#either that or it will be a sad sad letdown

[cntrl15]

Watch out losers this bitch about to go insane over hacks S3

[ruthlesslistener]

Okay having now seen Jurassic Park in full I can say:

a.) Everybody telling me not to bring back the dinosaurs because they're dangerous is full of shit, all these animals are attacking people because they are VASTLY underfed and understimulated. The entire movie was the animals toying with them bc they were bored and likely hungry, not because carnivores just...do that. The entire animal care team and handling was a goddamn disaster. C-

b.) The geneticists were fucking stupid, who the FUCK would patch AMPHIBIAN DNA into REPTILES, they're as distantly related to them as amphibians are to us!! Use bird DNA!! Or DNA from other reptiles! Fuck!!!

c.) On the same note, whoever thought to use all female dinosaurs was huffing paint thinners bc fucking. DAMN IT. PARTHINOGENISIS IS A THING IN REPTILES. YOU DONT EVEN NEED FANCY AMPHIBIAN DNA FOR THAT I AM RATTLING THEIR GENETICISTS BY THE SCRUFF OF THE NECK WITH MY TEETH ARE YOU ALL FUCKING IDIOTS

d.) The lysine contingency plan wouldn't have worked as a useful failsafe because it would have taken too long for the animals to run out of lysine to halt their metabolisms- the killswitch idea is excellent tho and is a legit tactic used for transgenic organisms so A+ for them implimenting that there. I don't exactly have an alternative method either bc I'm not good with metabolism, I just know that depriving them of lysine would likely be bullshit

e.) All the kill scenes were waaay too censored and way less people died than I thought :( major salt to my dad for not letting me watching this as a kid because it would be 'too scary' or 'make me violent' bc this shit was a letdown for how tame it was. Still a good movie but very much not a horror movie

f.) This is an outstanding movie about the hubris of man but I see now why people would think that the moral of the story is 'playing god and bringing back dinosaurs bad' when its really 'billionares are fucking idiots and should trust a wide variety of scientists'. Hammond chose a bunch of fucking idiots to help run his park and trying to monetize living creatures is never a good thing. This is why peer review exists!! This is why its important!!!

g.) this film reminded me that i will never see a living non-avian dinosaur irl and i am sad :(

[dcxdpdabbles]

If you had to pick one of your stories to redo, either a portion or change the whole direction, which one would it be?

Ohhhhh, this is a good thought-inducing question. Ironically, some of my work results from thinking, "You know what? This would be hilarious if I didn't stick to plan and went off the deep end," and creating a new AU. (How Danny's grill came to be. It was based on The Bakery is a front with the same idea of Tim being undercover at Danny's food-based business, but instead of looking for proof of lawbreaking, he's looking for evidence that Danny is not human, and the bats freaking out about it)

But I would pick Freelance Inventor just to make it all through the Justice League's POV of Batman and his mysterious lover. They talk in the break room around the water cooler about how the Robins all at one point mentioned "B's Not-Boyfriend" and wonder what that means.

The League would see the Gotham heroes casually threaten Batman by telling on him to "Not-Boyfriend" and watch the Batman actually become the "Let's not be too hasty." meme.

They watch as the crazy, controlling Batman shake his head and sigh when he notices that his calendar was changed by "Not-Boyfried" to force him to stop going up to the Watchtower for meetings and instead go to "Photograph Award show, "Zoo day with youngest" "Cook for the father that raised you, you lazy city dweller who lacks respect."

Flash screenshot of the last one because the previous day, it was marked as "Speedster training and combat counters". Flash needed proof for those who would miss the massacre about to happen. He thought that he would witness Batman drag the poor unfortunate soul to dare mess with his Calander app down to hell, and instead saw him googling British recipes because he needs to have a meal plan out now.

It wouldn't just be the Justice League- though it starts with them from founding day to well over a decade- but all hero communities would begin to hear about Not-Boyfriend.

At different times, the Robins would grumble about doing class work on the extended space trips because Not-Boyfriend would be disappointed in them. They don't care if they piss off Batman, but Not-Boyfriend's sad, letdown eyes would haunt the Robins.

These are the same people who would swing themselves at monsters who were sometimes actually gods of myth with nothing but spandex and spite.

The Teen Titans witness Robin leave with his Not-Boyfriend during the Big Fight, which eventually leads to him becoming Nightwing. They start treating Robin like a Divorce Kid. Batman is the bum dad in that situation.

The Outsiders witness Robin go from anger to a protective, gleeful Redhood when Not-Boyfriend calls to check up on him. They are all welcome to stay in Not-Boyfriend's houses—he owns many properties worldwide for his travels—and he becomes the remarkable, safe adult house. They just never speak to him face to face.

Young Justice's Robin has some serious self-esteem issues. They all sort of do as the ones the older heroes forget about. This is why when Robin shows up one day asking if they would do a random fashion blog to trick Not-Boyfriend, they jump at the chance to make a more solid identity besides the clone, the time traveler, and the daughter of Zues. Then Not-Boyfriend, whom they never met and shouldn't care about, starts sending gifts, and I'm so proud of you kids through Robin up until he becomes Red Robin, they realize he's the cooler dad.

SuperSons Robin will respect no one- not even Batman or Nightwing- as he does Not-Boyfriend. They can get him to listen and calm down after noticing his siblings using the "I'm telling Not-Boyfriend on you" trick that worked on his father.

The heroes know so much about Not-Boyfriend but know nothing. He's like Big-Foot. Everyone knows who Big-Foot legend is, but no one can prove Big-Foot.

Of course, over the seventeen years of Justice Leauge's founding, heroes would assume Not-Boyfriend was helping Batman raise his children and, for some reason, couldn't be married (The rise in heroes demanding equal marriage helped legalize same-sex marriage after a bitter sixteen-year fight).

They accept he's Batman's husband, who may be a civilian, a hero, or even a villain.

They accept that Batman and Not-Boyfriend may be divorced and share custody of the children.

They accept that Batman may not be over his partner and is still, to this day, trying to win him back.

They accept that Not-Boyfriend forgave Batman years ago and are back together.

They accept that there was never a split, and the two just argued that Young-Robins blew out of proportion.

The hero community literally accepts any theory if presented well and backed enough with suitable examples. At one point, it was a tradition of trying to decipher what was going on with Batman and Not-Boyfriend.

It's even wilder when Batman reveals himself as Bruce Wayne because he is known for not having any dates despite the number of people who have tried to fling themselves at him. He's notorious for putting a lid on his playboy tendencies- showing growth, and his new persona changed to Ditzy Dad of Gotham- back when he took in Dick Grayson, but now they know it's because he had Not-Boyfriend?

Then finding out Not-Boyfriend is Danny Fenton, the Willy Wonka-esque of the inventing world???????

This man who disappears from the public eye only shows up somewhere in a jungle with an invention that low-key solves the issue of contaminated water? This man, who freelances to anyone and everyone, things that come straight out of sci-fi without a blink?

