#just cause he has written some good comics doesn’t mean he is the end all be all

[hawkzeyes]

Nothing makes me want to shake individuals like a settled drink more in my life than when ppl say superheroes are inherently right wing fascists. So I guess just fuck the Jewish folk who established these characters to literally fight against fascism and antisemitism. Fuck the superheroes that are leftists and use their funds and time to improve their communities. Y’all make me want to rip out my teeth.

Just because Alan Moore said something does not make it actual comic law. Think for yourselves… Fuckin hell…

[farshootergotme]

Oh you and your friend make some interesting points about why Bruce adopting Dick so late in his life was a problem. It’s something writers clearly didn’t take into account when the trying to make this scene work while also not letting go of the not being adopted thing plot line while also trying to have their cake too by having Dick and Bruce makeup and finally having Dick be adopted by Bruce.

I know the writer writing Protugal wanted it to be a touching moment between the two of them. But the problem is it isn’t about what Dick wants and it written in a way where Bruce while has good intention offering him the adoption papers, he doesn’t own up to the fact he caused this issue in the first place if I am remembering correctly although I will have double check and reread that scene so take my statement with a grain of salt. Poor communication is truly the worst emery of them all and cough comic book writers loving to hammer in unnecessary drama and conflict even if makes no bloody sense at times or take into account how it effect the characters going forward. 

The thing about what is a good Batman writer is not necessarily if they nail Bruce Wayne and Batman as a whole but rather if they care about Robin as a concept or even like characters Dick Grayson in general. Same goes to Nightwing writers as well you can absolutely love Dick Grayson but do you actually understand Bruce Wayne as a character and are you willing to explore that aspect of their relationship Ie father/son. (Then again some of Nightwing writers do him so bloody dirty it’s honestly mind boggling to me.)

Another thing to think about is how most modern day writers and even some of older best writers from back in day of Batman is that they refuse to let him be wrong or admit he has messed up. Like my god, I like Bruce as character I really do but it’s so frustrating to see how he is treated in modern books like my god just stop the drama already with his family, I’m tired of Batman being regressed to his younger less mature self mentality and acts like he has learned nothing. Why is it so hard to just let him be a flawed but well meaning dad who yes messes up sometimes but is willing to get better and grow as a person because at the end of the day he truly cares about his children.

My problem with Richard getting adopted as an adult is well mainly with how it was handled. It never about what Dick wants if it was the writers would have made Bruce apologise for his failing as a father to him and make it so it’s up to Richard if he decides to forgive him or not because let’s be honest Bruce hurt his eldest son by his selfish actions but Bruce should also just be honest with him about he has always seen him as a son maybe not at first but it grew into that overtime and that he was wrong for assuming how Dick felt about being adopted and should have done sooner in fact he should have done around the same time as Jason. Again he should have done the minute or at least offered it when he and Dick had a heart to heart in the Marv wolf man run at Donna wedding but I don’t know. You know what amusing about his run is before this story was made he refer to Dick as Bruce adopted child early in his run which is an interesting thing to think about or maybe I misremember and it was a different writer altogether. OvO’)

Or maybe we can just skip all the stupid drama of adopting or no adopting bs and just have Bruce adopt Richard as a young teen which gives Dick enough time to think about it and probably change his mind. It also gives them time to bond as father and son, now I am not asking for Bruce to be a perfect father figure mistakes will happen as he learns what it means to be a father figure to Dick. Like come on give me fun and compassionate Batman please I miss him like geez why are the writers afraid to just let Bruce grow and move on from his past to some extent. 

Another to get off my chest with DC is well isn’t time to just retire the whole ward thing because it not really used anymore and might as well change to Dick being a foster child because that is what he is. Like the 2004 cartoon The Batman made this change to just that. Like I get Ward is historically important to Richard but I don’t know. Another thing I wish for is just to let Dick be adopted earlier at this point because the drama of not being adopted is just hurting both Dick and Bruce as characters at this point. 

When you could instead be focusing on why Dick wanting space and independence from Bruce like how his parenting style can be quite old fashioned the strict yet overprotective father figure and how he shows his love through his actions rather then his words. You could also explore how Bruce being a dad with a mental health issue aka ptsd, being kind of a control freak and suffer from self loathing issues and how he thinks he never be a good enough parent to his adopted soon. Effects Dick development and how Dick felt like over-coddled and suppressed by Bruce being overprotective and at times being super critical of his decisions as a young teen and young adult.

Honestly what frustrating about Tom Tyler run of Nightwing is that the scene with Dick and Bruce in the bat cave is so good but the problem is it is not earned because Tom Tyler hasn’t really taken the time to explore Dick’s and Bruce’s relationship as father and son or having the balls to actually explore the nuances of it and gasp let Dick call Bruce out on where he has hurt him and that Bruce needing to take responsibility for his actions as father. 

This is why I hate when people say they aren’t father and son or god damn family because one it makes it out Bruce actions aren’t as bad because they’re just “coworkers/partners” which just gross to me and also takes away Richard agency and why he repels so heavily against Bruce and why he is so upset about not being adopted you can’t just sit there and tell me they’re not family because it’s simply not true because this effects Richard heavily because in his mind he thought he wasn’t good enough to be Bruce’s son and felt replaced. Literally Eldest feeling replaced by the new baby sibling coded right there.

Another thing, I feel people will have come and accept about superhero comics mostly by Marvel and DC is well they’re kinda like fairy tales in a way, writers giving their own spin and takes on the world and the characters that function within it. They only things that keep them connected is how characters themselves and if they develop and grows carries over or sticks within that part of the lore. I also feel that writers are afraid to take big risks like changing how Dick Grayson became Nightwing even though they’re already one or two versions where it doesn’t lead to him fighting with Bruce and getting fired.

Now I am not saying ignore canon completely but I feel you’re at the mercy of the writers or eras of comic book runs and I think people should pick the writers they like rather try to stitch all these different takes and continuities together. Then again, I guess it doesn’t help that most media has Batman alone and completely disregard the concept of Robin or his found family in general and that honestly such a shame because Robin aka Dick Grayson is the reason Batman comics stayed alive for so alive for so long, hell he was created even before blooming Alfred.

Which leads to final point this whole thing about Dick Grayson not being adopted, has made so that is all is ever talked about. Who Dick Grayson the character like what are his goals who he is like yes he relationship with his father figure is important as it what lead him to this pathway and wether he likes or not he can quite similar to Bruce in terms of his beliefs and parts of his personality but also what about his friends the titans or his journey into adulthood and he finds himself that’s more interesting to me. Modern writers what are you doing with Richard he has so much potential and yet it feels like they have no idea on what they want to do with. No more Tony Zuuco no more changing to his backstory leave it alone please it’s fine how it is there is no reason to make it more complicated and by doing that you take away how the parallel between Bruce and Dick backstories 👏👏👏Hot take I know. 

Also, there is nothing wrong with wanting to write Dick and Bruce patching up their relationship as father and son, I love Bruce being a good dad that is trying to best despite being mentally ill himself. But keep in mind how you go about writing Bruce and make sure he faces consequences for his decisions and actions as a parental figure to  Dick Grayson and his other children. 

Oh wow sorry for making another kinda essay in your ask box again. 😅 (Hmm, I could talk about how Dick parents and his lifestyle at the circus effect his personality and how his flaws were already there before Bruce took him in but that probably for another time ha ha.

Anyway, that is enough of my rambles and inner never ending thought of this complicated father and son duo.

Hey, thanks for sharing your thoughts! I personally can agree with a lot that you're saying.

The problem when it comes to writing Dick and Bruce is that their characters are so old that many of the things from the earliest comics would be very different if one wants to write them in a more modern era. But many writers seem to choose to keep things (despite also changing things that are actually alright and should be left alone, but, oh, well...)

I mean, I don't think the drama of Bruce not being able to adopt is all that bad. For example, in one of the origins, there was woman, Sister Mary, who took care of Dick during his time at the orphanage. She mentions doubting Bruce's capabilities as a father because of his reputation as a womanizer, but that she was convinced she'd be good for Dick after talking with him in private.

They could still use this conflict in modern era and how his image as the playboy billionaire could influence the jury's decision to only give him custody of Dick as his new guardian rather than his adoptive father. Plus (I don't remember if it was in the same origin or not) Dick at the beginning wasn't fully ready to have a 'replacement' for his dad, so Bruce would respect that and accept the responsibility as his guardian.

However, here's where I'd say that they screw up; they let the years pass, no mention of adoption whatsoever (despite both clearly growing to see each other as father and son, respectively) and they just leave it at that until, check this out! Jason is adopted! I would assume now the jury is okay with letting him adopt a child because he's proven himself by taking care of Dick all these years. But, yeah, actually, back to Dick, what about him, then?

I don't believe for a second nobody would bring up the adoption issues. Like, if not Bruce or Dick (maybe because they're both afraid of being rejected by the other if they bring it up) why not Alfred? He's not shy about voicing his thoughts to Bruce, and I'm sure he could convince him to have a chat with Dick about a possible adoption because Dick is only getting older and one day it'll be too late to ask.

(Except not apparently because DC wrote Bruce asking a Dick in his early twenty's if he can adopt him which is definitely not late at all! Not to mention they had the first real conversation about adoption years ago, but Bruce just ignored Dick clears desires to be adopted and only brought it up when he thought it was the right time because why make a father that cares also about his son's emotions, am I right?

It just feels like a cheap compensation for all the years they (specially Dick) waited to become an official family. So what if the bond is more important? Maybe Dick wanted the reassurance that no matter what he would still be Bruce's family without meaning the end of their relationship everytime he left the manor to make a life for himself, is that so wrong?)

And it just makes Bruce look so bad when someone comes up with the excuse that "Dick didn't want to be adopted so Bruce was only respecting his wishes". Well, of fucking course he didn't want to get a new father a few weeks after he saw his dad's bloody corpse laying on the floor of the circus! But years later? When he's already learnt to deal with the grief and has found a new family in these two older men that chose to take care of him? What excuse does Bruce have then to not have ever brought it up again? The only 'excuse' I could think of is that he was insecure that he wouldn't be a good father to Dick (or as good as Jhon Grayson) or, as I mentioned before, afraid of being rejected. But this isn't just about him!! And as the adult in the situation he needs to save those feelings for later and communicate with Dick first without coming to any assumptions. What will change from the current relationship, anyway? Other than the security that Bruce can't just get rid of Dick whenever he wants since he's just his guardian and he can pass the responsibility to anyone else which sounds a lot more like a plus to me than a negative change.

And Bruce himself said "it doesn't really change anything" when he gave Dick the papers, so it really was a non-issue since the beginning.

I get he can have doubts and insecurities, but when it's between putting your feelings first or the ones of the child you're raising, I think the decision should come pretty easily. (Not to Bruce, apparently)

So, yeah, if DC really wanted, they could just change the early years again (we know they can, they've done it enough times already) and make Dick Bruce's officially adopted son during his Robin years and fix the whole issue very easily.

Now, I wanted to address the part about Bruce's parenting and DC not letting him develop and grow as both a character and a father, but I don't want to make this too long and you already said enough about the topic, so I'll leave it at that.

(also, would definitely love to hear about your thoughts on Dick's upbringing at the circus and how his issues began from his early childhood and not everything was for Bruce's influence. I have my own thoughts about that and it'd be great to discuss them with you)

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

I did a TWDG character tier list because it’s been a while

Back in July 2019, I posted a tier list ranking TWDG characters from all four seasons with explanations for why I placed each character where I did. It’s now 2023, and I’ve mostly stepped away from TWDG and the fandom. I pop in occasionally to answer asks or give updates about the Clementine comics. Sometimes I get the itch to do an analysis post. Or something like this.

Distancing myself and then revisiting the series has changed a lot of my opinions of these characters and my ranking is quite different, so I thought it’d be interesting to discuss.

Just a note about how I’m ranking this: This ranking is solely based on my feelings about the characters. Last time I ranked some characters higher than I wanted to because I acknowledged their good writing and popularity. I’m not doing that this time. Well-written/popular or not, if I don’t like them, they’re ranking low. If I like them, then that’s the only reason I need to rank them high. That’s probably going to cause disagreements and that’s fine. Agree to disagree, y’know?

Each character is limited to a 3-4 sentence explanation. I can’t write a heavy analysis for every character, otherwise we’ll be here forever.

Also, I didn’t include characters from the Michonne mini-series since they weren’t included in my original and the mini-series is separate from the main series. All you really need to know is Michonne and Pete would’ve made A-tier.  

Starting from F-tier and working our way up to S-tier:

F-tier

Troy Surprise, Troy’s my least favorite character in the entire series. He’s an asshole and I find nothing compelling about him other than his death scene. He’s insignificant, I hate him, and he can suck an egg.

Vernon Vernon has some sympathetic qualities to his character but as far as characters in S1 go, I can’t say he’s all that great. Sure, he patched Omid up but that doesn’t mean he gets to fuck us over in the end. Screw him, y’know?

The Stranger I feel like I like the idea around The Stranger more than the Stranger himself. I get it, he’s supposed to be just some dude and it’s a neat reveal that he’s the guy we stole food from, but I liked him better when he was just a voice over a walkie. He’s just kinda here to guilt you over your choices no matter what you did and use it as an excuse for kidnapping Clementine, but I need a little bit more from my antagonists.

Joan Joan has one of the coolest villain moments in TWDG when she asks you who you want to save, then orders who you picked to be executed, and honestly? I respect that. It just sucks that Joan as a character is boring as sin. I can’t forgive boring antagonists, she sucks.

Larry Not going to lie—Larry is the biggest asshole and I kinda live for it. I still absolutely hate him, but I can respect him as a character for being such a piece of shit. He has some depth to him when you bother to try out different choices, and his death is so ingrained in my brain, but he’s in F-tier for a reason. I hate him, but he’s a damn good antagonist within the group.

Abel I think Abel is a great antagonist and he’s well-written, but I also think he’s garbage and I hate him. They really captured how crusty, creepy, and cruel he can be while also giving him a moment of vulnerability when he realizes he’s dying.

D-tier

Kenny Yes, I’m ranking Kenny this low. He’s one of my least favorite characters in all of TWDG, but at least he’s an interesting character study despite just being such a piece of shit. I’m sorry, I know he’s a fan favorite and he’s a broken man with a sad backstory, I understand that he’s a complex and well-written character. But I can’t stand him; he’s manipulative, violent, possessive, you can’t disagree with him without him throwing a tantrum, and I just don’t like him.

Andy, Danny, Brenda I’m clumping these three together because I might as well, my opinion of them individually doesn’t differ much. These guys are cannibals who lead people to their farm to butcher, eat, and trade the meat with bandits. They fed Mark’s leg meat to the group like…. It’s so fucked. They’re great antagonists, the best in S1 for sure, but fuck these guys.

Walter I’m kinda meh on Walter. He’s where he is on this tier list not because I hate him or anything, he’s mostly just here to guilt Nick and then be executed by Carver, and eh.

Arvo I don’t like Arvo. I don’t think that’s an unpopular opinion. I feel bad about everything he went through and Kenny was absolutely in the wrong for abusing him the way he did, but I can’t say Arvo himself is compelling. I think that’s a common theme with me—boring is usually worse than bad, and Arvo isn’t all that interesting. Then he shoots Clementine and we never hear from him again sooo…. Cool.

Omar Oh no, poor Omar ranking so low. But again, for me boring is worse than bad, and Omar is boring. I’m sorry, I know that’s wild coming from me given my past with TFS but it’s true. Omar is a character who exists, he cooks, he gets shot, he survives, and that’s about it.

Mark The only cool thing about Mark is how he died. But as an actual character? Meh.

Sarita Sarita is barely her own character. She exists to serve Kenny’s character development, and I hate that for her. She’s nice, and unfortunately that’s it.

Willy Willy is okay. He definitely has the most depth in this tier, save Kenny. But he’s still a minor character who I can’t justify putting any higher when I don’t love him.

Mari Oh, poor Mari. She’s sweet, but her death is more impactful than her actual character.

C-tier

Carver Carver’s a pretty good antagonist. I like him well enough. He’s a piece of shit, he’s intimidating, and he’s dangerous. Not the best, not the worst antagonist.

Carlos Carlos is hilarious, which I don’t think was the intention behind his character but if not, then they shouldn’t have made him so funny. I’m not saying funny as in “haha,” I’m saying it in a “you are an incompetent man, why are you doing this” way.

Duck I feel kinda bad for putting Duck so low, but he has the same problems as Sarita and Mari, though he does have a bit more personality going for him. His character serves Kenny’s character development, and his death is more impactful than he actually is.

Bonnie Bonnie’s fine. I liked her more in 400 Days. In S2, she’s just kinda meh.

