Character A: I, uh... Character B: Something wrong? A: It’s... It’s nothing. B: Well, remember, we’re all in this together! C: No matter what happens, we’ll get through this!

That is literally 60% of the dialogue. You could have cut most of that out and lost nothing. Every other scene tries to swell with emotion, but you need troughs alongside your peaks. You need light moments of levity, small moments.

And when this game tries to have levity, that falls flat, too. See a good written character has the various traits interweave with each other. Take Sain from Fire Emblem [The One With Eliwood]. He’s an arrogant pretty boy who loves the legends of knights, and wants to reach all the glory and women that it comes with. His womanizing, glory seeking and combativeness all naturally gell with each other. His fellow knight, Kent, wants to be a knight for the sake of duty and altruistic reasons. My point is these are two characters who function in combat in very similar ways, but stem from very different reasons and motivations, which make sense.

Then we have, in the same game, Florina. She’s supposed to be meek and nervous around men. In her opening cutscene, she could not defend herself to save her life. But then during her opening mission, she is stabbing the living hell out of bandits without a second thought. But then, THEN, she tries to apologize to the bandit leader (who wanted to enslave her, I might add), before stabbing him again. This characterization makes no sense at all. This is what I mean by character traits being slapped together with very little thought. That isn’t a character; that’s a pile of tropes.

Law seems to be good place to start. So, at first, he is part of a secret police, basically forced into the position by the authorities and that forms a bit of a wedge between him and his dad. And his story is one of the more compelling ones. And then you recruit him. Suddenly, he’s a meat obsessed jock and his moments of levity always feel jarring. His old character comes out here and there, stopping Rimwell from being a suicidal nutcase, but he is otherwise rendered to dumb jock, not the trouble teen he was portrayed as earlier. And being an idiot doesn’t make a whole lot of sense either, being a bit of a survivalist under an oppessive regime. It’s like the writers just decided “You meat head now”, rather than a former villain.

Now, you could have former gestapo/meathead/carnivore/jock work. But the characters have a way of switching modes rather than flow seamlessly from one trait to another. Kisara goes from suspicious guard mode to team mom mode. Alphen goes from angry revolutionary mode, to saintly mode, to obsessed with spicy food mode. Shionne’s big-eater trait, something she is embarassed about, probably could have been removed entirely because it has nothing to do with her growth as a character.

Actually, lets be fair and point out the highlights. Rimwell is moreorless fine, and Dohalim actually has some insight. And I will be fair in that the characters have little to talk about due to culture (in universe) being basically erased. 

A big part of it is a mix of minimum quality localization and weird voice direction. Again, Vesperia is a stark contrast. They did a lot of work for that game. They clearly sat down and figured out how to translate it for a western audience. But I’ve noticed characters in Arise taking a offense out of the blue and sudden outbursts by Alphen, shouting at fellow protagonist Shionne of how “NO! YOU DO CARE! ADMIT YOU CARE DAMN IT!” And the reaction between me and my wife was less “Oh, no, he’s dangerous” and more “That was a bizarre take.” It’s become a regular phrase while playing the game that a character is “having an anime.” It starts to become obnoxiously stereotypical. This really could have used another pass.

“Well you just don’t get anime/jrpg tropes,” I’ve seen people say. “It’s a game about star ships and flaming swords, what do you want?”

What kind of excuse is that? Tales of Vesperia, Dragon Quest 8, Ys 8, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 7 (original), and most Fire Emblem games just do not succumb to that. They are well written to the point of transcending cultural differences. No anime/sci-fi/fantasy trope should get in the way of people sounding like people. And in the little dialogue moments, the cast of Arise doesn’t. This doesn’t have to be revolutionary, it just has to sound natural. When you use the excuse of “You just don’t get anime”, you might as well excuse a bad comedy that uses more references than jokes. I shouldn’t have to have read libraries full of fantasy novels before enjoying Codex Alera and I shouldn’t have to read the entire Shonenjump catalogue to enjoy an anime game. The above catalogue of games I mentioned stood on their own.

Sidenote: If a work is a specific deconstruction on a genre, then, yes, indulging on said genre would help. Tales of Arise, however, is not an apparent deconstruction on anime, so my point still stands.

Where does the narrative shine in Arise? More or less at the bigger moments and cutscenes. The visuals do a lot of heavy lifting to keep me engaged. Again, you can skip the optional “Press R1 for cutscenes” and lose nothing. But that’s not exactly a compliment. I looked forward to the shenanigans from the cast of Vesperia. They were funny, charming and had strong voice work. There are just no shenanigans to be had with Arise. Most of the optional dialogue either just repeats what had been said, state what could have been extrapolated, or tries in vain to have humor.

I’m coming to the end of the game (probably) and some big reveals just dropped. While I’m enjoying the gameplay just fine, I don’t feel all that invested in the characters. And that is a real shame because I wanted to be. But the constant barrage of repeating character beats and awkward deliveries have just worn me down. And when the characters do not reach you, it can suck the energy out of even the most swelling anime speech.

Edit: Still not nearly as demoralizing as Fire Emblem Fates.

[rosielav]

Good morning podcast people.

Currently on episode 23 of Wolf359. I like that I have to actually listen now, or I'll miss things, but I hate [redacted]. Everything about [redacted] I dislike and even hate. I don't like miscommunication as a plot device. I don't like 'will they won't they' but nto romantic like, betrayal, as a plot device. So currently... I'm not liking a big chunk of the episodes, like I'm actively having to *not* stop my podcast player. I really love the voice acting, the sound design, and I love a Sci fi horror. I just don't like *exactly* how they're going about it. But I'm sure there's still time for things to get 'better'.

I tried The Silt Verses, and I can't get into it. A bit too.... Hmmm... Self-serious? Like, it wants to be taken seriously from the very first episode, and it's like.... Forceful, in a way. Like 'this isn't what should be happening but you need to know this is serious so we' re gonna make it serious even tho I'd rather talk about this other thing'. So, not gonna force it upon myself :)

I think I may be a bit inundated with drama/horror podcasts, so if anyone sees this, and can recommend a good comedy or at least dramedy/other combo, I'd be very interested to know!!

My favorite comedy/dramedy/'other genre but also humorous' podcasts:

TAZ (Balance) - please don't recommend me APs, I am full to the brim with ttrpg stuff. The energy of TAZ Balance is specifically what I'd love to get from something else (improv, prof. comedians being funny but also serious when needed, etc)

WTNV - every episode has at least one joke in it, at least one witty statement or opinion from Cecil, but it isn't a comedy podcast. It's surreal, and awe-inspiring, and heartbreaking, and heartwarming, depending on the episode. But you will always get one chuckle, laugh, or at least smirk, in every episode.

Mission to Zyxx - improvised Star Trek-style Sci fi adventure. It is at its core a comedy podcast, relying on the improv skills of its VAs to accomplish its goal. But it has also made me cry. It has also made me think. It's one of those things that starts off so silly, and ends silly too, but somewhere in between there's a serious moment or two, and it takes it from pure comedy to a combination genre.

The Amelia Project - my favorite example of this kind of dramedy genre, and my new favorite podcast in general. It takes the 'one person is the main person who you hear talking they have some sort of position that requires them to talk often and to different people, and it is their actual job' trope (is that even a trope) that I love from WTNV, adds the macabre twist of faking deaths, and sprinkles in just enough gory realism to keep it safely confined in the dramedy catagory and not just simply very well done comedy. This is the podcast I find hardest to describe, so I'd just recommend you listen to the trailer, and maybe the first few episodes, and go from there. I'm seriously considering relistening to it from the beginning, but I do just have to many other podcasts to listen to.

SO ANYWAYS, tl;dr - I would love some comedy/dramedy podcast recommendations, as I could very much use some levity in my listening :) thank you in advance!

[myupostsheadcanons]

One Piece Chapter 1081 Spoilers

The only people that can kill Garp (in a thematic story appropriate way) is Imu, The Gorosei, Blackbeard, or the reincarnation of Xebec.... anybody else would be shit.

Kuzon is not that guy. Akainu would leave a bad taste in people’s mouths. Kong would be confusing (like only if he was given orders by Imu or the Gorosei). and someone like Shanks or Mihawk would just be weird (same if Big Mom or Kaido are still around).

Dragon is likely not the “man marked by flames”... if it is someone we know of previously, it may be like Scopper Gaban or Silver Axe, someone from Roger or Rocks’s old crew.  (imo, Scopper may just be at Laughtale, doing a Treasure Island thing).

We already seen the Flying Dutchman, it is Vander Decken’s ship (even tho he does have a devil fruit power that could move a ponygliph rather easily). There is also the Davy Back Fight and the whole thing with Davy Jones being a sea devil. A Davy Back Fight near the end of the series would be appropriate. It could even take place after the World Government is over thrown just to add some high-stakes levity to determine who gets to set foot on Laughtale First.   (a last minute tournament of power... you say.... fffff)

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

Like, going on the whole “One Piece is turning into Star Wars” kick.

Dragon...

We have characters in OP that deal with souls and the afterlife. One of them was right there on God Valley and with Rocks. That being Linlin. If someone gives their soul up willingly, she doesn't have to use force to steal it. She also doesn't have to take all of someone's soul. She could leave enough parts behind for them to still be alive/functional and have the rest in a Soul Jar somewhere else (maybe to be returned later).  

What is Linlin going to do with a large chunk Rocks' soul after his body was killed? She could turn it into a Homie, that may end up turning on her.... or maybe even stick the soul in some unsuspecting toddler at some random port they come across?