The same man who people years ago accused Bruce Wayne of sleeping with, only to be told point black by Bruce, "I wish I was sleeping with him. Have you seen him?," and people thought he was joking on live TV?

They lose their minds.

[humanpurposes]

Spoilers for season 3?? From grrm’s now deleted blog post, but does this not sum up the entire letdown of season 2?

Season 2 was driven by plot and not character decisions, like we’re running through a checklist because “these are the events that need to happen in this episode.” I can appreciate in 8 episodes they had a lot to get through but it shouldn’t come at the expense of convincing character motivations or satisfying arcs.

The sad thing is I can so see this happening with the Helaena from HotD, where characters do things to either move the plot forward or drag it by its feet. The show rarely gives characters room to exist and have emotions that are explored naturally. What a sure way to completely disengage your audience.

[bogleech]

Mr. Bogleech, I have been a follower of your website for 5-ish years now, and I'm a big fan of you work, DGMW, but I read in an article of yours that you dislike Aliens (the 1986 sequel to alien, not aliens in general) and I was wondering, could you kindly elaborate as to why you find this movie unenjoyable?

It's culturally important and has some cool stuff in it - the Queen has a great design, the power loader, everyone loves Vasquez - but Ridley Scott's "Alien" was an intelligent, unsettling, cinematically beautiful work of art and one of history's most effective atmospheric horror movies, whereas James Cameron's "Aliens" is pure cheesy action and makes the aliens themselves feel cheaper when they're just a swarm of disposable targets. It wouldn't be AS much of a letdown if Giger had been involved at all, but he specifically asked to be (and even referred to the alien as essentially his child) only for Cameron to reject him on the basis that he was afraid Giger would hog too much credit:

Giger was sad about this to his end days, too. :( I appreciate it as its own thing and don't mind its fandom but it just doesn't compare to how intense and creative that first film was. Even when Ridley Scott finally got to make his own sequels (Prometheus etc.) it didn't quite live up to the original either, though. Alien is really one of those movies that was so special, nothing else can ever really recapture its spark, and I just always think of the xenomorph as this single, mysterious, terrifying villain that can take out a whole starship crew rather than part of just a space bug hive :)

[shibology]

hi hi! congrats on hitting 50 followers shiba! I wanna request thoma from genshin impact abt an angst plot with a happy ending w seeing a concert w/ him! A one shot would be perfect with g/n reader! Tysm!!

pairing : thoma x gn!reader

type : oneshot

a/n : fank yew very much :3 here's you and thoma's cute little date (this can be seen as romantic or platonic)

cw(s) : none(?)

learn about the event here~

[name]'s a hard worker, really! but why aren't their sales going up? it's demotivating, really. you swear you've been trying your hardest! but as you constantly check for orders each morning just to be met with a big fat zero, it's really got you down. but you find it embarrassing. i mean, zero sales? it must mean your product sucks. so you don't tell anyone, you don't need them thinking you're some letdown loser who makes low quality goods! but what you can't hide is your sudden decrease in mood, the way you're constantly slumped when you sit down, the way you're more blunt than usual, all telltale signs that something happened to you. and knowing the type of person thoma is, he took notice of it almost immediately. but he didn't really wanna push it, it could be something personal, you know? he doesn't want to get in your way or hurt your feelings if it's a personal matter. so he shows he cares by keeping a close eye on you.

thoma will always do what he can to make people feel heard, or just comforted even if they don't want to talk about what's troubling them. so, you'll totally see him stopping by your house to make sure you're doing okay. you don't know why he's been more attentive to you, but as what you're going through right now, you don't complain. it's especially nice with him. each time he visits he always brings either an activity or a snack or food you may like. which he always chooses to make home made for you. he prefers that over buying stuff. just another way to show he really cares. but, after nearly a month of you just being sad, his heart ached too much and he had to pop the question. "[name], have you been alright lately?" his voice was gentle, in case it was a sensitive topic for you. a hand on your shoulder and his sapphire eyes looking at you with a sense of sincerity and the will to comfort. you spoke quietly, but not too quiet.

"..remember that business i started up? it's been doing awful recently. sales have been real low. it's awfully demotivating, you know?" you look up at him, a little embarrassed still, you just couldn't refuse to tell him! he just looks so eager to help you, you can just tell how badly it hurts him to see you like this. you can't just leave the poor boy hanging, now can you? he nods gently and speaks with a sense of understanding and kindness. "i understand. and i understand why that can be demotivating." he paused for a moment to think about his next words, not wanting to say the wrong thing. "i know what to do." you weren't too sure what he meant, but you were too upset to really give it a second thought. but you'd quickly come to realization when in a couple of days your sales seemed to have magically been rising. see, you took a short trip to liyue to do business things, and while you were gone, thoma held some massive promotion event, you're not sure of the details because he keeps it classified as a "secret only he can know." but either way, you're ecstatic!

while leisurely working on orders, you hear a sudden knock at the door. you walk to open it, thoma is there with a big grin on his face. he looks so goofy, but you could tell how excited he was. "guess what?" he eagerly asked, his hand behind his back not-so-sneakily. "what is it?" you asked, you were amused, really! it wasn't uncommon for thoma to appear out of nowhere, but he seemed extra excited to see you today. before you could finish his thought, a hand swiftly appeared from behind his back, flashing two concert tickets in your face. watching the way your eyes lit up was absolutely priceless. you were seeing one of your favorite artists, with thoma!

on concert day, you're in such a giddy mood it's laughable. when you and thoma arrive, in his nature, he gives you short reminders about your health and such, but as he is, he's got a bag of concert necessities. hydration being the most, water is important! thoma didn't exactly seem like the person to attend many concerts, which is why you were surprised when he knew exactly where the good spots were. thoma always pays attention to the details, which includes making sure he can only get the best for you. you're important to him, he wouldn't want you to be bummed out on your concert experience. even if he's not crazy into the artist, he still makes his reactions as expressive as yours may be. he cares about you, and wants to see you happy.

and that's what lets you know it'll all be okay in the end, as long as he's around.

[wandas-luvr]

you know just how to be cruel

pairing: leigh shaw x fem!reader

summary: leigh comes over in the middle of the night to ask you a favor.

warnings: 18+ minors dni! soft(ish)dom!leigh (she is still her regular amount of mean), idk probably mommy kink undertones because that's how i live now, fingering (r receiving), oral (r receiving), praise, criminal amounts of teasing, leigh being a rude, condescending bitch but she makes it up to you, leigh being unrightfully possessive (but it's okay bc it's hot), mediocre aftercare bc leigh

-

you look at the clock on your phone as you hear a loud, repetitive knock at your door. you ignore it, deciding no good could come from suspicious knocking at 3:45 am on a thursday, sighing and turning over, getting sucked back into whatever trashy reality tv show was coming on.

then your phone buzzes. once. twice. three times in the span of a minute. before you even get the chance to pick it up to see who it is, you receive a call. you look at the caller id suspiciously: leigh shaw. you click to answer immediately, having heard the news about her husband just recently, wondering if she was calling after missing your condolences call when you were told.

before you could even get a word out you here her voice on the other end of the line. short and clipped, no room to argue or joke with her.

