#he literally goes I can do better than be me! i can be a superior me you are worth of!

[antiqua-lugar]

I never played early access so I have no idea what the vibes were there, but it's wild to me that some people really thought Gale was gonna have some secret evil plan? Like never mind his whole personality, he is the only companion who approves of every single good choice anyone makes.

[after-witch]

Two in the Hand [Yandere Sukuna x reader]

Title: Two in the Hand [Yandere Sukuna x reader]

Synopsis: Sukuna wants to eat you. 

Word count: 1000ish

Notes: yandere, threats of cannibalism, mentions of sexual conquests 

Inspired by the interaction prompt: Sukuna says he wants to eat you. Reader replies: "Ah, I'm flattered, but I'm saving myself for marriage!"

The dual reactions on Yuji’s--but not entirely Yuji’s--face play out swiftly. Yuji’s cheeks flush a pinker hue at your words, while the mouth currently planted in the center of one cheek curls downward… and then upward. 

It’s almost dizzying, the way you’re trying to pay attention to both of them at once. Yuji, your friend; Sukuna, the curse currently lodged inside him, of which you can only see a mouth that has shifted location three times during Sukuna’s diatribe about consuming you.

He means it literally. You realized this early on. Or rather, he admitted it directly without so much as a metaphor when he discussed the best cuts of human meat, the best ways to consume it to ensure best flavor, and the way that he wonders if modern humans taste better or worse than their predecessors. 

“You would let your spouse consume your flesh?” Sukuna asks, and Yuji slaps his hand over the demonic lips on his face to silence them.

”Just--” Yuji begins, but he cringes--

The lips reappear on the top of Yuji’s hand, unbothered. 

“Answer me, human. Or I’ll eat you right now.”

You almost want to ask him how he plans to eat you when he’s currently a pair of lips, but if Sukuna can make the lips on Yuji’s body speak, perhaps it’s not far off to assume they might be able to tear at your flesh.

So you start to think, and think quickly. You keep your posture meek and you even give a little bow.

"Of-of course, Sukuna." You pause. Should you call him something more deferential? It might help. You've gained the strongest sense that he sees himself as vastly superior to everyone else in the world, human and curse alike. "I mean, of course, lord Sukuna. I'd be happy to offer an explanation."

If only you could think of a proper one, beyond your initial excuse, stammered out because you didn’t know what else to say to such an awful, violent, disturbing threat aimed at you from a demonic pair of lips. 

There's a moment of silence. Two, three or four. And the lips on Yuji's hand--still there, despite Yuji attempting to literally shake them off--begin frown again. They’re starting to twist, perhaps to threaten you again, when you perk up.

“It’s just that…” You lower your head in deference again. Yuji quirks his head, but you can see from the corner of your eye that the lips have ceased to curl downward. “Being devoured is the ultimate act of intimacy. And if I’m going to be one with someone forever, my lord, it’s only proper that it’s my spouse.” 

You fiddle with the edge of your shirt. “I certainly couldn’t imagine some stranger consuming me, keeping me with them forever like that. It wouldn’t be right. It wouldn’t be proper.”

You swallow against spit and the faintest hint of bile, before daring to glance up. Yuji’s gaze goes between you and his hand, until--

Laughter comes from the lips embedded into his skin, low and mean. You can imagine, if Sukuna were in front of you, that he would throw his head back in mockery. 

And then, Sukuna says something. It’s not a word that makes any sense, really. But Yuji throws his head back and suddenly, he’s not Yuji at all.

He’s Sukuna.

With black markings on his face and a look in his eyes that makes you want to run. Only then, a thought comes to mind, something your father told you when you were little, and hiking in the woods: 

Never run from a predator. It only makes them chase you.

“You’re most entertaining,” he says, while you stand there, open-mouth, trembling like a cold wind has blown through the air. 

“Entertaining?” You parrot. You take a step back, and he matches it forward.

“Most humans are too frightened to do anything but beg for their lives, if they even get that far, when I threaten to eat them.”

You force your hands into fists and will them to stop shaking. They don’t.

“I suppose,” you begin, looking downward, partially out of the fear of not showing respect and partially out of the way you hate to look at him. “That most people are concerned with dying when they hear you say that.”

Sukuna’s smile widens into a grin.

“And you aren’t concerned with dying, little lamb?”

This conversation might as well take place on a butcher’s block, you think.And you’re the cut of meat trying to convince the butcher to put you back in the freezer. 

“Of course, I wouldn’t want to die.” You stare down at the ground. He’s taken another step forward, and his shoes--no, Yuji’s shoes--are in  your line of vision. “But that is where the question of… spousal intimacy comes in, you see. With a stranger…” You shake your head, feigning distaste. “It’s simply not proper. But with my spouse, well, I would become one with them in a manner far beyond simple matrimony.” You manage a smile, feeble, but hopefully not too fake. 

There’s silence, for a moment.

And then there’s a finger on your chin and it feels like cold steel as it tilts your chin up, and you’re forced to look at him, though you keep your eyes averted. 

“Aren’t you prim and proper?” He says, low, teasing. “You know,” he says, taking your chin between two fingers, “it was always the prim and proper ones who came the most undone in the past. They were raised to be so uptight…”

He leans in closer. There’s something awful that seems to come with his closeness, a darkness and heaviness that threatens to pull you down to the ground. 

He’s going to kiss me, you think. He’s going to kiss me and then rip open my mouth and chew the flesh and--

But he doesn’t kiss you. Instead, he lets go of your chin and takes a step back.

You look at him with what must be the loudest confusion in the world on your face. He laughs, and tilts his head back. 

“If we’re to be spouses, I intend a traditional courtship first. Kissing comes later. Wouldn’t that be proper?”

There’s hardly any relief to be felt when it’s Yuji, not Sukuna, looking at you.

“Huh?”

[sneezypeasy]

Why I Deliberately Avoided the "Colonizer" Argument in my Zutara Thesis - and Why I'll Continue to Avoid it Forever

This is a question that occasionally comes up under my Zutara video essay, because somehow in 2 hours worth of content I still didn't manage to address everything (lol.) But this argument specifically is one I made a point of avoiding entirely, and there are some slightly complicated reasons behind that. I figure I'll write them all out here.

From a surface-level perspective, Zuko's whole arc, his raison d'etre, is to be a de-colonizer. Zuko's redemption arc is kinda all about being a de-colonizer, and his redemption arc is probably like the most talked about plot point of ATLA, so from a basic media literacy standpoint, the whole argument is unsound in the first place, and on that basis alone I find it childish to even entertain as an argument worth engaging with, to be honest.

(At least one person in my comments pointed out that if any ship's "political implications" are problematic in some way, it really ought to be Maiko, as Mai herself is never shown or suggested to be a strong candidate for being a de-colonizing co-ruler alongside Zuko. If anything her attitudes towards lording over servants/underlings would make her… a less than suitable choice for this role, but I digress.)

But the reason I avoided rebutting this particular argument in my video goes deeper than that. From what I've observed of fandom discourse, I find that the colonizer argument is usually an attempt to smear the ship as "problematic" - i.e., this ship is an immoral dynamic, which would make it problematic to depict as canon (and by extension, if you ship it regardless, you're probably problematic yourself.)

And here is where I end up taking a stand that differentiates me from the more authoritarian sectors of fandom.

I'm not here to be the fandom morality police. When it comes to lit crit, I'm really just here to talk about good vs. bad writing. (And when I say "good", I mean structurally sound, thematically cohesive, etc; works that are well-written - I don't mean works that are morally virtuous. More on this in a minute.) So the whole colonizer angle isn't something I'm interested in discussing, for the same reason that I actually avoided discussing Katara "mothering" Aang or the "problematic" aspects of the Kataang ship (such as how he kissed her twice without her consent). My whole entire sections on "Kataang bad" or "Maiko bad" in my 2 hour video was specifically, "how are they written in a way that did a disservice to the story", and "how making them false leads would have created valuable meaning". I deliberately avoided making an argument that consisted purely of, "here's how Kataang/Maiko toxic and Zutara wholesome, hence Zutara superiority, the end".

Why am I not willing to be the fandom morality police? Two reasons:

I don't really have a refined take on these subjects anyway. Unless a piece of literature or art happens to touch on a particular issue that resonates with me personally, the moral value of art is something that doesn't usually spark my interest, so I rarely have much to say on it to begin with. On the whole "colonizer ship" subject specifically, other people who have more passion and knowledge than me on the topic can (and have) put their arguments into words far better than I ever could. I'm more than happy to defer to their take(s), because honestly, they can do these subjects justice in a way I can't. Passing the mic over to someone else is the most responsible thing I can do here, lol. But more importantly:

I reject the conflation of literary merit with moral virtue. It is my opinion that a good story well-told is not always, and does not have to be, a story free from moral vices/questionable themes. In my opinion, there are good problematic stories and bad "pure" stories and literally everything in between. To go one step further, I believe that there are ways that a romance can come off "icky", and then there are ways that it might actually be bad for the story, and meming/shitposting aside, the fact that these two things don't always neatly align is not only a truth I recognise about art but also one of those truths that makes art incredibly interesting to me! So on the one hand, I don't think it is either fair or accurate to conflate literary "goodness" with moral "goodness". On a more serious note, I not only find this type of conflation unfair/inaccurate, I also find it potentially dangerous - and this is why I am really critical of this mindset beyond just disagreeing with it factually. What I see is that people who espouse this rhetoric tend to encourage (or even personally engage in) wilful blindness one way or the other, because ultimately, viewing art through these lens ends up boxing all art into either "morally permissible" or "morally impermissible" categories, and shames anyone enjoying art in the "morally impermissible" box. Unfortunately, I see a lot of people responding to this by A) making excuses for art that they guiltily love despite its problematic elements and/or B) denying the value of any art that they are unable to defend as free from moral wickedness.

Now, I'm not saying that media shouldn't be critiqued on its moral virtue. I actually think morally critiquing art has its place, and assuming it's being done in good faith, it absolutely should be done, and probably even more often than it is now.

Because here's the truth: Sometimes, a story can be really good. Sometimes, you can have a genuinely amazing story with well developed characters and powerful themes that resonate deeply with anyone who reads it. Sometimes, a story can be all of these things - and still be problematic.*

(Or, sometimes a story can be all of those things, and still be written by a problematic author.)

That's why I say, when people conflate moral art with good art, they become blind to the possibility that the art they like being potentially immoral (or vice versa). If only "bad art" is immoral, how can the art that tells the story hitting all the right beats and with perfect rhythm and emotional depth, be ever problematic?

(And how can the art I love, be ever problematic?)