And then we have Stussy Buckingham and MADS out there making clones of other Rocks Pirates. Clones have lineage factor that remembers past abilities of the person they were cloned from. It also takes 5 years for a clone to mature to 20yo (according to Judge and his clones). 35y ago Weevil was made, but wasn't successful. 5 years later (30y ago) was roughly when MADS broke up, as Vegapunk was experimenting on King/Alber and Kaido for the world Government when King was still a teenager (King is currently 47... and Yamato is 28, "born" shortly around that same time) .

So in that 5 years span (35-30y ago), there might be a MADS-made Clone of Rocks that could have been produced and even matured to adulthood.... The Clones have their own personalities independent of the person they were made from. (We see this with Weevil,  S-Snake, S-Hawk, and Sussy Stussy)  So while the original may be evil, their clone may be taught to be a better person.... and just killing that clone because of who they were made from before they even done anything would be murdering an innocent person....

but wait... what about introducing Rocks' Lost Soul to Rocks' Cloned Body? hmm....? Would the clone's soul be enough to win out and dominate/expel the other soul, or would they have to occupy the same space and constantly fight over who is in control... if that clone had 30 years worth of experience to grow and be independent on their own, it may be harder for Rocks to take control.

... Dragon gets possessed by Rocks. Kills Garp. Then Luffy, Sabo, and Koby team up to fight Dragon/Xebec... much like how Garp and Roger teamed up to fight Xebec on God Valley.  Dragon is saved, but steps down as active leader of the Rev Army because his reputation is now in shreds, and Sabo is its new figure head.

Dragon/Xebec = Darth Vader

Garp = Obiwan

Luffy, Sabo, and Koby team up to avenge Garp and to save Dragon.

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

Another fringe theory that is going around is that Xebec destroyed Akainu’s childhood home. (this is actually quite an old one)

So when MADs broke up 30 years ago, the Government absorbed all of Vegapunk’s assets. They found Xebec’s clone (Dragon) on ice. Garp took responsibility for the clone, named him, and thought bringing him into the Marines would be a good idea (this is not ooc for Garp). The problem is... Akainu recognized that this person looked just like Rocks, the pirate that destroyed his home. It started a heated rivalry between them.

Dragon was just naturally better at everything (lineage factor), and his “equal justice” mantra clashed with Akainu’s “absolute justice” mantra. Akainu may even be the reason why Dragon left the Marines, Ohara may not have been the first time Akainu went ‘overboard’ with his orders and it disgusted Dragon.  At one point, Dragon may have even been fast-tracked onto a path of becoming a Vice Admiral or an Admiral and was given a logia fruit, but refused the promotion and left the marines instead.

Dragon vs. Akainu, Wind/Weather vs. Magma. It has been a long speculated fight. A fan favorite, if you will. The Revolutionaries vs. The Marines, and the two people at the top fighting each other.

[dailycharacteroption]

Court Fool (Bard Archetype)

(art by Lucy-Lisett on DeviantArt)

  With the sheer variety of performances that the bard class can be associated with, it’s strange to think that it took until the later years of first edition for us to get a jester-themed archetype, but here it is! The tradition of the court fool is a long-standing one providing much-needed levity in the politically-charged environment of a royal court.

The exact duties of a jester vary by the culture involved, but they are typically expected to tell jokes, perform feats of acrobatics and physical comedy, sing and play music, and generally play the butt of the joke.

However, despite the assumptions of some unaware nobles, a professional fool is anything but, and it pays off for these figures to be well-informed, all the better to make their comedy more refined for their audience, as well as mock truths that the court would rather ignore or conceal, speaking what no other person could get away with.

While it is not the place of a jester to get involved with the politics he parodies and mocks, some do, becoming true political players in their own right, which is only enhanced in a world of fantasy magic, where a jester/spymaster only adds to their arsenal of tricks.

 A good gesture masters the art of the gaff, becoming skilled acrobats to do pratfalls without being harmed, to say nothing of peppering their speech with biting double entendres and skilled mimicry.

Sometimes it only takes an absurd shock to break someone out of a stupor or reverie, and these jesters know just the buffoonery to do that, helping break allies or themselves out of mind-warping effects.

With a joke and a smile, court fools can help other ignore minor fear and fatigue, though this performance cannot help against more extreme effects.

Part of what makes a jester’s performance good is their absolute confidence, and they are adept at doing routine performances and providing ample distraction with ease, and can even perform perfectly in short bursts.

While not as focused on skills and buffing as other bards, this archetype is quite effective at both agility and deception, not to mention their own fun support abilities. If these appeal to you, try the archetype out. I’d recommend at least some focus on being a mobile combatant, perhaps focusing on combat maneuvers to make fools of foes, but you have plenty of flexibility to build as you wish.

 So with a court fool being implied to have a cushy job in some royal court, one would ask the question: “Why do they go out adventuring?” The reasons may be as simple as “the campaign is an urban intrigue story that never really leaves the city, so they still have their job” to things like the jester having taken a joke too far, being forced into exile instead of some other punishment because they were just funny enough to escape such a fate. (That’s actually happened before in the real world, look up Nicolas Ferrial some time!) Regardless, a good court fool knows to keep their eyes and ears open when others dismiss them as nothing more than a buffoon, which can serve them well as adventurers as well as their profession.

  A minor adventurer before retiring, Bendelvitz the Braggart enjoys telling tall tales of his exploits which are exaggerated at best, and fabrications at worst. However, now the jester finds himself in a bind, being asked to show proof of having seduced a kuru prince away from the bloodthirsty ways of his people.

 A natural bringer of chaos, Motley Jane finds the work of a court fool to be right up her alley as a ganzi. However, not everyone appreciates her disruption or tendency to overhear secrets. Indeed, there are several who would delight in silencing her particular brand of merriment for good.

 Asked to meet a contact in Redwater, the party finds themselves with no idea who to look for, that is, until a mirthful clown appears before them, playing all manner of jokes on them, but suddenly growing serious, revealing himself to be the one they have been waiting for.

[sortofanobsession]

Problems and Pancakes (911 Fear-O-Phobia Coda/missing scene)

Author's Note: Sorry it is short and I haven't actually watched much of this season, but seeing the gifs for Eddie's bedroom scene, well I had to try. And I'm still working on getting back into writing.

Tag list:  diazbuckleysworld, chitownwolf, @comablog2

Let me know if you want to be added or removed to tags, I’m trying my best guys.

Word Count: 700+

Warnings: SPOILERS! Mentions of events of a lot of stuff, mentions of shooting, mentions of trauma, mentions of Eddie just being a disaster. A lovable disaster.

Eddie had fought going back to sleep long enough that his brain wasn’t having it. He must have dropped off at some point after Buck had helped him clear off his bed. Buck. Buck was somewhere. Eddie blinked and forced himself to sit up.

He grimaced as he took in the destruction he’d caused. Sure, they had cleaned up the worst of it, gotten the glass up, but everything was still broken. Just like him. Shattered and most likely irreparable. He could hear voices down the hall through his busted door. Busted because Eddie hadn’t given Buck any other option. He destroyed almost everything and then made Buck add to it. A bitter laugh got caught in his throat and came out more of a pathetic sob. He was pathetic. He could have really hurt himself or Christopher. He could have hurt Buck. He looked down at his own hands and winced. He did hurt them. He terrified his son enough to call Buck. He scared Buck enough his friend would have taken the door off the hinges if he had to. 

But he did. Buck had busted in and talked him down, look after Christopher, helped him pick up some, and then crashed on the couch. 

Buck was always there, no matter if Eddie wanted him there or not. Buck had other people in his life, but one word for Christopher, or Eddie, and he’d be there. Eddie’d been buried alive, shot, had panic attacks, trapped again, quit his job, and all around made terrible decisions. Buck was always there, and if he wasn’t, he’d wanted to be. Buck apologized for a lot of things he didn’t need to. He would ask forgiveness if he so much as missed a text. Buck had a life, a girl, his sister, but here he was, dealing with Eddie’s disaster of a life. 

“You good?” 

Eddie’s head snapped up to see Buck standing in his doorway. How long he’d been there Eddie had no idea. How long had he been staring at his floor?    

“Yeah,” Eddie said, clearing his throat, “Just…tired.”

“I get that,” Buck nodded. “There’s pancakes and coffee if you want ‘em.” Buck gestured down the hall. 

“Thanks,” Eddie said as he finally got up. Buck nodded and disappeared back down the hall. 

Eddie was on his second cup of coffee when Buck had vanished down the hall again. His brain finally woke up enough to realize what was happening. He sighed and made his way toward his bedroom. “You really don’t have to do that,” Eddie told him. 

“Well it’s this or watch you eat, and that’s just awkward,” Buck said with a shrug. He was clearly trying to add some levity to what was gearing up to be a tough conversation.

“This is…it’s my mess,” Eddie stated, cringing at thought of all the messes he’d been dealing with lately. Not even the first conversation about them. 

He heard Buck snort. “You’ve dragged me out of my own messes, might as well return the favor.”

“Buck, you’ve been cleaning up my messes even before I quit.”

“You quit the team, not being my best friend,” Buck said as continued to sort out what was beyond repair and what was salvageable. “And if that mess involves Christopher then it is my mess too, so here we are.”

“Buck…” Eddie started. 

“Go eat your pancakes, and then we can finish cleaning this up,” Buck said, gesturing to the rest of the room. “It’ll go faster if we both do it. Get it back to some sort of normal, and then we can work on everything else.”

Eddie sighed. “You really don’t-”

“Pancakes, room, then we can sort it out, yeah?” Buck held his gaze, unyielding until Eddie gave in. 

