#like they deserve to actually be written as their own characters and not revolve around someone else

[vulturvolanss]

man I really wish they’d put more effort into the originality of alhaitham’s kit and not dedicated a whole ass idle to shipper bait, but he’s looking t0 (for the non-genshiners that’s just like. the top tier of damage) and I’m so happy about that. I haven’t really connected with a dps character despite being a dps lover so I have had to build supports as dps units for over a year. (I started playing the game for thoma. he was my first main. I played him as a dps. if you know how crazy I am you know how crazy I am.)

we’re still early in beta so while I doubt they’ll really. fix the lack of originality in a lot of his kit I do think his fucked up cons have a good chance to be fixed when they realize they are just. not good. as far as I can tell they’re a hot contradictory mess. and his weapon might get buffed too bc it’s a marginal increase in stats over other weapons, though it IS already very good.

apparently beta testers are complaining about being disappointed with him so. hoping that translates to some good changes. I want my t0 dps without sacrificing the character we got to know during the archon quest to unoriginal copypaste kits and fuckin. character assassination by ship pandering. sick and tired of the genshin fandom just putting two guys they think are hot/ two women they think are hot next to each other just for fetishization when either nothing in canon even slightly hints at them KNOWING each other or they explicitly straight up hate each other/make each other’s lives worse.

I just look at how much love they’ve put into other characters like wanderer and go Man Where Is That Energy Now. they had BETTER at least go into the blatant deshret connections alhaitham has in his story quest. but I’m expecting that to just be ship bait too considering how much a certain character seems to show up.

head in my hands. I cannot get attached to a character like this bc for some reason they always get done dirty by a ship with a character whose only personality traits are being mean to them and talking about them (shulk had fiora, alhaitham has kaveh).

they’re even both blond. help.

[in-a-slanted-outhouse]

I was writing about this in the tags but no it deserves its own post. Like putting aside how uncomfortable it was and how creepy it was towards Aidan and how it’s against Five’s character and blah blah blah. Five and Lila’s storyline was incredibly sexist. I am too tired to go too in depth on this so if anyone wants to add anything then please do. It is 10pm and this is hastily written but I just want you all to understand how fucking angry I am

Lila starts out as this badass female assassin. She has a really strong character and personality and although she’s seen as a part of Diego’s storyline in s2 she very much feels like her own character and she integrates into Hargreeves like a new main character

S4 just… She’s a mother of three kids which is objectively fine I guess?? Like making her a mother was kinda sexist but they could’ve made it work. But it’s been six years and she doesn’t have a job. They turn her into a stay at home mother which was unnecessary. And almost her entire storyline revolves around Five. They don’t delve into her relationship with her parents even though they were dead. You barely see them. So much of what she does was the writers setting the scene so her and Five can get together. She starts looking into The Keepers so she can bump into Five and then have that scene in the cafe. She is unpleased with her marriage so she can get with Five. She wants to explore the subway system and try to time travel back to fix the timeline so that she can get lost in there with Five. It’s actually so foul. I am so disgusted. She argues with Five and says that it’s not about him and Five says that it is about him. They then make Five out as some like kicked puppy. Her reuniting with Diego has Five standing right there looking all sad. Her reuniting with her kids also has Five standing there all ‘woe is me.’ He then has his whole sulking on the train bit like they try SO hard to make you feel sorry for him. Her saying goodbye to her kids also has Five standing right there and then as she’s crying in his arms he leans his head into her hair like he owns her or something and seems almost happy after seeing her have to abandon her fucking children. And then right at the end as they’re about to die Lila goes and holds his hand to make him feel better

Lila was such a cool and complex character and it was really refreshing to see a woman especially a woc be morally grey and they threw it all away

They made a poc woman’s character arc revolve entirely around a white man for a conventional cishet romance that nobody wanted and actively harmed the actors on the show. They turned her into Five’s little plaything so Steve could live out his perverted fantasy of Five having a wife and I am utterly disgusted by it

[gleefultogo]

Aira Character Talk

Since Aira was mentioned again in Saltyplaytoons (spongebob reference? Lol, funny either way) blog post I wanted to take a deep dive and talk about her. Plus at this point she’s the only pure character that deserves to be rescued from this shit comic and not written by a misogynist. She get’s shit on for no fucking reason. 

It is very well known now that kique has stated that she is his “least” favorite character. Why? Probably because she’s another female character he made and got bored of her. Honestly it saves her the injustice he would have given her if she had more screen time.  When we first met Aira, she was stuck in her creature form. I thought at first she was an evolved creature that was based on Aedra and her beast form was pretty cool in my opinion it looked like a mix between a cat and a dog. Which btw people was made and turned into by a Spirit, so that quickly leads my thoughts into rhov’s and feaf’s future kids. If a spirit can turn a dog into an evolved creature, then it’s very much possible because of the spirits for them to have hybrid kids. Will it be canon? I don’t know, like many have said; it’s obvious kique is bored of his own comic and shoved into our faces just to keep pages being pumped out with nothing really interesting. For me, I see the comic as a sitcom show that just goes nowhere and the characters do and say random stuff that doesn’t revolve around their world or plot. Besides, you can’t tell me half of the characters in this world wanna sit cooped up in one area based on “Tribes” Dog’s just don’t do that they would have way too much pent up energy and would need to run. Can you just imagine if this comic was realistic,  the dog's muscles and bone structure would become weaker because they aren’t doing anything really, they just sit in one place and that's it. Ok sorry, back to Aira :) 

   (Aira’s first appearance form)

You see what I mean though? She resembles a sorta dog and cat hybrid mix. The paws are a dead giveaway as they look like a feline and she has retractable claws. It’s a neat design in itself. I'll give kique that much of any positivity for his comic XD. 

Very Interesting design features if you ask me. Anyways, Aira gets killed by kargo and she wakes up a normal dog again and sets off into the woods to heal her wounds I guess? Probably also went to seek shelter maybe. We later on see her again on page 138. Heavily bleeding still and this when she meets keirr and you know how it goes. He ends up helping her and she’s taken aback from being surprised I guess, which is quite valid of her character, as we do eventually learn about her backstory and she was never treated kindly by others. Aira is a character who’s a really good example of someone who would have a “fixation” on someone, I don’t think it would personally be a bad thing and realistic to her character because she’s never been treated so kindly before and i don’t think she’d be able to help herself with that mindset. She obviously took comfort in keirr  as she hesitated to follow him at first, but also because he was offering to help her and wasn’t appearing a threat to her.

  (oh look when keirr was actually a nice guy, before becoming a dick to her) 

Moving forward. Keirr takes her back to her cave and was suspicious why she was living in such a large area for one individual. Aira remains mute and just eats the food she was given. Which I suppose was rude on her part, but her communication skills seemed to be lacking as she was trapped inside a body and couldn’t talk for a long time, ok at least that makes sense because there is a valid reason enough for her to be doing that. Eventually keirr leaves her behind as she is now safely placed back into her sheltered area. But she ends up following him and keirr ends up venting to her about why he couldn’t go back to his family, he was understandably grieving over zilas. I find these next few parts important to Aira’s character. She willingly sits there even if not knowing him for not a very long time. But she sits there and listens to him vent and doesn’t question him, that’s just an empathetic thing and it's wholesome to have seen that in the comic as they being the characters actually talked about things that troubled them, and it didn’t lead to sex confrontation. She may not have known him very long, but she’s a character that gives off a warm and comforting vibe, like a friend you can tell anything too without her judging because she obviously cares about others. 

Later keirr ends up following her and getting to know her more. Then we see a page with them together and keirr is giving her physical therapy? 

(hey keirr how do you know about PT?). They end up jumping over some logs to strengthen her legs or whatever. Kinda pointless in a way if she was born with a weak structure. It’s like saying you can just magically cure a dog with mobility issues with just some PT. Wellll nope, it’s much harder and time consuming. Plus it won't fully heal someone with a physical disability, it may help strengthen her a bit, but she wouldn’t be able to fully walk normally. Compare it to a dog who was born with swimmers syndrome or cerebellar hypoplasia. That’s a lot of PT work and also medication in order for them to walk to a degree. It’s not something that can fully be cured, so Aira’s 180 later on would be really stupid when the author wrote her this way. 

Now the next page (198) is important, keirr states he has to go back home cause he’s been gone for too long. Aira very clearly goes into panic mode and begs keirr to stay with her because she clearly states she doesn't wanna be “Alone” She’s told to basically just shut up and he’ll return soon whenever. Again Aira panics and kisses keirr forcefully. 