This is why I reject the idea that literary merit = moral virtue (or vice versa) - because I do care about holding art accountable. Even the art that is "good art". Actually, especially the art that is "good art". Especially the art that is well loved and respected and appreciated. The failure to distinguish literary critique from moral critique bothers me on a personal level because I think that conflating the two results in the detriment of both - the latter being the most concerning to me, actually.

So while I respect the inherent value of moral criticism, I'm really not a fan of any argument that presents moral criticism as equivalent to literary criticism, and I will call that out when I see it. And from what I've observed, a lot of the "but Zutara is a colonizer ship" tries to do exactly that, which is why I find it a dishonest and frankly harmful media analysis framework to begin with.

But even when it is done in good faith, moral criticism of art is also just something I personally am neither interested nor good at talking about, and I prefer to talk about the things that I am interested and good at talking about.

(And some people are genuinely good at tackling the moral side of things! I mean, I for one really enjoyed Lindsay Ellis's take on Rent contextualising it within the broader political landscape at the time to show how it's not the progressive queer story it might otherwise appear to be. Moral critique has value, and has its place, and there are definitely circumstances where it can lead to societal progress. Just because I'm not personally interested in addressing it doesn't mean nobody else can do it let alone that nobody else should do it, but also, just because it can and should be done, doesn't mean that it's the only "one true way" to approach lit crit by anyone ever. You know, sometimes... two things… can be true… at once?)

Anyway, if anyone reading this far has recognised that this is basically a variant of the proship vs. antiship debate, you're right, it is. And on that note, I'm just going to leave some links here. I've said about as much as I'm willing/able to say on this subject, but in case anyone is interested in delving deeper into the philosophy behind my convictions, including why I believe leftist authoritarian rhetoric is harmful, and why the whole "but it would be problematic in real life" is an anti-ship argument that doesn't always hold up to scrutiny, I highly recommend these posts/threads:

In general this blog is pretty solid; I agree with almost all of their takes - though they focus more specifically on fanfic/fanart than mainstream media, and I think quite a lot of their arguments are at least somewhat appropriate to extrapolate to mainstream media as well.

I also strongly recommend Bob Altemeyer's book "The Authoritarians" which the author, a verified giga chad, actually made free to download as a pdf, here. His work focuses primarily on right-wing authoritarians, but a lot of his research and conclusions are, you guessed it, applicable to left-wing authoritarians also.

And if you're an anti yourself, welp, you won't find support from me here. This is not an anti-ship safe space, sorrynotsorry 👆

In conclusion, honestly any "but Zutara is problematic" argument is one I'm likely to consider unsound to begin with, let alone the "Zutara is a colonizer ship" argument - but even if it wasn't, it's not something I'm interested in discussing, even if I recognise there are contexts where these discussions have value. I resent the idea that just because I have refined opinions on one aspect of a discussion means I must have (and be willing to preach) refined opinions on all aspects of said discussion. (I don't mean to sound reproachful here - actually the vast majority of the comments I get on my video/tumblr are really sweet and respectful, but I do get a handful of silly comments here and there and I'm at the point where I do feel like this is something worth saying.) Anyway, I'm quite happy to defer to other analysts who have the passion and knowledge to give complicated topics the justice they deserve. All I request is that care is taken not to conflate literary criticism with moral criticism to the detriment of both - and I think it's important to acknowledge when that is indeed happening. And respectfully, don't expect me to give my own take on the matter when other people are already willing and able to put their thoughts into words so much better than me. Peace ✌

*P.S. This works for real life too, by the way. There are people out there who are genuinely not only charming and likeable, but also generous, charitable and warm to the vast majority of the people they know. They may also be amazing at their work, and if they have a job that involves saving lives like firefighting or surgery or w.e, they may even be the reason dozens of people are still alive today. They may honestly do a lot of things you'd have to concede are "good" deeds.

They may be all of these things, and still be someone's abuser. 🙃

Two things can be true at once. It's important never to forget that.

[multifandomfanfic]

A Fernando Alonso x driver!reader Insta AU Series

A/N: As a disclaimer: I actually don’t mind Haas (Nico is the loml), so I don’t know why or when I decided to hate on them in this fic. I did not go into writing this thinking I would. It just kind of happened. Also, please excuse the bad “Competitors” graphic. It is 12:18 a.m. I am not doing too hot. 

Anyways, please enjoy! This parts mostly to establish who Y/N is (besides you ofc), then we’ll get into the better stuff :). Let me know your comments/questions/concerns after you read it, or if you want to be added to the taglist for the series!

f1

liked by mercedesamgf1, yourusername, charles_leclerc, and 16,128,038 others

f1: BREAKING: Y/N Y/L/N has signed with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team on a multi-year contract from 2023 onwards.

yourusername: So incredibly grateful for this opportunity and excited to hit the track this season!

mercedesamgf1: Very happy to have you, Y/N! Welcome to the team!

pierregasly: I see you’re also doing the ol’ switcheroo

yourusername: you copied me

pierregasly: preposterous

susie_wolff: We continue to be so proud of you! You’re an inspiration to so many women and girls!

yourusername: Thank you so much, Susie. You know how much that means to me! 💕💕

sebastianvettel: sorry I couldn’t race with you another year, but i’m so excited to see how you do and how much you achieve!

yourusername: thank you, seb! i appreciate it so much 🥺🫶

user202: FINALLY y/n is getting out of that shit team

fanaccount1: as much as i support her, i’m sorry to see her leave haas. they did everything they could for her and she just goes to another team once her contract expires.

user014: she’s under no obligation to stay with them. she proved her worth and she’s smart to go to another team that isn’t underfunded. she had the team’s first podium seven years

user837: just another woman ruining something men created 🙄

fanaccount2: excuse me?? obviously, you’re not very educated in this sport that “men created,” because if you were, you’d know that y/n is one of the best up and coming drivers since forever. last year, she got eighth in the drivers’ championship in a haas. a HAAS. and she won the f2 championship the year before that. once she gets into mercedes’ far superior car she’ll finally be able to receive the results she deserves.

user162: preach 👏👏👏

f1

liked by logansargeant, vancityreynolds, alpinef1team, and 11,291,027 others

f1: And here’s your starting grid for the first GP of the season!

landonorris: ready for this 💪💪💪

alphataurif1: new season, new possibilities!!

user101: how did sargeant do better than de vries??

fanaccount3: nooooo pierreeeee 😭

user628: y/n outscoring lewis??? omg???

fanaccount4: we already KNOW this is going to be a good season

user552: as long as she takes at least one podium from max i’ll be ok :)

user012: jesus i wish people would stop shitting on max. he’s literally doing his job like the rest of them.

fanaccount5: OMG if we get some alonso/y/l/n competition this year i’ll be so happy 

user268: i hope so like can you imagine??? two legends in their own rights fighting?? that would be so cool

f1

liked by yourusername, olliebearman, mercedesamgf1, and 14,391,293 others

f1: your 1st, 3rd, and 2nd drivers of the day 🥳🏆

fanaccount6: admin decided the color scheme was prettier and put y/n in the middle

f1: yes 🥰

mercedesamgf1: First race and first podium of the season 😍

yourusername: So proud of the team!

comment liked by lewishamilton and mercedesamgf1

redbullracing: Incredible job!

user837: you say, as checo is probably being chewed out by horner rn

astonmartinf1: here’s to an exciting season 🥂🏆

fanaccount3: i haven’t seen that exciting of a race in forever! alonso and y/n legit started 5th and 6th and battled for the podium the entire time

user105: it was pretty awesome

fanaccount1: but did you see (when y/n was in 2nd in like lap 50) how close she got to max?? like there was a two second gap between them for a little while before she had to pit

user696: we stan 💖

yourusername

liked by mercedesamgf1, zhouguanyu24, robmcelhenney, and 2,834,351 others

tagged: mercedesamgf1

yourusername: Never in my life would I have imagined winning P3 in my first race of a season, let alone my first race of a season with Mercedes. I feel so blessed for this opportunity, and I can assure you, I am not going to let it go to waste. We’ll push to continue this momentum to Saudi Arabia and beyond; we won’t let you down. ✌️😎

(on a less serious note --> jumpscare warning at the end)

vancityreynolds: super race, y/n! you’re the only reason blake watches f1 races with me.

yourusername: omg 🥹 thanks so much!

lewishamilton: I’ve got a good feeling about us this year 💪

yourusername: 💪❤️

susie_wolff: That picture was confidential.  - Toto

yourusername: please don’t fire me

susie_wolff: Heavily considering it.  - Toto

yourusername: 😔

user030: she ATE and left no crumbs

fanaccount3: LITERALLY

fanaccount6: y/n marry me please 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

user827: she’s already my wife actually

fanaccount6: 😭

user582: guenther steiner is rolling on the floor screaming crying rn

liked by pierregasly

fanaccount7: Everyone saying she’ll be champion when (1) Max is still on the grid and (2) she has drove literally one race for Mercedes. Nobody can predict how the season will play out yet; there simply hasn’t been enough time to see how comfortable all the drivers are in their cars and how they interact with each other.

user455: interact with each other? their jobs are to win. it’s given that everyone will be competitive, so i think it literally just comes down their car and the risks they take. the reason lewis, max, and even schumi were so dominant is that they happened to drive for the team with the most powerful car, and they were willing to go as close to the corners as possible/be super aggressive with other drivers.

but, in the end, i agree with you. i don’t think we can see what’s going to happen in the end yet. personally, though, i think y/n can place higher than she did last year if she keeps doing what she’s doing.

yourusername

liked by schecoperez, vancityreynolds, angelinajolie, and 2,142,934 others

tagged: landonorris, carlossainz55

yourusername: baku <3

olliebearman: Congrats on P2!

yourusername: thank you! congrats on your wins!

logansargeant: great race, y/n!

yourusername: 💕💕💕

landonorris: there were much better pictures of carlos that you could’ve chosen

carlossainz55: Rude.

yourusername: yeah, lando. any photo of carlos is a good photo.

landonorris: 🙄

fanaccount8: 👀👀👀

user914: We love a queen who posts as if she didn’t get P2 in a race yesterday

fanaccount4: although i do like pictures from the actual gp, it is nice to see some normal touristy photos from celebrities

comments liked by yourusername

user914: HOLY CRAP HI Y/N

user777: Another close race! Finally, someone who can challenge Max and gives fan an actually entertaining race!

user267: honestly i think the reason why y/n’s so good is because she knows her cars so well. like, some of the drivers (not all of them), don’t know jack shit about the cars themselves and just know how to drive them. y/n could actually sit down and teach the components of the car to you. i think that’s the difference between her and the others.

