#me whenever i write Walter

[grimescum]

i'm genuienyl so fucking embarrassed omg ....... umm short drabble thing of walter and claudine under the cut . please dont look at me im a dropout and i havent properly written anything since i was like 10

"You know well you shouldn't be following me back to the manor."

Claudine wasn't one to be subtle. If anything embodied that fact most, it had to have been the glowing eyes stalking him from the black beneath his bed.

Walter sighed. It's not as though she needed to be told not to trespass into the Hellsing estate, the place that worked to exterminate her kind from the face of the earth. That was like telling a child not to reach out and touch a raging fire, no matter how pretty it was or how brightly it burned. He supposed the child comparison was all too accurate– you tell them not to do something, and they go ahead and do it anyway.

All 5 of those eyes narrowed. "Bah! And here I thought you'd be happy to have some company. You are very hard to please, you know?"

The vampire skittered out from the shadows bed, unfolding herself like an accordion as she came to her feet. Watching her stretch out her spindly limbs brought to mind the question of just how long she had been there. "You speak such nonsense sometimes. Do you not trust me, hm? Or, perhaps it is because you are worried about me?"

"I believe I've had my fill of your company for a good while." Claudine leaned in, a pout on her painted lips. Walter turned his head. "And no, given that Hellsing has an army of soldiers at it's disposal, I can't say that I do trust you not to get yourself killed here."

The vampire blanked. Maybe it would have been a far more intelligent thing to do, to think about the potential consequences of her actions. Impulsive, yes, but she wasn't a complete idiot; she would've admitted her faults if it weren't for one, tiny little thing he forgot to mention.

"Ah, but you did not deny you were worried about me, no?"

Walter's lips twitched into the faintest smirk. "To some degree, I suppose."

And to that, Claudine managed to land one peck on his cheek, smearing it in black. "That is what I thought."

[bethanydelleman]

So of course whenever I write "Mr. Bennet is a terrible father" people come back at me with, "I can tell you about terrible fathers! How dare you use that word!" but I'm probably going to keep using it and here is why:

Her father was a clergyman, without being neglected, or poor, and a very respectable man, though his name was Richard—and he had never been handsome. He had a considerable independence besides two good livings—and he was not in the least addicted to locking up his daughters. - Northanger Abbey, Ch 1

Jane Austen knew that very extremely horrible parents existed, but that was not what she was interested in as a writer. To me, she seems to want to expose how parents can fail their children without anything that would be considered explicit physical abuse. Even General Tilney and Mrs. Norris only talk and scream, we have no evidence at all that they would hit.

And yet, the characters suffer a lot because of their parents. Emma's father has imprisoned her, but by loving her too much. Mr. Bennet doesn't harm his daughters in the present, but he's setting them up for a very precarious future*. Sir Walter would never let Anne go unfed or unclothed, but he still neglects her. Mrs. Dashwood is so emotionally fragile that Elinor feels that she cannot confide in her when she is suffering herself. Sir Thomas was so strict that his children hated their home.

Jane Austen didn't write Gothic horror or the worst side of humanity. She wrote very relatable and realistically flawed parents who still put their children through a lot of suffering.

*Going to add, letting Lydia go to Brighton explicitly to expose herself, which may reflect poorly on the other sisters in a world where reputation is everything, is another failure to consider his children's future. Even if you disregard the danger to Lydia herself, he was endangering all his children. He is very much a person who trades the future for a peaceful present.

[undyworld]

the spine and his humanity : a very unorganized deep dive. this will be split into different paragraphs, each with a different topic, just to try and make things easier to digest.

The Spine, as we know, was the walter robot that was built to look the most human. named after his spine, which used to be a smoke stack, before he his spine was rebuilt out of titanium alloy. before a lot of the war stuff was retconned, he was built to look more human to do special ops - so they could send in the spine instead of risking human lives.

throughout their albums, The Spine has several songs in which he’s the lead vocalist that talk about how he feels the need to apologize for being a robot, or talking about how robots cannot feel the way humans do, both physically and emotionally ( hot on the trail, wired wrong, electricity is in my soul, a life of un-delightment, etc. ) and he seems to be the walter automaton that hates being a robot the most ( save for the jon, but that’s a completely different topic altogether ). he talks to humans, sure, but when he has the choice - he holes himself up in the hall of wires and stays on the computer. it’s almost as if he doesn’t believe he shouldn’t to talk to them because he’s not human enough.

this brings me to my next topic of stage bits. now, a lot of these are played for laughs ( and are improv ), but an overarching character choice i’ve noticed for The Spine is how he interjects things whenever the topic of them being robots comes up. the one that sticks most in my mind is the 10 year anniversary show, where Hatchworth tells them the goldfish they ripped up were made by a third grader. Rabbit says that they’re monsters, to which The Spine replies “we’re robots, we’re almost monsters.” now, this could mean a lot of different things ─ but it all comes back to the fact that The Spine does not see himself and, by proxy, his siblings, as people. they’re living things, sure, but by referring to them as monsters, he’s saying they’re something to be wary of. something to gawk at, or even something to fear. ( there’s also the whole phone conversation in which they say that The Spine hates The Spine more than anyone else, which i could also write an essay about ). 

the topic of stage bits also ties into his relationship with food, eating, and drinking. during some performances of brass goggles, they have tea time, where the walter workers come out and serve the robots tea. while the robots’ reactions to the tea vary from show to show, The Spine is the only one who consistently never drinks it - either dumping it on himself or throwing it over his shoulder. he also consistently never eats anything, and even goes as far as to tell the other robots that robots can’t eat. no matter how much he tries, they usually disregard him and go on eating anyways. now, he’s also the Rule Follower of the walters, with both Hatchworth and Rabbit having snuck out of the manor unaccompanied using disguises ( rabbit wearing a fake mustache and hatchworth wearing a fake mustache on top of his mustache ), so he may not be eating simply because he doesn’t want to gum up his gears. but, it could very well be that he refuses to eat because he doesn’t want to make himself feel more human than he actually is.

my final point : the spine distances himself from humans and his humanity far more than the others do, and i think that’s because he wants nothing more than to be human. but because he can’t, because of the metal he’s made out of, he refuses to allow himself to indulge in the things that humans do. he doesn’t see himself as human enough, so why act human? why allow himself to enjoy the thing he so desperately wants? instead, he folds in on himself, repressing his deepest wants, desires, and even his emotions.

[holylulusworld]

Between a rock and a hard place (9)

Summary: You are in big trouble and in need of money. Two wolves are more than willing to help you. For a price…

Pairing: Mobster!Walter Marshall x fem!Reader x Mobster!August Walker

Warnings: power imbalance, gaslighting, darkfic, both brothers are not nice guys, mafia AU, smut, unprotected sex, cowgirl, mentions of drugging, light oral (male rec), handjob, dub-con on August, somnophilia, possessive Walter

Between a rock and a hard place (8)

Between a rock and a hard place masterlist

Please take a look at the warnings for this story.

“Go ahead, little lamb. I want you to take what you want from me tonight,” Walter says as he lies on his back, arms crossed behind his head. He watches you with curiosity as you look around his bedroom. “Name it, and it’s yours.”

You blink a few times. Does he mean it? You name something, and he will make it happen.

No—this must be one of their games. If you say freedom, they’ll tell you that freedom isn’t an option.

“No leaving me,” he purrs and grabs your hand to place it on his naked chest. “Anything else, Y/N? I went too far to let you slip through my fingers now. But I promise you don’t have to give our customers a show ever again.”

You feel hot all of a sudden. Your cheeks are on fire as you look at Walter, lying naked on the bed. He’s shameless when it comes to nudity. More than once, he fucked you while one of the maids or security guards walked in on you.

Not months ago, you shied away when anyone openly talked about sex, and now, you crave the humiliation you experience whenever the brothers use your body to their liking.

“What is it that your heart desires?” He cocks his head, his eyes roaming your body hungrily. “I desire my name on your body, writing all over every inch of your skin,” Walter smirks when you gasp. “I won’t do this to you, baby. But the thought is nice.”

The thought is nice. You don’t know how many times you repeated the line in your head whenever you had hoped your deceased husband would do something for you. Bringing you flowers, remembering your birthday, or at least trying to make you cum.

“I want,” you begin, but bite your tongue. What is it that you desire? Your freedom and free will were taken away from you. You’ve been stripped of your dignity and shame, too. What’s left of you is raw, unfiltered lust. “I want to fuck you.”

Walter smirks. He had hoped you were craving his body as much as he’s craving to touch and claim your body. “It’s all yours, Y/N. Come here and take what you want.”

“Hmm…” you consider his offer, eyes drifting toward his half-erect cock. “Can you keep your arms like that? I want to fuck you.”

“As I said,” he nods toward his cock. “I’m all yours. Fingers, cock, my mouth. Whatever your sweet little cunt desires.” You whimper. His mouth and fingers can do magic to your throbbing pussy. His cock, though, can make you sing like no other.

His words send a shiver through your body, and heat shoots into your core. You lick your lips. Can you trust him to let you have control tonight?

“No catch, Y/N. Go ahead,” he hums as you move closer to his crotch, glancing at his perfect cock. “Do you want me to stroke it?”

“No!” You almost growl, pupils blown as you glare at him. “This is mine.”

Walter smirks. He loves seeing you all possessive over his cock. “All yours, little lamb.”

You wrap your fingers around his shaft, your touch careful and gentle. You slowly drag your palm up and down, feeling his cock twitch in your hand.

“Harder, baby,” he purrs, feeling your grip tighten. You stroke him harder and become more confident. You watch his lips part, and his breathing becomes harder. “Fuck, you’re so good for me. Please…shit… I want to feel you around me. Use me…use me like you want to…”

His cock hardens and swells under your touch, making you feel powerful for the first time you met him. “I want it to be hard.”

“It’s hard for you, all day and night,” he grunts as you swipe your thumb over the tip. “So fucking hard, it hurts.”

You smirk as you lean in, brushing your lips against the tip. You dart your tongue out to tease him a little, lapping pre-cum up. “Hmm…tastes so good.”

“Fuck! If you don’t stop, I’ll shoot my load right in your face.” Walter struggles to focus. All he can do is let you play with his cock as you wrap your lips around the tip, swirling your tongue over the sensitive head.

Walter bucks his hips, wanting more, ready to blow his load. “Not yet,” you growl, keeping a firm grip on his cock. “You’ll cum inside of me, and only inside of me.”

“All you want,” he gasps and moans when you stroke him a little harder. “Fuck…please give me that tight little cunt.”

“Do you want to spread me out, baby?” You ask. “I bet you want to ruin me even more. Tonight, I’ll ruin you, though.”

You straddle him, positioning the tip of his cock at your slick hole.

“Ruin me,” he groans as you slam down onto his cock without warning. You grip his cock tightly, walls clinging to him. “OH…shit… I knew you were perfect…so perfect.”

“Your cock is good,” you chuckle while placing your hands on his chest. He stares at you, waiting for you to move, but you play with his soft curls, tugging at them. “You’re not ugly, either.”

“Baby, I’ll fuck you hard if you keep on praising me,” he threatens, but laughs when you slap his chest.

“You promised,” you snarl and wrap your hand around his throat, keeping him from sitting up. “This is my night.”

You begin to move, rolling your hips slowly, not wanting it to be over too soon. Your nails dig into his chest as you ride him, your breasts bouncing as you move up and down his massive cock.

“Fuck, you feel too good,” he groans, hands itching to touch you. Walter keeps his promise. He doesn’t move, only admires you moving on top of him.

“Move your fucking hips,” you lean over his body, snarling against his lips. “Give me that cock; make me cum.”

“Fuck, fuck…” Walter curses loudly as he meets your movement, driving his cock deeper.

“That’s what you’re good for,” you crush your lips onto his, dominating the kiss as his arms wrap around your body, helping you move up and down his length. “No cheating.”

You growl against his lips, but it’s too late. Your walls clench around him, making you both moan. “Don’t stop.”

“This is my cock.” You bite his lower lip, tugging at it. Walter doesn’t care. He growls your name, his hips snapping faster into yours as you wrap both hands around his throat. “Only mine. No other whore will have it.”

“Yours.” He suddenly rolls you over. You scream as he starts pounding into you. “And this is mine.” He slams into you over and over as you scream his name, scratching his chest, arms, and neck. “Cum for me, my whore…my love.”

“I hate you!” You scream as you clamp down hard on his cock. “Now fuck me…”

“You’re mine,” he dives in to steal a kiss while rolling his hips faster. “Say it…”

“You’re mine,” you moan into his mouth. “Your cock is mine.”

“Fuck, you are a brat…” He shudders through his orgasm, his breath fanning over your face. “I love you.”

“I want more,” you say as you lie on top of Walter.

“What do you want?” He asks, lifting his head to meet your eyes. “Name it, and it’s yours.”

“You know what I want…”

Giggling, you watch Walter make quick work. He didn’t hesitate to agree to make your next wish come true. A small dose of a secret mixture, a pair of handcuffs, and his brother is all yours to use.

He steps away from his brother’s bed, laughing as you excitedly pat August’s chest.

“What the fuck!” August finally jerks awake. He stares at you on top of him, cock twitching inside your wet cunt. “Get off me! What do you think you’re doing?”

“It’s her turn, August,” Walter sternly says as his brother tries to break out of the handcuffs. “She wants to fuck you.”

You grin as August throws insults at you and his brother. His cock gives his excitement away, though. “I want to fuck you.”

“She gets cocky, huh?” August eyes your erect nipples like a starving man. “How did you get me so hard?”

“I sucked you off in your sleep.” You purr while leaning over his body to lick over his lips. “Can you taste yourself on my lips?”

“Fuck, she’s such a good slut.” His eyes are black with lust as he stares back at you. “You think you can ride this stallion, little lamb?”

“I can!” You growl.

“If you can make yourself cum on my cock without any help, I’ll lick this pussy clean.” August challenges. “Go ahead…I want to see you cum.”

Part 10

Tags in reblog.

[scarlettjemily]

I Love You So (please let me go)

I have a Jemily playlist on spotify and I shuffle it and write a fic inspired by the song

Song: I Love You So - The Walters (from @moonflowerxox's Jemily playlist)

Pairing: Emily Prentiss/Jennifer "JJ" Jareau

Summary: Emily and JJ started off as something casual but their feelings got messy. Emily leaves the BAU, only to return when she finds out JJ has been kidnapped. Their feelings are still just as messy.

Warning: 18+ only, Mild Smut, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied R/Non-Con (literally no details), Blood and Violence, Gun Violence, JJ getting kidnapped. Sorry if i forgot anything else???

Word count: 7.3k

Posted on Ao3 as well

“Are you sure you wanna do this?” Emily mumbled against JJ's lips, both of their hands desperately tearing at each other’s clothes as they stumbled into the hotel room.

"Emily, shut up and just fuck me; you can’t tell me you haven’t thought about doing this for years.” JJ ripped open Emily’s blouse, the silver buttons popping open with ease. She groaned at the site of Emily’s bare skin, her breasts covered by a black lacy bra. She leant down, biting and sucking the skin of her breast. She pulled one of the cups down, taking her hard nipple in her mouth and flicking it with her tongue.

Emily gasped, feeling JJ bite down on her nipple. “You’re right, fuck it,” she breathed out. A wave of confidence surged through her; she picked up the blonde girl by the hips, her legs locking around her waist.

JJ laughed into the kiss as Emily brought her over to the bed. She let out a little squeak when she threw her down on the mattress.

“One time, yeah? Nothing more,” Emily stated, pulling her blouse off and throwing it to the floor. JJ nodded in agreement, unbuttoning her own shirt as well. Emily unbuckled her belt and let her slacks drop to the floor. “And no one can find out about this, okay?”

JJ rolled her eyes, throwing her shirt at Emily. “Yes, okay, no one can know. Now shut up and come here.”

“Okay, twice. We are only going to do this twice,” Emily groaned, feeling JJ’s hand dip into the waist of her pants and underwear. She was pressed up against the hotel room door, with JJ's lips attached to her neck. Her fingers started to make clumsy circles on Emily’s clit, making her head drop back against the door.