Rebecca I like Rebecca well enough. Her going from being a complete asshole to wanting to be friends with Clementine between episodes kind of gives me whiplash but I can’t help but sympathize with her. She’s a pregnant woman in the zombie apocalypse who lost her husband because Carver’s a piece of shit and then she dies shortly after giving birth... it’s sad.  

Shel and Becca I like Shel and Becca a lot more than I did before. Their situation in 400 Days is rough, and I feel a lot for Shel wanting to give Becca a good life despite the state of the world. Becca’s also just a kid who tries to act tough and like she has a thick skin but c’mon, she’s still just a kid. 

Mike Mike was super chill until he betrayed us at the end. I would’ve ranked him higher but frankly, I’m still a bit bitter about him wanting to run off with Bonnie and Arvo, completely fine with taking all the food and resources so that Clementine and baby AJ starve. We were bros, Mike, then you had to go a do that. 

Brody Once again: Her death is more memorable than her character. But, in this case, I will say Brody stands out given the fact that she’s lying to everyone about the twins and dealing with the guilt gnawing at her in ep1. I find her interesting within the context of “who is telling the truth? what really happened?” because unfortunately, both she and Marlon end up dead so we’ll never know the full story from either perspective. 

Mitch Oh, my boy, there was a time where you ranked waaaay higher, but I can’t do it. Mitch is a good character and serves his purpose, and his death is still pretty bullshit. I still like him, just not nearly as much as I used to. 

Eleanor I’m still pissy about Eleanor snitching on us to Joan which results in either Ava or Tripp being executed, and then having the balls to yell at us about it. But prior to that, Eleanor’s a character with great medical knowledge and skills who wanted to help people. She just ends up being a victim to ANF’s less than stellar writing. 

Kate I still have a lot of issues with Kate, like I still hate the romance between her and Javi and how bitter she becomes after being rejected, but I don’t hate her. She’s a flawed character but I understand her perspective on things when it comes to David and Richmond. She’s also resourceful and charming at times, I like her well enough. 

Violet Yeeeeeah, remember how I said this is 100% my biased opinion on all of these characters? Violet is a mid C-tier character for me, she’s just okay. I don’t hate Violet, I don’t love her. She has some really endearing moments just as she has infuriating ones. I talked a bunch about her in my revisiting TFS post, if you want a full explanation on my feelings about her, then you can read that. 

Chuck I like Chuck, he’s chill. I appreciate the reality check he gave Lee about Clementine and their plan, and I’m sad that he died. Not much else to say. 

Vince I really like Vince. I talked a lot more about his character in my 400 Days post, so to summarize, he’s another interesting protagonist in that dlc and I liked his story a lot. 

Molly Might be an unpopular opinion to put Molly this low, but even though I like her, I can’t justify putting her higher. Molly’s story is heartbreaking though, and incredibly traumatic when you sit with it... like, she traded sex for medicine so her sister wouldn’t be thrown out, and given that we don’t meet her sister and dipshit doctor said he couldn’t keep helping her out... yeah. Molly brings a lot of charm and humor while she’s around but she’s also just so sad, y’know?

Jesus Jesus is cool. I don’t really have much else to say about him other than that. 

Christa I feel like a lot of these C-tier characters can be summed up with, “I like them, they’re cool... yeah.” because that’s how I feel about Christa. She shines more as a character when paired with Omid, and like with Rebecca, I really feel for her as a pregnant woman in the apocalypse who then lost both Omid and their baby and had to remain strong to care for Clementine... even though her resentment and bitterness are clearly present. 

Conrad My boy Conrad... I still really like him, though my love has definitely toned down. I enjoy his story and still stand by keeping him alive to the end, even though he makes it difficult sometimes. He’s hurting and that makes him stupid, and if you keep him alive long enough, he genuinely apologizes then tries to be better and I respect that. 

Ben Ben didn’t quite make it to B-tier, but know that he was close. Ben is such a screw up and he does so much damage, but I can’t bring myself to hate him. Most of us don’t wanna admit that if the apocalypse actually happened, we wouldn’t be a Lee or a Clementine, we’d be a Ben. 

B-tier

Aasim Aasim is definitely one of my favorite side characters in TFS and I’m always going to be bitter that he wasn’t used to his full potential. He’s the perfect middle ground between Louis and Violet, I love that he keeps a journal to record everything that happens, and that he’s the only one willing to push back at Marlon. Aasim’s great. 

Ruby I adore Ruby, she’s great. She’s small and fiery yet she’s the group nurse and takes pride in patching people up. Again, one of my favorite side characters in TFS. 

Alvin I have a lot of feelings about Alvin. Most are sad. This man loves his wife and their baby. I love the exchange between him and Clementine where she tells him he’s nice, she can tell, and Alvin’s just like, “I ain’t nice!” and Clementine goes, “...Yes, you are.” with a smile, it’s great. He didn’t deserve his fate, I’m still hurt by it. 

Nick Speaking of not deserving their fate: Nick. I like Nick a lot and will never be over his off screen death and how no one really cared. 

Eddie and Wyatt Lumping these two together since I couldn’t decide who I liked more. The two are amazing, their story in 400 Days is so damn enjoyable, and the chemistry between them is off the charts. Both interesting characters with great personalities. 

Katjaa I’ll never not be sad about Katjaa. Woman deserved the world and yet that’s what she got. She’s so interesting given her career as a vet which made her the group doctor, the fact that she married Kenny, and how she straight up tells you that she has her limits and she would’ve left Lilly behind if it was her choice. 

Doug Doug’s pretty great, but there just wasn’t enough time devoted to him in S1, especially if you don’t save him in ep1. When you do save him, though, he’s one of the more enjoyable characters to be around and I appreciate the efforts he makes to help the group despite his talents lying else where. 

Luke Luke is great for two episodes, then his character slowly went down the shitter. He had the makings to be great, to be an A-tier character, no questions asked... but honestly, putting him in B due to my personal feelings is being generous. When you’re only great for 2/5 episodes, then maybe you’re not an overall great character, hmm? But I’m biased and I like him. 

Minerva Okay look, I love Minerva as a tragic antagonist. I take back every mean thing I’ve ever said about her. 

Tripp Man, I love Tripp. He’s my bro, y’know?  

Gabe Gabe is a brat and I love him. I understand the criticism, but I also understand a lot of that criticism is rooted in “any child character who isn’t exactly like Clementine is deemed annoying.” He's one of the better parts of ANF in my opinion. 

Tenn I’ve done a lot of thinking about Tenn since I wrote my retrospective on TFS and like... Tenn is a great character. He’s interesting to have within the story of TFS, and I know, it’s so easy to just hate him because he keeps making the same mistakes. It’s when you look at the full picture that you understand why he keeps doing it and it’s just... sad. He always dies in my playthroughs, it’s heartbreaking. 

Sarah Sarah should get a shirt that says “I was wasted potential in S2 and all I got was this lousy shirt.” Because yeah, the set up for Sarah is executed so damn well, then the game fumbled, and then she was killed off. My girl deserved better than that. 

Carley I adore Carley. That’s my girl, I love her. Just.... I love her. Not much else to say. 

Ava Ava is so fucking cool, why is it that ANF killed her off in the most comical way possible when she survives execution? How could you do that to one of the most badass characters in TWDG? She fucking knocked TRIPP on his ass. I love her so much. 

Marlon Marlon is the perfect antagonist for ep1 of TFS. I have an entire character analysis about him, and again, I covered his character again in my retrospective of the game. 

Lilly Yeah, yeah, laugh it up-- I love Lilly, she’s an asshole and she’s great in both S1 and TFS. She’s a woman under so much damn pressure in S1 due to looking after her abusive father as he’s all the family she has left, she’s leading the group which Kenny continually gives her hell for, and she just wants to survive. Then she comes back in TFS as a great antagonist and we see just how far she’s fallen due to everything that’s happened to her. I talked more in-depth about her in my TFS retrospective post so if you want more details, you can go there. 

David Okay listen, this is my tier list and I say David is on the verge of being A tier for being such an interesting bitch. David is such a bitch, a real bastard, I could punch him in his damn nose, but damn it, he’s fascinating and I won’t apologize for being invested in the Garcia brother dynamic. I hate him but also I think he’s great. 

A-tier

Pete I feel like Pete being this high is just purely my bias showing. He has no business being this high and above so many other characters, but I don’t care. I love this man. He’s only in two episodes [assuming you ran to him instead of Nick] and he’s still one of my favorite characters in S2. 

Russell Russell is my favorite protagonist in 400 Days and I will be forever salty that he wasn’t more important in S2. 

James I could talk and talk about James until I’m blue in the face. I adore James, he’s such a compelling and often misunderstood character. 

Omid I mean, c’mon.... who here doesn’t think Omid is an A-tier character? He’s just so charismatic and charming, it’s hard to dislike him even a little. All these years later, and I’m still hurt that he died the way he did. 

Jane Yeah that’s right, Jane ranks this high. Jane is a fucking great character and I’m tired of pretending she’s not. I want to give you an in-depth analysis that elaborates on that, but unfortunately, I’ve limited myself on this post. That’s what asks are for, I suppose. 

Javier Javier Garcia is the best thing about ANF. Listen, ANF is the worst installment in the series, I feel like I can confidently say that, but Javi makes it all worth it. That, and his dynamics with Gabe and David, and Clementine, too. I love this man. 

AJ I debated on if I should put AJ here or S-tier, but ultimately, S-tier is for my absolutely favorites. While I love AJ and his development over TFS, he just barely misses the mark. But I think his spot here is well-deserved, love that little goofball. 

S-tier

Rosie Rosie is best girl. That’s it. She’s best girl. 

Lee It’s been how many years and I’m still not over Lee. He deserved the world. I love him so much. 

Clementine What’s there to even say about Clementine throughout all four seasons? She’s S-tier. She’s incredibly well written throughout the series, her growth is amazing, and her ending in TFS is definitely deserved. I love her so much. 

Louis Coming as a shock to literally no one, Louis is my favorite character in all of TWDG and he deserves the top spot in the top tier. What can I possibly say? I have written countless posts about how much I love him. He’s my favorite and I fucking love him. 

And for a fun comparison, my 2019 tier list:

[celestial-disharmony]

Frontiers and Eggman

Now seems like a good time to talk about how I hate Eggman’s characterization in Frontiers

Such a fucking nothingburger of a character. He held no real importance aside from simply trying to get the Ancients technology and he doesn’t even do that much since he got trapped in Cyberspace for 4 islands. What was the point of his character in the game at all? 

We see his little hubs scattered around the islands but... how are they there? In the very opening of the game, where was Eggman anyway? Surely already on one of the islands right? If that’s the case, it would explain why his ships are on the first three. But given the scenery of when he was first transported, was he on Kronos or Ouranos? The greater point of what Im trying to say here is that he still accomplished NOTHING in terms of acquiring Ancient technology. 

He merely recorded his observations and left them in logbooks we find from Big. Problem here is, if he has ships on the islands, why are the logbooks not just THERE? Why are they set aside with Big? What does it mean if Big has them anyway? Also, some of the memos keep in mind that Sonic is on the island. Which means they’re being made as the story progresses. So why the fuck are they with Big in the first place? How do they get there and why with him and not on any of those damn ships? No hate on Big here at all, but why does he have them, seriously.

Im going on too much on a minutiae tangent so allow me to focus back on another point that annoyed me: this father/daughter thing Eggman has going on with Sage. Yeah this was garbage lol. 

It felt rushed and never earned any of its moments. Likewise, I felt no reason to give a shit about Sage since all she did was attempt to kill us and tell us to leave. So when they tried to force this idea of Eggman prioritizing this one creation above every other robot he’s ever built, I laughed. Especially with that crying flashback. God that was laughably terrible. The moment wasn’t earned whatsoever and reusing cutscenes from like 20 minutes ago doesn’t support whatever narrative was attempted there.

I can see Eggman having a sort of parental bond with one of his creations, mainly Metal Sonic. A robot Eggman has built, rebuilt, and kept around countless times - Sonic CD - Knuckles’ Chaotix - Sonic Heroes - Sonic 4 Ep II - Sonic Mania / Mania Adventures - (Sonic Forces I guess??)

But anyways, then comes Sage. An AI that makes her debut and by the end earns Eggman’s admiration to call her his daughter. Yeah, just toss Metal Sonic in the trash and take a shit on him too I guess.

I don’t have an issue with Eggman showing a humane side but he also didn’t show any other side in Frontiers either. He wasn’t the main villain here nor the sub-villain. The real evil here was The End and the sub-villain was Sage and the Titans. Eggman could in theory be written out of the story with proper adjustments done to Sage. Eggman takes over the world in Forces and discards Infinite, who as shown by the prequel comic. shared Eggman’s vision of the world. He gives him power to defeat and capture Sonic, causes a lot of destruction on behalf of Eggman and his Empire, and once once he failed, he was forgotten about. Both by the player and to Eggman. Sage gets destroyed in a sacrifice to stop The End and Eggman desperately brings her back no questions asked. Like what is this??

I know people are going to point out different writing and all that, but when has Eggman ever gotten this attached to anything or anyone? I think it’s appropriate to say his relation to Sage warrants being called “Out of Character.”

Even though I brought up Metal Sonic, I can’t say Eggman is attached to him as he’s rebuilt sparingly. His only real appearances in modern games were Heroes and Sonic 4. He’s a consistent weapon that Eggman refines upon because he knows Metal Sonic can succeed or at the very least, come the closest to succeeding.

Throughout all the games, Eggman will have one plan and abandon it for the next best thing. That is how he is. Metal Sonic being the only consistent thing there for reasons already mentioned. So his rush to bring Sage back from cyberspace just feels so out of character.

Far as I’m concerned, Sage should’ve remained another shiny new toy for Eggman and served her purpose. Ending what little story she had anyways.

TL;DR Eggman’s characterization sucked in Frontiers and I wish to see less of it. He accomplished nothing as he got stuck in cyberspace for a majority of the game’s runtime. Sentimental moments were superficial and didn’t tug at any heartstrings with their laughably bad buildups. Sage was a weak character who I felt nothing for as she lost all interesting qualities the moment she was revealed to be Eggman’s AI. Eggman’s aforementioned bond with Sage likewise fell flat as neither character were remotely interesting in Frontiers.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Atlas Shrugged Part III: Who Is John Galt? (2014)

There’s something deeply satisfying about the failure that is Atlas Shrugged Part III: Who Is John Galt?. The first film had a budget of $20 million. It tanked at the box office. The sequel had a budget of $10 million and tanked as well. This third chapter was made with a budget of $5 million and earned less than $1 million in ticket sales. All three films feature a completely different cast despite being released only 1-2 years apart. If these movies were good, or even passable that would be depressing but these films are part nut-job parable, part cheezy romance. If there’s an entry in this series that’s so bad it’s good, it’s Part III: Who Is John Galt?, though whether it’s worth sitting through two films to have a couple of laughs at its expense is another story…

After pursuing Quentin Daniels to a remote part of the country, Dagny Taggart (played this time by Laura Regan) crashes into an invisible barrier. She’s discovered Galt’s Gulch, a hidden valley where the United States' brightest minds have retreated to avoid the government's oppressive over-regulation of companies and products. Dagny is told by John Galt (Kristoffer Polaha) that she and Henry Rearden (Rob Morrow) are the only people missing from this new hidden society of free entrepreneurs and inventors. Is Dagny ready to abandon Taggart Transcontinental and the rest of the outside world, or will she continue a fight everyone else thinks has already been lost?

At the end of Atlas Shrugged: Part II, I wondered what the point was. So much of the second movie reiterated what we had already been told. What unsuspecting plot points or revelations could possibly justify this book by Ayn Rand being turned into a trilogy? As this film begins, you’ll double-underscore that question because Rearden, who for the most part has been an important secondary character, is basically written out of the film to make room for John Galt, whom Dagny instantly falls for. It’s like a demented version of a fairytale conjured up by some loony objectivist. After falling into Galt’s magical kingdom, Dagny is confronted by the mystery man whose name is spoken like a curse in the outside world. What a surprise! He’s handsome and charismatic. Best of all, he believes that unfettered self-interest is good and altruism will ruin society. If that doesn’t make a lady want to take off her clothes, I don’t know what does.

The film tries so hard to make John Galt into a hero it becomes comical. At one point, he hijacks a broadcast by the President of the United States - oh, sorry. I mean the “Head of States” (Peter Mackenzie) - so he can deliver a message of rebellion and hope to the people. We're supposed to see him as some Bizarro world version of V. After heroically giving himself up, he is tortured by those goons in the White House in a way that resembles a crucifixion way too much to be a coincidence.