fanaccount9: Congratulations, Y/N!

user129: ahhhhhhhhh she’s so pretty 😍😍😍

yourusername added to their story

yourusername added to their story

f1

liked by mercedesamgf1, yourusername, dylanminnette, and 19,391,361 others

f1: how it started --> how it’s going

Congratulations to Y/N on her first ever podium, and on being the first ever woman to do so! 🎉😲

lewishamilton: 🤜🎤

femalesinmsport: You continue to be such an inspiration, Y/N! Congrats on everything.

yourusername: Thank you!

haasf1team: Congratulations on the amazing accomplishment, Y/N!

yourusername: Thank you so much! That means a lot. <3

user725: admin about to get firedddddddddd

fanaccount10: Can’t a team congratulate their former racer?

user725: not when their team principal blew up the way he did when she left

mercedesamgf1: yup, that’s our driver 😎

yourusername: 😎❤️

aussiegrit: Congratulations! Amazing job!

nicholaslatifi: congrats! miss racing with you.

yourusername: thanks, nick! you, too!

pierregasly: how.

yourusername: that’s my secret

dreamlover: I TOLD YOU GUYS. WE CAME BACK.

fanaccount11: OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG

user236: i have been dreaming of this day for so long 😭

user273: “we”

dreamlover: stfu and be happy

fanaccount6: Y/N is the greatest driver of the 2020s and you can not tell me otherwise

user627: 2020s? how about ever?

user981: induction into the f1 hall of fame when??

fanaccount12: three world champions on the grid, and she manages to be better than two of them. lewis and alonso are quaking in their boots rn.

yourusername posted to their story

[bullagit]

honestly it's just funny to me when people are like "aziraphale had to be talked into even trying to save the earth blah blah blah" trying to make him out to be a Bad Person. meanwhile in canon it took like, 1.5 conversations and less than a day because he DID want to do it and jumped on the first feasible idea.

and then they conveniently ignore that he spends the rest of season one actively continuing to do everything in his power that he can think of to save the earth, despite every obstacle and despite CROWLEY actively saying they should give up on that and run away together instead

(which all these same people conveniently... never seem to mention or frame as crowley being a Bad Person. the same way they never seem to try to frame him calling aziraphale stupid or his little "i'm leaving forever and when i'm gone i'll never even THINK ABOUT YOU AGAIN" moment as him being a bad person, instead suddenly being much more willing to sympathize and give him the benefit of the doubt. hmm go figure).

like he literally tries to talk to GOD up close and personal to change her mind. he throws down his uniform, refuses the war, and goes AWOL back to earth determined to save it, even knowing that he's pretty much signing up to lose EVERYTHING that he's built on earth for himself, even thinking he possibly lost crowley already by pushing him away, like.

when satan is en route to the airbase, wouldn't you know, crowley is the one who says it's over we're fucked there's nothing we can do and aziraphale is the one who says no, we can't give up now after everything, and gives crowley the push he needs to buy them some time.

i'll never say he's a perfect uwu bean or that he always goes about things the right way but like, this weird thing (especially post s2) where people try to project some different character onto him just never goes over. he's not self-absorbed or callous or power-hungry or stupid or too naive or completely selfish. fundamentally.

also he wouldn't take angel crowley over modern crowley. he loves crowley in every capacity and every form and through every change and tbh like. he understands that those aren't actually two completely separate entities, and crowley is one person who's been through so much and had to change so much, and he loves all of him.

their relationship is not toxic or abusive. they understand each other in ways nobody else ever will. they push each other to be better and appreciate each other for everything that they are, that they have been, that they could be, and they continually choose to come back to each other no matter what fight they have or challenge they face.

every day i gotta get out here like you know you can just like the character crowley better... and relate to him more... without having to twist around to justify it as some moral superiority thing. like that's fine and normal, to just like a character better than a different character and focus on them more.

[nalyra-dreaming]

Can’t wait for people to flip when they meet “Privileged French White micro-aggression compilation”’s mentor, Mr. macro-aggression colonizer superiority complex Marius “I married a thirteen-year old former sex slave and adopted him as my son” de Romanus. Marius is his own trigger warning. Wait until they hear about Marius’ disciplinary methods involving whips and willow switches. Or the fact that Marius sent his son-wife to a brothel to learn “important skills”. Or that when he told Lestat about Those Who Must Be Kept, Marius literally framed Akasha’s genocidal tendencies as “taming savages”. Oh boy, it’s not gonna be good.

Like… Who do you think Lestat learned his skewed world view from? Moving to America was probably a bucket of cold water to Lestat. I would like to give Lestat the benefit of the doubt, as his father was an asshole aristocrat. Lestat quickly learned how privileged he was, even as a disgraced marquis’ son. His genuine horror at how the racist fat cats treated Louis said everything to me. I don’t think anyone understands that Lestat is interested in doing better. He is. He’s working through it. He will fuck up, because nobody ever gave him a look outside his little world.

The thing is, vampires do end up in ruin when they stay behind as the world around them goes forward. Just like humans, when we get stuck in outdated ideals. It’s heavily implied at the end of the Blood Communion novel that Marius is slowly going mad. All vampires do, at some point, go through a period of madness. Some just come out of it better than others. In the IWTV novel, Louis eats grass and mopes around his brother’s rectory for a while after Armand hesitantly leaves him. Armand kills his own coven. Khayman loses his memories for a while and wanders the world, snacking on mortals’ bone marrow. Daniel becomes mute and obsessive, luckily finding an outlet in model trains. Poor Lestat lost an eye and had to be restrained, before he slept for a long while. Thorne got tied down for a while. Benji and Sybelle. Unm. Well, Benji ended up with a podcast and Sybelle delved into the piano. And Louis, of course, tried to kill himself once— but it changed his relationship with Lestat for the better.

Okay, so I went on a meta tangent, but the point is, Marius is an even bigger fuck-up than Lestat, and covering him is going to get pretty ugly. And even more existential. I hope viewers stop and philosophize, you know? Everyone stops to question the nature of mankind and how we fall if we don’t move with time.

And as far as Marius goes, hope Justin Kirk is prepared. 😅

P.S. I swear I’m not high, just tired. 🥱

:))

(For those who think the "eating grass" is an euphemism here: "I was picking at the grass, and tasting it, though the taste was bitter and unnatural. The gesture seemed natural.":))

Marius... is going to be something. Which is part of the reason why I keep saying that Justin Kirk will be perfect if he is, because it needs a very seasoned actor with a lot of thick skin to pull him off (and, I mean, Justin does not shy away from difficult characters as we know *nods at Succession*).

It will be interesting to see what kind of wounds they will put their proverbial fingers in.

Like, the casual racism and superiority complex Marius employs has to clash with Armand's recast, too. Not necessarily with the choice (of Amadeo) per se, but with the circumstances. I am betting real money that there will be some very uncomfortable meta commentary on sex slave trade in combination with racism coming up right there (and I for one want them to make that commentary! Even though it will probably lead to more fandom drama.).

These vampires are children of their times, and they do change/adapt/grow, but... slowly. (I am not so sure about Lestat getting his world view from Marius, I think there is a reason why Lestat never became the pupil Marius wanted him to be, and I do think that Lestat might be willfully ignorant at times, which can come off a certain way, but his own backstory is more to blame here than Marius, imho.)

I do not need Marius to be a good character to enjoy the fuck out of him, on the contrary.

I am not sure if the show will go the "whip" way. They might insinuate. I think they will, as with other scenes let the mind of the audience do the rest, which will be more than enough, too. I mean, the audience can read up on it all in the book *coughs*. There's no need to go more explicit than needed.

But yes. I hope Justin Kirk is prepared :)))

And... I hope the audience is prepared as well.

[kneelingshadowsalome]

Howdy howdy howdy!!! 🫶 🤠 I NEEDED to pop back in and let ya know I’m a little feral over the innocent/inexperienced reader with the toxic king (aka wrecker of worlds, seriously wtf he must be stopped) asks. BECAUSE and hear me out guys, I need konig absolutely rotting in this new hell and about to spontaneously combust with sweet little reader who hasn’t let him hit yet, who just wants to lie down with him on a sofa or bed and shes just humming along, tracing over his arms or chest or abs perfectly innocently while chatting about her day. And meanwhile konig’s mind is sounding the nuclear explosion warning and the man can’t BREATHE and reader goes to rest her little head on his chest and immediately pops back up like bro are you ok, your heart is going to explode 👀

Konig, trying desperately to not be a horny menace, with clenched fists and gritted teeth, white knuckling the whole time: ja, totally fine, this is how I relax

So I’m all for torturing toxic konig with fluff since homeboy doesn’t know how to act and he deserves to suffer through oblivious sweet reader 👍👍

I also feel like we’re all in the worlds dirtiest book club lmao and I AM HERE FOR IT

Howdy my man, I'm so happy to hear from you!!

And oh my goodness. Wrecker of worlds?!? He does need to be stopped! Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen in our dirty little book club ^^

Of course this woman’s appeal only increases in König's eyes when she makes him work for it. She’s morally superior to any woman he’s ever met so yes, his heart is about to explode (along with his cock).

And what’s even worse is that she calls him 'cute' and 'sweet'. Probably thinks he’s just shy under that hood when he’s simply trying his best to act normal and not smother her during another cuddle session that leaves him blue balled.

König starts to build up so much resentment. This woman must be torturing him for some sick, feminine entertainment purposes... Does she think he’s just a toy she can play with after ten, eleven, twelve dates? What kind of a demonic temptress even does something like this to a poor, lovesick man?

But no… She wouldn’t do that, she’s far too innocent and far too sweet. He’s just letting the beast inside him get the better of him again... Poor girl doesn’t even know that there’s practically a demon inside this hood.

But then he gets riled again when she invites him to her place and has the audacity to put on a romantic movie. There’s even a scene where the leading couple is kissing in the rain. This is literally worse than being captured by the enemy and being tortured for days.

She sneaks her hand into his and squeezes softly while the couple on the screen are kissing slowly while they're drenched, everything’s so sensual, and all he can think about is how he's supposed to disguise the swelling cock inside his pants as he imagines himself and the sweet girl beside him in that scene. Those wet sounds wouldn't even compare to the ones that would rise were he between her legs with his mouth…

[shu-box-puns]

Hello there mate!

Hope you're doing good and I'm here to say I ADORE you're Dad!Tsu'tey works and they bring me my daily dose of serotonin.