“Mhmm twice, sure,” JJ chuckled, releasing the skin of her neck with a ‘pop’ and removing her hand from her pants. She dropped to her knees, making quick work of removing Emily’s pants. She lifted one of Emily’s legs over her shoulder as her tongue ran through the woman’s folds. She looked up at Emily, her eyes closing as she groaned. When Emily’s hands gripped onto her ponytail, JJ knew this wasn’t going to be the last time they slept together.

“Emily, JJ, I’m sorry to even ask you this, but is it okay if you two share a room?” Hotch asked, approaching the two women who were sitting next to each other on the jet. They were about to head off to consult on a case. “There’s two separate beds; you know, I wouldn’t usually ask this, but it’s quite last minute, and it’s all we could get. If it’s a serious problem, I’ll figure something out.”

"No, no, it’s fine, Hotch. We don’t mind, do we, Emily?” JJ looked over at Emily, a knowing smile on her face. She was trying hard to contain her excitement because she knew whenever they were alone, they couldn’t help themselves.

Emily wanted to groan but she stopped herself. She forced a smile and waved her hand, attempting to look natural. “No worries, Hotch, we’re fine,” he nodded, thanking the women before leaving to go sit in his seat. Emily rolled her eyes and pushed JJ's hand away from her leg. “Stop it,” she insisted, giving JJ a stern look.

JJ just laughed, “Oh what? You’re not excited? Come on, it’s been way too long,” she leant in closer to Emily, leaning on her arm rest. “We can have a bit of fun, yeah?” She whispered.

Emily sighed, leaning her head in her hands. “JJ, are you not dating that cop? Whatever his name is,” she said, looking over at the girl beside her.

She shrugged nonchalantly. “Who? Will? It’s not serious, Emily; we’ve only been on a couple of dates,” she said, not phased by it at all. “Come on, what do you say? It doesn’t mean anything anyway.” She scooted closer, so she was a couple of inches from Emily’s ear. “Will doesn’t make me cum like you do, Em,” she whispered, making sure to breathe on Emily’s ear, knowing how sensitive she is to that.

Emily shuddered, feeling JJ’s hot breath on the shell of her ear. She had to turn her head away just to compose herself. No matter how many times she told herself to not sleep with JJ again, when she started playing her little games, Emily couldn’t resist. She told herself it meant nothing, that it was just a bit of fun. It may have started that way, but it was so far from that now. "Fine,” Emily mumbled before getting up and moving seats. Emily hated this; she hated fucking JJ and being reminded how little she meant to the other woman, but because she’s in love with her, she’ll take her in any kind of capacity she can.

It was the final night of the case; they’d been working relentlessly for just over a week to solve it and decided to go out to a bar to unwind once they’d wrapped it up. The team was gathered around a table, each with a drink in hand. The vibe was relaxed; they’d worked hard, and now they wanted to wind down a little before their flight in the morning.

Emily took a sip of her whisky, her eyes trailing over to the bar across the room. JJ was leaning up against it, holding a beer, and talking to some random guy who was sitting there. Emily was fuming. She’d spent the last 8 days sharing a room with JJ, fucking JJ, and as soon as they’re in the bar, she’s flirting with a guy. Emily kept sipping at her drink, trying not to let any sort of reaction show on her face. That wouldn’t go down well in a room full of profilers, especially when lying was involved. She watched as JJ leant into the guy and began kissing him. Her heart dropped into her stomach. She threw back the rest of her drink, slamming her glass down on the table. Not meaning to hit it so hard, “I’m not feeling well, guys; I’m going back to the hotel. I’ll see you in the morning,” she announced, getting up and storming out before anyone could question the validity of her words.

Emily headed straight back to the hotel room, slamming the door shut behind her. Tears fall from her eyes. “What am I doing?” She whispered to herself, running her hands through her dark hair.

She tried to distract herself by packing her bags so they’d be ready for their flight, but she found that task difficult while crying. Eventually she gave up, stripping down to her underwear and crawling under the covers of one of the beds. She wrapped herself up tightly in the blankets, hoping the pressure around her body would ease her sobs. Unfortunately, she was too far gone. Her cries were loud, and her body shook as she tried to muffle the sounds with the blanket.

Emily froze when she heard the lock of the door rustle. She swallowed her cries when she heard her name being called from out in the hall. She wiped her eyes and flipped over so her back was to the door, burying her face into her pillow and trying her best to pretend to be asleep. There was not a chance she’d be able to stay composed if she came face-to-face with JJ.

“Emily? Are you awake?” JJ yelled in an attempt to whisper, the alcohol in her system clearly impairing her ability to judge how loud she was actually being. She saw the woman curled up in the bedsheets, looking like she was wrapped in a cocoon of blankets. She crawled onto the bed, looking for Emily’s head, which was barely visible. She pouted when she saw she was asleep; she grunted as if it were an inconvenience to her that the brunette was asleep. "Boring,” she mumbled, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead before hopping out and moving into her own bed so she could get some sleep.

It took every ounce of energy in Emily’s body to not react or make a noise as tears welled up in her eyes again. She bit down hard on the blanket, feeling as though she’d held her breath until she heard the little snores coming from JJ, indicating the girl was finally asleep. She lay there all night, her mind going wild; she didn’t know how long she could do this to herself.

“Hey, what’s your deal? I woke up this morning and you’d already left; why didn’t you wait for me?” JJ sat in the chair across from Emily, clearly annoyed that she had to find her own way to the jet.

“I wasn’t feeling well; I had a horrible sleep,” she lied, pleading internally for JJ to just drop it. “I just wanted to get to the jet early; it’s nothing.”

JJ rolled her eyes. “A bit dramatic, Em; you still could’ve waited for me,” she scoffed, not being able to suppress her annoyance.

Emily just stood up and walked to the other end of the jet, lying across the seats and wrapping herself tightly in a blanket. She couldn’t do this right now.

JJ watched with confusion etched on her face. She went to stand up, but a hand held her back.

“Leave her; she’s not feeling well. Don’t push her; you can talk to her later,” Rossi said, patting JJ's knee. The natural authority in his voice made JJ grumble and sit back in her seat, crossing her arms like a petulant child.

“You have no choice! You’re coming to my birthday drinks!” Penelope stomped her foot like a child; she was standing in front of Emily, who was sitting at her desk. “You have not come out with the team in forever; you always bail now. What happened to you?” She pressed, not wanting to let Emily get away with her antisocial behaviour.

Emily hadn’t been out with the team since she and JJ shared a hotel room together. She had to distance herself from her ever since. Trying to move on from a woman you see every single day is impossible; now add in seeing each other after hours. And alcohol? It’s guaranteed not to work. Especially not when JJ would find any excuse to throw herself at Emily when given the chance. “Who’s going?” She asked, contemplating the idea for a split second. She felt bad saying no to Penelope because she was right; she has bailed on every gathering they had in the past 9 months.

“Everyone here! Me, Hotch, Rossi, Morgan, Reid, and JJ, and she’s bringing Will. Please Emily?!” She begged.

Emily caved and decided she would go. Penelope was one of her closest friends; she was doing it for her. She hoped that if JJ was bringing Will, then she’d leave her alone. She most likely would, seeing as though Emily has barely spoken a word to the girl in 9 months. Only speaking to her if it was related to work. Emily didn’t even congratulate her when she and Will got engaged 2 months ago. She just couldn’t let herself go there. Not when she’d come so far in trying to get over her.

“It’s good to see you out, Prentiss; we missed you.” Morgan wrapped his arm around Emily’s shoulder and clinked his beer against her glass of whisky.

She smiled, taking a small sip of her drink. “You know how Penelope is with her words; I don’t think there was ever a chance of me not coming,” Morgan laughed, easily agreeing with her because he knew exactly what Penelope was like. “I’m just gonna go to the bathroom; can you watch my drink?” She asked, passing her drink over. He nodded, taking a hold of her drink, not thinking twice. She walked through the crowd and headed for the bathroom. She was surprisingly enjoying her night; she wasn’t regretting her choice just yet. That was until one of the toilet stall doors flung open and JJ stumbled out as Emily was walking in.

“Well, well, Emily Prentiss. So nice to see you. What’s it been? Like a year since we last spoke?” She seethed in a drunken haze. She was pissed, and the alcohol was making her brave.

“Not now, JJ. Please don’t do this." Emily tried to push past the woman, but JJ wouldn’t let her.

“If not now, then when? Cause you sure as hell don’t speak to me anymore, shit, you don’t even look at me,” JJ said, Emily still not being able to make eye contact with her.

"Seriously, JJ, what do you want from me? Why do you care? You’re engaged to Will now. I was just a quick fuck for you, wasn’t I?” She was angry now as well, not being able to bite her tongue.

JJ scoffed, letting out a forced laugh. “You were a quick fuck? I was the quick fuck! I meant nothing to you! And you never passed up a chance to tell me that!”

Emily looked at JJ like she was completely insane. “You must be so fucking drunk right now because you were always the one telling me it meant nothing. We would fuck, and then you’d be hooking up with guys the same night! You’re delusional, JJ; you’re fucking clueless. I loved you; I was completely in love with you, but I was nothing to you.” Tears of anger sat on the rims of her eyelids, but there was no way she would let them fall.

JJ felt as though all the air had been sucked out of her lungs from hearing Emily’s admission. “Tell me, Emily. Tell me to leave him, and I will.” She didn’t know why she was saying this, but it came out, and it was too late to stop it. There was a part of her that had always loved Emily. “I’ll leave him for you if you tell me to right now.” It must’ve been the alcohol in her system, because there was never a time when she’d ever even come close to confessing her feelings for Emily.

“Fuck me, you’re insane,” Emily’s hand slapped against her own forehead as she listened to the words leaving JJ's mouth. “I’m done, JJ. I’m leaving; you need to let me go. You need to fucking let me move on. Marry Will and I’m begging you, please forget about me,” she turned to leave the bathroom, but JJ ran, situating herself between Emily and the exit.

"No, Emily, I’m not done with you. I can’t forget about you; you’re not nothing; you never were.” JJ was pleading now, desperation the only thing evident on her face.

Emily took in a deep breath, stepping forward so her face was mere inches from JJ’s. “You should’ve thought about that before you treated me like I was nothing but a quick fuck when you were bored.” Her voice was stern and controlled, a stark contrast to what she was feeling inside. “Now move out of the fucking way, Jennifer.”

JJ stepped to the side without a word; what could she say? She had no answer to that whatsoever. She dropped back against the wall after Emily left, her hands in her hair. Tears of frustration rolling down her cheeks. She’d fucked up big time, and she didn’t think there would be a way out of it.

"JJ, can you please see me in my office?” Hotch requested as he walked up the stairs into his office, leaving the door open for JJ to come inside. She followed promptly, closing the door behind her.

“What’s up?” She said it casually, not expecting much of this conversation.

“I’ve got some bad news; it’s about Emily.” Worry immediately flowed through JJ, waiting to hear what the bad news was. “She’s resigned, JJ. She filled me in on your history together and insisted I not tell you until she was gone.”

JJ was confused; she couldn’t quite pinpoint the emotions she was feeling. They were quickly becoming messy inside her mind as she tried to process what Hotch was telling her. “No, Emily wouldn’t do that. I know we’re fighting right now, but she would never do that. I have to go speak to her.” Her voice was trembling, the possibility of tears increasing with each moment.

“She’s left the country. JJ, she got a job at Interpol. She’s on her way to London already." Hotch knew this would be tough on JJ. He didn’t necessarily agree with Emily’s choices, but he had to respect them.

“Without saying goodbye to any of us? She just left the entire team.” Hotch’s silence told JJ everything she needed to know. “Oh, so you all knew and not a single one of you told me?” She could finally pinpoint an emotion; she was angry. She didn’t care to hear his reply because Hotch had the capability to talk sense into anyone, and JJ didn’t want that. She stormed out of his office and straight out of the building, ignoring any attempts that people made to talk to her.

JJ entered her home, slamming the door closed as hard as she could. She was frantic; she couldn’t believe Emily actually did this. She was heartbroken. She knew things were bad between them, but the Emily she knew wouldn’t do this. HER Emily would simply not do something this bad to her.

She grabbed her phone, her trembling fingers tapping at the screen. She put her phone on private and immediately called Emily’s number. She knew there would be no chance of her answering if Emily knew it was JJ.

“Hello, Emily Prentiss speaking.”

A rush of pure, uncontrollable anger flashed through her body when she heard Emily’s voice. “How could you do this?” Her voice shook as she spoke. She was trying to control her anger, but it was only a matter of time until she exploded or completely broke down.

"No, I’m not doing this. I’m hanging up, JJ.”

JJ shook her head, despite not being able to be seen by the other woman. "Please,” she choked out, tears starting to spill from her eyes. “Please Em, come back; you can’t leave me,” she sobbed, moving to sit down wherever she was; she couldn’t hold herself up anymore. Her head was spinning.

Emily closed her eyes tightly, hearing JJ begin to sob and beg her to come back. Her heart jolted with every cry. “I can't, JJ; I have to go, and you need to let me move on.” Her hard exterior was beginning to drop while listening to JJ cry through the phone. She’d never heard her cry like this before.

“I’m sorry, Emily; I’m so sorry for everything.” She didn’t know what else to say. It was pretty evident that Emily wasn’t going to come back. “I love you,” she whispered, wiping her nose with the end of her sleeve.

“I loved you too, JJ.”

JJ dug into her handbag, looking for her keys, as she walked towards her car. Her hand mindlessly shuffled through the bottom of her bag, not being able to find them. She was getting frustrated; she stopped walking so she could look into her bag properly, but before she could, something hard came down against her head, knocking her to the floor. She was taken off guard; she hadn’t seen anyone around. Surely she wouldn’t have missed someone following her? She would never have missed someone. She grunted, grabbing at her head where she was hit; her hand came back covered in blood, but before she could do anything, she was hit over the head again.

JJ jolted awake, gasping as hard as she could, the feeling of the oxygen filling her lungs, causing her to become more alert. She flinched and let out a yell when a stream of freezing cold water hit her in the face, the intensity of the flow ripping at her skin. She tried to cover her face with her hands, but she quickly became aware that her hands were tied to the chair she was sitting on. The water stopped, giving her a chance to catch her breath. She wanted to freak out, she wanted to scream, and she wanted to fight, but she knew better. If she wanted to get out of there alive, she needed to assess the situation and work out what her best reaction to this would be.

JJ let out a deep breath, finally working up the courage to open her eyes. She came face to face with the man who was standing in front of her holding a hose. She was instantly confused; she didn’t even recognise him. He was hardly a man, practically a boy. Maybe 18 or 19? “Who are you?” She finally spoke. Bad idea. The boy raised his hand, backhanding her hard across the face. She chewed the inside of her cheek and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to ignore the pain. She didn’t want to show this guy that he’d actually hurt her.

“Are you serious? Who am I?” He grabbed her by the jaw, whipping her head towards him, forcing JJ to look at him. “You ruined my life, and you don’t even have the decency to remember who I am?” His grip on her lower face tightened with each word. It didn’t take a profiler to know that he was angry, but he was specifically angry with JJ.

JJ’s mind was moving at a hundred miles an hour, trying to mentally flick through all the cases they’ve worked on. He couldn’t have been an unsub; 99% of the unsubs they arrested ended up in jail. She was stumped.

Slap. Another back hand to the face. She grunted at the pain, her thought process momentarily pausing as the pain radiated through her face. "Fuck,” she whispered to herself. Her head was slightly dizzy from the second hit. She shook her head and looked back up at him. “I’m sorry I don’t recognise you. If you tell me, we can work out between us how we fix this.”

He chuckled and shook his head, dropping the hose to the ground and taking a few steps towards her. He roughly ran his hand through the hair atop her head, which was soaked from the hose. He gripped it tightly, ripping her head back roughly. She gritted her teeth, but she was still not giving him the satisfaction of the reaction he wanted. “Does William Touhey ring a bell?”