Now I find that quite sad and interesting for her. I’m not a therapist or a physician by any means. But this is my own take on this situation. Aira is using a tactic that almost feels like she is forcing her own affection onto keirr, not being in control of her own body due to her panicking. In a way, yes Aira did sexually assault keirr and he had every right to confront her about it because it was wrong of her. He leaves her behind anyway to go back to his family. Aira is then left with what looks like the expression of shock and most likely guilt because she’s being left behind again and most likely processing stuff in her head. I'd like to believe that her mind is very scattered due to her having issues of being left behind. 

We then proceed to see Aira again and most likely took keirr’s words to heart and goes back to the spirit of strength because she feels weak without and can’t survive. She practically feels hopeless without that spirit, keirr stops her and then asks was it because of him? Keep that in mind. Aira is obviously upset in this scene and then tells keirr her back story and the things she did. She basically claims that she went back to the spirit because of Keirr, she was upset. It’s like if someone told you as a person, that you weren’t good enough for them, nor did they want you around them because to them you felt like a burden. I wouldn’t be surprised if Aira was the first dog in the comic to commit suicide because she deems herself as a burden and was never accepted. If the spirits didn’t exist and the comic took more of a dark turn, I think she would have been a character to have that type of mindset. 

Eventually keirr takes Aira under his wing with a better understanding of her to a degree. She proceeds to then help him look for his family as she’s apparently traveled all over the map while being a beast at the time and saw many tribes fall and create new ones. We meet the deer rp tribe and then kique puts them there because he doesn’t know what to do with them at that moment. Aira is then very clearly seen to be hesitant and doesn’t wanna join them because they were just going to ask if they saw family members of keirr’s. But then the 180 happens and they join anyway. Keirr becomes a dick and then judges fucking Aira behind her back  because of the jarl confronting her leg structure. Yeah hey morons, maybe she's struggling because she got a giant ass heavy deer rack strapped to her head and has weak legs, antlers are not light things. Of fucking curse she’d be struggling. 

Honestly that’s when I started hating keirr the most, like why the fuck are you jugding her? She literally told you she was born with a mobility disability and was tossed aside for it. *sighs* She ends up stuck with Keirr as a Herbalist, like kique? The fuck man, how stupid can you be. You made a character with a physical disability who struggles with that and you give her a rank that requires to walk a lot? Like what? She’d be a terrible herbalist because she’d probably take much longer to even get to a location and back to the tribe. She has to carry her weight around. How frustrating, it’s like he literally forgets his own character traits they have. Like if you didn’t wanna deal with a character with a disability then why give her one if you're gonna 180 it.

Page 481. The page that did it all for me and hated this dude's guts. Ok so even if Aira did end up stuck in a tribe she didn’t wanna be, plus she looks absolutely miserable in the panel. She literally got excited when he returned with bootleg kargo after their little flirting session or whatever that was. 

    (look at the sweet baby… I love her)

Like damn keirr, you should be fucking honored that someone likes you for you and your company, plus she was even worried about you. He could have easily just told her he was being sent to scout, like keirr did you not forget that you joined the tribe when you didn’t have too? Like at all. Aira stated to you that she didn’t wanna be there and wanted to go back to looking for your family. But whatever, he gives her the cold shoulder and tells her to suck it up and build connections with a tribe of strangers. God I really want to just rewrite this page at times. Keirr should have welcomed her with open arms (or paws) and told her about his travels and that he didn’t find what he was looking for unfortunately. Like why did you diss the only character who showed remorse and care for you. She obviously likes having you around and because you took her under your wing, you have no right to be a moody dick to her. This is when I see abandonment issues come into play. As someone who has abandonment issues myself, Aira is so frikin relatable. It hurts a lot when you think about it and you're stuck in your head wondering what you did or if you're doing something wrong to have someone push you away like that. It’s the worst feeling ever and poor Aira here basically got rejected from someone she clearly cares about. 

    (She looks so lost and heartbroken in this page)  But like keirr, dude how the fuck did you forget that she told you earlier on before you joined the stupid tribe. That she literally went back to the spirit because of YOU. That’s basically her struggle, Rejection and being alone. I’m disappointed that some of the people were siding with keirr on this page. In reality if a friend asked about your mental health and you told them to fuck off in, just because your moody. Then be damned if they leave your ass. That's such a shitty thing to do to a person. Aira is no exception and didn’t deserve any of that. And sadly it only gets worse for her as even when he did do that, she still looked out for him and had to save his ass from a ghoul. 

(She cares about him still)

      (Fuck you keirr, you should have thanked her)

I’d also like to point something out. But in a certain page, Aira claims she lived with the meteor tribe. I’m unsure if she was referring to a beast or when she was a normal dog before cursing herself? 

If that’s true then could Aira quite possibly be a victim to rape as well? I didn’t think much of it at first because the wording confused me for a while. But going back it made me think. If she was used by MT before arenak rules then she’s very much understanding when it comes to her trauma and issues she has. In conclusion Aira seems like a complex character with her own trauma and if it was written better, it would have been interesting to see her overcome her said trauma. She’s a literal victim, a lot more than what kique claims rogio and his “mental chains” bullshit. Aira didn’t have a choice in her life,she didn’t ask to be born the way she was or have to deal with not feeling wanted by others. I feel if kique actually knew how people worked when it came to trauma and one’s mental health and emotions. Aira and keirr could have been a great duo for each other and helped support each other as friends and grew a good connection based on needing each other in a certain time because they were struggling. Sexual intercourse during trauma isn’t something that’ll help someone. It's only a distraction really at the moment. But again it shouldn't be a way out when you're in your feelings and all that. It’s quite unhealthy. I’ll say it again, Aira deserves better and needs out of this terrible comic. 

[call-sign-shark]

From Blood We'll Grow || Arthur Shelby x Reader!OC

Prompt:  You don’t understand the kind of love you’re getting yourself in

Words: 1.1K

TW: references to murder and crimes, hurt/comfort, I tried something a bit different from what we are used to reading about Arthur

Notes:

✞ Written for the celebration of @runnning-outof-time's 3K revolving around the theme of a flower garden. Flower used: Red Poppies, which are said to grow best in blood-fertilized soil.

✞ This work is a part of the Heaven in Your Eyes universe, but it can be read as a stand-alone. Consequently, Reader is Heaven, OP's original character (Moodboard here). Feel free to check this ongoing series if you wanna know more. Newest chapter of the series HERE.

“Talk to me, please.”

The soft breeze of Birmingham’s spring caressed his skin and carried the words away. Even though Arthur’s piercing blue eyes were watching the sky, all his attention was focused on you. His hand, large and calloused, was covering the palm of yours, frail and perpetually cold. Sometimes he wondered if blood was actually flowing through your veins or if you were made of frostbite and stardust.

“Tell me everything’s awful you did and let me love you anyway.”

The melody of his beating heart echoed in his chest at the same pace as yours. Two souls yearning for each other. Arthur’s fingers tightened their protective grip around you, afraid you would vanish if he did not constantly keep physical contact with you. Moreover, your ice always managed to calm the raging fire he was made of.

“I’ve killed people.”

These three little words hurt as they were spoken. They felt like razor cuts on the tongue, blades coated with caustic acid. And yet, an intense feeling of relief followed soon after. Arthur’s body relaxed.

“I already knew that.”

“No, you didn’t. You suspected it but you still had the choice not to believe it.”

“Does that make a difference?”

“It does for me. Until now you were free to genuinely tell yourself I was a good person, even though you suspected it was not the case. But now that you are aware of my wicked nature you’ll come to realize I might not be as good as you think for you.”

“Bullshit. It doesn’t change anything for me. You’re the creature I love with all my heart. No matter what you’ve done, and no matter what you’ll do, my soul and yours are entangled.”

Arthur, who was laying with his head on your lap abandoned the horizon and looked up to stare at your enchanting doll face. Your long ivory mane danced at the wind’s discretion, the pale and orange hue of the sunset forming a glowing halo on the top of your head. A soothing silence lulled you, only disrupted by the blowing wind and the nearby stream’s murmur. He could not help but smile at your mesmerizing beauty, whose presence embellished the bucolic landscape.

“But I’ve got blood on my hands.”

“So do I, Heaven.”

