#given the ridiculously tragic circumstances

[paunchsalazar]

as someone who has been your fan for a while, i was positively CHUFFED to see your DA:O doodles!! now, who's your fav character?

what?? thank you for liking my stuff what the heck!! now and in the past! :’ o

as for my favorite… I don’t think it’s much of a surprise…

I think a lot of it is that you meet him first!! and he’s vital to the plot and sticks around the whole time. I was mostly picking my party for the sake of role play so I brought him along 90% of the time and talked to him a lot, and I think as the only other person having these nightmares and sensing these things, it would be nice to have someone to talk about it with.

I was very charmed by the other romance options but I think by the time they met my warden was too far gone… he is a light in the dark… and he wants you to keep the dog!

who is your favorite!!

[pochipop]

＃ALICE IN BORDERLAND !! ♡ — THERE'S NO HELL IN WHAT I'VE FOUND (CHISHIYA X READER).

#. synopsis! — chishiya has fallen in way too goddamn deep .

#. characters! — chishiya .

#. warnings! — brief mentions of canon-typical gore, slight angst .

#. word count! — 1.2k .

#. alt accounts! — @ddollipop (nsfw) @yyolkchi (reblog/spam) .

#. others! — navigation & masterlist .

#. a/n! — i have not finished season 2 yet, but i wrote this all in one sitting after seeing the first two episodes + falling for this silly man all over again lolol. i might branch out + write more for this fandom (but i will never write for niragi, so just a heads up on that!)

It really did just have to come to this, didn’t it?

Chishiya is a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one of them. He knows that when it comes to surviving in a place like this, there are times when you have to sacrifice others and be willing to carry that burden for the rest of your life. There is no easy way out. Either you die and go on to whatever happens next, —if anything happens at all— or you push others to the wayside in lieu of saving yourself, preserving your own survival, and you live to see the monster you inevitably become. 

And call him crazy, but Chishiya was okay with becoming a monster if it meant he could save himself. Hell, he’d done so much of the work from the shadows that it would hardly be fair to let him of all people meet his tragic end here.

But you just couldn’t help yourself. You had to crawl under his skin, —make him care about you, make him fall so hard that he was left to question whose survival mattered more. When it came down to the wire. . .

He’d have chosen you.

That’s the scariest realization of all, he muses. These games, all the gunfire, all the explosions, all the fatal electric shocks. . . They paled in comparison to the realization that his biggest fear wasn’t his own demise anymore. It was yours.

As the game comes to a close and those of you left standing slowly reacclimate to the best state of normalcy one can muster up given the circumstances, he hates that his first instinct is to slip away, knowing you’ll find him soon enough. He may have been foolish enough to catch feelings, but he wasn’t so dumb that he’d show such a weakness around anyone else. Though he’s sure the likes of Kuina or Arisu have long since caught on, —he won’t be the one to confirm a damn thing, and he expects that you’ll keep your mouth shut about it as well. It’ll be a worse liability than it already is if word gets out to the wrong people.

Chishiya slips away before anyone has the chance to acknowledge his presence, leaving his absence unaccounted for by everyone but you. Of course, you noticed him sneaking away, parting from the group like a snake in the grass. . . You’ve always been a little too perceptive for your own good.

Fatigue claws at you like a famished predator, weighing your body down a great deal. You smell of sweat and the blood of the young girl next to you who hadn’t been quite so lucky. Still, you will your body forward and follow in Chishiya’s footsteps after lingering for just long enough to throw suspicion off your trail. While you certainly aren’t a master of manipulation, —you are clever in a way that even someone like Chishiya has to respect. You know how to take care of yourself, even in a twisted world like this.

He wishes knowing that gave him any kind of peace, but he’s afraid he’s reached the point of no return. It’s not that he doesn’t believe you can survive just about any of these games on your own. . . It’s that even if he does, the worry lingers just because it’s you. 

Fuck. 

He really can’t believe he’s done this to himself. It’s so untimely, so completely and utterly ridiculous, —so much so that he convinces himself his mind is just playing tricks on him sometimes until you fall into place at his side again and all such thoughts are forced out the window from his vice-like grip. 

“Ugh,” you grumble, arm tucked below your chest as you cradle your own torso, “there you are.”

Chishiya offers you little more than a sidelong glance before returning his stoic gaze to the skyline. The sun sets as you bring yourself closer to him, keeping a comfortable distance. It ends up just like this far too often, and Chishiya frowns at the thought of closing the barely-there gap, brushing his shoulder against yours. Maybe later in the night when the lethargy really starts to hit him and his inhibitions lower ever so slightly, he’ll let himself fall apart just enough to hold you for whatever time of fleeting hours remains. That way, he can blame it on the fatigue, on the cold, on the temptation of sleeping next to a warm body.

It’s not because it’s you, it’s just because you’re there.

And maybe if that were the case, Chishiya wouldn’t be quite this frustrated.

“Surprised it took you so long to find me,” he says finally, keeping his eyes straight ahead. “You’ve been getting slower about it.” 

“Oh, well excuse me for not rushing after you like a lion on a gazelle,” you answer sarcastically. “Not like my lungs almost gave out down there or anything.” 

He doesn’t say it, —but he’d trade his breath for yours if it meant you could reach him faster. 

“That one wasn’t so bad,” he shrugs. “We’ve both been through worse.”

His worst is just beginning, it seems. You close the gap yourself, resting part of your weight against him, and he feels his heart flip itself into a tailspin. For the first time in so long, Chishiya isn’t sure where to go from here. He’s trapped inside these feelings and they’re inching closer to swallowing him whole by the second. They run so deep he might as well be drowning in them.

“Easy for us to say, I guess,” you mumble. “We’re alive. Most people who end up here aren’t that lucky.”

“True enough,” he acknowledges softly, making no move to push you away.

He never does. 

You stand in silence with him for a while, watching as the sky turns dark and the bright colors of the setting sun are swallowed up by a deep, velvety navy. There’re no stars to be seen, nothing for you to wish on. . . It’s a little childish, but any sliver of normalcy you can manage here, you’ll take with open arms. That’s why you let your feelings for Chishiya blossom freely, refusing to stifle your heart’s desires for the sake of some stupid game of life and death.

If I die right now, I’d rather do it with you than be alone. 

Chishiya wishes you’d never said those words to him, —not because he doesn’t reciprocate, but because they resonated much too wholly for comfort. If he can help it, he won’t be going out in a place like this. But more than that, he can’t imagine letting your flame be snuffed out without a ravenous fight.

Silence reigns once again. It’s a characteristic feature of your gentler moments with Chishiya that are few and far between, but when they happen, you like to think you cherish them the best way you know how. Beyond that, you also like to think Chishiya finds even the slightest sliver of peace with you. 