“Right, yeah, okay,” Eddie finally agreed. There wasn’t much of a point in arguing with Buck on this. He could tell. He might not know what ‘everything else’ meant but Buck was right. If he wanted to feel better about Buck cleaning up his mess, letting the food he’d offered him go untouched and refusing his help would just be cruel. He’d already kept him up the night before. He’d already scared the hell out of him and Christopher. He wasn’t going to be rude and ignore the help he was being offered. Not this time. Not from Buck. Buck always had his back.

[robininthelabyrinth]

Yay! I’m so happy prompts are open again! I love your writing! How about a scenario where NMJ dies in Nightless City either due to MY’s machinations and WRH just takes the chance to execute him. Now there are 3 clans being led by young inexperienced leaders who lost their parents or parent figures in the war

ao3

It wasn’t that Jiang Cheng hadn’t liked Nie Huaisang well enough, when they were all learning together in the Cloud Recesses. Anyone who had the energy to keep up with Wei Wuxian – and just enough good sense to help veer him off the really bad ideas, even if he did keep egging him on in regards to the medium-grade bad ones – was good news in his books.

But liking him didn’t mean respecting him, and the fact that Nie Huaisang hadn’t participated much in the war – couldn’t participate much – had led Jiang Cheng to discount him more or less entirely.

That’s what made it all the more surprising when Nie Huaisang ended up being the unofficial leader of the three remaining Great Sects in opposing Jin Guangshan after the war.

Jiang Cheng would have thought it’d be Lan Xichen, who was the oldest of them. Maybe it was because he hadn’t been included in their classes, already out and about on sect business, but Jiang Cheng had always felt like Lan Xichen was a generation older than the rest of them, even though he was only three years older than they were. At worst, he’d figured it would himself, since he had the experience of rebuilding a sect from nothing and had led men to battle and war - he had experience with being forced to be the one in charge, if nothing else.

Anyone, really, except Nie Huaisang.

“He’s up to something vile again,” Nie Huaisang said without preamble, tone clipped and eyes hard as they always were these days. He settled down at Jiang Cheng’s table and picked up a cup of tea with disinterest, nodding in recognition of the fact that it had been his favorite blend when they were younger. Possibly he didn’t have favorites anymore. 

“What now?” Jiang Cheng asked.

“This Xue Yang business,” Nie Huaisang said, which wasn’t a surprise at all. “It just keeps getting worse and worse. I really don’t like it.”

“You don’t like anything, Nie-xiong,” Wei Wuxian teased, bringing over some snacks they both liked.

If it was anyone else, Jiang Cheng would have snapped at Wei Wuxian, telling his martial brother to have more respect, to call Nie Huaisang by his proper title – Sect Leader Nie, since he didn’t have a personal title – except no one called Nie Huaisang Sect Leader Nie if they could help it, not after the example he’d made of the first few who’d done it, trying to ingratiate themselves with him.

As far as Nie Huaisang was concerned, his brother – who was still in the coma he had fallen into after Yangquan, after the Nightless City, after what should have been the end of the war but wasn’t, after everything – was the one and only Sect Leader Nie.

That was also around the time he stopped smiling, and the time the rest of the world discovered that under Nie Huaisang’s smiles and tears and frills and overly indulged laziness was the same core of steel and rage that his brother was famous for.

“Are you going to keep talking nonsense or are you going to help stop it?” Nie Huaisang asked Wei Wuxian, harsh as always, and Wei Wuxian obediently sat down and shut up.

Something Jiang Cheng had yet to figure out how to get Wei Wuxian how to do. He was desperately jealous in some ways, but his normal thing about other people being better than him at anything was heavily muted by the fact that it apparently took Nie Huaisang being, well, like that in order to accomplish it.

Like he was all alone in the world, having lost the only family he had left.

For what might be the first time in his life, Jiang Cheng would prefer to be second-best if it meant he didn’t have to face the same sort of loss. It had been bad enough losing his parents, but if he lost Jiang Yanli and Wei Wuxian as well…

He might have, too, if Nie Huaisang hadn’t all but stormed the Lotus Pier in a rage when Jiang Cheng had failed to reject Jin Guangshan’s request to expel Wei Wuxian from his sect as quickly as Nie Huaisang would have liked. Jiang Cheng had even (secretly) been considering it, knowing that Wei Wuxian agreed with the idea, thinking that maybe distancing themselves in public and remaining close in private would be the only way -

Nie Huaisang had put a rapid end to those thoughts.

With Nie Huaisang at his side, and even Lan Wangji having arrived from who-knows-where, Jiang Cheng had had the confidence to tell Jin Guangshan that the internal affairs of his sect were none of his business and that the furthest he’d go in regards to Wei Wuxian’s actions would be to offer to pay recompense for taking the Wen sect prisoners.

Obviously the Jin sect had refused, not wanting to seem like they were pinching pennies, and in the end it had actually turned out fairly well as a political stratagem, smaller sects appreciating the way he stood up for himself and established a precedent for resisting such pressure. Jiang Cheng really wouldn’t have thought it.

(He hadn’t been allowed time to think – Jin Guangshan had been leading him around by the nose, and only Nie Huaisang’s choler had snapped him out of it before he made some very bad decisions.)

“A little nonsense isn’t so bad,” Lan Xichen said from the door, waving at them not to rise to salute him as he entered, followed closely by Lan Wangji. He smiled at Wei Wuxian in particular – they were all but brothers-in-law now, given how much time Lan Wangji had been spending at the Lotus Pier, even if the relationship wasn’t official yet. “It adds a little levity and laughter to life.”

“I promise to laugh when you finally give me Meng Yao’s head,” Nie Huaisang said, and Lan Xichen’s smile abruptly crumpled. “The way you should have back then.”

“Do you want to work together or not?” Jiang Cheng asked Nie Huaisang irritably. “Drop it.”

“Certainly I will drop it, as soon as the honorable Zewu-jun stops telling me to laugh more. He wanted someone to smile at him and he got it, and all it cost him was my brother - and supposedly his - so you’ll have to forgive me for not being full of levity and laughter.” Nie Huaisang accepted a snack pressed into his hand by Wei Wuxian. “My spies indicate that the Tingshan He Sect – about sixty or seventy in total – have disappeared. Very shortly after their young master had a dispute with Jin Guangyao, as you might recall.”

Jiang Cheng flinched. “The entire sect?”

“The entire sect.”

Wei Wuxian muttered something extremely unpleasant under his breath.  “On what excuse?” he demanded. “He nearly got me kicked out of the cultivation world over the Wen sect, fine, but Tingshan He? He Su fought in the Sunshot Campaign! What could they possible said that he did to deserve it?”

“He publicly opposed Jin Guangshan’s bid to be chief cultivator, and Jin Guangyao’s new position as his heir, isn’t that enough?” Nie Huaisang said, heavily sarcastic. “I think what you should be asking is what the children did to deserve such a fate, or the babes in arms…oh, I’m sorry, Zewu-jun. Would you prefer that I be smiling while I talk about it? I understand that’s your preference. Forgive my insufficient levity; I’m afraid I cannot match your beloved sworn brother - you have only the one, if I recall correctly? - for such talents.”

Lan Xichen looked tired.

Jiang Cheng couldn’t blame him – Nie Huaisang had a tongue as vicious as Jiang Cheng’s mother, and he didn’t say that lightly – but on the other hand, there wasn’t much he could say to get Nie Huaisang to stop, either. 

After all, it was Lan Xichen who had refused Nie Huaisang’s immediate demand for Jin Guangyao’s head in the immediate aftermath when the whole debacle at the Nightless City had been revealed, one of the Nie sect disciples having survived nearly getting murdered long enough to testify as to what had happened within the walls, and, due to Lan Xichen’s prevarication, there had been time for Jin Guangshan to adopt Jin Guangyao back into the Jin sect.

After that, he became untouchable.

And then –

Well, then a lot of things had happened.

Jin Guangshan’s overreach and ambition were clear from the start, of course, more or less from the second he realized that the other three Great Sects were being led by the untried, inexperienced younger generation. Jiang Cheng had a good reputation, but he’d been fairly hamstrung politically by his sister’s decision to marry Jin Zixuan, not wanting to risk her being mistreated by her new family – Lan Xichen was a novice sect leader and still friends of a sort of with Jin Guangyao, at least back then – the other sects were too small to do much –

No wonder Nie Huaisang had changed so much. They hadn’t left him much choice.

“Something will need to be done about it,” Lan Xichen said. “An entire sect…he’s really gone too far.”

Nie Huaisang nodded sharply. In his opinion, Jiang Cheng knew, Jin Guangshan had gone too far long ago, and the rest of them were only just starting to catch up…

A bit like Nie Mingjue had been, with Wen Ruohan.

Damnit, maybe they should just listen to the Nie sect.

“Where will it end?” Lan Wangji asked from his place next to Wei Wuxian.

“War, of course,” Nie Huaisang said, and they all flinched. “Would you prefer to roll over and give in? I’m sure Jin Guangshan would be willing to promise you leniency if you turned over his grandson, Jiang Cheng, though you might have to execute your sister for having kidnapped him in the first place – even if she didn’t know she was pregnant when she returned to the Lotus Pier.”

“We’re willing to go to war,” Wei Wuxian said, his voice hot with anger, then realized he was being presumptuous again and looked over at Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes at him – at least he was trying – and nodded. “There’s no way we’re handing Jin Ling over, much less jiejie. But don’t make it seem like we have more influence than we do. After all, now that Jin Guangyao is the official heir, they have Jin Rusong, don’t they?”

