#im not trying to say hes problematic or whatever i love him but guys.. his default normal interaction setting with girls is always just

[rnn11203]

Unpopular majima opinion (DV mention) : I have a really complicated relationship w majima.. i think really it’s fandom perception that bothers me the most. I despise the narrative people push about his “mad dog” persona, saying it’s “just a persona and hes actually a really intelligent and thought out guy”. I HATE when a crazy character is revealed to not actually be crazy and is like a mastermind or whatever, i prefer him crazy, and disillusioned. I also am so tired of the “more majima” “majima backstory” “majima gaiden” especially when DAIGO is right there?? (Look im not going to go into a daigo rant rn but to summarize it, daigo literally hasnt gotten his time 2 shine and i think a daigo gaiden (daiden lol) would work really well, like this guy has had SO many people try to betray him, i would love to see a game where he earns, no demands respect!) but anyways, back to majima, he LIKES to fight yk? He LIKES violence, he has NO problem being violent towards anyone, literally threatened haruka?? Honestly i think majima lovers try too hard to make their fav a “good guy”, honestly i think the entire fandom has a problem with insisting some characters are good people.. at the end of the day, their yakuza. They hurt people. Good people. Bad people. Innocent people. Not so innocent people. And i hate when people try to say that the whole park DV situation is “ooc” when really.. is it? At the end of the day he is a man and she was literally 17-18 so.... (and also just to add this i HATE when people are like “oh she was so mean to that guy he literally killed her” like wow a man killing a woman because she was mean to him? Are you serious?) i want to add that i DO like him as a character, im just.. exhausted by him ngl T_T also due to personal reasons i do feel a little sensitive about people denying the DV..like seeming nice guys are still capable of such a thing, but also i acknowledge this is entirely fictional so i dont think defending him actually makes u a bad person or anything, i sorta encourage ignoring canon facts abt ur fav anyways (mine yoshitaka is in the fish shack i just know it) in fact this is all just my opinion yk.. im not saying “oh ur fav is problematic” or anything bc yk.. my favs r mine, nishiki, and aoki so really we r same coin diff sides

[simcardiac-arrested]

scenecut

i dont know if you know this (looks around) but i fucking love robots. Like badly. it’s terminal. it’s so so terminal. if there’s some shit i’m watching or reading and there is a little robot thang i will fall in love with them immediately. #1 fave speedrun like ohhhh oh my god. good fucking gtacious. I LOVE ROBOTS SO MUCH !!!! IT’S LIKE. i dont even know where to start. i think their character design is always banger of course. i love futuristic sleek robots and i love robots that are big and clunky. love when they have wires and perhaps buttons and latches and other such things … love when their metal is rusty or perfectly shiny. LOVE IT ALL SO BAD !!!! love when robots don’t look like anything at all and are just these abstract fucking cubes but i also utterly love animal and creature adjacent robots and humanoid robots. just straight up human looking robots too you guys are ok you can get in the pile . second of all why i love robots. it’s the themes ma.n . it’s the themes and narratives. of being something Other. of being created by someone to do something specific and then growing to be your own person. of learning to be human and sometimes learning you don’t have to be human at all. of expressing yourself in your own way. of living in this world how you see fit, not how other people want you to. THERE ARE SO MANY POSSIBILITIES !!!!! and yeah look i know it’s hashtag problematic to interpret robots as aroace or autistic buuuuut idgaf IDGAFFF !!!! DIDNT ASK !!!!!!!!! I LOVE DOING THIS TO ROBOTS I AM HITTING U WITH MY AAA BEAM !!!! FOREVER !!!!!!!!! because robots as a whole just. don’t fit in. they are ostracized because they are not inherently human. and they often tend to have AAA traits of not really understanding humanity and attraction . Cuz like look im aroace and autistic and yeah it’s cool and sexy and whatever but also to be serious for a moment. it’s isolating! it’s lonely. i often feel isolated from my friends and peers and (joker voice) Society as a whole. because there are many things i do not understand just, on a fundamental level. and see robots do this too because of simply Being Created . being not Born Right into this world . and i lauve it. i love robots who’s core theme is Not Fitting In. sentient robots who can’t quite fully relate to humans but also no longer relate to normal programmed robots. CYBORGS !!! MY MAN GENOS FROM ONE PUNCH MAN iiii have been uatistic aabout him for far too long. because look he is a cyborg, he doesn’t fucking fit in anywhere in the opm universe—he is not human, but he’s also not a monster, but he’s also not 100% robot. he’s just his own thing. he often questions his humanity, and one of the main themes of opm is that we don’t change because we’re human, we are human because we change. and throughout the whole story you can see genos changing and opening himself up to the world and. OKAY INB4 THIS TURNS INTO AN OPM/GENOS RANT (sorry i love him so much it’s licherally not my fault) what im trying to say is like. robots. of the metal variety . 👍So gooud

[thedevilsrain]

Loving your blog on eroica, your art is beautiful btw.

It's nice to see you talking abt the problematic political stuff the manga deals with, i read for the drama and gay ness and how the tropes are well executed. May i know your most fav and least fav arc and why??

thanks so much i'm so glad! i actually started reading it for the gay stuff as well but it awakened my seven year hyperfixation on the cold war

i've actually answered this before but now i've read these chapters more + i have a new Least Favorite Arc. so lets go

so, i don't know how much of a consensus this is, but my favorite arc is definitely the alaskan front, full stop. i also love eau de cologne and the free shooter/der freischultz

but i think that alaskan front captures FEWL's essence perfectly - the comedy is great, the characterization is at its' best, the art is gorgeous - the perfect balance between aoike's shojo artstyle and all the gun and machinery - and every character has a chance to shine, from agent Z, to the forgotten mr. jones, to mischa and to, of course, dorian and klaus.

plenty of my favorite panels and scenes come from this arc alone. one of my favorite scenes in the manga is one where eroica and his team manage to outsmart the KGB and even NATO, to the point that when dorian tells eberbach he had the KGB hospitalized (through giving them laxatives), he doesn't believe him

there's also some classic moments, like klaus saying his love of nescafe (just 'instant' here lol) for the first time, mr. bonham calling eberbach nato old man (or nato geezer lol), and whatever the hell this third picture is

i just find it great, all around. it struggles with pacing, as most of these longer eroica chapters do lol, but it still manages to be entertaining as you're building the web of spies in your head, and watching the funny interactions throught. this too is one of my favorite scenes ever. absolute great ride 🌹❤️🐗

now! my least favorite. this i won't expect to be a consensus, but it's seven days in september. readmore cos it turned out too long. here's some dorians from the alaskan front as a mental preparation

so right from the start, seven days follows midnight collector, the story about dorian's past interluded with im trying to steal the man in purple and another painting (i should mention that while the story about klaus' backstory doesn't have dorian, the major has a whole subplot in dorian's chapter), and as the arc proceeds, it starts a recurring theme of eroica's story being cut short/overshadowed by whatever's going on with the major.

i would only find this mildly annoying, if it weren't for the fact that the stories can become slow at best and boring at worst without dorian's more campy and, let me just say it, gay energy

this arc also starts another recurring thing for FEWL: very long and convoluted arcs. by the second half of seven days, we have: major and eroica crashing a plane in a convent, mischa and his KGB guys and salim and his misogyny and a brief appearance by lawrence and the SIS. they've already traveled three countries, and honestly by here i was already lost. it just gets to a point of too much information where the only thing keeping you going is the gags

(we can get into salim another day lol)

another thing that begins to suffer in this arc is the characterization. it's prolly somewhere around this arc that you might start to think 'wow, it's been a long time since eroica and the major have had a soft moment', and it's all downhill from here. there is such a focus on keeping eberbach as an asshole with zero development that their characterization actually begins to sufer -- klaus is more and more unbearable, and dorian is more and more stupid.

in this arc, there's a scene where, after dorian fails to get klaus drunk (story for another day) and klaus is the one that gets him drunk instead, he does a striptease, before klaus takes him to a bathroom. klaus tells him he hates him and threatens to beat him when he's asleep, but when dorian actually blacks out, klaus buttons up his jacket around him so that he isn't half-naked in a bathroom.

but! the scene is then completely ruined because shortly afterwards klaus and mischa (the bear cub) literally WATERBOARD dorian when he's still blackout drunk, in a scene that's actually hard for me to read

and again, it's really all downhill from here. seventh seal is another arc i really dislike, bc it follows this trend of eberbach manipulating and tricking dorian, and dorian's affection towards him stops being this funny if unlikely thing, and starts being more... sad lol

i had to get that one out of my system BUT. this is Not The Worst Yet! this arc features the single WORST scene in the ENTIRE manga and i will not be taking criticism about this

mischa, knowing the major's dad was a... tank commander... in the german army. in ww2, brings klaus to the el alamein desert, where a nazi generla or whatever lost a battle to the allies, with the intent of humiliating him. and it actually WORKS -- and once mischa obviously loses to eberbach in the end, it's supposed to be this moment of... reinvidication, almost? klaus says he doesn't care, but mentions how it hurt his pride, you know?

i find this one actually gross to read JFGJLKJGLGF its so incredibly bad either way you read it -- the major is offended mischa would remind him the germans lost the war, or mischa, a mischa, clinging to the past when the russians won the battle, but now in the current day the germans are better.

by this point you'd think we'd be over the 'major's dad was a soldier in ww2' thing or at least consider it an obvious Bad Thing -- but here's aoike, in 1982, still coyly playing up how germans are good and noble and all that

there's plenty other pretty bad eroica chapters -- insha'allah with its' messy orientalism and.. child brothel, midnight collector's messy handling of dorian's trauma, the seventh seal having dorian 'trick' a man in drag, the panda's maze everything etc. but seven days in september still remains at the top of me for having a moment where eroica actually stopped being fun, a moment where i actually had to stop to think about the author's politics and how they end up being cast over the story.

anyway read the alaskan front lol

[fertbutt]

I watched the school for good and evil or whatever it's called last night and i am just so conflicted and confused and confounded.