You looked down at him, the jewels of your iris drowning in the ocean of his, and stopped petting his hair.

“Trust me, angel, I know the best. Each time I enter in a room I see the face of all the people I’ve murdered. Those who deserved it share the place with the innocents who were just unlucky enough to cross paths with the brute I am. Sometimes I see that young lad from the boxing ring sipping on a coffee with the many soldiers I’ve killed… My hands still tingle with the sensation of my fists tightening around their necks or bashing their brains out. But still, you are, kissing the scars on my knuckles and allowing these dirty, murderous hands to touch you when we make love,” Arthur paused and, with his head leaving your lap, he sat next to you in the middle of the vast wild field you loved exploring together, “that’s how I love you. Perfectly imperfect. Because even angels have their own demons…” He said, bringing his free hand on your cheek to stroke it with indescribable softness no one suspected he was capable of, not even himself, “ And Maybe, if you believe in it just a little bit, the ghosts that follow you will find peace in mine eh.”

Like magical balm on a sucking wound, the gravel in his voice soothed the pain of your heart. Admittedly you had been scared to tell him the truth about you for fear he stopped considering you like an Angel — but the truth was you didn’t understand the kind of love you got yourself into. It was the kind of love so intoxicating that you’d physically suffer if you parted from each other for too long. In him you did not find only love, but also understanding and acceptance. Arthur’s way of handling you, with indescribable care and softness, had become a necessity in your life. Were you really his angel? Or was he yours? A violent, twisted seraph with wings as black as cold, but a heart as sweet as honey. He was keeping you safe, wrapped in the dark feather of his wings, ready to take the pain for you — he did not matter, your well-being did.

Without uttering a single word, you almost tackled him with a hug. An embrace so fierce he fell backward, his back gently hitting the ground. Both surprised and endeared, Arthur could not help but chuckle before welcoming you in his arms.

“I am so lucky to have you…” You whispered, burying your nose in his neck. His perfume, musky and manly, lulled your insecurities and wrapped you in a blissful haze.

“I promise you’ll have me forever, love.”

Arthur was caressing your back, and sometimes he laid a kiss on your head as if his lips could not stay away from you for too long. Which was certainly the case. After a while, he caught sight of a red flower at the corner of his eye. The only flower that had grown here, among the weed and the fallen leaves.

“Look, Angel.”

You raised your head at his voice, curiously gazing at what he wanted to show you. When you noticed it was a red poppy, you looked at Arthur with a slightly confused gleam in your eyes. After all, poppies were not scarce flowers. Yet, Arthur’s iris shone with fascination and unexplainable joy. His lips had stretched in an innocent and almost childish smile, the first since years. The kind of smile Miss Changretta had been talking about. The way his face enlightened and his traits relaxed made you sink a little deeper for him. With the tips of his fingers, Arthur picked up the poppy and shifted his full attention back to you.

“In Flander fields, the poppies blow…”

He started, slipping the flower in your hair. Its blood-red petals, exposing the poppy’s black heart, contrasted with the whiteness of your hair just like a drop of blood in a desert of snow.

“Between the crosses, row and row,

That mark our place, and in the sky

The larks still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the gun below.”

You closed your eyes, your soul carried away by Arthur’s low and hoarse voice as well as the steady melody of his heart beating. He let his long and thin fingers lose themselves in your hair as he kept reciting the poem he liked so much.

“We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

 Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

 In Flanders fields.”

With your free hand, you brushed the flower’s petals. Their soft texture awaked your sense. While you did so, Arthur’s free hand pressed on your lower back to bring your hips closer to his. He did not want to leave any space between your two bodies.

“Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.”

When he finished the last line, Arthur reached for your chin and raised your head until your lips grazed against each other, “From blood, we will grow love.” He whispered, his warm breath melting in yours.

“From blood, we will grow.” You repeated.

Any comment, review, reblog, or constructive criticism is welcome. Your reactions really motivate me and keep me alive, so please don't be shy. English is not my first language.

[the-owl-tree]

There’s so many toms that I hate because they were shoved into the plot to steal a she-cats story for themselves… it’s SO OBVIOUS when the Erins do this. The she-cats deserve to have just as much of an arc and character depth as the toms do, yet the writing team consistently devolves it’s female cast into accessories for their male counterparts.

Examples:

- Alderheart (blatantly having been written to strip sparkpelt of an arc that so clearly should’ve been her own - ie “the spark that remains” - sparkpelt is then twisted into a xenophobic jerk at the drop of a hat to make alderheart look better than her, when previously she was VERY MUCH in support of SkyClan’s return. What the fuck, Erins??? Sandstorm is also iced for this loser’s manpain.

- Nightheart (basically every she-cat has their personality altered to fit his victim complex, and we all KNOW that Finchlight would’ve been more interesting and deserving of a pov than him. If they kill off spark, finch, or sun to further his angst, I will be so pissed off…

- Tree (violetshine’s character growth, struggles, and arc completely disintegrates with his introduction. in tbc, she’s reduced to your typical background protag mother… while tree remains a major character, and is not only hugely valued by the plot, but also by its characters. violetshine deserved so much better than to be shoved to the sidelines by this random-ass character who was *totally not introduced just to make her into a a generic wife and mother*. that’s not even getting into how stupid the Sisters fiasco is, where ‘waaah tree was oppressed by all the women in his life and kicked out, isn’t he just so tragic and sad???’… good god. that was bizarre

- brambleclaw: probably one of the worst offenders of this, right alongside alderheart. Tawnypelt should’ve gotten his pov, considering her personality in TNP… it seems liked they flipped their stories around just because she’s a she-cat, and they just *had* to make the main protagonist of the arc a tom. very disapointing

- rootspring: bristlefrost’s character arc was absolutley DERAILED by this character, and it’s such a shame. even her most iconic scene, her sacrifice, was primarily focused upon rootspring and his pissbaby manpain. also… needleclaw, anyone? she’s the one who should have the sisters’ abilities, after all, but instead she has none… how does she feel about that? I think exploring that would be much more interesting than ‘whiny loser is upset and feels weird that he can see ghosts in a society that values the ability to see ghosts, gets a girl by being weirdly pushy and not taking ‘no’ for an answer, and goes through extreme manpain after she’s iced to further his development’.

- crowfeather: I don’t have any qualms with early crowPAW, but what I DO have an issue with is just how much feathertail’s death is twisted to revolve around *him*, when, in reality, it should’ve focused on Feathertail herself, as well as her brother. FeatherCrow was just awful in general though… especially considering that her name is only invoked later on as an excuse for crowfeather to be an abuser, implying that he’s justified in hurting his wife and son, as well as leafpool and her kits, ‘because manpain’.

real & true, it sucks seeing how many mollies in the series will have really interesting stories and potential conflicts then have the writing team choose whatever supports the main dude around them. more i think about tree the more annoyed i am that it wasn't violet, the big prophecy kitten who had survived the kin and would have more reason to want to keep the clans from tearing each other's throats out. the mediator role is a dumb one (i say with my mediator oc) but it would have been nice if it was actually a character who we followed who got the position instead of "my mommy is mean to me :(" rando dude who just shows up.

[buckybarnesss]

on fire: a teen wolf novel chapters 10-13 chapters 7-9 here chapters 4-6 here chapters 1-3 here

after a little break i am back with a new installment i'm doing 4 chapters today because this book only has 19 chapters.

once again: kate argent is her own warning.. there's an entire flashback chapter of her and derek when he was a teenager. she explicitly grooms him.

Our intrepid heroes are still in the goddamn woods. We shall never leave. Allison is cold and so Scott snuggles with her to share body heat. Classic trope but I have read many missing persons cases. Hypothermia can happen even when you don’t think it can. 

And we have yet another example of Derek being characterized as kind of a dick. He and Stiles find a campfire as Derek tries to track the scent of the Alpha and/or locate Scott. Stiles is just having a bad time as he’s winded from trying to keep up with Derek. Derek leaves him there. I reject this. No. Derek never left Stiles anywhere like this. Especially not with danger afoot. It very much stands in contrast to Wolf’s Bane when Derek crawls over broken glass and fights Peter, distracting him from Stiles.

The Queen has finally arrived. We finally get some Lydia narration. She also comes with Danny and some random dude Damon. 

It had been kind of annoying Danny hasn’t been involved that much considering he is Jackson’s best friend.

