#if he was a genuinely nice man that had a solid moral compass and was actually devoted to the concept of justice

[starpros-sunshine]

seb. seb hes not smiling. and has a fatui background................

I knowwwwww he's still everything to me you do not know how smitten I am with Lyney as a character

[seasaltbaptism]

may i ask when it comes to marvel comics who are your favorite characters? do you have a preference for marvel or dc comics? if you had to rank your top 5 comicbook characters who would they be and why? what is something you think people misunderstand about your favorite character and/or team? <3

hi jojo! i went to go play so viddy games but i’m back! you may indeed ask!! when it comes to preference it’s probably a close tie? i do enjoy some marvel characters more than some dc characters ( see magneto, kurt , kitty, emma , deadpool, the punisher, daredevil ect. ) you ask such nice questions let’s see if i can give you succinct answers !!

top five favorite comic book characters, in no particular order.

1. magneto / erik : this man tops a lot of people’s lists i’m sure, however i really do love his core character traits and what he stood for & stands for. mainstream media demonizes erik because in my eyes they don’t want the public to realize that activism and toppling current oppressive world orders IS POSSIBLE with effort and willingness of people ( think about the inception that was the hunger games trilogy movies, how they strategically butchered it in a way where it’s core message was skewed and used as marketing , eerily similar to messages in the books ) . originally erik survived the holocaust and i like the message his original jewish creators wanted to send when making him. he is someone who never wants to see his people or any people violently oppressed and killed & movies don’t quite capture it too well ( besides some of the older original x-men movies actually ) but i resonate with him. through love and compassion and a firm hand against oppressors, uniting with people to help formulate and continue to form a better world for everyone is always worth it to me. what people misunderstand about him? portrayals have made him cruel & i think that in ways he is, he’s cold and weirdly detached but he’s also driven by love , intense love & i really wish people would remember that.

2. spider man / peter parker : once again , jewish , poor , for the people , down to earth. peter parker is a light hearted character despite who and what he’s always up against ( i’m not looking at the mcu , i’m looking a little bit at TASM and the original spider man movies. i’m peeking at them ) but i do just love how he doesn’t let the world beat him down, though it’s interesting to look at points in his comics where he IS taken to his limits. he makes me feel safe, i know he’s not real. i’d leave cool things out on my fire escape for him, he has so much genuine kindness and heart, i really adore this character and a lot of his variations ( see spider man 2099 / miles morales / spider gwen / esp 2099 ……. mmm miguel ANYWAYS ) also like parallels with venom too , love venom but imma put him in with pete bc i haven’t read too many of his comics. the mcu has misunderstood this dude a whole lot, but people tend to make him a bit too serious lately, and i enjoy diving into that side of him, but i think peter is genuinely really good at seeing the good in people / seeing ways their lives could be better if nudged onto the right path. also he doesn’t like billionaires.

3. the punisher / frank castle : i’m not a fan of a lot of his cartoon appearances and portrayals to be a cold hearted military man , as he hates cops and the military & the gov. i like his netflix show , i really enjoyed that actually. frank castle lost everyone he cares about and the media surrounding him usually never focuses on how his code makes solid differences / protects people ( except the show. god. i’m emotional. ) anyways i have a thing for characters who are emotionally destroyed but still do good bc that’s the only fucked up way they feel they can still do good. EVERYONE THINKS HES PRO COP OR PRO MILITARY OR ANTI LGBT? HES NOT? HES WITH THE LGBTS , THE GAYS , THE MINORITIES! HES NOT A RACIST EITHER! HE HATES RACISTS HE’LL MURDER RACISTS!

4. comic book scarlett witch / wanda maximoff : romani representation that’s mostly done nicely , i really actually relate to this character a lot , and find catharsis in her. she suffers greatly, probably too much, but she works her way through it, she’s powerful and kind and vengeful and angry and beautiful. she’s wise and confident and loses that and regains it, she reminds me of the wheel of fortune card in my deck, constantly embodying things that should have killed her. once again, i know she isn’t real, but i do relate to her and love to see her happy and winning, she’s brave and strong and i hate her MCU portrayal , truly, but i love her comic book self! god ok. people misunderstand her a lot, esp mcu …….she’s not ‘ i’m tired of being good >:) i wanna be a bag guy now! she’s more ‘ i loved very deeply and i cling to that because i cannot imagine who i will be if i acknowledge that what i loved is gone and i cannot get it back ‘ vs ‘ i can remake myself over and over if i need to , i contain all i need ‘

5. night crawler / kurt wagner: god. ok. his design fucks so severely i want that man to give me a hug , pick me up and spin me around , ok? did you jot that down? we got that? i know he smells nice , i know he does. his smile is so sweet to me , very playful. i enjoy how hard he works to be a good person, how he doesn’t take short cuts or let his past dictate him ( idk what the fuck was going on with his movie portrayal in those early x men movies i watched as a kid ) but in some of the animated shows and def the comics i have fallen hard for this man , i know he’s not real. i know. shh. but yes! the way he has quips too, idk i really enjoy him overcoming odds and projected bullshit he has to face, you and i just 🤝 gotta shake hands here ok we are shaking hands. hm. people think he’s naive or an idiot, they misunderstand his hope and warmth, it comes from a place of understanding hatred and choosing to rise above that, so.

( bonus!! ) 6. lanterns: i dont have a favorite lantern ( i’m lying it’s razor , hal & guy. ) but i love all my mutuals who make the lanterns more interesting than anything dc has done recently. i miss GLTAS , i miss when hal wasn’t reduced to a total dickhead , i love the headcanons that GLS are weirdly ageless and have wonky fashion sense , i love all my mutuals art and stuff i just love it. i loe space adventures i love fucked up shit going on out there in the big old galaxy. i love razor bc of GLTAS and his development, i miss him and IO and i hope he’s doing ok. but yes! this subgroup of heroes ( i also miss when dc didn’t make them a weird military thing and i love reminding people it’s an honor based volunteer service only given to those as highest honor. lol ) omg ppl stop saying they’re the military shut the fuck up theyre gays in space!

[red-hood-redemption]

SO I know I’m like, super late to the party, but I finally got my hands on Robin 2021 and there is literally no one for me to talk to about it so now I’m just screaming my thoughts into the void ✌

First off, before i even bought the first two issues, I read through a lot of other people’s opinions on it to kinda get an idea of where it was going characterization-wise for Damian, and because of all the mixed reactions, I figured I should just read it myself and find out. Now I am the FURTHEST thing from a comic book authority, so like, this is truly just an opinion piece but if it convinces anyone to give the run a chance, then yay!!! Honestly, I’m really glad I gave it a shot because I’m genuinely hooked! I’m actually excited about this series (and it scares me lol)!!!

I'm gonna separate my thoughts into two sections: characters, and story, mainly for my own ease, but also if anyone cares more about one thing or the other it's easier to distinguish. But,  the line is a little blurry so if I end up getting a little too much into the characterization in the story section, just bear with me lmao. OH and I'm going to try and keep this as un-spoilery as possible but we'll just have to see. SOOOOOOOO

Characters

I think it goes without saying that Melnikov's art is absolutely gorgeous, and really does show how much Damian has grown up. It makes me want to sob its so beautiful, everyone is so pretty, even the guy that looks like a washed up, high as fuck Tony Stark lmao. But moving on to the actual characters,

Rose Wilson

I honestly don't know too much about Rose, I haven't read enough about her to say anything about her characterization and how it compares to her other appearances, or whether or not she is OOC, but so far, I'm enjoying her taking up the "big sis" role, like, immediately lmao.

I don't know how much I trust her yet, but I definitely get the vibe that even if she does betray Dami in any way, she's probably gonna stick her neck out for Dami again and he's probably gonna do the same.

I'm really intrigued about her motivations for being here. Obviously, Respawn has something to do with it, but I want to know what's up with that. I've seen a lot of theories and I'm so excited. Also side note, that Black Swan chick is hot, and I can't wait to see more of her in action!!!

I feel like Ravager knows a WHOLE lot more than Dami does about the interesting things going on on the island, mainly because she's been doing a lot more sitting and waiting than he has as of yet, but I'm hoping to see more of the two of them doing detective-y sleuthing together. We love a mysteryyyy

Flatline

Okay but real talk, why does she look like a character straight out of Monster High

Honestly tho, I dig it. It's cute! She's cute! She isn't annoying (yet) but I don't know if I care too much about her other than she would make a cute friend for Dami.

I think the problem with DC is that they know people LOVE Harley Quinn and they try so hard to make characters just like her but it always falls short, so honestly I am a little wary of her character development in this run, but I'm willing to give her a shot since her little coffin purse on the cover of the second issue is so damn cute. I'm a slut for character design, okay?

Oh speaking of Flatline and Dami, I don't ship it and I don't want them to force a romantic relationship into Damian's "coming of age"/"soul-searching" moment okay? Because that's what this run is about, at least to me! More on that in the story section!

They're literally 13/14 years old. That's 8th-9th grade, babes lets think about that for a minute

Also let's stop the whole "lets introduce a female character just to make her a love interest!" bullshit okay?