Who Is John Galt? is so hammy you might lose track of the film’s message, which is the same as before. The big enemy is the government. Yeah, there’s been some interference from Dagny's useless brother, the President of Taggart Industries (Greg Germann, whose character has a sub-plot that amounts to so little it must have been included solely because it was in the source material) but it’s those meanies up on Capital Hill that have been causing all the trouble. They insist on breaking up monopolies, taxing the rich, forcing wealthy states to share their money with poorer states, etc. Remember that last one. A turning point in this film that shows just how evil the Head of States is comes when we learn that a trainload of grains meant for a poor state is being diverted to another. “But the people will starve!” screams Dagny. “Why does she care?” you’ll ask. “Didn’t she previously tell us that altruism is for dummies and soft-headed care-bears?”

The biggest joke in this whole movie comes during the end credits when we see that the film’s budget included contributions from Kickstarter supporters. It’s so ironic I wonder how many of them sent money to director J. James Manera so they could metaphorically piss all over this film and on Ayn Rand in the process. If she believed in half of what this film exposits, she must’ve been one of the most uncompassionate, cold-blooded reptiles to ever disguise herself as a human being.

It’s easy to find things to say about a movie like Atlas Shrugged Part III: Where is John Galt?. My friends and I watched it together and our collective suffering will make us a more tightly-knit group. That doesn’t mean I recommend you watch it. The first two parts are so dull and infuriating that the “homework” needed for you to understand the irony of this cinematic blight just isn’t worth it. (On Blu-ray, April 7, 2023)

[taiblogcomics]

It Was Not Juston Time

Hey there, grease traps. Half into our foray through Avengers Arena at this point, eh? I'd say it's gonna get worse before it gets better, but... it's not gonna get better. Trust me on this~

Here's the cover:

At least we're finally getting some decent sorts of covers. You know, ones that are actually symbolic and representative of their contents and story. Stuff that actually says something about the series and issue you're about to read. This is pretty representative of Apex and her manipulations throughout the series. I don't personally care for the minimal colour palette, but it is nonetheless eyecatching. And it's not a reference to something I haven't seen or read, so that's a plus in my book. I feel like that first batch of covers were commissioned when they just had the story concept, before the plot was being written.

So, last time, in the wake of Kid Briton's death, the assembled teens finally started working out their problems and not killing each other. At least until Juston turned out to still be alive and opted to take revenge on Apex and Deathlocket for wrecking his Sentinel pal. Also, Apex turns out to have an alt mode of some guy named Tim, and that's gotta be an interesting story. And Chase goes public as Darkhawk, which is sure to cause some ripples as well. All the problems will surely be resolved in a calm and narratively satisfying way! And if you believe that, I've got nine more issues after this one to sell you~

We start with some narration from Tim, which is nice, because he's the one we're most curious about. He monologues about how he's always been told he's a "peacemaker" or "people pleaser", and Peacemaker isn't even the right comic publisher, so that can't be true. But it's because he hates confrontation, and that much is at least relatable. Makes sense, though, when he has to put up with his sister, Apex. Like, this whole fight scene happening right now? Classic Apex, according to him. She lives for conflict, which only turns out good for her.

Juston blasts Chase back down, and while Nico and Cammi help him up, they also demand to know why he's suddenly Darkhawk now. X-23 tries to stand in the way, but this is, after all, a Sentinel and she's a mutant. It's kinda what they were designed to take out. Fortunately for both of them, Deathlocket puts a reassuring hand on Tim's shoulder, and he reservedly does what he has to do: float over to the group and unleash a burst of blue energy from his body, knocking down all of them and shorting out their powers and/or robots.

But just because powers have been diffused doesn't mean tensions have, and Juston is still gearing for Apex's blood. Chase points out that Apex isn't here right now, and while he might just be speaking on what he can see, I'm still gonna give him credit for open-mindedness. I've met a few folks who have alters, though I don't think any of them can shapeshift like Tim and Apex can. That's basically what it boils down to, once he gets everyone to stop chomping at the bit so he can explain: he and his sister are twins, but they share a body. They even change physical characteristics depending which one is in control.

He explains further than they ended up this way due to genetic experimentation. Their parents had been aiming for superbabies, and didn't quite get what they'd been hoping for. But the kids at least got some technopathic abilities out of it, in addition to their shared living situation. Until about two years ago, they'd swap every 24 hours, and their parents homeschooled them. Apex didn't like this arrangement and began to act out. This lasted for a lot of her childhood, wrecking all the electronics and terrorising the house staff. Because of course they're rich.

Eventually, Apex grew out of it. She became quiet and would study on her own. Everyone felt like this was probably a good thing--until the day of the accident. There was a car wreck, and while Tim had been the one in the wreck, Apex is the one who came out. See, what she'd been studying was practicing banishing her alter. She learned how to surpress Tim and be the only one in control. That's probably not healthy, but everyone else got what they wanted: Apex got her freedom, and her parents got a "normal" child they didn't have to keep at home. For them, Tim was dead.

So that's basically it. Tim's been stuck in silent prison inside his sister's head for the last two years, which is why none of her fellow Braddock Academy mates had any idea about this. The technopathy also explains how she's able to manipulate Deathlocket. But anyway, the recent way they outsmarted Apex and stunned her at her own game, this was enough to shake her control and let Tim out for a bit, and he's thankful. But of course, the big question now is... What do they do with him? What happens if Apex switches back? Should they let him go? Can they?

And so they vote. Chase, Juston, and Nara all are in favour of killing Tim. Nico, Cammi, Cullen, Anachronism, and X-23 are against. (Deathlocket doesn't get a vote, I guess.) And while I'm disappointed Chase would vote that way, he's also not wrong. Tim is basically a ticking time bomb, and Apex is not gonna be so pleasant. But, as the others point out, there are different kinds of "wrong". And while Chase's opinion makes sense strategically, if they play it that way... Well, what really makes them any different than Apex at that point.

Chase continues to argue his point, until Nico finally snaps and uses the Staff of One to banish him from the group. He's been keeping secrets--like the whole Darkhawk thing--and his impulsiveness is just not something the group needs. So he's out. Nico offers to take watch for the group that night, and they leave her to it. Well, comic, you already annoyed me by getting the Runaways involved in this dreck to begin with. Now you've annoyed me further by splitting them up. I'm just glad they're the only two included. Imagine how much worse it'd be if Molly was roped into this story.

Meanwhile, Tim's over with Deathlocket while this is going on. He's coaching her on how to interface with her cybernetic components. While she's able to walk around and stuff, she doesn't really have access to her own weapon systems and the like. But who better to show someone how to work with unfamiliar stuff in their own head than an alter and a technopath? And with some guidance, she's able to "feel" out and use her own arm cannon. She excitedly gives him a hug, and it looks like it's gonna be an almost kiss, but they get shy when Nico spots them.

Nico gives them a go-ahead and turns away to keep watch, kinda smiling at something almost like romance blossoming. Deathlocket wants to try again, and Tim leans against a rock for a moment. Locket asks what to do next, and ...Apex straightens up, instructing her to switch off her brain and give her control. She knocks Nico out from behind, wanders over and snaps Juston's neck, killing him and taking control of the Sentinel. She rockets away with Deathlocket in tow, while Tim returns to monologuing. He admits he's responsible for everything she does, because he's a coward who wants to live, even if behind the eyes of a monster.

Oof. Sheesh. Blah. I told you it was going to get worse before it got better. I mentioned before, I stopped following this after issue 6, but I did hear about Juston’s death through the grapevine back in the day. And you know what I did? I didn’t go on to hate-read this piece of crap, that’s for sure. Instead, I went out and I bought all three digest volumes of Juston’s Sentinel solo series. I can see them on my shelf right where I’m sitting, between Gold Digger and all the Adventure Time graphic novels. And I think that was the right call. I spent my money to celebrate his life, not wallow in his death. We should strive to do the same in any situation.

Now, actually having read this for the first time, I don’t think this issue is entirely without merit. Oh, I very much dislike it, don’t get me wrong! Even Juston’s death aside, I also hate this direction with Chase, and especially expelling him from the group. But...! While I don’t like that it was Chase that suggested it, I do think the points he brought up were valid ones. It is a difficult topic, and it has often come up in superhero debates (especially with Batman). Personally, I do not like when superheroes kill. For any reason. Superheroes are someone we should look up to. And I think I should especially say teenage superheroes shouldn’t kill. That’s some soul-staining stuff. Note how X-23, a character who has canonically killed, votes on the side of sparing his life. She knows. And I think that is good writing. Tim’s own dilemma is also a topic worthy of exploration. Very existential. But all the rest? Nah. No thanks. I think we could’ve gotten all of this without needing to needlessly murder Juston. Notice how Apex didn’t kill Nico, just knocked her out. But went out of her way to murder Juston. And that is what I hate about this series.

[omegafan101]

Okay I need to give some thoughts on Sonic IDW 50 cause I was finally able to read it so MAJOR spoilers below.

I feel like the best way for me to talk about this would be in sections so--

Belle

I love Belle, definetly one of my favorite new inclusions from the comics (which honestly isn’t saying too much because I love ALL of the new inclusions so let’s put her in top 5).

In all honesty I was a little dissapointed with her finally confronting Eggman. It wasn’t bad by any means just not as much as I wanted. But I do like how, without outright saying he remembers her, the writing makes it clear he remembers creating her but that he still isn’t Mr. Tinker. Doesn’t treat her with any fondness but knows her name. I do love that he asked her to join him after seeing how useful she was, and when she refused, he actually let her go just fine. Could’ve had Metal destroy her then and there but he’s perfectly fine letting her walk away. Good little moment there.

Also, Badnik siblings fans finally got their interaction and I am very happy for them. Now when does she meet Omega and/or Gemerl???

Tails vs Kit

I don’t know what I was expecting from this fight but I LOVED it. Tails is a fighter, obviously, but he’s never been nearly as actiony as Sonic, so it was great to see him mostly just dodge and try to talk Kit down.

Kit’s reliance on Surge’s needs have finally kicked Starline in the ass because without her around he just doesn’t know what to do aside from keeping Tails away from helping Sonic or stopping Surge. The way he was genuinly taken aback by Tails’ kindness towards him was kinda fucking heartbreaking, this poor little guy deserves the world. The fact that Tails can calm him down by simply complimenting his tech and relating to him on being different is so nice and a very good moment for Tails and of course he beats him by outsmarting him, Finally Tails has good moments again!

Also just constantly in love with any panel. that gives Kit the evil anime eyes I love this guy’s design it’s so good.

Sonic vs Surge

This is the big one. Most of the issue is dedicated to it after all, and rightfully so. I get where people are coming from when they think Sonic wasn’t written well but, guys, come on, he doesn’t know who the fuck Surge is. She showed up, threw him against a wall, and started going on about how much she hated him, a typical Tuesday for Sonic. He started to catch on that Surge has gone through a LOT more than he knows but didn’t get a chance to truly sympathize with her before the fight ended.

I think the problem here, and this is a good problem for writing, is that Sonic is treating Surge like he treats all his enemies. He’s cocky, he’s quippy, he’s forgiving and tries to give them a second chance. He’s like that with everyone.

The issue is Surge HATES that. She was designed to hate and destroy him and he doesn’t share nearly the same animosity towards her and, in her eyes, doesn’t even treat her like a real threat. It’s a pretty good clashing of characters.

And as for the actual fight my word it was amazing. Felt like something ripped straight out of Dragon Ball, fitting with how many parallels Surge and Kit have to Androids 17 and 18, even if it was apparently unintentional. I gotta say I’m a sucker for villains refusing help from heroes even if it costs them their life and Surge doing this while also getting the satisfaction of “getting the last hit” was superb. Can’t wait to see more of her in the future cause you’d be a fool to think she’s actually dead.

Eggman vs Starline

For a comic about Sonic the Hedgehog coming off of a mini series about Surge and Kit, this fight, by all accounts, should NOT be the highlight of the comic but holy fuck it IS.

This was amazing start to finish. Sonic Heroes is what got me into Sonic in the first place so I am HERE for the Egg Emperor being pulled out! It’s honestly just such a cool design for an Eggman robot, and of course Starline pulls out the Death Egg Robot because that things becoming as necessary to Sonic as Green Hill and Chemical Plant (I still love it though good robot design). An Eggman mech battle was NOT on my bingo card.

Egg Emperor was made even better with Starline pulling out the team blast (on his own) and I love how Eggman used that AGAINST him! After such a blunder with having no backup plan for the Metal Virus, the way he absolutely demolishes Starline and uses his own ego, fanboy nature, and tech against him is fucking amazing. New triple power glove? Used the Egg Emperor to bait him to use all its power. Hypnotizing glove? He told him about that, he remembered, and planned for it. Barbed ankle? YA YA YEET!!!

This issue finally made Eggman scary again. Yeah he’s a goofy, egg shaped scientist but what sets him apart from someone like Bowser is that he is CAPABLE and when he’s at his absolute A-game he is fucking powerful and terrifying.

As for Starline. MAN what a send off for the character. He’s easily had some of the strongest presence out of any of the new characters and I’m glad we’re finally done with him. I loved him but I was kinda worried he would escape, be upset his plan failed again, and try something else. But no! He fails and is just fucking TORN by the fact that no matter how much he plans, he can’t beat Sonic, and he CERTAINLY isn’t better than Dr. Eggman.

I can’t find the source for this but I read that Ian Flynn confirmed that he dies here so I suppose this really is a send off for this wonderful homage to Dr. Finitevus. It was great while it lasted but hopefully this means Eggman and more new or old villains get chances to shine. Plus, supposedly Ian also said that if demand is high enough he could feesibly be brought back in the far future, which is standard comics affair, so I suppose it’s not goodbye, just, until next time you rat bastard.

Conclusion

It’s no Metal Virus arc but man I’ve loved Imposter Syndrome so far. It’s not quite over yet but issue 50 was a very neat wrap up of several plot threads and it was just such a good time.

Can’t wait to see Adrenaline Dubs do it, even if they are way way behind lmao

[taechaos]

Silent Treatment

from Textbook Love drabble series

pairing: bully!Jungkook x nerdy!fem!Reader

genre: drabble, smut, college au

synopsis: Why did you reject him? He’s consumed by his thoughts and theories of your behavior because you didn’t say a single word to him. If your actions were anything to go by, which apparently speak louder than words, you didn’t even want him to touch you.

warnings: slight angst, drugs, arguing, dubcon, cunnilingus, mild degredation

word count: 4.2k

tags: @mwitsmejk @1-in-abillion @kooookie

a/n: the request (contains some spoilers). i'm gonna take a very short break from this couple to write other requests!! hope u enjoy 💗

The shift in the Spring weather is unpredictable. One moment it’s chilly, and the other sunny. Humans can only adapt so much, and it causes an outbreak of common colds. Most people recover easily, handy medicine soothing their sore throats, syrups suppressing coughs, and nose sprays ridding the blockage. You, on the other hand, are not that lucky. With a weak immune system, you’re very careful to not get sick, but there must have been a slip-up because you’ve somehow lost your voice after catching a cold.

You sniffle and cough, but you can’t speak. It’s advised to not exert your vocal cords in cases like these, and that is just so unfortunate for you. The last thing you’d ever want to do is spread your sickness to Jungkook, and that meant not getting too close to him; it meant no kissing. 

A very large white placard is spread out in front of you on the wooden table, and you’re plastering printed images of a specific global issue on it. You’re sitting on a bench with two of your friends as they chatter mindlessly while you work. Jungkook has a project about climate change due in a few days, and it’s supposed to be very important for his final grade. You’ve already written him a script for his presentation along with a stick prop to point at specific pictures. It’s fun, glittery and he’s going to love it. 

“Hey,” Minnie, your friend, calls for you, “we’re going to get some coffee from Starbucks. Want us to get you green tea?”

Soyeon laughs when your eyes light up; it’s your favorite beverage, and it’s supposed to help with your sore throat. They leave with a smile after you give them a hyper nod and you’re alone as you adjust your woolen scarf around your neck. You need to heal as fast as you can so you’re no longer missing your beloved’s affection.

Jungkook has been feeling more inclined to approach you without reason lately, but that doesn’t mean it’s a common occurrence. Getting teased by his friend, specifically Taehyung, about having a sissy crush on a girl like yourself angered him to no end. A hit always got him to shut up, but not for long. He’s walking your way today because there’s no one around to judge him for talking to you. 

You’re tearing a double-sided tape when he sits on your table, carefully avoiding your materials. Your breath hitches as his eyes gloss over your work in progress. “Working hard, I see,” he comments with disinterest. He doesn’t say anything about your efforts, but he’s impressed. The corner of his lip tugs upwards before he leans in for a kiss. You have enough self-control and concern for his well-being over your desires to lean back before your lips make contact. His face is close to yours as he pauses and slightly frowns before trying again. He receives the same results and finally pulls back. 