But also, since I've read (and reread) the "Grumpy dad and his feral son" work I've been having some thoughts. Like, what if Tsu'Tey was just a second too late and they managed to take Spider away? How would he react (I mean obviously he would hunt the shit out of them down) ? When would he and Spider reunite again? In the forest while he was with the recoms? In the battle of the Sea Dragon? I mean he would most def come to his rescue if the letter is the case to come and get him (+ to aid the Sullies), but then I also wonder what would happen. Would the whole Neytiri holding him hostige infront of Quaritch so he would release Kiri thing happen? How would he react to that? Or what if he got shot instead on Neteyam (not dying tho cos I want both my faves to live a happy life) ? I bet Tsu'Tey would be fucking terrified cos it woul remind him of how he got shot and almost died.

Anywho I'm sorry for the long line of questions and suggestions I left but when my brain finds something to hyperfixate on it will not stop coming up with questions and possible scenarios for the said thing 😅

I love the way your brain thinks Anon. (The fact I literally had most of these scenarios either thought out or planned :D) This got long. All the questions just gave me so many ideas and I RAN with it. Enjoy the memes and I hope there's no obvious spelling mistakes.

>_<

If Tsu'tey were too late to grab Spider before Quaritch got to him:

I could definitely see him tearing off after the recoms. Maybe he springs from the bushes too late, and Quaritch has already hoisted the boy up over his shoulder. Naturally, Tsu'tey still tries to attack him with his bow, but Lyle opens fire too fast and he old instinct has him retreating. Man definitely has some PTSD from getting shot during the war, and although mentally he still wants Spider back, his body goes on auto-pilot and throws him out of the line of fire. Lyle keeps shooting in his direction as the recoms retreat, but Tsu'tey isn't gonna let something as silly as instinct keep him down for long.

That's his boy, they'll have to kill him to keep him from getting him back. Thankfully, Jake knows exactly where his brain went and literally had to throw himself at this man so he didn't end up getting himself shot (again). Jake likes Spider well enough, but he thinks regrouping is a better course of action than charging in guns blazing - shocker, he's actually matured since having his kids.

Tsu'tey definitely fights with all he has against Jake, cursing at him and trying to wrestle himself free. He can't focus on anything but the distant roar of the enemy ship as it soars in close to the canopy. He can see the lights, and through the trees, the vague outlines of the recoms strapping themselves in. Lo'ak definitely has to wrestle the hunter's knife out of its sheath before he remembers it is there. But no one can save Jake from Tsu'tey biting the shit out of him. Man does not give a shit at this point.

When he gets free. (Of course it's a when not an if.) The airship is already long gone. A distant hum in the distance, even to his superior hearing. The pure, unbridled rage on this man's face is terrifying. Instead of explosive, loud anger, he's cold, almost unnervingly calm. A whole new level of terrifying.

Jake is definitely too scared to try and coax him out of the clearing and instead focuses on reassuring his children. Neytiri has to approach him, she's known him the longest afterall. Had stuck with him through the loss of Sylwanin, the fall of HomeTree, the war, she knows how best to handle him when he is like this. That doesn't mean her words are effective however. Tsu'tey needs a moment of stillness to collect his thoughts and recollect himself after the adrenaline burst, but Neytiri is already grabbing him roughly by the bicep and trying and drag him to his ikran.

He's still seething. Barely seeing straight. Half baked plans of him attacking the demon airship before it could get to Bridgehead were sounding more tempting by the moment.

Somehow Neytiri drags him out of the clearing and into the branches of the trees. Hauling his weary body to safer ground. But in his musing, Tsu'tey recalls the figure of Neytiri in the trees when Spider fell. He remembers seeing her dragging Kiri away with half a nod of acknowledgement sent Tsu'tey's way. It sends a fresh wave of rage crashing over him.

"You left him." He suddenly snarled, ripping his arm from her and pointing an accusatory finger at her. "He was right there, and you abandoned him!"

Neytiri's ears droop and she doesn't deny it. She doesn't back down either. "My priority was Kiri. I assumed you could handle it." She doesn't apologise for her actions or inaction. Just holds his gaze and holds her ground. Her expression neutral.

Tsu'tey knew she'd never taken much of a liking to Spider, despite her relationship with Jake and his heritage. Despite Tsu'tey unofficial adoption of the boy. There had always been a sense of hostility between the two. With Neytiri acting colder to Spider and the boy refusing to call her out on it. Tsu'tey had never thought to address it or try and help them mend that gap, now look at them.

And that's the real kick to the teeth. Not that Neytiri didn't care enough to be sorry that it was his kid taken instead of her own. It was the truth in her words that had his anger faltering. He should've been able to handle it. Spider was his son. And he let him slip through his fingers. He should've fought harder, dirtier. Should have resorted to teeth and nails if he had to.

So what if he got shot? If he'd angled it right, he would've had enough time to get Spider to safety.

If it had been Neteyam or Lo'ak in Quartich's hold, Jake would've torn himself apart to ensure their safety. Neytiri would've fallen into a blind rage to keep her children safe. Would have used every resource at her disposal to protect her own. She would have stared death in the face and kept snarling. And what had Tsu'tey done? Allowed a past experience to still his movements. To make him hesitate, and now he might have to pay the price for the rest of his life.

His retort dies on his tongue as his heart clenches painfully. But Tsu'tey had never been one to give up easily. He kept a tight hold on his anger, allowed it to guide him as he shoved past Neytiri and called for his ikran. His face was set in his trademark scowl, but there was a predatory fluidity to him that only came out during the war. When what he loved was threatened.

As his ikran lands beside him and he makes the bond, Lo'ak sidles up to his side, offering him back his knife. There is a familiar fire burning in the depths of the boy's eyes. A desire for vengance, and a sea of guilt and pain. Tsu'tey allows his face to soften for a heartbeat, he bends over the side of his ikran and squeezes Lo'ak's shoulder tight. "I will get him back." He promises.

Lo'ak chews on his lower lip, his eyes flickering to Tsu'tey and holding his burning gaze. He must see Tsu'tey's determination, his drive, his stubbornness, because he cracks a small smile and nods.

The family prepares to return to High Camp. Jake warning Tsu'tey that any attempts to go after Spider now was a suicide mission. He didn't argue, but neither did Tsu'tey agree. He also chose to ignore Neytiri handing Tuk off to him. Just kept his gaze ahead, and his hand loosely wrapped around the little girl's stomach so she was secure in the saddle in front of him.

If they reunited in the forest:

Lets say by chance Tsu'tey gets word of the Demon ship in clan territory again, or he's just riding around the forest on a pa'li because it helps him clear his mind.

He hasn't slept since Spider was taken. He's worried for his boy and severely regretting not letting him know what he meant to him before this shit show got so out of hand. In typical Tsu'tey fashion, he's been spending his time gathering Spider's belongings for when he returns.

Norm had already handed over most of the boy’s prized possessions when Tsu’tey asked for them from his bedroom in the compound. He’d packed everything away neatly in preparation to wherever Jake was planning to flee, so his son would have what he needed the minute he was retrieved. Spare exo pack, rechargeable batteries, etc. 

He's in his head so deep, that he takes a double take when he spots Spider through the trees. His pa'li makes an abrupt stop, the large animal mirroring Tsu'tey's shock as he stares wide eyed at the image of his boy stood on a log, above a group of recoms. Even from a distance he can see the bruises. He can see the tense set of his shoulders, his swift glances to the forest, despite pretending to be at ease.

Tsu'tey's shock melts into a scowl as his bow groans under the tightening on his hands. He steels himself with a long, deep inhale, mentally calculating the space within the small clearing. The sight of the guns on the recoms have his heart pounding, and his scars tingling with phantom pain. He knows deep down that his bow will be useless in a one on six fight. His only advantage is surprise, and he only gets one chance.

Tsu'tey's mind is made up before he takes his next breath. He knows he needs to try. Even if it ends with a bullet between his shoulders and his pa'li throwing him off from the pain, he needs to die trying. Whether it kills him or not, he needs to return Spider to the clan, where he will be safe. Where Jake and Neytiri can take him to a fresh start, a safer alternative to the clan at war.

The recoms are distracted. Only one wearing sunglasses is actually taking stock of his surroundings. Spider is talking, commanding most of the group's attention.

Sucking in a deep breath, Tsu'tey lets out a sharp call that could easily be mistaken for some distant herd animal. None of the recoms react but he sees Spider visibly stiffens. Tsu’tey grins despite himself and readies his mount. 

He notches an arrow into his bow and urges his pa'li forward. He erupts from the undergrowth with a war cry, and skewers the closest unsuspecting recom. It scatters the group like startled yerik, who immediately scramble for their guns.

"TSU'TEY!" Spider yells, sounding shocked and elated to see him. The hunter spares only a moment killing a second recom before he's charging for that log. His pa'li races past faster than the enemy can load their weapons, and it gives Tsu'tey large enough of an opening to lean down and grab Spider's by his extended hands. The child immediately latches onto him, grabbing whatever he can as Tsu'tey swings him up into the saddle in front of him and together they disappear off into the undergrowth.

Shots were fired at their back but no one got hit, much to Tsu'tey's relief. But the adrenaline rush isn't over because Spider turns around and yells in a rush about a tracker in his mask.

Not to worry though, because Tsu'tey is very up to date on all the old compound location. Even as his triumph sours, he takes confidence in the distant yells of the recoms and the light pressure of Spider at his front. He snarls softly to himself as he makes his pa'li change course.

Yes they get the masks switched out without issue and toss the bugged one into a fast moving river to send Quaritch on a wild goose chase and buy the Sully's more time to run.

Side note: In this possibility, Tsu'tey was definitely convinced Spider wasn't safe enough with him and he had to go with the Sully's to the Metkayina clan. And Tsu'tey was NOT planning to go with him. HAVE ANGST!!

If they reunited on the Sea Dragon:

In this scenario, Tsu'tey ends up visiting the Sullys when the Sea Dragon turns up. He just wanted to check up on his friends and see if they've heard anything about Spider, and the next thing he knows, he's got nieces and nephews to save, and a score to settle.

Tsu'tey is definitely going straight for the ship.

It's during the stand-off where the Colonel has his gun to Lo'ak's temple and Jake isn't telling anyone over the comms what is happening - preparing to hand himself over like the idiot he is. Tsu'tey was circling above the clouds on his ikran with Neytiri, carefully listening to his ear piece as he tries to decipher what is going on. The minute he catches sight of Spider being escorted back into the ship, all rational thought leaves this man's head. Of course he has enough sense to remain undetected - he's not stupid - but he's also not on board with Jake's self-sacrificing bullshit. In Tsu'tey's books, failure is not an option this time around. He is getting Spider back if it kills him.