JJ was confused. She remembered the unsub, just barely. He was a long-haul truck driver, kidnapping women, killing them, then dumping them across state lines. It was a simple enough case. “What about him? He was a straight-forward case. We found him; he tried to shoot his way out; he died after we shot him,” the smile dropped from the boy's face, and before JJ could register his expression, his fist came into contact with her face. She yelled loudly; the pain was excruciating. Her eyes began to water, but she couldn’t gauge if it was due to the pain that was coming from her obviously now broken nose or if she was just crying.

“We? Who’s we? You stupid bitch, think about it again.” He was seething; she could hear it in his voice. “Look at me!” He screamed in a deep, guttural voice that truly scared JJ.

She forced herself to look at him, finding it extremely difficult to keep her eyes open. Blood was dripping out of her nose and spilling over her lips. “It was me; I shot him, but I still don’t know what that has to do with you,” she spat out, struggling to speak through the pain and the blood that was filling her throat.

“He was my brother. You killed him,” he reached behind his back, pulling a gun from the waste of his jeans and slowly pressing the barrel against JJ's forehead.

“I didn’t kill him; he shot at us so-“ smack. He hit JJ across the face with the butt of his gun. She let out a sob; she was sure her cheekbone was broken now. The pain was almost unbearable; she was about to pass out.

“My mother killed herself because you killed him. I ended up getting put into foster care. I was 13, do you know what happens to kids in foster care?” JJ could barely hear what he was saying. Her eyes were closed, and she was about to lose consciousness. “Fucking look at me when I’m talking to you!” He screamed.

JJ let out a scream when she heard his gun go off. It was right next to her ear; her whole head went silent, her brain stunned by the loud noise of the gun. She had no idea if he’d shot her or not; the adrenaline running through her body made it harder for her to tell. “I’m looking, I’m looking, please,” she begged, doing everything humanly possible to keep her eyes on him.

“Emily Prentiss speaking,” Hotch heard through the speaker of his phone. His usual stoic persona faltered when he heard Emily’s voice.

“Emily, it’s Hotch. I need your help; we’ve got an emergency. It’s JJ,” he stated. He knew this could go either way; she could hang straight up once she heard the mention of JJ’s name, or maybe she’s moved on enough to hear him out.

“Hotch, you know I’d help you with anything, but JJ is where I draw the line." Emily sat at her desk, leaning back in her chair, sighing deeply at the mention of the woman’s name. It’d been 3 years since she’d seen, spoken, or heard about JJ. She’d well and truly moved on, but she couldn’t help the bodily reaction she felt when it came to JJ.

“She was kidnapped from the BAU’s car park; we can’t find her.”

Emily’s heart stopped; her stomach fell. Kidnapped? “How long has it been?” She asked, standing up, grabbing her bag, and walking out of her office.

“18 hours”

Her pace quickened when she heard that “18 hours?! Hotch, why didn’t you call me earlier?! I’m on my way.” She was already running down the hall of the building before she hung the phone up. This was not good.

“Just kill me; if you want to kill me, just do it,” JJ begged. She was losing hope. She had no idea how long she’d been here; the only thing she knew was that she’d seen the sun come up once, but she’d also passed out multiple times, so that really didn’t mean much. She was still sitting in the chair, covered in blood from her beat-up face. Her wrists were covered in blood from the zip ties.

“I don’t want to kill you. I want you to feel what I felt,” he said, coming up to her and kneeling down. “I want you to suffer the way I did.” His hands rested on her thighs, slowly moving them towards the waistband of her slacks.

JJ began to cry, frantically kicking her legs. “No, no, no, please no,” she pleaded. She used every ounce of energy she had left in her body to fight him off. She didn’t even feel the zip ties digging deeper into the raw wounds on her wrist. She screamed and cried, pleading for him to stop, begging him to kill her instead, but of course, he didn’t listen.

Emily’s hands shook as she held her gun, pointing straight at the unsub. He had his gun pressed up against JJ's temple while he gripped her hair tightly in his fist. She had to stop herself from looking at JJ; otherwise, she’d break, and she couldn’t do that. Not until he was apprehended, then she’d focus on JJ.

“Jeremy, it’s over. There’s no coming back from this. You need to let her go." Hotch said, stepping up next to Emily, his gun sturdier than the former BAU agent. “Jennifer was not responsible for what happened to you. Your brother was a serial killer. He was the problem.”

Jeremy hesitated, shaking his head and pulling JJ's hair tighter, but the woman was so out of it, she barely had a reaction. “No, it was her fault. It has to be her fault,” he cried. He distanced the gun slightly, as if he were going to back down.

Emily’s breath hitched as she watched his hand like a hawk. She saw his thumb quickly move and pull the hammer back on the gun. Emily didn’t hesitate; she focused in on Jeremy and pulled the trigger. She hit him directly in his right shoulder; he dropped the gun and fell back, hitting the ground.

The group of local cops ran in, cuffing Jeremy as he cried and tried to fight against them. He kept going on about JJ being at fault as they dragged him out of the room.

Emily put her gun away and ran straight to JJ. That’s when it finally hit her—how bad JJ actually looked. She was covered in dried blood; her face was completely swollen. Black and purple bruises covered her face like a mask. Her once white blouse was ripped open, revealing her bra and bare torso, which were completely covered in blood. She was naked from the waste down, her slacks sitting around her knees. “JJ, can you hear me?” Emily said dropping to her knees in front of her, her hand subconsciously moving to her neck to check for a pulse, her wrists not an option. Emily sighed in relief when she felt a pulse.

Emily turned to face the rest of the team, who were looking at them with worried looks. “Please, you have to leave,” Emily stated. She just knew JJ wouldn’t want her male teammates to see her like this. Hotch went to protest the decision, but the look on Emily’s face convinced him otherwise. “Not like this, Hotch, let me get her covered, please,” he nodded and left the room along with the rest of the team.

Emily quickly found a knife on a tool shelf that was against the far wall; she cut the zip ties off of JJ's wrists. Blood was getting on her fingers, but she ignored it, the state of her wrists taking up all her attention in that moment. "JJ, can you hear me? It’s Emily,” she tried again, her hand resting on JJ's knee.

JJ jolted awake, screaming and kicking, when she felt a hand on her leg. “Please don’t, please,” she begged, beginning to cry.

“JJ! Stop, it’s Emily. It’s me; I promise you’re safe. You’re safe, JJ,” she dodged JJ's kicks and held her shoulders gently. She was able to place a hand on the side of her face, trying to make eye contact with the woman. "Please, JJ, focus on me; I’m here.”

JJ's eyes frantically scanned Emily’s face, taking a moment to register who she was. Her legs stopped kicking, her body pausing as her chest was heaving from her heavy breathing. “Is it really you?” she choked out, her cries beginning again.

Emily nodded, trying to give her a comforting smile. “I swear it’s me, JJ; it’s really me,” she said, moving her blood-covered hair out of her face, trying not to hit any sore spots.

“You came for me?”

Emily nodded, tears welling up in her own eyes. She took JJ in her arms and hugged her, doing her best not to hurt her face any further. “Yes, I came for you, Jen; of course I did. God, I’m so happy we found you." Emily let herself cry now; she was so worried about JJ. The woman was missing for two days. She’d seen enough cases to know the odds are not favourable when someone is held longer than 24 hours. She was so thankful JJ was alive. “Is it okay if I dress you back up? Are you able to stand?” Emily stood up, holding onto JJ's arms.

“Yeah, I’ll try,” JJ groaned, standing on her shaking legs, but she was able to stay standing, holding Emily’s shoulders for stability. Emily pulled her pants back up, making sure to announce every little movement she was making. Not wanting anything to come as a surprise to JJ. “Are you sure I’m not hallucinating?” JJ asked, still trying to comprehend if Emily was real or not.

Emily chuckled slightly, buttoning up JJ’s blouse. “You’re not hallucinating; I’m completely real. Now let’s get you to the medic” she held JJ around her waist, JJ’s arm holding her around the neck.

“Who’s gonna ride with her?” The paramedic asked, holding open the door to the ambulance. JJ was already lying on the gurney inside; she was awake and alert, currently in conversation with the other paramedic.

Emily stepped back a bit, a little self-conscious now that her adrenaline had worn off. “You should go, Hotch,” she suggested. JJ hadn’t seen her in 3 years, and she was sure the familiarity between the two was minimal, probably nonexistent.

He shrugged and climbed into the back of the ambulance, sitting next to the gurney.

JJ stopped talking to the paramedic, looking at Hotch and shaking her head. The beeping from the heart monitor began to increase in speed. “No, I thought Emily was here.” She asked through a panic; she couldn’t see Emily anymore. Now she was back to questioning if she’d hallucinated the woman. “Where’s Emily?!” She freaked out, pulling off the finger monitor and trying to sit up.

“Hey hey! I’m here, I’m here, JJ,” Emily said after quickly jumping up into the ambulance. She gave Hotch a knowing look, and that was enough for him to understand and leave the vehicle. She swapped spots with him and instantly held onto JJ's hand. She was surprised at how tightly the injured woman was squeezing her hand.

“Don’t leave, please,” JJ pleaded, her tears leaving tracks on her bloodstained cheeks. “I’m not even fully convinced you’re real, but please, for god's sake, don’t leave.”

Emily nodded reassuringly, “I promise you, I’m real. Now just relax; I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here the whole time.”

JJ relaxed a fraction as the ambulance started to make its way to the hospital.

“Hotch, I’m really worried about her,” Emily sighed, standing directly next to him outside JJ's hospital room. They were looking at her through the glass window; she was asleep for now. They cleaned her up and treated her wounds, the main physical damage being her broken nose and fractured cheekbone.

“I know Emily, me too. I don’t want to think about what he did to her." Hotch stood there, his arms crossed over his chest.

“What about Will? Has someone called him?” Emily asked, looking away from JJ to face Hotch.

“Em, JJ broke up with Will not long after you left. She never married him." Hotch thought Emily knew this. She obviously wouldn’t have heard it from JJ, but someone else on the team would’ve told her. “Did you not know that?”

Emily shook her head, looking back at JJ, who was completely still in the bed. “I actually didn’t know that. So she’s got no one?” She questioned. Her heart hurting at the thought of JJ being alone, especially after this.

“Romantically, no. She hasn’t been with anyone since Will, or you, I guess.” It didn’t take a genius to know that Emily leaving the way that she did really affected JJ. “She wasn’t the same after you left,” he said truthfully.

Emily had nothing to say about that. The memories of her leaving, fighting with JJ flashing through her mind. They used to hurt a lot, but now they just came and went. She used to be angry, but how could she be now? Not after what has happened. “I’m gonna go sit with her,” she said, choosing not to acknowledge what he’d said.

JJ suddenly became aware of her surroundings when the sedatives wore off. She groaned, acutely aware of the feeling in her mouth. It was dry and sticky, like she hadn’t drank anything in weeks.

“JJ? Can you hear me? Can you open your eyes?” She heard a muffled voice speaking, but the dull ache in her face was marring her ability to concentrate.

She opened her eyes, looking around the room, blinking hard to clear her blurry vision. “Penelope?” She questioned.

Penelope nodded and placed her hand on JJ’s knee. She jumped when JJ flinched and shifted her body away. "No, Pen, Penelope, I’m sorry,” she sobbed out, her body having a visceral reaction that she couldn’t stop. Where was Emily? She swore she was there. “I saw Emily; I think I dreamt of her,” she cried, turning on her side, away from Penelope. Her breathing was getting more erratic as seconds passed by.

Penelope jumped up, running to the door and swinging it open. “Em? Em quick, she’s freaking out.” Penelope waved Emily over quickly, the woman jumping up from her spot next to Hotch and making her way to the room.

“Jen? Hey, you’re okay; I’m here.” She walked quickly to the side of JJ’s bed, swiftly pulling the chair towards her with her foot, sitting down, and gently pulling her hands away from her face. “Can you look at me, JJ?” JJ’s eyes flashed open but closed just as quickly.

“You’re not here; I know you’re not here. I’m losing my mind; he made me lose my mind,” she cried.

Emily grabbed JJ’s hands and held them against her own face, never letting go. “Just breathe and feel my face; concentrate on what your hands feel.” After what felt like minutes, JJ was able to open her eyes again.

She let out a shaky breath, taking in Emily’s features. She just couldn’t comprehend that she was here; she hadn’t seen her in years. “You promise you’re here?” She whispered in a voice that was so broken, it shattered Emily’s heart. Emily nodded, promising JJ that she was there. “Please don’t leave me again, please.”

That hit Emily straight in the chest. 'Again,’ she knew she was referring to her leaving 3 years ago. She held JJ’s hands against her face, never feeling more guilty for leaving the woman all those years ago.

“I know hospital food isn’t very nice, but hey, how badly can you fuck up chicken soup?” Emily chuckled, placing the tray down on the portable table and wheeling it up to JJ. JJ gave her a small smile, resting her hands on the table in front of her. “Do you need help eating?” Emily offered, sitting at the bottom of JJ's bed.

JJ immediately moved her legs away from Emily, not wanting to risk her touching them. “Would you prefer me to sit in the chair?” Emily asked, noticing the shift in JJ's mood. JJ nodded, not saying a word. Emily moved to sit in the chair next to her bed; she could see JJ calm down significantly with the change of position. “JJ, what happened?” Emily asked, wary that JJ may not answer. She’d avoided asking her any questions about it the past few days, for obvious reasons.

JJ stared at her bowl of soup, using her spoon to play with the liquid as she thought deeply about the question. “Whatever you think happened, Emily, is exactly what happened,” she stated. Keeping her glazed-over stare aimed at her food, “However bad you think it was, it was worse,” she said, dropping her spoon on the tray and pushing the table away.

Emily stayed silent, blinking away any tears that dared to fall. Letting JJ speak at her own pace.

“At first I was fine; I could take the beating, but when I lost track of time and he wouldn’t let me sleep, I just lost it,” she said, dropping back against her pillow, hands going into her hair. Her voice trembled as she spoke more about what happened. “He kept firing the gun off right next to my ear; he was so mad.” Her hands landed on her ears, feeling as though she could hear the sound of the gun going off. “I begged him to kill me, but he wouldn't,” she cried, not being able to stop her tears. “He kept saying he wanted me to suffer the way he did,” she choked out a sob, getting worked up now.

Emily stood up, placing her hand on the side of JJ's face, knowing that that placement was safe for her.

“He was so mad,” she repeated, “he kept touching my legs while he was—oh, I’m gonna be sick.” She was breathing erratically now, choking on her sobs and crying.

“Sit up, Jayje, breathe, honey, breathe." Emily helped her sit up, resting one hand on her back and the other directly above her heart. “Slow JJ, breathe slowly,” she kept up the pressure of her hands, attempting to keep JJ grounded.

JJ’s breathing calmed as much as she could while she cried. She leaned into Emily, the brunette wrapping her arms around her tightly. Not needing any instructions to understand what JJ wanted.

Emily watched as JJ set her stuff down in her apartment; she looked uncomfortable and lost. She’d voiced a few times that she didn’t want to come back here because she didn’t know if Jeremy knew where she’d lived. Emily tried to tell her it didn’t matter because he was in prison and was definitely not getting out, but JJ didn’t care.

JJ sat down on her couch, mindlessly looking around. Her injuries had healed significantly. They felt better, but the bruises on her face still looked terrible, turning a bluey-green colour.

“Hey, we’ve got to talk,” Emily said, leaning on the kitchen bench, looking down at JJ, who turned to face her. Waiting patiently for Emily to continue. “You know I’m happy to stay here with you as long as you need me to, but eventually I’m going to have to go back to London.”

JJ straightened when she heard the words ‘back to London’ She shook her head. "No, Emily, you promised me you wouldn’t leave me again." Emily went to speak up, but JJ cut her off. She stood up, walking around the couch. “I know I fucked up before; I know I did. I admit that.” She stood at the bench, directly across from Emily now, who was just standing there listening to JJ's word vomit. “I let you go; I did. I let you go for 3 years, but I never stopped loving you, and you must still feel something for me; otherwise, you wouldn’t still be here." JJ's hands were flapping around as she spoke, as if the movements gave her words more meaning.

“Are you done?” Emily asked, standing up straight, hands still resting on the bench in between them.