"i'm outside, let me in, it's cold out."

you get up and walk to the door, eyebrows furrowed, wondering why on earth leigh shaw would show up to your door at this hour, especially after what had happened with matt. upon opening you see leigh, clearly upset, but not appearing to be sad. the only thing you can see in her eyes is anger.

"leigh, what are you..?" you cut yourself off, not wanting to upset her more or make her feel unwelcome, "are you okay?"

she scoffs at you, rolling her eyes and walking straight past you into your home.

"don't do that, you know better."

you sigh, clearly, this would not be a very pleasant night.

"you're right, i'm sorry. i'll ask again, but if you get pissed, remember you're the one who told me to say it. what the fuck are you doing here?"

"better. lose the tone next time though, it's not cute on you. i need you to do me a favor."

you chuckle slightly, trying to lighten the mood or at least diffuse the tension the elephant in the room has been creating since she stepped into your apartment.

"awfully big talk for someone who is very rudely asking me for a favor."

"my husband died a month ago, i don't have to ask your permission to be bitter. and last time i checked, you weren't in charge of me."

you knew exactly what she was talking about. before she had met matt, she asked you to experiment with her, leading you through a series of heartbreaks and letdowns until you couldn't face it anymore and left her. throughout the six months the two of you were "together" she took you on a totally of five dates, showing up late to three of them. you had begun to feel like all she used you for was sex, and you simply couldn't bear it anymore. not when you were aching for her to love you the way she told you she did.

you look away, biting your lip, taking a deep breath to collect yourself. you didn't want to set her off, and she clearly wasn't in the right place to hear that she wasn't in charge of you either.

she walks towards you slowly, lifting your chin to encourage you to look up into her eyes, tucking a stray hair behind your ear.

"you know what i'm here for, baby." she smiled, sickeningly sweet, with a condescending scrunch of her eyebrows and nod of her head. "the question is: are you gonna give it to me? hm?"

you freeze, you feel your chest constricting and can hear yourself swallow thickly, as you consider. ethically, you know it's wrong. you know it will only crush you and give leigh the quick distraction shes looking for, nothing more, but you can't help it. everything about her makes you lightheaded and weak in the knees, and you knew she'd take care of you, she always had been so generous.

"leigh...i don't think-"

"shh, baby, that's why it's perfect. you don't need to think with me, remember?" she looks into your eyes, looking for any signs of true unwillingness, before pressing the softest of kisses just behind your ear. you can feel her smile against your skin as your breath hitches, or course she remembered.

"love..?" she trails off, waiting for some sign of a response from you, settling for a simple look into her eyes. "are you gonna let me fuck you? make you feel good just like i used to?"

you bite your lip, nodding, mumbling a quiet "please.."

you watch the grin spread across her face, she knew she had you the moment you opened the door.

"see! i knew you'd remember how much you missed me!" she pushes you back toward your couch, leading you to sit on the arm as she stands between your legs, wrapping you up in a deep, heated kiss. "hmmm, that's my girl."

you almost retort, going to tell her she has no right to call you that, when, as if she could sense it, she tugged on your hair, clearly a preventative warning to watch your mouth.

as a reward for your obedience, you feel her lips start to move downward, drifting to your cheek, then your jaw, down to your neck, clearly leaving bruises in her wake.

she chuckles against your skin, hot breath tickling your neck, when you instinctively tip your head to give her more room. smiling at the way she'd created a pattern of muscle memory in you that would never fade no matter how many years passed.

you feel her hands untangle from your hair and drop to your thighs, before she pulls back to look at you: flushed and breathless before she'd even started with you. she gently rubs her thumbs in place, causing you to squirm towards her, barely stifling an embarrassing whine. you internally cringe as you can see the gears turning in her head, watching her piece together your reactions, before she gasps softly, clearly having figured you out.

"awww, sweetheart, it's been a while hasn't it? no one's touched you in so long, i bet you're just soaked," her hands drift towards your pajamas shorts, her fingers pulling the flimsy material aside to get a pick at your panties. "oh, honey, look at you. you made such a mess for me! oh, i bet you're just aching, aren't you?"

you nod, canting your hips up as you feel her fingertips barely ghosting along the gusset of your panties. she shoots you a look, cowing you immediately, your pleasure had always been on her terms.

she smiles, before clearly growing impatient herself, pulling your panties to the side and lightly running two fingers between your folds. a shiver wracks your body as she gasps at your wetness, playing with it between her fingers cockily. something about her soft smirk would never fail to make you clench around nothing.

you feel her fingers run up your slit as slow as human possible, until they finally reach your clit, your head tipping back and mouth opening the minute her fingers so much as graze it.

"awww," she exclaims through a chuckle, "god, you really were aching for it. that's it, pretty girl, you just shut your eyes and enjoy it. no thinking, just let it feel good, yeah?"

you nod, moaning softly, as her fingers start to circle your clit, just the way she knew you liked. your nails digging into the arm of the sofa underneath you as leigh played you like a fiddle, muttering dirty phrases under her breath endlessly.

"fuck, you look so good. does that feel nice, baby? oh, i bet it does, sweet girl! yeah, you're welcome, honey, i know this is what you needed."

as you pant and moan underneath her leigh decides she's bored of this, wordlessly bending down to her knees in front of you, fingers drifting downward as well to circle your entrance. laughing when she feels how you try to suck her fingers in as you clench around nothing.

"leigh, please, i need you..." you moan out without thinking, desperate to get her to finally fuck you, "i need you so bad, leigh...please? i'll be good."

"hmm, good girl, begging and i haven't even asked you to yet. just fucking perfect for me." she mutters under her breath as she sinks her fingers into you, blowing softly on your clit to watch your hips jump. "there you go, take it for me, baby. you can do it, come on, be a good girl and just take what i give you."

you moan loudly, grip on the sofa tightening as your nails dig into the fabric. legs subconsciously spreading wider for her of their own accord, every movement of your body fine tuned to her liking.

"that's it, baby, tell me how good it feels. i like to hear that i'm doing a good job." she jokes, winking at you when you fake playfully at her before shutting you up with her mouth on your clit.

your eyes squeeze shut, moaning as she sucks your clit into her mouth, alternating with the pace of her fingers sliding in and out of you expertly. she grins against you, knowing she's winding you up in exactly the right way, touching all the right spots and saying all the right things to make you want her that much more.

she speeds up her pace, apparently intent on having you ruin the upholstery on your couch, smirking when she feels the telltale clench of your walls around her fingers.

