#i think this will give us context we really badly need about why she got bullied

[thinkin-bout-milgram]

“Because it’s not my fault.”

[barcaatthemoon]

good girl || mary earps x reader ||

you get worked up after mary praises you on the field.

"good girl." the words had slipped out whenever you were on the pitch with mary. it was nice being so close to each other on game days, but occasionally, it got distracting. mary yelling out directions at the backline was hot. the praise you had received for blocking out a shot was even hotter.

you were grateful to be subbed out when you were because all you could think about was mary saying that in a different context. the two of you hadn't explored much in the bedroom, content with your sex life already. mary wasn't necessarily boring, but she did like to stick to what she knew. just like you wouldn't consider yourself kinky, just someone who went along with whatever their partners were into.

inside the locker room, you were definitely guilty of rushing mary out of there. it was a home game, so the two of you could just go back to her place. she had driven you to the game anyway. the two of you always spent the night together before and after games. it was rare that either of you even wanted to spend any time at your own apartments all alone.

"what was gotten into you?" mary laughed as she got into the car with you. usually, you would have been more careful about who could have been watching, but you really wanted mary. instead of answering her verbally, you grabbed onto the collar of her shirt and pulled her in for a kiss.

mary moaned into the kiss as your tongue swiped past her lips. she was always so eager to taste you inside of her mouth. you dropped your head just a little, but not enough to break the kiss. mary's hand moved to the back of your head, cradling it as she deepened the kiss. you were certain that the two of you could have gone a lot further if it wasn't for one of your teammates honking their horn at you.

"fuck, mary, we need to get home," you told her. the light chuckle died in mary's throat as she realized how badly you wanted her. she swallowed as she shifted the car into drive.

you had your hands on her the entire drive. mary was definitely speeding a bit, but she used the roads that she knew were clear to get home. she pulled into the first spot that she saw close to the doors. the two of you got out of the car, and mary didn't let you get more than a couple of steps onto the sidewalk before she was scooping you up into her arms and hauling you over her shoulder. it wasn't done in a sexy way at all, but you still felt a bit of heat pool in between your legs at her showing of strength.

"what the hell has gotten into you?" mary questioned again. you were laying on the bed in front of her. your eyes were wide as you looked up at her, pupils blown wide with lust. mary took a step closer to you to reach out and brush her thumb across your bottom lip. "talk to me. are you upset?"

"not at all," you told her. mary looked a little skeptical, but she trusted you not to lie to her. "i just want you to fuck me, mary. i want you to fuck me hard and fast while you tell me how good of a girl i am for you, please."

mary was rendered speechless at how forward you were. she lost all of her cool as she looked away from you. you got up onto your knees on the bed in front of her. mary still wasn't looking at you, so you turned her head towards you. she needed to see the look of need and desperation in your eyes, and you knew it.

"please," you pleaded with her. mary swallowed back everything that had bubbled up in her as she nodded. "you have to want it too. i'll do whatever you want mary, i swear that i will."

"you don't have to do anything for me baby," mary told you. she pressed a very sweet kiss to your lips before she let her hands drop from your cheeks down to your waist. "i know how ready and willing you are for me. that's why you're my best girl."

the praise had all of the heat in your body torn as to where it needed to go. your cheeks were flushed, giving away how turned on you were. mary was quick to twist your body around so that your back was pressed against her front. you expected her to leave and grab the strap on or something, but instead she just bent you over so that you were on your hands and knees.

"i bet that you're soaked under this kit. when you tripped over yourself earlier, was it because you were thinking about me doing this to you?" mary asked. you nodded, suddenly embarrassed about how badly you wanted mary to fuck you. all she had said was two words to you on the pitch, and you were a horny, bumbling mess. you felt a sharp sting on your ass as mary's hand came down to spank you. "answer me, i want to hear you say it. come on, i thought you wanted to be my good girl."

"fuck," you groaned. mary's hand moved from your ass up to grab your ponytail to crane your neck back. "yes, i was thinking about this. please, mary, just fuck me."

"hmm, i don't like being rushed, but you are being very polite about it. alright, take your clothes off and i'll be right back." mary let go of you and pressed a kiss to where your shirt had ridden up on your back. you scrambled off of the bed to undress yourself while mary went into the closet. you knew what she kept in there, so you knew what to expect when she came out, and yet, you were still a bit floored.

"mary," you breathed out. she smirked as she noticed the look on your face. you were practically drooling as you took in the marvel of a sight that was her standing naked in front of you with the familiar dildo that she had bought specifically for you jutting out proudly between her legs.

"it's okay, i'm coming honey," mary reassured you. she climbed onto the bed, hovering over you. for a moment, you thought that she'd just fuck you like that, but mary surprised you by slinging your legs over her shoulders. she leaned down just enough that you could feel the head of the dildo pressing against you as she put her focus on your tits.

mary's mouth and hands felt heavenly on your body, but it wasn't what you wanted. a part of you wanted to urge her forward, but mary was moving at a fairly comfortable speed. it was how she always was with you, but today, you were on edge a bit more than normal. you had been festering with your horniness for mary for too long, and she had done a wonderful job playing along with you whenever the two of you got back.

"you're being so patient for me-," mary pressed a kiss to the underside of both of your breasts, "-what a good girl."

"mary," you whined. she glanced up at you with an uneven smile and a look in her eyes that told you she knew exactly what she was doing. mary was teasing you a bit, but it wasn't out of a place of malice. mary just wanted to make sure that you were ready for her, knowing that you'd whine and whimper and throw a fit if she tried to just give you her fingers. that was what you always did whenever she wasn't as rough with you as you could have liked.

"shh." mary pressed a quick kiss to your lips as she lined up the tip of the dildo with your entrance. mary eased the toy inside of you and waited until you started to move your hips to move hers. she grabbed onto your hips as she snapped her hips forward a couple of times. "you're taking me so good right now."

you moaned, both from the praise and the way that her hips were roughly thrusting into you. mary pressed a couple of kisses to your lips, a little bit of a warning as her thrusts grew more forceful. you knew that mary was worried about hurting you like this, so you started kissing the side of her neck as reassurance. you were a bit too far gone to tell her that she was fine, but your actions worked just as well as your words.

"i want you to cum for me, (y/n). come on, be a good girl for me and let me watch you cum all over my cock. i know that you can do it," mary cooed in your ear. the softness of her voice contradicted the roughness of her thrusts, making your head spin. it was almost like there were two different people in bed with you, but both of them were inexplicably mary. "come on now, that's it."

you whined as your entire body contracted around mary. your arms and legs were squeezing her in an attempt to keep her still inside of you. the feeling of her sitting still inside of you was comforting until it began to feel like too much. mary seemed to know when you wanted her to pull out and did so without any prompting. she tossed the strap aside and moved to cradle you in her arms. this was always one of mary's favorite parts of sex, and occasionally, you wondered if she liked this more than the actual act itself.

"you did so good," mary told you. you smiled and hummed as you rested your head against her shoulder. mary pressed a few kisses to the side of your head before she groaned.

"you okay?" you asked. mary nodded, rubbing out a bit of soreness in the back of her thigh. "did you pull something?"

"maybe. a hot shower should make it go away." you knew what mary was trying to do, and unfortunately, it worked perfectly. you were out of bed within seconds to draw up a bath for the two of you. you knew that mary preferred showers, but it had been at least a month since you had talked her into a romantic bath for just the two of you. "it's ready mare!"

"coming!" mary shouted back, twice as loud as you had been. you chuckled as you shook your head, climbing into the bath and moving against the back of it. mary paused when she walked in to see the bubbles, but still got in and let you wrap yourself around her from behind. "i said a shower."

"and i wanted a bath. besides, i'll massage out the knots when we get out, i promise," you told her. mary hummed, seemingly satisfied for the time being.

[rapunzelbro]

Imagine Angel Dust and reader being handcuffed as a “trust bonding” exercise or something that Charlie came up with but the key gets lost somewhere and Angel and reader end up being stuck handcuffed together all day? Reader is not amused and embarrassed cause Angel is a flirty little shit and will not stop messing with them?😂❤️

Imagine Being Handcuffed to Angel Dust

Okay so to the person who requested this. I am so sorry for the long ass wait. I have been on major writers block for this idea ngl. But hey enjoy if you’re still around haha.

Masterlist Taglist

When Charlie was figuring out ideas to bring the hotel together you didn’t expect the fucking situation you ended up in

For context. You were never quite fond of Angels personality, his jokes and comments would 100% make you flustered and borderline uncomfortable

Everyone knew that you two definitely had issues that needed to be solved because you two were polar opposites

“And then I put it in his ass and the camera got~”

“Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope bye”

Yeah that often happened

“Guys! We are having a trust bonding exercise that you can’t say no to”

The fuck does Charlie even mean?

Yeah it didn’t take long to figure that out when Angel runs his ass over and closes the other half of the handcuff to your hand wrapping himself around you instantly

“Hiya bitch~”

“What. The. Fuck. CHARLIE WHAT THE FUCK”

I think that’s the first time they have ever heard you swear

Her laughing awkwardly rambling why it would be a good idea while trying desperately to find the key because of how pissed you were

Yeah she lost it

Alastor is amused as hell about the entire thing watching as you’re fuming he totally was the one to hide that key

“Oh don’t get your panties in a twist we are going to have so much fun together!”

Oh no you’re not

He is a very touchy feely person and you’re 100% not

He forgets your handcuffed and will zoom somewhere and you have to catch up with his ass.

Will beg to do your makeup and you legit give up after him asking nonstop

Legit nonstop he would ask every 10 minutes

It honestly takes a while to get used to him

When you do you start realizing the person he really is behind the jokes

Especially when he got a call from Valentino and you couldn’t exactly leave you room

You just listening in silence the whole time as he is being screamed at

“Val.. no no I promise I’ll… I’ll.. Yes Valentino”

The way he gave up so quickly instantly just broke you

“Angel, are you okay?”

Angel wouldn’t respond to you for a while, just sitting on his bed as you interlock your handcuffed hands together, you two don’t talk but it’s known that he appreciates the gesture considering he didn’t try to yank his way out

After a while he would come clean and tell you what happened, what he goes through

And my god did you mistake him so badly. You apologize nonstop and he just says to not worry about it

You two end up watching a movie or something before Charlie comes with the key that ‘Mysteriously’ disappeared

She’s happy you two got along

Even if she doesn’t know what happened

Angel Dust tag list: @vendetta-ari @brithedemonspawn @satansmanager @storydays @saturnhas82moons @zamadness @fizziepopangel @saitisfied @the--rebel--fae @juskonutoh @screechingxiaosimp @mcueveryday @rainbowbunny15

[vegaseatsass]

The Sol-tuation is a lot more nuanced than that!!

Who knew I, an absolutely feral Mingjoe shipper, would end up making so many posts about the secondary love interest who never stood a chance with our protagonist, but I truly think they're doing some fascinating things with this character and it hurts a little to see so so so many fandom reactions that take what's happening on the surface as the full story with no interest in peeling back those appearances.

I will say before I start: huge credit to @zhouxiangs for so many of these opinions, she shared a few insights about Sol with me today that completely reshaped my interpretation of the character, so thank you x 2389234, this post is not exclusively My thoughts. (Also SolYim as a ship is galaxy brain and the only thing I now want for Sol's future. Thank you for that TOO)

So I very much understand why what it appears Sol is doing - ignoring Joe's clear lack of interest in him to pursue him, taking every opportunity to touch him, and working overtime to prevent Joe from seeing the truth about Ming and his obvious devotion, so he can still "win" Joe instead - is rubbing a lot of people the wrong way. Straight up, situations where people I'm not romantically interested in have pursued me despite my clear and direct (and often hard-fought because I used to be a huge people pleaser) "no" are something I hope to avoid for the rest of my natural life. Relentless pursuit can be a sexy fantasy if you want someone back, as Joe does Ming, but for most of us, it's emotionally pressuring nightmare fuel if you don't.

But I would argue that's really not what's happening. An extremely essential missing piece of context to Sol's behavior is that Joe died because of his relationship with Ming, and Sol spent years grieving him. In episode 9 in particular, they're all face-to-face with the cold hard truth of that grief, and I don't think Sol is any exception, even if he knows Joe is back now. In episode 8, Sol confirmed Joe was back, and he was so euphorically happy, but he was not pushing and shoving Joe to hop into a relationship with him, was he? He was just delighted Joe was alive. But this episode, he's suddenly faced with the very real prospect that Ming and Joe still have feelings for each other. That Joe may return to the man who got him killed. Who Sol, in his own eyes, failed to protect Joe from in his first life, even though Sol so badly wanted to pay back Joe's sincerity to him. And I think the threat of losing Joe again is making Sol (who ran back to Korea instead of processing his grief and guilt over his death) a little insane.

I mean, let's talk about Sol in Joe's first life. After Joe told him he couldn't return his feelings, did we see any inkling of this frantic episode 9 pushiness? Sure, there was the moment where he tried to convince Joe that he and Ming were incompatible, after watching Ming need to hide Joe from his family in what I'm sure read as shame to Sol. I can give Sol some grace for this knowing he struggled with coming to terms with his own sexuality (see: the first time he ran away to Korea), and is now trying to overcompensate for who he was in the past, but you don't have to give him this grace if you don't want to. I can admit his desire to support Joe as a friend is compromised by the tumultuousness of his longing for Joe. Like there's also the fight with Ming on the staircase where Joe gets knocked down and Sol and Ming just keep fighting. Sol is not a saintly unselfish being who keeps his feelings and his desire to protect and support Joe perfectly separate, by any means. (To me this is part of why he's interesting and human, but I get that we all have different character preferences.)

But dinner with Ming's family aside, when first life Joe tells Sol he doesn't want to be with him, Sol lets it go and is happy living in the friend zone. When Joe tells him not to come over and intervene when he's trying to break up with Ming, Sol listens. Sol believes that Joe can handle himself and he respects the boundaries that Joe sets, regardless of what he wants or hopes in the privacy of his own heart.