Basically, Flatline is interesting, or at least has the potential to be, but I don't want to get my hopes up because DC is notorious for disservicing their female characters 😕

I think the mixed reaction to her is valid, I don't think she's had much time to make a solid impression yet, so I guess you'd have to read it for yourself. Personally, I don't understand why people immediately hate her, especially because she's like, 14, and what kid that age isn't annoying? like at least a little bit lmao! But, yeah. I don't trust her either but literally everyone on this island is sketchy at least and a murderer at best, so hey 🤷‍♀️

Damian

His new outfit lmaoooo at first I was like "WHaT is this child wearing? You'd think Dick would have rubbed off on him and taught him what good taste looks like" but then I saw the later outfit, with the gold patterning and those sleeeevessssss ugh and I take it all back. A Fashion Icon TM. Truly stunning. A sight to behold. So proud, look at him go 😪

I think there's a lot of different opinions on Damian's characterization in this run, and I can definitely see where its coming from, but I disagree with the notion that Damian has been done dirty and reverted to a blood-thirsty, feral child.  And I have a LOT of opinions on the whole "feral" thing regarding Damian period (but that's for another time).

I don't think of Dami's rampage as a regression for his character. He's letting of emotions right then and I think its very similar to him venting. Its just not verbal, its physical and he knows he's not going to have to grapple with the consequences of his actions on the first kill. He knows he's technically not doing anything wrong.

He is clearly upset at Bruce and his failure to protect Alfred, and while Dami and Bruce are really often described as being very similar personality-wise, they are still distinctly different individuals who came to their current moral codes in vastly different ways. Bruce came to his "no killing" rule on his own; he made that decision for himself. It wasn't taught to him, it was a moment-of-truth kind of situation. Damian, on the other hand is in a vastly different situation.

Dami is, I think, at the beginning of the climb to his own moment-of-truth. He is in his rebellious phase like Dick, where he's gone off to spread his wings. It's not his conscious intention (at least that's not the vibe I got from reading the first two issues), but its directly underlying his "mission".

Damian is growing out of the expectations of his parents and into his own person. We all know he's been thrown from one moral code to another, both drastically different from each other. I don't think its a regression for him to lose his way a little, because realistically, he's going to have to in order to find it, specifically a moral compass that he forged on his own. He's just what? 14? Like hell a kid his age wants to listen to any form of authority. He's as stubborn as it comes. Damian needs to come to his decision regarding the path he takes in life on his own. It can't be made for him. He's seen and lived both sides of the coin, and I don't think he should be forced just yet to choose a side or pave a middle ground, but I do think that he should get the opportunity to see and experience all the gray areas on his own.

I think I'll transition from characterization to story here, because let's face it, this story is about Damian dealing with his confused emotions right now, in the wake of losing Alfred, a man that kind of acted like a grounding presence, a voice of reason, or a moral compass for him (and honestly Bruce and the rest of the bat crew if we're honest).

Story

So there's a lottttt going on in the story that is really enticing and exciting, and I'm really interested to see how it all plays out.

All the rules to the tournament are so, sketchy? Like they don't sound like they are meant to be sketchy, its basic safety and guidelines or whatever but with all the glowy green shit and the stakes of the tournament? Yeah, you can bet your ass its the "no fighting at night" and other shit is gonna be broken, and that's likely when the fun begins *insert evil laughter*😈

I was slightly put off by the whole "let me teach you to have fun" thing with Rose, because it's not like Dick, Steph, Jon, and like the Titans haven't done that with him too, but eh, not something I'm too concerned about. It's definitely just a segway to get us introduced to more characters that might become Damian's friends which will be interesting considering what Mother Soul said about fraternizing.

And that's another thing! I want Damian to make some friends! I know he already has some, but here's the thing: I think he's already been struggling with belonging, and he's definitely been feeling the disconnect between his life and other kids', whether they're supers/vigilantes or not. I think it'd be nice to see Dami have the experience of meeting people who he at first thinks are just like him!! and then realizing that maybe he doesn't really fit in here either, and that it's okay to feel like you don't belong, as isolating as it may feel at times. It just means you have a set of values. I want him to realize that its not always a bad thing, and you learn more about yourself and your own heart this way.

And from there,,, lets talk about the thing that stuck out to me the most in these two issues! GUILT!! It's mentioned SOO many times already, and I think its going to be a really fun, heartbreaking, and interesting aspect to explore about Damian. Is it guilt about his actions? Leaving behind family? Not being able to save Alfred? Not being a perfect example of Robin? He may call himself Robin but he doesn't sport the OG look or symbol like before. I love that his guilt takes on the form of Alfred though, or at least his conscious. I think it'd be really interesting to see this conscious disappear when Dami strays too far from his center, and when he finds it again, it reappears.

I really think that seeing Damian's actions in this run as a failure of character development is an unfair assessment, though. You can't do everything right in order to grow! You have to screw up, lose your way, experiment with life to find your fit, right?

Something tells me he doesn’t care for the tournament itself, but the end result, and the people behind it and more about WHY it was hidden from him. I mean he finds out the tournament TRULY begins once everyone has died once and tHEN he kill everyone? Felt to me less like a “killing spree” as everyone put it to a calculated decision to get the tournament going. He literally cuts Mother Soul off in the middle of her speaking to start fighting at the beginning

Anyway, just my thoughts lol. I do have some issues with the past two issues, and I might make a separate post about that, but honestly not enough for me to dislike Robin 2021 so far. I mean, besides the very obvious white-washing in the second issue, because DC can absolutely do better. And they should. It’s like they thought we wouldn’t notice???? But besides that, story and characterization-wise I’m looking forward to more. Here’s to hoping it stays that way, just with a better colorist!

[mr-barrow]

Ye be warned: the following is a full on rant concerning Anna Bates.

As I sit here now and ponder, I can’t think of a character on Downton Abbey that I find more fickle than Anna--and that’s saying a hell of a lot, with these people. As a result, I’m the most undecided on my feelings when it comes to her than just about any other character in the whole damn show. 

At her best, she’s the picture of Goodness, and the sort of meekness that is admirable rather than pitiful; her faith in Bates and her loyalty to Mary show her to have solid personal morals, despite however any of us may feel about either of them in general.

At her worst, she’s condescending, short-sighted, and self-righteous--and she gets away with it, too. 

I’m going to frame my argument with her interactions with Thomas. This is for a couple of reasons. Firstly, seeing as he’s my personal hyper-fixation, I’m most confidant in my recall of scenes involving him. Second, Thomas is in the unique position of being someone Anna at least vaguely dislikes throughout the whole six seasons; everyone else was a temporary presence. That being that, and seeing as how they’re stuck working together and Anna at least tries to remain neutral in regards to him, there are certain moments that are just so telling.

I’ll start with the good, shall I? In the wake of Sybil’s death, seeing Thomas breaking down, Anna comforts him--goes so far as to embrace him, just a little--in what I believe to be a genuine show of her compassion. She was well aware that Thomas thought highly of Lady Sybil, and after what he said about how little kindness he’d been shown, she supported him through it, even after the fact when Alfred questioned Thomas’ lingering melancholy. Thomas was receptive of it, too. And grateful.

A later, also well-worn scene is when Anna talks to Thomas after Jimmy left. She had nothing to gain from that, but she assumed, rather correctly, that Thomas needed to talk to someone about it. I mean, c’mon. He bared his soul in that scene, you can’t tell me otherwise. He readily admitted to feeling like an outcast and being sorry for it, and Anna was quick to assure him that it wasn’t a bad thing, wanting to be liked. 

All that said, while I admire Anna for her persistent kindness and I do genuinely love her for it, it also fuels the fire of those moments in which I genuinely hate her, too. Because anyone in that house could have taken a good look at him and guessed that Thomas was sad and lonely and suffering--in fact, many people did. But Anna knew. Thomas told her, himself. And she cared so little for it that she let herself forget.

Moving on to those little, ignorant comments she made that still make me furious all these years later. Let’s start with this absolute gem from 6x9:

T: “They’ve given me breathing space, but I can’t live on pity forever.”

A: “Still, it is a breathing space. Make the most of it. Why not use the time to try and understand what brought you so low.”

Thank you ever so much, Mrs. Bates, for those wise words. 

I mean...fuck. As if the man hasn’t spent the better part of at least a year thinking about what brought him so low. As if his suicide attempt was a whim, or a vague urge that he could brush off with a bit of shallow encouragement and a verse of Kumbaya ‘round the fire. 

And then we have this from the same episode:

A: “How’s it going? Are you getting on with everyone?”

T: “There isn’t much of an everyone to get on with.”

A: “Don’t you enjoy it more than being at war with all the world?”

Yes, I’m sure he feels much better now in his isolation. I’m sure he’s much better off being apart from the very few people who care for him--those people being Ms. Baxter and the children, as even if the others have come around to him, I’m not sure that he’d quite believe that yet--in a strange and dull house with no one to distract him from his thoughts. I’m sure he doesn’t miss Phyllis’ support, or the children begging piggy back rides from him, or the tentative security of an employer who won’t have him jailed or ridiculed for being who he is. 

But yes, I’m sure his new situation looks much better to Anna, because she can see that loneliness, can imagine that physical isolation in her mind in a way that she can’t understand the chronic desolation of the depression Thomas experiences. (Comments about killing herself if she got pregnant by Mr. Green aside; I don’t believe she’d have done it.)

