#i think I'm just gonna jump into the fight scene like. i don't actually have to EXPLAIN them backtracking thru the asylum

[heart-bones]

lol I made it exactly an hour before saving and getting into bed this is why it's been four months and I'm not finished w it yet

[thedomesticanthropologist]

I present to you: at no point in the game is Astarion actually ready for a romantic relationship

Tav is the first person he drank from

The first person he has consensual sex with after 200 years

And he says to them: no one is like you. You're YOU

He genuinely believes that Tav is the *only* person who would be this way, even if it isn't true. He does fall in love with you, he does want you, but I present to you the idea that if things hadn't gone down EXACTLY as they had, Astarion NEVER would have initiated a partnership/romantic relationship for YEARS after escaping Cazador for good.

The man is coded for survival, for self-preservation, and is inherently selfish by nature. It is only because Tav gives selflessly and determinedly reinforces wanting to be with him that he caves in and allows it, but if you try to leave he's thrilled. This is for the best he says, you don't deserve this facade from me he says.

"I don't know how to be with someone even if I want to. I want this to be real but I don't know what real is. I need to not have sex right now"

In act 2, if you break up with him, he agrees with you. He thinks it's the right thing for you because hes not ready. He won't say this unless you initiate a break up but how could he possibly let go of the best thing that's happened to him in his entire undead life? He wouldn't toss out the treasure of you even if he didn't feel ready.

It really does take a patient, calm, supportive Tav to get him in the end, and he DOES want you, I'm not arguing that

I'm arguing that that man is not ready for a committed relationship, doesn't know what a healthy relationship looks like, and in an ideal situation if he thought he had time and options in his life and if he felt safe he would have focused 100% on himself first for a VERY long time.

The tadpoles, the adventure, the pressures of the battles, the fighting the revenge the ascension and the ritual he has to fight or succumb to the fact that the sunlight is gonna nerf him again- all of this contributes to the perfect scene where Tav gets him right "out the gate", first by being a mark and a target and then by simply *not breaking it off with him*

And yes he's in love to the best of his ability to know what love is at this point

And yes he wants you very much

But the man is going through the biggest whiplash of his life and I can say with confidence that he's not... *Ready*. And after all is said and done, Tav will have to continue to be patient with many things with him. There are still a lot of hurdles. He may be with them for a long time before he wakes up one day and realizes, really really realizes, that he's ready.

The power dynamics are off, they're imbalanced. How could he say no to a perfect mark that gives him everything ? Blood, sex, waits when sex is off the table, never breaks up with him never leaves no matter how he rails against them? He can't. He won't, and he doesn't want to, but that doesnt make him emotionally ready for what a genuine relationship is.

He has to learn it, with you, over time, but I don't think he'd jump into learning that and going for it and seeing it as worth it if the situation were in any way different

Without the perfect storm of events, I don't see Astarion jumping into "commited relationship" to be clear, I'm not saying that he isn't capable of feelings or doesn't want tav it's just

It doesn't *seem* to match his character or his struggles to me. For a man that is completely self serving, he accidentally catches feels and then doesn't have the strength to cut you loose even though his act 2 confession is practically him asking you to leave him. If you take the Araj route in particular, he VERY plainly lays his shitty behaviour on the table as if daring you to punish him for it... Or maybe just expecting.

In his spontaneous scene it's softer, it's I love you but I don't know how to do this. And still if you say "I don't think you're ready to be in a relationship" he immediately agrees. In act 3, if you've stuck to him the whole time like glue, he never wants to let you go. Again, I think this level of connection is impossibly rare and everything had to happen as it did to get you there, but the power balance is off still. He says partner, equal, and he wants that. And he WILL get there

But he not only has to struggle with his past, his issues, his trauma, he has to struggle with the power imabalance that you're his Savior. YOU defeated Cazador. YOU protected him in camp and didn't stake him on sight. YOU fed him from thinking creatures for the first time. YOU are one of "a very few select people" who have had sex with him and not been slaughtered immediately afterwards.

You're everything to him

And by the end of the game you already see him trying to shift that power imabalance because HE SEES IT. If you say you'll protect him he WINCES and disagrees, he doesn't want that. He doesn't want to be below you, but he sees himself that way anyway. And to me, that's the sign that he wasn't ready, he still isn't ready,

But he will be, one day. And I think that makes it a better written romance than thousands I've read, because it's not perfect. There's grey areas. There's things that can make you uncomfortable. There's parts of it that aren't healthy and won't be for a while. Who knows how long until he feels like he's your equal? Until he feels like this relationship is something he ever would have chosen if things were different?

But he does choose you. He does. He wants you. He'd just never have gotten the chance to if it hadn't been "right place right time" imho

[otomiyaa]

Ticklish Blade x Reader

Platonic + 47. "I wasn't even touching you." Requested by anon for my 1K Followers Event🌻

Guess guess what scene inspired this, hahaha!

It felt... odd. You eyed the driver nervously. He was so quiet. Not more quiet than usual, but in this case it was kind of concerning.

"Blade...?" you murmured. It was already a surprise that Blade was offering you a ride while you had no idea he even had a driver's license. But the bigger surprise was when you realized Blade was sleep-deprived, and getting in a car accident with him was not necessarily on your wishlist.

Too bad the realization came only after he started the car, and you were now trying to make sure he wasn't falling asleep.

"Blade?" you asked, louder this time.

"What."

Another person would think he was angry, but you knew him better by now.

"Are you sure you're alright? I can go there myself. No need to help me."

"I'm fine. I already told you."

You gazed out of the window, then back at him. Instead of acting like you were worried about him, maybe a more selfish attitude would do it then.

"I appreciate your gesture, really. I'm just wondering if you can get me there in one piece."

You saw him frown a little. "Are you doubting me?"

"Not your driving skills, of course. But... Your current state. Blade, you haven't slept at all. I'd like to keep living, if you'll let me."

He was quiet for a moment and you had a feeling he was going to ignore this discussion. But then he simply pulled both hands off the wheel, and you gasped.

"What are you doing?!" you shrieked, only for Blade to look at you, with his hands right above the wheel and the expression on his face almost, what was it... taunting?

"The car is driving itself. Now happy?"

Oh he was totally taunting you. How petty, hehe.

You would laugh at it, but because of the jumpscare, the first thing you did was let out a sigh in relief. "I can't believe you," you said, faking as if you were going to hit him, but to your surprise he jumped slightly and blocked himself with his arm.

"Don't," he hissed. You stared at him and cocked your head.

"Huh? What're you getting all defensive for? I wasn't even touching you."

Blade glared. "Yet. You sure were about to."

You chuckled. "What, is the almighty Bladie afraid I'm gonna hit him? For real?" you teased.

"Don't call me that."

It was strange, Blade wouldn't recoil from a hit, fake or real, not from an enemy and definitely not from you, so... You smirked.

"Hey!" Blade's voice did quite the thing when your finger pierced into his side, poking him misschievously.

"What are you doing?!" he asked angrily.

"I have a feeling you just thought I was going to tickle you, weren't you? Which inspired me... to actually tickle you."

"I did no-ahh! Don't! That's dangerous! Stahahap!" Blade yelped when you tickled him again. You couldn't stop grinning. This was just gold.

He must've witnessed the two or three times you ended up getting in a tickle fight with Silver Wolf the past days, which caused him to think you were actually going to tickle him just now? The idea wouldnt even cross your mind!

Well, now it definitely did.

"Dangerous how? You said the car is driving by itself. I'm just making sure the driver and passenger won't get bored in the meantime," you said, wiggling your fingers against his side. Blade squirmed in his seat. This was just wonderful. You could see him struggle to not move too much - since then it would get a little more dangerous after all.

Right now he was merely trapped in the driver's seat and forced to endure your little tickle attack.

"I'll - ahah! Stop that!" Blade's angry giggles were everything. You knew you were really being too reckless for someone who valued life so much until seconds ago. But ticklish Blade was actually a discovery worth it.

"Gehehet ohohoff!" Blade swatted at you, and the lack of force in his reactions only made you go "aww". He wasn't entirely helpless - there were plenty of ways he could make you stop without crashing the car, but those might probably include hurting you, or...

Nah, never mind. He would never.

"Lahahast chahance!" Blade warned, jumping hilariously in his seat and twisting from side to side to avoid your relentless tickles. Using both hands, you wiggled your fingers against his sides and ribs, and occasionally tried to poke his tummy, but he really blocked that area with all of his might.

"Last chance or what?" you asked, but finally he managed to catch one of your hands. Then without warning he clawed at your side, tickling you back, and you screamed in surprise.

"EHEyes on the road sihihir!" you cried out in sudden panic. Blade froze, appearing shocked by the volume of your voice. You had already pulled your knees up and lay curled up in your seat, watching him in fear as you anticipated his counter attack. He would never tickle you back: you were confident about that. But... not anymore.

He sighed. "Then stop tickling me." Blade finally put his hands back on the wheel, and for the second time this ride, you sighed in relief.

It was funny to hear him say that word. Hmm. Maybe you just ruined your chances of having your first ever tickle attack with Bladie. But tickle fights in cars were never ideal. You smirked. Knowing he was ticklish and might even potentially tickle you back, you couldn't help but store this information in your head for another time.

"Don't you even think about it," Blade said, probably noticing the smirk on your face.

"I wasn't thinking anything~" you sang, but of course both of you knew that wasn't true!