And what happens without Sol's intervention? Without anyone's intervention? Joe dies. Joe is chained up in a basement - Joe was not safe with Ming, Joe was not able to clear the situation up using just his words - and blacklisted from the industry, driven to desperate financial straits and killed.

So my read of Sol is that he's scrambling to make himself a shield. He thought he was already in a role where he could support Joe, this time around, but this episode raised the threat of Joe going back to Ming and dying again, and now he's frantically trying to change himself into something that can actually keep Joe from doing that. If Joe suddenly decided he wanted to be with Sol and not Ming, would Sol be happy on his own behalf? Of course, I'm not denying that. But I really think so much of the desperation to offer himself as a romantic choice is to try to show Joe he has options that aren't Ming, to try to intervene in ways he didn't in Joe's first life, at any cost.

You can't force someone not to return to an abusive partner, the same way you can't force someone not to commit suicide, or make any other choice where they could get hurt or disappear from your life forever. It's a necessary journey for everyone, to realize you have to respect your loved ones' agency even when they're making choices that terrify you to your core. Sol has not learned that yet, and I'm not defending how pushy and out of pocket he was being this episode. But I'm really, really sympathetic to the absolutely frantic terror that I think was underlying it. If you've never had a suicidal loved one or a loved one trapped in a destructive cycle, it's easy enough to expect Sol to do the right things (the actually HELPFUL and supportive things), instead of the toxic, selfish things. For me he's a far richer and more human character for making the wrong choices, though. For being selfish, but not about wanting to possess Joe and force his feelings Sol's way. About wanting to keep Joe alive and unharmed by force, instead of trusting Joe to make his own choices. Again: you have to let people decide these things for themselves. You have to! If you don't support your loved ones' agency, any other support you think you're offering them is useless and suffocating and will genuinely compound whatever they're dealing with, make it much harder for them to heal, leave, etc - whatever the "healthy" choice is, they can't make it with you forcing them into it. They can't make it without you surrendering to the possibility of them making the "unhealthy" choice; without you accepting that it is their choice. But for a fictional character to go from "genuinely supportive friend" to "publicly announcing you're in a branded relationship a day after your own funeral" because he sees you slipping from his grasp - not emotionally, but potentially literally, metaphysically, permanently, AGAIN - well, to me, that's juicy and compelling.

I'm also more sympathetic to Sol than to Wut when it comes to telling Joe that Ming loves him, frankly. I think Joe needs an impartial friend (Yim!!!) that he can process all his Ming issues with openly, because it is never helpful to feel like because your friends know that your abuser/ex/etc harmed you, you can never go to them to process the moments of kindness and love. Joe needs to be able to look at the full picture of who Ming is and what Ming feels and decide for himself, he doesn't need Sol strongarming him out of accepting that Ming is capable of both great cruelty and great love. But Wut always takes the path of least resistance and it absolutely maddens me. To just say, with no qualification, "The man I and only I know knocked you out and kept you locked in a basement loves you, actually" is absolutely insane and irresponsible. I do not for a second believe Wut was ready to express nuance, to say, like, "I think Ming loves you in his own way, but that love is dangerous and possessive and I hope you stay away." If we see anything in the text that demonstrates otherwise I'm happy to be wrong about this, and then I would be in the "Let Wut speak!" camp. But for now, I do think he was going to play the role of an enabler, just because he finds it easier to let Ming handle Joe's estate and be in Joe's life than to fight it. Lol it still doesn't make Sol right to try to keep Joe from seeing the full picture, but I'm sympathetic to him going wtf, Wut? Do you really think Ming loves him? knowing what Wut knows.

Anyway this is sooooo long so I will try to wrap it up, but I wanted to also talk about Sol and Joe and physical touch. Like I said at the beginning, I totally understand seeing how often Sol hugs Joe or grabs him and feeling uncomfortable imagining yourself in Joe's shoes. But as uncomfortable as EYE would be with Sol's affections, I want to try to analyze how Joe the character feels about all this. Now one of the things I most love about this series is the opaqueness of all the characters' choices, how there is always ambiguity and room for more than one interpretation. So if you watch the scenes where Sol puts his hands on Joe and think Joe looks trapped or unhappy, that is your prerogative! I noticed that the two times he shook Sol's touch off in the episode were when he thought Sol was going to stop him from breaking into his loft, and when he thought Sol was going to cause a scandal with Ming at the press party. Otherwise, from where I sit (my interpretation only!), Joe does not appear to experience Sol's touch as something unwanted or unsafe. I would actually make the argument that having someone he's known for years sharing a bed with him, hugging him, holding his hand, etc, could be offering Joe essential tactile comfort he's not getting from anyone else while he's in the midst of grieving his past life. For all we know, the level of physical intimacy between them is something that completely predates Sol acknowledging his feelings. This could be a normal level of touchiness between them, and not an example of Sol "taking liberties" or trying to force his way into Joe's heart.

To me the upshot of everything is that Joe, to my eyes, seems to feel completely safe with Sol and his professed feelings. When Sol brings his feelings up again when they're getting their makeup done, Joe's response ("how did the conversation turn to this?") pinged me as playful, affectionate, not uncomfortable and pressured. Joe is absolutely terrified of Ming's feelings for him and, significantly, what they would do to Joe's feelings for Ming - he is keeping himself away from Ming by the power of "You don't love me and never did" and when that crumbles so will most of his ability to resist him, I think - but Sol's feelings can't do anything to Joe. They can't make him want things he doesn't want, and they can't make him want things he doesn't want to want. I would argue that Sol is a friend that Joe feels safe around, and his open crush on Joe causes a bit of awkwardness, to be sure, but it doesn't make Joe feel pressured to do anything but be himself. When he's with Sol, he's not afraid of Sol, Sol's feelings, or Joe's feelings. I think that's important to acknowledge! The same way that Sol needs to accept that Joe is allowed to make the choice to go back to Ming and it's never been in Sol's hands, imo fandom needs to accept that if Joe is comfortable with Sol and his affections, we can't argue that he is being pressured by them, or in danger, or anything else.

But that's just my interpretation! I am happy to be disagreed with, haha. I just think Sol is as rich and interesting a character as Ming, but many of us as viewers have more trouble with flawed and selfish kindness (Sol) than we do with complex cruelty (Ming). But I love flawed and selfish kindness. I love characters who are trying so hard to be good and to take care of people they love, and fucking it up and not seeing the ways their wants and fears are getting in the way. So I love Sol. And obviously have a lot to say about him lol.

[my-castles-crumbling]

hi cas <3

cw/tws for medical stuff, complex family relationships, discussion of death

so, for context, im a regulus black kinnie (itll make sense, give me a sec aha). ive got a difficult relationship with most of my family, but most especially my mother and older sister. my sister is a lot like our family's sirius (except if he still had walburga's narcissism, cruelty and manipulation), and she really doesnt get along with either of our parents. my mother is... a difficult woman, in that she likes to victimise herself in every situation, shes homophobic/transphobic/all the phobics, shes also very narcissistic, and likes to make uncomfortable comments without bothering to be nice about it. all in all, i try not to be around her much. im also supposed to be moving out soon, and planned to minimise contact as much as possible once i do.

to the point: my mother was diagnosed with cancer yesterday. my father (hes kind of a neutral party in the family dynamics, btw) was the one talking to me about it, since she's in hospital at the moment. he said they caught it early enough where a bit of chemo over the next few months should get rid of it and she'll be okay, but 'cancer' is a scary as fuck word. he also then told me that this isnt her first time with it — she had a different type of cancer around 20 years ago.

honestly, i feel like my brain is battling itself about how i should feel. on the one hand, ive been looking forward to not having to be around her now for years, and i hold very little love for her at this point. why should i care? she'll be fine at the end of it anyway. but shes still my mum, yknow? and i feel awful having these thoughts about how badly ive always thought of her and how much ive wanted for so long to get away from her and how it almost feels like this is some sort of sick fucking joke from the universe about how i should be careful what i wish for or something.

this whole situation keeps making me think about regulus in best friends brother(? i think thats the right fic) or p much any modern au where walburga dies so tbh ill probably end up writing a fic about it to cope, but still i just... i guess i needed to tell someone? my father asked me to keep it to myself for now so that it wasnt spread around where we live (its a small area; everyone knows everyone).

and the bit with my sister - as i said, she doesnt get along with our parents. i dont talk to her much anymore either because she seemed to inherit a lot of our mothers worst traits, but im afraid that if we do talk about this then she'll have some awful thing to say about it. she makes some really dark 'jokes' sometimes about suicide and death and such, and im nervous that she'll say something about how she hopes it kills her (again, my sister fucking sick, and has zero empathy), because shes made similar jokes about other stuff in the past. i also dont think she'd understand that im still afraid for our mother even after everything shes done, and i hate the way my sister turns on me and rips the piss out of me when she doesnt like what i do.

it all kind of circles back to how im supposed to feel, i guess. part of me wants to not care and brush it off, whatever, but theres still part of me dying for my mothers love and approval and is terrified of losing her, even with the low possibility.

sorry this got so long, and for how heavy it is. i hope youre doing well cas, and thank you for all you do for us <3

Hi hon!

My god, you ARE a reg kinnie.

Here's the thing- there is not a RIGHT way to feel about those things. You have a complex relationship with your mom, so of course you'll have complex feelings about the situation. You don't need to feel guilty for feeling any certain way, because there's no right or wring way to process this. You're allowed to feel scared and neutral and confused and ambivalent. That's okay!

Your feelings aren't a betrayal to anyone, and you have a right to them. You also have a right to any action you choose to take. Remember to do what feels right for YOU, because YOU are important.

I'm here if you ever need to talk <3

Naming you reg kin anon.

[angrycloudloud]

Percy Jackson spoilers episode 8

I'm not joking, i commented everything.

(i'm putting the episode in pause to write everything... So i don't have to do 10000 posts about this episode, so if you are reading this, hold your horses because this is going to be a long post (probably) not edited, from a person watching this in Europe starting to watch this at 3:11 am... And English is not my first language, so...sorry before hand)

LUKE!!! LUKE TALKING?! REALLY?! LIKE... COME ON!!! Don't do this to me... Not me vibing with the foreshadowing just in the begining of the episode.

THOSE WHO WENT ALL "WUAHHH WHERE'S THE TRAING LESSON FROM LUKE?" HERE IT IS!!! YOU REALLY THOUGHT THEY WON'T SHOW IT BEFORE MAKING PERCY FIGHT A GOD?! (I mean, they could have...but come on!... That would have being insane and would have make Percy to op and this works perfectly to remind us the "bond" between Percy and Luke at camp, just before what readers knew It was going to happen)

Oh~ i love the Ares doesn't take well that others think he can't have a single original thought... But i LOVE more that he literally decided to go with the "say hi to your mommy for me" like... Ares my man, god of war, sir... You fucked up so badly with just that... That kid is going to make Hephaestus and his chain-net over you and Aphrodite look like a fun story after Percy "son of Sally" Jackson finish humilliate you.

Aaaaand we got golden Blood + enemy for Life (Where's the curse, sir? Where's the "your sword will fail you when you most need it"?)

Uh! Pretty helmet~ I said it before, and i repeat myself, Hades has good taste in art.

I like the "the last war on olympus caused wwii" and not like the book, i like It better this way, like "everything is the gods fault" because It is. (I'm sure Luke will comment this at some point)

Also, Annabeth clueless because she wasn't there... I'm like, yeah, it's the one of the trio that could catch up just by context, she IS the wise girl after all.

THE NECKLACE WITH HER FATHER'S RING!!! OMG!!!! ANNABETH, DARLING, DEAR... I LOVE THIS, SO MUCH.

(Leah is Annabeth, look at her!!! If someone says something bad about her acting just because their racism... i hope Apollo write their names in the plague list or the bad music for the rest of their lifes one... I hope there's a list for that)

Grover: e-mail? Maybe?

Percy: *nah, it's time those gods know what they are dealing with* what's the Glory on that?

(Walter, dear boy, your face in that moment...perfect Percy moment just there)

OH MY GODS!!! I NEED A TOUR IN THAT OLYMPUS!!! but again...WHY THE FUCKING ARCHES?!?!?!

Okay... Hold on! HOLD ON!!! THEY DID A THING HERE I THINK COULD EXPLAIN THE FUCKING ARCHES...THE ARCHERS MIGHT NOT GIVE ME NIGHTMARES.

(Look behind, there are temples with easter asian architecture and i spot a building that reminds me a bit of Santa Sofia or Saint Peter of the Vatican... So... Maybe they are implying that not only the greek gods are chilling there in olympus? That could be interesting.)

Luke, i'm seeing you...

WoW!! Wooooo!!! Not the Annabeth IS terrify of spiders coming now and from him, Luke himself, just to say "hey! Demigods are small but if the gods thinks you are scary they'll kill you" GODS they are MAKING Luke soooo much justice, like, he needs to be like this if they didn't portrait him like this "big brother figure" it would be incomprehensible that so many Demigods will follow him. He IS a leader. He IS reliable.

Seriously, i'm in LOVE with all that Big city vibe of the olympus... Like... I Understand why Annabeth wants to be architect after seeing all that. (Disney, you better give us something good in the 5th season, and i have high hopes for the laberinth after seeing this)

I'm so sad about the death of Zeus actor... I'm liking a lot how he is acting Zeus, like a fucking CEO know-it-all Who thinks Percy is wasting his time saying things he already know but doesn't want to believe yet. "I will not be weaken by my brothers" darling, Zeus, that's the youngest brother part of you speaking. Shut the fuck up and listen to the kid.

Percy speaks facts.

Oh!!! Daddy Ken, i mean, Poseidon is here, protecting his kid~. (Better solution than turning him into a tree, actually showing up, heh!)