Anna’s kindness, her good character, only extends as far as her understanding of the world. She understands abuse and loss, and whenever Thomas showed sadness and frustration that she could understand, she was the picture of generosity and virtue. But as soon as something was out of her perception, she gets really, really stupid, and it’s because she doesn’t realize that she has no idea what she’s talking about. Anna has known hardship, but as far as we know she’s never known it without someone to support her in some way. She doesn’t know what it is to feel truly isolated in the way Thomas does, even surrounded as he was by so many people. But she offers her wisdom anyway, in all her denseness, that Thomas should think about why he’s sad, because acknowledging it will make him feel better. 

Honorable mentions: I should say, at this point, that much of what I’ve said about Mrs. Bates also extends to Mr. Bates. I’ve only focused on Anna because I’m slightly more positive about what I feel for him than I am for her. I believe he understands Thomas better, but I also believe he cares less. 

Of course, he doesn’t understand him all that well. “Perhaps you should try being nicer,” he says, like that would fix anything, and with complete disregard to whatever might have lead Thomas to be mean in the first place; forget the cause, only see the affect. 

Also, the behavior of the Bateses toward Ms. Baxter in series five. What the hell would they have had her do? They’re just sitting there in their bubble acting like no one has ever known their hardships. And listen, I’m not saying they’ve been without their own trials. Anna’s assault and John’s murder sentence and imprisonment were harsh and horrible, but--and this is more a meta note on Fellow’s rehashing of tropes--the back and forth thing they had with prison was a bit ridiculous. And they got a happily ever after that Thomas will never achieve, whatever happiness he finds in the future. 

I want to like them--I want to love her. I really do. Everyone else seems to. And there are few things that please me more than a good fanfic where the people of Downton come to accept Thomas in a genuine way. 

But in canon? There are days when I just hate, loathe, despise the sanctimonious Bateses. 

TL;DR : Anna Bates is Nice but also Stupid, and has never talked to a depressed person in her entire life. Thank you, Fellows. 

[interpolsantics-blog]

The Night Is Yours

oh my God this is literally the worst thing ever. people wanted stalker!Keanu so i delivered and i’m apologizing before you even read it

warnings: straight up this is terrible. noncon, stalking, and some violence within. i’m really sorry

Tonight, everything is quiet, sleepy, and still. The moon is full, casting a pale glow on everything it touches. Staring out the window, you shuffle around a bit underneath your soft, cozy comforter. The only thing on your mind is sleep right now, yet you can’t get there. There’s a feeling buried deep inside you that something just isn’t right.

You brushed your feelings off as paranoia. You’ve had a few nightmares recently, so it’s probably an expression of anxiety about having to sleep. In an attempt to lull yourself, you count sheep and listen to the ambient sounds outside, but there’s nothing except crickets and a car pulling up somewhere in the neighborhood. A couple of minutes pass by like this, where all you can focus on is the noises of your neighborhood, seemingly falling asleep much easier than you. A couple of times you shift about in bed, an almost impatient energy creeping about you.

And yet, it doesn’t do much.

There's a loud thump that comes from downstairs, and you immediately shoot up, heart pounding before you calm down and gather your senses. It's nothing to worry about, you insist to yourself. Nothing is going on. Everything is safe right now.

But… still, you have to check. Carefully, of course.

You slowly climb out of your comfy bed (the loss of warmth is the worst part) and grab your phone from your nightstand, flicking on the flashlight. Heading out towards the top of the stairs, there’s a moment where you pause and reconsider, but you decide against it. Knowing your luck, it’s not an actual risk and more something that fell off the shelf and made a huge mess that’ll be a pain in the ass to clean up, but that doesn’t matter much right now.

Slowly, you crawl down the stairs, sizing up the whole area carefully before every step. Your heart is beating faster than ever, your breath becoming slow and shallow. Something is not right.

Once you reach the bottom of the stairs, you carefully glance around, scanning the area for anything even slightly off. There's another strange noise, and you seize up, briefly unable to breathe out of fear. Chewing on your lip, you try to hype yourself up in your head: Don't be Bambi in the headlights. If someone's here, fight them. Trust your instincts.

Slowly moving toward the left, you feel as if you’re genuinely suffocating while you look for the source of the noise. Somehow, despite your thorough searching, you turn up empty-handed; there is nothing out of order. Everything is still on the shelves. Nothing is broken or stolen. Nobody is here.

Contemplating these facts, you relax - you’re a paranoiac, you realize. You need to go upstairs and go the fuck to bed. As the tension in your body releases and you head back to the stairs, something heavy and vicious slams you into the ground so intensely your ears ring and your phone clatters loudly to the ground. Immediately, you flail and struggle, letting out grunts as you manage to crawl forward for a second, trying to reach your phone so you can call 911, but you’re stopped by an oddly-textured hand pulling you back and flipping you over. There’s some more struggling and you can clearly make out a figure draped in all black on top of you, and you flail blindly, trying to hit it. It grabs you again - you realize at this moment it’s wearing leather gloves - and slams your hands onto the floor harshly. There’s a pause.

“Hi,” a low voice says, jovial and excited. “I’m K-”

You decide to cut him off by screaming as loudly as you can, and he winces and covers his ears in an oddly childish manner. You don’t move to attack him again; he’s far too strong. So, you continue screaming.

“Please stop screaming,” he pathetically whines, visibly upset. “Please?”

You don’t listen.

Suddenly and violently, a switch seems to flick inside of him and he reaches down and slaps you with such a violent force your face feels like it’s on fire, making you instinctively reach up to touch your face in shock. “Oh, God, I’m sorry,” he whispers, suddenly demure and calm once more. “I’m - I just need you to be quiet, okay?”

Feeling a wave of red-hot confidence, you reach up to punch him, but he grabs your wrist tightly and stops you dead in your tracks. Unamused, he pulls out a roll of duct tape from a pocket of his jacket. It gleams menacingly under the moonlight, making you panic even more. Using his spare hand, he wrestles with you but manages to grab both of his wrists (at this point you realize how big his hands are) and manages to pull the duct tape with his teeth and firmly tie it around your wrists. During this process, you manage to get a good look at his face under the light - he’s rugged-looking, with a decent amount of facial hair and some kind of cap on. You’re snapped out of your observations after you realize he’s leaning to put a piece of duct tape on your mouth, and he positions himself on your legs, keeping you in place somewhat. He mumbles something to himself before speaking again.

“What was I trying to say before…?” he trails, glancing around. “Oh, yeah. I’m Keanu. It’s nice to meet you,” he says before letting out a real, actual giggle. His tone is so casual, as if he’s not committing multiple felonies at once. You squirm violently beneath him, he seems to ignore your movement totally, possibly because he’s realized you’re not going to do anything. Leaning over you, he places one hand beside your hand and letting out a soft, contented sigh. “You’re even prettier up close,” he says softly, reaching a gloved hand up to stroke your cheek gently. A distressed noise escapes you as you shy away from his touch, but he’s seemingly oblivious to your terror. Leaning even closer, he sniffs you with a deep breath, making you cringe. “Mmm, and you smell really good, too. That new soap is really working for you.”

A little whine of distress escapes you as you realize he knows way, way too much about you for a stranger, and the implications of that make this entire situation much worse.

He sits back up again, eyeing you up and down with a vicious grin. He runs his hands over your sides and you let out another distressed noise and squirm, hoping your frantic movement will somehow help you. 

“This is better than I ever dreamed of,” he declares loudly, practically glowing with happiness. “You’re just so lovely. You’re basically my own personal angel.”

He reaches down to your waistband, and you completely panic while he pulls your pants and underwear down and climbing off of you. Seeing the opportunity, you begin kicking your legs wildly and manage to score a solid hit to his ribs. The switch gets flicked again, and his hand reaches down to your neck and tries to utterly crush your windpipe. This goes on for several moments until your vision goes black before he pulls away, mumbling out a “sorry.” His voice is meek. “Please don’t make me do that again.”

Giving up entirely, you passively watch as he strips your lower half and grabs your legs, spreading them apart. There’s a moment of confusion for you before he dives down and you feel his tongue running against your slit. Immediately, you let out a high-pitched moan while you arch your back, feeling his beard tickle your thighs as he delves deeper, really dedicating himself to your “pleasure” and moaning against you, making you writhe on the floor. His tongue showers your clit in attention for a minute before plunging back into your cunt, and you let out loud, muffled cries against the duct tape.

There’s a brief moment where he pulls away to kiss at your thighs, before returning to keep licking at you skillfully for a minute - but then he stops. Relief washes over you as he wipes his mouth off on the back of his glove, since you finally think you’re in the clear, but your heart stops when he pulls out his cock and positions himself against your opening. He pushes in, and despite the extra lubrication, it’s incredibly painful and you scream into the duct tape. “Oh, fuck,” he groans loudly, grabbing your hips and pumping in and out. Tears begin to stream down your face, making his eyes widen when he sees them.

“Why are you crying?” he questions as he wipes your tears with his leather-coated thumb; you try to shy away from him, making him sigh. “It’s okay,” he insists between groans, pumping in and out of you faster. More tears stream down your face, and he wipes them away consistently, smiling all the while.