“Not for long,” Nie Huaisang said, and Jiang Cheng turned to stare at him in dismay.

“Huaisang,” Lan Xichen said, aghast. “You haven’t –”

“I appreciate your confidence in me, really,” Nie Huaisang said, and threw a letter at his face.

Lan Xichen plucked it out of the air and looked it over, his face paling as he read it.

“Your spies again?” Jiang Cheng asked Nie Huaisang. He seemed to have an endless supply of them.

Nie Huaisang shrugged. “My brother never stopped sending them out, even if he barely ever used them, and he never asked them of anything that might make them break cover. Some of them have been undercover for over ten years – they’re very good.”

Lan Xichen put the letter down. He looked sick, which meant that Jiang Cheng really did not want to see what was in that letter. 

Unfortunately, what he wanted had long ago become not especially important. He was sect leader. He had to face all the worst that people could do, the awful, the ugly, the terrible –

Wei Wuxian nudged him in the side. “Can I?”

“Go for it,” Jiang Cheng said, relieved by the reprieve. He really didn’t know what he’d do without Wei Wuxian – he didn’t know what he was thinking, that he thought he could protect his sect better without him rather than with him. Nie Huaisang’s furious and despairing rant had been extremely convincing, even if it had been more than a little traumatizing. 

Especially in regards to his predictions as to the ultimate fate of Wei Wuxian and his lost sheep once he no longer had Jiang sect protection...

Wei Wuxian picked up the letter, looked at it, and blanched, which – wow. Jiang Cheng really didn’t want to know what was in there that would make the Yiling Patriarch look like he was going to throw up. Not even the reports about Xue Yang using people’s tongues to make tea had done that.

Wei Wuxian passed Lan Wangji the letter and put his hands down onto his lap, knuckles white. “He’s going to murder his own son.”

It took Jiang Cheng a second to parse that – to understand that the ‘he’ referred to Jin Guangyao rather than Jin Guangshan, as the latter wouldn’t have been a surprise – and then he jerked as if stabbed. “Not Rusong!”

Everyone looked exceedingly grim.

“That – fucker!”

“The idea is to blame us – or anyone resisting him, really – for the death,” Nie Huaisang said. “Then exterminate us as a consequence. Do you have any more of that cake? It was good.”

Lan Wangji wordlessly passed some over.

“So, getting back on the subject: war,” Nie Huaisang continued briskly. Unperturbed, almost, by what they’d just discovered, but then again he’d known longer, or maybe it was only that it didn’t surprise him the way it did them. “One way or the other, whether it’s us starting it or them; it was always going to end in war, as I told you.”

He took a bite of the cake, swallowed it.

“Imminent war, in fact,” he added. “Regardless of what the rest of you decide, I’m not going to sit around to waste my time talking until it’s too late. I’m going to kidnap Rusong – and maybe Qin Su, who knows, I haven’t yet determined how in-the-know she is – and that’ll probably kick the war off right away. I’m here to tell you to get ready.”

He swallowed another bite of cake. “Or, well, to get ready, or get out of my way. You can pick.”

“We’ll be ready,” Jiang Cheng said.

He didn’t want another war – but surely anything had to be better than this.

Lan Xichen caught his gaze over the table. He seemed tired, but also – hopeful. Even if all he was hoping for was an end to all the uncertainty that had been torturing them.

“We’ll be there, too,” he said, and Jiang Cheng nodded encouragingly at him. “Just tell us what to do.”

“Don’t worry,” Nie Huaisang said. “I will.”

[omgjasminesimone]

Life Goes On

Dakota x MC

Word Count: ~2,300

Now with Follow-Up, The Moments in Between

She doesn’t want to say anything, but eventually she has to. After all, they’re Prom Royalty tonight. There’s no way their absence from the Edenbrook Prom hasn’t been noticed by now.

“Should we head back down there?” Sage asks quietly, breaking the comfortable silence between the pair.

Dakota’s index finger momentarily pauses in its absent-minded tracing of stars, hearts, and what Sage surmises must be ghosts, based on the wavy lines at the bottom, on her bare back. He restarts the invisible drawings on her hip before he finally replies. “Honestly, I just want to stay up here with my incredible girlfriend. Let’s never leave this bed.”

Sage smiles, lifting her head from where it was tucked under his chin. “That offer would be much more appealing if this was a Queen instead of a hospital bed.”  

Dakota laughs, and Sage smiles at her unending ability to make him do that, further entwining her legs with his. She’s no longer worried about what the other prom attendees are thinking about their absence as the teens fall into another comfortable silence.

“That was amazing, Teach.” Dakota eventually says, his lips pressed gently against her forehead. “Thanks for taking that one off my bucket list.”

Sage looks up at him, placing a quick peck to his lips. “I was more than happy to help you get the full Senior Prom Night experience.” She admits when she pulls away.

Dakota smiles at her, but it doesn’t quite meet his eyes. Her brow furrows. “What?”

“….This is probably the worst time to bring this up…..” Dakota begins before trailing off as he looks at her uncertainly.

“What, Dakota? You know you can tell me anything, right?”

His eyes dart to their scattered clothes on the sterile hospital floor before he’s able to meet her sincere gaze. “Can we….talk about death for a second?” Dakota asks.

His penetrating brown eyes bore into her own, and she can only nod.

“Lately, I’ve been thinking about death, a lot.” He begins.

“Why? Are you not feeling well? Do you need to go back to the ICU? Dakota! Why did you go to prom and risk your immune system if you weren’t feeling well?!” Sage asks frantically. She reaches down to the ground for her discarded dress. “I’m gonna find the oncologist…” She mutters distractedly.

“Hey, hey!” He firmly grips her shoulder, his grip firmer than it has been for months now. That calms her a little, and she lets him roll her back over to face him. “Slow down a minute, Sage. I feel…fine. It’s just, …who knows how I’ll feel tomorrow? Or the next day. And we haven’t really talked much about this, so…I don’t know…no time like the present?”

The frantic beating of her heart calms further at his assurances that he doesn’t feel unwell. “Okay, let’s talk about it.” She says, even though that’s the last thing she wants to talk about as she lies naked in his arms.  

“Okay. First off, I just want you to know I’m okay with dying. I had 19 good years, that’s more than a lot of people get. I have family and friends who love me.” He pauses here, leaning forward to place a lingering kiss to her lips. “I have you. That’s a pretty fulfilling life right there.”

“Dakota…” Sage whispers, voice already breaking.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m going to be okay. No matter what happens. But….I worry about what happens to everyone else after I’m gone.” Dakota admits.

“That’s so like you. Concerned about everyone else. You’re such a good person, Dakota.” The kind of person who should live to old age, the kind of person who makes the world a better place. Life can be so unfair, but Sage keeps that thought to herself.

“I can’t help but worry. A lot of marriages don’t survive the loss of a child, you know. My parents’ whole lives revolve around me. They upended everything to move to Boston to get me the best medical care. They left their friends, and family. I just…..don’t want them to stop living if I do. Does that make sense?”

Sage nods, intertwining her fingers with his under the thin hospital blanket.

“If I’m gone, will you check on them for me? Not, like, all the time or anything. But just….stop by to visit if you’re in town? I think it would help them, to see you achieve all the life landmarks I don’t get to. Graduating college, getting your first real job,…getting married….” Dakota trails off as tears well in her eyes. “Teach…..”

Sage shakes her head. “I’m okay.” Dakota looks unconvinced, so she forces a smile. “I promise I’m okay. And of course I’d visit, and call when I’m out of town.”

“Thank you.” He says with so much gratitude Sage almost bursts into tears immediately. “Alright, so the other people I worry about are Lennox and Mateo. We’ve been the three musketeers for so long, it wouldn’t be the same with just two. So, I’m gonna need you to keep the gang together.”

“Of course I’d still talk to your best friends Dakota. You don’t even have to ask that.” Sage admonishes.

“They’re your friends too now. Don’t forget that. And as their friend…..please don’t let them wallow in survivor’s guilt, okay? I don’t want them to feel guilty for getting to live in case I don’t. I’m honestly so happy that they’re better, that they’re healthy. Don’t let them forget that, alright?”

“Alright.” Sage parrots miserably. She didn’t know this conversation would be so hard. And if just talking about it is this hard, she can’t imagine actually living it. There’s no way she’s strong enough to do that.

“Okay, so that just leaves one more person I’m a little worried about.” Dakota continues. He brushes away a tear that’s sliding down her face toward his pillow. “You, Teach.”

“If you’re so worried, then don’t leave me.” Sage tries to joke, but now she’s full-on sobbing so it falls flat.

Dakota smiles softly anyway though, pressing another lingering kiss to her lips. She tries not to think about how many kisses, how much time, they have left. “I’m going to try my absolute hardest not to, beautiful…..but if I do….I want you to move on. I want you to get married, and have babies, and live your life to the absolute fullest. And I don’t want you to feel guilty about it for even a second, do you hear me?”

“How can you ask me to do that? Of course I would feel guilty. When I think about walking down the aisle, it’s you I’m picturing standing beside the priest. And when I think about starting a family, I picture a little girl with your eyes, or a baby boy with your smile. I can promise you I’ll settle for someone else if that’s what you want to hear, but I’m always going to love you. Present tense. Forever. And some guy would just have to settle for being second best. That wouldn’t be fair to him.”

Dakota smiles sadly. “You’re young. Right now, everything feels like it’s the end of the world. But ten years from now? You’ll barely remember me, Teach. Life goes on. You’ll love again. I know it. And I want you to.”