"shhh, baby, you have to quiet down, okay? we wouldn't want you to wake up the neighbors, right?" she smiles condescendingly before doubling her efforts, intentionally making you louder for her just to watch you flush at the thought and try to quiet back down before repeating the cycle.

within minutes, she has you cumming on her fingers and her tongue, gripping her hair as she insists on cleaning you up just to hear you whine under her as she teases your sensitive clit.

"leigh, i-"

"shhh, baby, she don't have to talk about it. all we need to know is that it made me feel better, and it definitely made you feel better." she grins, pulling you against her and kissing your head softly, allowing you to lay against her as you catch your breath.

[ilsaafaust]

My first thoughts straight after watching Dead Reckoning!  

SPOILERS 

I am so disappointed.

From the start, the film is a mess. The writing is pretty bad, to be honest. The humour doesn't quite click like the others but most of all, the plot is.. what?  

They really shouldn't have gone with AI. God, I wish they hadn't. That opening. Meh. 

Oh and here's two halves of a key. That keeps getting pickpocketed. They're really important but no one knows why. They try to explain it so many times but none of us gets it. That's how dumb it is. 

Uh, so is Ethan like the head of the IMF now? Like wtf, the whole bit about the IMF is confusing and bad. The choices they apparently all had to make? Nah. That flashback? Nah. 

An arms dealer hosts a party in Venice? And posts two guards outside the door? Sure. Why not. 

One of the biggest letdowns is what they did with the female characters. I've always praised McQ for his writing of female characters. You'd think that having Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Pom Klementieff and Hayley Atwell would be great. But no. 

The biggest letdown is obviously the treatment of Ilsa Faust, a fan favourite. Ilsa has always been written so well. Remember how they deleted the kiss in Fallout because it made Ilsa weak at Ethan's expense? 

And yet Ilsa's very short storyline in the entire film, no wait, in the first half only (?!) is that she is killed in order to hurt Ethan? And the reason why is because an AI is making Ethan choose between two women, only one can live…

Talk. About. Making. Her. Weak. At. Ethan's. Expense. And bad writing. 

Also, we have Kittridge saying Ethan is always helping Ilsa out of trouble when it is *literally* the other way around. Did I mention bad writing or is it just Kittridge getting it all wrong? 

They fridged the best character of the franchise? And then, in the next scene, Ethan looks sad for a moment, Benji wipes a tear and then the next moment, the team convinces this stranger, this thief, who kept running away from Ethan.. to join the team? I-. No words. 

They had every chance of making Ilsa join the team. She was out of MI6. Literally, all we've seen of Ilsa with the team has been great? Fallout? She smiles and seems happy to be with them and they work so well together. But no, kill Ilsa for no reason and have this sort of damsel in distress *replace* her? 

Sure. Because we can't have two women on the team. Wow. 

Not to mention Pom as Paris, who is this kickass, cool baddie who turns… Good when Ethan saves her life? Okay. 

Vanessa Kirby doesn't have much to do either, unfortunately. 

I don't wanna get too much into it with Grace, but the forced moments between her and Ethan are so cringe. Like, he just met her and all she's done is run away from him but yeah, let's have these moments where we say each other's first names and look like we're about to cry and oh, are you okay? 

To me, it doesn't even really feel like a Mission: Impossible movie. Something feels off. And with the writing.. It's like they had these three big action scenes, the desert, car chase and the train scene and they didn't know how to put them together?

I know M:I is fun action and it's always been a bit over the top but.. The train sequence. When Gabriel times that fall? And just as Grace is about to get shot Ethan crashes into the train. I-. 

Sorry but.. This doesn't do it for me.

[otterskin]

Finished Loki S2

Well. I finally did it.

...

I am so very, very sad. What a letdown of a show. I feel like I'm grieving. I'm just so hurt and disappointed and betrayed. It feels like a poison burning through my guts.

So it was a bit better than Season One.

...I did like Victor Timely. And Mobius was great. He was something of an Odin analogue and I wish they'd actually explored that more. They seemed so uninterested in Loki's past despite this being a time travel show. None of his relationships or even his divine nature ever seemed to matter. It would've been so easy to take these same scripts and swap in just about any other Marvel character. Iron Man, or Peter Quill or Gamora or a new character, made just for this series.

Of course if you liked it, I still want to be friends. Last time I made a post like this I found myself blocked from people I'd always been friendly with. I never want to insult you or belittle what you like. And I don't like wallowing in negativity, so I promise I won't clutter your dash with it, either. I'll move on after this. Probably just spam some cool drawings of Odin I found or something else that feels untouched (for now...I see What If isn't done massacring my boys). I still want to be friends because ultimately, I'm happiest when everyone is having a good time.

Anyway. I...I just...want to leave this whole mess behind.

Last time this happened I stopped writing my fics. I just recently started again. Now I'm wondering if I should continue. If there's even a place for me in the fandom anymore. I don't know if it's even worth the effort, or how many people even like my fics, really. I get lovely comments and I appreciate them, but I know I'm far from popular or anything. I just try so hard, you know? But I don't know that it matters. I feel like what I'm doing doesn't matter.

I dunno. I guess I'm posting this because I'm just very sad. I've loved this character for over ten years, longer, if you count Norse Mythology itself, and it got me through a lot of hard times. But now it feels that's all been turned against me.

I guess...I need to know if anyone cares if I continue. Or if I should just mourn and try to move on, somehow. I'd just starting going in on Part Two of Finnesang and was wrapping up Lokabrenna, and now I...I've just lost all steam. I'm someone who writes when inspired, not out of spite. So being so disappointed, and feeling like a bit of a pariah in the fandom already, I just need to feel like someone actually wants me to stick around.

Anyway. Sorry for such a morose, navel-gazing post. Resume your scrolling, friend.

But also expect a lot more posts about Blue Eye Samurai.

[pallisia]

hello, gg! I had your flower fella in my head while I was gposing around some flowers in Elpis, and it brought a question to mind. How did you feel about the Elpis arc in Endwalker? On my first playthrough, it absolutely blew me away, but on my replay, I feel like parts of it retroactively cheapened Shadowbringers (if that makes any sense). idk, I'm curious to hear your thoughts, if you have any to share. :>

sure. i feel like i mentioned a while back that i'm not crazy about endwalker for this exact reason. like, i had fun playing through the msq and i acknowledge the difficulties of trying to wrap up a decade-long story for a massive fanbase with varying expectations, but it just didn't land for me. especially the elpis arc. this is going to be really long and full of spoilers, so i'll keep the rest of it under a cut.

arriving in amaurot in shadowbringers was easily one of my favorite story beats in all of ffxiv. i loved that the ancients were portrayed as kind strangers, the anxiety about the final days from their dialogue, the vulnerability from the villain; it was all just great. one of the things that helped sell amaurot to me was how little was concrete about it. it was a faint memory of a place that didn't exist anymore. we couldn't see anyone's faces, we couldn't feel like we actually belonged there in any meaningful way. and when you confront emet-selch, it's like, "sure, it's sad that this happened to you, but we're here now, so you have to let it go."