BEG YOUR FUCKING PARDON!? IM ALREADY EMOTIONAL BECAUSE MY OTHER FICTIONAL FATHER FIGURE IN MY OTHER SILLY SHOW MIGHT DIE THIS FRYDAY... WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU MADE POSEIDON SAY "I SURRENDER" TWICE!!! TO FUCKING ZEUS!!! TO PROTECT PERCY?! I FUCKING LOVE THE SHOW.

Hermes IS the FUCKING snitch of the olympus.

Poseidon : "Who knows about father?"

Zeus: "Ares, Hades, you, i... And fucking Hermes so..."

Both: "everyone, then..."

He really asked Mr. Impertinent if he is obedient?! Hahahaha... Poseidon, dear beach daddy, sir... He is yours and Sally's, what makes you think he'll be obedient?!

"Ares IS a moron" sooooo ... Percy speaks facts because he speaks his father language then. Sorry, this is funnier than i thought It would be. Poseidon being an affectionate father for like 3 seconds before the daddy issues kicked in and push his son away with magic...

THIS. This here with the victorius Hero looking at the defeated who even "dead" had safe his life. Because the mention of Thalia's death was enough for Zeus to spare Percy's life... She had save Percy by being dead and make her father feel guilty for that. Also, he left camp making jokes about the tree and Thalia's death, and look how serious and respectful he looks now. Admiring that tree, Thalia, and all what she means to the demigods... (Maybe i'm reading too much into It, but i liked this frames too much)

Did i spot a pair of twins?! I need the second season NOW and i'm not even half way of the last episode of the first one...

SECOND HUG OF ANNABETH TO PERCY!!! AND HE IS SMILING!!! BOY I WANT TO HUG THEM BOTH... MY BABYS...

Oh~ they are going to do this "Clarise IS guilty but we couldn't risk a war here" to the end so the show watchers don't see It coming. Okay... I like how they are doing this.

Luke and Percy alone in the forest while Annabeth watches Clarise... Yeah... This is it.

I like the lights changing colors because of the fireworks but just giving more dramatic contrast to all the scene. Oh~ Luke's face... My gods!! (These kids are making me insane with how good actors they are!!!)

Luke trying to recruit Percy because he sees himself reflected in Percy, with their mothers suffering because of the gods. "This wasn't to betray you Percy. My enemies are the gods." SEE!!! RIGHT THERE!!! THAT'S A BOY ABOUT TO REBEL AGAINST HIS FATHER, TRYING TO RECRUIT HIS FRIENDS BECAUSE HE IS RIGHT BUT USING THE WORSE WAYS POSSIBLE TO DO THINGS!!!

I said it before, and i'm saying It again... I LOVE THE SHOW.

BACKBITER!!!!! OH MY GODS!!! THAT SWORD IS...HAVE YOU ALL SEE THAT!!! IT FUCKING CUT ANYTHING.

"WE is the word Zeus fear most." And again, as i said above, he is so RIGHT and so wrong at the same time. Luke speech is a 10/10

Percy's reaction. PERCY'S REACTION!!! first to Luke's speech. And then when he wounded Luke with his own sword, he INMEDIATELY apologize to him. "Sorry, i didn't mean to..." Because he knows Luke is being manipulated by Cronos, he still sees him as a friend. And that's why he is scared, also because Luke cut him back, but because his friend is choosing to betray him.

WOOOO!!! ANNABETH?! WOOOOO... LUKE'S FACE!!! ANNABETH'S FACE!!! MY GODS!!! THOSE KIDS!!!

Chiron: "Cronos is persuasive"

Percy: "i'm a seaweed brain, stubborn as fuck... I'll be fine..."

I love Dionysus. Like...

Dionysus: "wait, wait, wait... Peter Johnson, why is everyone calling you Percy?"

Percy: "i'm Percy Jackson, that's my name"

Dionysus: "are you sure? You don't look like a Percy to me, Peter"

A seaweed brain, has being delivered and i'm vibing, living, happy...

ANNABETH IS GOING TO DISNEYWORLD AND PERCY SMILING MADE HER WORRY SHE WILL BE IN TROUBLE THERE!!! SHE IS SO ADORABLE!!! I'LL PROTECT THAT CHILD WITH MY LIFE, I SWEAR TO ALL THE GODS!!!

Grover!!! GROVER TELLING PERCY HE IS GOING TO SEARCH FOR PAN IN THE SEA!!! AND PERCY ACTING LIKE A NEPO BABY!!! LOVED IT!!!

Baby coming back to the beach House... Sally!!!!!!!!!!

Nooooooooooo... Fucking Cronos!!!!

Sally: *all worried* "another nightmare?"

Persassy: "grampa"

Sally: *i swear i saw her roll her eyes* "don't call him that"

I LIKE THE END OF GABE!!!! FUCK YOU GABE!!! Sally is divorcing him, change the locks and his first question to his lawyer is if he knows how to pick a lock... Fuck you, Gabe~

He turning himself into a statue because he opened a box for Percy (wich IS illegal) and after he called the head of Medusa gross... Poetic justice.

(i'm ending to watch this and write this at 5:22... My brain isn't braining anymore. So... Tomorrow i'll post a separated part about the thrones of the gods and maybe trying to put my degree in good use and picking all the art references i could and make a post about them)

[this-is-getting-silly]

I’m going to preface this by saying that I’m not a professional critic or reviewer, and these are just my subjective opinions. There’s no need to get upset that someone on the internet has a different opinion than you.

Now, with that out of the way- I THINK WORM SUCKS

Okay just kidding. It’s good, I like it a lot… but for the most part, I like it despite its protagonist, rather than because of her. And not just because I think the story contorts itself around her in a frustrating way, although it very much does do that. It’s just that, at the end of the day, I don’t think there’s much about her that makes for an interesting viewpoint character.

At the end of the day, what actually motivates Taylor? She starts off wanting to ‘be a hero,’ but gives up on that pretty quickly, yet never really commits to ‘being a villain’ either. It’s not saving the world, either, that’s just basic self-preservation. Her real motivation is simple- protecting her friends, and having them continue to like her. She continues being a villain explicitly for the latter reason (once Coil is dead and Dinah is free there’s no real reason for her to remain a villain other than that), and does most of what she does in service of the former.

Self-preservation and the desire to protect one’s friends are fine primary motivations for a main character… in the right context. For the former, we need only look at Blake from Pact, whose life is in constant danger through pretty much the entire book, so he never gets the chance to develop any goals beyond ‘stay alive,’ and instrumental to that, ‘get stronger.’ That’s fine- it would be weird if Blake was really preoccupied with some other goal considering all that’s happening to him during the events of that story.

Likewise, in the latter case, you have Sylvester from Twig, whose desire to protect his friends is important because their lives are considered expendable, so wanting to protect them motivates him to act proactively and pursue other goals. He even extends his definition of ‘friends’ to basically all experiments, which eventually pushes him to take on the entire Academy and Crown, because he’s got a problem with what they do to his fellow experiments and him. That’s a great motivation for a character! (Twig is the best thing Wildbow has ever written and I hope it never gets a sequel.)

On the other hand, Taylor wanting to protect her friends is a much weaker motivation, because they are almost never in any danger that they didn’t put themselves in. I can’t really cheer for her beating up on Protectorate heroes to save her pals because they chose to take over an entire city. That’s on them. Of course, Taylor is incapable of not perceiving it as unjust persecution, because she has a literal victim complex, and rightfully so, she was a victim for a long time, but not for most of the events of the story itself.

So when it comes down to it, her motivation is basically ‘me and my friends should be able to do whatever we want, and get to kill anybody who tries to stop us.’ Which isn’t an especially compelling motivation from an outside perspective! If she was really driven to be the best parahuman criminal in the city, and supplanting Coil as a crime lord was her plan all along, that would at least be interesting, but she just kind of gets dragged along into everything, and then retroactively justifies it in her mind by deciding the people opposing her are ‘bullies.’

As a consequence of this, Taylor doesn’t really stand for anything, either. She does plenty, but in many ways she’s still basically a passive protagonist, going in whichever direction the flow of the narrative takes her. It just so happens that the narrative flows very quickly, so she never ends up spinning her wheels too long (badly mixing metaphors there, I know), but if things weren’t constantly happening for her to respond to, Taylor really wouldn’t end up doing much on her own.

So- we’ve established why I think Taylor makes for a weak protagonist. Let’s take a look at who I think would make for a compelling replacement.

Number one with a bullet, it’s your boy Theo. I’ve touched on this recently elsewhere, but I want to make a more comprehensive pitch for him now. You might say ‘but isn’t Theo also largely reactive and motivated by self-preservation?’ To a degree, yeah- most of what he does in the story is motivated by not wanting to get killed by Jack Slash. But even if you take Jack out of his story completely, he would still have a more interesting motivation than Taylor. The heroic scion (heh) of a villainous legacy trying to atone for his parents’ misdeeds is a way more interesting story than whatever she has going on. The thing with Jack is just a cherry on top.

(Atonement is a great character motivation in general, which is part of why Rain would have been a far superior protagonist for Ward than Victoria, but that’s a whole ‘nother post.)

Obviously you’d have to rework the story somewhat significantly to make him work as the protagonist, but I think it’s doable. If you wanted to keep things as much the same as possible, you’d probably start with Theo already in the Chicago Wards, and tell the story of how he got there in recurring flashbacks. Taylor could also still be in the story, I actually kind of think she’d work better as a supporting character (as long as you got rid of some of the truly ridiculous shit she did like killing Alexandria). Seeing her training Theo from his perspective would be very interesting, since canon Worm skips pretty much all that stuff.

Next pick: Weld. You might think you’re detecting a theme here, but not so much, actually. Weld’s story is more about him becoming disillusioned with the Protectorate, and even with being a hero in general. But unlike Taylor, who gives up on being a hero roughly three chapters into Worm, that would be a slow arc, starting with him as a true believer, who over the course of the entire story loses his faith and quits to found his own team. It’s worth noting too that the Irregulars weren’t just an independent hero team, but mercenaries, which suggests Weld has soured on the ‘hero’ thing overall.

Plus, Weld has a very solid motivation- finding out who the hell turned him into a Case 53. That’s an actual goal he could pursue over the course of a story and get closure for! We could see his relationship with Sveta actually develop, watch him try to manage the internal tensions of the Irregulars, and go up against Cauldron, which Taylor only really interacts with incidentally until the very end of the story.

Third choice: Faultline. We know a lot less about her than any of the others I’ve named so far- her interlude is so unmemorable I actually forgot it existed before writing this. We never learn her actual name (I’d keep ‘Miss Fitts’ because I like the pun but modern wildbow is a joyless monster so he’d probably change it) or even her trigger event, but I still think she’d make a solid choice. Clearly Wildbow agrees because she was the protagonist in an earlier draft of the story.

Much like Weld, she has a strong motivation in wanting to track down Cauldron, and I think the cast of characters surrounding her is more interesting than the Irregulars, and arguably even the Undersiders themselves.

My next choice is gonna be controversial, but… Armsmaster. Yeah, he starts out as an antagonistic force in Worm, but only because Taylor perceives literally every authority figure in existence as her enemy. His actual story is really compelling, not least because I firmly believe he was framed for the armband thing. That interpretation isn’t canon, but the facts fit, and I think it makes Worm a hundred times more interesting, so I choose to believe it.

So you have a kind of autistic, extremely driven but also somewhat self-involved hero, who gets framed for something he didn’t do, loses everything, and has all the people whose respect he was hoping to earn turn on him. And he comes back from that! Tell me that isn’t a more interesting story than Taylor, who never meaningfully loses a fight or has anything taken from her.

Bonuses for him include: getting to see him fight Leviathan one on one from his perspective, getting a better look at the inner workings of the Protectorate and Guild, giving his relationship with Dragon more development, and seeing a Tinker actually do some tinkering, which is something we’ve basically been completely denied across two books.

And finally, we have the wildcard option: someone else entirely. There are vast swathes of Worm’s world left entirely unexplored, and I’m sure there are plenty of more interesting protagonists hiding somewhere in them. People with more interesting powers, histories, and motivations than the protagonist we actually got. Or Victoria. Goddamn do I wish we got someone other than Victoria for Ward. Rain was right fucking there, hoW DO YOU FUCK THAT UP AAAA

okay that’s it, post over, thanks for reading. bye

[marshmallowprotection]

What do you think would've played out in Saeran's route if we had met Suit Saeran first, then Ray?

I think this is an interesting and complicated question. Suit Saeran wakes up in Ray Route because Ray was beaten so badly he wasn't allowed to exist anymore... at least, not on the surface. He was angry and volatile because of that fact. Torture isn't something he wants to go through, nor does he want Ray to go through it. But, his means of making sure that that doesn't happen aren't the best.

He tries to be a strong person by barking orders and trying to be the largest monster on the food chain to avoid pain. It winds up being the thing that hurts him just as much if not more than the actual torture in the basement. That being said, he tries to silence and control you for a reason.

To keep you from destroying yourself... since he doesn't know what to feel about you, apart from the fact that your "love" for Ray nearly got all of you killed. In the context of Ray Route, it's easy to see how that happens.

On the flip side of that, in V Route, Suit Saeran is awake briefly for a few hours after Ray has a meltdown following what he'd done to V in the basement. He doesn't hate you. He doesn't want to destroy you. No, he wants to dissect you and break you down to understand why Ray is so enamored with you. He might like to play with you and see what makes you tick.

He has no reason to go through what he did in Ray Route because Ray isn't being punished for wanting you to keep a pretty doll on a shelf.

Suit Saeran's primary motivation is to step in and take over when Ray can't keep going. Ray is Rika's son. She molded him in the basement by dismantling young Saeran's already fragile mind, drawing out the hurt voice inside of him, and giving him a name. Ray was there before everything went sour, but he became more tangible as the host when baby Saeran couldn't take it anymore. Rika wants Ray. That's why she demands GE Saeran to bring him back in the After Ending.