“You’re not forgettable Dakota. You’re extraordinary. You changed me, and even if you’re not here, even if life goes on, you’ll go on with me. I’ll think about you every day.” Sage swears.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Sage.” Dakota says, tone full of forced levity.

“I’m not.” Sage insists.

“That is something I worry about, you know. Something most people who are dying worry about. Being forgotten. Just…ceasing to exist, disappearing off the face of the Earth.” Dakota admits.

“That’s not going to happen to you. Me, your parents, Lennox, Mateo? We wouldn’t let you just…fade away. We love you. I love you. Present tense. Remember?”

Dakota smiles, and as usual, her heart flutters. “I love you too Sage. So much.”

“…can we talk about something happy now? I think I cried off all my makeup.” Sage rubs under her eyes, and that’s definitely smeared mascara coating her fingers.

“One more thing. I want to ask you for a favor.” Dakota adds.

“Name it.”

“Will you name your first born after me? A namesake, so I’m not forgotten?” Dakota asks. Sage can’t tell whether or not he’s joking.

“You don’t think my hypothetical baby daddy would have a problem with me naming our child after my late boyfriend? The love of my life who I still wouldn’t be over?” Sage counters.

Dakota shoots her an almost offended look. “Sage, you’re telling me a grown man, who is your husband, not baby daddy, in this scenario, is going to be threatened by your long dead high school boyfriend? You can do better.”

Sage laughs, and Dakota can’t help but join in.

Eventually their laughter dies down, and they just stare at each other lovingly in the dim light of the hospital room. “Alright, when you put it like that, I guess I can promise to name my firstborn after you.” Sage eventually promises.

Dakota lifts his pinky, and Sage rolls her eyes, but she pinky promises him anyway.

“Thank you. Now, we can get dressed and get back to prom before your mom comes looking for you.” Dakota concludes.

….

…

..

.

10 years later

Sage wakes to the shrill cry of her newborn through the baby monitor. She rubs at her eyes sleepily as she searches for her slippers in the dark bedroom. Her husband starts to stir. “I’ve got him.” Sage offers, and her husband dozes off again with a soft mutter of thanks.

Sage makes her way down the hall and reaches into her son’s crib. “What’s wrong Dakota? Hungry? Need a new diaper? Just want attention and hate when mommy gets a good night of sleep?” Sage asks, yawning as she comes to the end of her question.  

She shrugs one arm out of her nightgown and raises her son to her breast. He happily latches on, sipping greedily. “Ah, hungry.” Sage quips, gently running her free hand over the newborn’s mostly bald head.

Once he’s fed, Sage gently deposits Dakota back in his crib. She’s just started to swaddle him in his blanket when she’s startled by a pair of warm arms wrapping around her from behind. As her surprise abates, she leans back into her husband’s embrace. “I told you I had him.”

“I know. But I got lonely without you.” He admits, pressing a kiss to her neck.

Sage tssks. “So needy. You’re so used to having all my attention, but now you have to share with little Dakota here.”

Her husband reaches one arm into the crib, and the infant happily grips his father’s index finger. “If I have to share you, I’m glad it’s with DJ here.”

Sage’s brow furrows. “DJ?”

“Dakota Junior, or DJ. It’s going to get confusing having two Dakotas around here, so he needs a nickname.”

“What’s wrong with Little Dakota?” Sage asks.

“Babe, I doubt he’s gonna like being called ‘Little’ once he’s past ten.” Dakota insists.

“Maybe you should have thought of that before you made me promise to name my first born after you.” Sage teases.

“Hey, we both know I wasn’t expecting to be around.” Dakota retorts playfully.

Sage turns away to face Dakota, smiling as she drapes her arms around his neck. “Well, you can’t predict a medical miracle. Cancer didn’t stand a chance against you.”

“Don’t jinx me.” Dakota complains, but he’s obviously not that upset because he plants a kiss to her forehead.  

“Babe, you’re more likely to get struck by lightning then get cancer again after ten years of remission.” Sage insists.

“Still, better safe than sorry.” Dakota insists.

Sage rolls her eyes, but she obediently turns around and softly taps her fist against the wooden railing of their son’s crib, ‘knocking on wood’. Dakota can be so superstitious, but his many endearing qualities outweigh her annoyance with his superstitious ways.

The new parents both stare into the crib, watching the baby coo and gurgle. “He’s really something isn’t he?” Dakota breathes out softly.

“A miracle.” Sage adds.

“I could watch him all night.” Dakota insists.

“But you shouldn’t, because you have a big day tomorrow.” Sage reminds him.

“You mean we have a big day tomorrow.” Dakota corrects.

“It’s your movie. I’m just going to help with the casting.”  

“It’s our movie. I’d never be able to tell our love story without my muse.”

Sage smiles, rising up on her tip toes to press a gentle kiss to her husband’s lips. “A romance for the ages.” She whispers against his lips when she pulls away, just barely.

Dakota nods, tangling his fingers through her’s. “You’re everything to me. When I was sick, when things got hard, you gave me something to fight for.” Dakota insists softly.

Sage smiles, she never gets tired of hearing that. “I love you.”

“Not as much as I love you.” Dakota insists. He tugs her towards the door. “Come on, let’s go back to bed.”

Sage hesitates, looking into the crib. “I know they say we shouldn’t start bed sharing until Little Dakota is older……but how can anyone expect me to be away from him all night?”

Dakota smiles fondly. “Well, they let us take him home from the hospital, so we’re in charge now.” He makes his way over to the crib, resuming the swaddling.

“That’s too loose Dakota. Here, let me show you.” Sage demonstrates her perfect swaddling technique for her husband.

Dakota scoops up his little namesake when she’s done. “Got it. Thanks, Teach.”

….

…

.

A/N: With Every Heartbeat made me sad, so I choose to live in this Alternate Universe where Dakota Winchester makes a full recovery and he and Sage get the happy ending they deserve.

[the-widow-sisters]

Returning the Favor

Summary: After Natasha and Yelena decided they needed to go find Alexei, Natasha ends up stopping the car at a small, rundown inn so the two of them can rest. When they are getting ready for bed, Yelena is reminded of all those ugly marks on Natasha's back, and she feels compelled to try to help in some way. Strangely enough, Natasha accepts her help. Canon compliant.

Word Count: 3120

  The women had been driving for quite some time that evening and had fallen into a mostly comfortable silence as Natasha focused on driving and Yelena mentally celebrated the fact that Natasha actually liked her vest that she was so proud of.

  However, they both were extremely exhausted by now, and they had started looking for places to stop and stay.

  After several minutes of searching, Natasha finally pulled in and stopped at a small, rundown inn that looked like one of the sleaziest spots in town.

  “It’s not the Ritz Carlton, but it’ll do,” Natasha muttered under her breath as she unbuckled her seat belt, and Yelena glanced at her with some confusion, trying not to let too much of the emotion invade her features. The last thing that she wanted to do was look uneducated or unknowing in front of Natasha.

  “I’ve slept in worse places,” Yelena finally settled for wryly admitting, and Natasha just looked at her with something that resembled guilt. However, it was gone as soon as it appeared, and they both got out of the car, heading for the front of the little inn.

  Yelena just lingered near Natasha as the redhead asked for a room for the both of them, and she took a moment to analyze anyone she saw and the general area. She needed to make sure that the both of them would not be compromised or caught.

  In the midst of her pre-planning, she had not realized that Natasha had finished getting a room.

  “Hey, did you hear me?” Natasha called, and Yelena looked quickly at Natasha, silently questioning what she needed.

  “What?”

  “Can you go get our bag?” Natasha questioned, and Yelena somewhat begrudgingly nodded in agreeance, not really sure if she liked being the bag-fetcher, but she complied as Natasha chucked the keys in her direction. Yelena caught them easily.

  “We’re in room 19. It’s only got one bed, but we’ll figure something out,” Natasha told her with all the calmness in the world. Yelena, however, was still stuck on the fact that she and the older woman were going to be sharing a bed.

  It was something that she longed for throughout her many years in the Red Room, wishing they could be like they were as kids when they would crawl in bed together and wrap their arms around each other. She really needed that comfort through the horrors and tragedies she had to endure. Now that she was actually going to get her wish, she was feeling more anxious about it than anything. Things were not the same with her and Natasha, and she could not get a good read on the redhead.

  Nevertheless, she decided to just go and get the bag and worry about the bed arrangements later.

  Once she headed up to the room with the bag slung over her arm, she quickly noticed that Natasha had already peeled the bedcovers back and was about to sit on the edge of the bed and remove her shoes. It was then that Yelena truly considered something that she should have thought of beforehand. Yelena just stood stock still, her eyes shifting about as she scanned the room. Natasha seemed to realize her tenseness and spoke.

  “What?”

  “We need to check for cameras,” Yelena spoke quietly, worrying they could be heard.

  “I already did,” Natasha immediately assured her, and Yelena found herself surprised that the redhead had bothered with it. She would have assumed that Natasha was long over even remotely thinking of that sort of thing.

  She guessed some habits just never die.

  “Well, aren’t you ever the golden child?” Yelena muttered under her breath, a tiny bit of bitterness easing into her tone but mostly finding herself filled with some strange sense of being cared for.

  Yelena shook those thoughts from her head, remembering the reality of their situation. Yelena uncomfortably stood near her side of the bed, already feeling her stomach twist with the fact that she was going to have to share a bed with someone that she so desperately wanted to get close to and that seemed to not really want her all that close.

  Once she kicked her shoes off, she looked back up in Natasha’s direction, just watching her as she tiredly removed her own shoes. Her eyes swiftly locked onto the bit of skin on her back that was exposed as she bent over slightly. Yelena felt her heart ache as she was intensely reminded of the bruises covering Natasha’s back in giant, hideous splotches.