“Well no, I guess what I’m asking is for you to come back, please?” She looked at Emily, not sure what she was thinking—the brunette's poker face was better than she remembered. “Now I’m done,” she added.

Emily nodded and couldn’t help but smile. “If you had let me finish Jennifer, I was in the middle of saying, I think it’d be a good idea if you’d come back to London with me." JJ's eyes widened, a smile playing on her lips. “Because I don’t want to leave you again, and I feel like you need a break from everything here." Emily stepped around the bench, coming over to JJ. She gently took the woman’s face in her hands. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love you, JJ; I do. So much”

JJ sighed with relief; it was the first time in weeks she’d felt calm. She pulled Emily into a hug, holding her tightly around the waist. She smiled into her chest when she felt her hug her back.

“So what’ll it be, JJ? How does London sound?” Emily mumbled into the top of her head.

“Anywhere sounds good as long as I’m with you.”

[sl-walker]

Boldly Reading: Watsonian vs. Doylist Reads, Death of the Author and Exploitation

I apparently couldn't help myself. I dunno yet whether I'm gonna keep that in the actual review of Issue 3 on Boldly Reading (where I apparently go into the deepest possible dives on this stuff), but I think it's an interesting enough chunk of writing and meta that I wanted to share it anyway.

Especially if any of you Boosteroos out there have any thoughts on it.

(I didn't get into the queer reading of him here, but I also believe that's another factor that does come into play. Whenever I do the inevitable writeup about that, I'll likely include this, or at least summarize it, but you can bet that it was on my mind as I worked on this.

--

One of the reasons why it’s particularly interesting to view Booster (as a character) through both the Watsonian and Doylist lenses is there’s usually something intriguing about both of those and how they sometimes tie together. Or how what happens in-universe can serve as a commentary on what’s going on outside of it.

Most of the people who would end up reading these reviews of mine — which are some pretty deep dives — already know Booster’s backstory. In its earliest form, it was just: Highly promising college football hero gets greedy and decides to bet on his own games only to end up disgraced. As time went on, though, more and more interesting details got added in, most often by Dan himself, which completely change the framing of that story. The basic facts of it remain the same — Booster getting caught up in a gambling scheme and completely wrecking his own future — but the context and reasoning go from being somewhat simplistic (if unique) at the outset to some frankly brilliant character writing.

And all the more brilliant because of what it says about the creative process, in addition what layers it adds to Booster in-universe, too.

I know that very probably it wasn’t planned out in that fashion from the jump because any creative writer will tell you that stories often end up telling themselves, winging off in directions unexpected. Good characters essentially seem to write themselves. That doesn’t make the writing itself any less amazing, mind; this is still fiction, springing forth from the mind of an author, and therefore the author deserves credit for that excellence. But it does make for a fascinating look into the organic nature of character development, as well as what time can often lend to a story as it passes.

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a merciless critic when it comes to professional writers. I don’t mean cruel (and generally try not to be) and I always believe in giving credit where I feel it’s due (and try to never forget that my opinion is still only an opinion), but I’ve been in this game myself long enough to not lionize anyone. Part of that is because I firmly believe you shouldn’t ever put people on pedestals; that you should always bear in mind that these people are people, no better nor worse than you. That way, when shit like what went down with Neil Gaiman happens, you’re not devastated.

Believe me, I do have a point I’m coming to with this, so you can keep reading to get to it, or you can skip to the rest of the review.

So back on the train — crazy or not — I sometimes try to take into account the author’s life (Doylist) when analyzing the character’s life (Watsonian) because the push-pull influences are neat as hell. Not always, though, because I believe there’s merit in the concept of Death of the Author; that a story’s meaning cannot simply be attributed to only the author, but also to the reader interpreting it.

Walter (owner of the legitimately comprehensive and fantastic Boosterrific) and I have discussed Dan’s writing some and our own individual interpretations, and I’ve even corresponded once with Dan himself, so my own opinion ultimately is that while Dan’s a perfectly fine writer — meaning that he can tell a competent story³, has some good ideas and you’re not likely to find yourself wincing too often — his spark of actual genius really was in the creation of Booster himself, and moreso, specifically in this volume.

In various interviews, Dan doesn’t exactly trash-talk his early work here, but he does make sure to include the caveat of how inexperienced he was and how much better he got over time. And as a writer, I can see that’s true. There’s a definite difference between early Vol. 1 and later Vol. 1. Dan’s skills improve with practice, just like the rest of us.

But again— there’s also a fundamental difference between skill and genius. His skills improved, but his genius — intentional or un — is on display in Booster himself, and how Booster interacts with the world, most evident here early on.

The evidence for this is in how Dan wrote Booster in Vol. 1 versus, say, when he took over the JLA. Dan does a better job in Vol. 1 by about three country miles. How he handles his own creation in JLA is just fundamentally bad at some points (specifically in making Booster a sexist asshole, which he never had been before); it’s almost as if he looked at how Giffen and DeMatteis wrote Booster (and well!) and then latched onto all the exact wrong things, some of which didn’t even exist prior, and pasted them over-top the lovely framework he put together himself, leaving both his writing and his character the poorer for it.

Dan might have been a more practiced and skilled writer in JLA, but I’d argue that — at least in terms of Booster as a character — he wasn’t actually a better one.

So, the point basically is:

(Doylist) Dan displayed real, shining brilliance in his creation of Booster, both initially and with the building revisions to Booster’s backstory.

(Doylist) The revisions of Booster’s backstory from ‘driven by greed’ to ‘desperately poor kid gets a taste of something better than subsistence survival and wants more’ to ‘desperately poor kid in a dire situation bets his entire future in order to save his mother and family and then gets a taste of having money and wants more’ in particular are absolutely fantastic from a character development standpoint PARTICULARLY because they’re doled out over time and actually build on each other. (Dan wasn’t the one who got to the ‘blackmailed by the mob’ part, that was Mark Waid, but that’s the one thing that brings it all together in ways that make me flail my hands.)

(Doylist) Seriously, I could write you at least 10K words on the brilliance of that psychology for storytelling purposes, and it’s made no less good because it probably wasn’t all that intentional.

(Watsonian) This also comes back to what I brought up last issue about the boy having some serious issues about vulnerability. Because once you get to the part where he got tangled up in all this trying to save his mother, in retrospect you realize that Booster himself must have given the harshest possible explanation for his behavior every time it came up prior to that. He had to have intentionally left out the parts of his story that would gain him at least sympathy from whoever was listening to it, which is polar opposite behavior from what one would expect from a young superhero looking to make it big. Booster doesn’t try to give himself a redemption arc. He basically paints himself as a villain. And that’s— incredibly damned interesting.

(Watsonian) The only reason I can see why he would do this, when it’s actually sabotaging him as a heroic figure, is because he can’t stand the idea of anyone knowing something that intimate (and likely sore) about him — meaning that he got on the path to wrecking his life because he was living in poverty and trying to save his mother — because of course they’d use it against him. This is the same dude who didn’t tell anyone his given name for at least several months in canon. Even more intriguing, it doesn’t seem to occur to Booster to invent a less lousy backstory, which is another fascinating twist of psychology. Booster’s a pretty unreliable narrator, but not for any fundamental dishonesty; whenever he lies — at least about big stuff — it seems to be mostly done in self-defense.

(Doylist AND Watsonian) The conclusion is: When you take all of these various factors in, you realize that Booster’s entire story — both backstory and in Vol. 1 here — is a hell of a tale of exploitation. And thus, the sociology (and psychology) in play.

The reason I’m saying all of that is because there are some things which are established as fact: Booster’s really fricken young here. Even in Vol. 1., Dan himself pointed out that Booster’s also pretty naïve, which certainly fits with his characterization, not only here, but also later in JLI. It dovetails neatly with those scenes I loved last issue, where Dirk is being controlling and Booster’s initial response is to try to appease and disarm the situation, and it’s only when pushed well past what most people on better footing would tolerate that he pushes back himself.

It also falls in line with the eighties in general, which was a mercenary time to be alive, at least here in the States. Reagan had dismantled a fair number of social safety nets, trickle-down bullshit was a thing, AIDS was killing people en masse, press secretaries were joking about gay plagues and everyone seemed to mostly be out for themselves.

While you can’t remove from Booster the fact that he was partially complicit in his own exploitation, you can also acknowledge that said exploitation was not only there, but a real thing: Everyone wants a piece of this kid. Everyone wants to figure out how to market him, how to make money off of him, how to manipulate him, and Booster trying to make money off of himself — which is why I said his evolving backstory is so damn genius — doesn’t actually make that any less reprehensible.

Tying it all together…! Thanks to his backstory, we know he was already primed for it, too. Because, as we find out later, everyone’s betting on him, everyone has a stake in this kid, everyone wants a piece of him. Add in that college football is rife with exploitation even today (I should know, I worked right next to a university football locker room and was heavily involved with every game), and young men are beating their bodies (and brains) to hell and back for an education or a shot at the pros, and suddenly, everything about Booster not only makes infinitely more sense, it also makes your heart ache for him.

So many of his experiences as a young adult are about his value to others as something more than as someone. Even, ostensibly, with the people who are nearest to him and should care about him as a person, with the exception of his family in his era, and Skeets and (partially, not totally, as we’ll get into later) Trixie. It’s little wonder he’s such a hot mess, one who has a deeply dysfunctional relationship with his own self-worth.

It doesn’t excuse his bad decisions, or those moments he acts like an ass and I wanna slap him silly, but it does explain them.

So, when you have people on the ground freaking out because his ‘bot got wrecked, not because it’ll hurt him but because it might either raise or ruin his earning potential, the sheer genius of how it all comes together in both the Doylist and Watsonian senses means Dan deserves a standing ovation, whether he intended to earn one or not.

And now back to your (ir)regularly scheduled review.

--

3. Unlike some people. (Tom King, for the uninitiated.)

[ghostinthelibrarywrites]

OH GOD IT'S SO HARD TO CHOOSE but if I'm allowed to be greedy... 💍🌶 and/or 🏏? 👀

Thank you for the ask and of course you can be greedy!

💍 From Wedding Vows and Other Lies:

Edwin has been successfully dodging his mother’s calls ever since Walter’s funeral, so it’s only his luck that she would catch him when he’s at his most vulnerable: sound asleep. The sound of his phone buzzing on the bedside table wakes him from a dream he can’t quite remember but that has left an anxious pit in his stomach and he gropes for it without opening his eyes. If bloody Janice has called out again and he has to open the shop for the third morning in a row, he’s going to start “accidentally” removing the bookmarks from whatever book she’s reading whenever she leaves it unattended. “Hello?” he tries to ask, but it’s muffled by his pillow. “Edwin?” His mother’s impatient voice cuts through the last vestiges of sleep. Edwin sits up so fast that he nearly falls out of bed. He can hear the sound of clattering in the kitchen; Charles must already be up. “What is it? Has someone else died?” “Don’t be absurd.” She sniffs. “Does someone need to die for me to call my son?” “Usually, yes.”

🏏 From Cricket Bat Heart 3:

When he comes out of the bat, Charles is tense, waiting to spring at the nearest threat. It’s only when he registers his surroundings—a bedroom with nothing more threatening than the wall of overflowing bookshelves—that he lets down his guard. Edwin stands in front of him, eyes wide with wonder, like they always are when Charles appears out of the bat, no matter how many times he summons Charles. It always makes Charles smile. Now that he’s determined they’re not under attack, he gives the bedroom another look. It’s exactly what he was expecting from Edwin’s room: bookshelves packed with detective novels, mangas that he almost certainly borrowed from Niko, and lots of serious-looking history books. The bed is covered in a faded blue quilt and there’s a sofa in front of the window, which overlooks the garden out back. “So, this is it?” “This is it.” Edwin smiles a little nervously. “I hope it’s acceptable.” “It’s aces, mate.” Charles grins and goes to flop down on the sofa.

🌶 From the smutty Undead Boy Detectives fic (under the cut, even though it's not overly explicit)

“How does that feel?” Charles asks a little breathlessly, drinking in the sight of Edwin stretched across the bed, the graceful arch of his back and his long, long legs. Edwin shifts, wearing a thoughtful expression, like he’s puzzling over a tricky clue. “Odd.” That’s not what Charles wants to hear when he's fingering his boyfriend for the first time. “Odd how?” “Do you remember when I was infested by that spectral worm?” “Mate, are you comparing having my finger up your arse to an ectoplasm-eating ghost worm?” “It's not an entirely dissimilar pressure.” “Right.” Charles starts to pull back. “That’s enough of that, I think.” “Hold on.” Edwin frowns at him over his shoulder. “Give me a moment to adjust, Charles.”

Make Me Write (Again)

[everythingmp3]

spoilers for the new yj episode! tw for me being a hater

well... I was prepared for the fact that they were probably not gonna write Vans death well but that scene..... all I can do is laugh like that was so fucking bad from start to finish 😭 just so deeply unserious, like Van pathetically wailing about wishing she could kill Melissa? really??? thats what they came up with for her? as if her whole arc wasnt unsatisfying enough already, making a random ass side character that had no lines til this season kill her is so beyond stupid like that shit did not reach me emotionally whatsoever - last season the reveal that she had cancer really shook me but now, today, I wasnt even sad or shocked when she died, it was just too awfully written to get to me and a Radiohead song wont help with that kind of bullshit either, sorry (her and Nat twinning with dying to their music and Jackie being eaten to it, good for them, little trio moment there I guess)

also Walter........ dont even get me started on him. why is he still there!! why is he outliving Lottie and Van can we be so fucking for real!!!!! they did those two so dirty by adding them in season 2, giving them nearly no backstory except their places of work, only to give them a meaningless death in the next season like that is so far from what those characters and Lauren and Simone deserved honestly! its just mind blowing how off their priorities are like what the fuck did they smoke in that writers room that made them think "yeah fuck it, lets have a man come in with a helicopter, thats cool" while completely ruining their main characters storylines like huh......

and its not a good sign at all that the adult actresses are openly throwing shade at the writers because it definitely takes a lot for them to abandon diplomatic answers, like they are FED UP and for good reason - like with other shows like Succession it was the exact opposite because whenever the actors received compliments they always always without fail praised the writers for how easy they made their job, how much they loved getting to embody their words etc. like thats a possible reality too (also side note here, Succession was a show that did an unexpected main character death so fucking well that I still feel viscerally upset when I come across gifs from that episode, thats the polar opposite to yellowjackets and how they handle death)

yeah idk now that the season is almost done I can say that the writers fumbled it so hard in so many ways, the actors are all trying their best with what theyre given, as they always do and bless them, but yeah, the writing is falling off more and more it just keeps getting worse and I truly dont see how you could do two more seasons of this shit.. even one whole season is pushing it because what on earth are they gonna have Tai Shauna and Misty do except useless plot lines that include Jeff and Walter? make Melissa important? sorry I wont be watching then

they just do NOT understand how to handle the adult timelines tone at all bc it goes from absurdism to comedy to tragedy to romcom to poor attempts at horror in such absurd jumps like they cant ever decide on a clear distinct tone so it all falls flat for me, for example teen Vans tears towards the end of this new episode did not move me even though Liv is great bc the tone of that entire scene was so random and all over the place, just like the opening scene where they did that comedy punchline shit by having Van say "goonies never say die"........ be so for real. be so fucking for real. how am I supposed to do anything but laugh when thats how you set up a characters death.

and I am gonna be a cunt here for a second but the yj show runners/writers very clearly rely on their audiences generosity because they know that a bunch of die-hard fans are willing to overlook some truly atrocious work, like they knooow that they can get away with lazy writing because they have before in season 2 and its honestly embarrassing to me that they dont hold themselves to higher standards to give their loyal audience something truly worth their time and love and attention - and I do think it very much has to do with the fact that the show has a large lesbian audience, who will gladly take whatever they can get bc there are very few other horror adjacent shows that center gay women/girls but like damn! do better! (a successful example of gay campy horror thats actually funny and hits it comedic beats well while still delivering emotional truths is Jennifers Body, which is ironic considering that Karyn Kusama was involved in that one and also directed some yj episodes, like maybe they shouldve called her and asked for more help..)

its just so frustrating that this show could be really fucking great, the premise is fun, the actors are lovely, but they just refuse to get a grip with the writing like in season 2 I was still able to ignore some of the odd choices they were making but this season has just made me lose my patience for good, I cant pretend I like what theyre doing bc the actors are carrying it all on their backs and its just not enough, its not, Sophie Thatcher had that absolutely heartbreaking beautiful moment where we finally see Nat cry for real, it was so well acted, but then we follow scenes like that up with the most unserious nonsense and it makes me mad on the actors behalves tbh its just a mess

anyway RIP Van fly high angel </3 that was so lame, I am sorry girl

(also I am currently attempting a new fic for her, so maybe I will take this as a sign to actually pull through and finish it so I can put something out there as a little counter-weight to what they did to her 😭 I am in the middle of it rn and dont know if I will end up liking the finished thing but ill try my best!)