[crazystargirl]

it's over y/n! i have the high ground! ♥︎

pairing - jack champion x fem!reader

(NOT PROOFREAD)

a/n - this is literally as old as my writing acc- (p.s. this may be one of the last jack/ethan fics i ever post since ong coriolanus snow HAS A CHOKEHOLD ON ME)

"Y/n, my allegiance is to the Republic, to Democracy!"

How did you get here again?

Oh yeah, Jack had dragged you to Disney World a few days early and it was all fun until he dragged you into the gift shop and spent a whole hour there.

You were utterly convinced that your boyfriend was secretly a 10 year old. Like who goes to Disney World and buys 300 dollars worth of lightsabers? Only Jack but you had to admit some of them were actually really cool.

And the minute you guys got home, Jack insisted on recreating a scene from one of the movies. You initially said no since you were exhausted from the day's events but Jack gave you his puppy eyes, knowing you couldn't say no to those. You gave in and he decided he wanted to recreate Anakin and Obi-Wan's iconic fight from Revenge of the Sith.

As much as you wanted to be Obi-Wan for obvious reasons, Jack once again convinced you to let him be Obi-Wan. God you loved him but sometimes it wasn't fair how easily he was able to convince you.

So here you were now and after rereading the script for that scene, you finally got down the lines. 

"If you're not with me, you're my enemy" you manage to say with a straight face despite wanting to laugh because of Jack's overly dramatic shocked face. 

"Only a sith lord deals in absolutes, i will do what i must"

"You will try…"

You both ignite your lightsabers and Jack immediately advances over to you, clashing his lightsaber with yours. Since he is taller and stronger you stumbled back a few times, but were able to get back on your feet and return his hits with the same energy.

After fighting for what felt like hours, you guys had made a huge mess of all the pillows in the hotel room but you could care less. 

Eventually you're standing on the couch and Jack is standing on the bed, which in all honesty makes him more intimidating than before since he's so tall. His head is also about to hit the ceiling but you're not about to mention that to him. 

"I have failed you y/n. I was never able to teach you how to think"

You suppress a smile as you say your next line.

"I should've known the jedi were plotting to take over…"

"From the sith point of view, y/n my love, chancellor palpatine is evil"

You giggle so much at his words that you almost fall off the couch

"From the jedi point of view! Jack, from my point of view the jedi are evil"

"Well than you are lost!"

"This is the end for you my love! I wish it were otherwise"

You jump on the bed and start fighting with Jack until you end up on the couch again.

"It’s over y/n, I have the high ground!"

"You underestimate my power jack!"

"Don't try it baby"

You start to jump on the bed and Jack hits you in the knee with the light saber. You let out a scream and Jack freezes, actually thinking he hurt you. You use this to your advantage and get on the bed, forgetting about what actually happened in the movie. 

After fighting for 5 minutes, Jack gets you on the ground and pins you there with his body weight

"Jack get off of me! You're so fucking heavy!" 

"Noooo you have to surrender first!"

He starts peppering kisses on your face as you struggle from under him.

"Ok Jack, i actually surrender, i'm gonna actually suffocate from under you."

He got up and wrapped himself around you. You wrapped yourself around him too and you guys just stayed like that for a while. Eventually you started squirming to let him know you guys needed to get up. He got the hint and untangled himself from you.

"Well that was fun but we're leaving tomorrow and we need to clean up the mess we made…"

Jack gets up and looks around. He stands there for a bit and thinks.

"Why don't we just go get some food first?"

"Jack…we have to clean up and then we can get food."

He turns back to you and throws you over his shoulder. He starts walking to the door of the hotel room.

"I think we can go get food and then we can clean up…or play again" He says with a smirk.

You sigh and stop trying to escape from his grasp. Your boyfriend is truly something else

@xyzstar, @gwenlore, @dizscreams, @urmomcomsiimiamour, @nonniesworld, @chemtr4ilz, @phsychobanana

© crazystargirl 2023 || do NOT copy or repost my work without my permission

[amiizuki]

it will be forever funny to me how the flashback portraits of Wittebrothers made Caleb seem like he's had packing peanuts for a brain

(this post ended up becoming quite lengthy, and so did the tags somehow, because I kinda devolved into a rant closer to the end of writing this whole thing, so bear with me here)

so we know that Philip and Caleb became orphans when both of them were still kids. after that, they ended up in Gravesfield and, to fit in with everyone else who lived there, picked up witch hunting and started thinking that witches are pure evil. Caleb knew perfectly well that he's the only family Philip's had left and that he even may be his his only friend, since, judging by the portraits, they've only ever hung out with each other and we don't know if those two ever made any other actual friends.

until one day, during a witch hunt he and Philip were both a part in (something Caleb seemed happy to do, judging by his smirk there), he met a witch – Evelyn – someone he's been taught to hate and want dead by the townsfolk. someone who, again, in his mind, should be evil.

but he just suddenly does a 180 and goes "damn, you can make fire with your hands, you're actually pretty cool"

and then a few days (?) of talking to her later, he's running off to live with her in the Demon Realm, while simultaneously not giving a single fuck about the brother he's abandoning.

(he even runs off with a smile, with a literal :D face, I fucking can't lmao)

Philip ends up seeing Caleb get dragged off through a weird portal and later follows along, thinking something like "no, my brother wouldn't just up and abandon me without saying anything. he probably got captured by that witch we saw together that one time! she probably used some demon magic to bewitch Caleb and took him through that portal to kill him or worse! I gotta go save him!". and, after spending god knows how long in that realm, searching endlessly for his missing older brother, he eventually finds him. but he also finds that Caleb is not only perfectly okay and not hurt in the slightest, he's also peacefully walking together with the same witch who "captured" him, even holding hands with her.

and when enraged Philip tries to attack Evelyn, to protect Caleb from the witch who took him from his home, from his brother, still thinking that Caleb's under her control, Caleb just... gives him a hug and goes on to introduce the witch as his new wife to him (I'm assuming that portrait is the same day as the other three, if not the same scene), also adding on top of that that they're having a child. all as if nothing happened. treating the whole thing like everything's perfectly okay and just another normal day, fully ignoring the fact that he threw his brother away with no care or thought, leaving him completely alone, a full orphan, now with zero actual family left (in TTT, during their backstory, it's said that "Caleb did his best to take care of his younger brother", meaning that either they never got adopted in Gravesfield, or whoever adopted them didn't give a shit about the two, so they still mostly had to fend for themselves), all to go smash some random 5 out of 10 witchussy he talked to, like, 3 times. no fucking wonder Philip killed him!

(btw, jokes aside, it didn't seem like he intended to kill Caleb, because in that portrait where he's ready to kill with a knife in his hand, he's facing forward, while Caleb is actually to his left. so it just looks to me like Philip was gonna try to kill Evelyn again, and Caleb either jumped in front of her to protect her and got accidentally stabbed or he attacked Philip back, to, again, protect Evelyn, and Philip ended up winning that fight. but that's just my theory)

my brother in literal christ and literal titan – why in the FUCK are you just hugging it out with a smile on your face??? you ran off while giving absolutely no warning to anyone, especially your younger brother! why do you think he's here and actively trying to attack you and your new wife? you're not even trying to address the fact that you left him! at least when Luz ran off to a different realm without warning, she had a "I'm still at the camp" cover, so Camila wouldn't worry that much about where her daughter is, and even then she still felt bad for leaving her mother and planned to go back home once summer was over. this chucklefuck, on the other hand, just permanently portaled away to the Boiling Isles, knocked up a witch and fully settled down there, walking around with a big ol' smile and no care in the world. "Philip who? never heard of him"

the only thing that would sorta make this situation seem better (as in, not make Caleb seem like an overly naive ignorant brick), in my opinion, is if they added one more portrait – after the one where he meets the witch, but before the one where he leaves. in that portrait, Caleb would look like he's trying his best to convince Philip that witches aren't actually evil, and perhaps even try to get him to go live with them in the Demon Realm, all the while Philip's looking at him with either disagreement/disappointment/disgust or just rolling his eyes and full on ignoring him, while sharpening his witch hunt tools or something. then it would look like Caleb at least tried to make his brother change his mind, like he tried to offer him a chance to go with them. but no. with the way the portraits look in the final version it just seems like Caleb was fully on-board with killing witches since he was young, even pulling his younger brother along to think the same way, Philip also thought that Caleb was perfectly fine with killing witches, but once he actually meets a real witch (assuming they've never met one before) he instantly pulls an uno reverse card and just runs off with her, without so much as telling his brother beforehand.

I'm not trying to say that "Belos should've been redeemed, because he's the victim here and Caleb is bad and it's all his fault". he still murdered his brother and went on to manipulate everyone on Boiling Isles for centuries, with his end goal being the death of all witches, while simultaneously being stuck in the loop of "denial" and "bargaining" stages of grief – repeatedly trying and failing to recreate a perfect copy of Caleb, but also killing each one that came out wrong or went against him. Belos not being redeemed in the end was the right choice (ignoring the "Belos was always le bad" from King's dad), I agree with that. frankly, if he actually got redeemed in the end, I'd probably be seething for the next 3 to 5 years, like how I did after the Diamonds' "redemptions" in SU (yes I'm still pissed about that lol). I'm just saying that, from what was shown to us, Caleb didn't seem like that good of a person either, not as bad as Belos ended up being, but still not that great. and, once again, seemingly had a raisin for a brain.