“You did well,” he frowns at you and speaks as if you’re a child, “I’m praising you.” Your eyes are darting back and forth awkwardly and you don’t know what to do other than sit in silence. You put your hands on his knees as a resort and his frown deepens as he watches you. “I can take a hint, you know. You don’t have to fucking ignore me.” He roughly shoves your hands and stands up before storming off with a scoff. You’re torn between following him and being responsible over your belongings. You can’t let his grades go to waste because of a small misunderstanding, so you decide to text him instead. There’s always a possibility someone might steal his project. Or maybe after he’s cooled off? You delay the message, but somewhere in your heart, you’re satisfied by his reaction because it’s clear that he wanted to kiss you.

Heavy footsteps clomp against the sidewalk before Jungkook slumps on the seat next to Taehyung. It’s an isolated area for smoking students at the back of the campus, and his friend group is no exception to this role. They’re taking drags of cigarettes individually as Jungkook glares at his boots. They’re chunky and a bold black, and his dark outfit paints him as the big bad wolf. It fits, because he’s ready to attack when he’s filled with so much resentment. Why did you reject him? He’s consumed by his thoughts and theories of your behavior because you didn’t say a single word to him. If your actions were anything to go by, which apparently speak louder than words, you didn’t even want him to touch you. It doesn’t make sense, but you also grimaced at him, but then why were you doing his homework? He’s feeling frustrated, and upset all the same.

“Someone’s troubled,” Seokjin points out with a mouthful of smoke. “Kookie?”

Said boy only grunts in response.

“Did the lousy girl finally see you for who you really are and leave you?” Taehyung doesn’t hesitate to mock him with a pout. “Tragic.”

“Shut the fuck up, Tae,” Jungkook spits and sends him a death glare, fire flaming in his fierce eyes. “Go actually talk to a girl or something, and leave me alone. I can’t take your shit right now.”

The low blow doesn’t affect Taehyung in the slightest as he holds up his hands in defence with comically wide eyes. “Relax, tiger.”

“Moving on from Tae’s inability to talk to girls in broad daylight, what’s up with you Kook?” Namjoon butts in, earning a fake cough from the receiving end of the insult.

He pauses for a moment before babbling, “I hate those bitches. My mother for one, couldn’t stand wearing clothes whenever she saw a dude. Moving on from guy to guy, unless they’re a fucking asshole. What do they want? Why are they never fucking satisfied?!”

A moment of silence passes among the huddled friends before Yoongi breaks it with a joke, “Who’s the lucky girl?” It doesn’t land as Jungkook deeply sighs in response. “Did she cheat on you?” he tries again.

“No,” he murmurs.

“Then…?”

“She… I don’t fucking know, she gave me the silent treatment. She leaned away from me too,” he shakes his head with a quiet groan, “it just doesn’t add up. I got mad and left.”

“No way that could’ve ended up badly,” Taehyung chuckles but purses his lips when he’s sent another dirty look.  “How long was the interaction anyway?” 

“Like 30 seconds.”

“Are you coming out tonight?” Yoongi asks and puts out the burning tip of his stick. “Could help you feel better.”

“And we’ve got molly,” Namjoon adds.

“Yeah, fine, whatever.”

Alcohol’s effect on a person differs in moods, and Jungkook is usually a horny drunk. Being a sad drunk is a first for him tonight, but he’s just so confused. It made his heart drop when you outwardly refused his advances and anxiety blossomed in his chest, which he has no idea how to deal with. It kicked in fight or flight instincts, and he just… hated the idea of you not loving him, even if it’s momentary. He can’t bear staying in a situation that makes him feel so insecure, and that feeling is supposed to be left in his childhood. You just about brought out the worst in him without doing anything. 

You didn’t do anything.

It’s 10PM and he’s waiting on your usual good night text that he never responds to. It’s so pathetic, and he hates himself for being so used to your affection that it worries him when he’s deprived of it. He’s never doubted your love for him, but his insecurities are churning his gut. It’s an overflow of all of his pent-up emotions, and he can’t handle it.

“Here,” Taehyung pops in out of nowhere, clutching a pill in his hand. There’s a bottle of water in the other as he holds them out for Jungkook to take. “Stop moping and get laid.”

“I’d say the same to you, but you’d probably start crying during sex,” he mumbles and uncaps the bottle before throwing in the pill and washing it down with the water. “Thanks.”

“See that girl over there?” he ignores him and steps behind his miserable friend to point at the owner of the sultry gaze directed at Jungkook from the bar. “She wants to fuck you. Or maybe me, but I’m passing her onto you.”

“How kind of you,” he sarcastically replies.

“Uh-uh, so you’re gonna be in ecstasy in about 10 minutes. Don’t fuck this up.” He slaps his shoulder before disappearing into the kitchen. It’s a lonesome party because not a lot of people are allowed in when drugs are involved. Causing a ruckus, receiving a noise complaint and then getting arrested is out of the question. 

He isn’t interested in sex with a stranger - not today at least -, but he hopes for it to change as he waits to approach her. Maybe drugs will rile him up enough to have fun with someone else and rid his mind of you. It’s an annoying itch on his brain, so he rests his head against the couch to comfort himself with the soft fabric. He’s sleepy from the beer he drank earlier, and he doesn’t know how time goes by so fast when he closes his eyes.

A few minutes must have passed, because he’s starting to feel dizzy in his seat. A smile carves on his face as his mind grows slightly fogged, and he opens his eyes to find the girl quietly chatting with a friend. When she glances at him, he beckons her to come over. She mouths a “be right back” to her friend before strutting in his direction.

“Hey,” she smiles down at him before sitting on the couch. She’s aristocratic, chic and pretty. “Sorry if I weirded you out earlier.” Her voice is sweet like honey, and her words flow out of her tongue so naturally. A dream girl, really, and Jungkook is starting to get horny.

“I don’t mind,” he reassures with a subtle seductive tone, “what’s a girl like you doing with this crowd? You look too innocent.” He wraps a finger around a strand of her hair and twirls it. It feels strange.

“My friend sent me here, told me to watch over someone,” she lowly speaks. “I’m Soyeon.”

“Nice to meet you, Soyeon,” he breathes before crashing her lips with his. His hand reaches down to grip her thigh, tongue poking out to swipe the sticky gloss. It’s flavored, and it tastes of strawberry. When she kisses him back so slowly, innocently, it turns him on so much. His pants feel tight around his crotch as he runs another hand through her soft hair. Compared to him, she’s passionate whereas he’s sloppy. He’s starting to get dizzier, and it feels so fucking good, but he hates it.

There is not a single reason for him to not enjoy this, not when his mood is lifting so high. The hand on her thigh lands on her cleavage instead and she’s so submissive and shy, but something’s off. He groans into her mouth before biting her lip, ripping a whine out of her. Why does she sound so sexy and annoying?  

He pulls away from her before sighing in irritation. “Fuck, I can’t do this.” 

“Did I do something wrong?” she asks worriedly.

“No, just, fuck.” He starts laughing before rubbing his palms on his eyes, “I really want to fuck, but I just can’t.”

“We can just chat,” she softly suggests. “What’s your name?”

“Jungkook.”

He removes his hands from his face when she goes silent. Her eyes are wide and she’s gaping at him… guiltily? “Crap,” she hisses quietly, “I was supposed to make sure you were okay. My roommate is like, super in love with you and asked me to come here.”

He says your name in a question, wondering if it’s you. When she nods, he asks for your dorm instantly.

“She’s in room 124… Why?”

When he stands up, there’s a sway in his posture but he recovers quickly. There’s an involuntary grin on his face as he thanks her ignorantly. He’s out of the villa in a rush, and he has the overwhelming urge to just run. The campus is a bit far away from the house, but he doesn’t care as his footfalls echo in the dark streets. He has so much energy to waste, and with his current stamina, he’s confident he’ll find you before dawn. It’s stupid but it’s fun, and he doesn’t care for catching his breath as the corner stores pass by him in a blur. 

Throughout the two hours of his reckless jog, where he mixed up directions multiple times, his mind is starting to clear up little by little. He’s happy because of what Soyeon told him, and he feels relieved upon seeing the familiar college building. He’s not allowed in dorms at this time, but he’s done this too many times to get caught. Except he was drunk in those instances, and being on MDMA was different. Sneaking past security was tough because he couldn’t bring himself to tiptoe without making so much noise. When they glanced at him, he thought it to be the only choice to just run past them. He’s in the elevator by the time they catch on, and the numbers look wonky in his eyes but he presses the button for the right floor. 

He’s shifting his weight repeatedly in an attempt to contain his excitement; he wants to see you so bad. The moment he hears the ding of the elevator, he’s running past the halls and stops upon seeing 124. He has to squint, but he knows this is your dorm. 

You wake up with a silent gasp when there’s a pound on the door. You clutch your sheets in fear until someone starts to sing your name. “Jungkook?” you mouth to yourself. You stand up and look through the peephole and there’s a man on the other side who’s bouncing on his feet impatiently.

“Open up,” he sings loudly. You’re worried when you swing the door open and yank him inside so he doesn’t wake up any other students. You try to talk but only a wheeze comes out, so you switch on the light to see him instead. The brightness hurts your eyes as you close them for a few seconds. “Well, well, well, look who we have here…”

He starts to circle around you slowly and stumbles behind you. “Sending people to spy on me after rejecting me like that.” His words are slightly slurred and you turn around to face him with a pout. You point at your throat to give him a hint, but his eyes don’t waver from your pleading ones. “What are your intentions, huh?” he weakly pushes you, “Sending me mixed signals. Who- who do you think you are?”

You hold his hands and place them on your neck, trying to communicate with him by mouthing, “I’m sick,” but he only chuckles. He seems sickeningly joyous, but he’s not over his anger. “Still not going to talk to me? What did I even do?”

You deeply inhale from your nose because he’s not paying attention to you. You’re frustrated with yourself until he yells, “WHY WON’T YOU TALK TO ME?” The surge of serotonin, his state of euphoria is crashing down on him the more you ignore him. He had believed the drug would only make him happy, but it intensified his sadness and anxiety just as much when he saw you. It helped him forget you in a social circle, but you confused him so much after he was reassured for so long - coupled with your silence, he’s raging.

“Why are you ignoring me?! What did I do that was so bad that you can’t bear talking to me anymore? You told me you loved me, please,” he chokes and tries to swallow the lump in his throat. “I-I’ll make it up to you, I’m so sad right now. Just say something…”

You’re watching him in shock and a hint of fear from his fluctuating mood. You want to cry at how pitiful he looks, but instead you aim to grab a piece of paper from your bedside table. He misreads your actions and pushes you against the wall. “Stop this. Stop!” He has your arms pinned and he’s trying so hard to intimidate you so you give in. A dry sob leaves you because he's going mad, but then he has a sudden epiphany. “Maybe you’ll love me again if I fuck you hard enough and engrave it in your brain that you’re mine. Yes, yes!”

He starts unbuckling his belt and you immediately try to stop him; he’ll get sick! He shoves you again and pulls down his jeans before mashing his mouth against yours. All of your efforts have gone to waste when his tongue forces its way down your throat. There’s no point to denying him now, so you hesitantly kiss him back. You’re so guilty, and he’s so careless as he roughly pushes his hand down your white cotton shorts. You’re wearing a navy blue sweater to match so you don’t get cold in the night, but the shorts are meant to prevent a fever. What’s the point now, then? He hasn’t even read your texts that you only remembered to send before sleeping. He missed a whole paragraph of your explanation and confronted you so angrily.

“I’m going to fuck you all night,” he growls against your lips, “then you’ll remember how much you love me.” Your moans are quiet and hitched as he presses down on your clit through your panties. His other hand is on his cock as he strokes it eagerly, ready to get inside you. “I missed you so fucking much in one day,” he whispers in a croak. Hearing it makes you feel even warmer inside as you nudge his hand to urge him to enter you. “You missed me too, huh?” he takes notice of your neediness. “Shouldn’t have fucking brought it upon yourself then.”

He removes his hand from your shorts and taps your thighs before demanding, “Jump.” You bite your lip in consideration until he taps them harder and you quickly wrap your legs around his waist. Your shorts are relatively short, resembling loose boxers, so when your back is pressed against the wall he only pushes them and your underwear to the side before thrusting into you. A scream gets caught in your throat, and you forget all about your aches as he roughly fucks into you without caring for protection or lube. It stings only slightly, but the pleasure in feeling so full of him outweighs the pain.

Jungkook is moaning and groaning as he bruises your thighs in his hold. Your panting is all he can catch, and though the feeling of you is an amplified sensation because of the drug coursing in his system, he wants to hear you chant his name as well. “Still quiet?” he tuts and carries you to your narrow bed and you cling onto his shoulder while trying to catch your breath after the sudden attack. “Your cunt is throbbing though,” he says as he pulls out of you and drops you on the bed. He manhandles you by flipping you on your stomach and holds up your ass. He finally takes off your bottom clothing, but he’s slightly dizzy as he yanks them off your ankles. He spreads your thighs apart and you’re on your knees with your head against the mattress. “I wonder why that is,” he says before slapping your pussy, making you whimper quietly. “So wet, yet you don’t even make a sound. Some whore you are.” You purse your lips and muster a whine, but it’s interrupted when he pistons his cock inside you without warning. Your sounds are hoarse as he pounds into you from the back, hands kneading your ass to the shape of his hands. He gives it a spank as he moans loudly; the new position makes it feel so much more intense, and Jungkook loves it. His ears finally get to hear your pathetic mewls as he thrusts so deeply inside you that your vision blurs with tears and your eyes roll to the back of your skull. You feel like a doll that can’t speak or move, and he’s evidently enjoying it going by his rushed pace. You’re challenging him with your silence, and he loves proving himself.

All of a sudden however, he stops moving. You look behind you with a pout and he quirks a brow at you. You grit your teeth because you know he's waiting for you to tell him to continue, or rather daring you to do something. A sudden surge of confidence overcomes you and you gently slam your hips against his, fucking yourself on his cock with your eyes screwed shut.

“Yes, baby,” he strains, “show me that you're still my good girl.” At his encouragement, you meet his thrusts faster and you're seeing stars at how amazing it feels. You want to be his good girl so bad, and you arch your back to savour the pleasure. “Your pussy is mine, all mine,” he affirms to himself and stills your hips to turn you around without removing his length. His fingers are digging into your flesh and your tits bounce under the fabric as he rams into you restlessly. Your mouth is open in a silent scream and he can barely make out your pupils, the whites of your eyes stirring his climax at how attractive you look under the poor lighting. “I love you so fucking much,” he cries, “say it back, baby.”

You try to, but you can only dryly cough. “You fucking bitch,” he hisses at your defiance and pulls out of you to pump his length. He’s close to his release, and he pushes up your sweater to see your hard nipples that make him salivate. He crawls to slide his cock between the valley of your breasts and it hurts when he harshly pushes them together. “Stick out your tongue,” he commands in a whisper, and you do so while panting like a dog. Every time he thrusts upwards, the tip of his head grazes your tongue and leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. He’s massaging your tits as he stutters between whines, and eventually his load spurts out to land on your chest and cheek with a particularly loud groan. His cum surges down his shaft as he rides out his high with the last slow thrusts. 

“Oh fuck,” he sighs airily and collapses next to you in the tiny space available. You clumsily turn on your side to give him more room and he pecks your swollen lips. He zips his pants back up and you’re still naked from the waist down. You’re staring at each other adoringly in the romantic, fragile atmosphere; another first.

“I love you,” you croak finally. It’s quieter than a whisper, and it makes you cringe at how hideous you sound; it’s painful as well.

His face lights up once he registers your words before noticing the tone. “What happened to your voice?”

“Sick.” You can’t bring yourself to say anything more as you snuggle into his side and he instinctively wraps an arm around your shoulders.

“Shit,” he murmurs, “why didn’t you tell me that sooner, idiot?”

You slap a hand on his front pocket where his phone is, and he hastily takes it out to see a bunch of notifications from you. “You sent it at night, you’re still the idiot.” You giggle and roll your eyes. “A promise is a promise, though,” he purrs before cupping your bare heat. “I did say I would fuck you all night.” You widen your eyes when his head lowers down to face your sopping wet cunt, and he slowly licks up a stripe over your soaked folds, making you shudder and grip his hair. He’s leaving kitty licks all over your sensitivity, the tip of his tongue lightly brushing against your clit every now and then. Your hips lift involuntarily, and he finally takes your clit in his mouth and sucks on it loudly. He slurps your arousal before spitting it back on your hood, and you can only squeak in response. Your hazed mind only tells you that you want more, and he doesn’t fail to provide.

