#she didn’t really get my point and it didn’t feel like it would be meaningful to go in circles with her about it

[kingofmyborrowedheart]

I think it’s so funny how every time I read my book for class I fall asleep as if my body can’t tolerate the bullshit I’m reading.

[rebelumbrella46]

Let’s just be honest—The Umbrella Academy was essentially cancelled after Season 3, but given the massive fandom, Netflix gave them the chance to wrap up the story with a final season. It’s similar to what happened with Shadowhunters—it was cancelled, but after the outcry from fans, they were given two more episodes to tie things up.

For me, the first two seasons were masterpieces. They truly became my comfort show and introduced me to my comfort characters. This might sound cheesy, but it’s true—when the first season aired, I was going through a rough time in my life, and I held on to this show like my life depended on it. Season 2 arrived amidst the pandemic, and it was a light in the darkness for me as well. Even with the massive success of Season 2, I think Netflix hesitated to greenlight another season. I remember waiting for an announcement, and it felt like it took forever.

Season 3 was filmed during the pandemic, and if I recall correctly, Netflix cut the budget for visual effects. So, the season didn’t quite live up to the expectations set by Season 2. Regardless of its flaws, I enjoyed it, but I would have enjoyed it more if the writing hadn’t been so sloppy and, at times, cheesy.

But this last season? It feels like fanservice—and not even good fanservice. For example, the Lila and Five thing? The enhanced powers? The Jennifer Incident? All of it fell flat. Klaus’s storyline this season was basically what I wanted to see in Season 3, but it was delivered too late and added nothing meaningful to the plot.

But was the main plot really supposed to be about Jennifer? Who cares about introducing a new character in the final season instead of focusing on saying goodbye to the beloved main characters?

The subplots were boring. Klaus’s storyline was fanservice, but it felt like they just threw us a bone to appease years of fans asking for Klaus to get his comic powers. And it was insulting. Ben and Jennifer in love? Unrealistic and boring. The train station? Who came up with that cheap idea? I thought it would be a place built by Reggie, but there was no explanation at all.

The apocalypse no longer feels exciting or even important. There’s no sense of urgency anymore.

The family dynamics—the strongest part of this show—felt odd and weak. Pairing Viktor with Reginald was boring. Lila and Diego’s drama? Nonsense. And what was the point of Claire? I thought she would be the main conflict of the season, with everyone banding together to save a character we’ve known since Season 1, who has emotional ties to every Umbrella.

And where were the villains? To make it as interesting as Seasons 1 and 2, you need a great antagonist. Like Hazel and Cha-Cha, The Handler, Reginald, or even an antihero like the Sparrows, Harlan, or the Commission. Why not make Abigail the greatest threat? Or bring back some of the former villains?

What about resolving old family drama, so that if the show’s end was going to be the family sacrificing themselves, they could all go in peace?

Instead, they didn’t address Allison’s betrayal at all. They created a huge rift between Five and Diego. Nothing for Klaus and Ben. No Umbrella Ben. No Sloane. Why is Lila even here anymore? Why didn’t she just ditch out like Ray and leave Diego with the kids to be a single dad? That would’ve made more sense coming from Lila than from Ray, to be honest.

For me, the writers, producers, and directors knew this show was cancelled, so they didn’t even try anymore. For me, the ending of season 3 was meant to be the ending of the show.

I watched Game of Thrones after it ended, so I didn’t experience the same level of rage, disappointment, and betrayal that fans felt. But now, I do.

[drdemonprince]

At one point he was down in between my legs, fingering me, and he made a throwaway comment about probably being Autistic. 

I leaned back, trying to relish what pleasure I was getting. “Well, we can talk about that subject, if you like,” I said vaguely, not really wanting to bring my professional life into things. 

He kept working away at my body, kissing between my lips and thighs. “Oh I know who you are,” he said suddenly. “Your book changed my life. In a way, I guess this is me thanking you.” 

I made him exit my body and we went to the kitchen to hash it out. It turned out he was a big fan of many things I’d written. 

“I’ve seen you around the neighborhood many times,” he confessed. “But you posted online that you don’t like when people come up to you, and so I always decided to leave you alone.” 