(off topic, but during Masha's retelling of Wittebane's backstory, their "sounds like big bro got a hot witch girlfriend and little bro got upset" line was so fucking cringe, it gave me a fever for 3 days the first time I watched the episode)

k, rant over, I dunno what else to add

TL;DR: I think Caleb was dumb as a brick, because, from what was shown to us in their backstory, he seemed to have run off to Demon Realm and abandon Philip without telling him anything beforehand. when Philip came to BI to look for his brother, who he assumed was under control of the witch who "took" him, since he thought his last living family member wouldn't just abandon him, and when he eventually found him, and it turned out he wasn't in any danger at all, Caleb just brushed the whole "I left you for witchussy" thing under the rug and pretended everything was and is perfectly fine, even though it clearly isn't. rip bozo

[bloodcanbehot]

Dancing With Our Hands Tied

Anthony Lockwood x f!reader

Content: angst, kissing, bit of fluff?

Warnings: some curse words, but other than that none (kinda proof read)

Characters: Anthony Lockwood, (Y/N) Kipps and one mention of Quill Kipps (not directly his name). Also one or two mentions of the golden blade

Word count: 1.011 (according to word)

A/N: Just a heads up before you read, this scene is from a lockwood fanfic that I'm working on, the fanfic is with an oc but I changed it to y/n to post it here. Is this basically that scene after the auction with Lockwood and Lucy but in here y/n kisses Lockwood? Yes, leave me alone.

Enjoy

(here's their almost kiss if your interested)

I promise, he'd said before letting go of her hand and the cold water of the river hitting her skin brought her back to reality.

She felt him fall onto the water a bit later, grabbing her to get to the surface. She gasped for air, swimming away from his embrace and crawling to shore.

She laid there, gazing the stars on the sky and trying to make her heartbeat calm down with her mind. The image of her fist or palm on Lockwood’s face was helping a bit.

She saw him getting out of the water of the corner of her eye, falling next to her for a moment with a heavy sound.

“I promised, didn’t I?” he breathed out. She could even hear his smile. His annoying smile.

She wanted to punch him.

“Are you stupid?” she yelled, sitting up in one go and making her sight go spotty for a second as she did it “I know you're Anthony Bloody Lockwood and all but that was... fucking mental!”

He got up too “(y/n) listen-”

“No, you listen!” she snapped back “That wasn’t just stupid, it was… fucking reckless! And I understand crazy plans, I do! But I'm not the one who jumped from the top of a building! Twice!”

“Actually, three times but the first time was a house so I don't think it counts-”

(y/n)’s eyes opened wide “What?” she said “No, you know what? I don’t wanna know” she started walking away, hugging herself to somehow shield her freezing skin from the wind.

She heard his steps trail behind her, his dress-shoes hitting the small rocks from the river. She didn’t even want to imagine how she looked like. Mascara running down her cheeks, because of her tears or the water from the river, she didn’t know; her wet hair felt heavy, her new dress too, she only wanted to hide under the warm covers of her bed and forget all about this night. About the mission, about the fight, about everything.

About Anthony-fucking-Lockwood.

“(y/n) wait, oh god you’re fast” he finally caught up to her fast and heavy steps. She had learned from older agents under the agency to not just walk well on heels, but also fight with them on, “please”

There was that plead again, the one he had used on her last time they encountered that golden blade-bitch. She didn’t know why his begging caused her to stop, but she did.

She turned around, the knot on her throat growing back before she could even speak “I hate you”

“And you have every right to”

“You dropped me onto the fucking river!”

“I had a plan, things went wrong, I didn’t want you to get hurt” he explained.

“I can protect myself just fine!” she yelled.

“Yes, you can!” he yelled back “but you would also step in front of me and the blade, I would never forgive myself for that!”

“From the moment he appeared I knew the plan was fucked, but no, you risked it, again" she said “What were you gonna do? Fight him? You were going to die! Do you think I could forgive myself if that happened?” and I wasn’t there, she thought as she pushed him “Your sight might be great but you sure are blind when it comes to-”

“When it comes to what?” he cut her off, taking another step closer.

My feelings.

“You know what” she said instead “you think you're so good, you think you're the next big shit, but you’re just reckless, a reckless coward”

That what he needed, a punch to his ego.

“I’m not a coward”

“Then look at me in the eye and tell me how you feel” she almost whispered, feeling her hands shake at the thought of his answer “look at me in the eye and tell me you didn’t understand what I told you back at the library”

He didn’t say anything, and even when (y/n) thought she’d had enough, his silence was the last straw.

“I’m done” she said “I’m so done with you, if you want someone to help you with a case, call anyone else, not me! Call my brother for all I care!” she started walking away again, getting closer and closer to the steps leading to the street.

“(y/n) please-”

“No, don’t you ‘(y/n) please’ me” she yelled, not even bothering to turn around to look at him, missing just for a moment how he got closer before he grabbed her, forcing her to stop just a few steps away from the stairs.

“I did get it” he said “not just what you told me, but why you told me” He said, caressing her cheek like how he had done merely hours ago “and I… I do too” he said “I don’t know for how long, but I have feelings for you too (y/n)”

Maybe it was just a thing between them to panic each other with silence, but (y/n) enjoyed for just a moment the spark of fear growing on his eyes.

She grabbed him, smashing their lips together. He froze, but (y/n) didn’t care. She was about to pull back and yell some more when he grabbed her cheeks and pulled her in again, his hot breath fanning against her, bringing some relief to her cold aching skin for a moment.

She had completely forgotten what she was going to say after the kiss, probably insult him, but her mind was filled with fireworks.

No thoughts, just him. His lips, her lips. Their lips. (apocalypse)

“This- this should be- against some sort of rule” he said in between kisses.

(y/n) only hummed, barely registering what he’d said. Her fingers slid up his neck and grabbed his wet hair as he grabbed her by the waist, walking them both backwards till her back hit a wall.

They separated.

“Kissing me won’t make this go away” (y/n) said, breathing heavy and gazing at his eyes and lips.

He chuckled “I don't mind”

“You owe me a dinner” she said, straightening her back and stabbing his chest with her finger “A very nice dinner”

“Are you asking me on a date?” he asked.

“Sure”

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

A/N: Last night I had the idea to post it here to ask you guys what you think. Tbh I feel like it need a bit more editing, like, there's a piece of dialogue I wrote for this scene but idk where to sandwich it.

Please let me know what you think! Feedback is appreciated as long as your polite

[kiyoitiepie]

My Favorite BL Dramas of 2023

happy new year to everyone who uses the gregorian calendar. we had so much good content come out this year. i'm gonna list my favs. please remember these are my personal faves and may be objectively terrible. do not be alarmed.

My Beautiful Man S2 and Movie

If you ask me this series is one of the best bls of all time. idc idc. im a hira and kiyoi girlie through and through. how many bl's do you know with 2 seasons and an original movie. not those repackaged ones that they try to hand feed us. an actual movie with a plot???? the bar is on the floor clearly. but hira and kiyoi are gonna surpass that bar every. single. time.

Love Tractor

I didn't hear enough people screaming about Love Tractor. crickets tbh. Which is blasphemous in my opinion. How could you be quiet when this lovely bumbling himbo with the dopiest grin is on your screen? look at him!!

Eighth Sense

10's across the board. No question. No notes.

this scene^ BROKE me

Our Dining Table

Ok hear me out. I didn't think this was the best bl in the world BUT it was so wholesome that it deserves a spot. top tier comfort show. It got me through many bad days. Admittedly, there were a few times I purposely put it on bc i knew it would put me to sleep. please don't jump me.

Unintentional Love Story

Now...I'm not a huge kbl person. However, this was really nice. Had a solid plot. I don't remember much abt it but I know there was pottery and I had a good time

Only Friends

This was culture. This was a movement. I will never forgive them for how they treated Boston. Even still, I was there every week ready for the chaos. I had the time of my life.

Bed Friend

It's hard to believe this came out this year. Like ??? But really that shows how much I've established this show as a classic in my mind. BED FRIEND? UEA? baddest bitch in the land?? KING? greenest flag out there???? (debatable but for the sake of my argument lets pretend). It had every element. good plot, great visuals, a little heat. like come on who else is doing it like them?

i just know if me and uea were ever in the same room he would judge me so much

Dangerous Romance

I've seen mixed reviews on this one but I had a fun time. Kanghan is a prissy little spoiled brat, but he's my prissy little spoiled brat. I loved their story progression. Which is saying a lot for me bc I don't like enemies to lovers. like why are we fighting? also "i'm an introvert" is the funniest shit i've heard all year.

La Pluie

this was so shockingly good i wish it got more attention. iqiyi in general really did their big one this year. when it rains you can only hear your soulmate? love!

Laws of Attraction

this was a rollercoaster. i started watching ironically because i thought it would be terrible when i saw the mc go super saiyan. that shit is still hilarious idc.

Love Syndrome III

Now before we start throwing tomatoes...let's hear me out. Nothing has caught my attention this year the way this series did. This was another series I was watching ironically until suddenly i wasn't. It's also just so funny that they released the third one without dropping a first or second. but bad bitches don't need to explain themselves. and YES love syndrome is a bad bitch. let's stop acting like we watch bl's solely for the quality. i don't need marvel cgi to have a good time. sometimes a dollar store wig and the most toxic couple you've ever seen is enough to make some shit shake. if this was released during the tharntype era??? oh bitches would've ate it up. HAPPILY. rant over.

Last Twilight

it's good man. what more can i say? i hope it doesn't disappoint me in the end.

Pit Babe

i'm very pleased. very much so. i know alot of folks went into this show expecting a little teehee. to laugh at the omegaverse racecar show. NOT ME. i've waited for this moment. and anyone who's seen me screaming in the tag can attest. this is a game changer. not just for bl but the fandom community at large. and don't even get me started on their chemistry. babe's smile whenever he's around charlie?? mama and papa?? MAMA AND FUCKING PAPA?? we deserve this and i will bask in it for as long as I can. jeff had better be pregnant by the end of the show.