AS!Rika still clings to her dream of having a family that won't leave her behind. Whereas, SE!Rika has long given up on having a family and is blind with rage and revenge. Rika only needs Suit Saeran to exist when it's fruitful. She doesn't want a child who throws a long tantrum. Her patience for him to slim. But, she needs him to be the devil like she is, so they can have revenge and get her what she's dreaming of.

There's no doubt in my mind if she had her way, she'd use Suit Saeran until he cracked and then she'd try to force a way to bring Ray back. I doubt she'd care if it would be the original Ray. She wouldn't care for that. She just wants the ideal vessel to call a son after what she did to Mother Choi.

So, it's really difficult for me to imagine Suit Saeran existing before Ray simply out of the reasoning I know behind Rika's motives. There's no purpose in Suit Saeran for Rika until she realizes she can twist his arm and make him bark. This is an interesting hypothetical, but I just can't see a way to imagine it logically.

[martinsorbit]

Finders Keepers: Draft #2 (first bit) / About Earlier

My grammar mistake checker isnt working so. We die like men until I get to my computer later. This is just a bit from draft 2, I'll prob finish it later, i just HAD to show this part i wrote hehe

Also, this is mostly a test for writing character dialogs and conversations!! sorey if it looks a bit scuffed :]

Scene Context: You and Sun come back to your house after a rather stressful morning out in town. Some things happened, and you are pretty pissed about it, so you go into your backyard to try and get it all out. Sun comes up to you to ask if you're ok and two talk about what happened some hours ago.

"Well, It's just that—" Sun interrupts himself as if he's rethinking on what he should say to you. There is a small pause before he continues

"I don't think this is a healthy way to cope with what happened, friend! ...Let alone safe." He says the last part a bit more quietly than the whole sentence.

The worst part is not that you are being lectured about how you should properly channel your anger; The worst part, really, was that he was right– and you knew it.

"I mean, I never really said it was— I- I know It's not really a good way to get it all out, but hey what can I do." you let out a forced chuckle in a failed attempt to make the conversation more light, but it doesn't work, In fact, Sun seems a bit more worried about your well-being now.

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” They come closer to try and get your attention, tilting their head only slightly. There are a few seconds of silence as you look away, thinking of a way to maybe change the conversation's subject.

You don't feel like talking about happened earlier, but given how Sun is just as stubborn as you in some regards, there probably isn't an escape from this interaction.

"I'm fine, it's just that..." you start, trying to find the right words to properly convey your thoughts.

"Remember the lady we saw this morning? The one met when leaving hardware store?"

Of course he remembers. Hell, even if he wanted to, they probably wouldn't be able to forget it. Neither of you would.

"Well, she's certainly a hard figure to forget– for a bit at least– She did says some rather... mean things." Sun's ray's shrink a bit while they start fidgeting with what's left of their wrist ribbons.

" Sun, she treated you like shit! for no reason at all!". You raise your voice, but as soon as you notice, you try talking a bit more lower to try and calm yourself down: "It makes me so pissed off, she just didn't care."

"Maybe she was having a bad day! People have those sometimes"

"It certainly didn't look like it, and even if she was, it doesn't just give her the right to lash out at you!" You turn to Sun with a bit of concern in your eyes. "Aren't you upset about it too?"

There is a short silence while you wait for their response. You dont know if the delay for his answer is because he's trying to figure out what to answer, or if hes considering to even answer the question at all.

The only thing breaking the silence is the almost unnoticeable clicks coming from their machinery

"To say that we aren't would be a lie, we are pretty upset! It's just that... we got a bit used to this by now!"

Sun saying that, with the unchanging smile of his faceplate makes you feel sad on the inside. He pokes the top of your head, slowly changing back to his cheerful tone. "You don't need to get your silly head all worried for us! We are fine"

"But I WANT to worry! This isn't okay, Sun! You shouldn't just be getting thrown around and treated badly just because people can! None of you." You protest, denying their request. "You have feelings and a life just like any other, they should know that."

"Why do you care so much? This doesn't affect you, it doesn't hurt you! Why do you care so much about us?!" They say, back with a less jokey tone and more of a serious one.

While Sun's question comes off a bit more harsh than they intend, you feel like there is also some kind of confussion behind it. His question is serious, because he genuinely doesn't get why you would care about their well-being at all.

"Because you are my friend!" You say, in the same tone—if not louder.

He doesn't answer, though the clicking sound seems to appear again.

"I care about you guys, and I WANT to care! You are deserving of love and kindness, even if you don't feel like you do sometimes."

[rosewaterraindrops]

WWDITS and Women of Color

(context: I am a woman of color) 

I know most people have pretty much moved on, but I needed some time after S4E9 to collect my thoughts on this topic. I do think Marwa’s plotline falls into the sexist/racist trend of how WOC are often mistreated and/or used as one-note plot devices in fiction, and I’ve seen lots of people make really good points about why this is the case. I also saw some people make the point that all side characters are treated badly, and bring up characters like Gregor, Sean, Topher, and Benjy to make the point that Marwa’s plotline isn’t problematic, so I want to give my input on that point specifically. 

I think this argument is missing an important piece of context: there are multiple white men in the main cast. In the average work of fiction, there are more than enough WM that get to have their own personalities and interests and motivations - so if some of them are evil, or get killed off, or are otherwise treated badly, there are usually multiple examples of other WM who are the heroes and get happy endings. 

In WWDITS, there are two WM in the main cast, Laszlo and Colin Robinson. They are both fully fleshed-out characters that we’re supposed to enjoy and care about. So when other WM side characters are brought into the show, they don’t end up being the sole representation of WM in the show. In WWDITS specifically (not saying this always happens), this also ends up extending to men of color and white women, since we have Nandor, Guillermo, and Nadja in the main cast, and the Guide might as well be a main character seeing as she got an entire episode about her backstory. 

On the other hand, there are zero WOC in the main cast. In prior seasons, WOC have been introduced as one-episode, one-note characters meant to seem evil/manipulative or sad/desperate next to one of the main characters (ex. Jan, Celeste). The problem is NOT that evil or mistreated or pathetic characters can’t ever be WOC. The problem is that in WWDITS, like in many other fictional works, there are no other WOC at all, so the one-note portrayals of WOC that do exist end up being the only representation we get. 

When Marwa was brought in, I was so excited, because she seemed genuinely sweet and smart and had interests. Obviously we all knew she wouldn’t actually end up with Nandor, but I was hoping she’d at least get a somewhat happy ending for herself. But WOC in shows often don’t get to be loved or desired or cared for by other characters - instead their own happiness gets sacrificed for the sake of others. (Another clear example of this is the character of Bonnie Bennett in The Vampire Diaries.)

Yes, WWDITS side characters are all living in a horror story, and Marwa is a side character. But in the big picture, WM get to be every kind of character archetype there is, while WOC, if they even get included in a story, are often relegated to being mistreated and/or one-note plot devices. When this type of thing happens over and over again, it gets harder and harder to dismiss it as just a coincidence, and I feel like at this point in 2022 we need to be able to admit that it’s not. 

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About "O' Titan, Where Art Thou" from The Owl House

Salutations, random people on the internet who certainly won't read this. I am Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

It's crazy to think that this is basically the beginning of the end for The Owl House. And I don't mean just this season. "O' Titan, Where Art Thou" gives me this feeling that things will start wrapping up for the series. After this week, we have two more episodes, three forty-five-minute specials, and that's it. There's very little time at this point for shenanigans and fluff, as the writers need to dedicate how little they have left to tie up as many loose ends as possible. And like I said, "O' Titan, Where Art Thou" is the beginning. Revelations have been made, and groups are formed, meaning that there's not much left except preparing for the end. Let's just hope that this week's episode didn't break us too badly when doing it.

Spoilers below.

WHAT I LIKED

The Opening Scene: Well, this episode is already accepted as being heavy and heartbreaking. Might as well start things off with total, incomprehensible fear as we learn that King has some form of a connection with The Collector. Knowing that they probably want King for something, it is a horrifying prospect that they can have an idea of where to find him.

On the topic of wants, this opening scene gives us a glimpse of The Collector's motivation: Freedom from isolation. It appears they're stuck in that weird Pokeball or whatever the hell it is, wanting to be free and have people to play with again. Unfortunately, I feel like The Collector's idea of playtime involves s**t like shuffling a person's face holes like a deck of cards, but at least we know what they want now. The question is, why does The Collector need the Day of Unity to be free? Well, we'll have to wait for future episodes to answer that question because we have problems to deal with now.

King Wanting to Split Up: Such as King wanting to split up so he can be left alone with his thoughts on being the last of his species and that everything he thought he knew was a lie. That's really the impression I got from King's request to just go back to the Owl House on his own. He both wants and needs the time to process what happened to him in "Edge of the World," and I respect that the writers acknowledge that King wouldn't immediately go back to his usual self. His life--At least, with how he perceives it--is changed forever. He can never go back to the time before he knew he was a Titan, and it's great that we get to see him process that ON SCREEN. He might have thought about everything that happened to him between episodes, but it would have been much more fascinating to see it. And we do, and it was. So, yeah. Good job all around.

Everyone’s Wanted: Unfortunately, the problems keep on rising. I'm sure if this was still Season One, Eda would be proud that Luz ends up a wanted criminal like her because "Hooray corrupting the youth" and "fight the power" and all that jazz. However, this is nearing the end of Season Two. The context behind the wanted posters has changed, and Eda has grown closer to Luz. So, when the Emperor's Coven is hunting Luz down like a wild animal, it's not going to be pride Eda will feel. It's fear and worry over how to protect Luz from this not-great situation. So seeing those posters not only makes the audience fear for Luz, but it also makes us worry about Eda and what she's going through.

The Owl House Got Ransacked: And this makes it worse!

Seeing the Owl House emptied out of everything...hurts. It always stings when the home of the characters, one we often see and become familiarized with, gets some level of destroyed or violated. It shows how big the stakes are becoming, where the one setting we all saw as sacred isn't even safe from this big, status quo-shattering event.

And again, it makes me ask, WHERE'S EDA IN ALL OF THIS?!

Lilith and Eda Coming Up with Ideas to Stop Belos: Oh, there she is. And with Lilith too!

That being said, I like where we find Lilith and Eda in this episode. They're low on resources and are on their own, and all they can think to do is bounce ideas off each other on how to stop Belos. Because, really, that's all they can do at this moment. Eda's broken laws before, but she's never had to do a full-frontal assault against a dictator. This is something that is way out of her league. And while Lilith has planned assaults before, she's always had her magic and an army of Coven Guards backing her up. Now? All she has is Eda, and both of them are powerless without their magic. They have their glyphs and staffs, but compared to Belos' "magic" ability, they'd be dead in a few minutes. They recognize this and understand that there's basically nothing they can do, which soon presents an interesting conflict for Eda. She has no plan and knows that she and everyone else is screwed, but she can't tell Luz that. Luz has more hope than anyone else, and if Eda kills that, then things really are hopeless for everybody. I'll get more into that later. For now...I could use a laugh.

Lilith’s Reaction to King Being a Titan: Oh, how I needed this...

There's been this air of doom and gloom within these last few episodes, heightened by the Day of Unity is coming closer and closer. So, trust me when I appreciate this subplot of Lilith being excited that King is a god and starts worshiping him like one. It was pretty fun to see, getting me to chuckle at how nuts Lilith can get when seeking approval from someone of a higher power. But that's just ONE part of the episode.

Luz Wanting to Steal Back Francois: Just like Eda, Luz wants to give King ONE good day. And to do that, she decides to steal back his favorite stuffed animal, one that he got on the day he and Luz first met...Huh. I wonder if that's the reason why King loves Francios so much. It'd be interesting if it was true.

But enough about plausible theories. Luz wanting to go against the Emperor's Coven for King, despite knowing how big of a target is painted on her back, shows how much she truly cares for him and wants her little buddy/brother to be happy. So by the him, she's going to risk life and limb to get King his favorite toy back! And Eda's going with her because obviously, she doesn't want one of her kids getting arrested or killed for this dangerous mission!

“Wouldn’t you rather have a beach day?”/“Maybe if we had time for twenty more adventures, but we don’t!”: HA!

AH-HA!

Ha...

Ah...

Augh. I'm laughing because it hurts.

Ow...Also, do fans really want a beach episode? Why? To see the characters in swimsuits? You DO realize that most of them are minors, right? You twisted psychos...unless some of you are minors who are younger than the characters. In which case, you're not sick freaks. You're kids going through puberty, Mother Nature's way of reminding everyone that she hates us all. It's totally natural and nothing to really be ashamed of. But if you're NOT a minor, you really ARE a sick freak who SHOULD be ashamed...and also should still stay away from playgrounds.

"But what if I want to see EDA in a bikini?"

Then draw Eda in a bikini! Do you really think a Disney show for kids will have a MILF like her in a bikini?! COME ON!

Anyways, this got away from me. Let's get back to the episode.

Luz and Eda Being “Inconspicuous”: I'm going to be honest, "O' Titan, Where Art Thou" is way funnier than I expected. Eda and Luz busting in with poorly made disguises and not being inconspicuous in the slightest? I'm sorry, but that got a chuckle out of me. And I'm glad. As I said, things have been filled with doom and gloom lately, so it's appreciated that The Owl House remembers to let its viewers have fun before things get too real.

Steve and King Going for a Ride: And while we're talking about fun, I'm glad that King got a more lighthearted subplot in this episode. I mean, he's still dealing with his issues over recent revelations, but he does that by taking the time to relax, breathe, and process everything. It's sweet to see, letting him have this day of fun while still acknowledging how much thing's have changed for him. That moment when he hugged the Titan's rib? Man! That hurt...