Tsu'tey and Payakan being on the same wavelength.

The tulkun YEETING himself onto the ship's deck and giving Tsu'tey big enough of an opening to land his ikran and send the beast back up into the sky undetected. He makes brief eye contact with Neteyam who's circling the shallows around the belly of the ship, getting ready to leap up and help out his siblings.

The oldest Sully boy points to the kids tied to the railing, Tsu'tey nods. He motions behind him, where the RDA sailors took Spider and Neteyam nods his understanding.

On the horizon, the Metkayina clan are inbound. Tearing through the waves and heading straight for the ship.

Tsu'tey decides that they've got this covered and finds the nearest doorway that will lead him into the belly of the metal ship. He's too tall for the corridors and either has to knuckle crawl or walk at a constant stoop. His bow is a pain to hold loaded in the tight space, so he opts solely for his knife.

He navigates the ship blindly. His ears pricked for Spider's voice, but otherwise killing anyone he comes across and moving swiftly. He knows the destruction caused by Payakan would've damaged something valuable and he needs to move fast.

I love the idea of Tsu'tey stumbling across the control room in time to find Spider steering the ship towards the rocks and then brutally killing the controls with a fire extinguisher. (Boy was eyeing that lever heavily whenever he was in the same room as it). Just Tsu'tey letting out a half formed growl as the crewmates try to tear Spider away and fix the lever, but his oncoming attack getting put on hold as the enormous ship speeds for the rocks and promptly takes off.

The minute that bitch lands back in the water, you can bet Tsu'tey is the first on his feet. He erupts into the room with a sound so unnerving that the crew forget that they are armed. It's an unfair fight. And despite the tight quarters and being outnumbered, Tsu'tey wipes the floor with everyone.

They find Spider an exopack and get the fuck off the sinking ship to meet back up with the Sullys out on the rock.

Just the crew out cold or dead at his feet, and Tsu'tey closing the distance between himself and Spider. He drops into a crouch, all hard scowl and sharp eyes, and gently tucks Spider's dread behind his ear. "Are you unharmed?"

Spider nods, dumbfounded and thrown off by the raw concern in Tsu'tey's voice. Tsu'tey grumbles. He can see spots of blood all over Spider, small grazes and nicks that shouldn't be there. His stripes are faded and his hair needs a retwist. But he's alive, and Tsu'tey isn't going to let anything else happen to him.

Bonus:

The standoff:

I feel like throwing Tsu'tey into the mix would throw so many scenes off course with his sheer presence that the stand off between Neytiri and Quaritch where they're holding the kids hostage wouldn't happen. There would be too many variables changing for it to occur the same way, but lets pretend it does.

(Neteyam is alive btw, just resting on his rock with Tsireya kindly mixing him up a poultice she learned from her Tsahik training. Lyle didn't kill him, but Neteyam definitely had to protect Lo'ak's dumbass in some way. That child is accident prone.)

Anyway, we've got Quaritch holding Kiri hostage. Jake is trying to keep Tuk out of harm's way. No one knows where the fuck Lo'ak is, but he's slippery enough to get himself out of anything. And then we've got Neytiri making a last ditch effort to protect her daughter by threatening to take away the last thing Quaritch loves; Spider.

In the background, we've got Tsu'tey. Breathing hard, slightly wounded from throwing himself around on a ship with broken equipment and guns getting fired at him from all directions.

Raised voices draw his attention. He's standing on the walkway overlooking the deck where the standoff is occurring. He spots Spider first, under Neytiri's blade, begging for Kiri's life instead of his own. Anger like he's never felt before curls hard in his stomach. The betrayal is worse than when Jake and Neytiri first mated. It was one thing to let his son get captured, it was another to murder him right in front of Tsu'tey.

Kiri's voice stops Tsu'tey from doing anything stupid in his blind rage. Every molecule of his body screams to defend his child, but common sense makes him take in the situation.

His head snaps to Quaritch holding Kiri hostage. To Jake within arms reach, but preoccupied with Tuk. To the knife drawing blood at Kiri's neck.

Tsu'tey also takes note of the clear shot he has from his vantage point. There is no conflict within him as he notches his bow. No concern for Spider's reaction, or the conflicted feelings he might have towards his birth father. Tsu'tey's mind is clear. His hands are steady. And his mind is made up.

He takes the shot, and nail's the recom through his right eye. The arrow - fired with all the strength he could muster - goes straight through bone and wedges in up to two thirds of its shaft.

Quaritch sways for a heartbeat, his knife clattering to the metal deck as Kiri tears away from him and throws herself at Jake. Then he collapses with a painful thump. Limps sprawling and his head lolling.

Slowly, Tsu'tey lowers his bow, his gaze narrowed and his tail whipping behind him. He catches Neytiri's eyes as the huntress and her family follow the direction the arrow had come from.

"Unhand. My. Son." Tsu'tey snarls, his voice ringing out over the soft crash of the waves and the pop of fire. His gaze is venomous, fingers twitching for another arrow if Neytiri doesn't back down. There's still a crazed edge to her gaze, a look Tsu'tey is sure he shares. He hasn't felt this shaken since Spider was taken.

Neytiri nods once. An acknowledgment. And lets Spider go.

His son stumbles away, furiously scrambling to put distance between himself and Neytiri. Kiri was quick to soothe him, check him for injuries as Jake carefully approached Neytiri to take the knife off of her.

Tsu'tey leaps down from the upper level. He can't be bothered to find the stairs and the height is nothing compared to what he has to deal with back in the forest. He keeps an eye on Neytiri, but knows that Jake has her now. Ears pricked in case of further enemies, Tsu'tey spares a few moments to kick Quaritch's corpse and make sure he fired a killing shot. The last thing he needed was to grow comfortable again and then in fifteen years have to deal with this bullshit all over again.

"Dad?" The quiet utterance has panic straightening his spine. It's not one of his nieces asking for Jake's attention. It's Spider's voice. Quiet and shaky and so vulnerable that Tsu'tey just wants to wrap himself up in his arms.

Instead, all he can think about is Quaritch's body at his feet. Tsu'tey's arrow protruding from his eye socket. His blood pooling at his feet.

Then it hits him all at once. Spider's birth dad is dead at his feet, and Tsu'tey put him there. Tsu'tey killed him. He didn't even ask. Spider spent months with this man - against his will - but not everything is black and white. They might have come to some understanding. He might of grown to know him outside of his video logs and the fleeting stories he overheard from the Omaticaya. Spider may have gotten to know Quaritch without the biased lense of hate everyone else talks about him with. And Tsu'tey murdered him. What's worse, he felt triumphant doing it.

Tsu'tey can feel his hands shaking, regardless of how tightly he grasped his bow. His ears were flat against his skull, his tail tucked in close to his legs. He prays he just looks like he's reflecting, in contrast to being crushed by the weight of his actions. And he keeps staring at Quaritch's corpse. The arrow. The blood.

"Dad?" Spider says again. A little louder. More confident. And it kills Tsu'tey as he cringes, eyes squeezing shut against the guilt.

A brush of a hand to his wrist. His eyes snap open, and there's Spider. Gazing up at him with wide, tearful eyes. His mask is slightly cracked and he's bleeding from his chest where Neytiri caught him with her blade. But there is no hatred in his expression. Only relief and exhaustion.

"Dad, are you okay?" Spider asks him, and he looks at Tsu'tey as he says it.

The realisation hits him like a sturmbeest stampede. That Spider was calling him Dad, not the corpse at his feet.

With a deep, shuddering breath, Tsu'tey pulls himself together. "I am." He reassures his son as he drops into a crouch. It is evident from Spider's expression that he doesn't believe him, but the boy doesn't push.

Instead, he throws his arms around Tsu'tey's neck and burries his face under his chin. Tsu'tey chuckles wetly, his arms wrapping around Spider and dragging him close. It soothes every raw instinct in him to finally have his boy back in his arms. Tired and injured, but safe.

Around him, he can hear the Sully family beginning to wade into the surf, so Tsu'tey tucks his arms under Spider's thighs and hoists him up onto his hip, like he used to when his son was still a toddler. Despite his age now, he's still the perfect size for Tsu'tey to carry unhindered out of the shipwreck.

BONUS:

[brideofscience]

If you are still taking requests I would love a Roman Bridger x ofc fic. Or just a head cannon. Honestly there are not a lot of fics for him, yet there could have been so much more done with his character it makes me sad. ☹️ Especially since I just watched Scream 3 for the hundredth time. 😁

This man is so underrated I swear😭😭😭 he's the superior 🛐 I did some headcanons I have for him <333 this request was made literally a year ago and I still have some more but BETTER NOW THAN NEVER

Roman Bridger (relationship) headcanons

he's super sweet in private but can act like a little bitch around people

mommy issues, let's be honest here

he would need someone to calm him when he's having a breakdown and he does have it hard sometimes

trust issues

It would take him really long time to open up about his mother and past to partner, or he wouldn't even do that at all

but if he would, he would have to really trust them

spoils his partner with everything they want

physical affection king

he loves holding his partners hand everywhere he goes

also having his arm around their shoulder or on their back

it makes him proud to show you off and it comforts him in some way

he would love taking his partner to business parties with the crew

takes his partner on set often and shows them how everything works (+they can meet some of the actors or be an extra in some scenes)

loves to hold you while sleeping

and while he usually is the big spoon, sometimes he needs someone to hold him

hates to cry but if he does it he needs someone to hold him close and calm him down

can have really low self esteem at times and just needs to make sure he still deserves his parter. At times like this he needs to hear that he's worth it and lots of affection.

if his partner knew about his ghostface plan and helped in some way, he would hide them somewhere safe so they wouldn't be connected with it by the police, keeping them safe

during his ghostface attack he would keep them out of the set so they wouldn't get hurt accidentally

if he had survived, he would be so relieved if his partner would still be with him tho

and he would cry for sure🙁

[rose-tea-and-strawberries]

I'm kinda curious about your view on vil and your thoughts on the trauma he possibly or could have inflicted on Yuu during book 5.

I have this headcannon inspired by this one shot by uniquethingtastemaker

https://www.tumblr.com/uniquethingtastemaker/720073081338626048/neige-x-reader-white-beaches-and-a-spring-morning?source=share

The headcannon: Basically Yuu (who is female for this) hides the fact that she's a girl for safety reasons (I mean not only is Yuu magic less in another world, she's also in a all boy school. Yeah that doesn't scream good idea). The only who knows are the teachers, Crowley, Grim and later Ace and Deuce when she's comfortable enough to tell them. At some point before book 5, Yuu is allowed a small vacation out of NRC for the crap she had to deal with jamil in the previous book; during her vacation goes out as herself and runs into neige. They become friends and stay in touch with one another. Yuu made Neige promise not to say anything about her actually gender as a few know in NRC.