^ that’s his charlie smile 🥲

[flightyalrighty]

IDK if this counts as too spoilery to answer, but do they also use this memory altering to control their hosts? You described Sonic as being stuck in a 'prey animal stuck in a corner' mentality due to his parasite, but is that because she's fucking with his fight-or-flight instinct for the adrenaline or because she's literally gone in and messed with his memory to the point where he genuinely thinks something is out to get him and he's struggling to remember it's not supposed to be like this?

I guess another way to ask is is she just hitting the "Panic right now!!!" button over and over or did she go in a rewire him to the point where he's hitting the button himself? And how much is he able to think for himself right now? (Also that parasite must be in heaven rn. She jumped into Sonic? Adrenaline junky running at the speed of sound Sonic??? She is living the dream and I hate that for him 😭)

Also gonna use this ask to gush about how much I love this comic and concept. It's so well drawn and it feels grounded if that makes any sense. It feels like everyone is acting the way real people would act. I'm actually glad to see you say this is gonna have a bittersweet ending because I genuinely can't see how it could have a perfectly happy one you know? Pop off OP and have fun with this 👏 I'll be here for the years it'll take for this comic and the sequel to be made 👌👌

(Also also can I say the panel that really got me hooked was the one where Shadow was looking at Rouge after taking off the heart monitor? God it felt like it wasn't just him looking at her and then there was the foreboding flatline in the same scene and it's just 💗💗💗💗💗 love that feeling it gave 10/10 would love feeling that horrid sense of dread again)

Okay so first of all can i just say

This is both a very insightful and very nice ask -- Thank you for sending it! Genuinely such a sweet thing to wake up to this morning, and I'm happy to hear you'll be sticking around for more!

And y'know, some years back, when I was still in college, I was told by someone that my art was good but my writing "sucks." While I shouldn't have let that bother me, it's a comment that has haunted me to this day. I'm glad you like my writing, Symbio-Ratio. Makes me believe I've improved since my days of suck-fullness.

My favorite comics tend to be the ones that are, like you said, "grounded," at least in tone. Maybe Spider-Man: Blue and Hellboy rubbed off on me, idk 😜

To answer your question: To a degree, the parasites do use memory altering to control their hosts -- Less to manipulate their emotions and more to ensure they don't believe anything is wrong (and therefore seek help before she's settled in). So she targets memories that are points of major stress for the host and attempts to delete them, since getting a bug inside you would, uh, be a very stressful memory. It's trickier to do on people with PTSD, however.

The parasite does, in fact, hit that button over and over, forcing their host to lose their ability to reason while subjecting them to an overload of panic and anger until they furiously lash out at their "attackers" with a strength they can't normally use under non-panicking circumstances.

And yeah, unfortunately, Sonic is basically the parasite's dream host.

Thank you very much for sending this! :]

[utilitycaster]

I'm the abridgement anon from before. Thanks for thinking so much about it! Here's my status with respect to C3: I watched every episode up to 24, then fell off. I tried to rejoin several times thereafter (basically, whenever the grapevine said something important had happened - Laudna's death, Ashton eating the shard, FCG's death) and every time I bounced off again. I do want to give this my best shot, but I fear that it just might not be for me.

Ok so that's actually helpful specifically because I was like "hmmm...people should probably watch up to 24, and then the skipping happens."

I went for a very "here's what you REALLY shouldn't skip; anything else you can (and should) pick up on recaps" but after around episode 37 there's only like 2 episodes I'd actively recommend you skip (64 and 82 btw), and after the solstice I don't think it ever really drags other than during Endless Convos About Whether The Gods Are Good Or The Vanguard Has A Point. Speaking of, watch the full conversation in episode 49 but after that whenever they start on theology and "are the gods worth it" feel free to skip until it stops, regardless of whatever else I said about the episode, except for the one this most recent episode (92).

Bassuras: You can skip 25 entirely unless you want to experience Taste of Tal'Dorei. for 26-30, basically jump around whenever you get bored and flip to recaps. I recommend the All-Minds-Burn scenes, maybe some Imahara Joe but you'll see him in a bit. Episode 28 is basically entirely a no-holds-barred drag race which I found fun but is not necessary. You should watch 31, but if you get bored with the first half, skip to recaps and jump to the second half. First half of 32 is good and important. Second half you can get in recap but there are some good conversations. First half of 33 is similar watch if you want but recap if you don't. Otohan fight is the second half of 33; it is relevant but also. you could recap it. You should watch all of 34 though, which is good, and it and 32's first half are plenty of Imahara Joe content.

Laudna's death arc: Back half of 35 if you like Ashton, otherwise skip. I'm gonna be real honest: if you like Percy, Vex, or Pike there's some good stuff in 36-37 and if Laudna's your favorite character watch it but if not just read a recap and take this time to rewatch your favorite C1 Briarwoods Arc episode. Watch 38-39 but if you get really bored you can probably go to a recap for 39 though I do think Weva Vudol and Chetney's werewolf time are great.

Chetney and Yios: 40-41 are a Chetney-centric side quest. I think they are really fun episodes with a lot of great moments but they can be skipped if you're in a crunch. 42 is a good party rp episode and a lot of fun but not super plot heavy. The second half of 43 is a load-bearing infodump; you cannot skip the content thereof (and Planerider Ryn is fun) if you find yourself glazing over find a plot/lore heavy recap. Skip first half of 44 (fun but silly combat) but watch the second half. 45 is quite important and pretty good.

Feywild and Solstice leadup: Feywild arc (46, 47, first half of 48) are fun but basically watch 46 until you feel you've had enough (it's pretty good imo, you may watch it through) to get Morri's immaculate vibe. 47 is important. You can skip all of 48 except the trip to Gelvaan in the end, which you should watch. 49 is long and talky but it does have a lot of good conversations; I would watch that all though feel free to throw it on 2x if you don't already do that. 50-51 also pretty vital, 51 being especially unmissable. Beau and Caleb are in 50!

Solstice Split (Team Wildemount): I honestly think these and Team Issylra's are some of the strongest and most interesting episodes in the campaign but again, if you are pressed for time: you can skip 54 and 56 (fun chetney backstory standalone and travel to molaesmyr respectively). You can also skip the first half of 57.

Solstice split (Team Issylra): I'd watch the whole thing but if you feel like fast-forwarding through the combat in 61 and throwing 62 on in the background or on 2x you can.

Reunion and Air Ashari Sidequest: you can, ngl, flat-out skip 64; there's a zillion people at the table and anything important gets rehashed in 65. Watch 65. I like 66-68 a lot but you probably could skip them if you read recaps (68 is also rather important infodumping). 69 is a good downtime episode which is to say there are good character interactions but if you're on a plot speedrun you can skip to the part of the back half where they go to Yios. Basically: no clunkers in this arc other than 64 - I found it really watchable - but also ultimately a sidequest so if you get bored don't be afraid to go to recaps.

Errands and the Shattered Teeth: Again, no clunkers, but a lot of stuff you can safely skip, so here's what you shouldn't miss: the All Minds Burn scene at the end of 70. Everything after Jirana and Toriz show up in 71. Make sure to know what happens in 72 and it's fun but you can skip it and catch the pirate crew in 73 instead, which I'd watch until they disembark as a weird downtime ep but especially Fearne's scenes if nothing else. Watch the second half of 74 and the second half of 75 (first halves of both are fine, just, again, you can fill in with a recap).

Whitestone and the Feywild aka SHARD TIME: For 76 watch FCG's scenes with Dancer and at the Horizon temple; and Ashton, Orym, and Chetney's scenes at the Altar of the Raven. Lots of important lore that you should read in a recap. 77 you can skip to when Delilah manifests in the first half and then watch the rest of the episode. 78 is worth it the whole way through (post shard). Watch the first half of 79. The second half of 79 and the first half of 80 are team-building exercises and you can read a recap of this if you don't feel like watching. Do watch the second half of 80.

Ruidus: Watch all of 81. You can safely skip 82 and the first half of 83; it is all fighting to get to the moon and fighting while on the moon. Watch the second half of 83. From there, I think it's worth probably watching to where we are (well. at least to the break of 92 anyway) but if you MUST skip stuff: first half of 87 pretty skippable; combat in 88 skippable but the rest you should watch. Definitely watch 89; 90 is like...I would not skip it and it's fun but it's basically an action movie so you can like, put it on in the background if you want. Finally, the Otohan combat in the second half of 91 is a complicated thing in that I (D&D combat mechanics enjoyer) liked it and I think FCG's death has more weight for me because I knew what it meant, but if you are not up on D&D mechanics watch it on 2x until the last half hour because Otohan has no personality.

[autisticlancemcclain]

thank u @zenstrike for the tag <333333333 i see ur mic and i'm elated about it

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

185! but i haven't updated in like a week and a half so we're probably closer to 190

2. what’s your total ao3 word count?