And Steve. That mother f**ker. He has no right to be as cool and central to the plot as he did! He was just a silly one-off character that had a good joke of getting shoulder pats! If you were to tell me in Season One that he'd be the central source for King's character development, I would have laughed at you! Because it's f**king STEVE! There's no way that'd be true! But it was, and, dang it, these writers win all of the brownie points for turning a one-off character into someone important and having it WORK! It was all fun to see...and it made me wonder if the episode was ever going to get to the heartbreak I anticipated.

Eda Begging Raine to Protect Luz and King: There it is!

This shows us how much trust and love Eda has toward Raine. She's willing to put faith that they'll be able to protect her kids, knowing that even if Rain's brain is a little scrambled, they still have a heart. They would never let children get hurt if there was anything they could do to stop it. That's heart-shattering enough as it is, but the tone in Eda's voice and the fact that she's willing to let herself get caught so her kids could be safe stings even more. Earlier, I said that Eda knows that they're all screwed, so of course, with the Day of Unity coming in two days, she'll do everything she can to make sure her kids are safe.

Even if it hurts them.

“Are you sending me away?”: The pain in Luz's voice when she asked this question felt real. Luz already had her mother send her away, thinking it'd be for Luz's own good. So to have Eda do the same thing hurts for two reasons. For one, it reopens the wound Luz has from Camila, thinking that she'd rather have someone else take care of Luz. Not saying that's what Camila did, but it's what Luz might THINK she did. Another reason is that it makes Luz think Eda doesn't trust Luz to hold out on her own. Again, that's not true. At least, not entirely true. Eda just wants Luz to be safe, but that's not what Luz wants. She'd rather throw herself into danger than lose the family she has in this world. It's a moment where you'll side with Eda but can understand Luz's betrayal. And what follows after...hurts even more.

Luz and Eda’s Fight: I didn't need this. I DID NOT NEED THIS!

Seeing Luz and Eda fight really hit me hard. These two arguably has the closest relationship out of everyone in the main cast, basically being mother and daughter at this point. Therefore, seeing them fight like this has so much emotional impact because we know they don't want to do this. You see it in how neither actively goes out to hurt the other. It's either to distract, escape, or block, but it still stings seeing them come to this. Luz is trying to prove she can handle herself just fine, while Eda is trying to protect the closest thing she'll have to a daughter. You understand why both are fighting like this, but you just wish they could stop and just talk things out peacefully. And they do...technically. But before I get to THAT gut punch, let's go back to the wholesomeness. PLEASE!

King Not Wanting People to Fear Him Anymore: Now that's some character growth I can get behind.

King finally has everything that he ever wanted. And if this was the same King from Season One, he'd probably be ecstatic, demanding everyone to do dumb things for his entertainment. But this is King from Season Two.

He's a character who saw himself as a tyrant but learned that he was a young child who lost his father. A character who had wanted his biological family again but knows that'll never be possible. A character who went through so much and just wants to live a normal life as a kid. Not a tyrant. Him admitting that he doesn't want people to fear him anymore is King realizing he's not the same as he used to be. He doesn't want power or fear. He wants to be loved. It's an incredible moment, and I sure hope the fandom doesn’t undermine it with something like, oh, I don't know--

Steve’s Face Reveal: THIS! MOTHER! F**KER!

How DARE HE take away our precious baby boy's time to shine by showing what he looks like under the mask! And how DARE HE look cute under that thing!

Also, what does it say about Belos when I'm more excited about Steve's face reveal than his. Again, if you told me that in Season One, I would have laughed in your face. BECAUSE IT'S F**KING STEVE!

Alright, that's enough wholesomeness. Back to the heartbreak.

Luz and Eda Breaking Down in the Cell: DID! NOT! NEED THIS!

Do you want to know what's worse than seeing a mother and daughter fight? Seeing them both cry as they realize how dire things are for them. Eda didn’t want to stamp out Luz’s hope…but she NEEDED to. She needed to tell Luz that things aren’t looking good, and that there’s practically nothing they can do about it. And that kills her. The reason why she’s crying is because she’s finally admitting that she can’t protect Luz and that there’s nothing for them to do but wait for the inevitable. And Luz’s reaction…kills me. She’s begging for Eda to tell her what to do and explain how they can get out of this, only for Eda to stay silent as they’re carted off to their own demise. It hurts much more than the first time they were separated in “Agony of a Witch.” There, Eda was at least trying to force a smile so to not let Luz worry. Here, there is no smile. Just acceptance that there’s no getting out of this…and thank GOODNESS that the episode doesn’t end there!

The CATs (Hiss!) Saving Luz and Eda: So much happens during this reveal, so I'm just going to go in order:

Confirming that Darius and Eberwolf are the ones who are helping Raine (even though we already knew) is great. Raine and Darius already have some solid chemistry, and the explanation for why Darius and Eberwolf attacked Raine and Eda makes sense. Tons of people already assumed that it was mostly an act, and Darius and Eberwolf weren't actually going to hurt anyone. They were just making it look authentic for the emperor's coven and filling Raine in later when things calmed down. As I said, it makes sense.

Luz meeting Raine is everything I wanted it to be. They're both excited to meet each other and explain how the reason why is all because Eda wouldn't shut up about her two favorite people. It's sweet, and I love it.

I love everything building up the name of the rebellion. Raine slowly hyping it up while Darius tells them to shut their mouth is hilarious, with Raine's excitement for having the most pathetic rebellion name being just too pure. The same goes for Luz! She's so excited to be in a rebellion called the CATs, and I'm all for it.

This whole scene was absolute perfection. It lifted my spirits quick after the heartache I just had a second ago while also giving more hope for the end. I know in the back of my mind that things won't end well in "King's Tide," but I'm at least hopeful that our characters have a fighting chance against a mad man planning genocide. It makes me excited to see how well they do...but that's not the only thing I'm excited about.

Luz Carving Her Palisman: Forgot about that little plot point, didn't you? Can't say that I blame you. After all, with everything else that happened, Luz making her own palisman just got left on the backburner for a while. But now, it is the perfect time to bring it back. We've got one episode before the season finale, and what's a better way to make it more grand than letting Luz kick butt with her very own palisman. Whatever she makes, though, we'll just have to see.

Now, I wanted to just cross out the dislike section and just accept that this episode is practically perfect…but…

WHAT I DISLIKED

This episode left me with...questions. Questions that I'd ignore if not for how important they are to be answered. Questions such as:

How did Eda and Lilith avoid getting captured?

How did Eda know that Raine knew about the draining spell?

How did the CATs save Eda and Luz?

Why did they wait hours to free Luz?

I know the writers are strapped for time and need to cut corners to focus on the more important stuff, but there's some flimsy excuse behind these questions that, honestly, would have worked better with just one more rewrite. Other than that, I'd say this is another solid A.

IN CONCLUSION

Even though "O' Titan, Where Art Thou" is the beginning of the end for The Owl House, it still feels like its own episode rather than a part of a larger story. We get many perfect character moments, solid character growth, and a strong balance between humor and drama. Maybe the episode itself isn't flawless, but everything that's done right makes me care less. I enjoyed every minute, and here's hoping that winning streak continues as we reach the end of The Owl House.

[ganymedesclock]

Ooh ooh ooh, how about your version of Sonic for the powers thing?

You see, Sonic is fast, because if he doesn't keep ahead of his problems, he'll have to actually think about them, and then he'll have a crisis.

This is partially a fun opener joke and it's also not. I'll let you decide how much of each it is. In the meantime, I'm going to talk about what my reads of various canons inspire in me, and how that informs Worlds AU, a bit more than talking about Worlds AU itself.

So Sonic in the initial game canon, started out with an extremely simple conceit. You can see this mirrored across all of the non-Amy classic characters: Sonic runs, that's his thing; Tails flies, Knuckles punches, Eggman makes robots and also problems, which sort of condenses into one thing considering the role robots have in the classic games.

(that damn caterkiller has cost me SO many attempts at a chaos emerald...)

This sort of got to be a problem as the games advanced. In particular, the Sonic game I started on was Sonic Adventure 2, which pitted Sonic very prominently off of Shadow. At this point, character concepts are no longer about simple capabilities, and every other member of the cast has grown up. (even Amy... though not too much. sorry Amy). Tails is now building robots to go with how his flight allows him to reach unconventional 'tricky' routes; Knuckles is now more of an adventurer, explorer, and even a mystic given his history and relationship with the emeralds. This earthly pugilist sense grounds him in a more versatile skill-set.

Sonic... basically his gimmick was remaining true to the classic formula- he was still the one going fast, popping those shuttle loops, and tumbling through a chaotic universe. Yes, they absolutely polished this and put flourishes on it- now he's grinding rails and flipping on poles, this sense of street-smart parkour that carries him cheekily through any environment...

But he's played off Shadow, where the thing about Shadow, especially in the first game, is Shadow is a person who suppresses most of his personality for his context. Not in an inorganic or badly written sense, mind- but he outright says to Rouge at one point that it doesn't matter if anything he remembers is fake- in essence, that it's more real than he is, and a dead person's wish is more important than his life.

Shadow is a soldier, is an alien, is a bioweapon, is a teleporter and he shoots lasers. We are beyond the days of simple conceits; if he was conceived in the classic era, he'd have probably been either only a jet-skater or a teleporter, and that one conceit about how he moved through the world would've been through everything.

Sonic picks up the chaos control from Shadow- in direct reaction to Shadow- and this is commented on. In this scene, Sonic not only rejects Shadow's unhealthy obsession with context- that where he came from was everything- but mirrors it with an attitude that, frankly, to me, rings just as unbalanced- Sonic basically denies having a backstory whatsoever.

"What you see is what you get!" he says.

And that flew in the classic era. We didn't really have a consistent or strongly-drawn backstory over why Sonic was fast. Most continuities around that era point it to either an accident or a happenstance synergy with an outside force. But we didn't really need a story over why Tails can fly or why Knuckles had spurs on his fists.

But in the modern era... there's context. Many characters have superpowers. And more and more, there was a sense that those superpowers had context and history, whether the outright spelled, like Shadow (he was engineered to be capable of this; if you look at him, he has most of the abilities you'd expect of a boss fight in Resident Evil, minus the squelchy, infectious sorts and the Black Arms imply he could well have those and just not use them)

...or the simply alluded, such as Blaze's ominous comment that her flames are the reason she was always alone.

Sonic... clearly has powers. He's been reframed to keep up with he setting as it changes. But that exchange between him and Shadow- where Shadow looks at what Sonic is capable of, looks at him, and asks, verbatim, "what are you," and Sonic delivers a non-answer so naked and so certain that there's not really anything to say to that.

To this end, while I think it's highly intuitive that they picked the wind as the motif to spice Sonic up to- with its sense of freedom, and with its association with speed- I think there's also something about air in general that connects to Sonic.

Air is... omnipresent. It has an extremely complex seething system high overhead. Enormous paths and belts and spirals of wind curl over us all the time, pushing clouds the size of entire states around like it's nothing. When you look at the sky, it looks stationary. But wait, squint- it's actually moving. It's actually moving really fast.

One of my absolute favorite characterizing moments of Sonic is in Archie Comics, specifically the post-reboot series. To keep context minimal, Tails confides in Sonic that he's losing his memory of a certain incident that affected both of them, and he's worried; Sonic reassures him, typical hero big brother best friend, and gives him a big hug. The scene is warmly lit.

The very next panel is literally in the shadows, over Tails' shoulder and behind his back. And Sonic's expression is... troubled. Telling. We immediately understand from that alone he just lied, and has no ability to 'just remember for Tails'.

Sonic is not a vacuous person. He's not empty, he's not innocent, and he's certainly not just your same good nostalgic friend who never changed or got complicated so you don't have to reevaluate all of those things- the guy you can always count on, just like the sky is always there- but he sure pretends to be all of those things, and tries to keep the stormy weather as far away from other people as possible.

This is given another heroic-sounding-but-actually-concerning context in Sonic Unleashed, one of several games in which Sonic shows a maybe suspicious but profound aptitude for darkness where he guzzles and serves as a very powerful conduit for the energy of Dark Gaia, who is strongly connoted with rage, despair, denial, and other states considered bad for your health.

Sonic asks Chip- who he's just found out is Dark Gaia's counterpart- if it was his protection that kept him from losing his mind the entire time. Chip denies this, and states instead it's that "you never let the darkness win."

The thing is... anger and sadness are actually pretty important to feel. And it's actually not true that Sonic as a character doesn't feel anger- there's a few rather notable scenes in which he really loses his cool, some of them within Sonic Unleashed itself (he actually scares Eggman at the culmination of the Egg Dragoon fight) and in the game Sonic and the Secret Rings he actually achieves a super form powered by negative emotions- and that game also ends on a surprisingly melancholy note, where Shahra, when leaving Sonic, specifically gives him a bunch of tissues, a nod to how they met, and specifically "So you can cry as much as you need to."

Sonic is a good person. But Sonic is also... kind of a liar. He has this powerful connection to these highly destructive and dangerous entities- Dark Gaia, Chaos- and this is a thing he, pointedly, doesn't wonder about. And it's not arrogance, or an inability to consider the possibilities- in Sonic Colors he is very real with himself that he can't outrun a black hole, but only admits that once Tails is out of earshot on the one safe ride away from it- and while gearing up to try to do so anyway.

Wind is a contradictory thing. In the sky, we consider the possibility of ultimate freedom; flight and wings are often depicted as symbols of enormous power and efficacy because the very notion of being able to go wherever you want to captivates us.

On the other hand, though, a state of freefall is terrifying. In the unparalleled freedom of the sky, absolutely nothing can catch you if you fall.