[odusseus-xvi]

Hello helloooo friend! Hi! I just wanted to say that I'll be going around and asking people about QSMP characters to avoid mischaracterization of said characters (in analysis, fics, and just overall fan interpretations). So if you're cool with it, can I ask you about the French streamers?

Like, can you tell me the mischaracterization you often see regarding their characters and how they actually are? I mean, ANY facts about them would be very very cool to know! I love all of them and I would really like to know more about them since I can't really watch everyone, ya kno?

Yes I would love to :D ! But also, keep in mind, I'm not immune to a bit of mischaracterization (that's how you write that right ?), sometimes I probably do a little bit, though I try my best not to. I have to admit, I don't see a lot, or just little things, and mostly from the english side of the community, cause over here with the french we are a really small part of the overall fandom, so I don't have a lot of interactions, AND it's our first (ever) smp like that (semi rp etc...), we never had that over here in France, it's a new thing both for us and the ccs, so we are getting our footing. But here we go I do have some things I can say : (wrote a fricking novel holy)

q!Baghera Jones : I see a lot of people characterize her as this hyper competent investigator that knows everything etc... In a way she is, she is a good investigator, and is always eager to solve the mysteries of the island ; What people miss most of the time is that she is also (it's not mutually exclusive) a Goofball : She sings randomly, she walks on mines and jumps off buildings willingly for the lols, some people say she witholds information, most of the time she actually just Forgor. Something that people do get most of the time is that she genuinely is really empathetic : She loves Walter Bob, two days ago she talked about how Cucurucho may be manipulated, she is worried about Quackity, about Cellbit, Foolish, Jaiden etc... And outside of petty rivalry (mostly with Forever, BBH, Etoiles, and a bit Cellbit) she is not a vengeful person at all. She is very understanding. Oh and almost forgot : She is surprisingly insightful ; She guessed what was happening to Cellbit as one of the firsts, she immediatly figured Gegg out the first day she met Slime, ElQuackity is VERY obviously another person than Quackity at first glance etc...

q!Etoiles : There was for some time a bit of mischaracterization in the way people saw him as a bloodthirsty killing machine, though it is fading steadily as we speak ; He is a really nice person that lifts up others, gift them things whenever he can, cares about the eggs, and is always reactive when it comes to saving or helping others. Also, he is a badass in the eyes of everyone (ccs and fandom) but people have a way to write that in fics that doesn't really match him : They write a badass and dark character that is mostly silent and cool ; Etoiles is NOT that (he is badass yes but not much the rest), he SAYS he is that, that he is "dark, and broody, and mysterious", but the guy is always cracking jokes, about others, about himself, he is very self-aware of his problems (social and health related) and likes to joke about it because "it puts smiles on the faces of people" (his way of cheering people up most of the time : "You are not useless, you put smiles on my and the people's faces, and that wonderful"). The moments that CAN be a bit dark is when he is asking for a fight ; most of the time it's goofy, but then there is moments like the dinner party when the codes revealed themselves, where he will be saying while everyone panics "Yeah... Yeah.. FINALLY ! FINALLY !!" and you realise he is not to be trifled with. He aslo tends to blame himself when something wrong happens ; to him, HE is the one that misplayed, that made a mistake.

q!Aypierre : Some people could see him as a relatively chill dude ; he talks calmly, never screams and very rarely raises his voice, but he is NOT chill : He is the most gremlin of the french, his favorite past-time in all the smps he's been in is pranking and breaking the servers : Two days ago in his 24 hour stream, he broke in the federation base three times, exploded a bunch of stuff in there, tortured Foolish alongside BBH, summoned lightning to make Foosh and BBH believe Gegg is still alive in front of his infinite Gegg generator, rickrolled Cucurucho etc... He is a every ingenuous guy with ways to build factories of everything. Most people, out of the french, would fear Etoiles because he is always begging for a fight, and fought and won against the code several times, but he is a nice guy, who they probably SHOULD fear, is Aypierre, this guy can be EVIL at times ; He loves contracts and deals, and using those against the others. He is not all evil though. He does care about Pomme, the french, and is willing to help others when they need him, though he likes to make exchanges.

q!Antoine Daniel : Antoine is probably the hardest to write or get when you are not used to him. He has such a way of speaking and a weird twisted humor that to someone not french, and not watching his streams regularly, it's REAL hard to get him right. He is an apreciator of dark humor and cynicism ; Joking about Bobby in front of Pomme is an example, though he is starting to be more compassionate about the eggs than he was at the beginning of his journey on the smp. Probably because of one of my posts and some others, a lot of people see him as incredibly paranoïd, and for a time he was, though he said himself (both in and out of character) that it was starting to get better because people came talked to him about it, there IS still remains though. What's interesting is that he can be both paranoïd, AND incredibly insightful : His takes are either the rambling of a madman, or scarily on point. Though he is rarely willing to help others (both because of his next to level 0 skills in minecraft and general air of "I don't care"), he is always on alarm and willing to help when it comes to the eggs, multiple times he ironically is one of the most reactive ones when it comes to realise there is danger or a problem for the eggs ; Though he is relatively self-centered, he is very compassionate and attentive of the eggs, with Pomme potentially being the person he trusts most. (everytime he acts aloof and cynical on his stream, to then immediatly worry about Pomme's well-being warms my heart.)

q!Kamet0 : AHAHAHAHAH ahAHaHhah, ahahah... ahah.. ah. oh. (he left for cigarretes)

(HOLY SHIT I WROTE A NOVEL. Sorry, didn't excpect to have that much to say. But here you go, hope that helps.)

[nevermatchandscpsradadventures]

EB x DC: Of Gadgets and Psychics

Disclaimer: I know next to nothing on Batman/Batfam stuff aside from what Nevermatch has infodumped/shown/read to me, and even then, she's only watched a few cartoons and read fanfics. The point is, the DC characters are liable to be OOC; you have been warned, I am doing my best. This fic is heavily inspired by various DP x DC fics Nevermatch has infodumped/shown/read to me, more specifically the Batpham ones. This may be obvious. I believe that is all, so I hope you enjoy this fic!

- Chap 2 >

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

Chapter I: Bruce

It's a quiet evening in Gotham, although when compared to other cities, it's not quiet at all. It's also rather uneventful, almost enough to make Bruce feel antsy. Not that he wants Gotham to be overrun, but the silence and inactivity makes Bruce wonder what sort of things are being schemed behind the scenes.

He does his best to remind himself that Robin and Spoiler are on patrol, as are Orphan and Red Robin, so if something does happen, they'll know. Bruce tries to occupy himself with working on a case, even if it's a rather slow-going one. He moves to sip from his mug, only to find it empty, which is annoying.

Fortunately, Alfred enters the Batcave, carrying a tray holding a pot of coffee and a bubble envelope. Bruce takes the pot and refills his mug before raising his eyebrow at the envelope.

"It was delivered to you, Master Bruce." Alfred states simply, negating the need for Bruce to ask his question, "I believe you will find it important to note that its sender is someone you - presumably- do not know personally: one Ness Allen from Onett, Oregon."

"The other side of the country, huh?" Bruce hums as he picks up the envelope. He taps his comm. "Oracle, what do you know about Onett, Oregon?"

"It's a rural town; no paved roads leading to or from any other towns, but it's very close to Twoson, California." Barbara reports after some typing, "Aside from a police force seemingly obsessed with blocking roads, previously having a gang known as the Sharks, and having a meteorite land there about a year ago, it's not known for much."

"Interesting..." Bruce murmurs. He opens the envelope, finding the first thing inside to be a hand-written letter. It is clear that whoever wrote the letter tried to write neatly, despite a normally messy handwriting style. He reads through the letter, which says,

Dear Mr. Wayne, My name is Ness. I imagine you probably get letters like this a lot, but what I'm telling you here is true. I took a DNA test and found out that you are my biological father. In case you don't believe me, I've sent a few things with this letter; one is a copy of the test results, one is a sample of my hair, and one is a (cleaned-out) sauce container with my spit in it, though you might not want to use that one, in case it says I'm part ketchup if you do your own tests. Maybe we can keep in touch? You know, since you're apparently my bio dad and all. Assuming you want anything to do with me, that is. Hope to hear from you soon, Ness

Bruce raises his eyebrows at the letter. He then reaches into the envelope, pulling out a piece of paper with, sure enough, the test results, showing Bruce as the father. In a small baggie is a lock of black hair, and in another small baggie is an old ketchup container, presumably filled with saliva. He taps his comm again.

"Oracle, what do you know about Ness Allen?" he asks.

"Looks like he's an ordinary kid, B." Barbara replies, "Thirteen years old and in eighth grade, though he'll be fourteen in a month or so. Lives with adoptive parents Walter and Rachel Allen and adoptive sister Tracy Allen. Plays on the baseball team, and aside from a somewhat recent two-week absence, has a decent attendance record."

"Absence?" Bruce asks, "Does it say for what?"

There's some typing to be heard before Barbara responds. "Apparently, his mother had claimed that Ness had caught a really bad bug whenever his teachers came asking about him. Oddly, there are reports of him being in other places during this time. Twoson, California; Threed, California; Fourside, Nevada... Even places like Summers and Scaraba. This also says that his only "criminal record" is "deliberately trespassing", though the Onett Police Force pardoned it shortly afterward."

"Odd, indeed..." Bruce hums. He takes a sip of his coffee. "Keep me updated. Find out more on what happened during those two weeks."

He looks over at the hair and saliva and once again taps his comm. "Robin, Red Robin, I need you both back at the Cave. There's something important we need to discuss."

"Copy that, B." Tim replies, "We're on our way."

It's not long until Tim and Damian have arrived, both reporting nothing out of the ordinary aside from the occasional mugging here and there.

Bruce hands the samples to Tim. "I need you to run a DNA test on these. See if they match anything in our systems." He pauses. "Try the hair first."

"Then what did you need me here for, Father?" Damian asks, crossing his arms as Tim takes the samples to the Bat Computer.

"To talk with you and ask a few questions," Bruce says. He picks up the letter and glances at it before looking back at Damian. "Do you have any siblings that you know of? Blood-related, I mean." Damian nods, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

"I had a brother," he says. "He was the younger twin, and Grandfather deemed him the weaker of us, so he had him killed." He shifts a bit uncomfortably. "Grandfather frequently held that information over my head. I almost want to say he rather enjoyed it. Mother told me that she, regretfully, was the one tasked with killing him; she hadn't even gotten the chance to name him before then." He pauses, a questioning look on his face. "May I ask why, Father?"

Bruce hands Damian the letter. "According to Ness Allen here, I'm his father; said nothing about the mother, though. There's not even any mention of her on the DNA test results he sent as well. I wanted to ask, in case Ness turns out to be Talia's son, as well."

Damian reads through the letter and frowns. "Tt. If that is true, then it is not beneath Mother to have gone behind Grandfather's back and done something like this; claim she killed him successfully, when in reality she merely left him someplace else." He shakes his head. "Assuming, that is, he really is my brother. Assuming Mother withheld the fact that he lived in order to protect him, or even herself and me."

"Hey, Bruce?" Tim calls, bringing Bruce and Damian to look his way, "The results came back, and... Well, you and Damian are gonna wanna see this."

Bruce and Damian head over to the Bat Computer, where Tim is sitting. On the screens, the test results state that, sure enough, Bruce truly is Ness's father. Along with this, though, they also show who the mother is - Talia Al Ghul. And right next to Ness's name is Damian's.

"Looks like you're an older brother for once, Dami," Tim says with a bit of a wry smile.

"So he is alive..." Damian mutters, eyes somehow both wide in surprise and almost narrowed in understanding.

"Perhaps a response should be considered, Master Bruce." Alfred suggests, "He did suggest that the two of you keep in touch, after all."

Bruce nods thoughtfully. "Perhaps I will, Alfred."

[otherworlds-inside-my-mind]

Xenofiction (& similar) Media Masterpost

Editable Google Doc Link here

PS. This list is for keeping track only. This is not a recommendation list and I won't be advocating for any Work, Author or Company listed. There will be footnotes about a work/author for undesirable behaviour or themes if necessary.

This is a WIP and will be updated whenever I have the time to. Feel free to recommend works or inform me about an author so I can update the post. Be Aware works on this list might have been cancelled or on indifinitive Hiatus and not all works are available on English.

Sections:

Literature

Comic Books & Graphics Novels

Picture Books

Indie Written Works

Webcomics

Manga

Animated Series

Live-Action & Hybrid shows

Webseries

Short Films

Animated Films

Live Action & CGI Assisted Movies

Documentary

Theather

Videogames

Online Browser Games

Table Top Games

Music

Other Online Projects

Youtubers

Gen. Videos

Worlds

Franchises

To search is Ctrl + F (Windows) or Command-F (MacOS), on phone browser you have "Find in page" (Drop menu at top right)

Literature

A

Age of Fire - E. E. Knight

Adventure Lit their Star - Kenneth Allsop

Alien in a Small Town - Jim Cleaveland

Alien Chronicles (Literature) - Deborah Chester

Animal Farm - George Orwell

Animorphs - K. A. Applegate

Am an Owl - Martin Hocke

At Winters End - Robert Silverberg

Avonoa - H.R.B. Collotzi

Astrid and Cerulean: A Parrot Fantasy - Parasol Marshall-Crowley

A Wolf for a Spell - Karah Sutton

The African Painted Wolf Novels - Alexander Kendziorski

The Alchemist's Cat - Robin Jarvis

The Amazing Maurice and his educated rodents - Terry Pratchet

The Amity Incident - C. M. Weller

The Ancient Solitary Reign - Martin Hocke

The Animals of Farthing Wood series - Colin Dann

The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein

The Author of Acacia Seeds and Other Extracts from the Journal of Therolinguistics - Ursula K. Le Guin

A Magical Cat Named Kayla: Whiskers of Enchantment -Carlos Juárez [AI Cover]*

The Animal Story Book - Various Authors [Editor: Andrew Lang]

Abenteuer im Korallenriff - Antonia Michaelis [DE]

B

Bambi: A life in the forest & Bambi Children - Felix Salten

Bamboo Kingdom series - Erin Hunter

Bazil Broketail - Christopher Rowley

Beak of the Moon & Dark of the Moon - Philip Temple

Bears of the Ice series - Kathryn Lasky

Beasts of New York - Jon Evans

Beautiful Joe - Margaret Marshall Saunders

Beyond Acacia Ridge - Amy Clare Fontaine

Birddom - Clive Woodall

Bird Brain - Guy Kennaway

Black Beauty - Anna Sewell

Blitzcat - Robert Westall

Blizzard Winds - Paul Koch

Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells

Braver: A Wombat's Tale - Suzanne Selfors & Walker Ranson

Bravelands series- Erin Hunter

Broken Fang - Rutherford Montgomery

Bunnicula series - Deborah Howe & James Howe

Burning Stars - Rurik Redwolf

A Black Fox Running - Brian Carter

A Blue So Loud - Tuesday

The Ballard of The Belstone Fox - David Rook

The Bear - James Curwood

The Bees - Laline Paull

The Biography of a Silver Fox - Ernest Thompson Seton

The Blue Cat of Castle Town - Catherine Cate Coblentz

The Book Of Chameleons - José Eduardo Agualusa

The Book of the Dun Cow - Walter Wangerin Jr.