*Also have a headcannon where Yuu is a school idol like love live and secretly helps Neige and the dwarfs write a song and dance that works for them for VDC. Yuu and Neige were already writing a song together just for fun since Yuu missed being a school idol and hasn't written a song since coming to twisted wonderland 😅

Plus it's something she has a choice in and would fun doing with a friend. During book 5, Crowley literally forced Yuu's hand by threatening their plumbing and Vil just dub them the manager without asking if it was okay with them. There's also how forceful he was being. . . .

There's no rule that has she can't and she's not even in the group.

Sorry for rambling 😅

So I've written about my thoughts on Vil before and honestly he's kind of one of my - if not my most - least favourite character(s).

I've cut this up for length:

I know that he has a lot of trauma and that he's a character that lots of people can mischaracterize and hate irrationally but he just rubs me the wrong way - and I'm saying this as a former gifted child and as someone who has witnessed people go through burn out both in Primary and Secondary school. I feel sorry for him and I understand that the pressure of perfection can be an incredible burden to bear but the way he treats others is just so grating that I can't say I like him that much.

Honestly, Book 5 is my least favourite book (then it's 3 then 4) and I have so much to say for everything; the blackmail, Vil's behaviour, Vil cursing our food without telling us, having to share a dorm with Jamil when he used Yuu and endangered them for his own gain (and then Kalim for sweeping it under the rug), Vil almost making Deuce cry, the Neige hate, Vil facing absolutely no consequences for trying to murder someone and then nearly killing everyone and destroying a building.

Yes, I agree that Epel has a mindset of toxic masculinity and yes, it should be addressed and challenged. But Vil's military dictator training and forcing him to do things that he hates (and even making him hide his accent - something that connects him to the home and family he loves) is not how you do it. I don't despise feminine things like he does, but even I would hate to live up to Vil's standards every single day (especially when Vil degrades far more times than he praises).

Something I really really hate about the twst fandom is how lots of people put down Neige or make him the butt of a joke just to make Vil better. I've seen so many jokes or fanfics or imagines where Neige gets rejected or laughed at or treated terribly just so that Vil can be seen as superior and as someone who actually really likes Neige and has Snow White as their favourite princess ever since they were in reception, I just can't stand the Neige hate. Especially when he was almost a victim of a poisoning plot - as in Vil literally tried to kill him for absolutely no reason at all (before he then tried to kill us for 'seeing an ugly side of him' which we are supposed to forgive because of course we are)

I really loved that Neige story and I actually do headcanon that Neige and Yuu are really close friends and they text each other 24/7 (and also with Prince Rielle). I did make a #JusticeForYuu post where I said that I wanted Yuu to just send the entirety of NRC (minus Ace and Deuce) to coventry and not give them the time of day so I thought it would be just delicious if Neige is the one that helps Yuu with all things fashion related since he's just as famous (if not more so) than Vil with his own line of clothing and make up and would have access to things they would need.

And I think you somehow managed to read my mind because I have this Yuu that's a theatre kid (this is not relevant at all but this fem!Yuu was also Christine Daaé in her theatre's performance of Phantom of the Opera) with the voice of an angel that's best friends with Neige and the two of them totally duet together - I did kind of toy with the idea of Neige hyping her up to sing something for VDC as a closing performance and her blowing everyone away but I digress...

You know what? I am actually against the headcanon that RSA is filled with snooty, condescending, stuck up rich kids with a holier-than-thou attitude - I'm under the firm belief that the RSA students are actual sweethearts who are kind and caring and aren't the type of people who would inflict trauma on an innocent magicless teenager. The only reason why I don't want Yuu to transfer to RSA is because they'd have to leave Ace and Deuce behind (as well as the Ramshackle ghosts) and those boys are literally everything to me so I like to think that Yuu likes to go to RSA like once a week or something to spend time with people who don't try to manipulate or mistreat them.

I do have a lot more things to say but my brain has gone to mush and I can't think of anything so here

[class1akids]

Is it only me who thinks being obsessed with wanting to be the #1 hero is kinda weird? Especially considering how corrupted the hero society is. For me, the rankings shouldn't even be there anyway, but genuinely isn't a hero's priority to help and save, and last time I checked in the MHA hero ranking setting saving the most people does not make you the #1, Endeavor had a higher number than All Might (if I am wrong correct me please) so aside from Izuku and Bakugou's rivalry and them pushing each other to become the #1, and maybe their admiration for All Might, (which both applying to Shouto as well, but he is not as eager as them, especially Bakugou who has a weird obsession with it, Shouto seems like he has a different priority) the absolute need to be seen as #1, "the strongest" feels unnecessary. Would have been fine with it if the ranking thing did not literally lead a whole family to crumble, feeding into the negative feelings of the ones like Endeavor, (surely there are many things you can mis-use and take advantage of, he is responsible for what he has done) and creates a superiority for the #1. Not to mention it puts a huge amount of responsibility and pressure on one's shoulders, when in fact the burden should be shared. I think "This is how we all became the greatest heroes" thing goes there as well. Just wanted to hear your opinion on it. Shouto's approach on this (post-development) just seems to be the best approach for me and I think that's not talked about. In fact they see him as always laid-back and not as "passionate" to become a hero, and it is annoying.

I think there are a couple of different things here.

Wanting to be the best at something is not bad. In fact it's important to have a goal or motivation.

The hero ranking system is toxic and it should go. As we have seen, it generates a lot of frustration, also reduces heroism to "number of incidents", tries to quantify human lives. It also is very prejudiced towards flashy combat quirks vs niche quirks or rescue quirks. (E.g. why is Recovery Girl not Top 10 but the washing machine is?)

Yes, I think the ending will have to do some reform to the ranking system.

Shoto having different priorities than No 1 I think is normal for his backstory. Endeavor chasing No 1 has destroyed his family. Shoto prioritizing that family is coherent with his arc.

Bakugou has no such trauma or baggage, but his arc was also about learning that there are different kinds of strength and that what makes a great hero is not only about their quirk. So as long as he keeps pursuing No 1 with the spirit of wanting to better himself in service of a greater good and not to satisfy his own ego, that's a legitimate objective for him.

[flokali]

Yuri? 😳

he's so hot like i swear. I feel like he's the type of yandere to worship or stalk his darling, and then when he finally has them in his clutches he goes all out.

Personal space? Wdym, it's Yuri's space too. You want some alone time? Well, you can be alone with Yuri!

Now I'm just picturing Yuri killing anyone in his way to make his darling fall for him- also using his military skills to hide anything he's doing.

Don't even get me started on sex with him. ( might ramble about it later on)

Warnings: yandere content, implications of murder, stalking, governmental surveillance, abuse of power, worshiping, unhealthy mindsets, ask to tag!

Yuri! You read my mind nonnie! Aurgh, I don’t know if I did your ideas justice but once I started I literally couldn’t finish nor stop thinking about it. Yuri Briar my beloved </3 I’m still open to hearing about… s-seggs with my little loco if you want >_<

I absolutely agree that Yuri is a worshiper and stalker type! I feel like, at the end of the day, he grows to admire anyone who can hold onto any type of goodness in the Ostania, especially in this day and age, is already an amazing person - now, add onto the fact this person is you in particular, with all your personality, tastes, talents, and personal attributes; he is in love.

I think it’d be even better if you two met because of his work when he was assigned to watch over civilians in a certain part of town that had reportedly been causing trouble, it just so happened he was assigned to you - at first it’s almost insulting how easy the job but it’s significantly less work than normal and he likes the fact it gives him some time to spend with his family.

He starts off as rather normal, at least compared to where he ends up, it’s just a crush, sure it’s taboo to get a crush on the person you’re surveillancing for the government of all things but he can’t help it. He excuses his stalking as him just doing his job, plus it’s basically just keeping tabs at the places you frequent and if there’s any suspicious activity; normal, if not plain boring, work for a guy like him so it’s nothing weird, he’s done worse things.

But when he hands off the report and his superiors dismiss you as a threat, he still finds himself watching over you but this time he starts going into even more personal details.

By the time he’s done, he doesn’t just know your birthday, blood type, frequented locations, address, work place, family, and acquaintances but he can list off things like your favorite book, your most used clothing item, your best friend’s name and their life story, your order at the cafe you like going to on Friday evenings with your work friend’s that is just down the street from your office, and more just from the top of his head. You would quickly realize that Yuri had memorized everything about you as if he would get tested on it.

You were just… such an amazing person, he was sure you were too perfect to be real. It’s no surprise he ended up sneaking into your house eventually nor that he grew quickly overstimulated by how much of you was around the house. As he looked over your belongings, he only grew more and more certain that he had to have you in his arms - you were simply too good, he had to protect you. Only he could do that, only he could save you from the corruption of the cruel world.

He already had a plan in mind, he would simply insert himself in your life and become an important factor in it - he would put his knowledge to use and seduce you, woo you into his arms and make sure to never let anything hurt you and to never let you go.

It takes some time but eventually, after months of hard work, Yuri finally has you where he needed you. Yes, needed, because this was never a want - no, it wasn’t a want, you needed him to protect you, to save you, to guard you, you just didn’t know that and he needed to make you see this. It was harder than he thought, if it wasn’t due to his training he probably would’ve broken down and declared his love for you the moment you two locked eyes, he had to wait until every night to finally let his giddiness come out as he’d go through the events of the day - mentally going through the timeline of you two first meeting and where you stood then - and it was so, so hard not to simply put a pretty cloth over your mouth and take you home with him.

Eventually, you start dating - totally not because he’d secretly taken out all of the filthy, dirty, worthless scum that dared get in the way of you two’s true love - and he feels his body shiver with electricity every time you’re together as a couple. Yuri is in bliss, he can’t help himself slowly grow loose with his affections, suddenly you’ll be hit with how clingy he could be. But, what did you expect? This is the man who has been stalking you for almost a year and who has been dreaming of holding you in his arms!

It’ll be so hard to deny him too, he’ll let it slip on purpose how hard he had it as a kid - no parents with only his sister! Isn’t that so sad? He’s only looking for the affection he never got as a kid. You’d be a monster to deny him!

And, it’s as if he’s doing anything bad - he isn’t hurting you or belittling you, if anything he’s worshiping you! - by being around you all the time, even if it can get rather tiring having him around you 24/7, it’s just one of his ways of showing love.