note, this is coming from someone who has never read these books. I think this is the type of series i wouldve devoured in 7th grade though

The premise is borderline dystopian. These kids are being separated into either good or evil, no inbetween, with extremely rigid but also arbitrary rules as to what is good and what is evil. there's no room for change or growth, you're either one or the other for the rest of your life.

agatha and sophia, the protagonists, are upset with this. sophia thinks she's not meant for the evil school, there's been a mistake, and agatha (who is infinitely more likeable throughout the entirety of the movie) just wants to go back to her home to take care of her mother.

as i was watching the scene early on where all the students are separated, and the good boys come out and do all the sword tricks, i sorta came to a realization.

this is a queer allegory, right? am i insane for thinking that? like, this is just But I'm a Cheerleader. the way the boys and girls in the school for good are separated to strictly, forced into these masculine or feminine roles, it's almost satirical.

and the whole movie is satirical, right? it feels like it's trying to be, at least. it's sorta campy and very clearly poking fun at these fairy tale cliches. which can be annoying sometimes, like in Enchanted, but i think this movie does a good enough job of embracing the absurdity of it all without coming off as down-right laughable and corny.

however i still thought there were problems with the tone of the film. they're trying to balance this whimsical, quirky fantasy story with like, high-stakes mature aspects that don't work very well imo. like, a kid gets turned into a bird monster and then killed by another kid who doesnt recognize the monster as him. the kid just dies. this other kid, tedros, just murdered an innocent person. but the story really wants you to like tedros, and really wants agatha to like tedros (even though shes clearly a lesbian but I'll get into that later....) so he never faces any meaningful consequences and never meaningfully changes. agatha is mad at him for like, two scenes.

another example is the weird "love" going on between sophia and the centuries-old evil big bad guy. was this necessary? could he not have just been manipulative and creepy without passionately making out with her in the climax? the actor even looks older than her, the character is supposed to be immortal and young but he looks like hes in his early-to-mid twenties while sophia is clearly a teenager. and im not saying that just because the movie is depicting this sort of relationship, that makes the movie problematic or anything. I'm saying it really, really does not fit in with the tone of the movie. depicting this sort of predatory relationship in a movie for teenagers could be really good, a way to warn the younger audience about relationships with older partners, but that requires much more commentary and critique than this film is even allowed to provide. the movie is already TWO AND A HALF HOURS LONG, adding in a subplot about an abusive predatory relationship wouldve just overstuffed it even more. so why even bother if you're just going to half-ass it? what's the point? to make the story more mature? it's about fairy tales and folklore and a magic school, it doesn't have to be dark and edgy.

but at least, i said as i was watching it, they were still seemingly trying to critique all of these things. I kept watching, hoping that this would all be resolved, and they would come to the obvious conclusion that separating children into these two factions benefits nobody and the whole concept should be gotten rid of. and also, sophia and agatha should kiss.

the entire movie these two were in love, i swear I'm not pulling this out of my ass. the way that they only ever had each other, and they were always doing things for each other, and they always had each other in mind. the movie sets up this whole idea of true love's kiss, and in typical young adult fantasy fashion sophia scrambles to find a guy to magically fall in love with, and agatha helps her. and it just felt so clear to me that logically sophia should just kiss agatha. all of this movie's sins would have been forgiven, if it was just sapphic.

and guess what. they do kiss. in the most unsatisfying way possible.

in the climax, evil big bad makes out with sophia, and the whole school starts to be destroyed and it's the apocalypse or whatever, and agatha comes to save sophia, obviously. evil big bad tries to impale agatha with a giant magic quill, sophia pushes agatha out of the way and gets impaled instead. tedros tries to kill evil big bad with excalibur, fails. sophia, with her last ounce of strength, levitates the sword into agatha's hands so she can slay the evil big bad, and agatha succeeds. agatha goes to sophia, bleeding out on the ground, cries over her dying body. sophia confesses her love for agatha, agatha reciprocates. AGATHA KISSES SOPHIA ON THE LIPS. SOPHIA IS REVIVED BY TRUE LOVES KISS. I was ecstatic.

and then.. sophia calls agatha her best friend. sophia offers to leave agatha at the school with tedros and watch over agatha's mother for her. agatha almost agrees, goes over to tedros and fully kisses him on the lips, then says she cant leave her best friend. the movie says "what's greater than the love between two best friends". they go back home, holding hands. I'm devastated.

they don't get rid of the schools for good and evil. at the end, theyre just switched, and they just decide it's okay for good students and evil students to be friends.

and that's the movie. in a word, disappointing. it couldve been so much more, it set up all these cool things, all of the pieces were there, but in the end they just ended up scrambling the whole puzzle. it's just so frustrating. I'm sure someone else could give a much better analysis of the things this movie gets wrong, and a tumblr post probably isnt the best outlet for this sort of thing, but I had to put this somewhere. if you actually read this far, thanks, if you read this far and you still love the movie, thank you sincerely for listening to my ramble.

[whirlibird]

I posted 15,221 times in 2022

That's 4,249 more posts than 2021!

10 posts created (0%)

15,211 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@themadcapmathematician

@randomizedred

@phoenixyfriend

@orange-catsidy

@professorsparklepants

I tagged 14,096 of my posts in 2022

Only 7% of my posts had no tags

#wrestling - 1,691 posts

#aew - 1,078 posts

#kits - 585 posts

#misc - 559 posts

#fate - 403 posts

#queue - 319 posts

#fandom - 314 posts

#death note - 289 posts

#tropes - 281 posts

#cm punk - 265 posts

Longest Tag: 134 characters

#shelley was trying to tear sabin's acls again not 2 minutes ago and as soon as the match ends theyre back to being like this instantly

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

do i need to make a pinned post to tell people im not this whirlibirb person. please. this keeps happening. i dont care about whatever internet drama happened but it is SPILLING over into my backyard and i need some kind of shotgun to shoot at the sky and holler at people to get off of my property

6 notes - Posted April 15, 2022

#4

DC for the blorbo meme? :3

this is against the spirit of the meme but i think i can make all of these about hal jordan. i apologize in advance

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most) - i didnt care about hal jordan at all until i was told that he was sky crazy. i had just seen come from away so any character that Just Wants To Fly is immediately my beloved. anyway then i shotgunned a bunch of green lantern comics and found out that theyre all deranged. love them all! but especially hal.

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped) - again Hal Time. i could probably make a collage of every time he gets grabbed like the damsel from king kong. spiritually he is making a squeaky toy noise every time.

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave) - Hal Is Absolutely Not Underrated but i think outside of the GL fandom most of the green lanterns get sorta neglected. f in chat for the dceu just having No Lanterns. even in dc comics fandom i think a lotta people just think of hal as the generic lantern, like how guy gardner is thought of as the rude ginger guy that batman punched once. theres more to them! they have layers, like onions, like ogres.

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week) i think this the only one i CANT make about hal but also, like in all superhero comics?? if you see YOUR favourite appearing briefly in someone else's run, you go poggers.

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave) - PARALLAX HAL. HAL'S HOT GIRL SUMMER. POSTER CHILD FOR MALE HYSTERIA. LOVE THIS BITCH. dc wanted to reboot GL and get a new boy, so how do we get hal out of the picture? destroy his city and make him go full wandavision trying to recreate it and all the people that died! the guardians say no, so he snaps and murders them, as well as like....all the other lanterns on his way to doing that. crushed by his failure to protect his people, he decides the world is fucked and the only way to fix it is to start it over. cue zero hour, where he very nearly managed to reset the entire universe! the death toll was ENORMOUS! he got shot through the heart by his best bud oliver queen before he could finish it though. this triggers ollie's depression arc WHICH IS A WHOLE OTHER THING,,, anyway. well he got shot but he got better because he's hopped up on ultimate cosmic power and whatnot. the 90s comics continue while he is moping in outer space until a sun eater almost destroys the earth, so he comes back and throws himself into the sun to reignite it, dying for realsies this time. and on top of all that the CHANEL THIGH HIGH BOOTS? THE CAPE? iconic. later all this was retconned to be because he was possessed by a yandere space worm that was in love with him. which is also hilarious. someone deworm this man. after he died he became spectre for a while, until kyle rayner dragged his corpse out of the sun and he got to be a lantern again.

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason) - hal really is most fun when he's fucking going thru it so like. Yeah. top 10 moments is when he's uncharacteristically quiet and looking blankly and ominously into the middle distance, so Every Character Who Was There For His First Hot Girl Summer is just like:

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell) - he already went to hell like, twice. once it was with superman. they had a great boys night out. vaguely related but i think sinestro once went through an orpheus and eurydice-esque journey into the underworld and/or spectre hal's subconscious?? and then also one time he and sinestro shared a ring and ended up yeeted to the Death Dimension together. sinestro got himself out so hal had to fling himself off a cliff and Fall To His Death to solve this problem. you can put a lot of icarus flavour into this guy

7 notes - Posted February 12, 2022

#3

drac collecting both mina and jonathan and having them nicely arranged on one bed. reverse unicorn hunter

21 notes - Posted October 3, 2022

#2

DOES ANYONE HAVE A GIF OF THE GAY LITTLE WAVE THAT ENJOU DOES AT THE END OF THE THREE REALMS GATEWAY OFFERING QUEST. PLEASE.

61 notes - Posted February 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

SHAKING AND CRYING AND FROWING UP!!!!! shoutout 2 my friend crane for turning calcifer!john into a gif!!!

547 notes - Posted September 5, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[piosplayhouse]

Also sorry I know I talk about this like every week but whenever I think about mdzs discourse I inevitably think about The Misogyny Discourse™ and - don't get me wrong I love wwx with all of my heart - but I don't think people consider that perhaps mdzs doesn't have many women because it follows wwx who... Just doesn't really talk to women normally LMFAO

[pascal-oswell]

Lob Corp for the fandom asks

YESSSS THANK YOU FOR A LOBCORP ASK EROS!!!!