Two fingers enter your clenching hole, and he’s scissoring your walls as he messily eats you out. The pleasure from earlier returns all too soon and you know you won’t be able to last long. His lids are hooded when you glance down at him and the way he’s looking at you makes it even harder to resist your orgasm. The knot in your stomach picks back up right before unraveling and your moan is raspy as you start twitching under his relentless mouth. He grows gentle and leaves kisses all over your vulva until your body falls limp on the sheets.

After another round of penetrative sex, the two of you fall asleep from exhaustion in your bed. It’s a first for the both of you, and Jungkook decides in his drunken mind that tonight won’t be the last. It feels so intimate when he cuddles you, and you won’t ever forget his love confession.

The next morning is not so pleasant however, as Jungkook wakes up with a loud sneeze and in his now nasal voice says, “God fucking damn it.”

[thattimdrakeguy]

I Think They’re Wasting Timber.

Ech. I don’t want to be more negative, ‘cause like, I don’t normally have that kind of energy in me anymore most of the time, despite making several negative posts the past couple days. But I am genuinely disappointed in the latest Tim special. I haven’t read it, but I seen enough already to know that it was just a pandering mess. Like you don’t really have to read the whole thing sometimes when you’re main worry can be seen within like two or three pages so much so that it’s actually depressing.

Fictional or not I thought Timber was going to be more than what it’s shown to be. I really only think Travis Moore put any meaning into the Timber relationship to give it any depth. That and of course the fans.

Like I want them to just stop pretending that Tim and Steph’s relationship was more than it was. Like they didn’t get along. They been doing it again and again for ages now. It’s not like it’s good for Steph either to be reduced to Tim’s love interest that’s ‘quirky’. They are two separate characters. It comes off as ridiculous after a while. They didn’t have a healthy relationship, just writers that would pretend like it. Let them fucking move on already. Not everything needs a cutesy, softie, happy ending, at least not when it feels so ignorant to their own past. Like regardless if people think it was Tim or Steph that was worse, it seems like most people that read more than just what the fandom usually knows (’Cause, comics be hard to find, and some people don’t wanna pirate) can agree that they weren’t a good couple.

4 stories and only one of them actually focuses on them as a couple, and it wasn’t written by the usual writer. That gives me a bad feeling.

And something about the way they wrote Bernard just made him feel so trivial. Like they don’t try to draw him to look like himself at all, like you’d never guess that’s him unless you saw how the same artist drew him before, he has no importance, they definitely aren’t writing him to have a personality, he’s just a generic civilian. And the way it’s written...it seriously doesn’t feel like Tim gives his relationship with Steph any actual weight compared to how the writer wrote Tim and Steph. Something about that was genuinely heartbreaking to me. A few lines and it made it feel like Bernard was just a test he was using to see what his sexuality was. In a fucking pride special no less. It sort of made the whole fucking thing feel pretty little.

And Steph’s mostly just portrayed as “quirky”. Like I’ve talked a lot about why I don’t like Tim and Steph’s relationship, and how I don’t like Dixon’s weird shoving her in treatment. But I do like her character. She has angles, and edges that make her stand out. They’re just never used, that’s why I sound so upset whenever I talk about her, she’s been wasted for over 20 years. Even when she got a solo they didn’t bother using much of her character to do anything interesting. They make her so typical it gets on my nerves. Her issue in Y.J. was the best content of her in years because it actually showed more sides to her, and made her feel like what made her compelling to begin with. And she doesn’t need to be mad at the time. But this constant portrayal of her, feels condescending. It is not her. Literally just let them move on, and let her do stuff that doesn’t feel like they never paid attention to her before.

Like who wants a story that feels like it was written by someone who only heard about the characters?

I know people will like it ‘cause it’s fluffy and queer content. Which I get, completely. The fans, they care. Care so much they’ll take anything, which isn’t a bad thing. People will simply like what they like, and don’t like what they don’t like.

But I don’t think this upcoming story is very well-crafted or well-done content. It’s so simplified and dumbed down, that it’s condescending too. It felt like a lot of it was spent trying to validate the writer’s ship over making anything resembling a compelling story. It was honestly like a lazy fan fic. Which really sucked, ‘cause I thought Sum of Our Parts, despite a part of it being so unnecessarily edgy out of no where, was actually a well-done story despite how short it had to run due to the formatting of Urban Legends. And fan fics have proven you don’t need a lot to have a lot of space to have a lot of character and depth.

Travis Moore’s story was super well-done too, so maybe I got my hopes up too much. I have no interest in one dimensional fluff, that doesn’t give a damn about it’s characters, past cutesy stuff that didn’t land the mark characterization wise. When his story when it was cutesy, worked, because it felt right. It had character in it that felt right.

I’m still into Timber, but I was really hoping it’d actually BE something. There’s fan fictions that only last a single chapter with more character work that represents Tim and Bernard WAY better, and it’s literally amateur writers doing it for fun, they’re not even allowed to get paid for it.

Like I’m so annoyed with how little Bernard matters. It honestly might as well have not been Bernard at this point. It’s not even really him. It’s a puppet with his name. And that’s making me so upset. I’m genuinely not mad really. I’m a bit frustrated, but honestly I’m just sad. Not like, crying sad, but I feel so lowly after seeing the spoilers. Tim mostly managed to avoid the lifeless fan service sort of stuff, but now that he’s stuck in it now, it has me bummed beyond belief.

There’s been FOUR stories with Bernard as Tim’s boyfriend now. Only one got his character right, and he had like 3 lines in that story. That’s so stupid. I’m beside myself right now FOUR STORIES, and he’s mostly a NOTHING CHARACTER. The most depth their relationship had WAS IN THE TRAVIS MOORE STORY. It’s like he’s the only one of the two writers that actually gave a shit beside both feeling like Tim was queer, which is cool, he’s definitely had that energy. But I’m not even convinced it was for the reason’s everyone else saw. I think it was just done ‘cause of shipping and not actually seeing many of the signs.

Like you feel like it’s Bernard in his lines. It captures the tone, his expressions capture his personality. And he’s drawn to look like himself and not a stereotype. You can feel a genuine love between two characters, that make it work. Not the coldest of it feeling like it’s a background thing that doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. Of only dating him to figure yourself out--which I don’t think is the total thing they wanted to come across as in the latest story. But when Tim’s ex is presented with more importance despite their history, and Bernard for two stories in a row by the same writer is tucked into the background doing nothing but--well, not even being drawn to resemble himself. It’s hard not to feel like it.

And I’m still happy Tim is queer. But it’s honestly the fans giving it any meaning beside Travis Moore so far. It feels pretty meaningless in the comics themselves, and it’s making me sad now. Like the person who’s going to be Tim’s main writer going forward so far as gave no actual shits about the queer relationship beyond it starting. It’s just a thing Tim’s involved with. It feels weightless under her writing.

[firelxdykatara]

how are you gonna talk about shitty writing when you genuinely believe that katara should've become the pocahontas to zuko's john smith? come on now. shipping zutara is one thing, but you can't ignore the colonial connotations of a native girl becoming an oppressor's arm candy, no matter how well-intentioned that oppressor is. fire lady katara is such a gross idea.

the truth is, the only reason you give a fuck about katara is because you want her to be with zuko. otherwise your entire blog wouldn't be dedicated to the idea of her as fire lady. you do. not. care. about. katara. at all. and putting down healers in the middle of the worst global pandemic in 100 years is so shitty, selfish, and short-sighted.

that’s a whole lot of words you’re trying to shove in my mouth there, bud!

unfortunately for you, i’m not about to choke on them.

the thing is, first of all, that it is deeply fucking insulting (and probably highkey racist) of you to attempt to compare Pocahontas and John Smith--real people, who actually existed, and whose story (both the real one, and the fictionalized and romanticized account given in the Disney movie) bears absolutely no resemblance to AtLA in the slightest respect--to Katara and Zuko, fictional characters from a fictional universe who never existed and, again, have nothing in common with the colonial narrative you’re trying to impose on them. I really shouldn’t have to explain to you why trying to compare a genuine colonialist ‘the colonists aren’t that bad actually, see, that native girl fell in love with one’ story (which was based on a false account the white man in question continued to perpetuate long after Matoaka’s death, when she could no longer refute it) to a fantasy where the bad guys lost and Zuko was very deliberately set up to be a good leader and lead them into an age of peace, kindness, and love is like.... tone deaf at fucking best lmfao

if you can’t understand that, then there’s really no helping you.

secondly, you’re the one insisting that ‘the native girl become the oppressor’s arm candy’. that’s your narrative, not mine, and it certainly has no place in my interpretation of canon nor in any of my fanworks. in everything i write and the way i conceive zutara, katara is zuko’s equal in every way that matters--she’s an ambassador with a hand in global politics long before she and zuko get married, and she helps shape the world every bit as much as zuko and aang do as the land begins to heal from the aftermath of the war. there’s nothing ‘arm candy’ about that, and zuko is not her oppressor in any measurable or meaningful sense.

frankly, he isn’t during the show either, except insofar as he is part of the oppressor nation--which is a fair point but, again, the fire nation ceases to be an oppressive power after the end of the war. (no, the comics don’t count. they are badly written and make no sense, so i’ve elected to ignore them entirely. if you can’t, or if you refuse to, then a) that’s your problem, not mine, and b) maybe tell me why you’re so concerned about katara allegedly being zuko’s arm candy but you don’t care when the narrative makes her aang’s) so your assertion that i don’t care about katara really doesn’t mean much to me, since it’s very clear to me that i care about her a whole hell of a lot more than you do.

i care about katara enough to want her to have narrative agency in her romantic relationships. i care about katara enough to want her to actually have a hand in shaping the world, rather than being reduced to ‘the Avatar’s girl’ and contributing absolutely nothing of any meaningful value to the world we see in LoK. i care enough about katara to want her achievements recognized by the world. (aka where is katara’s fucking statue you assholes) i care about katara enough to want her to have a story and a life that is her own, rather than being reduced to a footnote in history because she had the Avatar’s children and that’s the only thing anyone really remembers her for. i care enough about katara to want her to be able to attend important events in her family’s lives (like, oh, her granddaughter’s Air Master ceremony) and to be able to protect her family rather than sitting back and not lifting a finger while they are in grave danger or her people are on the verge of tearing themselves apart.

as for the dig about healers, like....what???? when have i ever disparaged healing or put down healers lmfao. like, projection, much? i’ve never said a single bad word about healing--what i have said is that katara being relegated to the healing huts and nothing else (she isn’t allowed to go save her family even though zuko and toph are just as old as she is and they get to protect their families; she isn’t allowed to go to her granddaughter’s Air Master ceremony, the single most important event in an airbender’s life; she isn’t allowed to so much as raise her voice when her tribe is on the verge of entering into a catastrophic civil war (so much for katara being a respected matriarch of the tribe); she isn’t even allowed to heal a single significant injury throughout the course of the entire show, not even the one caused by bloodbending, despite allegedly being the greatest healer in the world) is a disservice to her character, especially since she’s the one who said ‘i don’t want to heal, i want to fight!’

i’ve said again and again that i wouldn’t have a problem with katara dedicating her life to being a wife, a mother, and a healer, if that weren’t all she would ever be known for. some minor lipservice is paid to katara ‘training two avatars’, and to being part of the gaang who saved the world, and even to getting bloodbending outlawed, but throughgout the entirety of LoK none of her accomplishments matter to the story even a little bit. and don’t give me that ‘it wasn’t her story’ bullshit, because there was certainly enough room for the old men in the white lotus back during atla to kick ass and take names and have pride in their accomplishments. king bumi was 112 for fuck’s sake! so don’t give me ‘katara was too old’ either. she wasn’t. bryke just didn’t give a shit about her.

and evidently you don’t either. don’t let the door hit you in your ass on the way out.

[rollflasher]

So, after the seeing the little discourse caused by that one moment in Rise of the Wisp, I think it’s appropiate to give my two cents on something that I’ve seen going on in the fandom regarding how the characters are portrayed in the series.

This is talking from my personal perspective and how I see things so I don’t believe this is an absolute truth, but I’ve noticed that fans have been more lenient to defend the actions the characters do even if they’re OoC, this has happened particularly to Sonic ever since IDW made some...questionable writing choices.

All I have to say is...look, Sonic is my favorite character of all time, I adore him and nothing is gonna change that, however, just because he’s my favorite doesn’t mean I’m gonna turn a blind eye whenever he’s poorly written even if it’s just a moment, and the same goes for the rest of the characters.

Something that I found interesting is that in the case of the IDW comics, I noticed that while the characters eventually pull a lot of OoC moments, they act superficially in-character or to make it more simple, they don’t act quite in-character but we don’t have quotes like ‘’Baldy McNosehair’’ and therefore fans have less of an issue because they don’t associate the writing with Pontaff, the same thing could be said for the half-late 2000s games, which had quite some serious problems with flanderization but apparently they’re not as bad because they’re more ‘’serious’’, 06 is an eggregious case of this where yeah, you got good things such as Shadow’s portrayal...then you got a load of poor characterization such as Sonic acting as a generic hero with the dimension of a cardboard box.

And I know some are going to ask ‘’But what’s so bad about some OoC moments if the rest of the writing is good? Aren’t you being too nitpicky? At least it’s not Pontaff’’ but here’s the thing, if we have this mentality of letting characterization issues slide because they’re not Pontaff, then all we’re doing is creating a snowball of issues that are gonna pile up sooner or later until they crash and cause a disaster, otherwise try asking Sonic Adventure DX and all the problems it’s been carrying port after port and how the result is the game having a much more negative perception than what it deserves. Flynn’s questionable takes on the characters are proof of that and don’t be surprised if at one point we got something worse than Pontaff because of that mentality.

Just because some fans critisize how the characters are written, even if it involves some brief moments, doesn’t mean we’re saying ‘’Oh! Sonic didn’t say ‘You’re too slow’! Therefore it’s BAD!’’, but rather it means that we care enough about the series to point out it’s flaws so it can be better, just because a product has it’s flaws doesn’t mean it’s automatically shit. (For instance, the Mania Adventures shorts are great but I legitimally consider the ending underwhelming and I still criticize Classic Sonic being mute, yet I’m not going out of my way to claim they’re shit because of that am I?). Besides, when it comes to criticizing the modern games, the fandom always preaches that they don’t want to settle for mediocrity and that’s why they’re so harsh with games like Forces, and that’s fine and all, but if we get selective with what kind of mediocrity we want to criticize, then I don’t believe the fandom is being critical, it’s just choosing which mediocrity it likes and sticking to that.

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About "Hunting Palismans" From The Owl House

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

Today, I present to you reason #4,693 for why The Owl House is the best thing at the moment: It's the perfect balance of serialized storytelling with an episodic format. The story always moves forward with an exact order for how episodes should be watched, but each episode still functions as its own standalone tale. Having prior knowledge of what happened before adds more to the experience, but you can still watch whatever you want and still have an enjoyable time. Take "Hunting Palismans," for example. It adds so much more to the overarching narrative while slightly continuing other threads. But it's still something you can watch as is without remembering the past or wondering about the future.

However, to properly explain how requires spoilers. I wasn't kidding when I say that this episode adds so much, so you're going to want to be wary of that when you continue reading.

With that said, let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

Coven Heads Meeting: We already saw these fellow schmucks in the trailer, but that doesn't take away how cool they are! It's not explicitly stated which head belongs to which coven, but you can already tell who goes where just from their designs alone. And I love that. I love that just by showing us some excellent character designs, anybody with half a brain can already figure out the particular type of magic each Coven Head specializes in. It's a perfect example of the show-don't-tell level of storytelling that is always at its best through animation, and I'm all for it because of it.

What the Day of Unity is: Several fans, myself included, have already speculated that the Day of Unity was that Emperor Belos planned to combine the human world with the Boiling Isles and rule it all with an iron fist. That being said, figuring it out is one thing, but being told that it's true is a whole different level pants-s**ting horror that I AM NOT READY FOR! Even when it's going to happen, I can assure you that I will not be prepared to witness it ...and I am scared of when it does.

Belos Body Horror: ...Disney, I was already scared s**tless of this guy. I DO NOT NEED THIS!

That being said, seeing Belos do...whatever the f**k that was, helps explain further why he needs the magic in palismans. I always assumed because it's like fuel for a car, giving him the power he needs. Now, even though the answer is more apparent, there are still some questions to be had. Is he cursed, and the magic keeps it at bay like Eda's potions? Or did he experiment with the wrong type of magic, and the palismans keep him stable? Only the future can say for sure...and I'm also not prepared for the answers from that either.

Golden Guard is Belos’ Nephew: Gosh dangit, THE INTRO HASN'T EVEN STARTED YET, AND THIS EPISODE IS ALREADY GIVING SO MUCH!