He doesn’t confirm or deny anything of the sort, but you wager that’s a flimsy yes at the very least when the tension in his shoulders melds away and his head rests gently against your own.

You can’t make any promises about tomorrow, —but for now, things are okay. And if that’s the best you’ll get here, then so be it.

[shawshankshadow]

she’ll probably never be allowed to be anything other than a poster child of tragically perfect victimhood, but given the circumstances of her childhood, as well as the fact that she’s a robotnik, i really wish we’d get a maria that’s ridiculously smart and also SO so weird. just completely removed from society’s expectations for how little girls should behave. she’s a very isolated kid living in space with access to a ton of research equipment and science labs, she’s smart and she’s dying and her best friend is a little 3-foot thing that slopped out of a test tube and started running around. she should be so fucking WEIRD

[olderthannetfic]

To all the people in the notes of the abortion ask pulling out the obvious... yeah, it's really obvious given what kinks both mpreg and omegaverse are drawing on that most of those stories won't end in abortion. Anon isn't complaining about that. They're complaining about WHY characters don't get or sometimes even consider abortion in those stories. You can have your character consider and then choose not to get an abortion without suggesting that abortion is a terrible, horrible, no-good tragic choice that only ever appeals to either people in desperate circumstances or who are evil harlots. It's the negative framing around abortion that is the issue, not the fact that it doesn't happen - which both doesn't fit the kink and also just tends to be a less satisfying ending to a lot of those stories? Since it cuts off the drama around unintended pregnancy early on, and usually before a lot of the real problems with it kick in.

I'm not as into it as anon but I've read my fair share of mpreg. I usually expect going in that unless it's explicitly outlined in tags, the character is not going to get an abortion. But I know what anon means, there are certain stories that just give me the heebie-jeebies where it feels like the writer WANTS you to believe that it's just the worst possibility so isn't it wonderful that our character didn't go that route. Or of course my heroic good guy wouldn't even THINK about doing something like that!

(Another tell anon didn't mention that someone is influenced by anti-abortion propaganda is when they have a lot of ridiculously inaccurate medical info similar to the myths the anti-choice movement puts forward, like if you have a normal human where the fetus already looks distinctly humanoid at like 5 weeks, or the person is able to tell they're pregnant super duper early, or something like that. Like when the worldbuilding doesn't suggest there's any reason it might be different from normal human pregnancy. I've seen this show up not even in standard mpreg where cis dude gets miraculously pregnant somehow, but stuff where it's a trans male character - there's no reason his body should be able to detect pregnancy any earlier than any other AFAB body!)

It might be worth it for people to read some of the media criticism of how mainstream U.S. media used to come up with all sorts of contrivances to never have a sympathetic female character get an abortion ever, and how that contributed to abortion stigma. You can see with a lot of the famous examples of this (the Juno "fingernails" bullshit is the one I always remember) what it looks like when you have otherwise progressive media unintentionally reinforcing anti-abortion narratives.

I have a friend who is really into mpreg who has "negative or shaming framings of abortion" as a DNW for exchanges because of how common that sort of thing is. (She's trying to figure out the best wording, but so far it's worked at deterring that stuff.)

--

[goopyedgay]

so I asked a long time ago if you wanted me to talk a little about my ocs story so here we go, part 1?

JEROME "FUZZ" CROSS

Age: 24

status: alive (unfortunately)

Height: 1.84

Birthday: October 31th

Occupation: Witch hunter

Species: Human?

Jerome is a witch hunter from the prestigious "Cross" family, although he does not live up to his last name, as he is better known for his poor performance in his job and in short he is the clown among hunters (and the witches lol)

Being the youngest son of three children of Elliot and Helena Cross, he has very few poor pleasant memories about his family, with the exception of his father for whom he has great admiration and respect, although he has not seen him since he was little due to strange circumstances, and being raised since then exclusively by an old friend of his father, Frank Rowyer.

Fuzz aims to be the best witch hunter of all time, to not only earn the admiration of the hunters who constantly make fun of him, but also his family (especially his mother), and humiliate his older brother. So he decides to go after a powerful witch named Maria, the leader of a coven of witches known as the Coven of the Three Moons. Although he hasn't had much success in capturing her, he won't give up until he captures her and all the witches once and for all.

FRANK ROWYER

Age: 56

Height: 1.90

Status: Alive

Birthday: January 28th

Occupation: Hunter

Species: Human

Frank Rowyer is a hunter not only of witches, but also of supernatural creatures that lurk in the darkness and especially in the forests. He actually never thought he would end up like this, before being a hunter he was an ordinary guy being a single father of a little girl, but he was forced to join the hunters after discovering something he shouldn't have seen.

Seeing his life in danger, and of her daughter as well, he decided that the best thing for her was to leave her in a better place away from him, leaving her in an orphanage, feeling a lot of remorse until now. It wasn't long before he was given the task (and a favor) by his friend Elliot Cross, to take care of his son Jerome Cross, found a way to deal with the loss of his daughter, now in the care of a young child. that despite not showing it, he sees him as a son, and will do everything in his power to protect him, not only from danger, but also from himself and his stupidity.

JULIET "JU"

Age: 18

Status: Alive

Height: 1.56

Birthday: March 17th

Occupation: -

Species: Hybrid

Juliet is a hybrid, a human-animal creature, the product of an ancient curse, in her case being a coyote. Hybrids are one of the few creatures with which humans have managed to "coexist", although that does not eliminate the constant discrimination and fear that people have. Ju's parents died when she was very young, forced to wander the streets, receiving different treatment from humans, some good and others bad. Until Fuzz and Frank found her, and Fuzz's multiple pleas made Frank relent in order for Ju to join the team, Ju's heightened senses come in handy in detecting various anomalies.

CARRIE

Age: 26

Status: Alive

Height: 1.70

Birthday: May 19th

Occupation: -

Species: Witch - Hybrid

Carrie is a witch and rattlesnake hybrid, and the newest member of Fuzz's team. She never knew her parents and she was found by witches in the forest, being adopted fand becoming part of her coven, curiously, the coven of the three moons, the same place where she met Maria.

She had a "decent" childhood as far as possible, despite the constant ridicule and rejection of the other apprentices for her condition as her hybrid, in addition to the danger posed by the poison from her fangs. After a series of rather tragic and disastrous events, she was exiled from the coven at the young age of 15, and was forced to live as a snake for the rest of her life, or at least until she met Fuzz and his friends.

Carrie was seriously injured after an attack by some witches, on the verge of death, Fuzz gave her two options, end her life or join him, Carrie obviously chose to join him. Being the small light of hope for Fuzz in his plan to capture María and her coven, since when he find out of Carrie's old connection with them he decides to use that to his advantage. Carrie doesn't care, she has a big grudge against witches, and especially Maria.