He said, “Your book is the reason I got divorced, actually. My ex-husband was a therapist, and when I showed him your book and said I thought I might be Autistic, he didn’t believe me. We have been separated for a year.” 

He asked, “Did I just make this weird, telling you when I did that I was a fan?” I told him that if he’d said it sooner, I would have never fucked him at all. 

People never realize that when they approach me, what they are doing is dragging me into work. It doesn’t matter whether I was at breakfast, or an orgy. I was just some guy standing there, enjoying his beer, but now they have made me the known scholar and author. And sure, my job might be meaningful, but that doesn’t mean I like to work. 

I tell my friend that I no longer want to be a public figure, and that I am planning how to make it all end. She tells me, “You’ve got to do what is the best for you, even if it’s something that the rest of us wants and can’t imagine giving up.” 

I ask myself, did I want this? It would be more flattering to say I didn’t, and play the role of the hermetic author whose work developed its own life purely because it was so good. But that isn’t true. 

From the moment I got a Myspace account in high school, I was publishing essays about my political views. I serialized multiple novels on Tumblr, guerilla marketing them with giveaways and custom-made images until they hit the Kindle sales charts. I have made memes, tried starting viral trends, coined phrases, and given hundreds of hours’ worth of media interviews. I write prescriptive nonfiction, for Christ’s sake. Of course people seek guidance from me. I offer it up! 

I have been strategic about how I dress, and my video backdrops, and retaken clips of myself speaking over and over again until they sounded right. I’ve hosted debates with my most vicious critics while I’m in the shower, started public beef with creators who had larger accounts than I did, and rushed to my keyboard when upsetting news broke, because I alone was possessed of the most correct take on it.

I wanted this. I didn’t know what this was, this internet fame I was chasing, but I did all I could to make it mine. I thought that by writing so much, I would one day be able to escape myself, maybe really feel connected to other people. Instead it has meant never being able to stop thinking about myself: how I am seen, what I am working on, how it all fits together, what comes next. It has also meant being spoken about, theorized about, and criticized, and developing a firm exoskeleton of disdain between myself and the world. 

I believe now that that it is immoral for any person to be listened to by ninety thousand other people. Holding authority and status like that runs counter to my anarchic ideals. I am not more important or correct than anyone. I should not be trusted to tell people which commodities to buy, which companies not to support, what to read, what to think, what words to use, or how to conduct their lives. 

All the other animals know there is no one way that a creature “should” live. There is only the way that it does. The world has no consciousness, no beliefs. It cannot pass judgment. We only feel so watched and evaluated because we have covered the planet with so many millions of our eyes. But we can stop performing dignified human goodness at any moment. 

I think that celebrity is an evil, corrupting force that pits the human instinct for bonding against itself. Instead of appreciating the singing of our friends around the fire, we stream Chappell Roan until stalkers break into her house. Rather than playing card games together, we stan Twitch streamers, filling up their chats with highlighted messages until they acknowledge us. We long to be famous novelists because then we would have the social permission to write, and we don’t have the money or time to enjoy the activity on its own. 

I wrote about Chappell Roan, stalker stans, and how turning art into content creation ruins the work, and the creator's life. It's free to read in full (or have narrated to you by the app!) on Substack.

[localtelephonebooth]

Thoughts on Kieran’s relationship with Ogerpon as a previously obsessive teenager:

(I did not proof read this. I just woke up, had the urge, and now it’s here.)

Kieran, to me, is a very relatable character. He is a shy, and quiet teenager in a small town. He lacks friendships and possibly meaningful connections with those who do spend time with him. He’s probably isolated due to the fact that he lacks a phone. Any friends he does make are likely school based only. So, Kieran latches on to anything he can to feel less alone in life. And of course he latches onto Ogerpon. Ogerpon is just like him. A sad “monster” all isolated and alone in the mountains. I’m certain that Kieran has fantasized about meeting Ogerpon and getting into wild adventures with her. I did the same thing with characters I enjoyed.

Princess Luna, for example (sorry to whiplash anyone with that), was a character I heavily related to. She was alone and isolated due to her previous actions. She struggled with fitting in and having a healthy relationship with her sister for awhile. To say I didn’t form an obsession with a character who understood my feelings would be a lie. I think Kieran is the same.