But, yeah, the most powerful witch on the Isles is apparently Golden Boy's Grunkle Belos. That very knowledge is incredibly interesting to discuss while presenting possibilities for future narratives. I don't know about you, but I see the Golden Guard going down the path of Zuko, learning that the magic of friendship is worth much more than whatever power he gains from being Belos' nephew. And possibly earning his uncle's love seeing how he's the only family he has. It's a situation that's vastly different from Amity's because even when she defies her parents, she'll still have Edric and Emira at the end of the day. For Golden Guard, knowing that he lost a great family to wild magic, the inclination to go against Belos is a lot weaker due to him being all he has left.

Oh, and also, Belos' family getting wiped out because of wild magic. Yeah, not only does that give the best type of motivation for Belos' distaste for it, but it also explains the Golden Guard's hesitance to use it. He's inclined to so he can save his uncle, sure. It's only the fact that he knows what happens with wild magic that causes some resistance...Also, we're less than a minute in, and I'm already getting all of this from one discussion between two characters.

HOW IS THIS SHOW SO GOOD?!

Intro Changes: It's about time too. It seems weird that the crew waited to change Eda and King's designs in the intro this late in the game, but it also tells me that Amity dying her hair lavender is the last huge change this season will present. Otherwise, why change the intro at all if you were going to alter Luz, Willow, and Gus' designs anyway? It just doesn't make sense to me.

Luz Keeping the Echo Mouse as a Pet: The fact that she keeps the most important creature in the world to her as a pet...it's...it's adorable, alright? And as we established several times, I cannot hate adorable things.

Don't judge me!

Amity Staying Home: There are two plausible ways why Amity didn't go to school that day. Either she's getting punished for dying her hair or because she's trying to avoid Luz so they won't talk about the you-know-what. Either could work and seem understandable to Luz, thus explaining why she admits how "that makes sense." Although, there is something to discuss in how Luz is curious as to where Amity is. Judging from the tone of her voice, it's pretty clear that she wants to talk about the little peck on the cheek and maybe get some confirmation as to what it means. Because there is no going back from that. You can explain away saying or doing something stupid, but you cannot un-kiss a cheek. That is a point of no return, and if Amity really is avoiding Luz because of it, that means it's up to our favorite weirdo to make the first move. As for what that may entail...we'll just have to wait and see.

Frewin: We get two bits of information here for the price of one reveal here. Knowing that Frewin is a palisman is shocking enough, but the knowledge that Bump is partially blind and needs Frewin to see? That is an intriguing piece of intel that I would have never expected to get revealed. This is reason #5,279 for what makes The Owl House so good. Even when the show presents information you wouldn't guess, it's all so interesting anyways that you can't help but go along with it.

Adopting Palismans: First of all, love the fact that the Bat Queen makes a return to provide a solution to the palisman trees being rare and solving her own problem regarding the discarded palismans. It's a situation where everyone wins in a way that is so clever that I can't help but admire it.

Second, the idea of students choosing to adopt palismans instead is cute. I'd say it gives further insight into who these characters are in how they say what they want to be, but there's nothing really new added that fans couldn't figure out from the get go. But I will say that it's pretty cool to know that these characters have official staffs now. Speaking of which, if you're upset that their palismans don't match up with your headcanons...grow up.

This was a cute and smartly written scene that should not be bogged down by whiney fans who can't accept a series doing something different from what they expect.

Little Rascal: I’d take a bullet for this bird. That is all.

Luz Being Uncertain of her Future: A lot of fans offer several ideas of what the future could look like for Luz. Will she stay in the Boiling Isles? In Connecticut? Or will she go back and forth? We don't know, but one question we rarely brought up is what does Luz want? More specifically, what does she want to do? After everything Luz went through, the adventures she's gone on, and the lessons learned, what is something that Luz wants her future to be? That's an answer she doesn't really figure out, and I'm genuinely ok with that being a question that's tabled for another day. Most kids who ask that question themselves aren't always going to find an answer after a short amount of time and sometimes even need to spend their lives trying to figure it out. So having it be something Luz has to consider and probably find out in a future episode is the smarter option, as it allows time for it to simmer in her own mind and provides more insight into her character. As stated several times in this episode, she doesn't think things through, so it's nice that the writers finally allowed her some time to wonder what's next when the adventure is over.

Luz Having to Improvise Without Paper Glyphs: You want to know what my favorite Spider-Man moments are (this is relevant. Trust me). My favorite moments are when Spidey's web-shooters run out of fluid, and he's forced to improvise with that big brain of his to find a solution. That's sort of what happens with Luz in "Hunting Palismans." She didn't bring her glyphs with her (why would she), so she's forced to use the environment around her to make new ones. Plus, Luz also flexes her knowledge of the Boiling Isles by mixing her glyphs with a magical plant (which Willow certainly told her about) so that she and the Golden Guard could knock out Kikimora's dragon. It's yet another showcase of her intelligence that a lot of fans are too keen to overlook. Unfortunate to see, too, because looking at how well Luz can craft the perfect solutions by fighting smarter, not harder, is a fantastic add-on to her personality. I love characters who win through their wits rather than their raw powers, and I once again hope more people will catch onto that aspect of her too.

Golden Guard Whistling the Theme: Look, I love it when a show acknowledges its own theme song, ok? Leave me alone.

Luz and the Golden Guard: This is one of those dynamics you didn't know you wanted until you have it. And now that I have it, I DEMAND MORE!

Seriously, seeing these two interact off of each other was a ton of fun to watch. When Luz and GG are initially at each other's throats, their threats and mockery towards one another aren't out of spiteful anger between two mortal enemies. It's more like...two siblings who get on each other's nerves yet are supposed to deal with one another. It's equally adorable and hilarious, and yes, I absolutely loved that they're forced to work together in this episode because of it.

Although, while the entertainment value is fantastic, it also adds more proof of why Luz is the best character in the series. She spends one night with this guy, and that's more than what she needed to make a difference with him. I wouldn't go so far as to say that they're buddies now, but Luz definitely sowed the seeds into his redemption. He's far from willing to join her side, but he still does something he rarely does with anyone else: He told her that his name is Hunter. And this is what Luz does. Through nearly every person she meets on the Boiling Isles, she always manages to change them for the better. It'll be a while before Hunter deflects from Belos, but if Amity proves anything, Luz has a way of sneaking into people's hearts. They just need to spend more time with one another, and I can't wait to see what happens next because of it.

Kikimora Wanting to Kill Hunter: This shows a lot about who Kikimora is, but it potentially proves just how dysfunctional the Emperor's Coven can be. If Kiki proves anything, the coven must be filled with people willing to backstab and cheat their way to get on Emperor Belos' good side. Just look at Lilith. She literally cursed her own sister just to get in and received all the rewards because of it. The Emperor's Coven may be the best choice for witches to do magic, but if you're surrounded by people you can't trust, then is it really worth it?

The Guards Not Knowing Who Hunter is: This helps add to how much of a big deal it is for Hunter to reveal his name to Luz. If people can't even recognize his face, there's a chance it means that he keeps his true identity a secret except for those in his inner circle.

And the coven guards brushing off his brand is more than believable to me. They may be aware that Belos' right hand is young, but teens will be teens. Anybody with enough artistic talent can fake a brand. So it isn't too far off for those two to think Hunter was just a kid pulling a prank.

Hunter is Powerless Without his Staff: Not much to say here. It's just some more neat insight into Hunter's character that makes me wonder if even Belos' magic is real magic.

But I will say this: The fact that Hunter comes from a lineage of powerless witches, well, who's to say that isn't because of a...certain ancestor?

(*Cough* Hunter is related to Philip *Cough*)

Hunter vs Kiki: A pretty well-animated fight scene that adds potential drama to the story for the future. Now that Kikimora knows that Hunter helped Luz escape with the palismans (albeit unwillingly), she may or may not hold that over his head when the time comes. Or, at the very least, decides to keep a closer eye on him whenever he makes a slip-up.

Eda and King Getting Luz her own Palisman Wood: These last two weeks have been severely lacking in the Eda and King department, but scenes like this more than make up for it. Those two have formed such a bond with Luz to the point where they would do the impossible if it meant she would feel better. It proves just how much of a family they all are and the lengths they would go for each other. After all, weirdos have to stick together.

Little Rascal going to Hunter: Hunter is right. That was surprising.

Given how much Little Rascal stuck by Luz, I was more than positive that she would be the one he chose. So seeing Little Rascal pick Hunter instead is a much nicer twist. There could be multiple reasons why, and I'm just going to leave that to the analyzers in this fandom to decide. Especially since the answer isn't really all that important.

So, instead, I'm going to go ahead and sit in the corner as I wOrRy AbOuT tHe DaY tHaT bElOs FiNdS lItTlE rAsCal!

IT'S GONNA HAPPEN! AND I SWEAR TO ALL THAT IS HOLY, IF THE WRITERS KILL HIM, I WILL NOT BE HAPPY!

WHAT I DISLIKED

First, there's...um...

Well, there was this...

Ok, as much as I liked--No, that turned out well anyways...

…

...

...I've got nothing.

I, honest to goodness, have no complaints about "Hunting Palismans" Not even the tiniest of nitpicks I would usually ignore due to how well-executed everything else was.

It's all written fantastically to the point where it's...perfect.

IN CONCLUSION

"Hunting Palismans" is an easy A+. It introduces even more plot threads, gives insight into characters, and despite being essential to the story, it still manages to be a fun episode all on its own. And, I'd go so far as to say that it's one of the best, if not the best, episodes in the series. There's nothing bad about it, and that surprises me. I rarely find nothing bad to say about any story, even the ones I enjoy greatly. I'm sure there are some flaws that others would be more than happy to point out, but why bother hunting for the imperfections when I could accept that, for once, an episode is simply perfect.

(And that’s six hits in a row...THAT STINKER IS GOING TO HAPPEN! It hasn’t happened yet, BUT IT’S GOING TO HAPPEN! I CAN FEEL IT!)

[canonicallysoulmates]

Just saw your post about the post phase 1 Marvel movies and the meme you used for CA:CW. So I'm here to ask and get you cancelled. What did you think about the movie? Are you Team Stark or Team Rogers?

........................................................I knew this day would come......okay, let's get me cancelled!

I hate this movie, I hate this movie with every fiber of my being. Watching it was torture, it as the longest 20hrs of my life. It was like living out one of those very confusing math problems I started this movie at 10am somehow 6pm rolls around and there are still 2hrs left! Coño cómo?! I watched this with my mom, and when we checked how much time was left we were left looking at each other like 'que carajo what twilight zone bullshit is this?' It's one of those Marvel movies that I am so glad I did not waste my money on, I wish I could get a refund for my time but I made my choice and I shall now have to deal with it.

I hate this movie for many reasons but I'm not gonna make y'all wait any longer for what you're really here for because I know what y'all really want to know is whether I am Team Iron Man or Team Captain America. When it comes to the political aspects ie. the Accords, I am Team Neither.

Now, I cannot get into a comprehensive debate about the Accords because the writers did a shitty ass job, in a 2 and a 1/2 hour movie that felt like a lifetime, at explaining what exactly the Accords are in the movie universe. Emphasis on the movie universe, because I have seen debates go on in this motherfucking fandom where some people will bring up aspects from the comics Registration Acts but we're not talking about the comics okay, we're talking about the movies! And they're two fucking different things! And the movie did a shitty ass job at explaining what the Accords are, and that's one of the reasons I hate this movie: that it's so badly written.

But back to the point, which is where I stand on the teams when it comes to the politics, I am Team Neither because ultimately they were both idiots on how they handled this, and I think they both have good points like yes the Avengers and other superheroes should 100% be held accountable if they fuck up, the fact that they are superheroes and the "good guys" doesn't mean that their actions shouldn't have consequences but at the same time Steve's mistrust of the government and concerns that the team and others could be weaponized are also valid so I think they both have good points when it comes down to it and the smart thing to do - and in my opinion what would have made a much better film- would have been to come together and make like a counterproposal, decide on amendments, try to ensure they can get a representative so they have a voice on the table.

So, there you go when it comes to the Accords I am Team Neither however when it comes to the characters and their actions I am 1,000% Team Tony. At the end of the day he wanted to do what was best for both people and for his team, he wanted to keep the team together because he knew they were stronger together, and he was thinking long term not short term.

And then there's Steve who is an asshole in this film and completely lacks self awareness, cause there's a scene in the film after they've found out about the Accords where Steve goes "that's because he already made up his mind" about Tony and I'm just like bitch so did you, pot meet kettle, Rogers you knew from the get go that you weren't going to sign those papers don't go acting different and then like- here's the thing Steve has some very good points when it comes to the Accords but one of his points is that the UN is filled with people with agendas and agendas change which true but also motherfucker you yourself have an agenda! The whole Sokovia mess is an example that they cannot be trusted to hold themselves or each other accountable because inevitably the time will come where they'll want to protect their team mate like we see in this movie Steve do with Bucky, or how he wanted to protect Wanda because he looks at her as if she were a child not an adult. Steve, you lot are not exempt from having your own agendas and biases.

And through pretty much the entire movie, he has this whole my way or the highway attitude like this man does not know the meaning of compromise in this film, and he has such tunnel vision for Bucky- and listen! listen, listeeeeeen, I get it, I don't judge Steve for making his bestie a priority; I understand that Bucky is incredibly important to Steve, that he's the one person who's gonna look at him as just Steve and not as the Steve Rogers, I get that he carries a guilt over what happened to his friend, I understand he misses him, I understand all of that and respect the ride or die game but goddamn he was so focused on being a good friend to Bucky that he forgot about everyone and everything else and was a shit friend to Tony.

Actually a lot of people in this film were shit to Tony for no goddamn reason but Steve was such a shitty friend not telling Tony about his parents, that was a shitty ass thing to do and listen! I know what some of y'all are thinking you're thinking some version of 'he wanted to protect Tony' shut the fuck up. No, no, that's an excuse and it's a cheap one, you know damn well that was a shitty thing for Steve to do and y'all know damn well you would have reacted the same way Tony did if someone who you thought was your goddamn friend knew about something horrible that happened to people that were important to you and they never told you; that kind of shit hurts, and finding out someone you thought of as a friend doesn't care about you as much as you care about them hurts.

And y'all know goddamn well how emotions work, you know emotions aren't gonna wait for the rational brain to kick in don't some of y'all go playing dumb as if you didn't know this shit. Same way deep down all of y'all know Tony was holding his punches, that man gave Thanos a fight and got some blood if he had wanted to kill Bucky he would have. Don't none of y'all motherfuckers try to play games and act like you don't know this info.

Steve was a shit friend to Tony. Period. The least he could have done is have some empathy or compassion towards Tony when he saw his parent's being killed- and I swear to motherfucking god to the person who is getting close to their keyboard thinking of saying he showed compassion by not killing him back the fuck away from your motherfucking keyboard what did I tell you about playing stupid, this is properly tagged, stay in your fucking lane. Some of y'all be acting as if it were still 2016 and we're gonna be talking about that too, anon wanted my opinion on this film so now I'm going off.

Back to what I was saying, in some ways Steve wasn't a perfect friend to Bucky either cause he kept looking at Bucky and thinking of the guy he used to know but Bucky's not that person anymore, he's been through a lot of shit and it feels at times like Steve didn't fully realize that.

I hate Steve in this movie, I wanna punch him in the throat; he's an ass, he thinks he's above the rules, he's unaware of his own flaws, he might be a good friend to Bucky but that's it. I don't blame Steve though I blame the writers cause they're the ones who wrote him this way; moving on from Steve, I wanna talk about Wanda real quick, I don't hate the character of Wanda but I do hate the way she was written in this film, I hate that the writers expect us as an audience to look at this adult and think of her as a defenseless child who should be exempt from consequences, I hate that instead of actually doing something with her and exploring some interesting dynamics they just give her an AI boyfriend and a pinterest quote which sounds nice but falls flat especially considering she says said quote as she uses her powers (which is what people are afraid of) to send her love interest down several floors of a building. They could have done so many cool and interesting things with her, shame they didn't.

Another thing I hate about this film is what it did to the fandom, and how it was promoted because it was very much promoted as a pick your fighter, pick a side type of movie and after this movie came out I feel like the divide between Tony fans and Steve fans grew toxically and the effects are still seen to this day like some people really do be acting as if it were still 2016 and attacking others for what side they went with or for who their fav between the two is, and I'll be very honest a lot of the hate I have seen has been directed towards Tony and Tony fans. I hate that, I hate when TPTB deliberately pits fans against each other cause it just encourages a toxic environment.