“Doesn’t it feel good?” he moans, grin terrifying and undeniable. There’s a slight lewd slapping that reaches your ears, and you close your eyes and try to ignore what’s happening. “Look at me, please,” he whimpers, and you comply by looking in his general direction while he touches your cheek again. He lets out a loud grunt as he bottoms out in you, before pulling out and yanking your shirt up, mumbling, “I won’t cum inside you,” between heavy breaths. “That’s not fair.”

There’s a moment where you feel utterly confused about what the hell this man’s moral compass is, but you get snapped out of that thought quickly as he cums on your stomach, filling you with utter disgust. Smiling the entire time, he pulls your shirt back down, clearly pleased with how things have turned out. Limply, you lay there and he puts your pants back on and takes out his duct tape, tying it around your legs. It strikes you there is no way in hell you’re escaping now. He sighs contentedly before sitting up with his legs in front of him, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you close.

“How does that feel, running down your body?” he purrs before kissing your cheek. Running his fingers down your hair, cradling you like a child in his lap, he buries his face in your neck, sniffing you once more. “You smell so good. I think I’m going to be addicted to the way you smell.”

Going to be - the phrase makes you wince.

The one-sided cuddling goes on for several minutes, with him praising you in a way that makes your stomach churn instead of making you happy (“This is going to be so great. You’re so adorable, like a little kitten,”) and you just stay there and weep while you rest your head on his shoulder. He wipes your tears, again, and seems genuinely sad. “Aren’t I making you happy?”

No response.

He frowns, but he doesn’t say anything for a moment before gently taking you off his lap and standing up. He heads toward the back door, moving in such a way that shows he clearly knows the house well, and you fear you might actually vomit, yet you don’t even try to move - what’s the point? There are a few minutes where he seems completely gone, but he returns and picks you up effortlessly and carries you outside through the darkness. Eventually, he stops at a clearly expensive car that has it’s trunk popped open.

“I tried to make it comfortable for you. I think I did a good job,” he explains, nodding towards the interior of the trunk - it’s separate from the rest of the car, so you won’t be able to crane your neck to see where you’re going, but there are a blanket and pillows inside of it. Gingerly, he places you in the car and kisses your cheek. “It’s going to be a bit of a drive, so I think you should just sleep. I think you’ll like your new home,” he says, practically singing at the end before slamming the trunk shut. Enveloped in total darkness, you heed his advice and sleep.

-

When you awaken, you’re blinded by a light in your face. There’s a minute where it subsides, but it kicks up again, making you squint while you try to make sense of what’s going on. There’s a giggle, then an explanation.

“I’m sorry, I just think you look really pretty right now,” he says rather quickly as he puts his phone in his pocket and leans down to pick you up again, shifting around a bit. Lifting you up, he begins to walk in an unknown direction (it’s still dark outside), seemingly arrived at his destination. You whimper weakly, and he giggles again. “Don’t worry.”

There’s a moment where he seems to think deeply about something, but it ends quickly.

“I’m going to take care of you.”

[beautifulterriblequeen]

Autistic Sherlock - The Sign of Three

See, this episode always bugged the hell out of me. The whole wedding participation thing did, tbh. No sociopath would be okay with a third party horning in on their groomed pet like Mary does, no matter how much time Sherlock was out of the country. 

But Sherlock sees who Mary is, to some degree at first, enough to know that she’s good for him. And, bonus, she approves of Sherlock, too! How rare and delightful for him! Sherlock’s been away for a really long time, and part of his adjustment to Baker Street, and to John, just naturally includes Mary. He didn’t plan it that way. But he’s doing a shit ton of adjustments anyway, and Mary is a nice adjustment to add in. She’s like John mixed with Molly, and Sherlock likes both of those people.

But then Sherlock throws himself into the wedding planning. Again, not a sociopath’s thing. They might pretend for a while, but they’d devolve into finger pointing and delegating and general slacking off while claiming to be doing the most work. Sherlock actually is doing the most work. As an autistic person, he’s aware that weddings are important to people in general, and he would like his best friend to have the best wedding possible. After all, he’s been tasked with being the best man--an honor he never conceived of. He knows he’s not solid best man material. His speech at the wedding straight out admits it. So he feels he must do all he can to contribute to a good wedding day in every other way possible.

That’s why he’s so protective of Mary. Because John loves her. Sherlock scares away her stalkery ex to smooth the day. He shows the creepy ring bearer boy corpsy pictures to get him to agree to wear fancy dress--the easiest of tasks, really--to smooth the day. He YouTubes serviette folding to smooth the day. Sherlock’s all at sea with caring for loved ones, but he does everything he can think of to give John and Mary a lovely memory.

His wedding speech is all over the map--he’s uncomfortable in the limelight for press articles, but giving a live speech is new territory, and he has to feel his way through, and gets a lot of it wrong, keeps pausing, freaking out, trying to cover for himself. He skips 80% of the telegrams. He pisses all over weddings in general, then pivots it into an admission that he’s not a good kind of person, in contrast to John, who is the wisest and kindest and bravest person he knows. Sherlock knows who he is. And that’s a sea change from Season 2. He knows the kinds of things he should be saying. He just has trouble remembering it all when he’s under the stress of the limelight.

I feel like, in the two years Sherlock was destroying Moriarty’s network around the world, he was exposed to a huge variety of human behaviors, much of it selfish and violent. Sherlock had to do a constant, convincing job of role play, which meant he had to be paying attention to human nature as if he were streaming it on Netflix in a constant bingewatch of emotions and behaviors. And, in his down time, during the few hours of sleep he caught here or there, he processed the contrasts he encountered.

John Watson: brave, selfless, dedicated, generous, empathetic, moral compass, steady nerves, solid human being.

Everyone else: missing at least one good trait. Sometimes, missing all of them.

Sherlock had to encounter plenty of people who consciously acted in ways that he himself had unthinkingly acted toward John. He was on the receiving end of their casual cruelty, their unthinking dismissal, their selfish choices. He did what he had to do to survive. But it was never fun. He didn’t like it. He knew John wouldn’t have liked it. In fact, he knew John hadn’t liked it.

Two years living among the worst criminals on the planet, and Sherlock Holmes ends up soul-searching in the dark. He clings to John’s example in the wee hours and the pissy alleys and the glass-enclosed boardrooms on the 38th floor. He marks John’s character in indelible ink, in steel and stone, in his own blood. In order to do what he must, and to come back intact, Sherlock must envision John’s character, John’s values, every minute of every day. 

Autistic people mirror those around them. It’s how we communicate. We learn the allistic world by imitating it. Even a few hours with a new crowd, where emotions are high and physical action is involved, is enough to flick an autistic’s mimic switch into the Record position. We become a different person, and it lingers. We’re constantly code switching to get by. Who do you need me to be? How do I get through this? How do I ask for what I want from you versus them? How do I avoid embarrassment, danger, death? Who do I need to be today? Some days, we don’t remember, and we’re the wrong person. Some days, we need a John Watson to remind us who to be.

Two years of criminal companions would have corrupted Sherlock’s morals to a dangerous degree if he had not taken precautions ahead of time. But he always intended to return to London and to Baker Street and to John Watson. He intended to return as he left, as Sherlock Holmes.

He didn’t return the same, though. He returned a better man. Because of John.

He’s more self-aware in his conversation, even initiating some humor that doesn’t fall flat. He’s been practicing, thinking it through. He’s been working very hard on being Good Sherlock, for John’s sake. He wants his Byronian-curls haircut, his coat, his crime solving, his landlady, and his flatmate, all as it was, exactly the same. He won’t risk becoming a lesser person that John wouldn’t approve of in his two years away. John has made his life rewarding in ways he couldn’t have predicted. He’d never give it up willingly. Only for John’s sake would he consider changing anything. But it’s clear it disconcerts him to think of John not living with him anymore at Baker Street.

His vow--no sociopath would vow anything like that. Not to mean it. But Sherlock does mean it. John has been his moral center. He’s spent two years holding to John’s memory. There’s no way he’s giving it up, so his only option is to embrace Mary as well. Conveniently, he likes her, and she likes him, so it’s easy. I think Sherlock would protect anyone that John loved. But Mary is interesting in her own right, and Sherlock only makes a vow to protect her because he genuinely wants her in his life.

He’s out of his depth with marriage and relationships. All he knows is that he wants to stay close to John, his allistic friend, who helps him be a more rounded person. Because he likes who he is, how he lives, more when he’s with John than when he’s without him. 

“I’d be lost without my blogger.”

[zachsgamejournal]

COMPLETED: Mega Man Legends

Move over Sahelanthropus, I got all the walking mechs I need right here.

This game is great!

I BEAT IT!

I think it took about 8 hours (not counting a few reload/restarts here an there). While a few of the games I’ve played recently also took around the same amount of time, I kept feeling...frustrated about my progress. Mega Man Legends, on the other-hand, was a constant joy to play! I’m so blown away by how great this 1997 game is. I could gush over it all day, but Imma try to be focused...

The Story

This is where the game started off light and unimpressive, but ultimately turned out quite well. The story felt very basic: “The world needs crystal energy (refracters), and I play a ‘Digger’ that looks for them be exploring ancient ruins. But while I’m a well-meaning digger, there are ill-meaning pirates to worry about.” While the story wasn’t much, it did present the story very cinematically. The cutscenes told the story the gameplay couldn’t, but they didn’t overwhelm the player like Metal Gear Solid. 