The other? Simple, getting rid of the world’s garbage! Well, maybe not the world but definitely Ostania’s. It’s all he’s ever known and it’s not like it bothers him - when you love someone it doesn’t matter how dirty your hands become as long as it’s for their benefit. That’s what he says to himself as he walks over your rather affectionate coworker, they were trying to get in the way - in your way. This was for you, he’d mumble as he stripped himself from the blood stained gloves, you needed him as much as he needed you.

He was simply making a better world for you to live in, one where your purity and good heart wouldn’t be corrupted by the scum that dared walk alongside you; one body at a time.

[blond-jerk-tourney]

Champagne Bracket: Round 3, Poll 1

Propaganda from submitters Under Cut

Yoshiya "Joshua" Kiryu

He’s a bitch and a hate (love) him. I will now quote him below: "Sigh... I don't do the whole sweating thing, Neku." "Very impressive, Neku. Show those fifth graders who's boss." "Who needs other people's values? It's easier to just live by your own rules." "Oh! I can't say I'm particularly interested, but... I'll go ahead and ask, for the sake of convenience. Do you have a name?"

Smug asshole. Always playing mind games with the player character. Has many secrets but never shares them. Also did a bunch of spoilery shit.

Byakuya Togami

Very elitist, constantly calls others "commoners", talks about how he is gonna kill someone and get out of the killing game, hangs up a corpse and writes a message with their blood on the wall because he already knows the murderer but wants to see who is smart, complains the other students left him out even though he made sure to tell them every time that he wants nothing to do with them, pretty sure he screams in the 4 chapter " How can you know something I don't know?!", the only reason he doesn't qualify as a villain is cus he doesnt kill someone and in the end works with the rest of the survivors. He also constantly wants the protagonist to tell the rest what he knows

he's mean and self-centered and sees himself as above everyone else.

such a cunt 😭 doesnt eat breakfast w everyone and spends all his time in the library. (also he tampered with a crime scene but spoilers)

His title is literally, get this, "ultimate affluent progeny" Fucking look at him /hj Treats everyone as inferior in every way, even when they're trying to solve a murder he goes "how did YOUUU figure this out before MEEE???? >:0" Constantly has an "Me vs. Them" mentality about everything so he feels the need to prove himself to be superior - Messes with crime scenes because it would "make them more interesting" (purposefully incriminating someone else, who he didn't like) Actual quotes by him: "I'm only here to get breakfast. I have neither need nor desire to talk to you. Now withdraw." "You're like a child lost in the woods, you know that? A total waste of space." "You know, I still just can't believe it... That an uneducated, brain-dead, useless piece of garbage like you has survived this long." "You have only yourself to blame—you came to me with your tragic little story. I didn't ask you to. This is the real world, not some romantic fantasy fairytale."

This rich mf… He spends the entire game being a snobby, condescending, uncaring asshole. He becomes relatively nicer by the end but never stops being a dick. He also desecrated a corpse once for funsies. He’s also stupid but he doesn’t know that. I both like and hate him. It’s complicated.

He's an heir to a wealthy family corporation and he sure does act the part. He acts like he's better than everyone else and thinks they're not worth his time. He's just a huge asshole. (SPOILERS) He tampers with a murder scene just for fun and outs another student's secret alter, knowing full well it was irrelevant to the case. He also has a small breakdown about being wrong in another trial. By the end, he becomes a bit more likeable and kinda a tsundere that pretends like he doesn't care about the other survivors (but he totally does). Still very much an asshole though. He's a fucked up lil guy and something about him draws me to him. I would kick his rich bastard shins IRL given the chance, however.

He is emotionally detached from his classmates…

why you should vote byakuya "tell em naegi" thanks for watching like and subscribe

[seriouslysam8]

can I ask why you don’t like hermione?

I find Hermione’s character completely insufferable (to quote one of my least favorite characters.)

She has a superiority complex. She legit thinks she’s the smartest person ever. Sure, she’s got book-smarts. But she often dismisses and talks down to Harry and Ron (her supposed best friends) so imagine how she talks to someone like Lavender who is the complete opposite of her. She often dismisses Harry’s ideas because she thinks her way of doing things is better.

She lacks sympathy, especially if she thinks she’s right about something. Look, she was right about the DOM. And Harry was in a highly emotional state because his literal only family was in danger. She just comes off as so self-righteous and uncaring in that scene. In contrast to Ginny who is very much like “I care about him too!” And you know Hermione already doesn’t like Sirius. You can tell in OOTP that she dislikes him.

She’s an annoying friend. I would not be friends with Hermione in real life. In POA, she’s right the Firebolt was from Sirius, but the way she goes about telling McGonagall behind Harry’s back is just not being a very good friend, especially in the realm of a teenager. Hell, even as an adult, that would annoy the hell out of me. Voice your concerns and suggest checking out the broom, but don’t go tattling behind your friend’s back.

She’s so hypocritical. She’s so hellbent on following the rules but yet she does the most unhinged shit like scarring Marietta and trapping Rita in a jar. Sure, those characters are annoying but that’s a bit extreme. Not to mention, she can date Krum but Ron can’t date Lavender? She has to send a flock of birds to attack him? Like sit down.

You see other characters have growth in the series but she never does because she already thinks she’s the best and she’s always right. It’s hard to even find a fanfic story where she doesn’t swoop in with all the right answers and being obnoxious. Like can we just celebrate that Harry and Ron are smart too? Why is that so hard?

The total way Ron pushed back so Hermione can shine is annoying as well. Hermione is always highlighted as Harry’s best friend. She wasn’t. Harry was literally annoyed with her all the damn time. He didn’t care when they fought in POA, in contrast to him being depressed and acting like he lost a limb when he fought with Ron in GOF. In DH, when Ron was gone, Harry and Hermione barely talked. There was no dancing scene or the two being close. Harry only stared at Ginny’s dot while Hermione cried. Hermione was, arguably, a better friend to Harry than Harry was to Hermione. She doesn’t even realize that. She’s always on him and annoying him.

But here’s the thing. You don’t have to agree with me. You can love Hermione all you want. But I’m also allowed to dislike her character. I’m not obligated to write her character or to write Romione or anything. I find it so weird that I am a Hinny writer, but people get upset about the lack of Hermione. If I never had a tumblr, nobody would even know I dislike her character because I don’t fucking bash her in my writing. I find bashing characters lazy writing. Just because I’m writing Harry and Hermione fighting in Brumous and not talking so therefore do not write Hermione scenes is not bashing. Just because I was going to have Romione get a divorce in Legerdemain is not bashing. I didn’t even want to kill her in Legerdemain but I was stupid and listened to people on tumblr saying that was better than a divorce for some reason and felt pressured into it. So blame the Romione fans and not me for her death who thought death was better than divorce.

But I am so sick of people coming at me for literally not writing Hermione or complaining about it. I am the writer. I do this for free. I am not obligated to write anything or anyone I don’t want to. If you don’t like, don’t read. And don’t bash a real life person over a fictional character. Like it’s weird. I just want to write my silly little angsty stories but the Hermione bullshit is so frustrating. I don’t understand the love.

If you don’t agree with me, that’s fine. I’m not arguing in the comments and will ignore/block you if my comments are filled with hate.

[mdhwrites]

So, how does Discord from MLP fare as a chaotic god creature who gains redemption from friendship? Considering your issues with The Collector, what made the idea that Discord could be redeemed by Fluttershy's friendship work better?

So, the ask that caused me to finish watching the finale. Let's do this. *cracks neck*

Discord is less human and empathetic.

That... Is actually most of it which I know probably sounds a little weird. After all, shouldn't a kinder character be easier to redeem? Shouldn't it be more satisfying to see them change from their negative influences? Well... Yes. For most characters.

Discord and The Collector are not most characters. They're all powerful gods who mostly get enjoyment from chaos and causing problems. You inherently need a different approach to how they function when it comes to their morality. After all, neither one sees the death or loss of autonomy for a massive amount of people as a big deal so long as they had fun. That hedonism is a core part of both characters.

And this is where the Collector's humanity becomes a problem for the reason why it works with Discord: When Discord fucks over Fluttershy in his redemption, he doesn't expect her to be fair. To be good to him. His expectation, and desire even because of how he sees things, is that she'll snap. She'll get mad, break her word, and he'll be proven right about how all of this is bullshit. Sure, he probably gets turned to stone again but he's immortal. Time doesn't matter as much victory does. Even better if she snaps but keeps her word while swearing him up and down because now he gets to do what he wants.

But... He doesn't get that, does he? She keeps her word... But cuts ties. Doesn't get mad (and sorry if I'm misrepresenting any of this), doesn't throw a fit, doesn't do much of anything. Instead, she lets him know this isn't what friends do, that they aren't friends anymore, and leaves.

He won... But didn't get a prize. Didn't get the reward of breaking Fluttershy's patience. Doesn't get the reward of moral superiority because she dropped her mask and that's a CRUCIAL part of this. He NEVER believed that Fluttershy was being sincere. In his eyes, no one ever is. His chaos is actually revelatory more than anything else to him. Push someone to brink and where do their allegiances lie. That's literally what he does when he first shows up in S2 and shows how weak the element bearers can be when pitted against their own desires and vices. All but Fluttershy who annoyed him because she wouldn't play ball. She stuck to being kind.

I'm actually kind of loving how I expected to say I didn't think Discord's redemption was great but I actually love how even back in his first appearance, you can see the blocks they built on for it. But... why does this redeem him then?

Well because it proves him wrong and gives him something he's never had: A friend. Someone who doesn't wear a mask with him. Someone who genuinely cares about him. He's never had that and so yeah, he's free forever since the elements won't be used against him but... In return, he never gets the kindness he just finally experienced. A kindness that by the show's logic is the most powerful thing in the universe, literally. And so he decides that the only way to win is to lose and gives up so he can be friends with Fluttershy.

All of this btw explains why he never bothers trying to connect with the rest because he just sees them as masks which helps keep him antagonistic, even if he's not a villain now.

So what does this all have to do with The Collector? Well, see, with Discord, before his change, you could never win making a deal with him. You don't matter to him so you actually have to exchange something. With the Collector... You matter.

People matter to him... Which makes EVERYTHING he does WAY WORSE.

And this isn't even about killing people. For as fucking stupid as him not knowing what death is, and just a straight up lie by the show that goes fucking nowhere and has no payoff, that is not actually important here. Sure, it shows a lack of understanding to what he does, but the dehumanization is enough. He does horribly monstrous things to EVERYONE on the Isles. Full stop. He is a monster and this link takes you to something more comprehensive on that.

And he does that... While understanding his actions upset others and that he doesn't like that.