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most) : ANGELA SHES EVERYTHING TO ME also binah BUT DEAR GOD ANGELA I LOVE HER!!!!!!!!!!!! IF YOU HATE ANGELA I DONT TRUST YOU I DONT RESPECT YOU ILL HUNT YOU!!!!!!!!!!! /hj

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped) : tiphy :) i like this lil lady a lot im adopting her. also scorched girl my beloved daughter i love her so so much

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave) : TODAY'S SHY LOOK MY PRECIOUS CREATURE I LOVE YOU SO SO MUCH WHY DONT MORE PEOPLE CARE FOR THEM THEYRE SO CUTE!!!!!!!!! THEIR STORY IS WRITTEN SO CUTELY BUT SO SAD!!!!!!!!!!!! and their little masks theyre everything

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week) : idk i feel like with how lobcorp is theres not really a char that shows up for 1 sec only. im still so bad at filling up this category

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave) : i mean considering some people's opinions i am fairly sure angela and binah would still count. but can you fucking imagine calling them poor little meow meows. i guess ill just use this spot to say i like netz but i dont think hes pathetic and i really like the end to his core suppression a lot. hes trying really hard and i care him

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason) : LOBCORP IS LITERALLY TORMENT SIM FOR MOST OF THESE GUYS THEYVE HAD ENOUGH!!! ill just torment my lil nuggies thank you.

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell) : a while ago i would have told you ayin bc i never stopped to think about him and all i cared about was that he hurt angela a lot. but i have thought and read and i do not hate him anymore. hes ok. so idk ill let the train go there it was its last stop anyway. goodbye cunt

[acespec-ed]

hi!! im on tumblr during class trying to figure shit out rip

anyhoo, thing is, i think im aroace.

but also i've only just considered the aro part?? i've been thinking about the ace thing and i think im almost crtain that i am ace, but as for the aro part, it is like RECENT recent but ive been thinking about it non-stop so i thought id look for some resources.

umm, okay. here's the problem. me thinking about if im aro or not is problematic because. i. umm. have a boyfriend.

saying the words itself make me cringe, but it wasn't like that before like when we started dating becauseeee i didnt realise that i wasn't going to like any of the mushy stuff he did like at alllllllll. he's the first person ive dated so i didnt know what it was going to be like, and it's not like he's forcing me to do anything weird or whatever, but like i knew from the beginning that he was way too serious about this stuff than i was and when he does like the datey stuff -- like when he asks to kiss me, or yk asks to idk go on dates with the objective of it being 'romantic' -- it makes me cringe so hard and like. i feel like a disgusting human being but. i just. despise it. we were friends before this and i liked that and i still like the friendly stuff we do but when it crosses that line i feel. like. very eew. yk?? and it's not just that guy like if someone else did that to me i'd feel the same i think like it's the actions i feel very icky about

i'd thought i was pan(romantic) before because everyone felt the same to me like i didnt really think about gender and stuff in a hypothetical person that i might be interested in dating but idk. maybe i didnt think about it because of this?? but now that i have yk this guy as an so i feel like im not made for this shit like i actually physically recoil whenever he does something that's meant to be romantic

i. i feel like a shitty person🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️

also to clear things up i LIKE the idea of romance. like i love reading fanfic and romance novels and shit but idk. ugh

ty for reading my brainrot😭

Yeah, you are in a bit of a sticky situation here. But plenty of aros and aces and aroaces have been in a similar position as yours. You're not alone! It does sound to me like you’re somewhere on the aro spectrum, possibly strictly aro. Having a boyfriend doesn’t mean you can’t explore the very possible possibility. In fact, there’s a bright side to your situation. Now you know for sure you don’t like doing romantic stuff yourself. Some aros spend their lives questioning if they’re aro because they haven’t done any romantic stuff. You’re spared from that. You’re probably having a hard time seeing anything good about your situation at the moment though, and for good reason. I can only think of three ways to fix your predicament, none of which are pleasant. 

One option would be to tell him the truth about how some actions just make you uncomfortable. Be very clear that you'd feel like this with anyone- not just him. You don't have to come out as aro, but if you decide to, you should be extra certain that he won't be arophobic about it, and that he won't out you. Best case, he'll be understanding and you can continue your relationship without the stuff that makes you uncomfortable. Worst case, he breaks up with you. (But on the bright side- no more putting up with acts that make you uncomfortable!) I understand this option isn't easy, and that it's difficult to admit your feelings towards romantic actions. Especially since your feelings aren’t common. And especially especially since it sounds like he loves those actions. But it's a noble thing to do and I'd applaud you for being brave enough to share your true feelings with him.

Another option is to tell him you liked it better when you were friends, and that you want to go back to just that. Best case, you go back to how you used to be. BUT- I would be very surprised if things go back to "normal" between you two now that you have "history" or whatever. It's common for alloros to be all weird about remaining friends with someone they once had a romantic relationship with. As in, they refuse to do it. Or things are just, never the same again. I don't get it either, but it seems like the majority of the world operates this way. You'd know better than me how he'd act about it. But if you go this way thinking he'll be cool with going back to friendship, be prepared for things to be different. Or for him to not want to be "just friends." Maybe things really would go back to how they used to be. But worst case with this option: he’s unhappy with being “just friends” and leaves your life. (But on the bright side- no more putting up with acts that make you uncomfortable!) If it were me, I'd go with this option. But only because I'd be too chickenshit to go with the first option.

The third option is, continue this relationship exactly how you are now. Best case scenario: You continue putting up with actions that make you uncomfortable and it miraculously doesn’t affect your mental health. Worst case scenario: Forcing yourself to put up with actions that make you uncomfortable wears down on you. You start building up resentment. Things progress further. You end up forcing yourself into doing those other things. You become miserable. One day you can't take it anymore and reveal the truth about how all those actions have made you uncomfortable from the start. He's hurt that you've been "lying" to him all those months/years. You two have a huge falling out over it. Possibly trauma on your end, possibly trust issues on his. This is unfortunately common among aces and aros who were in your current situation. Most would not recommend this option. I wouldn’t either, but I also understand why you would choose this option. At first glance, it's the easiest and looks like it would cause the least amount of stress and drama. Unfortunately, it'll cause the most amount of stress and drama in the long run. Keep all of this in mind if you go with this option. (But again, I do not recommend it! It’s the worst option you could possibly choose.)

I wish I could think of a better option that wouldn’t lead to the high risk of him leaving your life. Losing a good friend always sucks. 😟 It's a messed up situation you’re in and I'm sorry you have to go through it. Just know that you're not a horrible person for feeling the way you do. Lots of aros out there share your feelings on romance. They're not horrible people for it. Neither are you. You should seek out aro spaces, especially ones with a focus on being romance averse/repulsed. You’ll come to see that there’s nothing wrong with your feelings. They’re valid. 💚

[antiloreolympus]

7 Anti LO Asks

1. Do you know what really gets my blood boiling about this comic? Persephone and Demeter's relationship.

In the myths, Demeter and Persephone loved each other more than anything. Their reunion is so important - it marked the coming of spring and growth. A whole cult was dedicated to this for crying out loud. Yes, the myths were far from perfect, but the Persephone and Demeter myth showed the strength of a loving mother-daughter relationship with Demeter searching endlessly to find her child that was ripped away and had her innocence forcibly taken.

Now, RS is not the only author to make Demeter this over-bearing mother type in order to put more positivity onto the Hades-Persephone relationship. However, RS takes this trend to a whole new level - to the point where I would even consider it misogyny.

How is it, she takes this beautiful mother-daughter relationship and makes it out to be an abusive and controlling one, and then takes the Hades-Persephone relationship from a forceful one to a loving, perfect relationship with no problems? How is it ok to ruin one relationship to elevate another?

I understand that many versions of the myth try to downplay Hades' actions, and even make it so Persephone actually falls in love with him and there is no rape. But it doesn't change that this relationship was problematic, and meant to represent the loss of innocence.

Then fans have the gall to claim this comic is feminist and then claim on top of that that Demeter and Persephone's relationship was the same in the myth? These fans clearly don't know the myths, and neither does RS.

Making Hades a good person is fine. Changing it up a bit to make Persephone's loss of innocence something else is also fine. But ruining Demeter and Persephone's relationship? Especially when Persephone has to spend half the year with her? So horrible. 

2. im sorry, but rachel cant introduce KRONOS coming back and then dropping it for several episodes to focus on a stake-less trail and persephone not knowing what lingerie to seduce hades in. like thats too much of an earth shaking development and huge stake plot point to just ignore for months to focus instead on something as minor as hxp's relationship, which only points out a huge flaw: why is hxp's relationship so minor in this? isnt the whole point supposed to be about them?

3. I think LO completely dropped the ball over Hades’ characterization. 

From the first ep I thought ok, this is good, we have some bones to see he’s not that lucky in love and is just tired and lonely, and while ignoring the creepy actions towards Persephone, I thought ok, Artemis hates him, Hestia hates, even Ares hates him, maybe once Persephone finally sees the underworld and probably gets to know him it’ll be a clever twist and they’ll be proven wrong. The underworld will turn out to be fair and just, the citizens will love Hades, he’ll be revealed to be a good leader and king and not like his brothers, it’ll be like everyone saying Hades of myth isn’t actually that bad, and it’ll help reinforce why this sweet and bubbly Persephone wants him, she sees the real him, not the mean rumors and assumptions, this is perfect.

And then it just didn’t happen. The exact opposite happened, actually.

We’re shown the LO underworld is cruel and unjust, where the poor dead are forced into slavery and Hades created a harsh class divide with him and him only on top, the citizens hate him, the underworld gods don’t trust him and openly seem ok if he’s taken out of power, he’s not a good leader and king and doesn’t even want the job yet keeps it for his own ego and grip of power m, and on top of it all he is just like his brothers, if not worse. He loves to get violent over any little slight against him, he hoards wealth and resources to enrich himself while his citizens starve and struggle to survive, he’s corrupt, he controls all the media and laws to bend to his will, sleeps with his brothers wife for centuries behind his back while claiming to be holier than thou, he has sex with his secretaries who are made dependent on him for any way to survive, and now he lusts after his barely legal intern who is also now dependent on him for her way to survive, and that’s only what I remember off the top of my head.