Have I mentioned that I don’t particularly care for how Danny is handled in this book? First you have Stiles assuming they should send Danny to the pay-by-the-hour motel because he’s gay and now Lydia’s narration is stereotyping the poor guy. “Dark-haired, with that cool Hawaiian vibe he had.” Danny was right to leave y'all.

Danny says he doesn’t have Lydia’s phone number which I sincerely doubt. 

I want to throw hands with this line “He gave her a completely non-sexual once over.” It’s giving gay-best friend trope vibes which to be fair was at its height in the 2010s and let’s face it this is how Lydia was often written pre-character development (and even after). Especially in the Sterek fandom. Don’t y’all try to tell me otherwise. I was there, Gandalf. 

There is this little section of Lydia’s I think deserves some commentary. The way this book has a subplot for Allison and Scott revolving around how they want to sleep together and the way Jackson and Lydia think of their relationship, especially their sexual relationship is interesting. Now, I’m no pearl clutching Puritan on this subject but the way that sex is handled in this narrative strikes me as too adult for their age. But this passage makes me change my perspective a little. These are kids acting too adult because they feel pressured in other areas of their lives to be adults without the experience and emotional capacity to do so. That fits in with Teen Wolf’s narrative. 

“Are you going through his stuff?” Danny queried, and she have him her best patronizing look, “Please,” She said, “You must know that I have a drawer here.” Damon looked even more impressed. Very few teenagers could claim the very adult perk of having a drawer containing their belongings at their boy -- or girlfriend’s house. Not that many teenagers had the need. It spoke of changing clothes, spending the night. Adult stuff.  Sex.”

Jackson’s computer wallpaper is Lydia which is sweet but then she says she picked it out herself which is less sweet. 

Jackson’s computer password is fucking Captain. You deserve to be hacked, Jackson.

Now Lydia brought Danny and his hanger on Damon from her house to Jackson’s because they’re looking for a CD Jackson apparently burned for Damon to use to DJ for a party. The 2010s of it all came out and kneed me in the solar plexus. Even Lydia was wondering why Jackson didn’t just make a shared playlist. But she searches through Jackson’s stuff stalling a little so she can snoop. This is all important because we finally get to the actual plot of why Jackson was lured away and missing in the first place. People want to rob the Whittermore’s while they’re out of town. Jackson at this point is still being held at gunpoint over in the preserve. 

The would be robbers -- henceforth referred to as Thing One and Thing Two -- assault Lydia and threaten her demanding to know if there are other people in the house. Lydia truly gets a raw deal no matter what.

Meanwhile, Derek’s left Stiles and is trying to follow the scene of the Alpha. He uses the word “shedding” to refer to how he left Stiles. I cannot impress enough how he would not fucking say that.

Derek’s out of luck though because the scent he comes across is old. He is at the place he found Laura’s body where he has a Moment of Anger before he moves on he picks up on Jackson’s scent. He recalls how he dug his claws into Jackson back in Magic Bullet and feels a tiny bit bad. He finds a half burned article about Jackson and does what I deem a Derek thing to do and that’s pocket it because he’s “keeping tabs on Jackson”. It’s stalking, Derek.

Narration switches back to Stiles and of course he gets weird quickly and Stiles what the fuck? Stiles doing something like this during the later seasons wouldn’t be out of the norm. He’s paranoid, hyper vigilant and suspicious at that point but here? Season 1? Stalker.

“He had tried calling Scott a couple more times, then Allison, then Lydia. He’d had her phone in his possession when he deleted the picture she’d accidentally taken of the Alpha. Of course he’d also inputted her number into his own phone; how stalkerish was that?”

Derek reappears and scares Stiles. Stiles observes “He was kind of sweaty, and he looked glummer than usual.” Stiles refuses to be normal about Derek. 

They have a little tiff except it’s them being worried about the same thing but in opposite directions. 

“Stiles crossed his arms and hunched over, shivering and trying to make himself inconspicuous, in cast the Alpha spotted Derek and decided to attack him. But Derek was a Beta werewolf too, like Scott. Why wasn’t he part of the Alpha’s pack? Maybe he is. Maybe he just hasn’t told us, he thought. “Or maybe it’s some kind of trap,” Derek said, “Something the Argents cooked up.” “You mean that Allison’s in on it?” Stiles asked, sounding incredulous.  Derek slid a glance at him. “Why do you sound so surprised? You know what the Argents are. What they do.``

And so we have arrived. The part of this book I remember the most. The Derek Hale Flashbacks. We go six years into the past. 

This is definitely where the idea of Kate Argent working at Beacon Hills High comes from and it makes a lot of sense. It even works even better given the context of season 2 where the Argents actually infiltrate the school as a tactic. 

Holder puts Derek on the swim team which is funny in retrospect because of how the swim team is important to the story of season 2 but Derek is established in season 3 as having been on the basketball team like Peter.

Holder also does a little world building on werewolf customs and pack dynamics here which the show lacks in detail. The way Holder does it is far more patriarchal than what the Hales actually are in the show. There’s a focus on Derek’s father (unnamed even here), the contest/rivalry between him and his cousin Josh, entrance into manhood and Uncle Peter. 

I am still deeply amused by Holder making the Beast of Gevaudan an ancestor of the Hales when the show took the route of making it far more deeply connected to the Argents.

The deepest of sighs at this : “Unlike Laura, who was popular, he didn’t have any human friends, and he didn’t want any.” I just have the hardest time with isolationist, anti-human Derek. Season 3 Derek called and told Book Derek to fuck himself. Derek had a posse of generic human friends.

Kate preys on Derek while she fills in for the main coach as he’s on paternity leave. Also Kate’s up here just brassily using her actual name.

Like Derek’s about 16 here so I can easily buy him noticing a pretty young woman in close proximity to him but Holder does a good job in making it clear that while Derek’s attracted to Kate superficially her interest in him makes him uncomfortable. Derek’s narration says things like “Flustered, even a little frightened.” and “He practically ran out of the school, looking over his shoulder.”

Holder then parallels Scott and Allison once more which is a, um, choice by describing Kate’s hair in the moonlight and Derek almost wolfing out. 

Apparently Laura and Derek shared a Subaru Forester. Which Hale lesbian bought this?

Now up until this point I’ve mostly avoided talking about Laura and her presence in this book because I was saving it for this scene. Laura Hale is a ghost in the narrative in the show. She’s seen maybe three different times outside of being a corpse. She’s never actually named in any of those short appearances and no one talks about her. Here she’s mentioned several times by Scott, Stiles and Derek. Plus now she’s shown in Derek’s flashbacks. I don’t like her all that much here and I think this might be where some of Laura’s fanon characterization comes from. 

Anyway, Derek and Laura are at a diner together eating hamburgers. Derek drinks Diet Coke. Look, I don’t see him as a Diet Coke drinker but that’s not the point here. Derek mentions Kate and how he thinks she’s so beautiful. Laura has this moment where she seems concerned:

“Is this...woman a student?” Laura asked. “No. She’s the new lifeguard. Ms. Argent.” Mr. Braswell’s replacement.” “School lifeguard?” she said, looking mildly shocked. “A teacher?”

After this though Laura’s characterization takes a nosedive. She refers to Kate as a slut when at this point in time Kate hasn’t really done anything necessarily wrong. Derek only really tells Laura of thinking she’s pretty. Laura’s never even met her.

She goes on to tease Derek about his crush -- the word mateable is used 🤮 -- and Derek shuts down. “Suddenly, he didn’t feel like talking to her about it anymore.”

I hate it here.

The next scene is another flashback I recall vividly. Melissa and baby Scott being abused by Mr. McCall. This fuckface trying to convince Scott that his asthma attack isn’t real and it’s all in his head. I want this man to die. Interesting that later when Rafael McCall is introduced he’s still The Worst.

Catch these hands. “Scott didn’t want him to yell at his mom because Scott had asthma. It wasn’t her fault. It was his, Scott’s.” 

If Melissa McCall had killed him no would have charged her. 

Back in the present we return to Scott and Allison. They’re still cuddling but realize they’re supposed to be looking for Allison’s keys. Her phone rings and they have a mishap which sends Allison down the incline. She takes him with her.

They recover but Allison has now lost her keys and phone. Bad day all around for Ally A.

Scott finds Allison’s phone using his wolf powers but he can’t let her know that so they use his phone to call hers. 

Her ringtone for him is apparently a band called Kids of 88. I had never heard of them so after a quick search their biggest hit was in 2009 My House. Which again -- sex.