556,104. i am very excited to watch it jump up when i finally finish my longfic teehee

3. what fandoms do you write for?

literally just voltron lol. well not counting baby me's wattpad lol. i started writing almost two years ago and just went ham basically. i've been intentionally avoiding things that i know i will get hyperfixated on bc i don't want to stop my writing obsession lol

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

ooooou i'm excited to check. i know it's changed quite a bit over time. i usually sort them by hits!

i will grind you to sand (beneath my louboutin heels) [voltron, 2573 words]: bamf lance fic where i give him a revolver and let him go ham basically

mr. snuggles [voltron, 1656 words]: one of my very earliest fics! lance, lover of weirdo animals, finds a demonic cat-sized spider and adopts it despite his friend's freakouts

he might not look like he gets bitches (but honey that dick was eleven inches) [voltron, 1136 words]: this one is so dorky lol but it's just secret relationship klance coming to light in the most embarrassing possible way

does anyone know where the love of god goes (when the waves turn the minutes to hours) [voltron, 4283]: a canon divergence au where lance is a seer and convinces the skeptics on his team of his abilities by ending the war

this is the part of me that you're never gonna ever get away) [voltron, 3262 words]: a lance & shiro hurt/comfort with a small autistic lance character study! i'm very proud of this one

5. do you respond to comments?

i definitely do on tumblr! it's one of the first things i do when i wake up actually. on ao3, though...i'm pretty sure i have about eight hundred unanswered comments sitting in my inbox 💀 it's an ongoing issue

6. what’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

i'm almost sure it's this post-game show lance leaving fic, because i got comments and asks for weeks begging me to write a happy ending lol. but this fic from the hana universe, from when keith is little and shiro is fighting for custody and they haven't figured things out yet. that one is sad. this dream pov adashi fic is also sad and has no happy ending bc, you know. shiro is in space and adam thinks he's dead and everything. my loneliest series is also still in progress and as such there is no happy ending. and this is my earliest angsty-ending fic with MCD

7. what’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

oh god pretty much everything i write has a happy ending?? if i’m being serious?? frankly i don’t do a lot of linear plot. i just write Scenes that are vaguely connected. BUT my h2o fic had a plot that ended happily, as did my cowboy fic, but truly i’m more of a slice of life kinda gal. all my active wips are plot-driven, though, and i plan for all of them to end happily.

8. do you get hate on fics?

oh god yeah. i get it on brown eyed lance, autistic lance, adhd keith, allura just in general (are you sensing a pattern), my refusal to use readmores, and lately just some demands for me to write differently/more?? most of it is just funny so i post it to goof on it lol, but some of it i just delete and pout about until i forget about it 💀

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

yes and it’s nasty and i will literally never ever post it. although i guess i’ve written some softer stuff that’s more allusion than anything, like in my loneliest series.

10. do you write crossovers? what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

not anymore, but i did when i was a kid?? i think i wrote a pjo/hoo/divergent/the mortal instruments/homestuck/a bunch of other shit fic when i was 13. i’ve successfully blocked that era out of my mind tho so i’m not sure. i do a lot of insane aus, tho. i wrote a fic based off a country song written in the sixties. so.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

i’ve had people write continuations of my wips?? which i didn’t rly like. i just ignored it.

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

someone has asked me about translating a fic before! haven’t heard anything since tho.

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

i have tried. i’m not very good at it. i have very Specific ideas about things and can be very controlling, so it’s honestly better that i don’t lol.

14. what’s your all-time favorite ship?

klance, easy. been in the trenches of this goddamn fandom since i was 13 years of age. it’s been a Journey.

15. what’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

god, the butterfly effect. i get people asking me to update all the time and i genuinely feel bad, because i have absolutely no ideas or plans for it. i might try to come up with an ending of some kind?? but i wrote that like two years ago, so i have changed a LOT about my writing since then.

16. what are your writing strengths?

dialogue and humour, i think. and sometimes writing lack of emotional communication (if that makes sense — i like to try and write around an emotion).

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

i over explain a lot. and i overuse dialog ur tags sometimes. i have a Very Specific scene playing out in my head and i want everyone else to see it like i’m seeing it, which is my downfall a lot. i’ve been trying to work on implicit stage directions.

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

i think sometimes it’s necessary? it can be a good tool for humour, like with cussing that can’t be achieved in english. but while i understand and read several languages i have always always struggled to speak or write in them. it’s very frustrating so i often avoid the subject entirely lol.

19. first fandom you wrote for?

i’ve been writing fanfic in my head since before i knew what it was, but i started typing things at around 11 when i used to homestuck roleplay with my friends lol. messy messy times.

20. favorite fic you’ve ever written?

oh i am my own target audience. i have several.

i need a man (who’s patient and kind): keith-centric post canon (divergence) fic where lance takes him to his family and keith is good with kids and just keith being loved is the whole point. always.

what if i lose it all: an alternate universe where lance, as a baby, loses both his parents, and then is raised by his oldest siblings. in luis’ pov.

when does a ripple become a tidal wave (when does the reason become the flame): brogane fight & angst canon divergence post season 6; covering shiro’s guilt complex and keith’s unwavering loyalty

he’s into superstitions (black cats and voodoo dolls): halloween verse with witch lance and vampire keith! i have barely spoken about this au on here but rest assured i’m thinking about it all the fucking time

the applebee’s universe: modern au with young keith and lance learning how to love each other

ceilings (plaster): non-linear dream-like fic that’s just so trippy and strange i’m obsessed with it

if the sky comes falling down (for you) there’s nothing in this world i wouldn’t do: a keith character study about how the biggest bleeding heart in the universe loves

the hana universe: brogane-centric universe as their family starts rocky and grows

thank u again for the tag zen <33 open offer for anyone else who would like to hop on!!

[ac-anth0ny]

Just got done with the movie, here are my personal thoughts(this does include spoilers):

I was actually very surprised how the movie turned out. It doesn't top minus one(nothing ever will, lol). I loved the comedy in this movie, and it definitely gave me a couple of good laughs. The story I felt was pretty ok. There's a lot going on in some points, so it got a little confusing(idk maybe I'm just dumb). The fight scenes were really good, I definitely did not expect Godzilla and kong to pull a fucking suplex on eachother like this is wwe 💀. However I felt like scar king was kinda buried in this movie because of how much he depended on Shima. Daddy Godzilla is always good looking as always(like a daddy omg I want him so bad). The scenes of him sleeping in Rome were funny af and, at the end, basically making it his new home 😂😂. I also wanna know how this giant ass Lizard was able to learn the ability of a super jump and got jacked in the process.

Kong is a damn chad at all times in this movie, and I absolutely love it. Mini Kong was so adorable. Can I please keep him as a pet 😭😭. I loved seeing mothra again, and she basically makes goji I a little bit of a simp, heck that mini battle between Godzilla and kong was just a heck of a laughs, especially when kong just knocked him out and tried dragging him into the hallow Earth hole xD.

Overall, it's a great movie. 7.8/10 in my mind. Don't think there's gonna be another movie because where tf would it even happen? Anyways that's my thoughts. If you have any questions, feel free to send me an ask. (I love Godzilla way too much 🥵) now I can't wait to see what the next minus one movie has in store for us

[dramionediscussion]

Can we talk about fic pet peeves?

I want to make it clear that this is not about a specific fic or author, but just some things I've seen in this fandom over the years. I've been reading Dramione for almost 15 years now and there are so many things that authors include that have become a pet peeve of mine.

This is not just exclusive to Dramione though, I have dabbled in other HP pairs before (e.g., Hansy, Theomione) and other fandoms (Gossip Girl, Elementary), and I have seen the same things there. I also have definitely come across some of these in published romance novels.

But this is a Dramione blog, so I will talk about them in context to this pairing.

Men being the cause of the breakup. So many times it's always Draco who messes up or says something horrible or doesn't "do enough". He is the one who has to repent and beg for forgiveness. Very rarely do you see a fic where Hermione is the one who is wrong and needs to apologize. And even when she does, it's always Draco who cuts her off and spins it around and makes him the bad guy who caused Hermione to be that way, and she doesn't actually have to work hard for forgiveness. Just a simple "I'm sorry" and he then says "no no, it's me....".

Having more than one conflict in a fic. Halfway through a story, the pair will have a major fight, which causes them to part. You then have a few chapters of them reflecting and then talking and making up. Then towards the last quarter of the fic, something comes up again and the characters react in the same way as before. You would think that they would have learned from the previous argument and not jump to conclusions and actually communicate. It feels like we are taking one step forward and 5 steps back. Why was this necessary? Why show your characters acting this way and show that they did not grow as people?

Focusing on so many other characters. I get that ensemble fics are a thing, but you need to say that in the beginning. You cannot just tag Draco and Hermione as the pairing, and then 5 chapters in, half the page is Harry and Ginny dialogue with no mention of the main pair. Let people know these things.

Speaking of other pairs, you need to tell your readers if you are gonna include scenes of Draco or Hermione having sex with other people. You need to tag these side pairings and say that we will read explicit scenes with Ron or Astoria or someone. We came for Draco and Hermione smut, not Ron or Pansy or Astoria or Viktor.

Since we are on the topic of tags. TAG ALL YOUR WARNINGS! So many times authors don't tag Rape/Non-Con!! Tag pregnancy difficulties, tag character deaths, tag the non-Dramione endings, tag violence, tag blood and gore, and tag any and all kink. Just tag things, it doesn't spoil the fic for people. Letting people know about things that may trigger them is not spoiling, it's human decency to let us know what your fic will entail.

Hermione's parents not being in the fic. Now I know Hermione sent her parents away before the war, but so many times you read about her not going back for them, not being able to retrieve their memory, then not wanting to be part of her life because of what she did. I understand it if this is a part of the fic, Hermione essentially grieving the loss of her parents. But what I have noticed is that most times author just have a throwaway line that her parents are not in her life, and it seems like it's not a big deal. Like oh well Hermione's mother is non-existent, but hey she has Molly now! Hermione's parents are not important in the HP canon, and it seems like authors feel the same, which is sad.