looking back, i feel like elpis is the polar opposite of all that. i smiled at hades' beautiful wife and shitty haircut as much as the next guy, but it just felt...unnecessary? where shadowbringers said "the unsundered world is not coming back, you have to get over it," endwalker said "Bring It In, Guys !!" and showed me more of the ancients than i ever really wanted to see. i didn't need to go back in time and run around with my pal emet to sympathize with him. and again, he's beautiful, but i didn't really need to put a face to hythlodaeus, either. i thought he was much more compelling when i didn't know anything except that he was nice and emet-selch loved him.

this is more personal preference than anything, but i was also let down that the ancients were just...humans? i was hoping that the origin of all the sundered races would have more varied features to reflect that, and the way they were portrayed in shadowbringers allowed me the freedom to imagine them that way. 

anyway, going back to the the time travel... in shadowbringers, i loved the bittersweetness of the doomed timeline continuing even after g'raha tia fixed everything. elpis changed how time travel works within the story to tie everything up with a bow. i know it functions the same way in the alexander raids, but i thought it was bizarre to rewrite the rules within the main scenario right after the expansion where it was a big deal. (using the same time machine, even!)

venat was fine. i didn't really consider her to be the same character as hydaelyn at all, and it felt like a stretch to equate the emotionless crystal god voice to this nice, cool lady we spent an afternoon with. also, explaining the echo the blessing of light as a "traveler's ward" was such a letdown, man. it was a tremendous deal when hydaelyn and zodiark were revealed to be primals, but endwalker essentially threw out the concept of tempering, so it didn't matter at all. again, i get that retcons are inevitable in a decade-long mmo storyline. but the way she'd been built up as a morally questionable figure as early as heavensward made me hope for more flavor than what i got from venat. 

hermes was a pretty interesting character. i liked meeting someone who didn't fit in with ancient society, and even resented a lot of what was considered normal for them. he just didn't get enough time to cook. i probably don't have to harp on the stupid amnesia machine, so i'll skip that part.

meteion was... well, getting back to the point of your question, i kind of hated that the final days ended up being "a bird in space is beaming us with nihilism energy." i'm not sure what i wanted the final days to be, but the mystery of it was so much more intriguing than the explanation. the idea that the ancients' creation powers went out of their control was so cool! but, oh, it was because they were too aetherically dense to transform into monsters, i guess... okay...

maybe that's my overall problem with elpis, that it eliminated all mystery for the sake of neatly wrapping up loose threads, even when the mystery was more fun. every subsequent dev interview really drives this home, to the point where i wish they'd stop explaining things altogether. i'm feeling the same way now with the alliance raid series and its explanation of the twelve. of course, that storyline is still going, but i don't have high hopes for the last part.

wow that was long. sorry. thank you for your question i've been bottling this up for like a year lmao

[doomerpatrol]

Comic Log: The Year So Far

this does not include the assorted works of Grant Morrison which will get their own effortpost(s).

Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon: Truly rancid. Fundamentally does not work. I'm softer on the first and third arcs, while I think the fourth is a letdown and the second is abysmal. While Whedon's humor is characteristically hit or miss, and his characterization of just about everybody except Cyclops and Emma Frost is quite poor, what actually frustrates me is the way Astonishing squanders its opening ethos of reinvigorating the status of the X-Men as classic "traditional" superheroes (rather than the soap-operatic introspective subjects of Claremont or countercultural militants of Morrison). Despite this being the explicitly stated function of the ongoing series, it's only told and never shown. Instead we get a few different arcs themed around mutation and guilt, which is also fine, but again, those themes are barely fleshed out (the "mutant cure" that seems like it's going to be a really big deal and presents a lot of interesting thematic questions is summarily handwaved away).

Favorite arc/issue: "Torn" is a compelling exploration of Emma Frost's survivor's guilt, and the dynamic between her and Cyclops which extends into the final arc (which I otherwise loathe) is really great. Sad that it doesn't exactly get a real ending, just so the X-Men can go to space and endorse biological determinism, though!

Detective Comics by Greg Rucka: What could have been! This has some really brilliant creative decisions going on, particularly in the beautiful artwork which uses monochromatic color palettes based on the theme and tone of an issue, but ultimately gets taken out and shot by the event mandates of "Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive." The central idea here is the fallout of the "No Man's Land" event, which shifts the social and political tensions in Gotham, and causes Bruce to get saddled with a new bodyguard, Sasha Bordeaux. Having a constant tail that he needs to be able to shake without exposing his dual identity is a fun idea, but I don't think it gets as much time as it deserves, and the treatment of Sasha as a character isn't my favorite either. She's basically turned into a disposable love interest by the events of Fugitive/Murderer and the way it all resolves left me really cold. Ultimately the best ideas here get picked up in Gotham Central.

Favorite arc/issue: "A Walk in the Park" which covers Poison Ivy's expulsion from Gotham City's park after the "No Man's Land" crossover, with some nice characterization for Bruce and Ivy (if you like a redeemed/sympathetic Ivy).

Wolverine by Greg Rucka: Inherits the Frank Miller treatment of a solo Logan as a sort of wandering ronin or cowboy. I have some complaints - I really do not like the characterization of fellow Weapon Plus victim "The Native," because it hews too close to gross racial stereotype, and the AFT agent that basically falls in love with Logan at first sight because she just loves a bad boy is CORNY. However! These three arcs have great action and tightly knit simplistic plots, which see Logan forced into morally and personally tight spots - a vengeance quest on a trafficking ring, a moral dilemma over how to deal with a pregnant cartel leader, Wolverine and Sabretooth begrudgingly teaming up against Weapon Plus as both of them look for the first opportunity to betray the other. It's not the most amazing set of stories ever, I don't think any of them would make a Top 10 Wolverine stories list, but it's very well-executed pulp fiction.

Favorite arc/issue: "Brotherhood," the first arc, which sees Logan hunting down a misogynist cult who sent assassins after one of its runaway victims, and its follow-up featuring Nightcrawler having a beer and shooting the shit about the soul. I love how squat Wolverine is drawn in this arc. That's not the deepest commentary but it is true.

Catwoman by Ed Brubaker: Pretty solid! Has some of my favorite creatives (Brubaker, Darwyn Cooke, Mike Allred) on board. This series brings Selina back into the DCU after some time away, trying to turn over a new leaf and reinventing herself as a kind of defender of the downtrodden in Gotham's East End. An excellent new costume, a new attitude, new supporting cast - it's such a step up from the 90s Catwoman book. To be honest, the art from Cooke and (terrible person) Cameron Stewart and the various colorists is the big draw here, turning this part of Gotham into something both vibrantly cartoonish and appropriately noir-inflected: alternatingly poppy and moody and sensual as the story necessitates. At issue #25 the art team turns over, and the tone of the comic shifts towards something more conventional and "realistic." This was pretty much my jumping off point - I think it loses a lot of its charm and heart at this point and then has the misfortune of intersecting with the "Batman: War Games" event (not to mention that the new art is, uh, quite bad). But up through #25, the stories are pretty solid with some fun heists and capers, with a strong supporting cast and central arc of Selina figuring out how she wants to exist in the world.