The player eventually crash-lands on an island with a city and lots of people. The player may speak with these people, even performing sidequests and developing relationships. The characters aren’t super deep, but they all have some personality and story. It helps build the charm of this world. I really appreciated it.

The antagonists are a family of pirate siblings. Tron Bonne is interesting in that she’s a bit of a brat, but has affections for Mega Man. She’s also moved by his heroism and genuineness. She finds herself emotionally conflicted between her older brother who insists on being “bad” and her feelings for Mega Man that shows there’s a better way to live. Though this is mostly used for comedic effect, it also makes her the most interesting and well-rounded character. At one point, Mega Man thinks he may have killed the pirates (including Tron) in a major battle. The heroes treat this as an unintended tragedy, and do not rejoice in their victory (I love it!), then later, Mega Man finds Tron alive is over-the-moon. She’s put off by it, but conflicted. After Mega Man defeats the trio again, the eldest brother, Tiesel, offers his honorable recognition of Mega Man’s superiority and offers to leave in peace. Tron is surprised and touched, but then it turns out to be a ploy.

It’s all pretty silly but still engaging character development.

The game’s story contains quite a bit of mystery. Why are Reaverbots activating? What’s hidden beneath the island? What’s the connection? It’s revealed that these ancient ruins (which are from a more advanced civilization) actually contain a weapon. This weapon feels that humans are over-populating and that it should  purge the island as a population control effort. Mega Man finds this cruel and stops it. In the process, it’s revealed that Mega Man has a deep connection to system that wanted to purge the island. It’s hinted that he may serve some deeper purpose: maybe to act as the moral compass of unfeeling, ant-human protocol? The message I got was that humans destroyed the earth, causing a great flood and societal/technological collapse. So then machines were created to limit human influence, but their purpose is so old and outdated, it’s become an artifact itself.

There’s a fun twist here where Mega Man is captured. But the pirates realize that it’s more important to save the island than defeat Mega Man, so they release him and support his victory against the boss.

It’s still not super deep, but much deeper than I realized. And with all the various characters and personalities, it’s one of the best story experiences I’ve had in a game (though a bit goofy).

The Graphics

Are great! There’s a few issues. I think PS1 games pre-1998 had a different look and feel than post 1998 (and then again, post 2000). It feels like early game artists were still trying to figure out 3D modeling with limited hardware. So a lot of the best known tricks hadn’t been discovered yet. So MML definitely has a few Pre-1997 qualities, but it also has plenty of areas where it really looks great.

The savior is the cartoon-styled graphics. Most characters have solid-color clothes and accessories with few details. Because the art is consistent throughout, it just feels right. And then the facial animations are great. Games like Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, and Metal Gear Solid had in-game cutscenes, but the characters’ faces were unanimated. Sometimes they’d bob their heads to imply speaking--but it was all kinda goofy. MML, on the other hand, included moving mouths and changing face expressions during cutscenes. It really sold the cinematic vibe and is quite impressive for  PS1 game.

So even though technical limitations really prevent this game from looking great, the art-direction and advanced facial animations keep this game looking great!

The Gameplay

1. Controls

Unfortunately, the controls kind of suck. Mega Man controls somewhat like a tank. A tank that can move side ways. While games like Mario 64 had free 3D movement with a camera that tried to keep up--MML has a camera that stays firmly facing forward that only rotates when the player rotates MM.

It’s a little off-putting. If I push “down”, MM runs toward the screen: completely facing the opposite direction of the camera. In most 3D platformers, the camera would try to rotate behind the character. Not MM. It keeps facing the same direction. When I stop moving, MM turns back to face the same direction as the camera.

I think they were trying to make shooting and combat easier. And I think their head was in the right place. But it makes the game hard to learn. Still, once you get used to it, it works ok. This is the worst part of the game, but the difficulty is well balanced that I don’t feel punished by the controls.

2. Combat

The combat isn’t super deep, but that also means it’s not overbearing. The combat feels more like Crash Bandicoot, with each enemy having an attack pattern that must be learned and subverted. But mostly, you just got to know when to shoot it. So it keeps the combat accessible while also interesting and mentally challenging. This is better than a lot of American Shooters that just have you fight a variety of projectile based enemies--run, dodge, shoot...

Adding depth to the combat is a cool customizable Buster (gun). You can collect a variety of parts that boost Attack, Range, Attack Speed, and “Reload”. Some parts affect more than 1 stat, allowing the player to try a variety of combinations to boost their effectiveness and compliment their play-style. You may also change configurations based on the boss or enemy type. It’s a simple, and fun system that adds plenty of depth to what could have been a straightforward action title.

What’s also neat about these parts: they’re often rewards for side-quests. Such quests might be rebuilding a clubhouse, participating in game shows, or finding a lost loved-one. It’s great because it provides a lot of bonus quests for the player that meaningful and rewarding both as an experience and on a material level.

The boss fights are also pretty interesting, assuming you’re properly equipped. They can be a bit challenging or confusing, but they’re quite diverse. Maybe you’re defending the town from bull-dozer bots, or engaged in air-to-air battles, there’s plenty of unique experiences. I was especially impressed with the walking-mech battle. I think there’s another boss just as tall, but this involved a very destructible city block. It reminded me of the Sahelanthropus battle of Metal Gear Solid V...or does that battle remind me of this? Either way--it was just more icing on top of a great experience.

3. Adventure/Pacing

I like to differentiate between action and action-adventure. Action, to me, is very linearity and to the point. Action adventure often asks the player to do more than fight their way to the exit, but to discover the path to the exit. Even better, they allow the player to discover much of the game--allowing for maximized freedom in progress.

Zelda Games are often the best examples of letting the player set their own pace and find their own way. Ocarina of Time is a true stand-out here. The game doesn’t tell you want to do, but pushes you in the right directions. Still, you’re not often limited to one set order of events to proceed and can do some quests in any order. Mega Man Legends does this as well.

Once you get past the first hour or so, the game really opens up. There’s people to talk to, secrets to find, and there’s rarely a rush to complete the next objective. You’re free to grind for resources and buy that gun upgrade, or just push through--relying purely on your skill to overcome challenges. But what really makes the game like this work is the “down time”.

Dark Forces 2, Mysteries of the Sith, and Jedi Outcast are fun action games--but there’s only one thing to do: fight your way to the end. Even if there’s sub-objectives to the over-all level, there’s no freedom. While several Mega Man battles take place in the town, the city is usually a place of no combat. But there’s plenty to do, secrets to find, and characters to interact with. And once a dungeon has been defeated, it’s nice to go back and look for secrets or grind. It makes the game way more diverse and I feel more in control as a player.

This is really important. Because the Star Wars games (and even Thief) are sooo straightforward and 1-dimensional, I get fatigued very quickly. And seeing as I like to beat a game before moving on, I get frustrated. I feel like these games are in the way of me finding happiness. Not a good reason to play games. But MML made me happy to play it. Even if I didn’t feel like taking on the next dungeon, I could do side quests or grind on an easier dungeon and not feel like I’ve wasted time. It all helps me succeed in the future. And that gives me joy.

Mega Man Legends is joy!

I started this game way back in 1997 or 1998, and I restarted it many times since. This was the first time I beat it, and I love it--absolutely. Likely a top 10 game for me. I hope to add this to my rotation of games to replay till the end of my days--but then again, I’m curious if Mega Man Legends 2 will outshine it??

[childofaura]

Rating the anime I’ve watched in 2019: A really short list

Kinda just felt like doing this, 2019 has been a REALLY interesting year in anime. I didn’t watch a whole lot of stuff, but I wanted to kind of go over what I did watch. So I’ll talk about what I thought and rate it 1-10.

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND: THEY’RE RATED SOLELY ON MY OPINIONS, IF I DON’T FEEL STRONGLY ABOUT ONE PLEASE DON’T GET MAD. ALSO ALL OF THESE WERE WATCHED IN SUBS. ALSO SPOILERS AHOY.

1. Dororo.

The OP was AWESOME. The animation in the first half of the series was really smooth, but there was a slightly noticeable dip in animation later on. Not huge, but still there. Actors were FANTASTIC, and the little girl who plays Dororo is so cute! Characters were incredibly well written and varied, Hyakkimaru still struggled despite his honed reflexes and training, and Tahomaru was so morally divisive, it was great. Somber tones really bring out the nasty forbidden underside of the Shogunate’s “lasting peace”. Though the ending with Tahomaru, Hyakkimaru’s mother, and his father figure all dying in the fire was rather... disappointing, Hyakkimaru forgiving his father and Dororo deciding what to do with the large sum of money left behind, to use it for the greater good, wraps everything up.

Dororo’s a solid 8/10.

2. Rising of the Shield Hero

I ended up checking this one out after hearing all the controversy it was stirring up, because I wanted to see what it was. Like always, the “controversy” was a big tepid pile of nothing, and I got to experience an isekai that operates under a different mood with different dynamics. Animation quality is consistent and good, and there’s a LOT of female characters that are well rounded and strong, like Raphtalia, Melty, the Filolial Queen, Glass, etc. Scenery is beautiful, and Naofumi’s growth into trusting again is nice to watch. Also the soundtrack is so enjoyable, Kansas is my favorite song. Cons, though few, are still there: the pacing can be a little funky at times (Mainly what comes to mind is that AWFUL filler episode where they fight the Church from the molten pit, and don’t move AT ALL. Worst episode ever), the physical growth of some of the characters like Filo is jarring (In two days she grows horse sized, after they had that montage of taking care of her) even with an explanation. The last thing that rubs me the wrong way (It’s not really a con in general, just a con for me) is Raphtalia’s crush on Naofumi. It’s simply that they spend the first few episodes building their relationship as a father/daughter, then they try to shift to romance after establishing that first familial relationship.