He became obsessed with Ogerpon. He become obsessed with the ideas he crafted of him and Ogerpon. In a way, that fantasy was VERY real to him. So when we come around and lie about meeting Ogerpon, and inevitably become friends with her behind his back, of course he freaks out! We stole his fantasy of him and Ogerpon! And that’s the key point here that people tend to not realize. We didn’t steal Ogerpon from Kieran, we just stole his fantasy and made it our reality.

With my obsession with princess Luna (again, whiplash), if anyone said they loved princess Luna it was a fucking attack on me. Princess Luna was my best friend, and she could only love me! Everyone else was just a jealous thief.

As an adult looking back on this mindset, it’s horribly embarrassing. It’s a mindset I carried into my real life, when I actually started making friends, that ruined so much for me. I lost friends because I was so angry that my fantasies were not reciprocated. I really do think Kieran does the same. He grows sad and frustrated over what happened with Ogerpon. His fantasy is just a fantasy, and that’s fucking with him. So naturally, he finds a new fantasy to, hopefully in his mind, make a reality. And so he chose battling and winning against you. The thing we used to “steal” Ogerpon away from him (Even though Kieran technically suggested battling for Ogerpon, I don’t doubt he used it to rationalize why she didn’t want to come with him). To him, being the best battler will solve everything. Kieran will get his revenge, he’ll finally be recognized, everyone can’t lie to him because they fear or admire him, and he’ll prove to Ogerpon he was the right choice.

.

Now, I want to say something about Kieran. A detail that, for whatever reason, people don’t like to acknowledge: He’s just a kid.

I’m not saying “He’s a widdle baby. He can do no harm!” No, Kieran’s an asshole. He became a bully. I can have empathy for his emotions, but not excuse his actions. He’s a dumb and entitled teenager with issues. And, quite obviously, he doesn’t really have a way to deal with his issues in a healthy manner (seriously, his school is based solely on battling. Anyone who’s going or gone to a specialized school can understand how toxic people can get in that type of environment. And don’t even get me started on the incompetence of the adults in Kieran’s school).

Kieran is a teenage boy growing up right now. He’s got a lot to work through, and a lot of people he’s gotta confront about his behavior. He was an asshole, a bully, and genuinely a bad person for minute. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t growing past that. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve recognition for his growth. You can recognize someone has changed and not forgive them.

Kieran is a really intriguing character and holds a valuable lesson in obsession. And I really wish people would recognize that he’s not just an irredeemable prick or an innocent little guy. He’s a kid learning. He’s going to make really stupid and bad mistakes. Just like how I, and probably you reading this, did.

Anyways, hopefully we see him interact with the Area Zero buddies. I think those three have amazing lessons that Kieran can learn from. Maybe Kieran can teach them a few things too!

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Lena Horne (Cabin in the Sky, Stormy Weather)— Incredibly talented biracial actress, singer, dancer, and activist (she did so much work towards integrating audiences). Because of the racism of the era, she rarely got to be the lead actress but filmmakers loved her so much that they would often create stand alone segments within a film to highlight her beautiful singing, knowing that these segments would ultimately be cut from the film by censors in areas that forbid films with Black performers. Also, she's just so wonderful in Cabin in the Sky as a gold-digger villain who is not the least bit subtle about her intentions. I would highly recommend checking out her work.

Ginger Rogers (Swing Time, Top Hat)—Look I’ll level with you, I’ve never seen her in a musical and I know that she’s an amazing dancer and she’ll be even hotter when I finally watch Top Hat but I’m not submitting her as a dancer I’m submitting her as an ACTRESS. Her comic timing is impeccable!!!!! She’s full to bursting with life and in every role she seems to be having FUN, you can practically feel the twinkle in her eye. With her natural warmth it’s like she’s letting you in on the joke, y’all get to have this fun together! Making me laugh is hot!!! [If you'd like to see Ginger dance, videos below the cut]

This is round 3 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Lena Horne:

64.media.tumblr.com

Black American powerhouse singer and actor who faced all the usual bullshit that any BIPOC faced in vintage Hollywood and achieved legendary status anyway. Also a Civil Rights movement icon.