Favorite arc/issue: "Disguises" is a highlight, which sees Selina going up against crooked cops as she and Slam and Holly very actively get in harm's way in pursuit of the truth. I also like "Relentless" where Black Mask tries to very ruthlessly destroy Selina's life; it's exceedingly dark and definitely derivative of "Daredevil: Born Again" but I appreciated its bleak, expressionist qualities. And the road trip arc "Wild Ride" is also really fun and cute!

Hawkeye by Matt Fraction: A total treat. Interestingly bifurcated - the first half is slightly more episodic, putting a bunch of assorted pieces into play (our two leads Clint and Kate, the Tracksuit Mafia, Cherry the runaway mob wife, the Polish clown hitman, Lucky the dog, and the local community), with a domino effect from a particularly cruel death to our two Hawkeyes splitting from each other. From there, I do think the series spins its wheels just a squeak too long, as we alternate between Kate pounding the pavement trying to make some cash in LA and Clint steadily trying to figure out how to shoulder the burden of protecting his community, with some filler for good measure. But once Clint concludes he can't do it all on his own, and circumstances force the Hawkeyes back together - oh man! The last two issues are excellent, one of the most satisfying conclusions I've read in a comic in an age. I particularly enjoyed the communitarian theme. And the paneling and layouts and especially the artwork from David Aja and Annie Wu are all so delightfully creative and colorful and expressive. (The cover portrayed above is indicative of the kinds of spreads and layouts that we get throughout the book.)

Favorite arc/issue: definitely the two-part finale. Also loved the issue focused on the dog Lucky. The whole thing is immensely readable, it really works together holistically.

Punisher (and Franken-Castle) by Rick Remender: Starts strong with Frank trying to take a shot at the politically ascendant Norman Osborn, which is an inspired choice: it automatically makes Frank a touch more sympathetic because we know Osborn is a sadistic fascist, it gives him the motivation to really up the ante with a high-tech arsenal (so a little bit of a sci-fi twist), and it offers an opportunity to do some of that hack sociopolitical commentary on post-9/11 American society that Marvel loved at the time. But the series finishes super weak. Most notably, the Osborn plotline is unable to meaningfully advance because all the relevant players were under Brian Michael Bendis' purview, so the series quickly devolves into a dull supernatural slapfight with The Hood and throwaway villains, and then quite abruptly turns into the underwhelmingly odd "Franken-Castle." The action is solidly drawn but the plot wears thin because it hinges on shallow contrivances, and there's an odd refusal to commit to any big thematic ideas or strong emphases of characterization, like the main supporting character of Henry. Honestly, I don't think Garth Ennis' run is likely to be outdone, it really captured the only version of Punisher as a protagonist that I think is particularly tolerable to read.

Favorite arc/issue: honestly really didn't care for this one, but I'd say the first arc "Living in Darkness" is the strongest - it sees Frank brutalizing his way out of tight spots in some fun ways, and I really like Opena's artwork. But the ending (featuring the return of old Punisher supporting character Microchip) is just really lazy and uninspired.

JLA by Mark Waid: A rare Waid miss, unfortunately. I like the first arc, Tower of Babel, for its examination of how Batman's paranoia and isolation and obsessiveness can blowback without leaning into full-throated "Batjerk" characterization, but the "Ra's al Ghul destroys language" plot is a little underdeveloped for how high-concept it is. And the subsequent arcs, which emotionally center around Batman's reincorporation into the group, really didn't land for me, both because of the departure of Howard Porter as penciller and because the stories are just less interesting. I really did not like the "Queen of Fables" arc, which I found to be corny and overplayed (I feel like I've seen or read some version of this in cartoons and comics and speculative fiction media a million times), while the rest were just kind of middling. These later stories carry less thematic weight when compared to the parallel "communication breakdown" of Tower. It's not terrible, but just pales in comparison to the Morrison run that preceded it, despite trying to speak in a similar register. I hope that I will like Joe Kelly's run more!

Favorite arc/issue: Uh. Tower of Babel, if that wasn't clear.

[ghoulangerlee]

kissy prompt 2, with Lus annndddddddd mmmm you pick, anyone is fair game

Pls and thank youuuuu🖤🖤🖤

im being v indulgent and doing cumulus and sunshine :) my girlssssss

2. …goodnight.

Soft ladies, a quiet moment before bed (during the reimperatour)

-

Cumulus's eyes droop heavily with sleep and she quickly blinks them, trying to fight it as the exhaustion of the day creeps up on her; she's crashing a bit now, the adrenaline of another good show slowly ebbing from her, leaving behind the tiredness and aches, the letdown of it all bringing forth a jaw cracking yawn.

Across from her, Sunshine giggles, curled up in one of Aether's hoodies, they're sharing a cramped hotel bed; just for the night and then Sunshine (and by extension, Aether) will be back on their way to the church to take over their duties once more.

"You should go to sleep, Cu," Sunshine murmurs, reaching out to brush a stray curl from her face, "I know tomorrow's an off day for you guys, but you know that Ant and Aurora's going to want to drag you out to one of the tourist traps," she continues and then she's scooting closer, gathering Cumulus up into her arms, breathing in the scent of warmth and contentment. "Cause I used to do the same shit to you guys when I first joined the band."

Cumulus hums in agreement, knowing that her day of rest will end with her herding Aurora and Phantom around, maybe with Mountain and Cirrus; not that either of the two new band ghouls couldn't handle themselves, but she knew that they'd be asking her to come with them.

"I'm just not looking forward to seeing you leave again," Cumulus finally admits after a long moment of silence, her face half pressed into Sunshine's collarbone, "I'm glad you've found your place at the church, but it's so...lonely here on tour while you're back home."

Sunshine makes a soft noise, sort of sad as she presses a kiss into Cumulus's hair, "I know, love," she murmurs, "And trust me, if I could handle touring, I would still be with you and Cir. Aeth and I snuck out here for a bit so we could see you guys in action. It's so fun, being able to see my girls in the spotlight," she coos, rubbing Cumulus's back through the fluffy robe she's wearing. "But, we've been away long enough and Sister's already called for our return."

Cumulus sighs, a little bit put out, "It's only been one day," she says, knowing she sounds a bit petulant, "What's a day or two more?"

There's a soft huff of laughter in her hair, Sunshine squeezing her tight, "Well, someone has to make sure that you guys have a place to come back to. But, to let you in on a little secret, Aether's put in some time off for us, forged some signatures and everything, and we'll be coming back out to spend some of your downtime together once you head over to the States. You've just gotta get through a few more shows and we'll be together again."