Scott went to get her phone but he’s prevented by an invisible barrier. Wolfsbane. He makes up a lie about his leg being hurt because like how else do you explain not being able to touch a bush?

They sit down and Scott’s having thoughts like “Oh I wish Derek were here” so you know it’s not great. Allison talks a little about how she’s close to her parents.

They are fucking kissing again. Stop it. It’s not the time. 

Scott decides to text Stiles and says Stiles knows his username and password. We all know. It’s the ever iconic Allison. Jackson and Scott truly deserve each other.

I forgot Jackson was still being held at gunpoint while all this has been going on.

Jackson makes an attempt to escape but yet another guy is waiting at the Porsche. How many people are there? Two here, Cassie probably and then the two at the house. So 5 people in total it appears. Geez. 

His escape fails and he’s taken hostage. Jackson never has a good time. 

All of Chapter 13 is Kate and Derek. Shall we brace ourselves?

“One by one the other swimmers left, and he’d remained behind, torn between disappointment that she hadn’t done it again, and complete and utter relief that she was staying away from him.” Holder writes young Derek having the instinct to know Kate’s attention isn’t good.

Now Holder does do some interesting bits of worldbuilding but like I said earlier it seems so patriarchal. Surrounding challenges and fighting. His view of humans in the book is one of paternalism. 

Kate is going in for the kill now and I’m crawling up my own spine. She makes herself come across as demure. She’s playing meek and turning the whole thing back on Derek giving him the illusion of choice as she grooms him. She purposefully is coming across as more of a peer than an adult figure with authority. 

“She swirled her fingers in the water. “And this isn’t really my style, you know?” I don’t come onto men like this.” Men. She thought of him as a man. He licked his lips, completely tongue-tied. “I wish you’d say something,” she murmured. “I’m kind of dying about it now. I’m sorry if I misread your intentions. I won’t bother you again.” “I know we’d have to be careful. Outsiders might not understand.”

Excuse me. Earlier Derek mentioned his rival -- his cousin Josh -- apparently Peter’s sister-in-law’s kid. Here he mentions Laura had made out with Josh the previous Wolf Moon. Did Laura make out with their cousin?!?!?!?!?!? There’s no other Josh in this book. Like I get they’re not blood related if Josh is Peter’s sister-in-law’s kid (which lol okay bro) but what is happening here on this day?

Kate wants Derek to come home with her for privacy -- ew. So Derek calls Laura to negotiate. Hence the whole conversation about Laura making out with cousin Josh. Laura says “This is so you can do something slutty.” I deeply dislike this characterization of Laura.

And now we’re in Kate’s narration for the flashbacks. I need a shower after reading her thoughts. God, I hate Kate.

Holder goes into detail about her ideas on werewolves. It’s interesting. There’s competition for rank within the pack, challenges and rituals. I want to do a post specifically about it maybe, but I am offended on Talia Hale’s behalf here. It’s very focused on males. The automatic assumption that the Alpha is Derek’s father.

 I cannot say fuck Kate enough. “Some kids in high school are babies and others are all grown up, ready for the real world. Like you.” The classic manipulation tactic of oh but you’re so mature for your age or oh they’re such an old soul. 

Wishing Kate Argent a go ahead and die.

[lilithfairen]

Bet you can’t criticize this FRWBY post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/RWBYcritics/s/QuqWXp1RMQ

I bet I can!

So it starts off by saying that the Malachite twins as Cinder's sidekicks, having Yang listen to Blake's backstory instead of Sun, and having Roman be Ozpin's vessel are good changes. Except none of them are, whatsoever.

The Malachite twins are an unnecessary addition to the story. As of V6, they exist as another instance in which the majority of Fixing RWBY revolves solely around Roman.

Yang listening to Blake's backstory gives no opportunity for character development between Sun and Blake, nevermind the fact that Blake opens up to Sun because he is a Faunus.

And lastly, Roman as Ozpin's vessel. This is purely about the white guy Celtic Phoenix adores replacing a PoC character. Now, the post you link whines about "character bloat" (while acknowledging Fixing RWBY dragging up Cardin fucking Winchester of all characters), except Roman's role in both the original show and Fixing RWBY highlights the idiocy of said complaint. Roman in the original show is a minor character. He's a villain of one story arc, then no longer plays a role beyond that story arc. That's not "character bloat", that's how stories work.

But people who write and adore stories like Fixing RWBY want "character bloat", in that they want all of the white male characters to permeate the story and remain constant fixtures of it. Roman isn't a fitting vessel for Ozpin whatsoever, nor does Fixing RWBY even utilize the contrast between Roman (a largely selfish individual who only gives a crap about himself and Neo) and Ozpin (someone who isn't "morally grey" no matter how much douchebags want to feel smart, but someone genuinely trying to do good despite his mistakes and flaws). Heck, Fixing RWBY's Roman Torchwick isn't Ozpin, nor is it even Roman Torchwick—he's just a bland jerkass who's made special so the actual protagonists of the show have to be subservient to him, with the main character treated as his sidekick.

It also completely misses the point of why a new character became Ozpin's vessel, rather than an established character—so said character could be inexperienced and untrained, not overshadowing the actual protagonists. In the case of Fixing RWBY, the entire point is to have Roman be treated as the main character even by the titular heroines of the show.

Then the post you link to claims the show better develops the characters, except it fucking doesn't. It wastes time on minor and inconsequential characters (because the creator likes any white male character more than the lead heroines). The perfect example of this is how the post fawns over Vernal, a character who's written to be Celtic Phoenix's underage-fanservice cultural-appropriation daughteru, a character whom the protagonists barely know as an enemy and then come to care about more than their own family members.

And of course it touches upon Adam, a character losers like Celtic Phoenix and his stans wanted to be a more important villain than he ever was in the show, purely because Adam is white and male. They can't stand the fact that he wasn't the most unstoppable badass in existence, because they can't stand a white male character not being just better than everyone else.

Along with more stupid claims (like saying Cardin/Velvet is good writing, when as we all know it's about a white man believing people like himself deserve love from non-white women just for not being a racist piece of shit to them), the post claims Bumbleby is better written. To note, Blake and Yang have barely any interaction that isn't caustic throughout the entirety of Fixing RWBY V6, and the "mending" of their relationship that courses throughout the original V6 is hastily thrown out at the last second in FRWBY V6 (because the story cares more about Adam having an impact on them than each other).

The post does acknowledge glaring flaws with Fixing RWBY (the incredibly poor job it does at foreshadowing anything, the random and stupid character antagonism, the way Adam is written to be invincible against Team RWBY and instantly jobbed by anyone else, the fact that a "fix"-fic still rips off 95% of the plot and lore), but then proceeds to complain about complaints it thinks are invalid. Such as:

Faunus heat cycles (it doesn't matter how briefly it's mentioned, it's stupid garbage purely for fetishy fanservice)

Roman as Celtic Phoenix's self-insert (it's fucking obvious)

the queerphobic "jokes" aimed at Ren (yes they are queerphobic, much like Celtic Phoenix minimizing the presence of queer characters and treating a queer woman of colour who prevented a massacre as less sympathetic than a straight white man who committed a massacre)

All in all, it's a shitty "review" written by someone who highlights how the audience for Fixing RWBY is white men who hate stories where anyone but white men matter to the story.

[mayasdeluca]

Stef was not written into that last scene and someone had to call her!?! What in the actual fuck!!!!

Do the writers purposely hate her or something??? Fuck I just hate these writers.

The reason why everyone says season 4 was the best is cos they had better showrunners at that time.

I'm happy Stef gets to move on. Honestly she should never even go back to GA she deserves so much better than the absolute shit these people have given her.

It really feels like none of them really cared to make Carina an integral part of the show no matter who was in charge. I mean even Krista who made the choice to bring her over and make her a regular...I remember we got frustrated at first because she was basically just like Maya's girlfriend who was always at their apartment and not getting much of her own thing, especially in the beginning of Season 4 but it gave us domestic Marina so we at least had that. And I think the Covid situation/cast being put in groups/bubbles really benefited Marina because they were kind of forced in a way to be around each other more and filming together more than with anyone else.

But there's no excuse for anything after that for the way they continued to do Carina's character dirty. We all know the mess that was Season 5, in Season 6 it was a little better but still revolved around Marina and she didn't get much else and then Season 7 they tried but it just wasn't enough and there was barely any time. The fact that we never got to see her have friends of her own, no backstory, no real storylines that affected just her...it's just insane and she was always treated like a plot device on GA too. I really hope Stefania is able to get something that really showcases her talent and gives her great material.