The Book of Night with Moon - Diane Duane

The Books of the Named series - Clare Bell

The Bug Wars - Robert Asprin

The Builders - Daniel Polansky

C

Call of the wild - Jack London

Callanish - William Horwood

Catwings - Ursula K. Le Guin

Cat Diaries: Secret Writings of the MEOW Society - Betsy Byars, Betsy Duffey & Laurie Myers

Cat House - Michael Peak

Cat Pack - Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Cats in the city of Plague - A.L Marlow

Celestial Heir series - Chester Young

Charlotte's Web - E. B. White

Chet and Bernie mysteries - Spencer Quinn

Chia The Wildcat - Joyce stranger

Child of the Wolves - Elizabeth Hall

Clarice the Brave - Lisa McMann

Cry of the Wild - Charles Foster

Coyote's Wild Home - Barbara Kingsolver; Lily Kingsolver & Paul Mirocha

Coyote Series - Michael Bergey

Crocuta - Katelyn Rushe

Coorinna: A Novel of the Tasmanian Uplands - Erle Wilson

Cujo - Steven King

The Calatians Series - Tim Susman

The Cats of Roxville station - Jean Craighead Georde

The Chanur Novels - C. J. Cherryh

The Cold Moons - Aeron Clement

The Color of Distance || Through Alien Eyes - Amy Thomson

The Conquerors - Timothy Zahn

The Council of Cats - R. J. F.

The Cricket in Times Square - George Selden

The Crimson Torch - Angela Holder

The Crossbreed - Allan Eckert

The Crucible of Time - John Brunner

D

Darkeye series - Lydia West

Deadlands: The Hunted - Skye Melki-Wegner

Demon of Undoing - Andrea I. Alton

Desert Dog - Jim Kjelgaard

Dinotopia - James Gurney, Alan Dean Foster

Doglands - Tim Willocks

Dimwood Forest series - Avi

A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray - Ann M. Martin

A Dog's Porpoise Duology - M. C. Ross

Dogs of the Drowned City - Dayna Lorentz

A Dog's Purpose series - W. Bruce Cameron

Dolphin Way: Rise of the Guardians - Mark Caney

Domino - Kia Heavey

Douglas' Diary - Andrew John

DragonFire series - Lewis Jones Davies

Dragon Fires Rising - Marc Secchia

Dragon Hoard and Other Tales of Faerie - Cathleen Townsend

Dragons and Skylines series - Rowan Silver

Dragon Prayers - M.J. McPike

Dragons of Mother Stone series - Melissa McShane

Dragon Girls Series - Maddy Mara

The Deptford Mice series - Robin Jarvis

The Dogs of the Spires series - Ethan Summers

The Dragons of Solunas series - H. Leighton Dickson

The Duncton Chronicles - William Horwood

The Destiny of Dragons - J.F.R. Coates

The Diary Of A House Cat - Ileana Dorobantu

Dogtown - Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko

Die schwarze Tigerin - Peer Martin [DE]

Die weiße Wölfin - Vanessa Walder [DE]

Die Wilden Hunde Von Pompeii - Helmut Krausser [DE]

Das wilde Mäh - Vanessa Walder [DE]

E

The Eyes and the Impossible - Dave Eggers

Eclosión - Arturo Balseiro [ES]

Ein Seehund findet nach Hause - Antonia Michaelis [DE]

F

Fantastic Mr. Fox - Roald Dahl

Faithful Ruslan - Georgi Vladimov

Feather and Bone: The Crow Chronicles - Clem Martini

Feathers & Flames series - John Bailey

Felidae series (1) - Akif Pirinçci

Fifteen Rabbits - Felix Salten

Fire, Bed & Bone - Henrietta Branford

Fire of the Phoenix - Azariah Jade

Fluke - James Herbert

Firefall series - Peter Watts

Firebringer - David Clement-Davies

Flush: A Biography Book - Virginia Woolf

Fox - Glyn Frewer

Foxcraft series - Inbali Iserles

Frightful’s Mountain - Jeanie Craighead George

Frost dancers: A story of hares - Garry Kilworth

The Familiars series - Adam Jay Epstein

The Fifth - Saylor Ferguson

The Firebringer series - Meredith Ann Pierce

The Fox and The Hound - Daniel P. Mannix

The Forges of Dawn - E. Kinsey

Freundschaft im Regenwald - Peer Martin [DE]

(1) Felidae's Author - Akif Pirinçci - is known to be a Xenophobic, Anti-muslim, Anti-Lgbt and Extreme Right-Wing guy (A N4zi by his on words). Won't be going onto details just know he has a non-fiction work called "Germany Gone Mad: The Crazy Cult around Women, Homosexuals and Immigrants." His works has been out of print ever since.

G

Guardian Cats and the lost books of Alexandria - Rahma Krambo

Guardians of Ga'Hoole series - Kathryn Lasky

Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

Griffin Quest - Sophie Torro

Gryphon Insurrection series - K. Vale Nagle

The Ghost and It's Shadow - Shaun Hick

The Golden Eagle - Robert Murphy

The Golem and the Jinni - Helene Wecker

The Good Dog - Newbery Medalist

The Guardian Herd series - Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

The Goodbye Cat - Hiro Arikawa

The Great Timbers - James A. Kane

H

Haunt Fox - Jim Kjelgaard

Haven: A Small Cat's Big Adventure - Megan Wagner Lloyd

Heavenly Horse series - Mary Stanton

Hive - Ischade Bradean

Horses of Dawn series - Kathryn Lasky

House of Tribes - Garry Kilworth

Hunter's Moon/Foxes of First dark - Garry Kilworth

Hunters Universe series - Abigail Hilton

A Hare at Dark Hollow - Joyce Stranger

The Hundred and One Dalmatians & The Starlight Barking - Dodie Smith

The Hunt for Elsewhere - Beatrice Vine

Hollow Kingdom Duology - Kira Jane Buxton

I

I am a Cat - Natsume Sōseki

I, Scheherezade: Memoirs of a Siamese Cat - Douglass Parhirst

In the Long Dark - Brian Carter

The Incredible Journey - Sheila Burnford

Im Reich der Geparde - Kira Gembri [DE]

J

Joe Grey series - Shirley Rousseau Murphy

Jonathan Livingston Seagull - Richard Bach & Russell Munson

Julie of the Wolves - Jeanie Craighead George

The Jungle Book - Rudyard Kipling

Journey to the West - Wu Cheng'en

K

Kävik the Wolf Dog - Walt Morey

Kazan duology - James Curwood

Kine Saga - Alan Lloyd

Kona's Song - Louise Searl

The Killers - Daniel P. Mannix

Kindred of the Wild - Charles G.D Roberts

König der Bären - Vanessa Walder [DE]

L

Lassie Come-Home - Eric Knight

Last of the Curlews - Fred Bodsworth

Lazy Scales - D.M. Gilmore

Legends of Blood series - Ethan Summers

A Legend of Wolf Song - George Stone

Luna the Lone Wolf - Forest Wells

Lupus Rex - John Carter Cash

Lutapolii: White Dragon of the South - Deryn Pittar

The Last Unicorn - Peter S. Beagle

The Labrador Pact & The Last Family in England - Matt Haig

The Last Dogs - Christopher Holt

The Last Eagle - Daniel P. Mannix

The Last Great Auk - Allan Eckert

The Last Monster on Earth - L.J. Davies

The Life Story of a Fox - J. C. Tregarthen

The Lost Rainforest series - Eliot Schrefer & Emilia Dziubak

The Lost Domain - Martin Hocke

The Last Whales: A Novel - Lloyd Abbey

M

Mammoth Trilogy - Stephen Baxter

Manxmouse: The Mouse Who Knew No Fear - Paul Gallico

Marney the Fox - Scott Goodall & John Stokes

Mattie: The story of a hedgehog - Norman Adams, & G.D. Griffiths

Matriarch: Elephant vs. T-Rex - Roz Gibson

Midnight's Sun - Garry Kilworth

Migon - P.C. Keeler

Minado The Devil - Dog - Erle Wilson

Monkey Wars - Richard Kurti

Mouseheart Series - Lisa Fiedler

The Mistmantle chronicles - M.I. McAllister

The Mountain Lion - Robert Murphy

The Mouse Butcher - Dick King-Smith

The Mouse Protectors Series - Olly Barrett

Maru - Die Reise der Elefanten - Kira Gembri [DE]

N

New Springtime series - Robert Silverberg

Nightshade Chronicles - Hilary Wagner

Nugly - M. C. Ross

Nuru und Lela - Das Wunder der Wildnis - Kira Gembri [DE]

O

Old One-Toe - Michel-Aimé Baudouy

Of Birds and Branches - Frances Pauli

Outlaw Red - Jim Kjelgaard

The Old Stag - Henry Williamson

The One and Only Ivan - Katherine Applegate

P

Painted Flowers - Caitlin Grizzle

Pax & Pax: Journey Home - Sara Pennypacker

Petrichor - C.E. Wright

The Plague Dogs - Richard Adams

The Pit - Elaine Ramsay

Pride Wars Series - Matt Laney

A Pup Called Trouble - Bobbie Pyron

The Peregryne Falcon - Robert Murphy

Pork and Others - Cris Freddi

Q

Queen in the Mud - Maari

Quill and Claw series - Kathryn Brown

R

Rak: The story of an Urban Fox - Jonathon Guy

Ramblefoot by Ken Kaufman

Rats of Nimh series - Robert C. O'Brien

Raven Quest - Sharon Stewart

Ravenspell Series - David Farland

Raptor Red - Robert T. Bakker

Red Fox - Charles G. D. Roberts

Redwall series - Brian Jacques

Rose in a Storm - Jon Katz

Rufus - Rutherford Montgomery

Run With the Wind series - Tom McCaughren

Runt - Marion Dane Baeur

Rustle in the Grass - Robin Hawdon

Rusty - Joyce Stranger

The Remembered War series - Robert Vane

The Rescuers series - Margery Sharp

The Red Stranger - David Stephen

The River Singers & The Rising - Tom Moorhouse

The Road Not Taken - Harry Turtledove,

The Running Foxes - Joyce Stranger

Revier der Raben - Vanessa Walder [DE]

S

Salar the Salmon - Henry Williamson

Scary Stories for Young Foxes Duology - Christian McKay Heidicker

Scaleshifter series - Shelby Hailstone Law

Shadow Walkers - Russ Chenoweth

Scream of the White Bears - David Clement-Davies

Seekers saga - Erin Hunter

Serpentia Series - Frances Pauli

Shadows in the Sky - Pete Cross

Shark Wars Series - EJ Altbacker

Silverwing series - Kenneth Oppel

Silver Brumby series - Elyne Mitchell

Sirius - Olaf Stapledon

SkyTalons Series - Sophie Torro

Solo's Journey - Joy Aiken Smith

Sky Hawk - Gill Lewis

Snow Dog - Jim Kjelgaard

Song of the River - Soinbhe Lally

Spirit of the West series - Kathleen Duey

Survivors series - Erin Hunter

Stray - A.N Wilson

String Lug the Fox - David Stephen

Swashbuckling Cats: Nine Lives on the Seven Seas - Rhonda Parrish & Co.

Swordbird series - Nancy Yi Fan

The Sheep-Pig - Dick King-Smith

The Sight & Fell - David Clement-Davies

The Silent Sky - Allan Eckert

The Silver Claw - Garry Kilworth

The Stoner Eagles - William Horwood

The Stink Files - Jennifer L. Holm & Jonathan Hamel

The Snowcat Prince - Dina Norlund

The Story Of A Seagull And The Cat Who Taught Her To Fly - Luis Sepúlveda

The Story of a Snail Who Discovered the Importance of Being Slow - Luis Sepúlveda

The Story of a dog called Leal - Luis Sepúlveda

The Story of a Red Deer - John Fortescue

The Summer King Chronicles - Jess E. Owen

Schogul, Rächer der Tiere - Birgit Laqua [DE]

Stadt der Füchse - Vanessa Walder [DE]

T

Tailchaser's Song - Tad Williams

Tarka the Otter - Henry Williamson

Three Bags Full - Leonnie Swann

Thy Servant a Dog - Rudyard Kipling

Tomorrow's Sphinx - Clare Bell

Torn Ear - Geoffrey Malone

Thor - Wayne Smith

Trickster -  Tom Moorhouse

Two Dogs and a Horse - Jim Kjelgaard

The Tale of Despereaux - Kate DiCamillo

The Travelling Cat Chronicles - Hiro Arikawa

The Trilogy of the Ants - Bernard Werber

The Trumpet of the Swan - E. B. White

The Tusk That Did the Damage - Tania James

The Tygrine cat - Inbali Iserles

U

Ultimate Dragon Saga - Graham Edwards

Under the Skin - Michel Faber

V

Varjak Paw duology - S.F Said

Vainqueur the Dragon series - Maxime J. Durand

W

War Bunny series - Christopher St. Jhon

War Horse - Michael Morpurgo

War Queen - Illthylian

Warrior Cats series - Erin Hunter

Watership Down/Tales of Watership Down - Richard Adams

Ways of Wood Folk - William J. Long

Welkin Weasels series - Garry Kilworth

West of Eden - Harry Harrison

Whalesong Trilogy - Robert Siegel

Whale - Jeremy Lucas

Whispers in the Forest - Barbara Coultry

White Wolf - Henrietta Branford

White Fang - Jack London

White Fox Series - Jiatong Chen

Wings trilogy - Don Conroy

Wild Lone - Denys Watkins-Pitchford

Wild Animals I Have Known - Ernest Thompson Seton

Willow Tree Wood Series - J. S. Betts

Wings of Fire series - Tui T. Sutherland

Winterset Hollow - Jonathan Edward Durham

Wolf: The Journey Home | Hungry for Home: A Wolf Odyssey - Asta Bowen

Wolf Brother series - Michelle Paver

Wolf Chronicles - Dorothy Hearst

Wolves of the Beyond Series - Kathryn Lasky

Woodstock Saga - Michael Tod

A Whale of the Wild - Rosanne Parry

A Wolf Called Wander - Rosanne Parry

The Waters of Nyra - Kelly Michelle Baker

The Wolves of Elementa series - Sophie Torro

The Wolves of Time - William Horwood

The Wolf Chronicles Series - Teng Rong

The Way of Kings - Louise Searl

The White Bone - Barbara Gowdy

The White Fox/Singing Tree - Brian Parvin

The White Puma - Ronald Lawrence

The Wild Road & The Golden Cat - Gabriel King

The Wildings & The Thousand names of darkness - Nilanjana Roy

The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

The Wind Protect You - Pat Murphy

The Wolves of Paris - Daniel P. Mannix

Y

Yellow eyes - Rutherford Montgomery

The Year Of The Dinosaur - Edwin H. Colbert

Z

Zones of Thought series - Vernor Vinge

Z-Verse series by R.H

Comic Books/Graphic Novels

Animosity - Marguerite Bennett

Age of Reptiles - Ricardo Delgado

Legend - Samuel Sattin Koehler

Mouse Guard - David Petersen

Pride of Baghdad - Brian K. Vaughan & Niko Henrichon

Rover Red Charlie - Garth Ennis & Michael Dipascale

Stray Dogs - Tony Fleecs & Trish Forstner

We3 - Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely

Beasts of Burden - Evan Dorkin & Jill Thompson

LOBO: Canine Crusader of the Metal Wasteland - Macs-World-Ent

The Sandman: Dream of a Thousand Cats - Neil Gaiman

Animal Castle - Xavier Dorison & Felix Delep

Blacksad Series - Juan Díaz Canales & Juanjo Guarnido

Scurry - Mac Smith

The Snowcat Prince - Dina Norlund

Rankless - Maggie Lightheart

Animal Pound - Tom King & Peter Gross

Animal Castle - Xavier Dorison & Felix Delep

BlackSad - Juan Díaz Canales & Juanjo Guarnido

Picture Books

Steve the Dung Beetle: On a Roll - Susan R. Stoltz & Melissa Bailey

Hot Dog - Doug Salati

The Rock from the Sky - Jon Klassen

Whoever Heard of a Flying Bird? - David Cunliffe & Ivan Barrera

A Cat Named Whiskers - Shana Gorian

Ocean Tales Children's Books Series - Sarah Cullen & Zuzana Sbodová

Jake the Growling Dog - Samantha Shannon

Indie Written Works

Fins Above Series - MIROYMON

Journey of Atlas - Journey of Atlas

Webcomics

A

Africa - Arven92

After Honour - genstaelens

Awka - Nothofagus-obliqua

Arax - Azany

Amarith - Eredhys

The Apple's Echo - Helianthanas

Alone - Magpeyes

B

The Blackblood Alliance - KayFedewa

The Betrothed - Kibisca

Black Tyrant - Zapp-BEAST

Blue - HunterBeingHunted

Beast Tags - TheRoomPet

Spy - Utahraptor93

Be Reflected in my Eyes - Aquene-lupetta

C

Carry your voice - TacoBella

Caelum Sky - ALRadeck

Crescent Wing - Mikaley

Crescent Moonlight - AnimalCrispy

City of Trees - SanjanaIndica

Corpse - doeprince/ratt

D

Darbi - Sherard Jackson

The Devils Demons - Therbis

Doe of Deadwood - Songdogx

Dyten - Therbis

Desperation - PracticelImagination

E

Equus Siderae - Dalgeor

Empyrean - Leonine-Skies

Enchantment - FeralWolf1234

F

Fox Fires - Pipilia

Forget me Not - Nitteh

Fjeld - Dachiia

Felinia - Rainy-bleu

G

Golden Shrike - doeprince/ratt

Ghost of the Gulag - David Derrick Jr.