(you know, except Tails, if you're fighting Eggman in Marble Garden- I'll leave)

We can talk about a bolt from the blue, a sudden storm or a just-as-sudden clear blue sky... the mechanisms of the air around us are often very hard to perceive for their superficial simplicity. And on sunny days when the wind lazes slowly through the leaves, it's hard to think of it as capable of hurricane forces.

I guess the note I want to leave this on is, it's pretty interesting how Sonic genuinely likes running, but he also tends to either outrun or fight anything that stresses him out- and "what he is" and "what he's capable of" is something he really doesn't like talking about even if he's happy to show or compete it.

[lunarfly]

Harmione Essay: the most underrated H/Hr hug

The Harry Potter movies did a great job at showing one part of book Harmione - they share lots of hugs. But this seemed to shift the attention from book Harmione hugs to movie Harmione hugs. And the situation is worse than you’d think. Many Harmione fans not only underrate some book hugs, but most don’t even know the existence of them. I’m going to be discussing the most underrated hug shared between Harry and Hermione. The one that happens in HBP after Dumbledore’s death. Here’s the hug I’m talking about:

They [Harry and Ginny] had reached the hospital wing. Pushing open the doors, Harry saw Neville lying, apparently asleep, in a bed near the door. Ron, Hermione, Luna, Tonks, and Lupin were gathered around another bed near the far end of the ward. At the sound of the doors opening, they all looked up. Hermione ran to Harry and hugged him; Lupin moved forward too, looking anxious. 

In this scene, Harry had just seen Dumbledore’s dead body and Ginny was taking him to the hospital wing on McGonagall’s orders. Right as Harry stepped in, he looked around, everyone started looking at him and Hermione jumped in his arms and hugged him. 

At first glance, this may seem like a regular H/Hr moment, just another one of their hugs. It may seem like nothing special, we don’t get a unique description of the hug like we did in OotP, for example, when Hermione “threw herself into a hug that nearly knocked him flat.” So you may think it’s not s big deal at all.

But it is.

We have quite a few things to keep in mind while analyzing this hug, one of them being the phrasing. As I said, this hug doesn’t get a unique description but there’s still one thing to note:

At the sound of the doors opening, they all looked up. Hermione ran to Harry and hugged him; Lupin moved forward too, looking anxious.

Hermione didn’t just wrap her arms around him, she ran to him. She was probably standing at the other side of the room but as she heard the “sound of the doors opening”, she immediately saw Harry and ran up to him just to hug him! It’s such a sweet moment.

That’s not all though. It isn’t only cute, it’s also deep and emotional. To understand this, we’ll just have to take a look at the context of this hug, which gives it most of its depth and beauty. 

Here’s a rather long (sorry!) scene for some context:

Dumbledore turned back to look out of the fiery window; the sun was now a ruby red glare along the horizon. Harry walked quickly from the office and down the spiral staircase. His mind was oddly clear all of a sudden. He knew what to do.

Ron and Hermione were sitting together in the common room when he came back. “What does he want?” Hermione said at once. “Harry, are you okay?” she added anxiously.

“I’m fine,” said Harry shortly, racing past them. He dashed up the stairs and into his dormitory, where he flung open his trunk and pulled out the Marauder’s Map and a pair of balled-up socks. Then he sped back down the stairs and into the common room, skidding to a halt where Ron and Hermione sat, looking stunned.

“I’ve got to be quick,” Harry panted. “Dumbledore thinks I’m getting my Invisibility Cloak. Listen. . . .”

Quickly he told them where he was going and why. He did not pause either for Hermione’s gasps of horror or for Ron’s hasty questions; they could work out the finer details for themselves later.

“. . . so you see what this means?” Harry finished at a gallop. “Dumbledore won’t be here tonight, so Malfoy’s going to have another clear shot at whatever he’s up to. No, listen to me!” he hissed angrily, as both Ron and Hermione showed every sign of interrupting. “I know it was Malfoy celebrating in the Room of Requirement. Here —” He shoved the Marauder’s Map into Hermione’s hands. “You’ve got to watch him and you’ve got to watch Snape too. Use anyone else who you can rustle up from the D.A., Hermione, those contact Galleons will still work, right? Dumbledore says he’s put extra protection in the school, but if Snape’s involved, he’ll know what Dumbledore’s protection is, and how to avoid it — but he won’t be expecting you lot to be on the watch, will he?”

“Harry —” began Hermione, her eyes huge with fear.

“I haven’t got time to argue,” said Harry curtly. “Take this as well —”

He thrust the socks into Ron’s hands.

“Thanks,” said Ron. “Er — why do I need socks?”

“You need what’s wrapped in them, it’s the Felix Felicis. Share it between yourselves and Ginny too. Say good-bye to her for me. I’d better go, Dumbledore’s waiting —”

“No!” said Hermione, as Ron unwrapped the tiny little bottle of golden potion, looking awestruck. “We don’t want it, you take it, who knows what you’re going to be facing?”

“I’ll be fine, I’ll be with Dumbledore,” said Harry. “I want to know you lot are okay. . . . Don’t look like that, Hermione, I’ll see you later. . . .”

And he was off, hurrying back through the portrait hole and toward the entrance hall.

So I’ve highlighted the parts to pay the most attention to.

Basically, Harry rushes into the common room after meeting Dumbledore, Hermione asks him what has happened and she notices that Harry looks worried and is in a rush. She asks him what has happened and she’s anxious because she’s already worried just by seeing the look on his face. Harry answers “shortly” and runs to get the marauders map and Felix Felicis to give them to Hermione and Ron. He explains everything to them quickly, leaving out the details, and tells them what to do with the map and to take the Felix Felicis because he’s sure that Draco has achieved something which means no good. And now he’s off to this dangerous mission out of Hogwarts with Dumbledore where his life could possibly be put in danger! Just imagine how Ron and Hermione feel right now. Their best friend is taking a huge risk and is taking part in fighting the dark arts and he might not even return. They’re both looking “stunned” and Hermione is gasping out of horror! That’s right. Her worries and fears are sky-high. And now, after this short explanation, while Harry is “racing”, “speeding” and “dashing” to do everything in time and he’s going so fast that he’s running out of breath, “panting”, he’s just going to leave without saying proper goodbyes. The fact that this is all happening in such a rush is extremely important and meaningful because Hermione doesn’t even get to say a proper goodbye, she’s so scared and worried that her eyes are “huge with fear”, she doesn’t know what’s going to happen to Harry, whether she’s even going to see him ever again, she’s ready to reject the liquid luck so Harry can be safe, she’s trying to convince him to take the liquid luck, even after Harry says he’ll be fine with Dumbledore. She’s giving him the look of disapproval but before she can say another word and say a proper goodbye, he’s off again, hurrying to meet Dumbledore and his own possible death.

Just imagine how Hermione is feeling right now. And if that isn’t bad enough, Harry’s prediction actually comes true and death eaters start attacking! Ron, Hermione and Ginny barely survive the attack just by luck, literally. And now, when it’s all over and Hermione’s standing in a room in the hospital wing, desperately waiting for news along with the whole Order, Harry comes in. And she completely loses it. She runs to him and hugs him. Now do you understand the emotion in this scene? Both of them nearly died, she was probably going crazy thinking what could’ve happened to him, Harry was thinking and worrying about her too (”How long had they been away? Had Ron, Hermione, and Ginny’s luck run out by now?” “ Would he be responsible, again, for the death of a friend?”) and now they finally see each other and Hermione is probably feeling lightheaded knowing that he’s safe (compare to the DoM scene in OotP) and she hugs him. She just can’t do otherwise. And all of the unsaid “I’m so glad you’re safe” and “I’ve been so worried about you”s are all expressed through a beautiful and emotional embrace.

Now we know how deep this scene truly is. And imagine how beautiful this scene would be on screen. So much lost potential. 

It brings a smile on my face imagining a worried Hermione running all the way across the room and flinging her arms tightly around Harry, hugging him and both of them looking so deeply relieved. Then quickly breaking apart as Lupin approaches “anxiously” and asks what Hermione doesn’t have the courage to ask. 

The continuation of this scene is also nice. It’s Lupin who asks how Harry is, while Hermione stays silent but still stays next to Harry.

Nobody answered. Harry looked over Hermione’s shoulder and saw an unrecognizable face lying on Bill’s pillow, so badly slashed and ripped that he looked grotesque.

This shows they are still standing near each other. 

And  later everyone else seems interested in the conversation about Dumbledore’s death and Snape’s betrayal but Hermione doesn’t say a word. Like she’s still petrified from everything that’s happened and now this happened too. 

Hermione clapped her hands to her mouth and Ron groaned.

[...]

Almost against his will he glanced from Ron to Hermione, both of whom looked devastated.

She looks “devastated” and doesn’t say a single word until Harry directly asks her, it almost reminds me of the scene at the hospital when Ron was poisoned.

“So if Ron was watching the Room of Requirement with Ginny and Neville,” said Harry, turning to Hermione, “were you — ?” 

“Outside Snape’s office, yes,” whispered Hermione, her eyes sparkling with tears, “with Luna. We hung around for ages outside it and nothing happened. . . . We didn’t know what was going on upstairs, Ron had taken the map. . . . It was nearly midnight when Professor Flitwick came sprinting down into the dungeons. He was shouting about Death Eaters in the castle, I don’t think he really registered that Luna and I were there at all, he just burst his way into Snape’s office and we heard him saying that Snape had to go back with him and help and then we heard a loud thump and Snape came hurtling out of his room and he saw us and — and —” 

The rest is irrelevant. I just thought I’d mention that Hermione is whispering and she’s almost crying, on top of all of the battles and duels she went through and all the worries and fears she had before seeing Harry alive, now she’s shocked from the news of Dumbledore. This girl is so strong. 

I know I wrote a little more than I should’ve but I just really love this moment. Their care for each other, their worries and their fears, that’s what strengthens their bond. They have the most emotional relationship out of everyone in the series. This hug was truly beautiful and much, much more than just a hug. 

And to end this essay, I thought I’d give you something about hugs (they happen over 5 times between H/Hr in the books) in general:

“We love to feel loved, and we love to feel good. Hugs satisfy both needs. When you touch someone affectionately, sit or stand close to them, gaze into their eyes, or wrap them in a big bear hug, our body responds on all levels: emotionally, cognitively, and physiologically.

Oxytocin — the human love drug — is also released when we hug. This hormone reduces blood pressure and stress hormones. According to Medical News Today, oxytocin ‘contributes to relaxation, trust, and psychological stability.’ Over time, it makes us feel bonded with another person.

Oxytocin provides feelings of pleasure, contentment, happiness, and even euphoria. These feels feel great — and they’re good for you.”

[twoidiotwriters1]

Copycat: Origins —(Marvel Fem!Oc)

Words: 2,095

Phase Three Masterlist

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

Listen to: ‘It’s Not The Same Anymore’ -by Rex Orange County

xxiv: A Second Chance

Cat was embarrassed for the way she'd stormed out of the room, so she was going to apologize during breakfast. However, Steve spoke before she could get a word out.

"We're visiting Tony this afternoon. Wanna join us?"

Cat blinked. "You're getting Tony involved?"

"He's the only one that can do it."

"The retired Avenger?" She asked in disbelief. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"It'd be great if you could come with us," He continued calmly. "Maybe if you talk to him—"

"Yeah, that'd work," She stated. "If I trusted any of this, but I don't."

"Have faith, Cat."

"No. But I'll go anyway," Cat grabbed the coffee he was holding and took a large sip. "I wanna watch as he tells you there's no way that'll work."

"Why are you being like this?" Steve questioned. "Don't you want your old friends back? Don't you want Peter—"

"Don't talk to me about Peter," Cat raised her voice. "I have to be the one with common sense since all of you decided to throw it out the window! The fact that talking raccoons and teleporting mutants exist doesn't mean a time machine will work! It's delusional, Steve!"

"Call Pietro and Harley, see what they have to say about our delusion."

"That's cruel," Her voice quivered. "I'm not dragging anyone into a fantasy again."

"There's a difference between dreaming and planning, Cat. You keep mistaking them for each other."

"I could say the same to you. I know Tony will."

"Why do you hold his opinion in such high esteem?" Steve pressed before she could exit the room.

"The only man's opinion I care for is Hogan's," She responded with apathy. "If I want to hear what Tony has to say, is solely cause his IQ is higher than ours put together."

"Matthew."

"Hmm?"

"If someone told you," Cat began quietly, "that they might have a way to bring everyone back..."

"Everyone?"

"The vanished," She clarified. "If you were offered an almost impossible way to bring your friends back... would you take it?"

"I'm gonna need context for that one."

She told him everything about the prior night, as expected, Matthew was just as dubious as she was the first time she heard it.

"You're sure this guy didn't lose his mind in this... quantum place?"

"He looked pretty sane. A little shocked, of course, he spent five hours in that place only to come back to this madness, but he really believes this could work. He's starting to convince the others as well."

"It sounds like whether you agree or not, it doesn't matter. They'll talk to Stark either way."

"Yeah, but the outcome depends on me," She made a face. "Chances are Tony will help them if I ask him to."

"But you don't wanna do that," Matt replied knowingly. "Cause you don't wanna give yourself false hopes."

"Tony has a daughter, he's got a family. Asking him to risk his life is selfish."

The man frowned. "You think his life is worth more than everybody else's?"

Cat's hands were tearing a napkin into little pieces. "They want this to be true so badly... but the only person that can figure it out is Tony. Besides... no one guarantees that a world with the vanished will be better than without them."

She groaned and dropped her head on the table.

"I know how that sounds, but I'm talking about the abusers, the corrupt— we're better without them. If we bring the good ones back, we bring the rest with them."

"I think the risk is worth it."

"Peter would've wanted me to protect the world."

"I think he would love a second chance," Matt pushed his glasses up. "You want him to think of you as more than just a sidekick? Don't think of him as the tragic muse for your good deeds."

"You're talking about him as if he weren't dead," She scowled.