The smoking gun here is the line "King will hate me now." He knew going in that the dreams would piss off King. That hurting Eda and Luz had consequences. Consequences HE DIDN'T WANT. Discord thought there was no losing play because he could not imagine actually hurting Fluttershy in a way that mattered to him. It is VERY easy for the Collector. It's actually why King has so much power over him. He is desperate to keep his friend around.

But if he can recognize the humanity in one person, why can't he for literally anyone else?

And that's the killing blow. Even if you buy into EVERYTHING about the death stuff, he still knows he's doing monstrous things. That he has done monstrous things. This is why he doesn't like King reading about his brothers. Admittedly, you also have a moment like him asking for Grudgby buddies but... Why? The evidence is overwhelmingly stacked that he knows the people hate him. Otherwise he wouldn't have stars hunting and making people into dolls. Making them into nothing but toys instead of even giving them a chance to be his friend. Terra and Odalia live in fear of annoying him AT ALL and getting turned into a puppet, which happens to Terra. He treats people TERRIBLY... While knowing what he does is wrong.

While knowing King doesn't like this. That he doesn't like how King looks at him in those moments. He himself in the finale admits that the friendship is a lie and it hurts but he'd rather have that than not have a friend. But... He's been at this for months. He has been doing these things, with King by his side, for MONTHS.

Why did none of these people get even a chance? What is the underlying philosophy for the Collector? That he thinks they'll lie and cheat with him? It's not like King wasn't getting something out of their deal so King should be just as untrustworthy as everyone else. More so honestly because he IS immune to his magic so the Collector is defenseless if King decides to shove him back into the mirror. But... He gives King a chance. And he needs proof to believe that someone is out to get him. That's why Belos needs to have him check on King. He doesn't assume people are lying like Discord does.

And also... What does he get out of fucking with people? Discord genuinely takes pleasure in your misery. In you losing your mind. We get the death games in the finale but why that scale? Why the unfair rules? He's cheating like he accuses others of doing. But... He wants others to be honest with him. Discord lies because he doesn't expect anyone to bother being honest with him, not if they can get something out of lying.

That's why I describe it as the Collector being too human. He is too genuinely a person to have his crimes be as easily dismissed. For a simple shift in outlook, one thing proving his hypothesis wrong, to be what changes him.

Mind you... That doesn't happen either. The Collector isn't redeemed in the TOH finale. The one rushed part of the finale is when he should have been convinced that Luz was right. When he should have apologized for what he'd done or done a grand gesture to show he had changed how he viewed things. Instead, there's brief talk about forgiveness and kindness, which is not what the Collector is actually asking for because he claims during this section to not have actually done anything wrong (refer to everything above), he mumbles about it, and then I guess his big redemption moment is trying to use the theory on Belos. Except, you know... He spends the entire episode wanting to make friends. He is told a way to make friends and bluntly uses it like he did Belos' plans that started the episode and the death games. He hasn't grown or changed which is probably why the moment is treated as a complete joke. Then Luz dies ten seconds later and I guess figuring out that death exists SCREAMS makes him go save people. Hurray?

It's bad. At least Fluttershy's moment was genuinely built up. They showed how Discord viewed things and then presented a choice that actively asked that he either stay to his old mindset and beliefs or change to face a scarier, uncertain future. The Collector is still mostly just going off of "Friends are great! Do what makes you friends the easiest!" which isn't a new mentality for him. I guess you MAYBE get it when he fucks off in the end but also not really. Kind of like how Luz gave the demon realm a middle finger, him leaving without actually fixing like 90% of the damage he did, something that would be really easy for him but takes the citizens of the Isles FOUR YEARS, feels a lot more like that. Like these people don't like him, won't be his friends, so he tries a new planet instead. Maybe with a bit less forcing people to be his friend but why? His viewpoint seems to still be what it always has been, especially since he DOESN'T stick around to try actually be King's friend. To actually work with him and give him agency. He does all he has to to not make King hate him and then... Leaves. Instead of, you know, actually putting the work in which would have taken one line of "The Collector agreed to a power dampener to help everyone else feel a bit easier and is now working with King on what their friendship will be instead of telling him how it will be." Maybe even with showing him losing at Jenga, King getting nervous but then the Collector just laughs it off because he doesn't need to be in control anymore. He can lose and still be happy.

And again: This is the ONE part of the finale that's actually rushed. For as painfully slow and wasteful as the rest is, redeeming the Collector was just left on the chopping room floor I guess. Then again, that happened with Amity too, who never makes up for the bullying she did or actually apologizes for the years of bullying, just for the original sin (and then leaves Willow high and dry). It also happened with Hunter who always states very selfish motivations for wanting to be away from Belos and never actually disavows the things he did or the mindset he did them with. It's why I say he left Belos just because otherwise he'd be dead because it all still feels self serving. It doesn't feel like his worldview or his morality actually changed besides understanding his uncle wanted him dead.

TOH is just bad at redemption. At actually changing a character and having them rebuke their past. At least with Discord, the show is bluntly honest about even the initial attempt having a carrot on a stick for him. That if he doesn't play nice, it's back into the statue. It's why it's important that that carrot is gone in his moment of redemption. We know what he wants: Freedom and Chaos. Fluttershy won't put him back into the statue so he has those. But he chooses friendship instead because they've genuinely changed his mind and so he gives up both some of his freedom, and some of his chaos, to behave and play nice, even when Fluttershy had no reason to actually be nice to him even when he changed everything back in the end. He could have just lost. He didn't have to be honest and straightforwardly kind to another, things that the episode itself was asking whether or not it was possible for him to do.

There just isn't anything like that with the Collector and reminder: Discord is redeemed in his second appearance. He gets an hour of airtime where he can even show up before this happens. The Collector has more time to be fleshed out, genuinely, than Discord did. But... The Collector doesn't actually change. He might claim it but we don't see that. We don't see him do anything that would actually sell us on him having changed his worldview. After all, he forgave the Titans by still wanting to befriend one. He showed plenty of kindness to King with stuff like not forcing him to give Francois.

He already was like this so why does the little trip down memory lane do anything? Especially when for most of it, King, Eda and Luz are barely paying attention to him so the writers can circle jerk about the plans they had or about the amazing story they made. Even his big moment is undercut by being a joke. By obviously being the wrong move and then costing Luz her life. Just another dumb plan he enacted because someone told him it would get him friends.

That's not different and unfortunately it doesn't fix the awful things he did to others. The things he knows were wrong that he did. Discord never had to apologize for it because he'd never thought of them as wrong. Not until the moment everything changed for him.

Nothing changed for the Collector. Not a single thing.

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Something that is just kind of an undercurrent of this but that I cannot stress enough for why the two are different: Discord can do what he does so quickly because he is a genuinely consistent character with clear goals and motivations. Meanwhile, the Collector is maybe the most inconsistent character I have ever seen which kind of makes redemption impossible in the first place. How do you redeem a character who seems to change core elements of himself every episode?

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Saw Across the Spiderverse, I loved it, 10/10 incredible talented beautiful amazing etc

They should never be allowed to write for Miguel again. That was not my guy and I am so disappointed and afraid for how it’ll influence public opinion of him. More under the cut in case this gets long, but in short:

Miguel O’Hara is someone who’s vehemently against injustice and large, powerful collectives taking choice and power away from the masses. His origin story is literally being used and abused by the powerful company he worked for because he wanted to save the lives of strangers. For protecting people from testing he knew would kill them, he was forcibly drugged and then had a murder attempted by a colleague, giving him his powers. His whole journey as Spider-Man has been about ensuring a better future for his world and fighting back against people who hoard power and lord it over others.

Miguel O’Hara is also a serious man within the suit and a bit of a wise-ass out of it, and he certainly has a short fuse, he would *never* be so irrationally angry towards someone who wants to save his father. Miguel often bends or breaks rules when he feels they’re unjust, and his whole first arc (and much of his character) is fighting against an even more corrupt and all-encompassing Big Pharma. Miguel has a big heart and strives to help others even when he grumbles about it. His first action after getting his powers is attempting to save the man who just repeatedly tried to kill him!

Even when stuck in the past, even when having no obligation to be a hero, Miguel is. Because that’s the kind of person he is. He’s a fierce defender of those who cannot protect themselves, he’s an incredibly smart scientist, and he’s constantly maneuvering in battle to avoid hurting civilians. In fact, he ends up injured himself more often than not keeping others out of harm’s way. He’s a good man.

In the movie, Miguel O’Hara willfully allows the deaths of countless people close to friends to serve ‘canon’. Ignoring that Miguel’s first act was defying rules, ignoring that he goes out of his way to protect his friends, even ignoring that he helps revive those close to him after death, the backstory they gave him troubles me. Miguel has never had a daughter. He had a son, named after his dear brother Gabriel. If he were doing this for his son, who he fought to get back to after death, or Gabriel, who he thought about constantly when stranded in the past, I’d be slightly more forgiving. But he’s not. He’s compromising everything that makes him who he is for a daughter he never had in the comics.

The lengths movie Miguel goes to, relentlessly chasing Miles and beating him into the ground several times, seem extreme. Miguel *is* angry, but only towards people who pose a great threat to innocents such as children or his immediate loved ones. Knowing Miles is a child, the lengths Miguel in the movie goes to are jarringly out of character.

I understand that they needed a villain, but to me, it would be infinitely more compelling if:

1) They used Superior Spider-Man instead. Doc Ock in a Peter’s body knowing that Spider-Man must exist for him to exist and thinking that one can only be a hero in tragedy would be a very good villain for Miles. It would also tie in well with the Spot, and how he insists that Miles made him as he made Miles. Another villain sits there, insisting that Spider-people make him, and he makes them in return. Miles says “That’s dumb and wrong” and spits in the face of hurting people to exist.

2) Miguel is doing this to get back to his brother. Gabriel is *the* most important person in Miguel’s life, to the point where he names his son after him and risks his secret identity and safety immediately to ensure his brother is okay. Keeping things ‘canon’ to assure himself that it means he can see his brother again, knowing that it’s wrong but being so desperate to find the only family that matters to him, would be a wonderful parallel to Miles. Miles loves his father, even when things are complicated, the same way Miguel loves his brother. Miguel and Miles are both brilliant people who would do anything for their loved ones and fight hard and dirty when they need to. Building on that would keep Miguel’s characterization closer to who he is while also keeping him as an antagonistic force.

If you made it this far, thank you! As I said, I loved the movie. The art is beautiful, the characters are poignant and emotional, and I cannot wait to see where the story goes. I just wish Miguel O’Hara was a part of that story.