It goes quiet then, as Cumulus thinks about it, mulls over Sunshine's words, knowing that she's right, as much as she hates to admit, this one had been a quick day trip, overnight for travel, and she knew that Sunshine and Aether were cutting it very close by staying the night with the pack instead of traveling back; but well, Cumulus is allowed to be selfish about this, about having one of her lovers back in her arms again after being apart for a few months.

Sunshine seems to think so too, if the way she's not even trying to dissuade Cumulus's disgruntled mood is any indication; but again, she knows that their hands are tied with this.

"When do you have to leave in the morning?" Cumulus asks finally, her frown relaxed into something more neutral, "Do we have enough time for breakfast?"

"Breakfast with my girl? Even Sister Imperator couldn't stop me from that," Sunshine says, nosing at her temple, "She'd have to drag me bodily away from you if she wants me back at the church any sooner."

Something happy settles in Cumulus then, knowing that no one could drag Sunshine away from her, even if they tried, it was a losing sort of fight, with Sunshine's fierceness and protectiveness over her lovers, quality time something she coveted so close to her heart that it was a wonder she hadn't come apart at the seams once Cumulus had left on tour.

"I love you," Cumulus says softly, tilting her head up a bit to press a kiss to Sunshine's jaw, "Thank you for coming, I missed you so much."

Sunshine tilts her head down, connects their lips in a soft and sweet sort of kiss, cups her palm against Cumulus's cheek and kisses her until Cumulus has to pull away to yawn again.

"I love you too," Sunshine says softly, fondly, "Now rest, baby, I'll be here when you wake up, alright?"

Cumulus hums and presses another quick kiss to Sunshine's lips and then the two of them shift around until the blankets are drawn up around them like some sort of cocoon of quietness, blocking out everything except the two of them.

A low purr, something soft and careful, vibrating Sunshine's chest, directly into Cumulus's being, lulling the two of them off peacefully.

[thisonesatellite]

Catch up tag

i was tagged by the lovely and incomparable @booksandabeer, who makes my life better and also adds to my never-ending pile of reading and watchlists with a maximum of impunity and a minimum of compunction. 😂😍💖

Last song I listened to: Last Train to Nowhere - Ghost Hounds

If you like blues - check them out. Their sound is straight out of a 1940s oil drum and they're channeling every last dirty guitar riff and bass line through the last six decades from Free to The Black Crowes to Rival Sons. From earlier tag games some of you know that i listen to the gamut from grunge to industrial to hiphop to metal, but sometimes, darlings, it's just gotta be blues.

Last thing I read: The Second Sleep - Robert Harris

He does a lot of alternative-versions-of-history novels, often with a mystery /thriller element, but this was a bit of a letdown, unfortunately. It has an incredibly well-built world with some very thought-provoking elements of how civilization would fall and rebuild after a technological extinction event (not a calamity -- just the absolute dependence of society on not just technology, but the cloud, and the complete ruination its failure and loss brings) --- which is revealed very gradually and organically (initially you think you're reading a normal high-middle-ages story and then, suddenly -- ancient plastic artifacts. It's well done). But the story builds and builds and builds -- and you keep watching the pages dwindle and worry about how he'll wrap this up, and then, basically, he doesn't. It's not an open end, not even unfinished -- but it is intensely dissatisfying and has an air of "my publisher wanted this by tomorrow". It was definitely worth reading once, but it won't become perennial.

Last movie I watched: Dune Part Two

Enough said. 😂 i'm going to go see Civil War this weekend.

Last TV show: The Continental (look, i love everything John Wick, i won't apologize. And this has a lot of really good world building and storytelling ideas so far.)

Which doesn't disguise the fact that i. Am. So. Fucking. Behind. On. EVERYTHING.

EVERYTHING. OMG. i have not enough time in the day for all the stories i want to imbibe and write and also i have to make room for my current Leverage re-binge, because sometimes i need to see a world where justice is A Thing.

Next up: Fallout, obvi. And Ripley. And The Gentlemen. And now that @booksandabeer mentioned it, Shogun has climbed up the watchlist to #4, and 3 Body Problem has entered it.

You guys still want fic from me, or can i stop writing to free up some time? 😂

Last thing I googled: i cannot stress this enough: i DO NOT GOOGLE. i DUCKDUCKGO.

Having said that, the last thing i searched for was: "longest sniper shots in military history". For a throwaway fic line. i'm going to end up on a letter agency watchlist one of these days and they're not going to like my explanation of 'realistic fictional character dialogue'. Are they.

Last thing I ate: Buttermilk. Which is either very cool, or very sad. 😂

Sweet, salty, or savory: Here's the thing: i do not like the taste of sweet. All sweet. Every iteration of sweet. My fave chocolate is 85 - 99% and my actual hell is a candy store. So, like, SAVORY all the way. And then salty, natch.

Sleep: What is sleep? Do not compute. Want it, though.

Currently reading: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovich

Mostly for phrases like: "Being a seasoned Londoner, Martin gave the body the "London once-over" - a quick glance to determine whether this was a drunk, a crazy or a human being in distress. The fact that it was entirely possible for someone to be all three simultaneously is why good-Samaritanism in London is considered an extreme sport - like BASE jumping or crocodile wrestling."

Really, it's all the fun you can eat.

Absolutely zero pressure tags: @stoneserafina @cable-knit-sweater @ace-in-reserve @ohhsodebonair, @voylitscope

[jizzlords]

@houseofasmodeus said: //I love Ozzie so much as well he started to become a comfort character in a way for me. Kind of sad that it feels like the show isn't going to do much with him outside of being 'Fizz's perfect boyfriend' being Oz has so much potential to be an interesting character in his own right. Plus you know, he's a Sin.

he's seriously a huge comfort character, absolutely didn't expect that from him, either, but. I'm hoping they keep it rolling with him doing more/being seen more and not just as ... a character to help push the plot and leave him after. but i'm (and i'm sure u are, too) fully prepared and equipped to fill in the gaps should v*v fail. i'm kind of prepared for the letdown but kafjsa holding out on hope.

[randomnameless]

I’m surprised at the amount of billy asks you get. Does it mean that they’re popular? All i know for sure is that they certainly seem to interest a lot of people. And i agree that they really do have the bones for a fascinating character, but the developers couldn’t be bothered to build something from those bones because 1) sim shenanigans, you can’t have your self insert react strongly if you’re meant to project 100% onto them, but billy does have traits that keep getting mentioned by more than one person plus the few actions they do choose and a backstory, which doesn’t seem like cardboard to me imho, but also 2) earl gray, and what invader added is the most damning detail of them all. Or rather, not a detail, but the anchor that sank billy. I know we’re meant to keep flamey and edelgard separate in our minds because edelgard is marketed as a poor sad waifu you must feel compelled to rescue, but it doesn’t erase her actions or flamey. When we have evidence saying that silver snow is meant to be the primary marketed canon route and so much of the conflicts across two games come down to the actions of one person plus a poorly thought out loptous stand in, all it tells me is that the main character was doomed to fail because the developers could not decide how to write a school mystery + romance of the three kingdoms sympathetic to cao cao so they tried to “fix” that or make it “gray” by turning it into a dating sim to artificially raise the emotional stakes. At least to me it says they didn’t have confidence in billy as a main character at all because so much of it hinges on centering edelgard and the players picking faves out of the rest of the cast, and to make it more insulting the compensation is being able to kill billy in the spin off? I myself don’t really have any big faves in the games because i only play them casually and read your blog, but what i do know is that it makes me hate edelgard for essentially being the gravitational center of the games like a narrative black hole and the developers being too cowardly to really cement her as a villain, and it doesn’t make me like warriors either because it doubles down on trying to explain her position instead of telling a story and because shez fans are extremely annoying and rude online, no surprise that many are also edelgard fans.