  It made her hurt, and now that the image was back in her head, she could not quite get it out. It was bothering her relentlessly, and she quickly considered the possibilities and how she could at least get a better look at the marks.

  It was then that she thought of the perfect excuse. Yelena cleared her throat a bit.

  “Hey, um… Since you bandaged my arm earlier… I was wondering if you wanted me to take a look at your back? You know, returning the favor and all,” Yelena offered, forcing a sense of casualness and nonchalance in her voice when she was really feeling something much more overwhelming. It constricted in her chest, squeezing her heart as she made the tender offer to someone that she somehow adored despite the fact that she had not seen her in years and years.

  She could see Natasha stiffen a bit from her position sitting on the edge of the opposite side of the bed. Yelena just watched her carefully, feeling sure that the redhead was going to turn her down.

  Honestly, she was beginning to regret asking her at all. She knew that it probably sounded weird, and it honestly made her feel a little weird to say anything at all. However, all she knew was that every time she looked at Natasha’s jacket-covered back, all she could think about was the ugly bruises that she had caught sight of when they were at the safehouse. Even now, Natasha’s thin, black shirt did little to take the image from Yelena’s mind.

  She was about to add onto her last statement and try to write it off as a joke or something until Natasha suddenly replied.

  “If you want,” Natasha consented, her head turning to the side as she glanced in the blonde’s direction. Yelena awkwardly shuffled over, easing onto the bed behind the redheaded woman. She paused for just a moment before touching the older woman’s shirt, trying to gather her nerve.

  It had been so long since she had been so close with Natasha. Granted, they had their close-combat fight from earlier, but she was completely and terribly out of practice as far as peaceful, intimate contact with this person that was somehow so important to her.

  Some part of her was weirded out by the whole thing, but another, somehow louder part of her was screaming how right it felt and how much she just wanted to hug the person in front of her, regardless of the anger, hurt, and many other mixed emotions that had been running through her rampantly.

  Yelena gently looped her fingers around the hem of Natasha’s shirt and pulled up. She kept going until the shirt hung itself around Natasha’s shoulders, exposing the ugly marring that had been concealed beneath the fabric. It was then that she realized that Natasha’s back was not just bruised but there was also some raw skin there that was just starting to heal a little.

  Almost before she could think better of it or control herself, Yelena reached her free hand out to Natasha’s back, gently touching the ugly purple-red splotches with the most feather-light contact she could muster.

  Her astute observational skills did not miss how the muscles of Natasha’s back tensed up with the contact. However, other than that, the redhead showed no resistance to her. Yelena trailed her fingers down the older woman’s back, feeling the skin, muscle, scar, bruising and raw flesh that was there.

  To her surprise, there was an ugly scar on the lower part of Natasha’s back, and Yelena ran her thumb over it gently, noticing how the skin on it was peeling up some. It was no doubt reopened somewhat from her activity throughout the day and the amount of falling and scrapes they had. Natasha never moved out from under her touch, and she actually hardly moved at all outside of the controlled breaths she was taking.

  The sight of these things made her stomach flip and her chest hurt. And she could not help but feel extremely guilty for her own actions earlier. She knew she could not have made these wounds any better by slamming Natasha into every wall she could find. The guilt was almost stifling, and it made her irrational.

  So irrational that Yelena felt a tug in her to just hug the redhead from behind. But she pushed away that urge as quickly as it came, negating it and shoving it in some locked part of herself. However, much to her frustration, it still lingered a bit within her despite her best efforts.

  “You’ve got a lot of booboos,” Yelena muttered under her breath, trying to bring at least a hint of levity to the situation since she was so uncomfortable with her own feelings. Natasha huffed a bit, her muscles in her back moving just a bit with the contraction of her chest.

  “Booboos seem to be the thing that I have most of,” Natasha replied softly, her voice some mix of bitterness and a poor attempt at a reciprocation of Yelena’s humor. However, it came out much more tense than it should have, and Yelena found herself at a loss as to what to say.

  Things quickly grew quiet again, falling back into that awkward silence between them. Yelena knew logically that there was nothing that she could do for the bruises and raw places on Natasha’s back, but she still felt her heart aching as if she needed to do something.

  “There’s some antibiotic ointment in the bag over there,” Natasha pointed out suddenly, almost as if she sensed Yelena’s difficulty and hesitance to leave Natasha in her current state without some sort of attention.

  “I bought it earlier,” Natasha explained simply, her voice quiet as she explained its presence. Yelena hesitated for a moment more before heading over to the bag and searching through it, pulling out the ointment and then heading back to Natasha.

  She knew the redhead was doing this mostly for Yelena’s benefit since the antibiotic ointment was not going to do much for the places on Natasha’s back. However, she desperately hoped that Natasha did not see through her motives and realize that she just wanted to be close with her. It was hard enough for Yelena to admit to herself, and she could not imagine the humiliation if Natasha found out about it.

  Yelena sat just behind Natasha, her legs folded together as she opened the container and placed it between her legs. She then reached a hand up to help keep the shirt in place where it was bunched up around Natasha’s shoulders.

  Yelena dipped her free hand in the ointment, making sure her fingers were coated with the sticky stuff. She then hesitated for just a moment, hovering over Natasha’s shoulder blade. She waited for a long moment, trying to gather the nerve, and once she finally managed to get just enough courage, she made contact with Natasha’s skin.

  Natasha let out a breath that was not quite a hiss, but it was definitely a sigh of discomfort and slight pain. Yelena knew that the stuff was not made to burn, but she also knew that sometimes medication burned anyway despite what it said on the container. She did not reply with an apology, knowing it would do no good. Plus, she could not exactly trust her voice to work at this moment.

  Yelena worked at the place gently with her fingers, rubbing the ointment into Natasha’s skin and trying to get the stuff to actually sink in some so it could help her sister. Natasha loosened gradually as Yelena almost massaged her back.

  The blonde ran her palm over the wound, trying to spread the ointment across her back. There were very few raw places on Natasha’s back but when she hit one, Natasha’s muscles would tense slightly before relaxing considerably.

  Yelena then moved across Natasha’s back to the other shoulder, rubbing a small bit across the relatively small abrasion there. Natasha did not react to that one, and she assumed it was mostly just bruising.

  When Yelena moved down to the lower parts of her back, however, Natasha stiffened quite a bit, the quietest of noises escaping her. If Yelena had not been trained to listen for things as she had, she would have definitely missed it.

  Yelena ached to do or say something that might ease the pain, but she had no idea what. She just settled for rubbing the stuff more gently and speeding up her work over the area. She then dabbed a bit of the ointment on her index finger before rubbing it on Natasha’s scar. She knew that there was not much reason to do it there, but she somehow wanted to let Natasha know that she was paying attention and that she cared.

  Natasha had been extremely hardened to her throughout their time together so far, but she had caught small glimpses of Natasha just looking at her with something that was infuriatingly real. Something that was completely opposite of the words that Natasha kept repeating and seemed to have taken up as her mantra.

  You weren’t really my sister.

  That stung more than anything that Yelena had heard in years. It had come from someone so close to her, someone that she absolutely loved so much that it hurt. The only thing that had eased the pain was the way that Natasha kept gazing at her with that tender, loving, soft look in her eyes. Of course, every time she looked in Natasha’s direction in an attempt to get a better look at the expression, Natasha returned to her calculating, quietly brooding countenance.

  She never said anything to acknowledge it, but she would stare at Natasha for a long moment to silently inform Natasha that she was indeed paying attention and knew that she secretly cared still.

  Her returning stares must have done something, because when Natasha bandaged her arm that evening, Natasha had that love and care in her eyes that she had been trying so desperately to hide. It was not as strong as it could have been, but it was still plenty enough to make Yelena’s heart hurt with the need to be close with the person that she considered to be her sister.

  “How bad is it back there?” Natasha questioned, and it was then that Yelena realized how long she had been focusing on Natasha’s back. Yelena pulled her hand away quickly as if she had been burned and used her clean hand to pull down Natasha’s shirt over the wounds carefully.

  “You look like someone tied you to the back of a truck and drug you behind them on the road,” Yelena informed her simply, trying to keep the small note of worry out of her voice and finding that she was failing miserably.

  “That’s reassuring,” Natasha replied, her voice completely deadpan, and Yelena smirked a tiny bit as she headed for the bathroom to wash her hands.

  “That’s what I’m here for,” Yelena responded with just as much sarcasm in her tone as Natasha had used. Once she had cleaned her hands, she headed back into the room, feeling her muscles growing a little tired from the events of the day. Natasha had already moved into the bed, laying on her side comfortably as she faced the wall. Yelena moved onto her side, sliding underneath the blankets and positioning herself.

  However, Yelena bristled just a little as she realized that there were too many ways for people with ill intentions to easily get in. There was a window near Natasha on her side of the bed, and Yelena’s side of the bed was not far from the door. It made her terribly uncomfortable as soon as she actually considered the arrangement.

  “I’ll take the first watch if you want,” Natasha offered quietly, and Yelena felt something in her chest melt. Natasha somehow knew that Yelena was uncomfortable and nervous, and it made Yelena feel strangely vulnerable and naked for the woman to be so well aware of it.

  “No, I can. You’ve had a longer day than me,” Yelena expressed.

  “We literally did the exact same things today,” Natasha informed her, and Yelena could hear the slightest hints of a smile in her voice.