Also, Ju and Carrie do not have an exact occupation, since legally they don't officially work as hunters for obvious reasons-

Well that was all, it was just a small sample of the story I'm doing with my characters, if you want to know more about it please let me know, thank u for reading this ^^

[crazylittlejester]

I started typing and it got out of control...

I don't know if you've watched Ever After High or not, but I've been re-watching the entire show on account of not having much to do and I've come to the conclusion that an LU crossover with EAH would be absolutely awesome. The general idea is that characters from fairytales grow up and have kids that re-enact their parents' stories and this happens over and over again to the point that their entire society is built around this. Since they have a magic book that kind of seals your fate if you sign it, this is where the conflict of the show comes from.

Obviously there are a few different ways a person could go about setting this up but I'm just going to pick out fairy tale parents and backstories for them because I think that's the most fun.

Warriors: I'm thinking that he'd be best as Helen of Troy. Greek mythology is canon in EAH because of Cupid, so it works. The same themes of lust and infatuation are present. Also war.

Wild: He fits Sleeping Beauty's story the most, but that's already taken so the next best thing is Rip Van Winkle. It's only 20 years compared to 100, but I think it's the closest I'm getting for now, and the point is that he wakes up as an old man.

Sky: I think he should be the guy from the jabberwocky poem that uses the vorpal sword to defeat it. The jabberwocky is supposed to be the most powerful monster in EAH last I checked, so it would be the closest equivalent to Demise other than the Evil Queen.

Legend: Given that wizards are supposed to live a long time, Merlin would be a good fit for Legend because he'd have a few centuries to finish growing up into a mature wizard. He could still be a veteran of adventures this way without sacrificing his magical abilities.

Twilight: Unfortunately there aren't really any stories about wolves that aren't villains so he's tragically stuck being a non-descript farmer. I'm so sorry. Under other circumstances he'd get to be one the guy from "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" except that guy is a bear and not a wolf.

Wind: I'm torn between picking an infamous pirate or a story from mythology. Either one would probably work, to be honest, but it would probably work better if Tetra was a pirate's daughter and he's related to a deity in charge of ocean storms.

Hyrule: Ended up picking Jack the Giant Killer for him because that story's about surviving because you're clever, and Hyrule's games are supposed to be ridiculously hard. Also there's a magic sword involved.

Four: With the Minish he could totally fit into the story about the little elves that help the tailor/cobbler. But there's a story called "The Four Skillful Brothers" and I can't say no because it literally ends with them rescuing the princess via teamwork and splitting the reward.

Time: I feel like he'd fit in best as some kind of forest spirit or changeling, but as the Hero's Shade he could also be Godfather Death. I've been thinking about it and I really can't come up with a good placement for him.

Spirit Tracks Link gets an honorary mention because he is canon in my heart. Since New Hyrule is in the middle of the industrial revolution he's probably more of an urban legend. Either the ghost of a train conductor's kid or a guy cursed to see ghosts like his Zelda.

I know nothing about ever after high but im obsessed with what you’ve just said to me oh my god

first of all anytime someone draws the connection between Wars and Helen of Troy I loose my mind a bit, one day when I have the proper brain capacity and time I’m going to write a whole ass analysis paper on the comparison between the two of them because its so important to me

ALSO JABBERWOCKY MENTION??? I’M OBSESSED. AND JACK THE GIANT KILLER FOR HYRULE?? dude I can see you spent sooo much time thinking about this and oh my god I am so obsessed this is really cool, you ate

[princeasimdiya12]

Anyone else find it so messed up that this was Tsubomi’s first thought?

Of all the things that could have gone wrong if she made a single mistake (losing the interest of every boy, losing her school idol position etc.), her first thought was every girl at school tearing her down. Her own friends turning their backs on her to torment her on the spot. Every girl in her school joining in to ridicule her for a human mistake and tarnish her perfect girl status. And the fact that it’s her two “friends” who instigate the hazing. Does she consider her friendships with the girls so fickle that she always believes that they’ll betray her the moment she shows a sign of weakness? Does she truly believe she’s alone in her everyday life? It definitely gives the sense of how people in positions of power or status feel that everyone around them will hurt them if they're not careful.

One could also chalk this up to how middle school life is like since everyone is trying to stay afloat on the social ladder and how they believe the world is out to destroy them. And it could definitely apply to Tsubomi given her circumstances. It’s such a tragic first thought but it definitely gives more depth to her character and her desperate need to stay popular for her own sake. 

I’m really glad they made this scene. What do you guys think?

[002yb]

absolutely obsessed with your infertile!dickjay hcs!! but also curious about your take on a kind of opposite au: any thoughts on dickjay accidental pregnancy 👀👀

Thank you so much, anon!! You're so sweet. I've written up two accidental pregnancy scenarios below just for you~ I hope you enjoy!! (´∀｀)♡

Mistaken Infertility leading to Accidental Pregnancy 👀

Honest to goodness, they both wholeheartedly believe that children aren't in their futures. So when Jason gets pregnant he's very much alarmed because how the fuck.

Dick, too, is lost because how. Also, who?

And Jason doesn't take offense to that, given their circumstances, but he swears it's only Dick. It's only ever been -

Jason being spooked and concerned that Dick won't react to the news well. And Dick is reeling, for sure. But only because they're pregnant? Yes. They're going to have a pup? If Dick wants to.

And Dick - even if he thought he could, he would have never actively tried, but now that it's here and happening? The fact that this is a miracle aside, Dick could never not want to do this.

His smile is brilliant, devastating. They're having a pup. A litter? A pup! ANd that reaction. That pure joy gives Jason so much peace of mind and assurance; it soothes so many of the fears and stress Jason would have been battling with.

Dick taking Jason's face in his hands, squishing Jason's cheeks as he kisses him. It's little more than a peck before Dick is on his knees marveling Jason's stomach and Jason can't help the sputtered laugh as his abdomen receives a similar kiss. He's peppered with them until Jason falls to his knees too and they hug each other and it's sweet.

Proud papa!Dick telling everyone about their pup, about how Jason is going to be a mom and Dick gets to be a dad. It both embarrasses Jason and makes him all warm

Intense family of bats going feral over the news because it's Dick and Jason's pup and it's the first pup their pack will get and Bruce in particular is intense because he's gonna be a grandpa, a grandpalpha? He's happy. Hugs for his boys. Especially because he knows they were convinced they would never have the option, the choice.

Jason being genuinely happy to be having a pup with Dick, but pregnancy is a long standing fear of his so Jason is stressed; Dick is there with him though. He's terrified of being a dad - as terrified as he is thrilled. They're in this together though; they've got one another. And their pack who won't leave them alone. Just them working through insecurities together and it's lovely.