H

Horse Age - BUGHS-22

Hiraeth - AFlameThatNeverDies

Half-Blood - majkaria

Horns of Light - ThatMoonySky

I

I Hope So - Detective Calico

The Ivory Walk - TacoBella

I'm not Ready - Wolfkingdom372

J

Jet and Harley - doeprince

K

Kestrel Island - Silverphoenix

Kin - Fienduredraws

KuroMonody - IrisBdz

Krystal - Nitteh

The King of Eyes - CloverTailedFox09

L

Legend of Murk - Azany

LouptaOmbra - Loupta Ombra (OngakuK, MlleNugget & joeypony)

Leopards bring rain - Kyriuar

M

Mazes of Filth - petitecanine

Minimal All You Are - mike-princeofstars

N

Nine Riders - SpiriMuse

No Man's Land - TacoBella

Never seen the Day - R3dk3y

Norra - shadowmirku

O

Obsidian Fire - SolinaBright

Oren's Forge - teagangavet

Off-White - Akreon

Out Of Time - IndiWolf

R

Rabbit on the Moon - Songdogx & Nitteh

The Rabbit Hole - Detrah

RunningWolf Mirari - Mirella Menciassi

Raptor - ElenPanter

Redriver - FireTheWolf777

Repeat - Songdogx

The Rabbit's Foot - riri_arts

S

Scurry - Mac Smith

Simbol - Zoba22

Spirit Lock - Animal Crispy

The Sylcoe - Denece-the-sylcoe

Sunder - Aurosoul

T

Tainted Hearts - Therbis

Taxicat - owlburrow

That's Freedom Guyra - Nothofagus-obliqua

Three Corners: A Kitten's Story - Lara Frizzell

Tofauti Sawa - TheCynicalHound

Two of a Kind - ProjectNao

To Catch a Star - SleepySundae

U

Under the Ash Tree - ChevreLune

Uninvited - Nothofagus-obliqua

W

Water Wolves - LuckyStarhun

What Lurks Beneath - ArualMeow

Water Wolves - LuckyStarhun

Wild Wolves - Lombarsi

White Tail - SleepySundae

What's your damage? - FrostedCanid

The Wolves of Chena - Yamis-Art

Waves Always Crash - Hellhunde

The Whale's Heart - Possumteeeth [Warriors Fancomic]

Manga

A Centaur's Life - Murayama Kei

Beastars - Paru Itagaki

Chi's Sweet Home - Kanata Konami

Ginga Series [Silverfang] - Yoshihiro Takahashi

Gon - Masashi Tanaka

Houseki no Kuni | Land of the Lustrous - Haruko Ichikawa

Inugami-Kai - Masaya Hokazono

The Jungle Emperor - Osamu Tezuka

My roommate is a cat - Minatsuki & Asu Futatsuya

Crimsons – The Scarlet Navigators of the Ocean - Kanno Takanori

Rooster Fighter - Shū Sakuratani

Simoun - Shō Aikawa

The Fox & Little Tanuki - Mi Tagawa

Yuria 100 Shiki - Nobuto Hagio

Massugu ni Ikou - Kira

Cat Soup

The Amazing 3

Cat + Gamer - Wataru Nadatani

Animated Series

#

101 Dalmatians: The series & 101 Dalmatian Street

A

A Polar Bear in Love

B

Baja no Studio

Bagi: Monster of Mighty Nature

Bannertail: The Story of Gray Squirrel

Bluey

C

Centaurworld (2021)

Chirin's Bell

Chironup no Kitsune

D

Dokkun Dokkun

E

F

G

Gamba no Bouken

H

Hazbin Hotel

I

Invader ZIM

Inu to Neko Docchi mo Katteru to Mainichi Tanoshii

J

K

King Fang

Koisuru Shirokuma

Kemushi no Boro

Kewang Lantian

Konglong Baobei: Shiluo De Wenming

L

Little Polar Bear

M

Manxmouse's Great Activity

Mitsubachi Maya no Bouken

Mikan Enikki

Massugu ni Ikou -

My Life as a Teenage Robot

Mikan Enikki

N

O

Ore, Tsushima

Okashi na Sabaku no Suna to Manu

P

Primal

Polar Bear Cafe

Q

R

Robotboy (2005)

S

Seton Doubutsuki: Risu no Banner

Simoun

T

The Amazing 3

Tottoko Hamtarou

The Adventure of Qiqi and Keke

Tama & Friends: Third Street Story

U

V

W

Watership Down (2018) & Watership Down (1999)

What's Michael?

Wolf's Rain

Wonder Pets

X

Y

Live-Action/Hybrid show

Fantasy High

A Crown of Candy 

Burrow's End

Good Omens

Webseries

Dinosauria - Dead Sound

My Pride - tribbleofdoom

Whitefall - Chylk

The Stolen Hope - Galemtido

Dragon's Blood - FluffyGinger

Helluva Boss -

Murder Drones -

Short Films

A

Alone a wolf's winter

B

Baja's Studio

Beautiful Name

Burrow

C

Cat Piano

Cat Soup

Chicken Little

D

E

F

Far From the Tree

Ferdinand the Bull

Frypan Jiisan

G

Genji Fantasy: The Cat Fell in Love With Hikaru Genji

Gaitou to Neko

H

Hao Mao Mimi

Houzi Dian Bianpao

I

J

Je T'aime

K

Kitbull

L

Lava

Lambert the sheepish lion

Laoshu Jia Nu

M

Mahoutsukai no Melody

Monmon the Water Spider

Mushroom - Nakagawa Sawako

N

O

Of Mice and Clockworks

Osaru no Tairyou

P

Piper

Q

R

Robin Robin

Rusuban

S

Sauria - Dead Sound

Smash and Grab

Street of Crocodiles

She and Her Cat

Space Neko Theater

Shiroi Zou | White Elephant

Shi | Food

Sugar, With a Story

Straw-saurus NEO

T

The Chair

The Blue Umbrella

The Shell Shocked Egg

The Dog Door

The Dog In The Alley

That's Why They Were Made

U

Ushigaeru

V

W

With a Dog AND a Cat, Every Day is Fun

X

Y

Z

Zhui Shu

Animated Films

#

101 Dalmatians duology

A

A Monkey's Tale (1999)

All Dogs go to Heaven

The Adventures of Lolo the Penguin

Alpha and Omega saga

An American Tail

The Aristocats

Antz

Animals United

Annabelle's Wish (1997)

Alakazam the great (1960)

B

Back Outback

Balto

Bambi / Bambi II

Bolt

Brother Bear / Brother Bear II

A Bug's Life

The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales

Bee Movie

The Brave Little Toaster

Birds of a Feather

Back to the Forest

C

Cars

Chance

Chicken Run

D

Dinosaur

Speckles: The Tarbosaurus || Dino King: Journey to Fire Mountain

Dumbo

DC League of Super-Pets

E

Elemental

F

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Fantastic Planet

Felidae

The Fox and the Hound

Finding Nemo/Finding Dory

Free Birds

The Fearless Four

G

The Good Dinosaur

Ghost in the Shell

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

H

Happy Feet/Happy Feet Two

Help! I'm a Fish

Home on the Range

Hoero! Bun Bun Movie

Hokkyoku no Muushika Miishika

I

Ice Age Franchise

Isle of Dogs

I Am T-Rex

J

Jungledyret Hugo

K

Koati

The King of Tibetan Antelope

Kuma no Gakkou trilogy

L

Lady and the Tramp

The Land Before time Franchise

The Last Unicorn

Leafy, A Hen in the wild

Little Big Panda

The Lion King Franchise

Lucky and Zorba

Lilo & Stitch

Luca

Last Day of the Dinosaurs

M

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Marona's Fantastic Tale

Millionaire Dogs

My Friend Tyranno

Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants || Minuscule - Mandibles from Far Away

Mouse and His Child

N

Nezumi Monogatari: George to Gerald no Bouken

O

Oliver & Company

One Stormy Night

Over the Edge

P

Padak

The Plague Dogs

Pompoko

Pinocchio by Guillermo del Toro

Pipi Tobenai Hotaru

R

Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure

Rango

Ratatouille

Raven the Little Rascal

Reynard the Fox (1989)

Rio

Robots

Rock a Doodle

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1998)

The Rabbi’s Cat

S

Samson and Sally

Sahara

The Secret of Nihm

The Secret Life of Pets/The Secret Life of Pets II

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

Sheep & Wolves

The Seventh Brother

A Stork's Journey

Stowaways on the Ark

T

A Turtle's Tale

The One and Only Ivan

Toy Story

Twilight of the Cockroaches (1987)

The Trumpet of the Swan

The Enchanted Journey

U

Unico

Underdog

V

Vuk the Little Fox

W

WALL·E

Watership Down (1978)

White Fang

Wizards

The Wild

Wolf Children

Wolfwalkers

X

Y

You Are Umasou

Z

Zootopia

Live Action/CGI Assisted Movies

Au Hasard Balthazar

Beverly Hills Chihuahua franchise

Cats & Dogs franchise

Charlotte's Web

EO

Fluke (1995) - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Homeward Bound duology (1963 & 1996) - Disney

The Legend of Lobo (1962) - Disney

Strays (2023) - Universal Pictures

Pride (2024) - BBC

101 Dalmatians duology (1996 & 2000)

Documentary

March of the Penguins

Meerkat Manor

Lemur Street

Gangs of Lemur Island

Orangutan Island

Prairie Dog Dynasty

Chimp Empire

Monkey Thieves

Monkey Kingdom

Theather

Cats

Videogames

Animalia Survival - High Brazil Studio

Cattails - Falcon Development

Endling: Extinction is Forever

Gibbon: Beyond the trees - Broken Rules

The Lonesome Fog - Might and Delight

Meadow - Might and Delight

Niche - Stray Fawn Studio

Shelter / Shelter 2/ Shelter 3 - Might and Delight

Paws - Might and Delight

Stray - BlueTwelve Studio

The WILDS - Gluten Free Games

Wolf Quest - eduweb

Golden Treasure: The Great Green - Dreaming Door Studios

Spirit of the North - Infuse Studio

Ōkami - Clover Studio

Rain World - Videocult

Feather - Samurai Punk

Eagle Flight - Ubisoft Montreal Studio

Copoka - Inaccurate Interactive

Untitled Goose Game - House House

PaRappa - NanaOn-Sha

Night in the Woods - Infinite Fall & Secret Lab

Monster Prom - Beautiful Glitch

Them's Fightin' Herds - Mane6

Toontown

E.V.O.: Search for Eden - Givro Corporation

(Pretty much most of Might and Delight games)

Online Browser Games

Lioden

Wolvden

Flight Rising

Lorwolf

Table Top Games

Bunnies & Burrows

Chronicles of Darkness

Wanderhome

Mage: The Awakening

Werewolf: The Apocalypse

Pugmire

Three Raccoons in a Trench Coat

World Tree (RPG)

Pawpocalypse

Heckin' Good Doggos

Humblewood

Dungeons & Dragons (Depends on the GM)

Music

In My Eyes You're a Giant - Sonata Arctica

It Won't Fade - Unia

The Cage - Winterheart's Guild

Other Online Projects

Youtubers

Cardinal West

Xenofiction Reviews

Gen. Videos

Trope Talk: Small Mammal on a Big Adventure by Overly Sarcastic Productions

Worlds

Mirolapye - Varverine

Franchises

Sonic the Hedgehog

My little pony

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Hamtaro

Pokemon

Digimon

Kirby

Monter High

Tom & Jerry

Baldur’s Gate

Maya the Bee

The Little Polar Bear

[brooklynisher]

Short Fanfiction Time

Because I am incapable of writing long ones apparently.

Had a long conversation about Spine angst and how it affects his relationship with his siblings and that's what this is.

Do not be fooled though! This fic is quite lighthearted despite the what it's about.

Here's the link, but you can read the full story under the cut!

Summary: Zer0 notices that The Spine seems uncomfortable whenever he's around. He looks towards Rabbit to explain what the problem is.

Annoying Little Brother

After Hatchworth left the band to pursue his career in gold-fishing, Rabbit and The Spine were left in the dark. That’s one more robot to leave their old life behind in the pursuit of something greater. And though Rabbit and The Spine are always proud of their siblings for chasing their dreams, it doesn’t exactly feel great to be left behind as the “old life”. Not to mention that they cannot have a band of just two robots! They’re already so familiar with their three-robot dynamic. How could they adjust now?

Luckily a young robot was able to step in. Many years ago, Peter Walter VI accidentally discovered a robot originally used for war deep down in the basement. When he was discovered, he joined the band for a brief moment before pursuing a solo career. However, the success of his solo career was short-lived. He ended up going bankrupt and found himself coming back home. But now that he’s back, he’s more than happy to rejoin the band of his siblings! Especially now that they’re one robot short. Will he bring peace to the minds of his new bandmates?

"No Zer0! Now you just got paint all over your clothes!" Rabbit whined.

It seems not.

"You dip the figure into the paint. Y-y-y-you don't dump the paint onto the figure!"

"I don't get it!" Zer0 protested. 

"Rabbit, I've never done this before. I'm trying really hard to do it right but-"

"What even is that? Is that an alligator?" Rabbit interrupted.

"No! It's a-"

"Rabbit?" Another voice calls down the halls. 

Before Zer0 could explain his clay creation, Rabbit shifts her attention to her other brother's voice.

"Spine?" She calls back.

The Spine enters the room looking quite different than usual. The bots had gotten familiar with The Spine's tendency to overdress when he's not on stage, but to see him all decked out in cowboy attire is… different. 

"Hey, Rabbit, I was wondering if you- oh. Zer0, I- I didn't know you were in here." The Spine's mood seemed to slightly dampen at the sight of Zer0.

"How couldn't you with all his whining?" Rabbit teases. 

Zer0 lets out an embarrassed yet offended puff of steam.

"Oh. Well... Is everything alright over here?" The Spine asks.

Rabbit, sensing that The Spine's motives have changed, tries to coerce some honesty out of him. 

"Oh, w-w-w-we're just messing around! It's fine. But what about you huh? Whatcha doing over here?"

"I just wanted to see if..." His voice fades. 

The Spine seems to be a little uncomfortable as he speaks.

"Well... Never mind." He sighs.

With that, he takes his leave.

Rabbit nearly gets up in an attempt to stop him but she stays put, simply groaning in defeat.

"Annoying..." She mutters.

Rabbit returns to the original task at hand which was making clay figures with Zer0. Zer0 however, seems to be a bit put off by his older brother's behavior. He stares at the doorway trying to figure out what was so strange about what just happened. Spine walked in dressed like a cowboy, he was confused about Zer0's presence, he wanted to talk about something with Rabbit, but he left before he could say it. He left when he realized Zer0 was there…

"Hey, Rabbit?" Zer0 asks.