[rebeccalouisaferguson]

It’s a tough gig to be a female lead in the Mission Impossible franchise. The box office juggernaut has chugged along for two decades, delivering top-of-the line thrills and pusle-pounding heist sequences along the way, but with sequel after sequel, it’s become increasingly clear the iconic franchise has one sticking point it still isn’t quite sure how to figure out: its female characters. As far back as Emmanuelle Beart’s doe-eyed Claire in the first Mission Impossible, the majority of female characters Ethan Hunt encounters fit a very specific mold: capable in combat, drop-dead gorgeous (often donning slinky dresses or skimpy, skin-tight outfits), and in desperate need of saving, despite their supposed prowess in espionage.

It’s a frustrating blind spot in a series of films that otherwise represent some of the best action flicks of the 21st century, and Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One continues the unfortunate trend with its rather unceremonious dispatching of (until now) the series’ most prominent female character, Ilsa Faust, played by Rebecca Ferguson.

**This article contains major spoilers for Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One**

Prior to Ilsa’s introduction in Rogue Nation, the women of Mission: Impossible operated like a revolving door: They’d show up, look stunning, then either die tragically to give Ethan (Tom Cruise) further motivation, end up betraying him, or simply be cast aside by the franchise in favor of a newer, shinier, more scantily-clad female character for the next film. While the introduction of Ethan’s wife Julia (Michelle Monaghan) certainly made for a refreshing reprieve from this trend, even she falls squarely into the “damsel in distress” category, and doesn’t get screen time unless she’s being used as leverage against Ethan. So, when Ilsa came on the scene in Rogue Nation it seemed like at long last, the Mission Impossible films had finally cracked the code on how to write female characters that might actually stick around for more than one movie.

And to the franchise’s credit, that’s exactly what Ilsa was—the series even went so far to explicitly bill her as “the female Ethan Hunt.” To paraphrase Ginger Rogers, Ilsa can do everything Ethan can do, but backwards, and in heels and that stunning, high-slitted opera dress. Like the women before her, she’s physically stunning and more than capable in combat, but unlike the rest, she’s given narrative agency. She grapples with her own allegiances, forced to either succumb to her fear of Solomon Lane or take the leap of trusting Ethan and his IMF team, and watching her open up and learn to trust others is a high point of Rogue Nation.

In Fallout, too, she’s given plenty to do. While the White Widow fills the arbitrary role of sexy femme fatale, Ilsa once again gets to be the mysterious wildcard. We the audience and the IMF team have grown to know and love her, but she’s still allowed to have her own crisis of faith as she (like Ethan in the early films) begins to try and re-learn what it’s like to trust your team after having been backstabbed.

Heading into Dead Reckoning, Ilsa was a shining beacon of what a well-written female character could look like in an otherwise extraordinarily male-dominated franchise: but if you’ve seen the latest Mission: Impossible, you already know it all comes crumbling down with a single bridge fight. Of course, the stakes were always going to be high with Dead Reckoning— it’s a sort of swan song for the McQuarrie/Cruise Mission: Impossible era, and though we’ve gotten confirmation the franchise will continue, there’s a distinct sense of gravity and finality engrained in the Dead Reckoning two-parter.

And, with a franchise as twist-filled as Mission: Impossible, a penultimate entry in a two-parter means the stakes have to be upped somehow. TLDR, there needed to be a major character death, and it had to be one that would hurt. Of course, the pool of characters whose deaths would leave a lasting impact on both Ethan and the audience is relatively slim: only Benji (Simon Pegg), Luther (Ving Rhames), and Ilsa have been around for more than one film, and killing off Julia (though undoubtedly devastating for Ethan) would lack punch, considering she’s already been killed off and resurrected earlier in the franchise.

So, it ends up being Ilsa who draws the unlucky “sacrificed so Ethan can be motivated into act three” card. After one desert action sequence and a ruminative moment with Ethan above the canals of Venice, she meets her demise at the hand of Esai Morales’ Gabriel, sacrificing herself in an attempt to save Hayley Atwell’s newly-introduced Grace. Don’t get me wrong—it’s not that Ilsa was killed off that I have an issue with, it’s the fact that the film did so so unceremoniously. Ilsa has been a franchise mainstay for three films now. She has the loyalty and affection of the entire IMF team, and a deep, sibling-like bond with Ethan that feels distinct and unique from the cut-and-dry romances he’s dabbled with in previous entries.

She’s a crucial part of what makes the recent Mission: Impossible entries so great, but Dead Reckoning doesn’t seem interested in honoring this or respecting the significance of her role in the franchise. Typically, if you’re killing off a major character, you’d spend every moment prior to their departure emphasizing just how key a part of the group they are—so that when the death does eventually come, we get maximum emotional impact for both the characters and the audience. But that’s the trouble with Ilsa’s departure in Dead Reckoning— the film is so interesting in setting up Grace as the next big mystery for Ethan to solve that Ilsa falls to the wayside, and her death ends up feeling like a tertiary motivation for Ethan as opposed to a major, earth-shattering revelation for the franchise.

Ilsa isn’t given any significant story of her own in Dead Reckoning, either—she’s after the same MacGuffin as Ethan, trying to protect the same woman (Grace) as Ethan, and ends up falling to the same villain Ethan has been trying to bring down—a villain she has virtually no personal connection to. Admittedly, if there was anyone Ilsa would lose her life trying to save, it’s gratifying that it’s Grace, another prominent female character. On the other side of that coin, though, it’s hard to shake the feeling that the early franchise revolving door is once again in operation—Ilsa’s body is barely cold before the film begins teeing Grace up as Ethan’s next big partner in crime.

Sure, she gets a few cool action set pieces, but in the grand scheme of the hustle and bustle of Dead Reckoning, Ilsa’s death (especially because it comes at such an odd, early point in the film) feels under-emphasized and like a grave betrayal of how powerful of a woman she was in life. Though she may have gone out fighting, at the end of the day, Ilsa still ends up another female casualty of the Mission: Impossible franchise killed so Ethan can be motivated into action—a reductive and lackluster ending for a one-of-a-kind ass-kicker.

[greenerteacups]

Hello! I wanted to let you know how amazing your fic is, it seems my life now revolves around Friday mornings. I think it may be one of my favorite series ever, not just fics, your stuff is better than most published works I have read. I really could go on and on. Suffice to say, thank you x1 million for just putting this out there for us.

I had a couple curiosities! Is it ever hard to restrain yourself and just post 1 time per week? Or is that necessary for your creative process?

Also, your fic is rapidly growing in popularity, do you ever get worried about how that might change your audience?

Thank you again for the amazing thing you've written, I feel super lucky to be reading it in real time because I know this is going to be one of those legendary classics.

Thank you so much! You're wonderfully kind, I really appreciate it, and I hope I can live up to your expectations!

Weekly posting: Posting once a week is actually something I started for my own sanity — posting it regularly/serially is better for audience response, so there's a natural incentive to do it, but it also gives me more time to write ahead. And having all of a book prewritten in advance is really important for me creatively, not only so as to avoid the possibility of cliffhangers, but also to feel immune from the pressure to change the story based on what audiences want.

Growing audiences: Oof, it's been wild. I've been sort of boggled by the response to my little fic; it was entirely unexpected and the most I can do is work hard to deserve it. For the most part, an increasing audience has been a wonderful, wonderful thing, and I've been so grateful for everyone who's been offering support and praise. I'm seriously insanely lucky. My only point of frustration is that, in general, as a fic grows, readers seem to perceive increasing distance between themselves and the author. For instance, people in my comments have increasingly started to address each other instead of me, or have left comments seemingly without the expectation that I'll read them. But when someone comments on the fic, they're still sending that message directly to the author, and I think that some people might... well, they either don't know that, or they don't care. Like, the audience/author distance might be greater than it is for a fic with only 300 hits, but it's not like I'm a showrunner, or some other media production bigwig who'll probably never see 99% of the feedback generated by fans; it's still my pet project that I read basically every scrap of feedback for.

And sometimes (rarely — most of my comments are just so wonderful, and I don't want to sound ungrateful, but) people do say weird or unnecessary things. One comment for the last chapter read, "if krum dies im gonna drop this fic ngl," and that just irritated the hell out of me. Like, if that's your opinion, cool. Your reading habits are none of my business, and I sincerely encourage everyone who needs to take a break from Lionheart — or, hell, even loses interest — to go find something that sparks joy instead. Reading fic should bring you pleasure. No hard feelings, swear to God.