I'd say it's a cumulation of everything!

I think the fandom (myself included!) might have been a bit harsh on Billy because of their avatar status, even if I still think Rhea's S-support "aloneb4u" is shit and Seteth not giving any fucks about her and centering his support and convos on "we must find her so she will reveal da truth 2 u" is bonkers and both of those instances can't be only attributed to Hresvelg Grey but to "only the player is important", like the theory i came up with the self-insert scissors.

But yeah, I feel like at one point, Supreme Leader hijacked the "main character" or "character at the center of the plot we want to tell" spot, all gravitas went to "can u kill the student who loves u and bear with the sad uwus for the rest of your run ??" instead of, you know, the greater plot Nopes teased us with a Larva vs Sothis that never happened?

I compared FE16's story to many things earlier on, but the general thing is "why are we talking and following the least interesting parts of Fodlan", Supreme Leader's war of unification is meh, bias or no bias, I would have loved to see a War of Heroes game, or even a game set during the Sothis vs Agartha era (or the two why not) - but here we just have Ashnard lite with an uwu glazing, without even tackling a traditional or underlaying issue from the FE series about coexistence between people and acceptance and whatnot.

(the reason why AM is still, imo, a letdown because it ignores the dragon in the room)

What was Billy supposed to be? Supreme Leader's luf interest? A character that can conceptually fall (if they pick Tru Piss) thus can ascend in other routes? A self insert? The character you're supposed to navigate the world with?

I think Billy being a silent protag was a disservice to them - despite all of its faults, Nopes at least gives more light to Billy and it's refreshing, even if the game will never add 1+1 because Hresvelg Grey.

TBH I think Fodlan has its own share of fans being annoying regardless of the character they support - and while Barney is pretty chatty, ultimately Barney is the deviant art OC with two swords because why not, a sekrit past that is never explained and somehow stronger than everyone who is actually as empty as an oyster shell. We don't know what Barney wants, to be a merc? Yeah, but why? Is it because Barney is searching for somewhere to belong - just like Billy in a way - ?

As for the cardboard mention, it's most likely again in relation to Hresvelg Grey and Fe Fodlan's writing - the games don't spend enough time to build a sense of friendship and camaraderie between the cast to make the "betrayal" hurt or even the "y must we kill people we knew :'( " meaningful, so we only have the "wah sensei why didn't you pick me :(" or the general "i'm sad to fight against you" but like, mate, who are you? Why are you lamenting having to fight against Billy - someone who is opposing/invading your country and everything you stand for - like Billy and 12 months in Rhea's rocky mansion meant so much to you, much more than the 17 years of life (with acquaintances, friends, family, etc) you had?

But it's also in relation to Hresvelg Grey and the silent protag - why no one can give a reason - save for Supreme Leader "lizards BaD + MAGA" - to join this route, heck, not even Billy can say why they joined this route...

In French we have a saying that goes "comparaison n'est pas raison" more or less meaning you can't always compare things bcs context and all, but after TS's protag Serenor - who also has Gary Stu moments! - Billy not saying a thing about Supreme Leader's nonsense, frowning at Dimitri and being silent during Claude's monologues is... annoying.

But when Billy isn't in Fodlan games, they can talk and there's still the forbidden rule of not adding numbers - never ! - but they shine more.

[coldflasher]

Asks, you say? WELL THEN!

What's your favourite and least favourite ColdFlash scenes in the show?

reiterate previous apology for asking for asks and then not answering them till a day later haha

oohhhh this is a good one. i was really gonna be like "oh i can't choose but here are my top faves" and then was like please babes they have like 5 scenes together, just pick one. be brave. it'll be okay

SO. i'm gonna go for the whole ARGUS scene in infantino street. the whole thing in general but specifically the part where they're crouching outside king shark's cell bickering and handing the cold gun back and forth while len goads barry about whether or not he really has it in him to be a killer. infantino street really did give us that perfect glimpse into how WELL coldflash work together and it makes me a little sad that we never got a scene of them working together where one of them wasn't anxious and miserable—family of rogues!barry was all giddy and excited to be playing the supervillain while len was radiating stress worrying that lisa's head would explode at any second; infantino street!len was at his snarky best and clearly enjoying winding barry up, but barry was too worried about iris and the savitar situation to banter back the way we all know they can and do. and like yeah i know technically they'd never work together in the first place except in a dire situation so that would always have been the case, but a girl can dream

the ARGUS stuff is the most extended interaction we see between them and i think it really opens up new layers in their relationship and it's just a fascinating reversal of their usual dynamic with len being the angel on barry's shoulder rather than the other way around, when previously he'd have been the devil encouraging him to be bad... also i just have a thing for seeing barry with the cold gun for completely normal and non-horny reasons (i joke... unless....)

least favourite... that is so hard when we as a fandom have so few crumbs that it feels impossible (and somewhat sacrilegious) to not enjoy any coldflash scene lmao. i guess any scene where len is a hologram/flashback/speedforce avatar is always a disappointment cos i remember when eps aired and we'd find out wentworth was gonna be there and we'd all lose our minds and then it was like "SNARTBAIT OOH HA HA"

but even for those scenes, i found things to like. like one that comes to mind that isn't a fave is when barry comes across len as a speedforce avatar wandering around hospital corridors in wally's dead mom prison mindscape, but also that's the scene that brought us "you made him want to be a hero, just like you" so like... how could i hate her?

OR there's that scene from 2x01 where barry's fighting len and mick and len is like "I'LL KILL YOU, RAHHHH" which i don't love cos it doesn't feel very in-character (just the delivery idk it always gave off vibes) but then we get the funny but also kinda sad reveal that it's OOC because it's not real and barry is just having a pathetic little daydream about fighting len and mick whilst he's holed up alone in S.T.A.R Labs like :( so again. how could i hate her??

so if we're gonna choose i'll probably either go with the speedforce avatar thing OR, if it counts, when barry meets the legends and asks where len is and they're like "he's dead, but he died a hero though" and barry's like okay cool, i'm gonna smile wistfully and not gonna ask any follow-up questions. to be fair they did make up for that by having len's death haunt him for the rest the show's tenure but it was still a letdown imo