  “Yeah, but I wasn’t the one that fell and hit literally everything on the way down,” Yelena acknowledged, rolling over on her side to face Natasha. To her surprise, the redhead was already laying on her back and looking in her direction. Yelena’s mind was quickly overtaken with the almost completely undisguised affection in Natasha’s eyes.

  This time was sort of like earlier that night, but it was so much stronger.

  “I also was the one that landed on my feet when I hit the ground,” Natasha teasingly spoke, her voice soft, and Yelena was shaken from her stupor. She rolled her eyes, huffing slightly as she shrugged in response to the redhead.

  “Fine, you take the first watch. Just make sure to wake me up so you can get some sleep, too,” Yelena informed her, turning her back to the redhead so she could face the door as they slept. Natasha did not move for a long moment, and Yelena could practically feel her gaze. The last thing the blonde was aware of was when the mattress shifted a bit as the older woman sat up in the bed to keep watch.

  To her pure surprise, when Natasha woke her up for her turn to watch, Yelena realized that she had rested more well than she had in years and years. She could not remember a time that she slept so soundly without some sort of sedative.

  As Natasha laid down in her place and started to try to sleep, Yelena could not help but marvel at the woman resting there quietly.

  Somehow, although they had been separated for years now and things were somewhat awkward between them, Natasha still managed to make her feel safer than she ever had.

  And that made some of her leftover anger and bitterness dissipate.

[bonesandthebees]

Wilbur interrupting Hannah to learn about Niki is a bittersweet kind of thing with the information it brings. Themis doesn't seem to care about anyone, but when it comes to one of their own, a siren (I doubt they'd care as much if she wasn't a siren), there's clearly some weight there. But at the moment it doesn't seem like that matters, because Niki is out!! I'm so glad for her. Tommy swearing at the information and Hannah completely agreeing is just, very funny to me, considering what they were just talking about.

Absolutely loving the pillar analogy by the way, you keep improvising and building on it and it adds so much to the narrative and how Wilbur sees his situation.

[A half-siren who grew up on an entirely different planet isn’t a true Themisian. They’re not Themis’ problem anymore.]

Further proving that to be cared for by Themis, you need to fit very specific standards. Whether you like them or not.

The Niki flashback is literally so nice!! I love her. She obviously has no idea where they are, and vice versa, but atleast she's not imprisoned anymore. We'll just have to wait and watch to see where that goes.

Hoo boy, Quackity really went for the kill there. He's cocky, and he's a little shit, and he wants to provoke people. He wants a reaction out of them, and particularly out of Wilbur and Tommy because they're just mysteries to him. He gives off the vibe that he's not a fan of royals, and he's clearly curious as to why Phil and Techno care as much as they do. The jabs hit particularly hard, especially after what they just came out of, and Wilbur loses the small semblance of self control he had keeping him together. Throughout the starting of the chapter there's so many descriptions of how numb Wilbur is, coming back full force after the failed output with Themis. But now, now all he sees is red hot anger. It's a startling difference which shows what a mess Wilbur really is right now.

- ❄️

yeah you nailed it, Themis cares far more about their own sirens than they do anyone else. because of how closed off Themis is as a planet, there are almost no citizens of Themis that aren't sirens. in case it wasn't clear, men and women are both referred to as sirens. siren is the name of the species, Themisians is the name of the nationality for those who are citizens of Themis, but they are almost always tied together so most people use them interchangeably

lmao yeah I wanted to include a brief moment of levity with tommy swearing and hannah being like "yeah same" because even if she's a very strict and snobbish princess, she's still the same age as wilbur and still reacts like "what the fuck" to situations like that.

very glad you're enjoying the pillar metaphor still i really love writing it and building onto it

niki is freeeee even if no one knows where tf she is. at least she's not stuck on essempi or themis lmao

yeah quackity isn't a huge fan of royals. he's not part of the upper echelon of politicans in the galaxy, especially not the royal side of things. he's not a fan of all that type of BS, and he definitely doesn't understand why phil and techno are so attached to these random princes. and because of this, he accidentally breaks wilbur out of the numb shell he's been in the entire chapter. wilbur has reached a point of stress where he doesn't fully feel it anymore, and instead is just having wild mood swings whenever he gets pushed too hard, which is what we saw happen with quackity

[cruzrogue]

Arrow's Horizon

This is a fic that has risen due to a fic idea posted on this A03 site. Oliver becomes a dad to William, is a husband, still gets shipwrecked, leaving behind a wife.

Chapter 1 Home base - Oliver finds out he is a dad. Fears losing Felicity

In this story, Felicity is only 2 years younger than Oliver. The chapters are roughly 4 pages each (using word)

This is a completed story. The next chapter will be published in 3-4 days and the others will be on some set time table.

Chapter 1 Home Base

Felicity finds Oliver exactly where his mother said he’d be. His favorite thinking spot. Located at the outskirts of his family’s estate. Sitting on a tree stump overlooking a stream that is generously full due to the recent rainstorm. She knows he can hear her make her way towards him. He doesn’t skip a beat as he continues pitching rocks upon the body of water as the silence between them endures.

Finding a log nearby. She waits to be acknowledged.

Coming to Starling City for a few days during a weeklong school break. Oliver had her come here to meet his family. Now that they are more than just friends. Their next stop is Las Vegas to officially meet her mom. Everything is moving nicely she thinks. She really, really likes him.

Felicity doesn’t glance at Oliver as he is still throwing the stones into the flowing stream. Keeping her attention on the skips the pebble makes against the water.

Oliver had a visitor yesterday. Since then, he’s made some elaborate excuses to be alone. Giving her forced smiles. Leaving her to go to bed wondering if they were alright. Since walking onto a meeting between Oliver and some girl she has never met before. His whole demeanor is of someone who now has the whole world on his shoulders.

They both are known to need time to process whatever ails them alone. It never boarders on more than a day. Felicity isn’t pushy in that department but being that she is here in Starling. Away from her comfort zone. She feels that Oliver needs to understand that and maybe open up to her sooner rather than later.

Oliver in a low raspy whisper finally speaks, “I’m sorry.”

Felicity now able to see him clearly notices the red eyes. She has never in their time of acquaintance seen him cry. He is usually so upbeat.

“Oliver?” She wants to add something else, but the words don’t flow out fast enough as her boyfriend falls to his knees before her. It isn’t a romantic scene where one would see in a movie. No. This moment is in some ridiculous romantic flick where it looks to be the end for the couple. His name makes it out of her lips before he finally sheds some light on what is tormenting him.

“It was before you and I became a couple. I need you to know that.” She doesn’t know what he is trying to say. The confusion must show on her face as he clarifies, “You know that time I went out with the guys because I finally ended it with Laurel?”

She nods. Felicity was the creator of his moodboard for almost a month of listening to Oliver count the pros and cons of his relationship with his high school sweetheart. So many images, pieces of text hung on a board to help him visualize his desires. Going to college has opened his views on what he wants in life. If truth be told. Meeting Felicity has curbed a good faction of his partying ways.

“I was finally free.”

Not knowing where he is going with all this, “Okay.”

“I messed up.” He swiftly gets up and begins to walk away which has Felicity almost ready to bolt after him. When he stops and walks closer to her. She can breathe slightly easier as it looks that his intent is to pace back and forth as he continues his story.

When he finally gets to the part of his dilemma that has her gasp in shock. He knows he is about to lose the girl that owns his heart. He is scared shitless. Even so, he owes her the truth.

Oliver’s been out here alone thinking of how his life is going to dramatically change. Scared of losing Felicity Smoak to a mistake that he’s been regarding for the last few hours with a heavy heart.

Finding out Samantha Clayton is pregnant with his child. Coming to him knowing she is going to keep his baby. Everything changed in a blink of an eye. He is going to be a father.

Oliver finally stops pacing to face the music. He tells her everything.

In an unsteady breath knowing that whatever answer Oliver has could change everything, “What does this girl require of you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Does she require you to try and playhouse with her? Is it financial?”

“We didn’t discuss anything in detail. Just…”

“That she is pregnant with your baby.” He nods.

“Felicity, I know this shifts how you’ll feel…” Her hand goes up to indicate for him to stop. He still adds, “I am so very sorry.”

She knows he is. In her heart she knows Oliver would never do anything to inflict pain on her. They got to know each other since meeting in a library. His inability to guide himself around a library's catalogue made her have pity on him. Turning her into the friendly guide that opened his world to library books. Nothing like the beginning of a friendship while teaching him how to identify and use a call number to find a specific book.

His sincerity pulls on her heart strings. Like him, she’ll need some alone time.

It doesn’t change the fact of how she feels. She is truly, madly, deeply in love with Oliver Jonas Queen. If bringing her here to meet his parents is any indication. His I adore you, you’re remarkable, and his soft voice that he uses when they’re just being them. He is also over-the-moon with her.

“Oliver.” His reaction is to look away, so she places her hands upon his face. Making sure she can glance into those saddened eyes, “I’ll need to figure my place in all this. That is if you’ll still want me in your life.”

He is up from his kneeling position, “Of course, I want you. I just don’t deserve you.”

Jumping to her feet. She isn’t letting him go.

“Hogwash!” For a brief second. There is a levity in his eyes, “Forget I just said that. You know what I mean. I am not walking away from you. Not saying all this won’t be tough.”

“Its nothing like the Cooper situation. A baby is a lifelong commitment.”

“Well, if you weren’t there to pull me back. I could have been a lifelong inmate in Guantanamo Bay or some fancy cyber jail.”

He cracks a smile, “I don’t think they send blondes there.”