But my frustration with that comment, in particular, was: you do realize that you've sent that message directly to my inbox, right? You realize that was the first thing I read when I opened my comments section after a long afternoon of writing? Someone directly informing me, the author, that a narrative decision (which, either way, I already made about 4-5 months ago) will lose me a reader? And how does this person expect me to react? "Oh, no! I have to go back and rewrite 90,000 words of the story — God forbid I lose you, Single AO3 User Who Left No Other Comments! How can I live with myself if you're not here??"

It's just a bit frustrating. And, to the point — I say this politely, with respect — but if you seriously can't handle seeing characters die, then maybe don't read the fanfiction that's rewriting a series where very many characters die. Just a thought.

[ashleygraceworld]

6 Most Underrated Al Pacino Movies

Al Pacino made awesome movies, but some really good ones didn't get enough attention. Here are the 7 underrated gems of Pacino that deserve more love.

From classic movies like The Godfather, Heat, to The Irishman, Al Pacino has been a big deal in the movie world for a long time. He's been in some of the best movies ever, and fans really love him.

But because he's been in so many movies, there are some that didn't get much attention or didn't get praised by critics, even though they're actually pretty good. So, here are some Al Pacino movies that not many people talk about, but you should definitely watch.

1. Donnie Brasko

Even though critics liked it when it came out, not many people talk about the movie "Donnie Brasco" these days. It's about a guy named Donnie who works secretly for the FBI and hangs out with a mafia hitman named Lefty, played by Al Pacino. As time goes on, Donnie becomes really good friends with Lefty, but he has to decide whether to tell on him to the FBI or go against them.

The movie is well-written, well-directed, and Al Pacino does an amazing job playing Lefty. Some folks say it's one of Al Pacino's best but doesn't get enough credit.

2. The Devil's Advocate

"The Devil's Advocate" is a movie where Keanu Reeves plays a lawyer named Kevin Lomax who joins a famous law firm in New York, led by Al Pacino's character, John Milton. The story gets pretty dark and confusing, but overall, it's a well-written movie with great acting. It also teaches us a lesson about how chasing money can make people forget about doing what's right. Even though it has some supernatural stuff, a lot of it is about real-life problems like greed, desire, jealousy, and anger.

3. Insomnia

Insomnia, a movie directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Al Pacino, is often overlooked but deserves more attention. It's about a detective named Will Dormer (played by Al Pacino) who goes to a small town in Alaska to solve the murder of a 17-year-old girl. As he investigates, he starts facing his own inner struggles and has to juggle both the case and his declining mental health. Insomnia is a lesser-known film by Nolan and is a must-see for fans of Al Pacino.

4. The Insider

The Insider is a gripping psychological drama that fans of this genre will really enjoy. Despite getting positive reviews from critics, the movie didn't become a big hit in theaters. It stars Russell Crowe and Al Pacino, who give outstanding performances that make it a must-watch.

The story of The Insider revolves around Jeff Wigand, a former employee of a big tobacco company, who turns to Lowell Bergman, a CBS journalist, to expose the shady practices of the tobacco industry. What follows is a nail-biting and intense series of events, with Wigand facing threats and warnings from the tobacco company. All in all, The Insider is a very well-crafted movie, featuring a standout performance by Al Pacino.

5. Panic In Needle Park

"Panic in Needle Park" is a movie about a guy named Bobby (played by Al Pacino) who's addicted to heroin and lives in an area full of other addicts. One day, he meets Helen, a homeless girl from the same area, and they fall in love.

Unfortunately, Bobby introduces Helen to heroin, and their love story takes a dark turn. They start doing bad things like stealing to get money for drugs. It's a really sad and tough movie to watch, but it's also a great film. Plus, it's the first movie where Al Pacino played the main character.

6. Dog Day Afternoon

Dog Day Afternoon is a really intense movie starring Al Pacino. In the film, Al Pacino's character, Sonny, and his two partners try to rob a bank in Brooklyn. But things go south fast when Sonny gets a call from the police, telling him the bank is surrounded. So, the bank robbery turns into a situation where they're holding people hostage, and Sonny is trying his best to figure out how to get out of there.

Even though the basic idea is simple, the story takes unexpected twists and turns. The movie is well-written, and Al Pacino and the rest of the cast give fantastic performances.

Go ahead and watch these if you haven't and let me know in the comments how you find them!

[primaviva]

I am adoring your takes on all of this like DON’T STOP YOU’RE SPILLING !!! miles and gwen should be written better and made less dependent of each other !! miles doesn’t deserve his character revolving around a white girl and gwen doesn’t deserve her character revolving around a man !! (I’m starting a make her gay campaign) -🪅

YES!!! and then they put the line of “we’re like the same!” NO YALL ARE NOT

it’s just so frustrating it feels like they aren’t their own person sometimes cus they have their stories so heavily intertwined like miles story is so well written in the beginning of istv like actually that whole movie was good but the transition to atsv…. Idk it’s just mad iffy how they are still obsessed with each other

i understand having a crush and i think that’s fine with them but they should not be endgame like if they pull that off after still being strangers i literally wont know what to tell you like they need to do a kiss goodbye and learn the lesson of acceptance cus im TIRED of the bad writing with them

LET GIRLS BE FRIENDS WITH BOYS WITHOUT MAKING THE BOY CATCH FEELINGS WE DEAL WITH THAT ENOUGH IRL AND ITS NOT FUNN😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[lunarlegend]

We all know who your comfort character is, but who is your confront character? The one who, if you met them in person, you'd give them a heck of a piece of your mind?

Ardyn. i hate him. i don't feel sorry for him, and i'll explain why.

i get that he suffered unimaginably. he did not deserve what happened to him, and it makes me sick that the gods decided to use him the way they did.

however.

Ardyn takes his pain out on the wrong people.

the person who truly wronged him in the beginning, and who was actually deserving of his anger--his brother, Somnus (also a terrible person)--is not there anymore. only his descendant, Noctis, is.

not only has Noctis done absolutely nothing to deserve Ardyn's rage, but his life is already difficult and his future is just as sad. he is 20 years old, extremely sheltered, has never hurt anyone, and has already lost many of the people close to him. Somnus' descendants are just as cursed as Ardyn is. no one wins in the Lucis Caelum line; their entire monarchy revolves around death.

i'm aware that Dawn of the Future provides a different, better ending. but as far as canon game events are concerned, Ardyn goes out of his way not only to taunt Noctis and his friends, but to manipulate and torment them as much as possible, for his own satisfaction. people who never did shit to him. people who Ardyn hates merely because they happened to be born. and that effectively strips away any real sympathy i could have had for him.

it's normal to want revenge when you have been traumatized. it's normal to feel angry, and sad, and like you need to regain control. but direct that at the people who actually hurt you, not innocent bystanders. and if you can't do that, find some other way to deal with it instead of purposely leaving a trail of pain and death in your wake.

basically, i think Ardyn is an interesting and well-written character, and i accept his role in the story. but gods, do i hate him as a person. i have seen theories that maybe he would not have been as cruel had he not been infected with Starscourge for so long, and i think that's the only potentially redeeming quality i can muster.

additionally: fucking hate Drautos. useless traitor. even his face makes me angry.

[miyamiwu]

I have some unpopular opinions. Sorry that they're long and became a bit ranty.

I like Igaguri and the Wanima brothers.

I wish Reo got more meaningful interactions with characters besides Nagi, it feels like atm he has no friends outside of Nagi (RIP Zantetsu, Chigiri is Nagi's friend but hasn't been shown as being more than "friend of a friend" with Reo). He's one of the best-written characters (especially whenever Nagi isn't in the scene), it's sad how he's so often reduced by some fans to just being a Nagi simp whose entire world revolves around Nagi and who will die if Nagi spends even a millisecond breathing the same air as Isagi.

Nagi and Chigiri's friendship is underrated and I wish we got to see more of it. It's just a genuine normal friendship, Chigiri is Nagi's first normal friend with no strings attached, they just became friends by fooling around. They even continue hanging out (with Bachira too) after Isagi leaves to see Tada-chan despite Nagi saying he was going to leave too.