She was a gem

She was so beautiful and those dimples are amazing! Truly depressing how badly Hollywood treated her because she was black. I would love to have seen what she really could have been if they didn’t cast her in so many yikes roles. She’s got gorgeous eyes and that body! Her joyful smile makes happiness sexy!

Civil rights actress, singer, dancer, actress, she's got the whole package

Lena Horne was a wonderful singer and actress who largely starred in black cast musicals. While she had a lot of main stream success, she ultimately lost the lead role in showboat (a role she had played on the stage) to a white actress due to hollywood's prejudices. She was also blacklisted during the HUAC hearings, but she still managed to be hot be hot as fuck and have a career spanning decades, working with more well-known stars like Judy Garland in musicals, and working on stage and releasing albums when her hollywood career began to suffer.

Miss Horne became famous during a period of time when Hollywood had very few meaningful roles for people of color. Although she is more so known as a performer, she starred in two successful all black productions (Cabin in the Sky & Stormy Weather). If that wasn't enough, she also guest starred on the Muppets (Season 1, Episode 11)

Ginger Rogers propaganda:

She needs no introduction! An undeniable powerhouse on the dancefloor, and no less talented an actress. I once watched a compilation of cinema's greatest dance scenes and one of her and Fred Astaire's dances was featured, and one of the talking heads said he pitied her for 'having to keep up with him' - or something to that effect. Bullshit, I cry. Ginger Rogers was his absolute equal, and underplaying her incredible skill is downright criminal. I want the 'Cheek to Cheek' sequence from Top Hat to be permanently burned into my memory.

"Backwards in high heels", as the saying goes (though the pedant in me must point out that she in fact spent her fair share of time leading or dancing side-by-side). One of the earliest twinkle-toed ladies of the silver screen, and in terms of acting/persona, her balance of wide-eyed cuteness and movie-star glamour has never quite been replicated.

we all know her beloved string of musicals with fred but ginger also has an extensive and varied non-fred filmography that she's great in! a few ginger moments that are important 2 me personally ginger singing “we’re in the money” in gold diggers of 1933, complete with a verse in pig latin bc this whole movie is kinda mocking the concept of anyone actually being in the money in 1933; ginger and una merkel singing a verse of “shuffle off to buffalo” in 42nd street, providing some statler & waldorf-esque commentary on newlyweds from the upper berth of a railway car (interesting that belly was apparently a risque word in 1933 - maybe its bc the lyric is innuendo-ing about out of wedlock pregnancies - and that panties was a term for men’s underthings!); a favorite fred & ginger number

Ginger Rogers could do everything! She could sing, dance and act. She was hilarious in comedies, moving in dramatic roles (she won an Oscar for Kitty Foyle in 1940) and absolutely gorgeous!

Listen, no shade to Fred Astaire at all, but she both kept up with him step for step and then later went on to WIN AN OSCAR FOR ACTING. (which he did not.) truly a double threat!!!

One of the best dancers in Hollywood! Her work with Fred Astaire is just incredible.

ONE LINE: "Everything Fred did, Ginger did backwards and in heels" AND THEYRE RIGHT! Rogers was a total dance badass, and a lot of movie buffs know the story, but the Never Gonna Dance number from Swing Time took almost 50 takes, and allegedly by the end of filming it her white shoes had been stained pink because her feet were bleeding. As a note, she looks crazy gorgeous in this number. Watching these two dance is insane. They match up to each other in a way my mom describes as "divine" and she's right. DANCE NUMBERS!

Let's Call The Whole Thing Off (Shall We Dance, 1937, dancing starts at 3:14, they're in ROLLERSKATES)

(Ginger Rogers is the hottest woman ever to live in this number. seeing this as a teenager altered my brain chemistry)

(also watch her feet and how she moves opposite Astaire in this one. We all know our boy Freddie had that precision demon but jesus christ Miss Rogers, let a girl live!)

Pick Yourself Up, Swing Time 1936 (Everyone's seen this one but by god you are going to see it AGAIN!)

Shall We Dance, 1937 (duet begins at 2:34)

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, Roberta 1935 (There's just something about Ginger Rogers in a slick black dress man)

The Continental, The Gay Divorcee 1934

God she's MAGIC in this one.