Rising of the Shield Hero’s an 8/10.

3. The Promised Neverland

AAAAAAAH HOT DAMN I LOVED THIS ONE. It was completely out of my range of what I normally watched at the beginning of 2019, BUT I LOVED IT SO MUCH. The animation is eerie, especially the facial expressions and how smoothly they move. The children are so darling and thinking about how they might have possibly died in S1 broke my heart, as well as me hoping they didn’t, lol. Every episode leaves off on this wonderfully tantalizing cliffhanger, so binging the episodes are a must. Characters like Mama and Sister Krone are terrifying, though in the latter’s case I love how clever she was, and was sad when she died. Her Japanese actress definitely blew it out of the water and had a lot of fun with the character. I’d say the only (not really a con, but) thing that weirds me out is how close the characters’ mouths are to their faces, but that’s a stylistic thing and I won’t fault them for that. The children are strong and resilient and I can’t wait for the next season.

The Promised Neverland’s a 9/10.

4. Demon Slayer

I got into this one late, and I hate myself for getting into it late. But nonetheless, I’m so glad I watched it and I can say with confidence it’s up there with FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood’s level of excellence. Tanjiro is such a kind-hearted boy who constantly puts himself through physical torture for his only remaining family; Nezuko’s “hypnotism” to see humans as family feels more like placebo because she just genuinely has compassion for people, especially when she looks at Ms Tamayo and Yushiro as family when they’re also demons. All the characters are deeply involved in this story with either known or hidden (Zenitsu) strengths that allow them to conquer their struggles. The style is unique and the character designs are pretty, and HOO BOY THE FIGHTING ANIMATIONS, THE STYLIZED TECHNIQUES. MWAH! MUCH LOVE! I love the soundtrack so much, it almost reminds me of the Pokemon movies’ orchestra pieces. The story is well paced, and no issues with filler. Showing how even demons deserve compassion is a beautifully unexpected twist in this show.

Demon Slayer’s a 10/10

5. To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts

I do love this series dearly, and while the good outweighs the “meh”, I still have to address the issues. BUT FIRST, THE GOOD THINGS: Characters in this show are incredibly in-depth, even the soldiers. The designs of the Incarnates are fantastic, terrifying and imposing. Schaal is a strong young girl who sets off with just a suitcase and a rifle and, after meeting Hank, decides to get inside his mindset to see why he’s doing what he does, and why he had to kill her father. Hank is a man in constant suffering who has to see his best friends losing themselves to insanity, knowing that they’re not the people they used to be but questioning whether he’s really doing the right thing regardless. All the soldiers have their own focal point in the episodes they show up in, showing their unique traits and attitudes, and how it links to the monsters they are now. The concept of Incarnate soldiers is parallel to veterans with PTSD. While Liza’s a bit of a ridiculous fan-service character, there’s really no complaints because the fan-service in this show is balanced; they show Hank unnecessarily shirtless a LOT (Though honestly I’d be fine if they let him wear his shirts more). But the cons. There are a decent amount of them. Animation is clunky and lower budget. Pacing is not easy to keep up with, as the split between Hank’s mission and the main conflict with Cain interrupt each other quite jarringly. Schaal’s father seemingly rises as a zombie again to serve no other purpose other than Schaal’s character growth, as we could assume that a LOT of the other monsters like Keynes, with the fire of justice, would also come back to life. Liza doesn’t really seem to do much or contribute much as a character; she came close when she volunteered to take up the Incarnate Extermination Squad’s equipment by saying she knew how it worked but she literally. Just. Held up a shield for the commander (forgot his name, Cain’s little bro) to jump off of. She needs to do more. Love the series and I love watching it, but it’s a mixed bag.

To the Abandoned Sacred Beast’s a 7/10.

6. Fire Force.

Well... this one is definitely gonna be tough to deal with, because I only got maybe 8 or 9 episodes in before I had to break away. So I’ll break it down simply.

Pros: Animation is SOLID. ABSOLUTE. FLUID AND DYNAMIC. It’s literally Midoriya vs Todoroki, but in EVERY EPISODE. Some characters are fascinating and enjoyable like Shinra, Maki, Joker, and Hibana. The concept of Infernals, people who just burst into flames without warning, are a solid idea to run on. The OP is a banger. The soundtrack fits the mood perfectly.

Cons, and a lot of them: There isn’t a whole lot going on in terms of variety, it’s mainly fighting Infernals in the city. It picks up eventually, but slowly. While some characters were enjoyable, others were either flat or downright unbearable to deal with; flat characters like Obi (He’s not a bad character, but he feels... generic) and Iris (Also not bad, she’s strong in what she’s had to deal with and being kind regardless, but it’s just standard quiet girl.). Unbearable character is really just two so far: The lieutenant, who gets borderline abusive (both mentally and physically) with Maki (Like I get it dude, you had trauma with fire and Infernals but you don’t need to be an abusive shit), and Tamaki, ESPECIALLY Tamaki. She’s rude, screechy, treated Shinra like utter shit when they first meet, and respects almost no one outside of her district for no real reason. And she also falls into the next con: The one-sided fan-service. Now I will defend the right to fan-service with everything I believe in, but I’m still allowed to have my opinion on it, and the way it goes in Fire Force is just... so awful. Fan-service jarringly interrupts what are supposed to be heavy emotional or important scenes (Iris sitting on the ground with nothing but a towel, Iris getting her clothes burned off by Hibana, Tamaki sticking her butt out after getting hurt by her district partner, Tamaki’s clothes being burned up and being against the wall with that weird-ass kitty pose with her wrists, etc.), Tamaki’s “lucky lechery” is supposed to be funny somehow but it makes literally no sense, and oh cool she ends up sexually harassing the dudes with it, too. I could understand this level of fan-service if it was like a harem anime or a cheese-cake-ish anime or whatever, but it’s- it’s a shounen. There’s nothing that really shows you there’s gonna be this weird level of fan-service.

I respect everyone who loves Fire Force, but it’s just not my cup of tea. That’s all.

Fire Force’s a 6.5/10.

7. Vinland Saga

THIS ANIME. THIS ANIME IS PERFECT IN EVERY WAY AND YOU WILL NEVER CHANGE MY MIND. The first OP PERFECTLY encapsulates just how much of a hellish live Thorfinn is about to live. The animation (Being from the same company as Attack on Titan and Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress) is SUPERB where the characters move with weight and purpose. Seriously, have you seen how the characters jump forward? With their legs and arms forward? It’s a little detail but it’s so great. Characters are multi-faceted and it gives me strong feelings about how awful they are but how clever or strong or brilliant they are. The pacing of the anime is perfect; something plot-important happens in each episode, the characters travel long distances to give you a feel of movement, and there’s not a single episode that could really be considered “filler”. Dynamics of these characters work in fascinating ways at times. The actors absolutely own their roles; Askeladd’s actor nails that perfect nonchalance where he seems surprised but you know he’s truly not, Thorfinn’s older actor knows how to scream his lungs out in anger. The main star, though? Thorkell, hands down. That guy is absolutely having fun with his character.

Vinland Saga’s a solid 10/10.

[mild-lunacy]

ivyblossom replied to your post: How Mary Morstan destroyed the moral centre of BBC...

This series forces us to question the concept of "teams". John, the ultimate moral compass, is capable of some terrible things, and Mary, who is fundamentally a baddie trying to be good, can do great, selfless things. They are not simple, they are not perfectly and neatly categorized. Sherlock and John are going to keep on trying to be what those who love them believe they can be, even as they fight their own darkness. That's the point, I think.

I don't know how Mary of ruined John and Sherlock's moral centre. Sherlock protects Irene while she worked with Moriarty for the lulz, and killed a guy for blackmailing people, and let a victim die because he got too entertained. John shot a cab driver because Sherlock didn't walk away from a challenge, cheated on his wife, punched a cop for dissing his flatmate, sprained a junkie, and beat the shit out of Sherlock. These have never been morally unambiguous people.

Why do we wipe away Sherlock and John's sins so easily? Has the fandom reformed these characters so much that can't see them as they are?

I definitely wanted to comment on this, ‘cause I hope my reply to that post didn’t suggest I wanted to whitewash John or Sherlock. At the same time, I admit I did say that Sherlock is (more or less) better than Mary on an ethical level. I do think that the show supports that, and that’s not dismissing his problematic elements, because Sherlock’s journey from ‘great man’ to ‘good man’ is, after all, at the heart of his arc. So... I mean, it’s true that Sherlock protected Irene, for example, but that was good! That was him being heroic, or at least better than Irene on the ethical level, surely. Then there’s the unfortunate consequences to his choices in TGG, but he feels bad-- and more importantly, as I said in my reply earlier, Sherlock’s no longer the same man he was in TGG, and that applies for the good as well as the bad interpretations of his behavior. Sherlock’s just not the same person, in many ways. 