Let me think was there anything that I liked about this film- wait, oh my god talking about all these other things I hate almost made me forget the thing I hate the most about this movie: it's pointless. Its existence is unnecessary; the biggest aspect of this film isn't the politics of the Accords, it's Steve and Bucky and how far Steve is willing to go for Bucky and have him by his side...but Endgame exists. The end of Endgame turns this film pointless, because the only true point of this movie is the relationship between Steve and Bucky that's the biggest takeaway from the whole thing, but then you have the end of Endgame where Steve just leaves Bucky.

I hated this film before I saw Endgame but after.....I never plan to watch Civil War again but if I did I'm pretty sure I'd self combust cause I'd be so angry I'd scream every time Steve appeared cause that son of a bitch ends up leaving; tears the whole team apart only to end up leaving his friend behind in the end.

I hate this film, I hate everything about it, well that's not true I love the Tony and Peter stuff, but aside from a couple of things I hate this movie, someone give me time stone I'm eliminating it from the timeline.

So, there you go those are my thoughts on CA: CW.

In conclusion, I am Team Neither on the Accords, Team Tony on everything else, Steve I still like you but this movie demoted you in my eyes and makes me wanna punch you in the throat.

[lady-divine-writes]

Good Omens - A Corpse, Cake, and a Cuppa (Rated NC17)

Summary: Aziraphale is Death and Crowley is the serial killer who keeps murdering to catch a glimpse of the ethereal being he fell in love with. (1714 words)

Notes: Written for the above Halloween prompt from @new-endings/M.A.D.#8943. Human Crowley au. It’s kind of gory, I’m not going to lie.

Read on AO3.

“Jesus Christmas!" Aziraphale yelps, tiptoeing through the thick pool of red coagulating on the concrete. Threads of it cling to the soles of his shoes when he lifts his feet as if trying to drag him down. Aziraphale has seen a great deal of blood in his time. None of it has been pretty. But this is especially gruesome.

He wonders if that’s for his benefit.

"Look at... look at this! Look at all the… !” Aziraphale takes a pause and breathes in deep, pressing the thumb and forefinger of his right hand to his forehead. Tension causes a vein to distend and throb - quite the feat since, as a non-human entity, he shouldn't be able to experience this kind of pain. Or so he thought. In the thousands of years he's roamed earth reaping souls, he's finally found the one mortal who can give him what humans call a migraine. And he doesn't like it. Not one bit. “Could you please just… stop already?"

Crowley grins, thrilled giddy by the arrival of his intended audience. “No,” he replies, shoving the slicked head of his filthy ax deeper into the severed spine of the fresh corpse at his feet.

Aziraphale grimaces as the blade lands with a resounding slap. 

That ax of Crowley's gets on every one of Aziraphale's nerves. It's effective for its purpose but positively unsanitary. It makes his skin crawl every time he sees it.

Crowley lifts it slowly, eyes Aziraphale menacingly.

Eyes his nice, clean coat, Aziraphale realizes.

“Crowley!” he warns, putting both hands up in defense. “Don't you dare... !”

But Crowley doesn't let him finish, hoisting his ax higher with part of the dead man's torso attached. He doesn't need to do anything after that. The torso falls from the blade and splashes down in the pool, accomplishing what Crowley set out to do.

“Holy... GAH!” Aziraphale leaps back to avoid the spray. He frowns at his clothes when he sees he wasn't quick enough. "Look what you've done! You’ve made a mess of my coat!”

“Improved it, I’d say,” Crowley snarks. “Given it a pop of color.”

“I've had this coat for ages and hadn't collected a single stain! Not one! And look at your shoes! Ruined!" He gazes down at Crowley's feet in despair. "I actually liked that pair.”

“Really?" Crowley tilts his head, batting his eyes innocently. "You didn't tell me that.”

“Yes, well... " Aziraphale busies himself fishing a handkerchief out of his pocket. Praying he’s swift enough to save the fabric, he pats at the specks on his sleeve "... it’s not my place to tell a homicidal maniac that he looks fetching in snakeskin, is it?”

Crowley pouts, his lower lip jutting out, making him look comically childish despite the streaks of blood running down his cheeks. 

Aziraphale’s brows pull together. He glances around, trying to work out what's wrong. "What? What is it?"

"You're being mean."

"How am I being mean?"

"You're calling me names."

"Accurate ones, yes."

"You sound disappointed."

"You think so!?"

“B-but... but why? I took your advice!" Crowley argues. "I changed me m.o.!”

“I didn’t give you advice! I said you should stop killing innocent people!”

“I did! This guy?" Crowley plants the heel of his sopping shoe into the dead man's crooked neck for emphasis. "He weren’t innocent! He was a serial killer, too! He just happened to be shite at it!”

"I can see that." Aziraphale peers into the vacant eyes of the man on the ground, spirit buzzing beneath his skin, waiting to be reaped. But Aziraphale is in no rush. In the choice between filling out paperwork and shooting the shite with Crowley, surprisingly, he chooses Crowley. 

Or maybe not so surprising, Aziraphale muses, biting his lower lip and indulging in a private chuckle. He rolls his eyes in disgust at himself right after. What are you doing? Stop that!

"Besides, I'm doin' you a solid!" 

Aziraphale scoffs, snapping back to his senses. "How do you figure?"

"You're Death, ain't ya? I'm keeping you in business!"

"I don't know if you've read the papers lately, dear boy, but humans are dropping like flies thanks to their own stubbornness and stupidity. You're slap in the middle of one of the worst pandemics in history, but instead of doing what you can to stay safe, you lot spend your time arguing over petty b.s.! I won't wear a mask! It's against my rights! I'm not taking the vaccine! It'll make me sterile! There is no disease! It's all a big conspiracy! Meanwhile, in the states, some orange lunatic has everyone drinking bleach! Believe me, I hardly need your help doing my job!" 

“Oi! Don’t lump me in with those prats!”

“Why not? You’re not wearing a mask, I see.”

“Don’t have to. I got my shot. And I keep me distance.”

“But you’re covered in blood! Did that man you dismembered have the virus!? You don’t know!” Aziraphale cringes at words that sound far more like concern than scolding. Which he should be doing. Scolding and ridiculing, and possibly calling the police.

But he won’t.

If Crowley were thrown in prison, it would be harder for Aziraphale to find an excuse to see him. Aziraphale has yet to decide if that’s something he wants, but either way, he’d prefer it not be at the expense of another life.

"Fine. Whatever. If that's the way you feel about it... " Crowley grumbles, letting what remains of that statement die as embarrassment rises to his cheeks, settling beneath the red already there. He crosses his arms over his chest and turns his face away. 

Just like a child, Aziraphale thinks. 

And as with a child, Aziraphale should have nipped this in the bud much, much earlier - like when Crowley realized that he could summon Aziraphale whenever he wanted by upping the frequency of his murderous antics. 

This, to date, is his twenty-seventh kill.

Aziraphale doesn't know how Crowley spotted him. He's pretty adept at avoiding human detection. But after victim number eight, Aziraphale turned around, scythe in hand, and there he stood: tall, gangly, bizarrely besotted, dressed in black and wearing sunglasses at one in the morning. Aziraphale thought Crowley was a run-of-the-mill psychopath looking for attention, seeing Aziraphale as a hapless dolt to play cat-and-mouse with, not knowing for one second who he was dealing with.

Not only did Crowley know exactly who Aziraphale was, but he had taken a considerable shine to him.

Aziraphale humored the man when their paths crossed so he could get on with his work, never for one minute considering the consequences. Thinking back on their past interactions, Aziraphale can pick out the hints Crowley had been dropping.

Aziraphale played right into them, and he could kick himself over it.

"We have to stop meeting like this," Aziraphale quipped dryly after Crowley had beheaded some poor, down-on-his-luck fool. "I'm going to start thinking that you have a thing for me."

"Finally!" Crowley tossed his arms in the air. "At this rate, I was going to have to murder half of London and spell out the words ’Will you go out with me?’ with their bodies. Do you know how time-consuming that would have been?"

Aziraphale had written that comment off as a morbid attempt at humor. 

Now he feels like an imbecile.

He’s going to get an earful from Gabriel if he ever gets wind of this. Aziraphale has been able to cover up the increase in London deaths by blaming the pandemic. But once people get their acts together and things calm down, he’ll have to come clean.

There’s a serial killer roaming the streets that has a serious crush on him.

Aziraphale lets out a heavy sigh as he comes to a decision.

A bad decision.

He's going to regret this. He knows he's going to regret this. 

But will he really though?

Aziraphale looks Crowley over, still moping with his nose in the air. He examines him at depth - his sharp features, his debonair style (hiding beneath a litre of blood), his devil-may-care attitude, his rowdy sense of humor. If he were another angel, or even a demon, Aziraphale would have asked him out already, body count or no. 

So what is he waiting for?

It’s not entirely unheard of, an angel dating outside their dominion. And as for the moral issues of dating a murderer, well, Aziraphale is an angel. He has a responsibility to bring sinners to the light, help them see the truth. That can be done anywhere, not just in church - on a street corner, in a diner…

Back at his flat.

Besides, he and Crowley have a lot more in common than Aziraphale did with his last paramour, an angel he had dallied with solely for the fact that he was guardian of comestibles.

It seemed like a match made in Heaven, so to speak.

Far from it.

“Look - if I let you take me out for coffee, will you stop the gratuitous bloodshed?”

Crowley all but gasps when that question leaves Aziraphale’s mouth, the grin growing on his face transforming, becoming less maniacal and more… normal if that makes any sense. "One cup of coffee. That's all I ask."

"Then come along. Here… “ Aziraphale snaps his fingers, cleaning Crowley thoroughly before he takes his arm. “If you're good, I'll let you buy me a slice of cake.”

“That’s very generous of you.”

“I’m glad you think so. I’m a very slow eater. And I figure the longer I stay with you, the more I can keep an eye on you."

“Deal. But, you know," Crowley starts, his tone so filled with teasing he’s on the verge of giggles, "if you, say, spent the night at my flat, you could keep an eye on me for hours. Think of all the people I wouldn’t be able to kill.”

Aziraphale smirks, amused that they both had a semblance of the same idea. “You don’t say?”

“I do.”

“That’s blackmail.”

“More so than you bartering human lives against a cuppa and cake?”

Aziraphale shrugs, but he doesn't relinquish Crowley's arm. He does, however, relieve him of his ax so he doesn’t get any ideas along the way. “Fair point.”

[ianthe-is-a-bitch-and-i-love-her]

Common Myths

An excerpt from Memoirs of a Flesh Eater, never published.

Next Excerpt

Everyone knows about ghouls, right? Everyone grows up hearing scary stories about us, from parents telling you to brush your teeth or the ghouls will get you, to your friends on the playground lying about how they saw one with their own two eyes and it was so scary no really even scarier than that, to - eventually, as you get older - news stories about mass murders and human slaughterhouses and graverobbers digging up your grandma and biting open her bones to get what’s left of her marrow.

The stories are terrifying and vivid and mostly sensationalist garbage. It’s kind of a shame, honestly - a lot of them are really well-written. With the best ones, it’s hard to tell sometimes if they were written by a human with an overactive imagination, or by one of us.

Weird, right? You wouldn’t think we’d want to spread stories that make us look even worse to the rest of humanity than they already think we are, but as far as I can tell, we’ve been making up horror stories about ourselves forever. Our records are spotty at best - oral histories don’t always get passed on before the person carrying them dies, and there are none of us who can trace our family line more than a few generations before it gets too muddled by death to trace any farther. And as for physical records, those are even more vulnerable. Those can’t just be lost - they can be stolen. Used against us. As far as I know, there has never been a written record of ghoul lore circulated. Not until this one.

{Editing Note: Too dramatic? Maybe. But I like it. I’ll think about it}

That being said, though, I think we used to tell these stories to enhance our reputation. To keep humans too scared of us to mount a serious resistance when we came hunting. If they believed we couldn’t be beaten, they wouldn’t try as hard. I think we lived more openly back then, back before automatic firearms and high explosives and kevlar body armor and chemical weapons leveled the playing field. Back when those of us who chose to could hunt humans with near impunity.

{Editing Note: I don’t like ending the paragraph there. We weren’t all killers then any more than we are now. But we did kill. We did hunt them, and I think we hunted them more. I need to make them understand us, but how can they understand us if telling them the truth just makes them hate us more? It needs another pass}

Even then, there were a lot more humans than there were of us. That’s basic ecology - there have to be more prey than predators {Editing Note: I need to find a better way to say that. There are gentle ways to be truthful, and there are hard ways. Do better}. Working together, humans could threaten our existence even then. The stories helped, I think. If they were too scared to work together against us, then we had a better chance of surviving another day, another month, another year.

Times are different now. Fear is no longer a tool that helps us. Human fear threatens our existence. But we still make up these stories and spread them. I spread my share on the elementary school playground. Whenever any of the other kids told a scary ghoul story, I could always come up with a better one. Scarlet’s were even better. He’s always been able to make words dance.

He was my best friend growing up. We were the only ghouls in our grade, maybe even in the whole school. I couldn’t tell for sure - we didn’t see the other grades as much. But he was enough. He was someone I could be myself with. I didn’t have to pick all of my words carefully, or make sure that the thing I was telling him was a normal human experience. It was such a relief to truly be me, even if it was only outside of school hours and well out of earshot of anyone nearby. It didn’t hurt that we actually had some common interests, you know, like friends do. We used to play imagination games together. He’d conjure dragons into existence with his words, and he’d help me use mine to slay them.

{Editing Note: My academic advisor would rip this into shreds, but this isn’t a research paper. This can’t be dry. This needs to be full of heart, not just information. They need to understand. But I might have gone overboard a little}

Scarlet’s an aspiring author now. I’ve read a few of his short stories. Horror and romance, always hand in hand {Editing Note: That’s too identifying. Make that less specific}. I asked him why he thought we still told these stories about ourselves, why we still want them to think of us as more terrifying than we are, why we make ourselves seem larger than life.

He told me that it’s because they hate us. Because there is nothing we can do to make them stop hating us, so why not give them something more worthy of their hatred? Why not give them a comically exaggerated monster - one that bears only a passing resemblance to us - to hate instead? This way, we can laugh at them for their foolishness amongst ourselves, laugh at how little they understand us. If what they hated was closer to our truth, we wouldn’t find it as easy to laugh at. It isn’t always easy as it is, to look at the world around you and know that 98% of the people you see burn with hatred at the mere thought of you, and to meet that with laughter. How much harder would it be if what they hated was who we really were, complex and vulnerable and as human as them? How would we ever endure it if they beheld us for all that we were and still called for our annihilation?

Scarlet’s always been good at giving words to truth. I hope that I’m as good at using words to make a new truth. I want to make him wrong. So here is some truth for you. Here is the truth beneath the myths about who and what we are.

Ghouls eat people

This is true, at least in part; we eat human flesh. That isn’t always the same thing. I’ll go deeper on our dietary needs later, but for now, know that we don’t have to kill to eat, most of the time. I’ve never killed a human, and I hope I neve have to.

Ghouls like hurting people

Not as a rule. There are ghouls that like hurting people. There are humans who like hurting people too.

Ghouls don’t feel pain and can heal from anything

Ghouls have two foot long prehensile tongues

I can tell you from experience that this one isn’t true. We feel pain as acutely as any human, I think, though it does take a little more to hurt us. Our skin and bones are tougher, harder to break. Our muscles are a little stronger too. Not enough that the weakest ghoul is stronger than the strongest human, but it’s not an insignificant advantage. I was always one of the best performers in PE, and I’ve never worked out in my life. So we’re harder to injure, and our strength lets us push through some injuries that would incapacitate a human. But we don’t heal any faster than humans do, or any cleaner. 

Contrary to what the politicians said when they passed the Chemical Exterminants Act.

… I think this one started with a human fetish artist, actually. No. We do not.

Ghouls have two sets of teeth

This one is true, although most of the time you’d never know unless you did an autopsy on one of us. Fetish artists, go nuts with this one.

{Editing Note: Do I really want to directly address ghoul fetishists in the book that will redefine the relationship between ghouls and humans that has existed for as long as anyone can remember? Maybe. At least they have a vested interest in keeping us from being wiped out?}

Ghouls can’t eat human food

False, at least in the most literal sense. If we physically couldn’t eat human food, we’d have all been found and killed a long time ago. We can consume things other than human flesh, but they don’t do anything for us nutritionally, and they don’t taste good to us either. That doesn’t always mean they taste bad, though. If we eat too much it will make us sick, however, and some things will make us sicker faster, or make us more sick than other things. Some of us even have allergies. For example, grapes give me hives. A single chicken nugget will trap me in the bathroom for the rest of the day. French fries, on the other hand... I almost manage to enjoy french fries sometimes.