So many belly kisses. Jason gets annoyed with it because hello, he's still here too. Dick laughing but smothering Jason with affections until Jason shoves him away because ugh alphas

Refraining from the angst route but please do know that my default for Jason in these sorts of routes never fails to go tragic I'm just - o(-( the pain it hurts good

Extra Unplanned Pregnancy without the Infertility Storyline 👀

Where Dick has a no strings attached one night stand with Jason

It's literally a one-time casual encounter, one time; a quick one and done fling where they both let off steam and resolve a ridiculous amount of UST between them it's good

Contrary to popular belief, Dick isn't actually the sort to do that kind of thing. Despite any efforts, he's a traditional alpha; something he's been playfully teased about by friends

So for him to do this? He's a little proud of himself ngl.

But lbr Dick fails at casual right away because he's already thinking about doing it again. Consistently. A committed friends with benes situation where they don't see other people

Anyway, Dick is happy with how everything played out. Feels better than ever.

Relationships never end well for him, but this thing he fell into with Jason? They both left happy and no one got hurt in the end.

Little does he know 👀

And then from Jason's side:

Jason turning up on Dick's doorstep, agitated as all get out

Dick, hopeful and eager for a reprise because Jason doesn't just visit him out of the blue like this

And seriously right on the doorstep Jason just bluntly blurts out that he's pregnant. It's Dick's.

And Dick is just (ʘ‿ʘ) ???? because of course this couldn't be casual of course something like this would happen what in the goddamn omg okay this is fine but no it's not because Jason is clearly freaking out but so is Dick what do what ahhhhhhhh (internal)

Continuation to the above because Dick absolutely going through the full range of emotions from denial to acceptance; panic to excitement - all the feelings but ultimately tempering himself because Jason is very clearly going through his own thing and Dick needs to be there for him first and foremost as the baby daddy

Then it follows the usual storyline of the two of them deciding on what to do which is a rollercoaster of ups and downs and do we keep or not but what if this that and the other and they fall in love along the way and it's just a good time.

[kindlythevoid]

M:I Dead Reckoning Spoilers

This is your last warning.

OKAY so on the one hand, I cannot believe they killed off Ilsa!! Did they do a good job of foreshadowing it? Yes, I saw it coming a mile away even before they got to the bridge. However, (in my opinion) it was a disappointing move.

I was so down for Hayley Atwell to be in this movie. In fact, I still really love her character + character development over the course of the movie!! I think she was well fleshed out for her first movie!! But just because they introduced a new character (and dare I even say… love interest???) does not mean they can kill off the only other female on the team. They one-hundred-percent fridged her for the sake of Ethan’s dilemma later on in the movie, and that was after they already set up the first fridge in the beginning of the movie to show how angry/scared he was of this guy.

Furthermore, they killed her off to perpetuate Ethan’s tragic love life. We know that before Ethan joined the IMF, his SO was killed by Gabriel. In the first movie, the woman he was seeing on his team is killed with the rest of them in the beginning of the movie. We never hear from the thief (Ms. Hall?) after the second. Julia we know fakes her death and becomes a ghost after the third movie. And then, in Fallout, it seems like Ethan’s finally given permission (by Julia or himself or the circumstances, take your pick) to move on and be with Ilsa. Only for it to all fall apart in the very next movie!!

There was no reason to kill off Ilsa. It was bad writing, especially after hinting at Grace being his next love interest and killing off Ilsa because of her. There was no reason for Grace not to get along with everyone as friends in the IMF or as a contact or what have you and still have Ilsa as Ethan’s SO as well as a rogue agent/in the IMF/ghost contact.

That being said.

Now that I have finished blaming the writers, I must congratulate them in the way they handled Ilsa’s death. I mentioned earlier that I was able to see Ilsa’s death foreshadowed in the cinematography and the overall feel and narrative of the movie. Faking her death in the beginning of the movie to prime the audience for her real death later, having her face blown up on the tv screen behind the director when he tells Ethan that continuing this path will cost him, and the overly blatant call out of the entity that she was closer to the bridge than Ethan.

Concerning the bridge itself, I feel like it was somewhat ridiculous to have Ilsa carry a sword over a gun, but those feelings aside the sword v knife fight was freaking awesome. They did do her (as well as Grace before) justice in the fight against Gabriel in the fact that visually they were really cool looking fights and they weren’t taken out in two swings.

And on the matter of Grace’s presence at the bridge, I have to say it was very in character for Ilsa to pursue Gabriel in an effort to save Grace. From our first meeting with Ilsa, she was always willing to put an ally’s life before her own (just as Ethan is so prone to doing) and so character-wise, it makes sense for Ilsa to go in without backup, without waiting.

Am I still mad that she died? Absolutely! I could also talk about their usage and subsequent disposal of Paris (a really awesome and fun character; tbh I am not totally sure that’s her name), but right now I wanted to focus on Ilsa’s death as Paris’s role in the movie requires her own pros and cons list. However, I can say that I (personally) think that it was handled much better than some other movies deal with their characters deaths. Overall, it was a fantastic movie and I will be watching part two next year to see how they round off this arc.

[what-do-1000-swords-look-like]

So, I finally caught up on the past two cons for the most part.

As a writer, Dean's death will never not be tragic to me, in the worst way.

We can talk about bad messaging. We can talk about the ridiculous way it happened (rusty nail, anyone?). We can talk about COVID and how that impacted everything they decided to do behind the scenes.

But ultimately, it was not the right way for Dean to go out. I respect Jensen's opinion, feelings, and eventual acceptance on the matter (obviously) but there's some things that are missing here that aren't being talked about. By him, anyone else involved with the show, or even the fandom.

Dean didn't die a hero's death or a warrior's death as Jensen called it. A hero's death is when there is some form of self-sacrifice involved. There was none of that happening in that scene. Had Dean pushed one of the kids out of the way and then was impaled, or pushed Sam out of the way even, then it could be considered a hero's death. Even if there was no one to push out of the way, had Dean gone up against the Big Bad, dying in the process, again -- sacrifice. But that didn't happen either. No, instead, he is sacrificed in the story line (to set up Sam's endgame), sent to drive around Heaven for 40 years, and his agency is taken away from him. Had he truly been a side character all along, then obviously this wouldn't even be an issue. But he wasn't; he's been a main character since at least season 4 of the show or even earlier. The show may have started out with Sam as the sole protagonist but it had evolved by the time season 4 rolled around and Dean had been made one as well.

Dean only regains agency in that one scene in The Winchesters (1x13) when his primary motivation (Sam) is given back to him through the exposition he does in the scene with The Winchesters' characters, Bobby, and Jack.

Your hero (like I said, this includes Sam as well) is not supposed to lose their agency. That's the whole point. They're always given a choice even when their circumstances might not be of their own choosing. Think Jon Snow. Think Aragorn and Frodo. Think Iron Man. Even Buffy Summers or the Halliwell sisters. Maverick in the second Top Gun movie, sacrificing himself to save Rooster and then (not to spoil for those who may have not seen the movie yet) we see what happens. But the point is, he made that choice. Rooster made his choice. The two main characters of the film. The hero is always given the choice.