“I’m actually…” He can’t help but sweep her off her feet. Their lips connecting. Felicity being in his arms brings optimism that wasn’t there when he came out here to agonize over some life choices. She brings balance and with her here. He can hope.

He almost blurs out how much he loves her. Glad to have caught himself from that blunder. Saying it now could confuse Felicity. She might think it’s not sincere. When he says it. It’s got to be at the right time where the woman he loves understands his words are true.

Felicity eyeing the small gathering of pebbles Oliver piled up beside the tree stump.

“Why don’t you go back home. Your parents are worried.”

“I don’t know what to tell them.”

With a hand on his arm, she tells him to be honest. Nodding to Felicity’s words a small moment of silence stretches between them.

“Okay then. I’m going to sit here for a while. Deplete a portion of your mighty impressive pile of rocks.”

“Wish me luck.”

Giving Oliver a quick hug they depart. Oliver heads back to his family’s home as Felicity takes a seat to contemplate the new norm of what their world will entail.

[gayspock]

ok current random thoughts on severance

- first of all tempted to rewatch from the beginning at some point. unsure when, but hm.... maybe before not next ep, but the ep after? i think bingeing- its like i couldnt NOT binge a lil<3 - some things do blur a little, as opposed to weekly releases, and i'd really like to reabsorb some things >:3 - i really like dylan!! SORRY, just want to give him some love- and i hope they do more with him, whilst still maintaining the balance theyve struck with him bc... i think... hm. THIS IS LESS ABT SEVERANCE, HERE! but its moreso an unguided ramble in general abt, like, the functions of certain characters i guess? bc thus far i feel like... you know. dylan serves to add a bit of levity, and to cut some tension; he's a very good balance to the office dynamic, as well as being a very... necessary perspective. not just in terms of contrast to the others, but like his genuine existence as a more complaisant type of character not like irving or even how mark tends to be, but like.... the normal guy who kind of doesnt buy into it, and isnt reverant to the systems, but also isnt kicking up a terrible fuss and sort of doesnt question it in like a . "well its just sorta like that ehhh<3"

or only does so in a nonserious way, conspiratorial stuff that airs more on the side of fun poking at shite, or like. in general he will defy lumon in moreso little ways- so i guess it probably still fancies himself as having some agency (unlike irving, in his opinion) but also does think himself rational (unlike helly, in his opinion) bc by his measure its like fucked, sure, but also whatever- when like at the end of the day he's still very much playing the game even if he's very casual about it all- AND . anyway thats all to say i would like to see MORE of him, in some sense! but also i reocgise that like. hmmm. a lot of this and how he functions is kind of inherent to him NOT being so centre stage, of him not having too much "up" with him and that sense of normalcy being integral to him BUT

equally i guess i started rambling abt it bc gosshh OMG OK<- ANNOYING MOMENT INCOMING. <-A BLOKE IS ABT TO TALK ABOUT D*CTOR WH*..,. <-OH EEK THIS IS A WARNING!! bc like if we're talking the current dw specials yeah? i feel like (at least, i at first) tried to allow for, and to be like "ok!" the addition of dan, to supplement graham and ryan's loss; he would be the new comic relief, the new balancing force in the tardis. and its like sigh. how laughable to even try to compare the ufcking messy clumsiness that is chibnall's writing, to the show above but like........ my point is, in the nye special (since flux is kinda too sloppy to rlly even poke at omg..oops) its like yeahh sure he serves tht purpose and hes a good character in his own right. but ALSO sighhh. he is sort of... still unnecessary im bc its like- there's something so.... functional about it. certainly he's what the show does need- but also there's other ways of serving those purposes, that would have been so much more enriching? LIKE: i LOOK at yaz, yeah? and... is it literally so insane to try and let HER be funny? is that such an absurd thing to propose? bc you can do that! but it wouldnt be with the immediate obvious quips you can have someone like dan fire out. but equally it would have given her more depth, it would have made the show so much cleaner in how it functions, but ultimately it would have been "harder" to do so- and its like, there's something very lifeless abt the current era of companions. and i think thats... sorta it. theyre all kind of put in for very rigid purposes and then thats it and theyre never allowed to be more than that or for even to be meaningful in the context of the story and its like- its SUCH a shame you know its suchhhh a shame

and my point. oh what was my point. that had me thinking a lot in general abt the way characters like dan exist in stuff (THAT sounds. vaguely pretentious i h*te that) and how characters who kkind of cut tension but also arent wholly. necessary-necessary and im LOOKING at dylan . BC HE DEFINITELY IS NOT THAT, MIGHT I SAY! he isnt- at least not right now- bc as i was saying he does strike a nice balance and i think his perspective is meaningful to the show but also... going forward i do think. like i said, i want more from him but i wonder how the show could go on to do that? its a balancing act. bc also- it probably WILL need to do that at some point as the status quo changes, as i presume it will in the show and as its doing so right now and i DO hope... i DO hope that they manage to do well by him, is all im saying! bc i feel like- i feel like it'd be very easy to use him for the sake of function alone, but... it'd be nice, still, to realise him in other aspects <3

- vaguely related but not so deep. im actually not that fully committed to helly yet! and oh that sounds a little impolite... I DO-I DO LIKE HER I think shes also a characrer though where hmmm. god i am obviously drawn to the horrific fucking nightmare shes clearly living in and she really. does make you realise how fucking fucked it all is- but also... hmm. i feel like that a lot of what we have been getting of her, is that immediate horrified response and whilst i can obviously go fucking bananas for her personality (the tenacity she has and everything) she has thus far existed in that extreme- and thats not a bad thing!! just like a. im sitting on the edge of my seat for her... like think she's going to get SO much better as time goes on, is the thing, and as we get more of her outside self. obviously we cant see that yet but it slike... how do i even say it. i feel like i cant quite explain it well? its like im at the beginnig of something rlly fucking good with her, and im seeing the groundwork laid out and im waiting for the drop first. ino idea if my sentinmence are making sense any more its almost 5am here<3

- similarly theres other characters that i KNOW theyre teasing something soooo good with them but also im vibrating bc it hasnt DROPPED yet fullyh- like cobel, casey and milchick- all have like ushc a fascinating things proposed this far and i would ramble more of them but obviously so much of thmem are ambiguous right now and im screaaaming bc like. i do I DO hope that with cobel in particular, that they give her her depth but also hm.... ive said it a lot, you know, about how i dont like it when "bad guys"'s presumed storylines are that theyre either 1 ) redeemed or 2) they were always justified and had sth awful going on tht made them that way (and certainly thats an oversimplification of the matter) but theres a possibility with her that they could try to sympathise with her in some way and i dont WISH for that i dont!! but i DO want some nuance in there and to see whatever the hell her perspective is and how she is a victim to whats going on whilst still being very much at fault for it... THEN with milcheck im squainting at him in general i feel like theres more to him. and with casey casey casey also unsure of her deal thus far, a thing we will surely see later... but i do hope sheis severed and shes another . interesting perspective bc

- hmmm like- i think tthats actually. LIKE MY GRIPES WITH THE SHOW THUS FAR ARENT LIKE. proper proper fair gripes theyre moreso like "i am ANTICIPATING this in the future" kind of situations and i dont think it'd be tooo fair to speak of them all when the showis still in progress. bc like- in general its like... i dont have BIG, HUGE AHHRGH issues with anything anyways? its moreso little things- certain perspectives and takes and worldbuilding matters that i sort of wish would be touched on more, but i cant tell if theyre like 1) leaving it for later OR 2) theyre going to be left ambiguous in general but by the end it wont feel incomplete as we see other takes OR 3) they really just wont at all and HEY i suppose thats the thing when youre following sth ongoing like this, but OMG i know its goofy googoo but theres a trepidation babygirl sniff sniff BC THUS FAR ITS LIKE- i actually love it so far you know, like thats one thing i do like a lot about the show. certainly it isnt perfect by any means, but they ARE committing to their concept. like it feels like it could be so... lukeworm? LUKEWPRM. SORRY I - TYPO EEPING THAT. but i feel like Fafjipsdfpkosd. IT COULD be so lukewarm is what i was intending to say but they are leaning into it. like i feel like a much lesser show would take this concept but not fully commit to the actual... horrific nature of it, and also not the actual implications of it? of like- what the "innies" would be, and how they would be as their own sort of culture? and theres still room for improvement- but like omgg....

- also also also also. i hate the term innies and outties it makes me think of belly buttons and absolutely i think these terms WOULD pop up, theyre the sort of casual things that people would just say but like i HATE using them but jHELP HELP HELP HLEP theres something that gives me the ick that i dont hold against the show bc theyre right but also i hold it against myself ahhrhg

- i like how marks brother in law whose name i cant hold onto... FIRST OF ALL. i keep merging him with the bloke from ointb. obsessed with the weird brother energy he just radiates. but like- GOD .... the way his shitty book with the dodgy platitudes and all sorts..... its actually so. the way its scoffed at by outie mark (or at least, his sentiments are) but revered by innie mark. like its just so... SORRY cant quite articulate it right now but GOD its like such a fucking fascinating shift in perspective as to how sth like that feels so laughable and kinda. shallow?n perhaps not the right word- but its something so different to us but recontextualised its revolutionary like UH HUH........GOD.

- im also so crazy abt burt and irving. like im not shipper brain rotted but god its just so nice to see two older men developing a relationship and its sincere and its not, like, subtextual its like THERE-THERE, and its stated openly like.... :3 <3 its really moving. happy for them... i am, i am, i am. bc its also like- its also not forced, hell! or like just. incidental.

- erhm waht else<3

- i think i had more thoguths i'll leave it hear now tho LOL kiss kiss