LO perfectly set up to prove Hades isn’t the devil or the false pop culture assumption that he’s evil and to show some actual facts from myth, and yet Rachel only ended up reinforcing exactly that and even making him even worse with her made up ideas, all while thinking having Persephone ignore or excuse it somehow makes it not bad or even a good thing. It’s honestly kind of impressive just how bad of writing that actually is. 

4. Chapter 172 is not that interesting. It’s setup had me excited to see Hephaestus and Hera and learning more about echo, but it’s cut so short. Because again the story can’t leave HXP out for 2 seconds.

I can also see why Zeus is gonna go insane. 

5. i agree w/ other anon. LO should have pulled a PJO or a BoZ and just made up OCs and have them interact with the gods than whatever Rachel thinks shes doing, which is lying she's being accurate and faithful while completely changing all of it, removing what is needed, and adding what isnt so that it lines up with no actual myth besides like, various 50 shades fanfic she read in 2015 and some popular tumblr text posts.

6 . the animation studio behind blood of zeus literally can only draw one face for the men and one face for the women and they were still able to make the gods all look distinct and hot while LO can't even bother to use more than 6 colors and can only have the women look as tiny as possible with the biggest boobs while the men are all just lego men.

7. ////FP SPOILERS////

Okay so like I stopped reading LO way back before season 1 ended, and a majority of my knowledge of the series comes from what I read here on your blog which is enough for me lol and I decided to read the latest 5 chapters just to see what's up (on zahard. I refuse to give the actual series any views)

And I just. Could not take the whole scene with Daphne running from Apollo seriously? The anatomy and art inconsistency was so distracting that i genuinely could not find it serious. Even when Thanatos discovers her hibernated body I couldn't take it seriously because of how she looked?

And when Hades had that call (??? Was it a call? Or his inner dialogue? I couldn't really tell ngl) with Zeus and said he's causing Persephone unnecessary distress, and that she didn't pose any threat. B!tch??? She killed a ton of mortals??? She has no control over her powers???? She's literally a fugitive for the aforementioned things??? She apparently woke Kronos up? (Idk if anyone knows about that, again my knowledge only spans to whatever I read here) Hello????

And I have a lot to say about the chapters starting the trial but I'll only mention one thing; Hades saying "I don't think blindly supporting my little brother would be doing him any favours (as a ruler)" had me cackling. This is coming from a guy blindly supporting a girl he's literally only known for a few weeks, who's like what, only recently turned 20? Sit tf down Hades you're not cool, you creepy ass overgrown smurf.

Overall I still hate this series lmao. Regarding art though I feel like I wouldn't be so miffed about the anatomy much if the character designs were consistent and the story was compelling. They literally change hairstyles and body types frame by frame, and it's distracting.

The timeline from what I read here is laughable. 4 years in publication with almost 200 chapters and you're telling me only like a month has passed canonically. That's wild and such poor writing.

And as someone who literally will sympathise with any lead character pretty quickly, the story makes me hate them. It makes me want to root against them. I also hate the fact this trash is somehow top ranked on webtoons when so many other stories are far better then it.

Anyway, many thanks to this blog for existing and allowing me to dump so much text here to vent out my hate for this series lmao. You the mvp fam, hope you're having a good day 🥂🥂🥂

[ethernetchord]

lets talk: popular iwwv criticism

(disclaimer: i know criticism is subjective and thats why im doing this, i wanna look at some common points made against iwwv and dissect them just a little bit in the opposite direction. also none of this is directed at any individual- it’s all based on the general talking points i’ve seen surrounding the book.)

SPOILER WARNING !!

lack of exploration into james and oliver (+ gay characters feel performative)

i’ve seen loads of people say that oliver and james’ relationship felt very performative, a way of including the queer romnce which clearly is very important to the plot but not actually giving it any space in the novel, nor developing it to the same extent which meredith/oliver was.

oliver and meredith had a very strictly physical relationship and while he did love her, he wasn’t in love with her the way he was with james. the juxtaposition in the way that oliver/james is delivered and the way meredith/oliver is delivered is, i believe, far too repetitive to not be intentional. i actually realised upon re-reading how much focus there really is on meredith’s sexuality, even in subtleties in the book. meredith and oliver get more blatant sex scenes, get more physical parts because oliver was (to an extent) using his attraction to meredith to distract himself from his infatuation with james.

we also have to remember that oliver and james didn’t get their real moment of honesty about their relationship till extremely late into the book. i’d honestly see it as more ‘performative’ to then after or in the middle of kind lear throwing in some wild sex scene between the two. it wouldn't have fit.

“why didn’t james and oliver get together earlier then >:(((“ because the slow burn between them, the subtext, the subtle-ness, the yearning, they were all crucial to the decision which oliver made at the end. the fact that they burned so bright for each other but (oliver particularly) were so desperately repressed, that was what made this such a tragic romance. yes its tiring to read stories about queer people being repressed, yes its tiring to see the bury your gays trope. but like oliver says, it goes beyond gender.

if oliver’s second love interest was a girl, and treated this way, we’d be a lot more on board with these tropes- but the fact that james is a man, and this therefor becomes a queer relationship, makes it feel performative. i can’t convince you of anything- but i like to believe that their relationship being treated like this not only makes it so much more “heart wrenching because why! why couldn’t it work out, why couldn’t it be better!” - not because its a queer relationship but because they were soulmates.

alexander wasn’t performative. not in the slightest, rio just didn’t make being gay his entire identity. same goes for colin. just because they’re queer doesn’t mean it needs to be the only thing about them. this isn’t a lgbt novel- characters dont have to be gay just for plot. they can just be gay.

i’ve also seen people complain about not just making oliver bisexual. guys. did you read the book? he was bisexual. he was emotionally and physically attracted to both meredith and james. guys that’s literally what bisexual means.

i'm totally on board with the coming out scenes! and realisation of feelings and all that stuff- but again, not an lgbt centric novel and also- these were things oliver probably did and realised far before this book. remember that its set in 4th year, at an art school. he knew he was fruity ok. not every queer character in every queer book have to have these grandious coming out scenes or realisations. the lack there of doesn’t equal performance.

the ending was rushed and bad

believe what you will, but i don’t think james is dead. there’s a little too much ambiguity in that ending, in the extract he leaves oliver, in the “his body was never found.” so if your main quarrel with the ending is that “bury your gays” situation- please know there’s a chance- and that giving it that chance opens up so much more discussion and reader response.

yes, the ending is sad. but it’s not rushed. “but that is how a tragedy like ours or king lears breaks your heart- by making you believe the ending might still be happy until the very last second.” doing king lear, doing macbeth, doing romeo and juliet, the plays are chosen not only for reader convenience (they’re plays readers will most likely be familiar with) but also because they all, so very deeply, foreshadow a “bad” ending. killing james, makes sense. as much as people don’t want to hear it, from an authorial perspective- from the reader’s perspective and as a human being it makes sense. why do keep arguing that he “should’ve stayed alive for oliver” or that “if he really loved oliver he wouldn’t have done it” - why are we limiting a character’s entire existence down to their love interest. yes, they were best friends, yes they were set up as lovers but that doesn’t mean that that would be enough to keep james around. james was a fragile character- he was always checking with oliver if he had upset him, he was always worried, overthinking, james wasn’t strong minded- and he was suffering. the only person he had left to depend on was in prison, he was plagued with the guilt of causing the death of a classmate and letting oliver take the blame, if he did kill himself, it sure as hell doesn’t have any reason to sound forced.

“its not nearly as good as the secret history!!!!”

to be honest here buds, why the fuck do we keep comparing them so insistently. they are not the same book. iwwv wasn’t trying to be tsh 2.0, yes there are similarities because hey! guess what! books in similar genres tend to do that! always comparing it tsh when they have different motives, different plots and vastly different execution makes no sense. the only reason that they are compared is because tumblrtm dark academics like to group the two together. and yea- makes sense, but stop trying to belittle iwwv because it isn't as grandiose as tsh, because it’s a little more literal, because it’s not as intertextual as tsh. half the people saying iwwv isn’t as good as tsh are practically just subtly going “shakespeare isn’t as complicated as ancient greek huehue” stop forcing the two together and let them be separately appreciated.

the characters were flat/archetypes/etc

sigh. okay.

these characters are actors. this book shows us their transition from themselves entirely into a conjunction of the roles they’ve played and the stereotypes they’ve portrayed.

“we were so easily manipulated - confusion made a masterpiece of us.”

“for us, everything was a performance”

“imagine having all your own thoughts and feelings tangled up with all the thoughts and feelings of a whole other person. it can be hard, sometimes, to sort out which is which.”

“far too many times i had asked myself whether art was imitating life or if it was the other way around”

“it’s easier now to be romeo, or macbeth, or brutus, or edmund. someone else.”

are you seeing it now? this focus on their archetypes, this focus on the character they are; the way they see themselves not merely as human but as a walking concoction of every character they have turned into and out of. they depend on their archetypes to give them meaning. rio uses these archetypes to remind us of the submersion of her characters. they weren’t flat, their intentional lack of dimension due to their pasts is what makes them so intricate. furthermore, there's an evident subversion- the tyrant becomes a victim, the hero becomes a villain (they all become villains really), the ingenue becomes corrupted. like mentioned before, i think we forget ourselves easily reading this book but there is a great deal of emphasis on this being their last year- which is so important. the damage has been done and a lot of the issues people have with the content (or lack thereof) in this book has to do with the fact that it’s all things that would have occurred in books focusing on previous years at delletcher.