If this had happened when facing off with Chuck, even then it still might have been better. Chuck was the final Big Bad; you don't get higher than God in this fictional world, right? Again, that would have been a warrior's death.

And that doesn't even begin to address that this was not where Dean and Sam's stories were leading in the narrative. I know we've all talked about the "two finales" that 15x19 and 15x20 were respectively, but I do wish they had left it open-ended like they did in 15x19. That not only would have made more sense for their arcs over the past ten plus years but it also would have allowed (again, narratively) for a proper reboot/continuation/revival down the road. I am interested to see how the idea Jared talked about would come about and I'm sure they'll make it work, but seriously (and I mean no disrespect to Jensen, Jared, or the crew who worked hard on the episode) that whole ending was a disaster that just didn't need to happen. Both boys died to keep the parallel going but them being alive and on the open road would have kept that parallel between them going as well.

Dean already had a beautiful death monologue in 9x23 to Sam. While Jensen and Jared gave their all in that scene and I fully acknowledge that and appreciate it, I do wish we hadn't gotten that dialogue in the barn scene. It has nothing to do with ship wars or fandom drama -- it has to do with the character development for both boys being nuked solely by the dialogue in the five minutes it took for Dean to die. It literally undid every single thing that happened since 1x01 for each brother and everything they had been through. While I'm all for the beautiful brotherly moments (and Jensen and Jared acted the crap out of that scene), this just felt so completely wrong. I don't care about the forehead touch or the hand holding or anything else. All of it was fine except for that dialogue that mentions John, Stanford, etc. Just completely nuking 15 years, all to bring it back to the pilot. But instead of it being a beautiful tribute to their beginning while also showcasing their development and their journey, they brought it right back to that moment instead, in a way that just makes you scratch your head and go "what?" It reminds me a lot of Daenerys' death scene monologue actually - completely nuked character development and conflicting messages to the audience.

Like I said, I completely respect Jensen's (and Jared's) opinion on the 15x20 death and if Jensen eventually got to a place where he's at peace with it and that's how he views the scene (a warrior's death), then I'm happy for him. But writing wise, the way the show chose to go about it didn't make sense. And that includes Sam's ending as well. Sam may have honored his brother's wishes to live his life peacefully, that's great and true of their brotherly bond and to Dean's character, but showing Sam in the party city wig breaking down crying in the Impala years down the road was not it.

Sure, he missed his brother and there's nothing wrong with showing that, but again conflicting messages in the writing. He left Dean and hunting behind in the bunker and moved on with his life (the whole significance of him sitting in Dean's room and shutting down the bunker btw), marrying and having a family. He even had Dean 2.0 as his son, a part of Dean living on and Sam honoring his memory. So why the breakdown scene?

15x20 will always be a sticky point with me when it comes to the series as a whole. Like Jensen said once upon a time, those who like it and those who have issues with it are both valid. But me, I tend to lean towards the latter camp though I don't completely hate it. It's still part of our boys' story. I just wish they had decided to go about it a different way or at the very least, make some tweaks to make it make more sense in the end while staying true to the characters and everything they had endured for 15 years.

[amplifyme]

S3 underway!

Though Lovers Be Lost: You weren't lying when you warned me about the over-the-top summary. XD This episode got me, btw-- showing how V and C's dynamic could change and thrive, Vincent struggling, and Cathy wanting to celebrate their new gift only for Gabriel to claim it (literally believing in gifts now) as his own. Cathy's death was no her fault; and I'm glad, because it's more tragic and honoring to the best in her character rather diminishing it with another thoughtless action. Father and the community just waiting outside the tunnel for V and C got me laughing... little did anyone know. Vincent not remembering at first, his face very Buster when he was brought back home, slowly regaining names and his normal memories (the constellations with Father and Father realizing he's healed enough to joke with), and struggling over the loss of their bond... which, all told, was the worst thing to happen to the both of them. His tenuous bond with his son is intriguing. Cathy's betrayal (Moreno is brilliant), torture, imprisonment, labor, and death was cruel, cruel, cruel; but I am so glad the writers gave her dignity and strength. Gabriel: really enthralled with his character. Eyyyy, Elliot and eyy Bruch's right-hand man. Eyyyy Joe (though Joe forgets Cathy's special someone in the next ep., or assumes it's Elliot Burch.) Moreno: stellar.

Walk Slowly: Top-tier. The new theme song-- I LOVE IT. Vincent's walk as he carries Cathy's body back to her apartment; and his vigil until dawn forces him to go. His and Below's mourning was exemplary. Joe's tears and shaky and referral to Diana and meeting Diana was fantastic. DIANA. DIANA, DIANA, DIANA. I love her. I never would have imagined her so serious-- for some reason, I read her voice as fast talking, higher pitched-- a far cry from measured and deliberate. Her case... and jumping into a new one. I adore that Diana "met" Catherine first, and really connected with her through her little doll. (I also noticed that she seems to get flashes or insights by touching objects... hmmmmm.) Mark took me by surprise, wonder how long he's going to be around. Her interrogation of both Joe and Elliot was spectacular. Vincent finally seeking out Father, and Father knowing Vincent's grief and guiding him through it... wow. Vincent's fight with the Other, Catherine's necklace, remembering her words, shocking Father to death with the revelation. Joe and Jen and the FUNERAL-- all the people Above and Below. Diana observing everyone, marking their pictures with question marks (and Father with the most.) The children hugging Vincent while the others are at the funeral.... Diana's contemplation and Vincent visiting the grave after dark. Wonderful, wonderful episode.

I'll stop there; but I am seriously addicted and want to watch more and more. I love everything about S3 and it's making me way, way too happy for so unhappy a time in the characters' lives. :DDDDD

Here we gooooo...

Though Lovers Be Lost. I'm going to address a few things you've written and then pose a few questions.

Cathy's death was no her fault; and I'm glad, because it's more tragic and honoring to the best in her character rather diminishing it with another thoughtless action.

Yes! I've always thought, given the corner the creative staff had been shoved into by circumstances beyond their control, and knowing there was no way they were going to please all the fans, they did a tremendous job of making sure Cathy's death had meaning and some dignity and that the events that followed it honored her and her impact on V's life and the lives of all those she loved.

Father and the community just waiting outside the tunnel for V and C got me laughing... little did anyone know.