Molly being the matriarch of the trio. In canon, she kind of is because the stories are from Harry's perspective and he encounters the Weasleys and ingrains himself with their family, but she is always portrayed this way in fanfiction as well. As I mentioned in the previous comment, Hermione's mother isn't there so authors make Molly the mother figure for her, which is fine but authors make their relationship closer than what canon implies. But Draco also has a mother and most times we see Molly in the story more than Narcissa. I would assume that Narcissa would be the matriarch of that fic rather than Molly in a Dramione.

Harry and Ron being too involved in Hermione's life. Again this is fine, but it does get annoying to see fic after fic of them butting too much into her life and getting angry when she makes her own decisions. Friends should not try to control you, but guide and offer advice and be there if you fail.

Hermione not having friends outside of Harry and the Weasleys. I would assume that as they got older and got into the real world, they would meet new people and make new friends, not only stick to the same people they knew since they were 11. The Wizarding World is small, but we do have so many other characters in canon that you can use, it's okay to have Hermione become best friends with Padma, Luna, or Dean. You can have Draco even becoming bffs with Neville. He too is always stuck with Blaise or Theo and Pansy. Sometimes he doesn't have any friends and the fic only shows Hermione's friends.

If a fic starts off with Draco and Hermione having a relationship with another person, the breakup is always a bad one. People in real life have amicable breakups with their partners, it doesn't always have screaming and yelling and hatred. Most times this is used as a catalyst for the drama in a fic, but I would like to read a fic where Ron stays friends with Hermione and listens to her when she is talking about Draco, him offering advice or teasing her about a crush. It would be nice to see Astoria and Draco doing the same. And I say this as a huge "Ron Weasley Bashing" fan.

Hermione not knowing about fashion and makeup and having to rely on Ginny for help to get read for a date. Nowhere in canon does it claim that Hermione is like this, so how is this a common trope? I think this feeds into the "Hermione is not like other girls trope".

Hermione being the Brightest Witch of Her Age. In canon this is not a real thing, it is not an honorific that was bestowed on her by some sort of higher authority. It was something Harry and Remus said, it was their opinion. So having multiple people in a fic say this as though it is a proper title given to her annoys me honestly. Because when this happens, the fic always tends to have her being the only one who can solve the problem. So many people came before her and weren't able to do this particular thing, but Hermione somehow accomplished it without much help, with just a few books and at the ripe age of 24! These types of fics tend to have their characters fresh out of Hogwarts, so they are young but are able to become Heads of Departments! Can you imagine the 30/40-something-year-old who has been working for over 10/15 years in the ministry thinking it's only a matter of time before they get promoted to senior status, then suddenly this 20-year-old who just finished school walks in and gets the highest position without any experience or further education? I'd riot!

Draco not having a job. Many times fics have Hermione working hard in her career, but Draco is "in the family business" or "does investments". What does this mean???

Hermione being a virgin while Draco is the sex god. This trope feels sexist.

Hermione not doing anything muggle. This is similar to Harry in canon. It feels like Hermione forgot where she came from, and she doesn't care to go into the muggle world, or take Draco there.

Draco being obsessed with Hermione. Sometimes fics make his whole life revolve around her.

Luna being seen as weird. After all she has done and all she has shown to people that she is a smart, brave, very important friend to the trio, we still have scenes where Hermione and her friends make fun of Luna and her creatures. That is just rude.

This is all I can think of at the moment. I know this is a lot, but I kind of stopped reading fics for a while and as I managed Dramioneasks during this time, I would see new fics and just add them to my bookmarks. So I am now catching up on those fics and I feel like I am reading the same stuff over and over. Same tropes, same themes, same personalities, which is not a bad thing but it does give rise to pet peeves and thinking about older fics and how things haven't really changed over the last 15 years or so of my dramione life.

Again this is not from one fic or one author, but multiple fics and authors I have read over the years. Some of the fics I think are 5 stars have these pet peeves in them.

Do you guys agree with these? Do you have more to add? Leave them in the comments or send us a message. I would love to discuss and rant with you!

-Lisa

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

I Am All In Rewatch - Episode 1x13

I did enjoy the Luke stuff. You know, the Rachel stuff where the L McPherson girl that dumped me and broke my heart. I I thought back to New York City when I lived in New York and I was studying acting and doing theater and all that stuff, and you know, going out at night and meeting models and things like that. You know it was you know, so I knew what I was drawing from in those moments. I when I saw that scene, I said, oh, yeah, I've been that guy. I yeah, that's that's from experience. [It was such a major revelation to the audience and to Lorelai, like wow, and how you went so just like bleep crazy over the sweatshirt.] Yeah, that was that was that was the big relationship that that really rocked my world that I will never recover from. [Yeah, and it helps us with that timeline clarity because that was happening the town knew but Laura la wasn't totally privy to all of it.] -Scott 

[So how do you think Lorelai felt finding out about Rachel? Because we know I'd love to learn more from you what Luke felt. But what do you think Lorelai felt?] Well, Lorelai feels you know that now she's she's sort of considering. I think Lorelai is kind of on the fence. I think she feels a certain way about Luke and that's undeniable, right, there's an attraction there, but is she going to act on it? And I think that's really the debate that's going on within her. Is this, you know, whereas she should have been having this debate with herself with Max Medina, she's having this debate with with Luke because they are such friends and they've known each other a long time, and she goes there three times a day sometimes, um, usually once at least once a day. So it's a you know, it's a real practical question, right, how she's gonna she is she gonna alter her her schedule, she gonna alter her daily life. If that blows up, she won't be able to go to Luke's anymore. And it's like, so she's having that debate, but learning that he was with you know, the the the uber fox girlfriend that was the road the road went to Pamplona, Spain and ran with the bulls or whatever she did, wildlife photographer and like jumped into volcanoes since it all rode bulls like, you know, dove into hundred foot cliffs, into tiny little bodies of water, you know, just a wild, wild woman. Um. And I think Lorelai, yeah, And I think Sooki nailed her she was jealous, or she was measuring herself against this, and you know, maybe that's why Luke doesn't make a move on me, because I'm not pretty enough and I'm not wild enough, and you know that kind of I thing.-Scott

Well it definitely, you know it really it really kind of um solidified Luke's bonafides as a man. [I will say it gave you a lot of cred.] It did. Right. She's like you know now she Lorelai's sitting back thinking, man, Luke's cooking with gas. You know what I'm saying. [Actually, that's so accurate. It took your stock up, even though it probably terrified her, and she's like, how do I compete with that? At the same time, she's like, wait a minute...] Let's get let's maybe get in the fight here. Let's let's get some attention. This guy might have something going on behind the curtain, you know, what's happening there? And that the fact is, and another thing that really solidifies his bonafides is he wouldn't move out of Stars Hollow. For El McPherson, it's like he's still the grounded guy and simple guy, practical guy. No doing his business. He wasn't. He wasn't moving. -Scott 

[But man, and you were mad? Is that the maddest we've seen Luke?] No, No, when I I when when they were talking, when Sooki was and Lorelai were at the counter talking about Max Medina, No he's so dreamy this kind of thing, and Sooki came behind the counter. He flipped. I don't think he's ever popped at anybody in the show like that. Maybe maybe Taylor once in a while. But I thought that was just anyway. [So Luke has two ticking points the sweater and Max Medina...Yeah, it's like Luke can get pissed. Feisty? How would you describe it? how do you describe sort of that reaction to the sweatshirt?] Just hurts and he's confused, he doesn't know why she's wearing it. He thinks he probably thinks that she knows about Rachel and she's just wearing it to provoke him, and he can't understand why. He's not really thought it out, but he's just reacting. [You tried to get rid of it, though you tried. You tried to get rid of it because you put it in the rummage sales stuff.] Right, But why is she wearing it? [Right? Why did he take it back? And don't understand why he took it back] Because she offered it and she was being really cool with him. [And he wasn't ready to let it go. He tried. This is my take that Luke tried to sort of get rid of it, like we all do, to sort of erase that memory of that person that we love, and then it shows up in his face. He's all hurt, which is a great way to describe it. And then he's he realized is like, I'm just putting this back in the closet. I'm not ready.] So Lorelai in you know, in sync with him enough to realize that he's not ready to move on and that that's not going to help him move on, that he should keep it because the only thing that's going to help him move on is some Lorelai. Right? So that empowered her. -Scott

[jakowskis]

💖💙💜 owen harper bisexuality masterpost 💖💙💜

i've had this in my drafts for a minute but i figured i'd finish it up and post it today for bisexual visibility day :D

it hasn't cropped up recently, but i've seen a lot of people who've questioned owen's bisexuality over the years and i thought i'd compile all the 'evidence' (although it completely baffles me that we got a show with five canonical bisexual characters and people want to write two of them off as straight / "heterflexible" ?? there shouldn't have to be 'proof' of owen being bi, RTD said torchwood is about five bisexuals fighting aliens in cardiff which means they're all bi, full stop. also, bisexuals should never have to 'prove' they're bi, and in regards to fictional characters, i'm sick of people nit-picking who 'deserves' to be counted as rep and refusing to 'claim' certain characters if they're morally grey or if the fandom simply doesn't Like them as much-)

but i digress.

so without further ado, here's everything i've found that supports owen's status as a bicon :-)

explicit canon instances

➤➤ obviously, we have to start with his gay kiss in the first episode of the show. there's a lot to be said about that kiss, i'm not gonna get into all that here, but i've seen a lot of people say it's not proof of owen being attracted to men, and i wholeheartedly disagree. you can literally catch him smiling very happily after the kiss (and one of owen's few genuine smiles of the series, too). i don't think a straight man (or even a "heteroflexible" man) would beam at another guy who's just informed him that he wants to fuck him. a fair amount of people have also said they interpreted owen calling the taxi as him intending to get away from the couple, but i don't understand how they're getting that impression, because that smile makes it seem very much apparent to me that running away is the last thing he wants to do.

it's also, notably, the first time we see bisexuality IN the bisexual show, which i don't think should be discounted. like, we see owen do something gay before jack does, for fuck's sake. is it a good first impression of how torchwood portrays bisexuality? no. is setting owen up as a more sex-driven, opportunistic bisexual nicely contrasted against ianto & tosh's more romance-oriented brand of demisexual bi/pansexuality? in my opinion, yes. i love that the torchwood bisexuals all practice their bisexuality in different ways. that's very special to me. 'cause it's realistic! real bisexuals all experience bisexuality differently! obviously it'd be a different story if he was the only bi rep, because lord knows we've seen enough of that already, but torchwood makes an effort to show us five different brands of bisexuality, and five different bi stories that largely only exist in the subtext, that aren't the focus of the show, and it's fantastic. it's all i could ever want out of bi rep, honestly, even if it is a bit dated now.