He’s not that man who told John that he won’t make the ‘mistake’ of worrying about the victims but would rather go after the criminal to help them. For good or for ill, that is no longer Sherlock. He’s the man who hangs out with messed up suicidal ‘clients’ because they need someone to be there; he’s the man who’s visibly upset and enraged because Magnussen preys upon people’s secrets and their deepest fears and feelings; he’s the man who doesn’t hold a grudge even when someone shoots him in the heart. He’s a dragon-slayer for real, but he’s also just really nice. He’s kind. He’s forgiving. He’s gentle. 

And yes! Of course he’s still arrogant, still an addict, definitely full of himself and not really sensitive in terms of the flippant things he might say while taking the piss. He’s also childish, silly and ridiculous in Series 4, so in many ways he hasn’t grown up. Naturally, in HLV we see that he’s certainly willing to do morally questionable things for people he loves... but it’s for love. He said he was a ‘high-functioning sociopath’ to Magnussen, of course, but that was clearly a flimsy smoke-screen. Then he told John to ‘give my love to Mary’, and he was crying like a child in Mycroft’s eyes. In TGG, Sherlock’s just taking baby steps, barely able to tell John that saving him at the cost of his own life was... ‘good’. By TLD, he no longer even keeps score. He apparently no longer notices any sacrifices he makes himself, but thinks that by saving his life, Mary ‘conferred a value on it’.

We used to talk about the ethics of all three of them a lot after Series 3. My issue then (as it is now) wasn’t about how Sherlock and John are perfectly heroic-- that was obviously false before S4-- but that clearly they genuinely struggle to do better in a way Mary doesn’t. It’s like, they may have lapses into unethical or problematic behavior (which they suffer for and/or regret), but Mary’s the opposite: the default is problematic, there is no apparent remorse, and with TST, there’s that one good deed that she managed. This is definitely not equivalent to John or Sherlock, who are always aware of the checks and balances, who’ve always cared about them (particularly John). John’s ethical lapses drove him into an extreme crisis in TLD! Mary’s lapses had no apparent effect on her. That is a major difference.

I mean, I definitely think they’re all ethically gray characters, and I definitely think fandom has idealized John in particular, much like Mary had. Sherlock had a different sort of mythologizing surrounding him before Series 3, in the other direction (towards the ‘sociopath’ end). So that sort of misreading is definitely there. But I don’t think it’s helpful to draw an equivalence. While it’s true that Series 4 has problematized the idea of ‘teams’, with TFP we do have a resurgence, and John and Sherlock being a team-- a heroic, rock solid unit, stronger than ever. Mary did come between them in that sense. And she wasn’t heroic, even if she did try to be better, which certainly counts for something. For Sherlock, it was enough. For John... I don’t know if it was. Probably not, really. As for the viewers, there’s no single obvious or necessary answer, I think.

[shobogan]

Having finally caught up on Detective Comics, I figured I’d share my thoughts. (They’re largely positive despite a few major criticisms.)

Pros:

Most of the characters. Tim felt a LOT closer to preboot Tim than in most of the New 52, and while his relationship with Steph was incredibly under-developed I enjoyed them together anyway. It reminded me of Lewis-era Robin, and that’s always been my favourite take on their relationship. I love his dynamic with Bruce. His death and the aftermath tore me up in the best way, even knowing he survived.

Steph herself is amazing. Her sense of humour bouncing between dark and dry and light and silly, her desperate drive to be a hero no matter what that means. I think her decisions by the end of the Victims Syndicate arc should have been built up to more, but I loved the focus on her anguish and uncertainty, and I’m excited to see her as a very different kind of outsider to the Batfam. (You know, in a way that makes sense and doesn’t just make me want to punch Bruce in the dick.)

Speaking of Bruce, I think Tynion mostly does a good job of balancing his flaws and strengths. He can be controlling and manipulative and aloof but he’s called out on it, there are consequences. We also see him being supportive and encouraging and respectful. He backslides a lot after Tim dies, but it makes sense. 

Kate is the one doing most of the calling out and I love it. I love her wry humour and solid pragmatism and quiet dedication, her complicated relationship with Renee, her leadership and mentorship. 

Before 950 I would have said Cass has been criminally under-utilised, and I do think she could have been used a lot more in previous issues. But this one was damn near perfect. Her guilt and her drive and her isolation and her compassion, her friendship with Steph and Harper, her yearning to be something more but not knowing how, her fear that she’ll become a killer again. It even made me almost like the Orphan code name. (Almost.) 

I was delighted to see Harper again, and I love that she’s allowed to quite vigilantism and still be a close friend. That we get to see her helping people in different ways. And she’s CANONICALLY BISEXUAL NOW and I’m still giddy. I can’t wait to see more.

I’ve had a soft sport for Jean-Paul ever since No Man’s Land and seeing him working in Leslie’s clinic made me downright giddy. Then we got that backup with him and Luke, and its exploration of his faith and trauma and recovery, the contrast between how they see the world and what drives them, it was awesome. Also I ship it.

Leslie herself is basically perfect aside from the fact that she still looks, like, thirty.

The art! I really enjoy the blend of panels and portraits. The colours are gorgeous in most issues. Everyone is dynamic and expressive. (When Steph starts crying, after Harper talks about ending up in a clinic bed - my heart broke all over again.)

The crossover story was basically “the first Gotham Knights arc but with monsters” and I was totally fine with that. :D I loved how the team worked together, and all of the dynamics. (Especially Cass and Steph, but also Dick and Steph, Duke and Alfred and Bruce, Kate and Bruce, Dick and Bruce.) I loved seeing Duke interact with the Tec team if only a little, and being instrumental in saving Nightwing and Gotham Girl. I loved Dick’s swan dive into victory based on knowing Bruce so well. 

Cons:

I’m going to get my biggest con out of the way first, and that’s the treatment of Jacob Kane. 

I adored his relationship with Kate in Elegy. A vigilante having a loving parent who knows exactly what they’re doing is pretty unique, and it was a really enjoyable dynamic. (And on a personal note, a parent supporting their queer kid is always going to make me choke up.)

Jacob had his flaws and he could make mistakes, and Elegy didn’t even end with them on good terms. Because he kept something important from her.

I do not at all buy the leap to the Colony, or secretly grooming Kate to be a part of it. It twists their canon interaction in a horrible way and takes away a lot of Kate’s agency. (I also don’t by the Colony operating for years without Bruce having any inkling at all. Really?)

The really frustrating thing for me is that I really enjoy how Tynion characterises Kate, for the most part. But making Jacob a villain (no, not just an antagonist, he was willing to murder hundreds of innocent people) puts a huge damper on it. 

There’s also the fact that you made one of the very few Jewish characters part of a shady government conspiracy, like goddamn. Holy unfortunate implications Batman.

On basically the opposite side of the spectrum is Clayface. I adore redemption arcs, but you need to put the work in. You need to show their change of heart, and show why other characters believe in it. There are some poignant moments I do love, but they’d work a lot better if Tynion made any effort to justify and explore Basil’s place on this team. In most issues he’s used as a convenient plot device, and I need a hell of a lot more than that if Bats are tossing their real names around in front of him.

His discussion with Leslie was genuinely compelling and tragic to me, but why wasn’t any of that in the preceding issues? 

Lack of build up in general is my other big problem here. Steph and Tim only work for an audience who knew them pre-Flashpoint. We have no idea how or when they actually got together, we never see them talking about making the world better or working on the Belfry together. He and Kate have a nice dynamic but they don’t really talk about anything besides Bruce. Cass cries for him but they barely interacted at all. Give me more than that before they see him die, Tynion!

Show me Steph questioning things long before the Victims Syndicate arc starts, instead of bluntly introducing it at the tale end of saving hundreds of people from monsters. Yeah, I realise Strange created them to target Batman but as a justification for “ARE VIGILANTES BAD” it’s pretty weak for me. 

Bruce calls Steph someone he cares about a great deal and I do believe it in that moment, but again - show me more of that beforehand. 

In general Tynion tries to go for moral ambiguity but is often very clumsy with it, so it falls flat. 

Overall

As a story-teller Tynion has some issues that really dampen my enjoyment, and he’s made some choices I really dislike. 

But I adore these characters so much, and he clearly cares about them too. He’s drawing from an era of canon that has a lot of things I love, and even fixing some of my major issues with it. 

At the end of the day this still isn’t preboot. There’s no Oracle in Cass’s story, David Cain was a one note villain right up until his final sacrifice, Crystal isn’t a part of Stephanie’s life and may have helped ruin it, Steph was never Robin, Tim isn’t the kid who led Young Justice. Some of this may change, who knows - but as of now, I’ve got to contend with it.

But I’m still looking forward to Detective Comics every month. I’m still excited to see how these characters develop and where their stories go. 

[awed-frog]

Sherlock: The Six Whatever

To be honest, I was planning to write a very different meta today, because I really do love the show - a lot. And then last night I was so angry, I thought I wouldn’t write a meta at all. I went to bed literally seething with rage and righteous outrage. And now I’m awake again and I’ve got a couple anons in my inbox asking me what was wrong with that episode - an episode which, judging from the first page of my dash, some of you actually loved. So, well - I don’t want to ruin your morning: severe wank under the cut, proceed at your own risk.