“it didn't live up to expectation” (also leading on from read tsh to this and being ‘disappointed’)

i cant argue this because its entirely subjective. whatever expectation was created for you, i cannot know that and appropriately respond however- if you liked the secret history and understood the secret history then there's a good chance you also liked and understood this book- even if not to the same extent but you must be able to recognize the authorial approach and its significance. i think a lot of ppl read iwwv (and a lot of “dark academia” texts and films) and hope to be able to romanticize the aesthetic or the concepts and then are disappointed when they are presented with mildly unlikeable and overwhelmingly human characters who aren’t easy to romanticize.

a great majority of these books are criticisms of the very culture you’re trying to romanticize, and the only time you’re willing to admit that is when boasting about the ‘self-awareness’ of the people indulging in them, and then a moment later complain about those same qualities because they don’t serve this idealized expectation.

bad rep for arts/liberal arts/ humanities students as being pretentious/cultish

as a humanities student with a great love for eng lit- all of these things are indeed pretentious and cultish. not all the time and not always and not every person- but it is a common theme. academia is overwhelmingly obsessive and extremely white-washed. people become so fast to believe that they are indulging in finer arts and are therefore a higher standard of person. academia is problematic. and the recent influx of people interested in it is good, very good because hopefully, we’ll be more diverse, more open-minded, more accepting. that's what i hope at least. if you know, as an individual, that you’re not a pretentious academic who places themselves above non-academics then that's wonderful- but there are dangers and negative sides to academia that need to be understood so that we can see to not perpetuating them.

i cant refute all points, mostly because there's a lot of good and well-explained criticism because no book is perfect. and my intentions are not to belittle anyone's opinion. these are merely opposing arguments, food for thought and to be fair- a critical look into why not everything is always going to be what we expect of it and why every ‘problem’ can be assessed.

[watchmegetobsessed]

VALERIE - Part V. (Harry Styles)

happy sunday loves!! part 5 is here, buckle up bc we are getting down to business here!! thank you so much for the nice feedbacks, it’s always so moving and inspiring to read your thoughts, so please keep them coming! even if it’s just some gibberish rambling, those are the best haha! now let’s jump right into part 5, we are heading into the christmas mood and im so excited for yall to read this part!! enjoy!

word count: 6.1k

SERIES MASTERPOST

masterlist

By the time November nears its end you officially become a couple with Marcus. It happens gradually, two more dates follow your first one, and then on the third one you agree to test the waters of the possibilities between the two of you exclusively. 

Marcus is a great guy. He is funny, caring and smart, always listens to you and cares for even the smallest details about you when you’re talking. He is great company and never fails to make you feel appreciated and wanted. Exactly what you’ve been looking for in a guy, Rosa really hit the nail on the head this time. 

You easily fall into a habit with him. Fridays are for date nights, sometimes you go for little trips outside the city on Sundays and he never misses a chance to send you flowers throughout the week. He is just the type of guy that’s always there to cheer you up with something whenever the days start to weigh down on your shoulders. 

You even have dinner together with Rosa and Steven one Saturday evening, Rosa keeps giving you those ‘I told you so’ eyes whenever Marcus kisses you shortly or places his hand to your waist. You mostly just roll your eyes at her, not wanting to make a big deal out of the two of you, but Rosa knows how long you’ve been trying to find someone. 

What’s a surprising turn is that you start seeing Harry more. Intentionally. You have no idea how it happens, but it does and you’re not mad about it. Some days you grab lunch together whenever he is in the neighborhood, some days you go shopping with him when his sister doesn’t have the time. Harry is a problematic shopper, he takes a long time to decide on clothes so usually you are the one that forces him to choose and finish before all shops close. 

When he has had a rough week and you happened to call him for whatever reason, the two of you agree to meet up for drinks at his place, then end up playing UNO for hours, slowly emptying out two bottles of wine.

It’s starting to get harder to imagine what it was like when things weren’t like this with him. When you were getting anxiety from just the thought of seeing him or having to talk to him. It’s like the both of you are showing a different version of yourselves to each other and you have to admit you enjoy being friends with him. 

He keeps his habit of teasing you and making jokes about you though, but you don’t mind it. He is not doing it in a mean way with the attempt to piss you off, but to make you laugh and start a playful war where you both throw insults at each other until one of you runs out of it and just starts laughing. You feel a kind of dynamic building between you and him that has a way better effect on you than the continuous killing you were doing before.

You can tell Rosa is thankful for the change as well. Whenever she sees you interact with Harry without making a grimace or have that face that screams how badly you want to hit him, she is relieved that she has one less thing to worry about and Valerie will have two amazing godparents who even like each other.

Christmas is always a big parade in your family. Your mom and your aunts always want to celebrate together so in the past few years it has become a tradition to rent a place out that has enough space for the whole extended family and spend three days there from the 23rd to the 25th. This year your dad found a huge cabin in the woods with ten bedrooms and seven bathrooms, just the perfect size for you all. It’s gonna be your parents, Rosa and Steven with Valerie, Aunt Monica, Aunt Teresa with Uncle Andrew, your cousin Etta, her husband Joe and their two kids, your other cousin Lily with her husband Jeremy and their daughter, and lastly you and Harry.  Though your mom urged you to invite Marcus along as well, he could join you for longer than a dinner, since he was already set to fly home to his family.

“You sure he can’t stay for at least the first night?” you mom asks on the phone one evening. You’re stirring the sauce in the pan. holding the phone to your ear with your shoulder so you have both of your hands free.

“Yes, I’m sure. It’s fine, he can come for dinner and then leave later.”

“I get it, but it would have been fun if he stayed,” she sighs, clearly disappointed that she couldn’t change what’s already set. If you’re being honest you don’t mind that Marcus is not staying for the night. You haven’t been dating for that long, you feel like it would be a little uncomfortable to have him there the whole time. A dinner is perfectly fine as a starter, since he hasn’t met anyone else from your family other than Rosa and Steven.

“Anyway,” she sighs moving on, “Have you figured it out how you’re gonna get there?”

“I don’t know, I guess I’ll tag along with someone.”

“Well, I think you should ask Harry. Everyone else is pretty packed already. Rosa and Steven won’t have any extra space with Valerie this year.”

You nod, even though she can’t see you. These past years Rosa always offered you a ride for the holidays, but even when they brought her over for just one night their car was jam-packed. No way you’re gonna fit in there so you are left with Harry since Marcus can only come in the afternoon.

“Sure, I’ll ask him.”

You shoot him a text that day and he replies right away that you’re welcomed in his car, though he won’t be able to take you back since he is leaving early in the morning on the 25th since he is flying back to the UK to his family. It’s fine, you think, you’ll just probably just tag along with aunt Monica back to the city, she always gets her a car for these occasions. Though it’s not your ideal option, she is not the best partner for rides, because she is a fan of smoking in the car, but you don’t have much of a choice. 

“I’ll call you when I leave, okay?” Marcus tells you on the morning of the 23rd. It’s early, barely seven, but he is up because he needs to work a little today and you are finishing up packing since Harry will be here in an hour to pick you up.

“Sure. Drive safe,” you huff sitting on the edge of the bed, staring down at your suitcase that’s still not closed, clothes are sticking out on the side and you’re sure you’ll have to sit on it to pull the zipper.

“See you later,” Marcus says before you end the call. 

It’s rather comical how you try to close the suitcase but you only care about the fact that you eventually succeed. Only minutes before eight you are packed and ready so when you get Harry’s text that he is outside you can leave right away.

Seeing you with your big suitcase he hops out of the car and rushes to help you.

“How long are you planning to stay, Y/N?” he chuckles lifting the bag up and you just shrug your shoulders with a smirk. You’ve alway been a heavy packer, no need to try to cover it up.

Harry throws your stuff into the back of the car as you take the passenger seat. His phone is hooked to the car, a playlist of his own playing gently through the speakers and you’re surprised to catch on the Christmas feeling in the songs.

“Are you in the spirit?” you ask when he gets into the car.

“Like to set the mood ahead,” he chuckles starting the car and off you go. 

Ridiculous to think about it, but it’s actually the first time you sit in the same car with Harry or see him drive even. The way you two used to be was not quite ideal to have you locked up in such a small place as a car. But now you have nothing against spending the almost hour long drive with him. 

“Can you pull out the navigation when I leave the highway? I’m not sure where exactly I need to head,” he asks you, eyes fixed on the road ahead of him and nodding you open the app on your phone so his can keep on playing the music without the voice of the navigation interrupting it. 

“Excited to spend your first Christmas with us?” you ask. Though Harry was there at several family events, it’s his first Christmas since becoming Valerie’s godfather. 

“I am,” he chuckles, nodding, hands gripping the wheel gently. He is a natural driver, easily working the car, the kind you feel completely safe next to. As Baby It’s Cold Outside comes on a smile stretches across your lips as you start gently bop your head to the song. “I’ve heard crazy stuff about Christmases at your family,” he adds glancing in your way for a second.

“Like what?”

“I remember when Steven told me about his first Christmas with your family. You remember that?”

Searching in your memories you tried to remember when was the first time Rosa brought Steven along. They dated for two years before they got married so it’s been about five years since then, but as you think hard the memory of that specific year pops into your head making you laugh as you nod.

“Oh, yes. The year Aunt Monica almost burned the Airbnb down,” you sigh grinning at the memory. She brought some special kind of cigars that year that were told to be curiosities from somewhere fancy, but they ended up the literal worst quality, flaming bits were falling out them all the time when she would smoke one, almost making the rug catch on fire wherever she went. Best thing is that she was already drunk on the liquor so she didn’t even notice, there was always a person on Aunt Monica duty, following her around, making sure nothing burnt down. 

“Steven said he had a moment when he thought about bailing,” Harry tells you and you gasp, because that’s new information.

“Really?”

“Yeah, but like only for a split second after your dad walked in on him naked in the bathroom. That was kind of the last straw. Luckily Rosa could convince him to stay. Guess it all worked out at the end.” Harry smiles as he stares ahead of him.