C'mon, how ridiculous was that? I snicker every time Mouse says, "So quiet." Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the two most quiet lovers in the history of ever. And exactly how long did they wait before Father decided to go in after them? And how did Cathy manage to undress an unconscious 200+ pound man, ravish him, and then redress him? I still have so many questions about this opening scene. It could have been so much better. But then I remember that Linda Hamilton was ripely pregnant when this was shot and had only agreed to 10 hours of filming for these first two episodes and likely wasn't up to a love scene - supposing they'd even considered shooting one. Not going to say any more about the whole lava and roses thing either. Like GRRM said, at that point the writers were scrambling and doing the best they could with what they had. Let's move on to better things, shall we?

struggling over the loss of their bond... which, all told, was the worst thing to happen to the both of them.

Here's the first of the questions I'd like to ask you. Any theories as to why the bond was lost? Because that's a debate for the ages and I'm always up for digging into that.

Yes, it was a bad thing to have happen. But I also think it was inevitable.

I also think Cathy was very ambivalent about having the baby once the initial shock of her pregnancy wore off. She looked distressed when she went to visit the nursery after she got the news. And then there was her daydream about telling Vincent, and his less-than-thrilled reaction. I know from a storytelling standpoint that she couldn't tell him she was pregnant when she went Below to do just that, and I love the way she was so gentle with him and her speech about gifts lost and found, but I've always wondered what would have happened if she'd told him then.

Are you picking up on the signs that Vincent possibly walked out of that cave more comfortably integrated with parts of Buster's personality than we'd seen before? We know he's stressed out and frantic, searching for Cathy, but he also seems less... patient overall. Less willing to swallow down the kind of emotions he would have before the cave and the madness, maybe? Thoughts?

His tenuous bond with his son is intriguing.

Yes, it is. Especially when you consider that he thought his bond with Cathy was being restored and it wasn't that at all. I love how he actually empathically experienced the birth of his son but didn't know that's what it was. He was convinced Cathy was on that helicopter with Gabriel and didn't have any idea she was wasn't until she called out to him. And he didn't have to "feel her go" again, as he did in The Watcher, and I'm so grateful for that, because once is enough. I also like that it took a while before her revelation to him about what happened in the cave and their son sunk in (after finding her crystal there, mid-fight with Buster).

Gabriel: really enthralled with his character.

I'll admit it: I love Gabriel. He's the perfect nemesis for Vincent at this point in his journey. He's batshit crazy, but in a whole different way than Paracelsus. And he has some of the best lines. Stephen McHattie nailed this role.

I noticed, too, that Joe seemed to have forgotten the convo he had with Cathy at the beginning of TLBL. I decided to chalk it up to it being late at night and he was tired and it was more than six months later that Diana questioned him.

Speaking of, I'm going to take the rest of the discussion of Walk Slowly over to its own post. See ya there in a bit!

[godstrain]

lmao my first meta has to be about wesker's absolutely GODAWFUL upbringing and how that just is really ... yeah ok already it's stated to be massively formative, but i am a registered nurse and i work in the mental health field and there's so much more than just ... augh,

there's that saying that "evil isn't born, it's made" and for wesker, this is absolutely the case. this is a person who was taken from his family and raised in a very "fuhrer king bradley" sort of way- one of many candidates to serve the goals of another individual. and similarly to the fuhrer candidate vibe, wesker (and all the other kids who were taken from their homes) had basically no choice but to live this life, because it's all he knew.

albert wesker is the product of another person's values and desires. oswell spencer literally sucks ass and has some of the WORST takes about humanity ever, and he decided to pass those on to kids who were dragged into this and didn't deserve to deal with that.

fast forward, yeah, ok, wesker turns out to really be some prodigy, he's blazing through his education and somehow has a doctorate in virology by the age of 17. things just keep getting worse, and truly, all of this is because he was GIVEN SOMEONE ELSE'S VIEWS.

i think what's most tragic about the situation, aside from the fact that oswell spencer believed in eugenics, the worst science ever, is that there's no indication that wesker would've developed those views in literally any other environment.

fast forward some more, wesker kills oswell, and ok yeah he's got his whole "you're not worthy of godhood" but beyond that, it's the rude awakening that Nothing He Has Is His Own. and that's what really fucks wesker up more than the rest of the things that have already been fucking him up. this guy who thinks he has so much control of things has never actually known Free Will in his entire goddamn life.

he clearly doesn't handle this well, but in his own way, he tosses eugenics as a view, which is great because eugenics sucks ass, but he decides "actually i just want everyone to die". albert's not an idiot, he's well aware that people likely WON'T survive something like ouroboros. he vividly remembers that everyone else he had been raised with DIED- (except alex, but hm. she's a piece of work lmao). even his own condition has to be maintained with MORE FUCKING MEDS? he's basically on the world's weirdest long acting injectable (LAI) medication- but as any LAI, it isn't just a once and done. he knows that for anyone to survive, the circumstances would have to be so ridiculously in their favor, and they're not even in his favor? but he'll sure pretend they are, for as long as he needs, because he didn't cope

"global saturation" more like "everyone has taken my free will from me but if there is No One Else there is nothing that is out of my control". also the fact that whatever would be left would be a whole mess, and he wouldn't be able to actually survive that long in "global saturation" but dang maybe a few months of no one to make his life a mess but himself is better than what he's had before, which is sad,

tldr albert wesker is a manmade evil and it could've been different, it didn't have to be like that.

[valkyries-things]

ADELAIDE OF SAXE-MEININGER // QUEEN OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND

“She was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Queen of Hanover from 26 June 1830 to 20 June 1837 as the wife of King William IV. Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, is named after her. She was willing to accept her husband’s ten illegitimate children into their family, and upon their marriage, had a 27 year age difference. Despite these unromantic circumstances, they by all accounts were devoted to each other throughout their marriage. Adelaide improved William's behaviour; he drank less, swore less, and became more tactful. Ultimately William and Adelaide had no surviving children. Upon the ceremony where they were crowned monarchs, William acted as if he was "a character in a comic opera", making a mockery of what he thought to be a ridiculous charade. In contrast, Adelaide took the service very seriously and, among those attending, received praise for her "dignity, repose and characteristic grace". A large portion of her household income was given to several charitable causes. Adelaide was beloved by the British people for her piety, modesty, charity, and her tragic childbirth history.”

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

uuuu you mentioned comfort rom coms in that ask one of mine is definitely how to lose a guy in ten days and i’ve just imagined something like that with bruce

like reader doesn’t know wayne enterprises arranged for them to date/for bruce to ask them out or whatever so they’d get the press/public off his back and he doesn’t know that reader was given an assignment about him since their bosses thought it was the perfect opportunity for that but they fall for each other🤧🤧🤧🤧

"Mr. Wayne-"

"Bruce," he corrected, smiling, trying not to let on how nervous he felt. "Given the circumstances, I think given names are approriate... You must be Y/N?"

"The agency sent me," you confirm, holding out a packet of documents for him. Contracts; Outlining what he was paying for, along with a small dossier of your particular skills, talents, and enough background for him to piece together a suitable romance for the general public.