Gay Divorcee's Ending Montage 1934

The infamous table and chairs spin happens at about 0:49. Pay CLOSE attention to her in this bc it looks like witchcraft and I feel lightheaded whenever I watch this movie bc shes THAT awesome.

She is a miracle to watch. Sorry for the sheer amount of clips. My entire family is like madly in love with Ginger Rogers.

[tmntfixationxreader]

"I just read your Donnie fic and I am in LOVE with the way you write. Sometimes I feel like fics don't really show the emotions of the turtles beyond being shy around reader and I appreciate fluff where the characters actually interact and have a meaningful moment without it having to be sexual. So let me just say your writing feeds my soul. I love it.

That being said can I request a Raph x fem reader crack oneshot?

Reader was a friend of April and April decided that it would be good to introduce the turtles and reader. Little did she know that reader had a thing for big buff dudes, to the point that she goes from generally outgoing to extremely shy within seconds. So when she meets Raph she gets quiet, avoids eye contact, and fidgets frequently. Raph calks it up first time nervousness because he knows that he can be a bit intimidating. Reader eventually starts hanging around the turtles more often and gets closer with Donnie, Leo, and Mikey but is still shy around Raph and it ends up hurting his feelings. He feels like he's too scary and starts avoiding reader. Obviously this is the opposite of what the reader wanted, especially after getting to know him a little bit better and liking him even more.

Bonus points if the reader is taller than most her peers and a bit stronger to so she is often viewed as not feminine. So in order to seem more feminine she wears baggy clothing and curls in on herself to feel small. Happy ending please🙇‍♀️

Sorry if this is too long or too specific 😫 I just really like the way you write and I feel like I can trust you with an idea that is so dear to my heart!!!

Make sure to rest and drink some water.❤️"

♡All requests are anonymous, so here is the copy and pasted ask♡

Thank you so so much for the kind words!! I really appreciate and it fuels me to keep writing <3 Also, I did drink some water.

Here is your request! I hope It is how you wanted it :)

*****************************************************************

♡You don't scare me♡Raph x Fem!Reader♡

~When you get nervous around Raph, he’s worried you are scared of him~

Word count: 3,237 (longest one-shot so far)

Warnings: Fluff, Fem reader, strong/tall reader, reader attracted to strong guys, squishmallows.

*****************************************************************

When Apri skipped up to you, bag over her shoulder with more than a few pencils falling out the back end, you knew immediately she had planned something. 

She was panting, and smiled excitedly at you. “Y/n! Guess what?”

You smile at her, stopping and helping her pick up the pencils that had just fallen out. “What?”

“So you know those friends I told you about?? The ones that don’t go to school here?” She said, grabbing the pencils with you and shoving them messily back into her bag.

“Yeah! That's the brothers right?” You say, standing back upright after you had collected the last of the pencils.

You were easily a head taller than April, had broader shoulders, and had some pretty good muscles on you. From April being small and lesser on the muscle scale, and you being tall and muscular, the comparison made many people do a double take. It just heightened the differences you two had. You two didn’t care though, you liked yourselves just as you two were. And if there were days when you would doubt it, then April was always, always here to prove just how great you were. Just like you were always there for her.

She nodded excitedly. “Yes! Mikey, Leo, Donnie-”

“And Raph,” You finished, grinning, and April nodded happily. “You talk about them a lot.”

She laughed, and you two began walking. “Yeah, I guess I do… Anyways, I had a chat with them and they invited me to bring you to their- er- house!”

Your face lit up with excitement. April had talked about these guys for years. It was about time your finally meet them

“Heck yeah! When can we go?” You ask, putting one hand into your baggy hoodie pocket. You always wore baggy clothes. 

April smiled, pushing her red glasses back up into place on her nose. “After school! If you're not busy.”

You shook your head. “Nope! I’m not busy, I would love to meet them.”

April grinned. “Perfect! I’ll let ‘em know, and we can go after school!”

April found you immediately after school, which wasn’t hard. You two usually walked home together on most days anyways.

What you weren’t expecting was how far away their house was.

It seemed like you two were just walking until the crowd of kids faded away, which turned out to be the idea.