Rin-Isagi is the most boring of all the rivalries in the series. Their personalities, designs and playstyles don't clash enough for what is seemingly set up as being the story's main rivalry. It also doesn't help how one-sided it is for most of the story and we don't get to see any of it after Rin acknowledges Isagi as a rival. They feel too similar atm, so it comes across more as a minor rivalry (like Niko-Isagi) instead of a major one (Kaiser-Isagi, Shidou-Rin).

Speaking of Rin rivalries, Rin-Bachira could have been a great one. Bachira needs a proper rival, he's pretty friendly with most of the relevant cast and outside of Isagi, none of his relationships with the rest of the cast really stand out except for him being a bit passive-aggressive with Rin and Shidou. He has a lot of personality, design and playstyle clashes with Rin that it would have been fun to watch/read. A bit of a wasted opportunity.

Hey @08theverysmallhuman here’s a fellow Igaguri fan. As for the Wanima brothers, I don’t really have much of an opinion on them. We haven’t seen big bro in a while.

And Reo is friends with Isagi! We don’t see them together much, but these two has had several meaningful conversations. This one is my favorite:

We’ve also seen Reo reach out to Kunigami:

I agree with you though that Reo deserves more friends! He’s more than just a Nagi simp.

And oh, I’d love to see more of Nagi and Chigiri just hanging out. Maybe we’d get to see more of it if the manga shows us the aftermath of the Germany vs England match on nagireo’s side. I think Nagi and Reo are gonna have another conflict soon. When that happens, Chigiri can be there for Nagi.

As for the Rin-Isagi rivalry, I actually think it’s similar to Kaiser-Isagi but of a lower level since Kaiser is on a higher level. Both the Rin and Kaiser rivalries are similar in that Rin and Kaiser are basically just better versions of Isagi. What Isagi learns from both of them is a more advanced way of seeing the field–improved spatial awareness, so to speak.

And actually, I don’t think Rin is Isagi’s main rival. Rin is only the main rival in the Second Selection and u20 arc. In the NEL arc, the main rival is Kaiser.

After ch202, I think we’ll see more variety in the Isagi rivalries where it isn’t just Isagi vs Better Isagi. Isagi has achieved metavision, which is probably the peak of his spatial awareness weapon. Now, he needs to work on his physical skills to really be the best striker.

May I also push my agenda that Isagi’s main rival/final boss is going to be Bachira? Bachira is a very skilled player, and skills are what Isagi lacks the most. Not to mention the contrast in how they operate: logic vs intuition. There’s a lot of build-up for it too. I’m gonna have to write a meta on it someday.

And yesss, I also really want Bachira to have his own rival. Rin-Bachira would be interesting, but so is Kaiser-Bachira. But those two are already Isagi’s, so I hope the rival is a new character or a character not yet explored much. I’m hoping it’s Aomori’s Messi, Nishioka, who we are yet to see. Bachira-Ness and Bachira-Kurona would be good if author wants to explore Bachira’s midfielder potential. But personally, I prefer if it’s a striker vs striker rivalry. And seriously, among the list of possible striker rivals, only Bachira-Isagi has been built up a lot.

[dearestgojo]

As someone who has read so many Unrequited Love trope stories , I have to say that yours one is quite unique. Generally , y/n is always written a true good to be true character. she remains a virgin , waiting for Gojo to change while Gojo keeps on fucking other girls or his gf behind her back. It feels like yn is just a dumb cry baby with no self respect or goals of her own. she just wants Gojo's love and her whole personality revolves around that

But I like the yn here so much. I like how when Gojo didn't reciprocate her love , she moved on and dated someone else. She has goals of her own , that is getting away from her toxic father and she uses her marriage with Satoru as a weapon because she knows Gojo is uninterested in her. I would've liked if she was some powerful business woman and heiress ( But it's your story , you can do as you wish ) but it makes sense that she isn't a business woman or even a working woman because of her conservative father. She didn't even have basic freedom so it's justified why her main goal is just to get away from her father's house

I also like how it's Satoru who is desperate to gain her love and affection whereas yn doesn't give a fuck ( it's good to see her like that because Satoru deserves this , he was the one who first slept out of the arrangement ). Honestly I'd love to see Satoru you feel extreme regrets and guilt for his womanizing days ( I want to see him suffer ) . Even better if yn at the end becomes a working woman ( which isn't related to becoming a fashion designer since it's too cliche , like come on she can study architecture or in some STEM field )

But it's upon you how you want to write the story. Just wanted to express my love for this series

No comment on the first paragraph of this cause I'm actually a huge sucker for those types of stories and enjoy them so much. I too just live for Gojo's love.

I'm glad you like Indifferent Love y/n though! I wanted to do a something little different that I think is rarely seen with Gojo fics so I decided to take as much inspo from the inspiration behind Indifferent Love (The Broken Ring). I did think about making her a heiress or having a career of her own that she pursued, but I considered her conservative dad and decided against it. And who knows maybe she'll get a little nudge to do something she's dreamt of doing. Maybe we"ll also see Gojo feeling a little guilty and getting a little taste of his own medicine.

[moonlit-orchid]

I just watched the Barbie movie. Here are my thoughts

-Allen. Allen is babygirl and deserves the world and we need more Allen

-Weird Barbie is a queen and we also need more of her

-I don't get what people are getting so angry over; this isn't 'propaganda' or whatever political statements people are making this into, at least to me. To me it seems pretty clear that this is an allegory of growing up, especially as a girl, which is obviously more focused on because this is written with girls as the target audience.

-Like the symbolism? Idk it might just be me but

-The way the Barbies and Kens were in the start especially resembles the behaviour of CHILDREN, particularily ages 12-14. The Barbies appear more adult because girls at that age tend to act a little more like adults, while the Kens are slightly unhinged and chaotic and unserious because 12 year old boys are like that (my brother is near 13 and the kens are actually TONED DOWN compared to him, wheras me and my friends at 12 were definietly more mature).

-The Barbies being all powerful and positive? They reminded me of the attitudes present in girly cartoons that I watched when younger, that emphasised on Girl Power and would make me feel powerful. The Barbies are empowered, career focused, and believe women have power because that's what the world around them reflects, just like the attitudes in the girly Girl Power cartoons most girls saw

-When Barbie and Ken leave Barbieland, that symbolises growing up and entering the adult world. Just like how Barbie felt self-concious and all the men were catcalling, most girls when they grow up feel more self-concious and more aware of danger from men. Boys don't typically have that experience, just like how Ken didn't share that feeling with Barbie. The rest of the movie, with how they talk about gender inequality in the real world, that's how life seems to girls. They actually I think got it pretty accurate.

-Barbie being shocked at the patriarchy is like how girls get hit by the real world, finding it to be not like they expected at all.

-Ken's reaction to the 'patriarchy' is NOT meant to be 'Men=EVIL'. To me it represents how young boys stumble upon patriarchial views and aren't able to fully comprehend them, and yet absorb them because to them it seems 'cool'. Ken didn't have the mental maturity to comprehend what the patriarchy stood for. He just enjoyed the feeling of respect and admiration. That part of Ken's arc, I think, was symbolising how impressionable young boys are especially when they see something that seems so cool to them, without considering the consequences.

-Ken and Barbie's breakup was literally to suggest that your identity isn't someone else, it's your own, and that you should try work out who you are. If someone says it was to say 'I DONT NEED NO MAN' (as a critsism) I will fight them because it was literally SAID that Barbie just didn't return those feelings, and she wanted Ken to be a whole and secure person, and that Ken needed to find himself because his identity wasn't dependant on what he was to Barbie. That whole scene's meaning was that we shouldn't make our entire identity revolve around someone else.

-In any case, the main theme of this to me was growing up in an unfair world and abandoning childhood ideals to face the world.

-And also i've heard critisisms that the men are all ridiculous in this movie. Um, hello? The entire MOVIE was ridiculous. EVERYONE was unhinged. That's just Barbie movies, literally no one is sane (not even Barbie). Of course the girls had more serious competent moments; they were the MAIN CHARACTERS. The guys were SIDE CHARACTERS. Side characters can be goofy! It makes the movie fun! And it's BARBIE! The animated movies can be even LESS serious! In fact, I think keeping the side cast goofy and unhinged was a great idea because it broke down the seriousness of the movie very nicely, and made it all the more fun, like a movie about Barbie should be! It doesn't MEAN anything about men! (although a good part of me is convinced they weren't too wrong /j)

-Allen is babygirl.