He takes them and offers you a chair, admiring your poise. He noted excellent posture and a certain quality to your voice, low and pleasant. Not quite hypnotic, but alluring nonetheless. "Would you care for something to drink?"

"No, thank you," you answer, crossing your feet and placing your handbag on the floor near the chair.

"You've come a long way," Bruce noted, opening the file. "From Australia?"

"I was doing some modeling," you explain, "Killing time. But, when you requested the best- Well. The Agency would hate to disappoint."

"And you're the best?"

"One of them," you answer, only willing to be so modest.

Bruce smiled a little, trying not to cringe when he heard the rattle of tea things in the hall, and a perfunctory knock heralded Alfred sweeping into the room, frowning. Alfred thought this entire thing was ridiculous. "Sir," he said, voice clipped, "your two o'clock has arrived."

"Stall them for me?"Bruce asked, giving him his most charming smile. A tactic that hasn't really worked for him since he was 6, but. It was worth a shot.

"Sir-"

"I won't be much longer," Bruce said, glancing toward you.

"Very well," Alfred said, not looking at you, sweeping back out of the room.

Bruce sighed and smiled apologetically, "He's not terribly thrilled about this plan," he explained, "But. It's the easiest way to-"

You hold up a hand, waving away his explanation, "The press is brutal and fickle, Bruce. A good love story, a tragic break up- and at the very least you can get them off your back for a while."

He nodded, a little relieved that Alfred's brusque appraisal of you hadn't rattled your confidence before picking up a pen, "I've already seen the contracts," he said, signing his name, "I just wanted to see if we would suit before I signed."

"And will we?" you ask amused.

"Yes," he said, standing to shake your hand, "I think we will."

[whoree321]

the bad batch + what romance/rom com movies they watch with you

each of the bad batch x gn!reader

ok first and foremost i really truly believe to the pits of my soul that every single one of these fuckos loves romances and you cannot under any circumstances change my mind

ALSO it’s a gender neutral reader except kinda in echo’s theres like a very brief quote regarding breasts but like i still think even that is pretty gender neutral tbh

so anyway

Hunter: Pretty Woman

this is not the first time that i have publicly declared that i think hunter has a deep rooted connection to the movie pretty woman and it will not be the last

first of all this movie is incredibly soothing to hunters overwhelming savior complex

second of all hunter is literally richard gere (debonaire but emotionally distant gentleman that learns to love) and julia roberts (hooker with a heart of gold) at the same time

he was a little skeptical the first time you put it on but he instantly fell in love with it

the humor, the sensuality, the class divide, the glamour, the unconventional cinderella story of it all. it just really butters his bread

after the first time, when you suggest watching a movie and you pick this one he’ll act very aloof about it (“whatever you want cyar’ika, it doesn’t matter to me”) but secretly he’s really really happy bc it’s one of his favorites (you def know this and def pick it more often)

he absolutely hates the scene when stucky the lawyer hits vivian. like it doesn’t matter how many times he watches it he will fully turn his head away from the screen and say “I don’t like this part” and when it’s over he nuzzles a little closer into you and very tenderly kisses your forehead

he loves the soundtrack too. like he fully exposes how much he likes the movie when you catch him singing or humming “pretty woman” or “it must have been love” absently to himself (you kept it to yourself for a while but eventually you just had to tease him about it. he just smiled a little sheepishly and admitted he liked the songs before promptly changing the subject)

hunter also lowkey definitely wants to recreate the ending where richard gere shows up to her apartment in the white limo with you bc he thinks it’s such a sweet gesture and he wants to treat you like royalty

Crosshair: 10 Things I Hate About You

if there’s one thing about crosshair it’s that he’s a sucker for the enemies to lovers genre

maybe its just him projecting (spoiler alert it most certainly is) but he really enjoys watching the drama conflama of a miserable bastard be tricked into love

and really that’s the true essence of 10 Things I Hate About You

he will grumble and bitch and moan about not wanting to watch a ‘chick flick’ when you put it on, but 15 minutes in and he’s hooked

he has strong negative opinions on literally every single character except for kat and patrick

(crosshair really really wants to think he’s patrick but when it comes down to it he is katarina stratford in every single possible way)

he doesn’t say a word throughout the entire movie but you can tell when he’s annoyed at like bianca or cameron or joey bc he will openly scoff at them

will absolutely hum along in your ear during the “can’t take my eyes off you” scene and make out with you during the paintball scene

(seriously he wants to be patrick verona so bad)

when it’s over and you ask him what he thought he’ll roll his eyes and say “i guess it could have been worse” but his little smirk let’s you know he enjoyed it a lot more than he’s willing to admit

Tech: 50 Shades of Grey

ok hear me out on this one

tech is a huge movie talker. like subtitles are a non-negotiable if you wanna be able to take in any of the movies dialogue bc tech is most likely gonna make commentary over it the whole time

this makes him absolutely indescribably so much fun to watch bad/corny movies with

he will go off about EVERYTHING. the plot, the dialogue, the acting, the costuming, the music, the production quality. nothing and no one is safe. whether you just enjoy letting him talk at you or you join in on the roast, cheesy movies are a hoot between you two

and honey. 50 shades is one of THE cheesiest movies ever

you and tech will literally spend the entire duration of the movie tearing it to shreds

and the thing is tech is a very sarcastic, funny guy when he wants to be (and when it comes to you he definitely wants to be) so by the end of it he will have you in absolute stitches from laughing at the ridiculousness of both the movie and him

with any of the other batchers watching a movie like this either turns into a shy, slightly awkward experience (wrecker, echo) or an incorrigibly horny experience (crosshair, hunter)

but in this context tech literally has no shame or squeamishness about sexual things (why should he it’s a natural biological process?) so to yall the sex stuff is just another thing to roast

literally christian grey could be fully tying dakota johnson down and flogging her and tech will be like “in the last 3 minutes they have panned up to her nipples 4 times. this is criminally shoddy cinematography”

even tho he’s busy giving a detailed play by play critique, he never fails to keep some sort of physical contact with you (wrapping an arm around you and running his hand up and down your skin, playing with your fingers or your hair) so you know he’s enjoying spending this time with you despite his nasty words about the movie

also 1000% after you watch it tech will do extensive research on the ins and outs of bdsm and will have lots of hypotheses he wants to test out (as long as you’re willing and able ofc) ;)))