I’d start by saying how excited I was to tune in to the BBC last night, but I’m sure I don’t need to describe any of it. You know what it was like, right? Right.

And it did start well. Like, Mycroft photoshopping Sherlock out of that shooting - that solved all the problems from his point of view, and also took away from Sherlock something incredibly important - probably what he perceived to be the first genuinely selfless gesture of his entire life, and the only way he could tell John how much he cared about him (how much he loved him). By killing Magnussen, Sherlock had very clearly given his blessing to John and Mary’s relationship - he’d let John go, and invited him to be happy - with someone else, if necessary. Which, wow. Especially coming from him.

(And John - John takes it. There is little doubt John knows Sherlock is going on a suicide mission at the end of season 3, but he’s too much - well - too much himself to do anything about it. He was a soldier, after all - respect for authority is in there somewhere. Sherlock broke the law - Sherlock killed a man - Sherlock must pay. And John - John would have gone with him if circumstances were different, but like this - with a pregnant wife in tow - yeah. It’s too late is what it is, which is why it’s not even worth it to get those complicated feelings out of his heart and lungs. It’s over.)

And the thing is, this scene - and this trick - was unnecessary. There were a hundred other ways Mycroft could have erased Sherlock’s responsibility in that murder, and they never needed to show us any of them. Instead, the scene is there, and Sherlock behaves as a petulant child throughout (and no wonder: Mycroft is basically taking his agency away from him) and it’s also the excuse to have several mentions of the word ‘love’ in two minutes: someone in that room is code-named Love, Sherlock loves ginger nuts and thinks it’s a lovely day for a stroll and he always, always knows when the game is on, you know why? Because he loves it.

So, all in all, a solid and suitably Johnlocky beginning.

And, next, you know - more subtext - the usual kind of deafening subtext we’re now used to, like John picking Sherlock over Mary on the bloody day their daughter is born (and, really?), and Sherlock creating an ideal world for himself where Mary is an obese and selfish spy who doesn’t love John at all and will soon go far, far away from them both. 

And, again, we’ve got that issue of control - of how you can be in the driver’s seat and still die, alone and unnoticed, because life is fundamentally unpredictable and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying (found you because he’s tracking you, and not because he can actually understand any of it).

(Also, Sherlock very nearly having a PTSD-induced flashback at the sight of Margaret Thatcher was quite funny. Points there.)

But the more we went into the episode, the more that thing between John and Sherlock - textually or subtextually - started to fray at the borders. John is sleep-deprived and lowkey angry and frustrated by Mary and how his life turned out? He finds himself a nice girl on the side instead of spending more time with Sherlock, and what he does with her is what he used to do with Sherlock: more texting than sex (if any sex at all). Because it may seem strange for two people who actually lived together and worked together most of the day, but John did text Sherlock a lot, and Sherlock always replied (“He’s Mr Punchline,” John almost shouted at Irene back when things were hopeful and bright). Now, however - now Sherlock doesn’t reply at all. John keeps texting him, and Sherlock deletes his texts. So, yeah. And the reason Sherlock does that is because he’s still preparing himself for a life without John. This thing they’ve got going on - a weird threeway relationship and bringing a baby to crime scenes - yeah, not even Sherlock’s such a sociopath to see that can’t work long-term.

(Hell, not even Mycroft is, and he did try to warn Sherlock about what John’s wedding would mean.)

So Sherlock falls back into old habits - he tunes out John so completely he can’t even tell when John leaves (he keeps talking to a balloon instead), he goes for skill over sentiment by dragging Mary on cases, and in the end he even comes out and says it: John is a bit like that dog - Sherlock does like him, but it’s not like that changes anything. 

(It’s not like that makes John essential.

The dog is not.)

No, instead of focusing on John, Sherlock steps back into his own self. He basically lies to Lestrade to keep him close (“Trust me, she’s not right for you - she’s not the one.”), he’s obnoxious with police officers and rude to clients, and he keeps his brain going and spinning and working at all times, so he won’t have to think about - about what? About the fact he’s a sitting duck for Moriarty? Sherlock doesn’t care about that. No, presumably what he’s trying so hard to avoid is that there’s no way out of this. Rosie’s here now, so even if Sherlock fails (because, as Mycroft says, ex spies don’t have much in a way of a lifespan), it’s unlikely that John will come back full-time (will come back to Sherlock). And if Mary lives, then at some point John will walk away. That’s just life. Sherlock’s literally living on borrowed time, and he knows it. Appointment in Samarra, and all that.

Now, to me, the problem with how they solved that conundrum (even leaving aside the fact the actual murderer was an older woman with no husband and cats who acted out of pettiness, and, ugh - worst reveal since The Da Vinci Code) is that by killing Mary the way they did, they killed any possibility of anything happening between John and Sherlock. And my problem is that they twisted their own characters beyond recognition in order to do so. And my problem is - I don’t even care if they never get together - I can enjoy a tragedy and a story about missed opportunities as much as the next person - but the thing is, since the fact they clearly loved each other was never acknowledged by anyone other than a spiteful prostitute, for most people this is not a story of a tragic love which didn’t survive a fall. No, this is what it looks on the surface - two blokes doing things, friends sticking together and friends falling out, and nothing more. By ‘going where the story takes them’, to borrow Supernatural terminology, this show has fundamentally invalidated the very story they’ve been telling for three seasons.

Look at the whole Mary thing - it didn’t make any sense. What we know from the previous season is that Mary used to be a trained assassin - that she’s cold and selfish, basically a psychopath - that she’s got no moral compass whatsoever. We still don’t know how she and John met, but I find it hard to believe that relatonship was a coincidence. With his proposal, John basically admitted Mary had groomed him, so I find it natural, really, that many people spent the hiatus wondering what the hell Mary was really up to. And now we know: Mary wasn’t up to anything, because the writers stripped her personality and replaced with Appropriate Female Character™. Mary is now a loving mother and a loving wife. She supports her husband in every way despite the fact it’s clear he’s not invested 100% in their relationship (even leaving aside the fact he missed the delivery of their child because he was off having fun with Sherlock, do we really think a top class spy wouldn’t notice John texting some mystery woman?). And not only she endures all that (because she loves John, because she loves Rosie, and *pukes*), but when it’s clear she can’t stay without putting her family in danger, she sacrifices her own heart by leaving it all behind.

Right.

So this was the woman who had so little understanding of what love is, and cared so little to find out, that she shot Sherlock point blank, in the heart, to save her own skin and her own cover.

Uh uh.

When John and Sherlock find her in Central Asia or wherever, it’s, again, very clear that the main problem in this relationship is that there are three people in it - and the writers can code Sherlock as John’s child all they want - Sherlock’s still the one who’s able to understand John’s wife better than John does, and the one who stays in the room as John and Mary discuss private couple stuff. Because, yeah.

Still, the damage is done. Because of this complete character transformation, it’s all over. If Mary had been evil, John could have loved Sherlock again. If she’d left because she didn’t care - if she’d been arrested - if she’d decided their marriage was a sham and walked out - John would have found his way back to Sherlock. But as it is, here are the facts: Mary was loving and perfect and devoted to her family in every way, and Sherlock’s obsession for theatrics (John’s inability to step away from Sherlock’s world) killed her dead. Rosie will now grow up without a mother because both John and Sherlock were too selfish to give up their addiction of choice. If John had worked as a GP, if Sherlock had come round every now and then for supper instead of basically living inside their couple - if John had been capable of being a good and honest husband (a good and honest man) instead of this person Sherlock turned him into - then Mary would have lived. It’s as simple as that.

So, look - I’m not saying they’ll never be friends again. I’m fully expecting John to come around because Sherlock will now start to do even more extreme and dangerous things - also, this is the season we finally find out how the third Holmes brother died, right? - but the thing is, there is no way John can go back to Sherlock romantically and still remain a likeable character. Sherlock will never not be a private detective - he’s not capable to have a normal life - and if John goes back to work with him now, it’s not only himself he endangers, but his daughter. Sherlock’s ‘cases’ have a habit of putting Sherlock and the people he loves in danger, remember? So the next time John ends up with a bomb strapped to his chest, that’s a little girl who’ll grow up in foster care if he dies. And the next time the Villain of the Season decides to kidnap a child, that child could be Rosie because Sherlock cares about her.

(And the thing is, John is not Batman - he’s not key to keeping the whole city safe. This is not an I’ve sacrificed my family and I hate myself for it, but I know it was necessary because I’m a hero kind of situation. Sherlock may need John in a thousand different ways, but he certainly doesn’t need John to solve cases. He solves cases perfectly well while John is in the kitchen, filling in a sudoku grid with Mrs Hudson. So John’s got no excuse to stick around, really.

Or, the excuse would be: all those different, other ways Sherlock does need him, but if he gives in to that, John would be putting Sherlock’s mental and emotional health ahead of Rosie’s actual survival and happiness. So, whatever.) 

But: I said, no way that I can see. And I’m not a writer for the show. I’m not anyone, really. So maybe there’s a SUPERMEGATWIST in store that will tie up all these loose ends. Maybe I’m dead wrong - and God, I’d love to be dead wrong. But until then, I think I need to wake up and face reality here: whatever love story they told, it was always subtextual, and it’s now become a selfish and twisted and dark thing and it’s also - as far as I’m concerned - over.