➤➤ the other explicit moment in the show: asking tosh and ianto for an end-of-the-world threesome in sleeper (s2ep2). i've actually never seen owen bi-deniers (fhdskjf it's a conspiracy) even mention this scene. owen literally asks ianto if they can have sex with each other to his face, and he's dead serious when he asks it. that's... i mean you can't mistake that as anything else. like fhdsjkf??

➤➤ next we jump to some of the, i suppose, extended universe content. whether the books are canon or not is debated, but the novel 'another life' features owen playing an online simulation game, and it makes a point to depict owen flirting with someone with a male avatar + wondering to himself if the guy would be down for cyber-sex. [someone posted part of that scene here. for context, owen's also got a VR headset on during that bit.]

➤➤ another instance is on the website, which some also don't regard as canon, but, i mean, i don't know who worked on the things we see on that site, but obviously they got their information from somewhere. they probably consulted with the writers on the show, or at the very least got notes on what things to touch on. anyway, there's a portion of the site where you can find a 'background check' on owen, and it's just a collection of messages from some ex-lovers of his. one of them is a man.

again, some people disregard the canon validity of the website, but the way i see it, the information on this site was released while the show was airing for fans to look at and to gain further insight on the characters. one of the things they felt a need to tell us about owen, important enough to be featured in his background (wayyy before the katie plot was developed), was that he wasn't just interested in women. personally, i regard that as canon. you can find this here. and even if you wanna say fragments jossed this background, it doesn't joss his, like... identity.

next we have things said by russell t. davies himself + by burn gorman (owen's actor)

➤➤ again, RTD (who's torchwood's creator, but i'm assuming everyone reading this knows that) explicitly described torchwood as "a bunch of bisexuals living under cardiff and fighting aliens". that's not ambiguous. [i don't have a direct source for this quote, it was apparently said on the dvd extras.]

burn's comments on owen's sexuality include...

➤➤ (when asked who owen fancies) "Owen's pretty cocky, he'll try it on with whoever comes along." [x] and yes, this is vague, but vagueness is often interpreted as proof of bisexuality. (for example, in the pacific rim dvd features, newt's bio stating he was interested in "whoever will take him" was widely interpreted by the fandom as him being bi.)

➤➤ (in regards to owen's "let's all have sex" line) "I don't think he [...] thinks about the implications, or whether it's with a man or a woman." [x]

(ok i have to admit, although i absolutely adore burn, i'm not super fond of the way his 2006-08 self would talk about how torchwood handled sexuality*. however! he kind of hit the nail on the head in saying that, even if it's in the context of owen wanting end-of-the-world sex, because my take on how owen sees his own sexuality has always essentially boiled down to thinking he'd be like, "well, why wouldn't men also be an option?" (well, with sexual attraction anyway; i think owen's relationship with romantic attraction is far more complex.) i think he resembles jack in that way; anyone's a prospective sexual partner, if they're attractive and interesting and he decides he wants them, and he's also impulsive as hell, so he doesn't think too hard about gender in the moment if he decides he's into someone. there's not really any hang-ups.)

➤➤ and ofc...

(out of context this could look like he's just jokingly calling owen an alien-fucker, although owen makes his thoughts on alien-fucking pretty clear in countrycide lol, but it was said in the context of owen/andy as a ship [x].)

*if you're wondering what i'm referring to, it's a comment here [x] about how the torchwood team's bisexuality is a result of being in a pressure cooker environment and having a 'wartime mentality', and they just kind of 'take what they can get'. the implication that bisexuality is out of desperation/accessibility rather than attraction is pretty damn icky, BUT i love him lots and he generally seems to be pretty woke these days (+ otherwise has always seemed to grasp why torchwood's rep was so unique and groundbreaking and important) so i'll go ahead and hope that was just, y'know, simple 'being a straight guy in 2008' ignorance. fifteen years is a long time and i have faith his opinions have evolved by now, esp considering he used the word 'pansexual' at a 2016 con [x]. (actually, ok, you caught me, that last bit wasn't super relevant and i didn't need to bring it up, but i just wanted to gush about him doing it because how often do you hear that word out of celebs, especially older and presumably straight ones. and in 2016, too. kinda slay of him, ngl)

aaand finally, some random, non-explicit little things that i think support him being a bisexy king (several of these are goofy and half-serious)

➤➤ in episode 2, they make a point to cut to owen smiling after jack's line about "you people and your quaint little labels". one might argue he's smiling at gwen & carys on the screen, but cutting to him immediately after jack says it very much implies he's reacting to jack's words, and i think it's particularly poignant after, again, we saw him kiss a man the episode prior. (which, another thing - owen's literal introduction features him kissing a man, like that's gotta count for something. if the literal third thing i ever see a male character do ever is kiss a guy, that means something.)

➤➤ and of course, in the same episode, we get "period military is not the dress code of a straight man" .... owen's the only one of them with working gaydar. also what a fruity thing to say

➤➤ speaking of fruity things to say, in s2e10 when they're all watching the old film, owen goes "look at the state of them 💅" and he says it SO cunty for no reason it always kills me fhsdkjfd

➤➤ combat.

➤➤ no, really.

➤➤ bonus: in the combat commentary, it's mentioned that when RTD saw the above scene between mark & owen, he said it was "the gayest thing he'd ever seen".

➤➤ in the three monkeys, a big finish audio featuring owen & andy, owen flirts with andy repeatedly. even if he just does it to be annoying, it's still pretty damn gay. also the pet names... (he calls him sweetheart, sunshine, and tiger. it's half-mocking, sure, especially because it's owen, but there's also a domesticity to it.)

➤➤ and then there's the hope's "you're alive again and you want crisps?!" "be glad that's all i'm asking for" (owen was like 'i will not use this as an excuse to try to sleep w andy i will not use this as an excuse to try to sleep w andy i will not use th') these are the only two audios i've heard with this duo, i'm sure there's more examples in the other two. i know gooseberry literally has owen sabotaging andy's relationship with his gf and that is... woohoohoo.... i'll update this once i get through those.

➤➤ …. this is my personal opinion but i lowkey think he kinda wants john hart a bit when they all first meet him in kkbb hdskjfds. gwen & tosh both seem very charmed by him and they're meant to, it's supposed to be like 'oh, look at jack's ex waltzing in and charming the pants off everyone (ha), and only ianto and jack see through him' - owen isn't given a flirty line of dialogue or even a close-up shot of him eyeing john like the girls get, but if you watch him closely he certainly looks… intrigued by him. i think owen's more of a bi disaster than he lets on.

➤➤ in episode 10, diane notes that owen has "beauty products" in his bathroom. obviously this shouldn't be indicative of sexuality, but how many Straight Men in 2006 were moisturizing lmao. hell, how many do nowadays 😭

➤➤ gwen & owen's dynamic settles into a lovely little friendship in s2 and owen lowkey gives gbf vibes <3 them making fun of the movie in s2e10 together + the cheek-kissing at the end of s2e9… bi besties!!

➤➤ the peace sign he throws up in meat when he meets rhys fdsjk i don't even believe in some of the silly internet jokes abt bi culture but c'mon

➤➤ have you seen his taste in women. diane is soo butch and gwen's a total tomboy in s1. that's bi culture babey!!!! i too like girls when they're boys

➤➤ i already talked about it but the aforementioned scene where he asks tosh and ianto for a threesome... he asks them, like, immediately after they team up and bully him for not comprehending that there's "no phones. phones all broken. anyone there? no, 'cause the phones aren't working." that was suuuch a disaster bi owen moment for me. i too would get a little revved up if tosh and ianto both bullied me at once <3

aaand finally... the biggest Evidence of all....

➤➤ he's a leather jacket bisexual. need i say more

and that's all! thanks for reading!

[credit for the dividers used in this. didn't tumblr used to have built-in dividers? i miss that.]

[chaosgremlin579]

Leo's role in the family as explored in Many Unhappy Returns

From the beginning we see Leo using humor to cope which is completely understandable since this is very much a Leo-centric episode.

"Thank for doing the dirty work for us. big up, shreddy"

He makes a joke in one of the most stressful moments of his life which, as i have stated before, is his coping mechanism. So, while the use of a joke and the facial expression make him seem as if he's confident he's absolutely terrified.