Wrecker: 13 Going On 30

of all the bad batch members, wrecker is the only one who unabashedly loves any movie that could be considered a chick flick

like he doesn’t even try to hide it or act like he’s too masculine for it. he loves romance and he’s proud of it

this man will have full marathons with you. rom coms, regular roms, tragic roms, hallmark roms, you name it and he’s game

his absolute favorite tho is 13 Going On 30

i feel like he has a huge soft spot for childhood best friends to lovers stories like he finds that type of lifelong partnership so endearing (and he loves to live vicariously through jenna since that type of romance was obviously never an option for him)

wrecker is also very childlike at heart and i think the idea of a 13 year old sweetheart trapped inside the body of a 30 year old cut throat magazine exec is so amusing to him (and maybe makes him feel just a little bit represented in the media)

he is definitely the type to completely engulf you in a cuddle for the entirety of the movie and he DEFINITELY cries into your shoulder at matty’s wedding when jenna is crying on the stoop with her dream house

he wants to try razzles so bad. like so bad. i think if he ever came across them somewhere he would barter at least one of his brothers for them

wrecker really just loves love and watching movies about it just reminds him of how lucky he is to have his own love story with you <3

Echo: The Princess Bride

i feel like it’s glaringly obvious why echo loves this movie

pirates. sword fighting. decades long revenge plots. the value of an honorable, loyal man. true love that never wavers even in the face of devastating tragedy and the darkest of hardships. clever but goofy humor.

echo considers this an action/adventure movie and NOT a romance movie (even tho it 100% totally is a romance movie) and requests to watch it very frequently

he can quote the whole thing. i’m seriously telling you echo loves the princess bride with his whole chest

even tho he refuses to admit it’s a love story above all else, he really does try to model himself in your relationship after wesley

like especially given what happened at the citadel and all the time you thought he was dead, the cinematic parellels are alive and present in y’alls relationship and he strives to be even half the man to you that wesley is to buttercup

literally in your day to day life he will sometimes respond to your requests with a smooth “as you wish ;)” (it doesn’t matter how many times he does it it still gives you butterflies)

when you watch the movie, he snuggles as close to you as possible and does his best to make youre comfy the whole time (he’s insecure about his prosthetics hurting you no matter how much you reassure him they don’t)

he just loves to be able to feel your heartbeat and your laugh when you giggle at the funny bits

every single time without fail at the part when buttercup is about to stab herself he leans down, ghosts his lips against the shell of your ear, and whispers the line in time with wesley: “there’s a shortage of perfect breasts in this world. it would be a pity to damage yours”

every single time without fail you wind up making out until he pulls away and tells you to watch the next part when wesley challenges humperdinck to a duel to the pain

echo just loves you to bits and wants you to know he’d endure a thousand fire swamps for you

Omega: Clueless

i have this really specific obsession with omega being a total girly girl and having very traditionally feminine interests as she keeps experiencing the universe and being exposed to a spectrum of gender expression beyond clone (masc and boring) and kaminoan (ugly)

so with that headcanon of her in mind, it’s vital to me that she sees clueless as soon as possible

clueless is an essential piece of media for a girl entering adolescence and i will die on this hill

it has literally everything you want and everything you need to develop into a well-rounded young woman

it’s so deliciously 90s and glamorama and valley girl humor and camp. its got meaningful female friendships and valuable life lessons and paul mf rudd

if there’s one thing you should encourage a burgeoning hetero teen girl to do, it’s to stick to dating guys like paul rudd in clueless. the earlier this message can be broadcast the better

the second you’re able to steal omega away from hunters watchful eyes (“hunter we’re just gonna watch finding nemo i swear!”) you show her this movie

at this point omega is not really a girly girl, but omega also has absolutely zero feminine influence in her life

the first time she sees clueless she is absolutely obsessed. like seriously she is so enamoured with the glitz and glam of cher horowitz

she asks you questions the entire time. she wants to know about EVERYTHING. the makeup, the clothes, the hair, the slang

(she definitely goes around saying stuff like “i’m totally bugging” for long enough afterwards that almost all of the boys have slipped up at least once with some ridiculous valley girl slang. you thought you were gonna die of laughter when you overheard tech say “as if!” to wrecker in the middle of an argument)

it just really introduces her to this whole world of femininity that she didn’t even know existed and she absolutely loves it

she makes you watch clueless with her seriously once a week at minimum. she begs you to style her hair like tai’s and you can’t help yourself when you happen to run across a little yellow plaid dress and buy it for her on sight

(hunter was gonna scold you for recklessly spending credits until he saw how omega almost cried from how happy she was for the gift)

honestly she enjoys the romance of it all and paul rudd is def her first celebrity crush but she enjoys more that you and her now have this special thing of hair and nails and pretty dresses

she loves how confident and beautiful and special you’re able to make her feel, and you love that you get to bring her that small sense of normalcy and happiness

[paperpocalypse]

i was actually thinking the other day,,, what do you think makes five such a fan favorite? like what are his traits that make you go <333 and </333 for him?

hmm... to me, five’s popularity boils down to three things: his contradictory nature, his tragedy, and his loyalty.

first of all, five is a character filled with contradictions – particularly regarding his age and his actions.

he (and his actor) stand out from the rest of the main cast mainly due to his age – both of them. he is both 13 and 58 years old, leading to many humorous situations and interactions for the audience, often at his expense. he is too old, too young. world-weary, yet strangely idealistic. he simply doesn’t fit in anywhere visually or mentally, and that draws in a lot of people.

five also tends to say one thing and do the exact opposite. the handler says it best: he’s a first-rate pragmatist. but is he? why would he jump through all these hoops to stop the apocalypse if that’s what’s supposed to happen? why would he go to find his siblings over and over again when it seems to lead to worse and worse events? he insults his family but turns back time to save them. he tells luther to grow up when he himself is still clinging to the idea of his family when he was a child. interesting, right?

these contradictions tie in to the tragedy of five, and man, people love tragic characters.

we as an audience are given this bitter, sarcastic, violent teenager-slash-old man, and we know exactly why he is this way. he grew up as a human weapon. he was stuck in the apocalypse for 45 years as a result of his desire to prove himself. he killed innocent people in order to get back to his family, who often resents his sudden presence even after not seeing him for almost two decades. and his age puts him in a position that many fans, particularly teens, emotionally relate to: people don’t take him seriously, he struggles with his emotions (though this is more due to his circumstances and past), and he wants to belong somewhere. and right now, it seems like every attempt he makes to “fix” the timeline gets bungled up somehow. he just can’t win. that is tragic. the viewers sympathize with him.

finally, and this is personally my favorite aspect of him, five is undyingly, excruciatingly loyal to the people he cares about.

that’s why he keeps trying to stop the apocalypse. that’s why he dirties his hands when it would make more sense to let things run their course. he has killed for his siblings. it’s admirable. it’s sad. five is a person filled with so much love and it’s so hard for him express it, but the audience can see it anyway. we want his efforts to pay off and for him to be happy with his family! will this happen?

so that’s my two cents! five is a grumpy, ridiculously stubborn old kid with a heart of gold and a lot of people love that!