You can’t imagine a version where Rosa and Steven don’t end up together. They met through a mutual friend not long after Rosa had a nasty breakup with her scumbag ex. Steven was there to put her back together and be her partner as she found herself again. The change and positive impact he had on her could be seen every day and you were so thankful to him for helping your sister find her way out of such a dark place in her life. It didn’t take them too long to start dating and he proposed a little more than a year later. You still remember how Rosa was screaming in the phone when she called you that evening telling you that Steven proposed. They are quite literally a match made in heaven. It’s been your goal in life to find this person in your life though you haven’t had much luck with men so far. Ironically, if you were in a room with every man you were ever involved with in any kind of way, Harry would be the only one you’d want to talk with. If you had to make this exact same choice just months ago you would have chosen to run out screaming. 

“Maybe this year it’s your turn to get horrified from us,” you laugh, sinking down a little in your seat as you adjust the seat belt. You’re still quite far away from the cabin, you might as well make yourself comfortable. 

“I think there’s not much that I haven’t witnessed yet. I was walked in on at the bathroom once too, but it was your cousin, Etta.”

“When did that happen?” you ask with a heartfelt laugh.

“I think it was last summer at one of your nieces’ birthday party. Luckily everything was already tucked away when she basically barged in.”

“She didn’t miss much,” you tease him with a smirk and your witty comment catches him by surprise.

“Are you saying my dick is not imposing enough to be worthy of peeking?” he asks with raised eyebrows and you’re happy he is driving. His intimidating look would already burn right into your skin by now, but he is forced to watch the road instead. 

“I mean, if you want to put it that way…” you continue, but a laugh escapes your lips.

“Take that back, Y/N,” he orders, sneaking a hard look at you before turning back ahead, but you can see the small smile hiding on his lips. 

“Or what?”

“Or you might find yourself in a war you don’t want to be involved in,” he warns you, but his words don’t quite have the effect on you he wanted. Because in a heartbeat you find yourself feeling… excited? Thrilled? Even curious about his means behind his words. 

“Wouldn’t want to lie, so…” Pretending like you’re sorry you shrug your shoulders as Harry gives you a look that makes your stomach churn. Now either you are gonna have some fun teasing each other or… you just threw yourself into the arms of the Devil himself. Either way, you’re certain Harry won’t leave it in that.

Turning your head to your window you can’t keep your smile contained as you think of the fact that how big of a lie it was. Harry is surely not a guy who should ever worry about any aspect of his manhood. You’re talking from experience. 

***

The cabin is absolutely gorgeous, just the perfect place for a cozy family holiday. Hidden from the busy roads with a secure gate and tall trees on both sides, the back of it is facing a majestic view of the valley and the evergreen covered hill in the distance. With an interior straight from the pages of a magazine, you need just a few moments to adjust to your surroundings upon arriving.

“I saved a nice room for you, Harry!” your mother gushes the moment she sees the two of you walk through the front door. You huff in annoyance.

“And what about me?” 

Harry chuckles giving you a smug grin. “Guess you’re just second after me.”

“It’s his first Christmas with us, he deserves the better room,” your mom shushes at you, making your eyes roll instantly. It’s still hard to believe Harry has this kind of charm over most people.

After greeting everyone who is already there, your dad, Aunt Teresa and Etta with her family, your mom walks the two of you down one of the hallways that leads to several bedrooms. She stops at the last door with an excited grin on her face as she opens it revealing the bedroom behind it. 

You instantly understand why she thought this is the best one. The view is absolutely breathtaking, the gentle noon light is flowing into the room through the floor to ceiling windows, the king sized bed facing them so when you wake up in the morning the first thing you see is the endless sea of evergreens on the side of the hill. Not to mention the room has its own bathroom, not many of the other rooms are blessed with that. There’s a spacious shower that has enough space for at least three people in there and it’s one of those fancy ones that can make you feel like you’re having a shower in the middle of a jungle, mood lights and bluetooth speakers attached to it.

“No fucking way Harry is getting this room!” you gasp as you look around, taking in the luxure your mother is willing to hand over to him.

“Jealous, much?” he smirks, throwing his sports bag to the bed already ruining the neatly made sheets. He does not deserve this.

“Mom!” you huff turning to her, but she has made her mind up already.

“Your room is nice too, don’t worry Honey. Let Harry have this one!”

“I really can’t believe you are taking his side,” you grumble under your breath, folding your arms on your chest as you take one last look at the stunning view. 

“Come on, Y/N. He is a guest!”

“He is not! You said it yourself he is family now!” you retort and Harry just laughs behind you, so you shoot him a murderous look over your shoulder, that just fuels his entertainment.

“Don’t be silly. Your room is the second one on the right from here,” she smiles at you. “We are gonna take a walk around once everyone arrives, so get settled by then!” she informs you before walking out. 

“Hey,” Harry’s soft voice makes you turn around. “You can have the room if you want.”

Your eyebrows rise at the kind gesture, it’s very not like him, even now in your friendly state, so it’s quite odd that he is willing to switch rooms with you.

“No need,” you shake your head grabbing the handle of your suitcase that you abandoned at the door.

“You sure? It doesn’t matter where I’m sleeping, really.”

“I’m not gonna deal with my mother’s scolding if she finds out I took your room, so you can totally stay.” 

Harry chuckles as you head out, but stop at the door to have one last word with him. “Though I might occupy your bathroom, that shower looks nice.”

“All yours,” he grins before you walk out.

***

By 11 am everyone arrives and the once quiet cabin is now buzzing from life, children running around, Valerie’s babbling shoots through the spacious living area where Rosa set her crib up, your mother is already making preparations for dinner while most of the men are circled around the pool table having a beer since no one has to drive for the rest of the day. 

“When is Marcus arriving?” Rosa asks, eyes on Valerie who is absolutely destroying something that once were an elephant maybe, but she’s been ruthless with the poor animal, chewing and throwing it around all the time, so it’s not just a grey, fuzzy mess.

“Sometime before dinner. He has some work to finish,��� you tell her pulling your legs under yourself on the comfy couch.

“And explain again, why isn’t he staying for the night?” she turns to you with a puzzled look.

“Because he is going home to his family early in the morning tomorrow.”

“Okay, but he could have just left from here, didn’t he?”

“It’s… complicated. It’s better if he just goes back home tonight and then leaves from there in the morning.”

What you leave out of the whole explanation is that you didn’t really invite him to stay the night as well. Sounds horrible and ridiculous but you didn’t think you’d have felt comfortable with him staying. You’ve been dating for only barely more than a month and though things are going well, you felt like starting with just a dinner would be a better idea. Marcus didn’t question why you didn’t offer him to stay, it seemed like he was fine with just coming and then going after dinner. 

Does this make you a bad girlfriend? Maybe, but you value your comfort and feelings more than to ruin your favorite holiday with your family. 

Just as you mom said, once everyone is settled in their rooms for the upcoming three days, the whole gang dresses up to have a walk around taking the welcoming little path that runs around the cabin and is smooth enough for Valerie’s carriage as well. Your nieces and nephew are quick to surround Harry and nag him to join them at the front, exploring the woods surrounding the path. It seems like he doesn’t mind it and gladly takes part in the adventure, also secretly looking after them so their parents can have a break and enjoy the stroll in hopes the walk tires the kids out enough that they’ll willingly go to bed in the evening instead of whining to stay up late. 

You’re walking with Etta next to you as she tells you about Hannah’s latest dance competition when you spot that Harry and Oliver, your nephew, Etta’s other kid are suspiciously whispering around pointing in your direction. At last Olly nods and runs up to you showing a quite thick piece of wood into your hand. You look down at him confused.

“Thank you?” you tell him a little unsure what it’s all about.

“I found it in a bush, I want to take it home. Harry said you’ll keep it for me because you have a good hand for thick and hard sticks.”

You almost choke on your own breath, as Olly just carelessly runs back ahead to join his sister. You immediately look over to Etta in fear that she heard what Harry told Oliver, but luckily she was talking with Joe turning back, not really paying attention to the conversation you just had with her son. If she did, Harry probably wouldn’t live by now.

Speaking of the devil, you look in his way and that annoying, smug grin is right there as he nods in your way saluting before he shows his hands into his pockets and turns back around to catch up with the kids. 

That disgusting piece of shit really went into the depth of teaching something secretly dirty to your nephew as a way of payback for your comment in the car earlier. He surely wasn't just joking when he said you’d pay for what you said. And you have a feeling he is just getting started. 

***

Aunt Monica is like a legend in your family. She is the oldest between your mom and her sisters, already in her sixties, but in the heart she still feels like she has just turned twenty. She never married, but had several men in her life, love affairs, short flings, but none of them lasted for more than a year. 

“Why would I settle when there’s so many fish in the sea?” she once told you, her iconic Chanel sunglasses sat on her nose as she sipped on her martini. 

She has worked many jobs throughout her life, she was once a dancer, she waited tables and even worked as a TV host at one point in the ‘80s. She was the true free spirit of the family, her sisters often questioned her sanity, but you think there’s nothing wrong with how she lived her life, enjoying it to the last bit. In the early ‘90s she was seeing a millionaire, probably the only man she would have given her lifestyle up for. Unfortunately, they never married, the man passed away due to his heart problems, however, since he had little to zero family he left basically everything to Aunt Monica. Money, house, cars, business, everything. Being the smart woman that she is, she handed over the business into professional hands but she is still the owner, so the money is still flowing even though she could have lived happily on the money she inherited without ever having to work a day. 

She seems a little odd in your family, but she has always been a loving aunt to you, a caring sister and she never fails to take care of her loved ones. She is the one to pay for all these Christmas getaways, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to stay in places this nice.

“What’s all the money for if I don’t spend it on my family?” she always says when someone questions if she is fine with paying for everything. Your mom and Teresa have tried to convince her to let them at least pay for part of it but she wouldn’t even listen to them. 

She likes to have her own, sometimes odd ways in life. She definitely has a drinking problem, but not in a dangerous way. You have never seen her completely wasted, she just likes to keep things buzzing and always have a drink on her whenever she needs the extra fun. Because of her past she has the greatest stories about meeting famous people back in the days or how soldiers used to try to win her over when she was just a teenager.