"He's not," Matt tilted his head. "It's different, they didn't die. You know that."

"Do I?" She asked quietly. "Ignorance is bliss, Matty."

"You don't really believe that," He got up.

"How do you know?"

"Because if you did, you would've never come back to earth."

"Hello?"

"P.J.," She tried to sound cheerful. "How's your day going?"

"Kinda busy, but days aren't as bad when I remember this is my last semester— what's up?"

"I just wanted to hear your voice— It's been a long day, to say the least."

"Did your boss do something weird?"

"No."

"Do I have to kill someone?"

"Do you ever think about Wanda?"

Silence answered her question, he'd been taken by surprise.

"I'm sorry," She ran a hand over her face. "Of course you do, I just—"

"Yeah, of course I do," He agreed. "What's going on, Copy?"

The words got stuck in her throat, she felt as if her mouth had been filled with sand.

"It's nothing. It's been a long day, that's all."

"Okay," He sounded doubtful. "Listen, I gotta head to class, but I'll call you back. Don't do anything stupid 'til then, promise?"

"I'm fine, I just phrased my question weirdly..."

"Cat, promise."

"I promise," She replied.

"I love you."

"Love you too."

Cat stepped out of the car feeling tons of shame. The moment Tony saw her, his expression changed from being bothered to defeated. The situation was probably way more serious than he imagined.

"Cat!" Morgan wriggled out of her father's embrace and ran up to her.

The young woman knelt and caught the toddler in her arms, picking her up easily.

"Hi!" She kissed the little girl's cheek. "How's my favorite girl doing?"

Tony greeted them without much excitement. "Come in. Have a seat. You thirsty?"

"We won't stay too long, Tony," Steve said in a business-like voice. "We don't mean to intrude."

"And yet you can't seem to stop," He said sarcastically. "Morgan, Kitkat's here to have a talk with daddy."

Cat placed the child back on the ground and the girl ran to her house, they stood on the porch in awkward silence.

"Well?" Tony looked at her. "What's going on?"

"Quantum fluctuation messes with the Planck scale," Tony said. "Which then triggers the Deutsch proposition. Can we agree on that? Copy, remember your lessons?"

"I never learned how to speak nerd, Tony," she replied.

"In layman's terms, it means you're not coming home."

"I did," Scott replied.

"No. You accidentally survived," Tony grimaced. "It's a billion to one cosmic fluke. And now you wanna pull a... what do you call it?"

Scott shrugged. "A... time heist?"

Cat pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed heavily.

"Yeah, time heist. Of course," Tony nudged her arm. "Why didn't we think of this before? Oh, because it's laughable. Because it's a pipe dream."

"Yeah, we heard that before," Steve glanced at her.

"Ah," Tony smiled a little. "We raised you well."

"The stones are in the past," Steve insisted. "We could go back, we could get them."

"We can snap our fingers. We can bring everybody back," Nat added.

"Or screw it up worse than he already has, right?"

"I don't believe we would."

"Gotta say it. I sometimes miss that giddy optimism," Tony gestured. "However, high hopes won't help if there's no logical, tangible way for me to safely execute said time heist. I believe the most likely outcome will be our collective demise."

His response was quite similar to the one she'd given. She ignored Nat and Steve's comments about how much she would sound like Tony most of the time, but now she couldn't. The girl had absorbed too much of his personality during her youth, and now she was a Stark.

I wanted to be like you!

And I wanted you to be better.

What good was she bringing to the world if she was exactly like the heroes that had caused its downfall? Didn't the hero that could truly make a difference deserve a chance to prove it?

"Cat!"

She gave a start, Tony had been calling her name but she was too distracted to hear him.

"I asked what are your thoughts on this?"

She cleared her throat. "I..."

"She thinks heroes are a thing of the past," Steve answered.

"She's right."

"I know you got a lot on the line," Scott intervened. "You got a wife, a daughter... but I lost someone very important to me. A lotta people did, and now we have a chance to bring her back, to bring everyone back and you're telling me that you won't even—"

"That's right, Scott. I won't even. I can't."

Morgan walked out of the house. "Mommy told me to come and save you," The girl climbed into her father's lap and wrapped her arms around him.

"Good job. I'm saved."

Cat saw genuine regret in his eyes, there was only one person in the past that was making his decision way harder than it looked. How ridiculous it was, even their ghosts had the same face.

"I wish you were coming here to ask me something else. Anything else. I'm honestly happy to see you guys, I just— Oh look, the table's set for six—"

"Tony, I get it," Steve sighed. "And I'm happy for you, I really am... but this is a second chance."

"I got my second chance right here, Cap," Tony replied. "Cat's building hers too. Pietro as well... can't roll the dice on it. I won't be the one that ruins it for all of us," He looked at the others. "If you don't talk shop, you can stay for lunch. Cat?"

She looked at Morgan, who was staring at her eagerly.

"I'll stay."

"Wonderful," Tony squeezed her shoulder. "You can tell me all about your new job, Harley told me you're working at a law firm? What's that about?"

He went inside and she looked at the trio that was still on the porch.

"I'm sorry."

She meant it. When she was sure Tony couldn't hear, the girl quickly added:

"I'll see what I can do."

Steve's eyes brightened, and he nodded. "Good luck."

"So this guy, this lawyer— what's his name?"

"Matthew."

"Is he a good boss? Does he pay you enough?"

"It's more like an internship," She said, picking up the plates from the table. "We don't get lots of clients, and most of the time he helps those who can't afford it..."

"I like that you gravitate towards those kinds of people nowadays, speaks volumes of your nature—"

"It's about stakes, and everyone knows I'm close to reaching my limit," She clarified. "One mistake and I'll end up in jail or six feet under."

"No, no..."

Both remained silent for a second, then blurted out at the same time:

"Steve's mistaken—"

"We're wrong."

They stared at each other.

"God," She shook her head. "How did ya do it?"

"What do you mean?"

"We're so similar, yet you had very little to do with my upbringing—"

"I disagree," He raised a brow. "You're nothing like me. But we have the same coping mechanisms, and that makes it look like we're alike."

Cat left the dirty plates on the sink and leaned against it.

"Why is Steve wrong?"

"You don't think heroes are a thing of the past," Tony stood in front of her and leaned against the breakfast bar. "You pretend you do cause you're not sure you can live up to it. It's like the only child syndrome, we pressured you to become the perfect agent and you ended up believing there's no way to get it right."

"You just wanted me to be better."

"It was not your duty to obey."

"We're wrong," She insisted. "We don't wanna help because it's going to cost us everything. We know it won't be easy. These things always come at a high price that we're no longer willing to pay."

Tony's gaze moved at some point over her head, she lifted her eyes and found an old picture of him and Peter.

"Kitkat..." He continued quietly. "Out of all, who are the ones having the pretty, comfortable lives?"

"You and I," She said without having to think about it. "And Pietro."

"Look, you have to know this," He added darkly. "As you said, we have everything to lose. There'll be casualties, that's for certain. Are you sure you wanna open that door?"

"It's hard to fear the worst when the worst already happened," She said wearily. "The boy I loved died in my arms, begging to be saved. I cared about him, nothing else... I still do."

Tony looked away, she walked past him and patted his shoulder.

"I don't wanna do this any more than you do, but we don't have the power to decide the whole fate of the cosmos. You know they'll try to do it even without us, and they'll die trying if you don't help 'em out."

"You aggravate me," Tony groaned. "Who gave you permission to be wise? I certainly didn't."

"That's my whole point, old man. You were never in charge, but you always knew how to fix our mistakes. You'll find a way, and once you do you won't be able to sleep until you get it done. Just don't take too long, their alternative is Banner and I refuse to follow orders from a hippie."

Next Chapter —>

Taglist.

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[flightfoot]

Is it bad if I'm hoping for a confrontation between lb and cn in a full blown shouting contest or cn pull a glaciator eps-like attitude toward lb? Many artist and author I've seen tend to geared toward cn anger/disappoinment diffuse instantly the moment lb shout out her frustration by using the "you don't understand I'm stressed!!" Argument and cn instantly goes "aww I'm sorry I was wrong" because I don't think he was wrong to feel disappointed and angry when he found out rf is out there without his knowledge. Sry English isn't my first language hope that make senses enough?

No, I totally get it! Especially since, yeah, I DON'T think Chat would be wrong to be angry or disappointed with LB, with what he found out in Rocketear especially. Ladybug's actions are understandable in context and she's not having the best time either, but that doesn't invalidate Chat's frustrations. I don't think he needs to apologize for feeling lied to, distrusted, manipulated, unneeded, or unwanted based on all the things he's found out he's not in the loop about, and only found out because of outside reasons, like Ladybug telling her identity to someone else, and letting Rena and Carapace know each other's identities.

Now, he actually appears to be taking all that extremely well so far. He was fine with Ladybug telling her identity to someone else as soon as she explained and made it clear that she wasn't going to just leave with no notice permanently. This IS consistent with his character, and is why I'm not too off-put with Chat Noir seemingly getting over his anger within less than a minute of blowing up, even apologizing for lashing out - while I think he has the right to be seriously upset, he probably WOULD appear to be over it as soon as he shouted out the problem. We saw that in Glaciator in fact, with him making some snippy comments to Ladybug about not going to the rooftop date he set up, getting slammed by Glaciator when he attempted to take him on alone, then apologizing and going with Ladybug's plan, all within the span of about a minute.

Adrien just doesn't hold onto anger or frustration very long, and he's terrified of driving people away from him - especially Ladybug. So even when he's really upset with her, he does his best not to express it or to keep it to a minimum so he doesn't alienate her. Something that's gotten worse in season 4, with how closely he's concealing his growing frustration from her, even when asked about it, when in previous seasons he'd let her see that he was hurt.

Personally, I want Chat to be able to really let Ladybug know exactly how hurt and frustrated he's been, what his perspective on all this is. I don't really want their partnership to be strained, at least on any sort of long-term basis, nor do I want Marinette to be too badly hurt - she didn't mean to cause Chat any sort of pain, and a lot of it stems from bad circumstances and erroneous assumptions, especially with Chat Blanc throw into the mix. I don't think she "deserves to suffer", if that makes sense.

But I still want some catharsis, something akin to what we got with the NY special, with Chat giving up the ring and Marinette being devastated as a result, because as bad as things were, as stressed and anxious and angry as she was, she'd NEVER want to be without him. Him actually giving up the ring has been done before so maybe not that specifically, but something else major that turns the anger Chat has and the... shock, maybe? that Ladybug would have into something more like sorrow, and cause them to reaffirm how much they mean to each other.

[imonthinice]

The Criminal Psychology Majors, Jason Todd x Fem!Reader Part 7/?

Word Count: 3.5k

Author’s Note: Y/N - Your Name, A/N Any Name (your best friend’s name), (Name) - your ex’s name !genderneutral (Don’t use a DC character! Y/N hasn’t dated any other DC character!) :)

3.5k words, my god. And they’ve still only known each other for 4 days and we’re on part 7. I do not know how to finish this.

Lol, Enjoy!

Warnings: Swearing, Heated moments, There is French in this one, No beta bitch we die like Jason Todd

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7) (Part 8) (Part 9) (Part 10) (Part 11) (Part 12) (Part 13) (Part 14) (Part 15) (Part 16) (Part 17) (Part 18) (Part 19) (Part 20)

Falling asleep in Jason’s arms after that escapade the two of them pulled the night before was something magical to say the least. Of course, they only got like 5 hours of sleep before they had to wake up and get out, at risk of Y/N being caught in the building, although the thrill of it excited the both of them deeply, but that’s obvious. They liked breaking the rules already.

Riding back home seemed a lot less like a journey to her this time, she just wanted to spend more time with Jason, but he had work and she didn’t want to hang out at Wayne Enterprises. She’d probably go to the library today, she didn’t know exactly what she’d do today, but she always thought that was the most exciting thing ever. “I don’t know what I’m even going to do tomorrow,” one of her friends asked when she moved to Gotham, ‘How exciting!’ she answered.

That friend said the next day she ran through the streets of Metropolis with her arms outstretched like a kid, and she did it in Y/N’s honor. “I told you!” she said, “How exciting that sometimes you never know what you’re going to do tomorrow!”.

These thoughts swirled in her head as Jason drove her back home when, like clockwork, like it was out of a movie, he said,

“I have no idea what I’m even going to do today.”

She laughed, “I always say ‘How exciting!’ when someone says that to me.”

“Really?”

“One of my friends back home, when I gave her that advice, she then spent the next day running around the city with her arms outstretched in my honor, it was apparently one of the more fun things she’s ever done, so” she paused, “I really mean it. how exciting! The possibilities are endless, are they not?”

“Well, not really, I have work to do,” he frowned.

“So own it. Make the office your bitch. Take charge, take lead.”

“Why not?” he said in agreement.

“Why the fuck not.”

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

Jason walked her to her door, “Won’t you be late?” she asked,

“Dad knows where I am, I don’t think I’ll have my ass handed to me.”

“You never know,” she laughed.

He laughed too and slightly pecked her lips. He wanted more, he was hungry for more out of that kiss, but work and life gets in the way of their relationship, and he really whined when he had to break away, but she laughed at it.

“Slow your roll Tiger, one day,” she mused.

“You say that like you don’t want more.”

“This isn’t about me,” she retorted, “So, shut up, respectfully.”

He laughed and kissed the back of her hand, “You have a thing for doing that, huh?” she joked.

“I literally don’t know how to answer that, I think I’m losing my touch with flirting,” he joked back.

“Okay, okay, you need to get going now.”

“Fine! You want to get rid of me so badly, I get it,” he joked and walked back to the car and she waved him off. She hated that time he left, a lot. She knew it was healthy to take a day’s break if they’ve been on 3 back-to-back dates, but that didn’t mean she liked it.