Ghouls have better senses than humans do

This one’s a mixed bag. Our sense of smell is definitely better. That’s how Scarlet and I found each other; we could smell the flesh on each other’s breath. But as for the rest… Some people say our hearing is worse, but I’ve never come across anything conclusive one way or the other. I might just have bad ears. Our sense of taste is definitely different, but I don’t think it’s necessarily better or worse. We’re just adapted to taste different things. I’m pretty positive our sense of touch is the same. As for sight, our night vision is better, but only sometimes. I’ll get to that in a minute.

Ghouls true forms are terrifying and inhuman

Definitely false, but there’s a tiny kernel of truth a little to the left of this one. Most of the time, we look indistinguishable from humans, which is definitely an evolutionary advantage. But we have three traits that help us when we hunt. They mark us as distinctly inhuman, so it’s a good thing that they only come out when we want them to. First, our nails are a lot harder than human nails, and we can cause them to extend, like claws. They can rip through flesh and most cloth without breaking. Second, that second set of teeth I mentioned earlier. They’re sharper, better for tearing flesh. Our mouths have to distend a bit to make room for them, so that’s a dead giveaway when they’re out. Third, our eyes. We can dilate them a lot wider than humans, and we can control their dilation consciously. That’s what I meant about better night vision.

Last one.

Ghouls are monsters. They must be exterminated

Keep reading. Maybe by the end of this book, you can answer that for me.

[emmikmil]

give him a show

Pairing: Steve Murphy x Female!Reader with Javi watching...

Rating: 18+ EXPLICIT read the warnings y’all, please

Word Count: 3.3k

Warnings: Exhibitionism/Voyeurism (ALL parties consenting!), Oral (M and F receiving), Masturbation (M), Smut P in V) THIS IS FICTIONAL OK BE SAFE IRL PEEPS. A literal smack to the face, biting/marking, choking, very brief anal play.

A/N: wow this fic... is something lol. It's been an idea and half written for a couple months now and I'm happy it's finally finished!! big shout out to @soyelfuegoquearde for the beta read and @knivesareout for being the best and waiting so long. Enjoy!

“Last call for drinks before we start this movie fellas!” Steve flicks his eyes up and down your frame as you stand above him and his work partner Javier with your arms crossed, waiting expectantly. Javi snaps out of his daze and quietly asks for another beer. Steve smiles and shakes his head when you turn to him, as he’s still nursing his lukewarm beer from dinner. This has been a ritual between you three the past few months, Javi would join the two of you for dinner and a movie whenever time allowed. Steve had seen it in your eyes the moment Javi made a joke about barely cooking for himself, the ‘oh god, this man needs an actual home-cooked meal’ kind of look. So, dinner and movie nights happened as often as it could, tonight being one of those nights. 

Steve narrows his eyes and lets out a quiet huff as he watches Javi watch your swinging hips as you walk back to the kitchen. It had bothered Steve in the beginning when Javi would stare at your ass, but as soon as he realized Javi did this with nearly every woman that passed him, Steve didn’t take it to heart. There was no sense in causing a rift just because he felt territorial over his girl. That doesn’t mean, however, that he can’t poke a little bit at his friend. 

"Wanna borrow my polaroid, Peña?" His words seem to shake Javi from his daze and he has the courtesy to look ashamed as he scratches the back of his neck. “Don’t get me wrong I get it, she has a great ass, amongst other things...” the last bit being muttered into his beer bottle and Steve can’t help his sly grin when he sees Javi’s eyes grow wide. 

“Hey baby, you wanna go ahead and start on that popcorn?” Steve asks as you saunter back into the room and hand Javi his beer. You offer Steve a wink and a mock salute before you turn and walk back to the kitchen. Once you’re safely out of earshot, Steve turns his eyes back to Javi. “Look, I trust you, she and I both do,  so that’s why I’m about to give you an offer. You say no, that’s fine, just throwing it out there.” Javi looks incredibly suspicious as he sips his beer. but makes a gesture with his hand for Steve to continue. “My girl likes to be watched. Likes giving a show to people while she’s being fucked. I’m not sayin’ I share now, I don’t. She likes the thrill of having eyes on her and she’s missed it since we left Miami and the few people we trusted, so…”

” Steve stops to make sure Javi is keeping up. He’s not totally freaking out like Steve thought he would which is a plus. “So if you were to pass out just before the credits roll, I take my girl to the bedroom and leave the door half open…You can watch, touch yourself, take a damn picture for all I care. But if you take one step in that room without her and I agreeing to it, there's gonna be problems for you, you got me?”

“What if I’m not interested?” Even though Javi asks, Steve can tell by the look in his eyes and the slight flush to his cheeks that he is. in fact, very interested.

“Finish the movie and leave like always, it’s up to you man.” With that, the conversation ends as you stroll back in with the popcorn and plop down between the two men. Steve leans over to pop a piece into his mouth as you press play on the remote. Steve settles in, smirking as Javi eyes you carefully and settles in to half-heartedly watch the movie.

------- 

" No, Steve leave him there, poor guy is sleeping for once." you whisper as Steve leaned over you to shake Javi awake. You bat his hand away and stand to gently lay the throw blanket from the couch over Javis’s slightly snoring form. Steve stands quickly and wraps his arm around your waist as you bend and reach for the dishes on the coffee table. 

"Leave it darlin', I'll clean up in the morning, just come on to bed," he whispers in your ear and places gentle kisses down the side of your neck. He sucks gently on your pulse point and grips your waist harder as he feels you shiver. You're quick to grab his hand and lead him to the bedroom, but Steve doesn't make the journey easy. He's fueled by your giggles and warm skin and can't help but pull at your clothes and suck on your neck as you both stumble down the hall. Steve gains some of his senses back as you both pass the threshold of your bedroom and he grabs your hips harshly, pulling you back into his chest. 

As one hand travels up from your hip to gently hold your throat he speaks "Strip, get on your knees on the bed and face me." Steve tightens his hand until a whimper escapes you. Satisfied, he releases you and with his heavy gaze on you, you strip quickly to kneel on the bed. Steve pushes the door to close a bit and moves to stand at the foot of the bed.

“Now come on honey, get to work.". Steve can’t help but smirk as you roll your eyes and reach for his belt buckle. You don’t waste any time in releasing him from his pants and boxers and sneaks a small lick to the head of his cock before pulling his pants down. Steve kicks them off and yanks his shirt off, throwing it off to the corner. He hisses and looks down as you bite the thin skin near his hip bone and suck harshly. You both know that he bruises like a peach and would have this mark for damn near a week. Steve’s hand reaches for your hair, fisting it in his hand. He knew you were eager, just as much as he was, but you were feisty with your teases tonight. 

“You really wanna rush this, handsome?” you tease as you stroke him to his full hardness. Steve grunts and gives a firm tug to your hair and shoots you a warning glare. He can see your teasing glint in your eyes dim knowing right now he’s not up for playing games. Steve watches with heavy lids as you take him into your mouth, going at a slow pace before you build up to suck him further down your throat.

“That’s it, you be a good girl and you get rewarded. Tease me and I'll make your night hell.” Steve smirks as he looks down at you. You were so engrossed in his cock you didn't even notice the small shift of light from the hallway as a figure stands at the half-open door. Steve knew that his hand on your throat, a few praises, and the promise of a reward would get your mind hazy with lust; just enough to dull your other sense and not notice Javi at the door.

-------

From his spot at the door, Javi saw a mouth-watering sight. He had the perfect view of the tantalizing act taking place before him; the silhouette of you, your hair wrapped around Steve's hand, your eyes closed, mouth and throat full to the brim with cock. Javi has to bite his fist to keep from making a sound as he watches your throat constrict and swallow around Steve's cock. From a glance, Javi knew his cock was thicker and the images in his mind of your lips stretched out even more over his length had him unbuckling his jeans as quietly and quickly as possible. Javi has been hard ever since Steve had offered this scene to him on a damn silver platter. He thanks his lucky stars that staring at your ass landed him here and not with a punch to the face.

He keeps one fist between his teeth, not wanting to give his position away, and the other he grabs his leaking dick and matches the pace you’ve set for Steve. By now you have gotten into the groove, and it’s no longer slow and sensual. You were taking all of Steve’s cock that you could and christ, Javi could tell you knew exactly what you were doing. Javi could hear you make small moans with whatever Steve was whispering to you and then Steve is thrusting his hips, driving himself into your mouth even deeper. Javi knows for a fact that his dreams tonight would be filled with nothing but the sounds of your gags and slurps. This was by far the sloppiest blowjob Javi has ever seen and to his utter shock, his abdomen tightens and he spills his load all over his hand. He has been so focused on you he didn’t even notice how fast his orgasm had been building, and his eyes were watering with the effort of keeping quiet. As the last spurts of cum coated his hand and splatters on his shirt, he watches through hazy eyes as Steve pulls out of your mouth, a string of your saliva stretched between your swollen and parted lips and the flushed head of Steve’s cock. If Javi had the ability to cum again right then and there he knew he would.

-------

Steve wipes your chin and mouth gently before kissing you softly. "Alright now, let me get a taste sweet thing, lie back for me." It's almost comical to him how fast your legs swing around so you can lie back, your head just missing the pillows at the top. Steve grabs your ankles and pulls your body closer to him, settling you near the edge of the bed. He smiles wolfishly down at you as you throw your hand over your mouth, already covering it in anticipation of what's to come. 

He kneels to spread your thighs and begins to pepper sweet kisses from one ankle to the seam of your leg and back down. Steve smirks as you shift below him and thrust your hips up whimpering and telling him to hurry the hell up already. Now because you’ve sassed back, Steve uses no mercy in getting some sweet revenge. He bites harshly into your inner thigh like you did with his hip earlier, and soothes the spot with his tongue. He continues like this for a couple of minutes, leaving bites on each thigh that will leave you marked for at least three days after. Steve finally feels generous and shows you mercy, licking up your cunt and circling around your clit expertly with his tongue. Your sigh turns to a gasp as he takes both your legs, bending your knees to your chest as he suckles on your clit. You're so drunk on the feel of his mouth you don't notice him angling your body so Javi could see your dripping core from the doorway.

Steve continues to lap at your folds hungrily, showing you just as much attention as you showed him. He listens to your whimpers grow higher in pitch, moving to slow down and trace lazy circles around your clit and tease you entrance with his fingers. He waits until your whimpers die down a little before he plunges two of his long fingers inside you, groaning as he leaves your clit when you scramble to muffle the loud gasp you let out. Steve uses his free hand to move your legs back down and kisses up your body as he slowly finger fucks you. When he reaches your face he grabs your hand that's covering your mouth and moves it away. As you go to cover your mouth again, Steve clicks his tongue in disapproval. "No ma'am, you're gonna let the whole building hear how good i’m making ya feel."

"But...but Javi is still-fuck- he's asleep and could wake-" Steve cuts you off with a hard kiss and he looks down at you, that predatory glint in his eyes. He starts to thrust his fingers faster and Steve smiles as you jerk beneath him. 

"Now honey, you can't wake a man who's already watching you from the door." Steve damn near laughs at your wide eyes and the hitch in your breath. He eyes your torso up and down as you turn your head to look at the shadow in the doorway. Steve watches you turn back to him, a deep fire lit in your eyes.

"He agreed to it?" Steve just nods to confirm your question and stills his hand to give you a gentle kiss on your sweaty forehead and leans back to look you in the eye. Before he can ask you whisper “Can he come in? Where i can see him?” Steve just nods again and slowly starts to finger fuck you again.

Steve starts to trail kisses down your body and nestles back between your thighs. He then turns his attention to the doorway. “Alright Javi, you can come in.'' As the door creaks open and Javi steps into view, Steve can’t help but still his hand inside you and laugh at the sight; Javi, with his pants undone, cock half-hard, cum dripping from his hand and splattered on his shirt, eyes wide and cheeks flushed.  Steve, however,  is struck silent with a firm smack to the face. His head whips around to glare at your sweet face smiling brightly at the dumbstruck agent in your doorway.

“There’s tissues on the nightstand and the chair is right there Javi.”  You gesture to the chair in the corner, with the perfect view of you and the bed. Steve isn’t impressed as you turn your smile back to him as you lie back down on the bed, but he smiles back just as sweet as he pulls his fingers out of you and stands up and away from you. As he stares down at you, he sees Javi in his peripheral and notices his cock jumping as you whine and plead out a pathetic apology to get him back. Instead, Steve just stares at you, before turning his head to Javi. 

“Go ahead and get comfortable. Lubes in the top drawer. And you-” his blazing eyes returning back to stare at you “-you flip over and show me your pretty ass. You slap me, I’ll slap back honey, now move.” He watches as you quickly follow his command, and once you're on your hands and knees he grips your hip with one hand and delivers a sharp smack to your ass, the sounds reverberating off the walls of the small room along with your shout. Steve makes sure to smooth the area over with his hand and bends to give it a small kiss. 

“Ya know honey,“ Steve stands and grips his cock, running it through your wet folds as you whimper at the feeling. "he’s been staring at your ass for weeks now, haven’t you Peña?” Steve looks up to watch as you and Javi lock eyes. Javi’s eyes burn with desire and he's clearly more comfortable, now naked and slowly stroking his lube slicked cock. Steve didn’t even have to look at you to know that your eyes were following Javi's every movement as you wiggle your hips to get Steve to slip in. He’s careful not to slide in just yet, instead Steve stares at Javi until he flicks his eyes off of you. “Bet you’d like her like this Javi, it's the perfect view.” Steve then suddenly pulls away and gives your other ass cheek a punishing slap, and as you yelp and shake he grips your hips and enters you in one quick thrust. Steve bends to nip and kiss your shoulder as you get your breath back and adjust for a moment. 

Steve stands at his full height and slowly starts thrust in, being mindful of the first half dozen or so to get you warmed up before he really starts to pound into you. He keeps a steady pace, not too fast, but it's deep and the rhythmic slap of skin fills the room. Steve’s eyes go from watching his cock slip in and out of you to Javi, who is watching your body with rapt attention.

 Since you are a little too cock drunk to be coherent and smack him again, Steve can’t help but tease his friend more. “Ya know the only thing better than her pussy is her ass. I know you’re an ass man and damn if you ask nicely she’d let ya shove your cock up there. And shit, she sure.is.tight.” he punctuates the last words with hard thrusts that make you fall to your elbows and scream into the blankets. Steve pulls out, despite your growling protests, and bends to spit on the crack of your ass. He watches his saliva slide down and swipes his thumb through the mess and carefully pushes, adding just the slightest of pressures against your tight hole. The pressure he adds is gone as fast as it appeared and he slides back into your dripping core. As he settles into a brutal pace, your gasps and moans start to get higher and higher in pitch, Steve is damn close too, and Javi is sweating and panting as he fucks his fist in earnest. Steve can’t help himself and asks one last question. “What would you do to her right now, huh Javi?”

With his eyes glazed over, it takes a few seconds for Javi to finally speak. “Bring-bring her up and hold her throat, ch-choke her a bit.” Javi has to bite his lip and take a few breathes so he doesn’t spill his load prematurely, again. Steve however,  smiles wickedly as you clench around him tightly and moan.

Both men falter for a moment when, in your dazed state you mumble, “Fuck yes, please Javi please.” Javi is the first to respond with a muttered oh fuck as he throws his head back, and Steve takes action immediately. He scoops you up, just like Javi said, and holds your throat, gentle but firm. Just enough to make you gasp and reach for his arm as you arch into him. Steve picks up his pace, spurred on by your words, but still not wanting to let you off the hook.

“You can say his name all you want honey, but you will scream my name as you cum, cause this pussy belongs to me.” Steve closes his eyes as he pounds his last few thrusts into you. He can hear Javi let out a long groan and knows his words set his friend off the precipice, and the combination of Steve and Javi has sent you stuttering and crying out a weak shout of Steve’s name. As you break down, Steve holds your shivering body close, cradling your waist and shoulders as he stays deep in you and paints your walls.

Steve is careful to set you down, lying on your side to face Javi as he goes to get you a warm cloth, knowing you're too sensitive to be held closely right now. He steps back in the room, silently passing an extra rag to Javi and slowly cleans you. As Steve climbs in behind you to cuddle you close, Javi stands and dresses slowly. The air in the room is hot and sticky, but the silence doesn't make things uncomfortable. As Javi slips on his shirt, Steve speaks up “Thanks Peña, my girl enjoyed herself. Hope you did too.” 

Javi chuckles as he takes one last look over your naked body. “Best movie night you’ve invited me to.” Both men smile as you let out a small laugh and nod to each other as you turn to snuggle further into Steve. He pulls you closer, kissing your forehead and giving you praise for how well you did for him, for both of them. You drift off to sleep as Javi slips out through the front door, all three of you wondering if maybe every movie night should end this way.