“Oh, those things happened,” your mom told you when one day you questioned if you could believe all the crazy stories Aunt Monica tells you. “She was like… the star of the show. Used to hate living in her shadow, but I can’t blame her for enjoying life and doing the things I was too afraid to do myself.”

Now you’re sitting in the sunroom that faces the amazing view behind the cabin, the Christmas tree is standing tall in the corner, beautifully decorated in white and beige. Valerie is snuggled up to your chest as you gently rub her back and you listen to Aunt Monica tell you about how a literal captain once proposed to her after just three days of knowing each other.

“He was a gentleman, but a beast in the bed, Y/N. I’m telling you, men in uniform are just a different level of satisfaction.”

She sighs deep, taking a sip from her margarita that’s definitely not her first drink, and you just laugh nodding.

“He was begging for me to go to Italy with him.”

“And why didn’t you?”

“Who said I didn’t?” she asks with a pretentious hurt look turning to you and you just laugh. You should have known the story would go this way. “I accepted the offer, only turned down his proposal when we sailed off and then we parted as soon as I stepped onto the land of Italy. Broke his heart into pieces, but I was too busy enjoying the Italian summer.”

Harry comes in and hands you a bottle filled with juice that probably Rosa sent for Valerie.

“Thank you,” you smile at him shortly as you adjust the little girl in your arms and hand her the bottle.

“Young boy, have you ever proposed to someone?” Aunt Monica asks Harry who stops in his way as he was already about to head out, but now he walks back to the sofa where she is sitting.

“No, not yet,” he shakes his head.

“And how do you think you would if the time came?”

You watch Harry think to himself at the odd and quite random question. It’s not really something you would have ever asked him, but now that there’s the chance to hear his answer you are listening curiously. 

“Depends on the woman I’m proposing to,” he replies after a few seconds.

“How would you propose to Y/N?”

Your eyes widen as you turn to your aunt with shock all over your face. You definitely didn’t want yourself dragged into this.

“Aunt Monica, that’s--”

“Shush! I’m just asking theoretically. Wanna hear his answer.”

Harry’s eyes wander over to your sitting figure on the sofa as he leans onto the back of the one in front of him. You can feel the heat crawling up on your neck to your cheeks under his burning look and you just know he enjoys how nervous you got from this simple question that wasn’t even asked from you. 

Licking his lips he moves his eyes from you over to Aunt Monica who is still waiting for his answer.

“Something romantic, but not too grandiose, I know she doesn’t like being in the center of the attention that much. Maybe…” Tapping on his chin you listen to his words and without even realizing you hold your breath. “Maybe on a hike with a nice view. She would be admiring the view when I get down on one knee and as she turns around I pop the lid on the box.”

What bugs you is that it’s an awfully accurate description of how you’d imagined your proposal. He was right about many aspects, like how you don’t like being in the center of attention. No idea how he nailed so easily, but he did. 

Glancing down you pretend to be busy with Valerie who is still peacefully drinking her juice, eyes wandering around the room relentlessly.

“So you really look to satisfy her deepest fantasies, careful about even the smallest details. Women appreciate it,” Aunt Monica nods, completely oblivious to how uncomfortable she just made you feel.

“Thank you, I do like to satisfy women,” Harry cheekily answers with a smirk, eyes locking with yours for a moment as Aunt Monica lets out a laugh at the dirty comment. Before you could bite your tongue a retort slips out of your mouth.

“What a shame you don’t always succeed.”

Harry’s eyes turn from playful to dark pretty quickly and you enjoy the victory over him. Your comment in the car earlier already wounded his manhood, now it’s another stab right into his… crotch. It’s the least he deserves after what he taught poor Olly.

“That I don’t believe. He seems like an absolute pleaser.” Aunt Monica winks in Harry’s way who just smiles at her shyly, but you can tell your comment is still bugging him. 

“I think Y/N knows that too herself, am I right?” He tilts his head to the side and you stand your ground with holding his gaze and not looking away.

“Don’t be so sure about that,” you simply say, just when you hear your mom calling out for you. “Would you take her please?” you innocently ask walking up to Harry, holding Valerie out for him. You can tell he is looking for a witty comeback, but he has nothing just yet, so he is stuck with keeping his mouth shut as he takes baby Valerie from you. You gift him with a sweet, but definitely spikey smile before leaving him there with Aunt Monica. 

***

Dinner is already almost ready, you’re helping your mom and Aunt Teresa in the kitchen with the finishing touches, Joe and Harry packing out the wine bottles from the rack Jeremy brought them in, the two of them examining the bottles with such professionalism you almost believe they have the slightest idea about what to look for in a good wine. 

“Should we open some red or white ones for tonight’s dinner?” Joe asks your mom who is the master chef when it comes to the dinner.

“Red would suit better,” she answers. “Are they sweet?”

“Some, yeah,” Harry nods holding up a bottle and checking the label.

“Great. Monica loves that too,” Teresa chuckles as she adds some salt to the mashed potato. 

“And Y/N too,” Harry adds, not even looking up, but he successfully attracts your mom’s attention with his comment.

“She does?” Harry looks up and sees your boiling anger plastered all over your face, so of course he chooses to take it further.

“Oh, yeah. She can drink like a gallon. Wine drunk Y/N is like a whole different person.”

“I told you so many times not to get drunk, Y/N. It’s not too ladylike. When was the last time you saw her drunk?”

“There were plenty of occasions,” Harry exaggerates and you could kill him right there. “Though last time it was the tequila that got her wildin’.”

That damned smirk of his is making your hands curl into fists and for a moment you tell yourself it’s okay to punch him in front of your mother even if she’ll probably disown you for such behavior. 

“Y/N! I have told you a million times that you need to know where your limits lie!” she huffs shaking her head at you while you clench your jaw. Back at it with the lessons about getting drunk. She’ll never get over it, not even when you’ll be forty. Why does it matter to her so much? Sometimes she is the one to get you started, but then she gives you the dirtiest looks when you have one too many. She should just get used to it now. 

“She surely likes to have fun when she has had a few drinks,” Harry continues smugly. “Remember how much fun you had at Rosa and Steven’s wedding?”

“Oh, God! I remember how drunk you were that evening, I could have killed you!” your mother growls and you roll your eyes at her.

“It wasn’t that bad. There were a lot more people who got way more wasted than me,” you try to defend yourself folding your arms on your chest. 

“That doesn’t change that you were too,” she says with a hard look. Great, now she is mad at you for something that happened literally years ago. Kudos to Harry for ruining her mood.

“She wasn’t that bad,” Harry adds and you look in his way with suspicion. “She was a delight when it was time to get her to bed.”

Your mouth almost hangs open, but it seems like you’re the only one understanding what he really meant by that. Luckily, beside you and him, Rosa and Steven are the only people who knows what happened between you and Harry that night, so it’s no surprise no one else catches on the hint.

“You were the one who took her up to her room? Sorry if she was a burden,” your mother sighs and right at that moment you wish the floor would just open up and you could disappear forever. Harry’s satisfied grin is the evidence that he just won another round of this nasty war.

Just as you open your mouth to try and move the conversation to another field you see a pair of headlights pull up to the driveway. Everyone turns to the window as Marcus’ car parks down last in the line. As you step away from the counter you see the confusion in Harry’s eyes about the new guest.

“Oh, amazing! He is here!” your mom cheers, seemingly instantly forgetting about how she was dragging you just a minute ago.

“Who’s here?” you hear Harry ask, but you’re already out of there, heading to the front door to greet Marcus.

Just as you walk out into the cold evening air you see him get out with a warm smile on his lips. You wait for him at the door, arms wrapped around yourself and as he reaches you he places a soft kiss to your lips. 

“Hey, how was the drive?” you ask him.

“It was fine. I didn’t arrive too late, right?”

“No, we were just about to set the table. Come on in, I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

He takes your hand in his as the two of you walk inside, all eyes immediately turning your way at the arrival of your boyfriend.

“Everyone, I want you all to meet my boyfriend, Marcus. He is staying for dinner.”

Your family members walk up to the two of you, shaking hands and introducing themselves to Marcus who smiles at everyone politely, trying his best to remember all the names and information that’s thrown at him all of a sudden. Everyone seems delighted to have him for dinner, the kids instantly make him promise he’ll play a card game with them after dinner and he happily says yes to the invitation. 

You can tell your mom is proud that finally both of her daughters are spending Christmas with a man by their side and you’re almost certain your dad took a liking to Marcus the moment he mentioned he is into fishing.

Everyone seems excited and happy for Marcus, there’s just one face that doesn’t fit in the line of joyful smiles. Harry stands quite far from the two of you and only gets closer when he shakes hands with Marcus. His cocky grin is long gone from his face as he keeps his hard look on your boyfriend who is chatting with everyone. Standing next to Marcus, your hand still holding his, your eyes lock with Harry’s and there’s an unknown, burning feeling in your gut when his hard gaze holds yours. The sudden change and cold act gets you wondering what’s really going on in his mind. He is the first one to look away and you watch him walk into the kitchen and disappear from your sight before you force a smile on your lips and turn back to Marcus.

PREVIOUS PART

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TAGLIST

let me know if you’d like to be added or taken off!

@f-vasquezp​ @perspnhel​ @http-cherries​  @h-arrystyles​ @just-damn-bored​ @millennial-teenybopper​ @sarcasticallywitty15​ @gwenlovesharrystyles​​ @perfectywrong​ @do-youseeme​ @burberryharold​  @irwindoll​

[yarnshoes]

oh SHIT i misread what the thing was OOPS okay well, idk which fandom you're in currently, but do that one! (you don't have to answer the first ask i am a dumbass lmao)

LMAOOOO issokay cookie thank u! The wordz r just sum.... Real niche tumblr kidz lingo. I also hope stuff is going well for u too<3

My current fandom is shuumatsu no valkyrie, which is weirdly a pretty obscure series esp on tumblr... Theyre also based off of real ppl and real godly deities......So im SO sry if i just sound like im reciting a wacko history book when i talk abt it here💀. I ll try to give contexts as i go!

• blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most)

Simo häyhä!!!!! And hes not even out yet!! Im just a HUGE fan of the real guy in middle school. He was a finnish sniper. Im so excited for his appearance!!!

• scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped)

Shiva....... Snv doesnt have any particularly cute AND 'shaped' character but shiva is sure shaped like a hot ass BABE lmaoo🥴

• scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave)

Zerofuku............ My sweet sweet boy.......

• glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week)

MY WIVES THRUD N HRIST. THEYRE MY FAV VALKYRIES.

• poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave)

Qin, the ultimate yassified irl emperor of china. Hes actually my fav alongside simo (IN THE SERIES NOT THE REAL GUY💀). Hes SO arrogant n gay i wanna kiss him on the mouth abt it.

• horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason)

Loki........,. Id hang him upside down above a bonfire n i think hed love it.

• eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell)

Id say beelzebub but he LIVES in superhell. Bitch. Fuckin ass.

[aloera]

hoo for the ask game? 👁

literally in love with u

SEND ME A FANDOM AND I’LL TELL YOU MY:

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most)

reyna avila "we had one home now we have two" ramirez arellano. she is so cool. i think the fact that she can give her strength to the people she is fighting with is one of the smartest things rick has done bc thats so indicative of WHY she is such a good leader!!! she prioritizes the strength and safety of her army over the strength and safety of her own person. shes so RIGHTEOUS. im obsessed w her

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped)

NICO!!!!!!!!!! hes small and stupid. looked at the (amnesiac) love of his life and said "i dont know u" king shit. me too.

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave)

PEOPLE R SO FUCKING MEAN TO JASON AND I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY I THINK HES SO STRONG AND HES TRYING TO DO HIS BEST AND LEARN WHO HE IS AS A PERSON AND ALSO HES A DUMB LIL GUY WHO BITES STAPLERS AND EATS BROWNIES AND JAM DURING PLOT IMPORTANT MOMENTS. WHATS NOT TO LOVE.

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week)

damasen.... man was in tartarus,,, nursed bob back 2 health,,, nursed percy and annabeth back to health,,,,, BEAT TARTARUS'S FUCKING ASS????? "u wanted me to be more warlike let me start by destroying u" FUCKING BARS!!!!!!!!!!!!! like obviously bob did the most and i adore him so so so much but i think damasen deserves more love bc he fucking killed it ok. love him

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave)

i wanted 2 say apollo bc hes such a fucking loser and the fall from grace was stunning but like. im mad at him for being the reason jason died. so is it poor little meow meow if its actually malicious.

yk what. it wasnt malicious BEFORE toa. before that i was like "yikes this guy isnt having too much fun is he" so i mean. i guess he Was my poor little meow meow. but now i want him dead.

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason)

the grain god or whatever from the first (??) book who turned people into corn. i want to put him in a washing machine and watch him spin

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell)

FUCKING. JANE. PIPERS DADS BITCHASS FUCKING ASSISTANT. its been like 6 or 7 years and i am STILL so fucking mad at her shes the worst shes the WORST.

ask prompt

[cowboyhorsegirl]

MCU/Marvel Characters Tag Game

Thx 4 the tags @dodqerevans & @thorlokis ! :)

Had almost written out this entire post before it deleted the first time, so let’s try, try again lmao

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most):

Unquestionably Tony Stark. He was my absolute favorite character while the first phases of the MCU were still coming out. IM3 was basically a transformative theatrical viewing experience for me, I can still remember the exhilaration I felt after weeks of anticipation when Blue started playing in the cinema at the beginning of the movie! I think at first I was really drawn to him because of the way his mental health was central to the IM movies and I was completely head over heels for RDJ, but he’s kept my interest and affection over time because of how complex his character is, he’s self-sacrificial to a fault, unwilling and unable to accurately assess his own importance to the team even though everyone else can recognize how valuable his intellect and loyalty are. Now I’m just getting into the comics, and it’s so fascinating to see other interpretations of him beyond what the MCU presents.

Long story short he’s just a guy and I’ve loved him all these years and I’ll love him forever!

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped):

Hmm, I think this would have to be Bruce Banner. He just wants to do some science!! Just let him follow the scientific method and mentor some students and hang out with his bro Iron Man in their private lab where he NEVER has to worry about getting his funding cut and he doesn’t have to put so much pressure on himself during grant apps and the university admin aren’t breathing down his neck until (if?) he can secure tenure and he can do more of what he loves which is actually getting his hands dirty (metaphorically, of course, lab safety and cleanliness is a must) doing the research!

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave):

Ho Yinsen and Abraham Erskine!! They are the entire reason I’m doing this because I admire them so much and I don’t think they get talked about enough. Which is perhaps fair, since collectively they appear in the MCU for like maybe 40 minutes but still!

I love these two characters so much because I adore Steve and Tony, and you literally cannot have either of them without Erskine and Yinsen, respectively. These two created our heroes and in doing so gave the men behind them a new opportunity to do good, and the story of how they use those opportunities is the story of whole first three Phases of the MCU. Their contribution to the series cannot be understated.

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week):

Also Yinsen and Erskine! Though perhaps Yinsen is the only one of that qualifies here, I was over the moon when he appeared at the beginning of IM3.

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave):

Loki??? Loki. He’s the most fun Avengers villain, hands down. I think his character design is really beautiful, and I like the ambiguous nature his morality takes on throughout the MCU. Most of the time, he’s just looking for a laugh, and who are we to deny him that?

But note I haven’t watched the Loki series (or watched/rewatched any MCU properties since getting my heart torn out in 2019 except for Spider-Man: NWH which is arguably the reason I’ve been sucked back into this fandom), and idk if I will. Still love him though.

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason):

Steve, I think, but only because he’s a stubborn hardass who could stand to communicate a bit better with his teammates. But I’m fine.

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell):

Probably the Red Skull, though I will say I did audibly gasp when he pulled down his hood and revealed himself to be the guardian of the Soul Stone and that was a fun little experience. so.

This was a lot more fun than I anticipated! I’m tagging whoever sees this and would like to participate! Please indulge me and let me read all your opinions on your faves!!

[rindomness]

TAZ Balance

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most):

Lup. Lup my beloved. Constantly thinking about her. She's trans she's got fire AND themes of found family and crushing loneliness what isn't there for me to like here i want more Lup content and i know i will not get it so i will make it myself. eventually. when i have the time and energy-

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped)

Angus! He's just. he's such a Character. he's doing his best out here and the boys won't give him anything and he deserves Better, Okay, feel very strongly about my boy angus. he's so smart and he doesn't get the appreciation he should from the adults around him >:(

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave)

i dont see much if any content about them and it's technically two characters but i do not CARE hurley and sloane. undead plant spirit competitive racing gays let's GO

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week)

honestly, and this is probably a pretty popular answer, but klarg. he's just a fun guy. he hates the boys but he loves taako at certain times specifically it's the funniest thing ever

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave)

Lucretia. Look look look I Get It She Messed Up BUT she did it for her family. she was trying to protect her family and fix things and the way she went about it was, admittedly, Not Good but i care so much about her. please. please. please. please. listen to me-

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason)

THEY'VE ALL BEEN THROUGH IT AND I WANT THEM ALL TO BE HAPPY that being said i think leon's suffering is funny. it doesn't hurt anyone. just causes frustration. No i will Not put the coin in and turn it the right way that's Boring

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell)

the obvious answer here is john, being the series antagonist, but im not going to say that actually. instead i am going to say the wonderland twins lydia and edward (again i know this is two people but i hate them both) because im still mad at them. yes i know they're already dead. yes i know they're technically UNdead. no i do not care about any of this they should get to suffer more

IM REALIZING NOW THAT NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THESE IS ONE OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS and in my defense #1 would have been taako if lup did not exist. thank you lemon for this i care much about this podcast

[kh358days2]

hxh >:^)

I can smile again :D

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most): LEORIO IM GONNA MARRY HIM. I’M GONNA MARRY THAT MAN IF IT’S THE LAST THING I DO I SWEAR TO GOD. I HAVE THE RING ALL READY TO GO ONCE YOU’RE OUT OF MED SCHOOL JUST SAY THE WORD BABY AND I’LL PROPOSE

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped): gon 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 just a little guy just a little baaaby, just a little baby boy…. killua too 🥺🥺🥺🥺 puppy and kitty… besties… OUGH ALLUKA TOO. THEYRE LITERALKLY JUST BABIES I WANT THEM TO EAT SNACKS AND PLAY SUPER SMASH BROS AND MARIO KART TOGETHER!!!!!

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave): morel has cool shades, a big nose, big tits, and epic vape tricks. I understand why people have problems with him/dislike him but dude. the vape tricks. so fucking cool

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week): alex you said zepile belongs here so I’ll put him here since you asked for hxh. anyway he was nice to gon and killua, two kids he didn’t even know, and offered them SOOOOO much help for like nothing in return. I heard in the manga he offered up his ORGANS as collateral to help them bid for greed island. he’s just a nice guy! good heart, trying to be an honest man now after a past of deception. I want to be friends with him :)

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave): shoot mcmahon 💜💜💜💜 he showed up, had anxiety, a cool power that was hardly used on screen, held his own against the goliath of an ant that is youpi, covered his right eye (very hot to me), was purple, kicked ass, had that thing going on with knuckle. and he is also pale and probably iron deficient 💜 and he was purple 💜

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason): LEORIO 💗💗💗💗💗💗💗 he talked about how he spends his free time jerking off during a live broadcast political debate. he is a college student my age. what is there not to bully? there’s nothing not to love but there’s also a lot to bully 💖💖💖💖 I love him he can do it all 💖💖💖💖💖💖

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell): shizuku. I just hate her for completely subjective reasons.