"Yes, Zer0?" Rabbit responds.

Zer0 paused. He couldn't help but feel like he was about to ask an inappropriate question, but he wanted answers.

"Do you think The Spine... doesn't like me?"

Rabbit tilts her head in genuine confusion.

"What? No! What makes you think that?"

"Well... You saw how he was acting when he saw me. He got upset and left. You don't think it's because I'm a new member, do you? Or maybe he's mad that I left you guys behind for that solo career... or maybe-"

"Zer0!" Rabbit stops him early. 

"Calm down! He isn’t-isn’t mad at you."

Despite Rabbit’s efforts to keep Zer0’s mind from making this worse, he still seems to be overthinking this.

"But he always acts like this Rabbit! Every time I'm around, he gets uncomfortable and he always tries to hang out with you, but never with me! I know I'm new and needed in the band and all but I don't feel like he wants me to be here… And I think-”

"No! Zer0 he... The whole reason he came here in the first place was because he wanted to play cowboys! He’s not-" Rabbit starts

"With you. Not with me. Because he hates me, I get it." Zer0 interrupts failing to hide his stubbornness.

"Oh come on Zer0 it’s not because he hates you! N-n-n-not at all! It’s because… Well… “

Rabbit pauses for a second contemplating if she should dig this deep. Zer0 raises an eyebrow. 

“Honestly? He's afraid of you Zer0." She reveals.

That stops Zer0 in his tracks.

“Afraid of me? Is it because of-”

“‘Afraid’s a strong word’ Okay okay. I get it, but the point is, it’s not because of y-you.”

Rabbit’s tone has gotten rather serious compared to how she usually is. Zer0 can be rather stubborn when he’s all worked up. And although there can be something endearing about his stubbornness, it’s quite a challenge to deal with when it’s about a serious topic. During moments like these, Rabbit finds it easiest to shut down any attempts at pushing his worries further.

“Spine’s just not used to this.” She continues.

“Used to… what?”

“Used to behaving like… well… a brother. Or more himself I suppose” 

Rabbit leans towards Zer0, standing up a little as to intimidate him.

“Listen-listen, I’m going to tell you a secret. Alright? You cannot tell anyone, especially-ly-ly The Spine, that I told you this. Can you keep it?”

Rabbit can be scary at times, but usually, it’s in a silly way, much like how many people find clowns to be scary. But this time, it’s different. It’s as if she’s threatening him without words. Even though Rabbit herself isn’t known for her ability to keep secrets, whatever it is she tells Zer0, he has to keep it between them.

“Yes ma’am.” He responds unintentionally showing a bit of fear.

“Good.”

The lights go out. Suddenly, Rabbit’s entire face glows up as a flashlight shines on her from underneath. Was this a bit dramatic for the tale she was going to tell? Absolutely, but she could figure out people fast, and although Zer0 was new, she knew this was exactly what he needed to understand this secret.

“You see Zer0, Spine grew up very different from the rest of us. Unlike us, The Spine was designed to be perfect. Perfect in every way. Such an impossible goal. But Pappy Walter believed he could achieve it.”

As she speaks, she walks around the dark room, still facing Zer0. Zer0 follows her as needed.

“He tried his hardest, but no matter how hard he tried, something always went wrong. There was always something that The Spine did or said that needed to be fixed. So he kept trying and trying and one day…”

Rabbit flicks the side of her head to create a dinging noise.

“The Spine figured it out. If it was his behavior that was the problem, then it’s up to him to fix it. And so he did. He taught himself how to appear to be perfect.”

She takes a step towards Zer0.

“And you know what perfection means right?” She asks towering over him.

“Wh-what does it mean Rabbit?” He responds, shaking a little.

“That means no whining.”

“Ah!”

“No crying.”

“AH!”

“And no playing.”

“AHHHHHH!!! TURN IT OFF RABBIT TURN IT OFF!” Zer0 screams as if this is a movie.

Rabbit chuckles a little before turning off the flashlight, which only induces more screaming from Zer0. She walks over to the doorway, now covered with a tarp, and flicks the light switch back on. Zer0’s screaming subsides.

“How… how did you know all of that?” Zer0 asks.

“I know everything. I’m the oldest.”

“Oh.” Zer0 looks away for a second before another question finds him.

“But… wait...” Zer0 starts. 

“What does The Spine being perfect have to do with him being afraid of me?”

“You see Zer0, The Spine has a bit of a hard shell.”

“Aren’t all of us made of metal?”

“Not literally.”

“Oh.”

“But I’ve managed to break through it in recent years. He’s getting comfortable with me. And-and I’ve managed to actually get him to let his guard down around me. To be imp-p-perfect with me!”

“But it’s just you?” Zer0 asks.

“Exactly! That’s why he was uncomfortable when he saw you! He was wearing his cowboy outfit! Y-y-you caught him playing pretend!”

“Ohhhhh…” Zer0 pauses before coming to a realization.

“Oh, well he probably feels terrible now! Oh no, he definitely doesn’t want me around now! I should-” Zer0 begins to stand up.

“No! No!” Rabbit interferes. “Spine NEEDS you around Zer0!”

“What? Really?” Zer0 asks feeling genuinely surprised. 

“Yes! Even beyond-ond all that band stuff. Spine’s gonna need a lotta help before he could ever learn to be himself”

She sits herself and Zer0 back down.

“There’s a lot of things Spine doesn’t understand because of his perfectionism. He d-d-doesn’t understand how to enjoy himself, how to be honest with himself, or even how to be an actual brother!”

She grabs his shoulders.

“And with everyone else out and about doing their own things, you’re the only little brother out there who can teach him how to be a big brother!”

Zer0 looks perplexed.

“Rabbit… do you think I’m a good little brother?” He asks.

“You’re the perfect little brother!” She exclaims.

“But, you’re always yelling at me for being dumb and-”

“EXACTLY! The Spine needs an annoying younger brother to yell at and an annoying older sister to dunk on him and we need to love him through all of that! Th-th-th-then he will know the true meaning of being a brother!”

Zer0 was now getting excited at the prospect of being an annoying little brother.

“Yeah… Yeah! If Spine needs an annoying yet loveable little brother, then that’s just what I’ll do! I’ll be the most annoying most lovable little brother in the world! I don’t even have to try!”

“That’s the spirit!” 

Rabbit pats Zer0’s back. Before looking towards the doorway.

“You know… I think Spine has a lovely red coat that can use some decor-decorating… If you catch my drift…” Rabbit winks.

“Ohhoho... we’re gonna turn Spine’s coat into party banners…”

Rabbit pauses for a second.

“That… Actually, you know what? I like that idea better. Let’s do it!”

Zer0 and Rabbit go on to destroy a perfectly good coat out of love for their brother. Perhaps Zer0 is exactly what the band needs to bring peace to their minds after all. Even if he needs to vandalize a few things with Rabbit to do so.

[heartblobs]

June, 1891

𝓓𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓽 𝓕𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻,

You are now the grandfather to a healthy and happy little boy. Walter and I have named him Salvatore Arthur Mendoza, and he is the absolute jewel of my eye. Perhaps motherhood differs from fatherhood, but I feel entirely anew after the birth of my son. My life feels repurposed, as if the Watcher placed me on this earth to be a mother.

Did you feel similarly when I was born? Did Mother? I like to imagine that I appear just as she did, completely infatuated with her new babe, ecstatic over the coos and giggles of her child.

In certain ways, Salvatore reminds me of Irving when he was just as small. Though Irving cried far too much for my tastes as a child. There is a certain nostalgia when I feed my son, whenever I rock and coddle him, that I can’t seem to shake. Then my mind begins to whirl back to my youth. I think back on all of the happy memories I had with my father and brother - my lifeline. My mind often drifts to you, Father. Do you ever sense these things? Do you miss me like I miss you?

I do wish for you to meet Salvatore. Though he looks much like his father, I see glimpses of his grandfather present in his features as well, most noticeably his striking blue eyes. Please write back when you can come and visit. I would love to see you.

𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓,

𝑬𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒛𝒂

🕰️ / 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 / 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡

[edwad]

to add to the smith question, bc ive been catching the het bug: any good secondary lit for ricardo, mill and marshall?

for ricardo, there's a fairly short zigzag biography by david weatherall which i found to be pretty good. there's also a longer (unfinished and posthumously published) biography which i've been semi-reading lately by john p henderson and it seems fine so far (and the natural compliment to patricia james' bio of malthus), although im mildly concerned about its lingering sraffianism and how it was written before a lot of heavyweight ricardo scholarship in the 2nd half of the 20th century.

on that scholarship, the most obvious name to mention is terry peach, whose interpreting ricardo is the product of decades of debate between samuel hollander, heinz kurz, and virtually every other big name in the ricardoverse. it can be really informative to read some of those back-and-forth discussions as well to get what's being responded to, but the two big competing claims in the scholarship at the time were that ricardo was basically a proto-sraffian or that he was a proto-neoclassical. i think both of these are far too simplistic, and peach's position is to demonstrate that ricardo was often theoretically ambivalent and changing his mind on things, leaving him open to lots of different interpretations (sound familiar?)

building on peach's work, ryan walter's before method and models is a really fantastic comparative study of ricardo and malthus which contextualizes them as parliamentary rhetoricians in the aftermath of the french revolution. the book ends, very conveniently for me, by casting doubt on the existence of "classical political economy", so i got quite a bit out of it.

in a different vein, rauner's samuel bailey and the classical theory of value is a tiny book which is all about bailey's critique of ricardo (and malthus et al). i found it to be pretty handy in laying bare the ricardian dilemma that marx alludes to in ch1 of v1. if you care about any of this with a mind toward marx's critique, this is probably the best single text available for tackling it, written from a perspective which is obviously sympathetic toward bailey and pulls no punches in demonstrating the issues in ricardo's work or in making the latter-day ricardians look like a band of bumbling idiots.

as for mill (the younger, i assume) and marshall, i don't know this literature as well and can really only point you in promising-seeming directions. with js mill in particular, the only thing i know how to do is refer you to hollander's multiple books on his work. i don't find his grand thesis convincing (he's the "everything was always-already neoclassical" guy), but he's a very impressive and serious scholar, so you could do worse than peruse through his old 2 volume set from the 80s or his newer (and much slimmer) books on mill's economic theory/method (2000) and policy (2015). if nothing else, im sure you'd find some interesting avenues to explore in the scholarship he's drawing on and responding to. whenever ive needed to think about js mill, this is usually how i start.

im a little bit better on marshall and could pretty comfortably recommend the work of scholars who i like even if im less familiar with the books themselves. peter groenewegen's biography seems to be the standard and everything ive seen from him is quite good (if i ever do anything with this essay thing ive been writing, he will be one of my chief references). in a different vein, keith tribe's inventing economic science is a detailed study of the institutionalization/professionalization of economics as a discipline, which has plenty to say about marshall ("the cambridge moment" of marshallianism gets about 100 pages of dedicated discussion). tribe's work is a godsend and he is pretty much universally admired/feared for his scholarly work, so you could do much worse than to pick through whatever he has to say.

[becauseplot]

hi i have a question! i’ve been listening to the ordem au playlist and thinking about this au recently.

in things we lost in the fire au, how did bagi get involved in the paranormal? was her team formed before she joined them, and how long have they been together?

Question!! Okay!!! (scrambling to gather all my notes.) @factorialsotherfandoms Get in here we've got mail!

Bagi's backstory isn't detailed, but Factorial and I have discussed in the past that her story is that Bagi (who works for the police doing digital forensics*) was working on what seemed to be a normal criminal case that quickly went sideways into the Paranormal. Some of her coworkers probably (definitely) died in the process. This is how she first met some members of the Order, who she ran into during this whole ordeal. She was officially recruited by Fit. Fit's main job is training and recruitment, so once she was settled, her team was usually just her, Etoiles, and Walter Bob, with Fit and/or others joining in occasionally if it's obvious they need an extra set of hands.

((*Yeah, digital forensics. This was a choice made mainly to avoid writing op!Bagi too closely to Liz Webber, a forensic scientist who worked with the police, but honestly op!Bagi being a police detective could still work, given that's different from forensics. She still would have gone to school for digital forensics, though, then ended up landing in detective work once she joined the work force. Going to school for one thing and doing something different---it happens. It's hard for me to imagine any version of Bagi sitting behind a computer for most of her job, is my point.))

Bagi has been part of the Order for less than a year by the time the events of Relative happens. Walter Bob and Etoiles were already pretty firmly seated in the Order by this time, and of course Fit has been here for years. (Fun fact: Etoiles was Phil's last recruit before he cut ties and retired! Phil still asks how Etoiles is doing whenever he calls Fit to say hello.)

After that case gone wrong and joining the Order, Bagi is...well, at her normal job, she's not particularly close with anyone. He coworkers (fed an "official story" cooked up by the Order's cover-up team) know that the case went sideways, that some of their colleagues died, and she doesn't like talking about it. She pulls away from them when it proves too difficult to look at them knowing that they don't know and can never know.

The people at the Order tell her it's a normal thing to feel, that it happened and happens to a lot of people when they're exposed to the Paranormal for the first time, but even so, by the time Relative happens, the only people she feels close to are still exclusively other members of the Order. She has her colleagues at work, but she doesn't have much of a social life with any of them. Finding a balance is proving to be difficult for her. And once again, she's told that's normal too.

[coral-island-player]

Characters I don't like - Coral Island

I thought I would write two posts, one with characters I like and characters I don't like from Coral Island. Might do with other games too. Long post + rant under the cut. Spoilers! Going in dateables then non dateables+ alphabetical order, just bc someone is higher doesn't mean I dislike them more.

Mark. Controversial, I know. I understand, we all like "bad boys" and all, but he doesn't get much nicer to you when your hearts go up, he's a huge jerk for no reason and he used to be a bully. He bullied a guy so much that it provoked him to fight an enemy much stronger than him and the guy didn't survive the fight. Good job, Mark! Now he "regrets it" and "changed". What a shame he's just as much of a jerk to you when you join b.o.s. as well... And don't even get me started on him not actually going to the caverns. He claims that he doesn't go there because he doesn't look for ores. So... Mark... What DO you do all day, then? Because fighting monsters isn't it. We fight so much more and still are actually nice people.

Pablo. Soo, if you know you know, and if you don't, I won't spoil it for you. Though I don't know if he fully knew who that was? But it is a small town. And he pushes his brother to socialise WAY too hard.

Scott. The guy has the damn audacity to say he contributes to the museum sometimes. Yeah, right. What does he contribute? Us players are the ones donating everything. The museum is literally just a building that stores our private collection if you think about it. So to take credit for that... Some audacity. Plus, he acts like some experienced explorer but only goes to level 2. Come on, Scott, do better!

Antonio. Dude, she divorced you. Of course she isn't gonna be with you again. Move on, please. Also, he's supposed to take care of his daughter on the weekend but I've never actually seen him take care of her...

Paul. I've said it in another post, but I'll repeat it. He's a bad husband. He forgot his wife's birthday and when she confronts him weeks after, he claims he was too busy and asks the player to buy her a green tea. Buddy, you can go to Raja's and buy a tea yourself. It's not that hard. But it's so like him to be lazy enough to do that. After all, whenever his wife asks him to buy groceries, he forages random plants around the house instead, because of this Anne has to shop herself. Ever wondered why one of her favourite gifts is a carrot? She mentions that she can never ask Paul to go buy carrots because he'll come back with kale or figs. It's giving weaponized incompetence. Oh and he plays pranks on Anne along with Zoe quite often. According to Anne, she's happy that Zoe and Paul are close enough to do that, but I can't help but think of the quote "Often father and daughter look down on mother (woman) together. They exchange meaningful glances when she misses a point. They agree that she is not bright as they are, cannot reason as they do. This collusion does not save the daughter from the mother’s fate." I just think he's a bad husband and I don't like him.

Walter. Speaking of bad husbands. When Bree asked him to clean up a room, he threw her very private pictures in the recycling bin that anyone can go through. And he's just a douche to everyone around him, even his friends. And his son. I really dislike him.