Leo's only way of knowing how his brothers are doing in this moment is through what they say since he needs all his eyesight focused on Shredder. The only thing he has so far heard from his brothers is "I wanna say I feel prepared but my chattering teeth won't let me" from Donnie leading him to believe that his team is nervous and so he feels as if he needs to boost their confidence and he does so with a joke(which makes him less stressed as well). However, this joke stops him from being able to attack with his brothers because he gets scolded by Splinter and then feels the need to defense what he says and his brothers attack while he is defending himself. All three of his brothers have the shit beat out of them from this so Leo likely blames himself and so he jumps in front of all of them(April, Splinter, and his brother) to try to protect them from further harm and this is the first time in the entire show that we see genuine fear on Leo's face. He is standing in a defensive position yet when Shredder jumps at him he doesn't attack, he lets Shredder attack him knowing full well it could kill him because of how guilty he felt about his brothers.

Then after the fight as they are walking back to the lair everyone else is stressing out and then when Leo hears Donnie stressing out we can see in his facial expression that he feels wrong about this. So he makes yet another joke, only to get scolded by both Raph and Splinter. He knows that none of his family are in a state where they can really mentally do anything rn so he takes it upon himself to be the one who tries to boost them up.

Then they've got another fight at Alberto's pizza(basically and off-brand Freddy Fazbear's and it's so funny to me) and Leo immediately makes a joke upon seeing the Shredder

"Gonna need to make a 2-0 t-shirt after this"

because of this joke Leo misses when the Shredder jumps at him, causing Splinter to have to jump in and save Leo. Then Shreddy beats up Raph and Donnie while April attempts to help all the kids get out. When When Shedder attacks a claw machine Leo says

"Oh, cheater, don't think we're letting you keep those."

To which Raph responds by scolding him telling him "This is serious stuff, Leo. Will you show up our right flank already?" And Leo responds with the first point of evidence I'm going to use with how he feels in relation to his spot on the team and how he feels about his siblings' trust.

"What? Mid-battle banter is my thing, just how yours is saying words like 'flank.' We got this trust me."

Leo is quite obviously nervous to the point where he is needing both jokes and reassurance from his team. This time, Leo actually gets hurt by the Shredder and so do Raph, Mikey, and Donnie. Leo feels as if his team doesn't trust him at this point and he still hasn't fought with Shredder enough times and doesn't know enough about him to formulate a real plan. Leo knows that he is nothing without his brothers. He thinks he can't do anything except tell a couple of one-liners and come up with plans that will just get credited to Raph. He thinks he needs his brothers more then they need him.

During this same scene at Albearto's, Splinter says "I wish I had spent more time with my TV." Which earns this reaction from Leo.

Leo took personal offense to that and feels as if Splinter doesn't really care about him. The relationship between Donnie and Splinter gets a few episode yet this episode is the only Splinter and Leo episode and it's honestly just Leo and the whole family slightly focused on Leo and Splinter.

Then Shredder disappears again and Leo throws out some more confidence boosts for the team and for himself only to be shut down by Raph immediately. Then Splinter starts giving them info about Big Mama and how she can help. As we can see from this frame, Leo is the only one who is actually listening and thinking about what Splinter said and paying attention to Splinter before just assuming Big Mama won't help them.

Leo already has a plan formulated and if this plan doesn't work he sure as hell can improvise a plan to fix this. In the minute after this when Leo gives them the sarcastic simple overview of his plan he once again says "trust me." He needs this plan to work or he'll feel as if he isn't deserving of a place on the team.

Also the fact that he just leaves Mikey, Raph, and Donnie alone to fight Shredder shows how he feels as if they can do everything with out him and don't need him.

From this facial expression, the viewers can tell that Leo, unlike anyone else would be, isn't nervous as they enter the battle nexus. He already has a plan forming and is ready to go. He then makes a confused expressions followed by confidence. Showing that at that point he had the basics of the plan figured out. He just needed to figure out what he had to work with in order to execute it.

and then "trust me" again

Leo is listening closely to everything Big Mama has to say then immediately has an idea and plan formed. He knows exactly what Big Mama wants and knows exactly how to give her what she wants. He knows what Big Mama is gonna do, chooses his words wisely, and phrases everything in a way that entices Big Mama. He knows what he wants, how to get it, and exactly what he's doing.

"How come nobody trusts me? None of you guys have any faith in me, why?"

Leo finally opens up(took him long enough) because he knows full well that no one trusts him and no matter how many times his plans work no one trusts him. No matter how many times he tells them to trust him or that he has got this none of them trust him. He knows what he's doing yet since he can't communicate his ideas without possibly ruining his plans he can't tell anyone anything. Trust is everything to him yet he doesn't get any. It's not until the plan actually works and they go back to Raph, Donnie, and Mikey that he finally gets the reassurance he needs.

Leo: Trust me. Raph: I do.

Leo is finally told that what he does is worthy of approval and this is the first time since the team actually started fighting or doing anything that he feels as if he might have a place on the team.

[maxwell-grant]

If you had your say, what villains would you want featured in future venom movies?

With the stuff they have the rights for and aren't saving for future/solo movies, within Venom characters, who is there to pick from? They did the Future Foundation for the first movie, they got to Carnage in the sequel, they've set up Pat Mulligan/Toxin and we're probably gonna either get that or Knull in the next one. They can't scale down to one of Spidey's billion crimelords or someone like Sin-Eater who at least kinda has something to do with Venom, they've set up world-threatening symbiotes as the baseline. Toxin is just nothing, there's nothing there, the most you can get out of him is by having him be We Have Spider-Man At Home, and they already set him Mulligan as Venom's Javert. Combine those two, pit Eddie against a jerk Spider-Man who goes Carnage sometimes, I guess it's something? Knull is a Thor villain who took the wrong turn at Albuquerque, I can't imagine how they'd do him for these movies without just pulling the trigger on a Venomverse outright, and there's been a lot of talk about how the next movie's gonna set up that, or a multiverse, or the Sonyverse, and I'm boring myself to sleep just talking about this.

They both suck and are big idiot nothings, and none of the prior guys were really good to begin with. Knull is a little more tolerable in my book because Al Ewing and the new game made decent enough soup out of it and Tradd Moore's art sold me on him a little bit, and Woody Harrelson playing Biff Tannen was by default the most entertaining Cletus Kasady has ever been aside from AXIS, but "occasionally amusing" doesn't equal good or even mediocre, and that's the issue with these movies in a nutshell. An occasionally funny schlub protagonist and offscreen promises can't make up for all the crap everything else, and Let There Be Carnage wore my goodwill towards even that real thin. I really did try to like it.

Don't get me wrong, I like that those movies exist. I'm still probably gonna drag my friend into the next one. I hate most Venom comics but I'm incorrigible Venom trash. If we have to put up with those films and a Madame Web every now and then as the price to pay for Sony keeping the rights and keeping Spiderverse and the games just as they are, then by all means keep them coming. But man, I did try, I seriously combed through Venom and the other symbiote's rogues galleries and supporting casts to try and find an answer for this, and all the characters I found were A: dogshit Venom / Spider-anciliary characters that don't have much of anything worth it to them, and B: halfway there Spider-Man leftovers who are better served just not having anything to do with Venom movies, so I guess the option I'd go here is for them to just make new ones. I mean, movie Carlton Drake was basically an original character and he was, okay I don't even remember a thing about that guy but he was probably better than Cletus because it's really not that hard to come up with a better villain than Cletus Kasady (who at his best just elicits a chuckle) and dirtbag CEO with the cops on his side is the kind of thing you want a character like Venom to be fighting so, I guess lean more on that.

I guess I'd put Venom against symbiote tech cops that he can kill and eat without complication and have those follow him around while the actual plot is about some dumb errand or personal conflict he runs, but I don't think the villains are really the missing piece here. Venom is a terrific Spider-Man villain, but as a protagonist he is frequently deeply lacking, and as a movie franchise has like two things going for it, the titular character and the humor of a couple low-stakes absurd comedy scenes like the lobster tank, so I'd take those and throw the source material in the trash and have them go through something like the fake sequels of 22 Jump Street, just put the character in dumb problems that they can try and solve in dumb ways and do their dumb comedy routine in, Venom as a vehicle for dark parody as an extension of what he was made to represent. Treat the movies less like they are steps in a cinematic universe or character pieces and more like genre films that get infected and corrupted by a monstrous violent walking alien apocalypse and the schlubby journalist meathead in a co-dependent relationship with said walking apocalypse.

Venom In Space. Venom Goes to Hollywood. Venom In The Hood. Venom Surfs The Web. Everyvenom Venomwhere All At Venom. Not even joking, if I could make a Venom musical / Little Shop of Venoms I'd do it in a heartbeat, and it would end with similar destruction. Because make no mistake, this is a Laurel and Hardy thing only to them, and to everyone else it's an escalating horror film with some kind of destruction left at the end, because that's what happens when Venom runs rampant and Spider-Man isn't there to stop them or at least keep them in line.

Venom is not just a parody, he is a rot at the heart that never stops growing, and even if Eddie Brock can strive to be a better man and even be a decent one, even if he and the Symbiote can bond as losers trying to be better, neither can escape the nature of what Venom fundamentally is, with a million new Carnages and Riots and Agonies and Screams and Viruses and symbiote cops and serial killers popping up every minute as a reminder. You can't really come up with a Venom-specific villain that's going to be greater than Venom himself already is as a Spider-Man villain, so I'd just lean into that. And then maybe, when and if it's time to finally deliver on that Spider-Man or Sinister Six encounter, they find themselves arriving too late after we've had enough movies to laugh at this idiot schlub and his predatory living cancer buddy while the world they've been protecting has been turning more into this. We put this world not in the hands of Spider-Man, because we have the full rights hope in overcoming hardship to be our better self, but in the claws of Venom, because we are fucking stupid.