She opened her door and walked in, thinking A/N was asleep so she wouldn’t be barraged for her hair being a mess, but, boy oh boy, was this girl waiting for her to get home.

“What happened? Why’s your hair a mess? Oh my god, did you have sex?” she asked.

“No, but we kissed, will you take that as information while I shower or do you want all the details now?”

“You can shower, you can shower. I’m not that needy.”

“Yes you are,” Y/N joked and went to go shower.

And like she always did, she opened her phone and looked at the news before answering her friends,

Millionaire’s Son, Jason Todd's Girlfriend’s Name Revealed!

She laughed, cause it wasn’t her name. She didn’t think he was seeing anyone else, and they used her picture, so she knew they just fucked it. She forwarded the article to Jason with the caption ‘ Fuckin’ idiots’ .

She then answered Artemis, who asked Did you two kiss? Dick’s up my ass about it ‘cause he knows we’re friends.

I want to take that out of context so badly. She joked with Artemis.

I knew this man had a terrible name that would come to haunt me, but did ‘ya kiss?

Yeah we did. Get Dick out of your ass, though, that’s weird, you have a boyfriend and he has a girlfriend.

Shut up, you’re not funny.

I’m pretty funny.

You are but I’m not going to admit that, girl.

And one of her old friends had texted her, it was someone who Y/N had seen off and on the past few years, they were polite, but she didn’t exactly want to speak to her ex.

Hey.

(Name)? What do you want?

Saw you in the news with the rich boy, guess we’re over?

We have been over for like 5 months, my guy. 

Bitch.

Okay!

People from her hometown were noticing her in the articles and recognizing her. Some would think this is the coolest thing that someone they loved met a nice boy, the money a bonus, some would give her the reaction her ex did, but she knew she was days, hours, maybe minutes away from her parents finding out about her love affair with Jason.  

She shuddered at the thought, she loved her parents, a lot, but something told her that maybe they wouldn’t did Jason to be like she found him. She also knew she could be overthinking it entirely and they’d like the Criminal Psych Major that she knew all-too-well.

But overthinking was fun, apparently. And she couldn’t stop thinking the worst of so much.

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

When she got changed and just threw on whatever the fuck she saw, she went out to go talk to A/N.

“Hey, nerd. I’m done,” Y/N said.

“Nerd? You’re the one dating the bookworm and  you’re in criminal psychology,” she joked.

“Ha, ha. So, how are things with your lover? Have you secured him yet or are you just doing your own thing still?”

“Still just doing our own thing, don’t really have the time to date while getting my degree and working.”

“I mean, if it works for you I can’t throw judgment.”

“What about Jason? How’re things with you two?”

“You ever seen the Wayne Enterprises Ballroom before?”

“In pictures, why- Don’t tell me he took you there you lucky bitch?!”

“Then I just wont tell you,” she laughed.

“The Ballroom? Oh my god, that’s crazy, he's really pulling out all the stops to make you smile, huh?”

“I would do the same if I had more to offer, but I have barely anything since I bought that place in the dance competition across the country,” she said.

Y/N had bought a place in this competition before she met Jason, and she was heading to it on Saturday, in two days, and she actually had practiced the routine during downtime between her and Jason. She hadn’t exactly told Jason about this, and Jason had asked why she looked strained and like her muscles hurt, but that just never seemed like something you share with your casual partner, to her. She never seemed like her casual competitions were worth anything. A/N had begged to differ since Y/N had met her.

A/N said that Y/N had talent, that she could go somewhere, Y/N saw it as an extra circular that didn’t affect her much. She wasn’t the type of brag, and all her trophies were back home with her parents, anyway.

“Have you told him about your,” insert A/N’s heavy sarcasm, “’Casual’  competitions, yet?”

Idk what the hell happened with that line ya love to see it

“I’ll send him a quick text about it, I guess,” she sighed and sent just a quick, Hey, can’t have a date on Saturday-Sunday, forgot to tell you but I’m going to Cali for a quick dance competition, lol. My bad, shoulda said something.

“Why are you like this, be proud of your accomplishments, dammnit!”

“It’s a casual competition!”

“And you’re talented! I’m this close to just showing him videos of you going at it,” she said, exasperated.

“He already knows, we danced in the Ballroom.”

“Oh my lord,” she laughed, “You’re an enigma, if I had your amount of trophies I wouldn’t be hiding it.”

“Im’ not hiding it! It just kind of never came up.”

And he texted back, Oh damn, are you at least going to kill it? You better, I want to show the live broadcast to my family and brag.

She laughed, “See!”, she exclaimed, showing A/N the texts, “He doesn’t care like you do, nerd.”

A/N laughed, “Sure he doesn’t. Do you want to go to lunch, by the way? I’m bored off of my ass.”

“Sure, why the fuck not.”

“Go get dressed then, and I’ll do the same.”

“Okay okay, meet up in 10?”

“Yes ma’am.”

And off they went.

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

Y/N texted back Jason for a quick minute before getting dressed, Of course I’m going to kill it, my notes aren’t a representation of my dancing skills.

Well, I hope you win something. And text me. But mainly win something.

Of course I’ll text you, Jay. It gets boring at competitions.

You should go to a Wayne Gala then, god damn, those fuckin bastards are the most boring events this side of America.

Well maybe you’ll invite me one day.

I’ll probably have to if you show up on National TV. The press will finally know your name.

I hope I’m not on National TV then. Fuck the press.

Fuck the press indeed.

Since Y/N didn’t feel the need or want to dress up, she didn’t. Quick shirt and jeans and she was out the door. Sometimes she would dress up for lunch dates with her friends, just because she was bored as fuck and dressing up was fun, but she just didn’t want to do it today. Combat boots, jeans and a shirt were enough most days. You don’t have to be a model just because the press knows your face, she thought, you don’t.

“Who’s driving?” A/N asked.

“I can if you want. I don’t mind,” Y/N said as they walked to the beat up car they loved so much. It was nothing compared to the Porsche she had been in the night before, but it was still running, and you don’t fix something that ain’t broke.

“Maybe your boyfriend will buy you a new car,” A/N joked.

“If anything, he’d buy me a new computer, since mine is getting mailed to me and you’re going to love hearing the sounds that bitch makes,” she retorted.

“Is it bad?”

“Terrible. My sister called it a screaming electronic goat once,” she laughed, “I hate that fucking thing. But if it ain’t broke-”

“Don’t fix it, I know.”

“Exactly.”

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

For some reason, they decided in the car to go to McDonald's, because hey, it’s not like Y/N is on a  dance diet or anything. She wasn’t, because she didn’t want to starve herself for the sake of winning a competition. That was even her thought process as she was younger and more vulnerable to her teachers, she always told them she’d never do that. Years later, she still stuck to that mindset.

They got out of the car and like fucking clockwork, the press was in her face.

“You! The girl with no name, Jason Todd’s girlfriend!”

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!” she whispered under her breath, “How do they always find me!”

“Tell us about yourself! Are you serious with Jason? How do you feel about his family? How-”

But then she had an idea,

“Quoi? Je parle pas l’Anglais? Qu’est-ce-que vous voulez?” she said, using her bilingual skills to her advantage.

“What? No I mean-”

“Pas de l’Anglais! Désolé mes amis!” and she ran off into the McDonald's with A/N.

“Did you just speak French to get them off your ass, you genius?”

“Spoke very broken French because I wasn’t thinking, but yeah, I did that.”

“I forget you’re multi-talented sometimes, you have a lot hidden under your belt and I try to treat you like a normal person but you’re far from it.”

“I appreciate you for trying, but I think with my new love affair, you aren’t going to get far with those attempts anymore, sorry,” she joked.

Jason texted her, Did you just speak French to avoid the press?

How do you know about that?

We were watching the news during a meeting and they said that you spoke French.

You got to do what you got to do to get by.

That is literally the most genius thing I’ve heard of anyone doing in so long. I think you’ve truly bamboozled them for a while and they might hop off of your back for a while.

You think so? ‘Cause I really hope that’s the case.

My siblings think it’s hilarious, and no one’s leaked that you are just joking with the press, so yeah, they might actually leave you alone.

Let’s fucking go. That is the news of the 21st century.

4 days of knowing each other and you’ve flipped off the press twice, outran them with me once, hid in the Wayne Enterprises Building with me and you’ve spoken French to bamboozle the press. That is impressive.

I feel like the press is going to hate me one day.

Probably. But they also hate most of us most days.

You should probably get back to work.

Yeah, talk to you soon.

She put her phone away and went to stand with A/N, who was waiting for their food.

“Talking to your lover?” she joked.

“When am I not doing that?”

“That’s valid.”

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

Going on a lunch date with A/N made a little bit of the harassment just better. They both bonded over how they hated the press before her love affair with Jason, and how their opinions wouldn’t change much unless, knock on wood, one of them went missing. Y/N told her about all the cases where the press and the internet did so much to solve cases around the world, love or hate the press, they did do a lot for solving crime.

She also told A/N that Jason was related to Dr. Barry Allen and Clark Kent, two people the two of them knew well because of the news and the fact that A/N knew Y/N when she wanted to go into forensics and was reading Dr. Barry Allen’s work.

When her mother texted her.

Y/N? Is that you in the press running around with Jason Todd?

Yeah mum, why?

Are you two in a serious relationship?

No mum.

Then why are the vultures so obsessed with you, says your dad.

‘ Cause you two made a pretty girl and he’s high up in the world, I guess, I don’t know. I don’t really like the press.

I can tell. We’re not mad at you honey, but be careful. And your dad says when you two get serious he needs to take Jason fishing.

He doesn’t speak French, mum.

Dad says he’ll work on his English for you.

Well tell everyone I love them, mum.

She panicked a little bit, her parents were nice when they wanted to be, but they were strict, why wouldn’t they be. So this, while being a welcomed surprise. was still a little panicky.

“Your  parents find out?”

“Yeah, they seem chill with it though.”

“Bing in the press sucks when you’re trying to keep your love life out of your parents' eyes, huh?”

“You could say that again,” she joked.

“Being in the press sucks when you’re-”

“I didn’t mean literally!” they laughed.

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

Back at Wayne Enterprises, Jason was betting bombarded by his colleges, friends and family about Y/N and how she was able to get around the press’ constant harassment without flaw. And also because Bruce had seen the two enter the building at around 12am the night before. So Jason was called into Bruce’s office that day.

“1, I know everyone is bombarding you, so you can hide out here, son, 2, you and Y/N didn’t have sex in your office right?”

“God no, dad. We just hid here because security is tight as fuck and unable to get past.”

“I saw you two kissing on the cams and heading into your office, Jay.”

“Okay, okay, but we didn't have sex and the intentions were there, dad!”

“Uh huh, pretty girl in your, my, car.”

“Dad, stop it,” he joked.

“Well, her little shenanigans with the press are very amusing, have you told her that?”

“I have.”

“She’s basically not afraid to tell them what we all think.”

“That’s what I said, dad.”

“Well, hold onto that one and don’t let her go.”

“Do you regret doing that with Talia?” Jason asked.

“God no, she’s insane. The son I got out of her antics is literally her spitting image, so if I need to be reminded of her I can just go talk to Damien for a couple minutes.”

“Dami’s a lot like you too, don’t act like his personality is just Talia, he acts like his dad in every aspect and you know that.”

“Lord help any woman or man that kid goes on to date, my god,” the two of them laughed. It was the small things with Bruce that made Jason happy to be a Wayne, even if he didn’t share the last name. Jason grew up on the streets and even before that, his mum and dad didn’t have a lot of money, so the amounts of money that Bruce could shower on him was a lot, but he was okay with just working for his money. And Bruce knew that.

He spent a lot of his workday in Bruce’s office, hiding from the rest of the office, and texting Will.

She knows about your kid.

Well, she’s a good kid. I’m glad you’re bragging about her, means I raised her right.

Shut up. I love that little girl and I’ve helped raise her, Will.

You’re used to my new name?

I changed your contact to Will when you changed your name, so I could remember that that’s your name now and not Roy. I’m hoping I remember it in person though. It would be awkward if I forgot my best friend’s name.

It would be funny to look back on, though.

Like how your relationship with Jade is funny now?

Never stick your dick in crazy.

I wish you would have listened to that sometimes, but then I remember Lian is amazing.

I’m a cliché of dumb choices, what can I say Jaybird.

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

In Y/N’s house, she would always play loud and sad music when she had the chance, some people thought her mental state was fucked, which sometimes it was, but most of the time the sad music went harder than the happy tunes you would catch from the other side of the house.

But even if music was blasting the loudest it could ever be, somehow she would still find herself lost in her thoughts, whether it was new dance routines or a story she would scribble down in her dream journal. there was something about those little fits of artistic passion she would experience from time-to-time.

It’s hard to put into words how those moments reminded her of the simplier times before sh was thrust into stardom, but also how they reminded her of Jason, and untouched mind she longed to know further. She knew there was so much more to the boy she had gone on dates with.

She would end up ignoring her phone for most of the rest of that day, just because she wanted peace and quiet, when A/N’s lover came over and she had to turn the music up louder so she wouldn’t be disrupted by the obvious.

I just got off of work, how are you? How’s your day been? Jason had texted Y/N while she ws turning up the music.

Well, I just had to turn up my music because my roommate’s lover is over, but other than that I’ve been enjoying peace and quiet in my room, waiting for something to do.

Is texting me something to do?

Yes.

That’s sweet of you. Work was boring though so I hope you don’t expect a story.

I don’t, don’t worry. You don’t always need a story for something to do.

Well, I’m going home with my brothers and dad, and we’re probably going to play office chair racing because I’m a bad boy.

You’re a bad boy?

Was that not funny?

It was pretty funny, isn’t that dangerous though?

Yeah actually, my brother broke his leg playing it and another time my little sister broke her leg playing it.

It seems fun but like, damn, two people have gotten injured playing that game, y’know.

Well if I die it’ll be a fun story!