When April turned and went into an alleyway, you got really confused.

“An… Alley?” You said, raising an eyebrow and following her anyways. You trusted April, and knew she wasn’t going to lead you anywhere dangerous. 

April nodded her head side to side. “Well… Yes.. I mean, they aren’t living in the alley…”

She walked over to the sewer gate and lifted the lid. You stared at the sewer entrance.

You raised an eyebrow, and put a hand on your hip.“Ok, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

You trusted April. She had been your best friend for a long time. You two had done a lot of crazy things when you were little; from pulling amazing parkour stunts on the couches to playing Floor is Lava. You two did it all. Now that you two were older, you had broadened the area of things you two could do; the mall, movies, drawing,  unfortunately homework, and you still were the all-time champion of floor is lava.

Even after everything, how April managed to convince you to go into the sewers, you still didn’t know.

That didn’t matter now, you were walking in a sewer tunnel next to April, narrowly dodging some unmentionable things you avoided looking at.

But in all honesty, it wasn’t that bad. It was at first, but the further and closer you got the cleaner it was. Soon the smell went away entirely, and the tunnel was empty and clean. The smell was so gone, that you actually started smelling… Pizza?

The sheer thought of smelling pizza in a sewer tunnel attempted to trigger your gag reflex.

“April… is that pizza?” You ask, feeling nauseated and looking at her like this whole thing was crazy. You were open minded, but this was getting crazy.

April smiled and nodded. “Heh, yeah, the boys like pizza… Mikey is probably cooking some.”

“Ok… So how close… are… we?”  You trail off as you turn a corner, seeing an entrance to what you could only assume was the brothers house. It looked really nice on the inside, from what you could see. Pizza boxes, skate ramps- like the whole place was a skate park on the inside. And that was only what you could see.

April stepped inside. 

"She’s here!” She called into the layer.

“Ok!” A light-toned male voice called back. “Tell us when you're ready!”

April turned back to face you.

You glanced around to see the lack of brothers. “Are… They hiding?”

April nodded nervously. “There’s a couple of things I need to explain first…”

You raised an eyebrow and fidgeted with your hoodie drawstrings. It wasn’t out of nervousness, you were excited.

“Ok… What is it?” You ask. 

April nodded her head side to side. “So… Before you meet them, you need an open mind.”

“April, you know me. I am a very open minded person- as long as they aren't walking crocodiles living in the sewers I'm fine.”

April blinked. “How does a turtle sound?”

You raised both eyebrows. “I like turtles… But what does that have to do with them?”

April smiled slightly. “Mikey, why don’t you come on out!” 

You got slightly excited; you had heard so much about the brothers already, and knew that Mikey was the artistic younger brother.

Mikey slowly side-stepped out from around the corner, a large smile on his face. 

He was… Green? With an orange mask and a… Turtle shell??

Your jaw dropped and you blinked. You were frozen like that for a while. 

Mikey turned kind of shy, giving a small wave.

You waved back, and finally took a breath. “M… Mikey?”

His face lit up into a smile. “Yep! I’m Mikey!!”

You smile a little. “Wow! You're a… Turtle!!”

Mikey smiled back. “Yep! A mutant turtle teenager!”

You smiled back happily, taking a step towards him, and walking around him. You were a head taller than he was. You looked down at his shell, his green skin, and the yellow spots on his shoulders.

“Wow!” You exclaimed, looking back at April, who smiled. “Wait- are your brothers turtles too??”

Mikey nodded. “Yep! Would you like to meet them?”

You nodded, smiling, eyes wide with shock and excitement.

“Leo! Donnie! Come on out!” Mikey called. 

A turtle in a blue mask came out around the corner. The first thing you noticed was that he was a different color green, and he had red crescents around his eyes. He was as tall as you were, close enough that you could probably only tell who was taller by standing side by side.

He waved his hand.

“What’s up Y/n! I’m Leon!” He said in his show-offey-tone. 

You waved back. “Hi Leon!” You said happily.

A turtle in purple came out next. You noticed he had a head wrap instead of a bandana, and he had a pair of goggles mounted on his head. His shell looked different too, like it was metal. And you more than quickly realize it was.

“My name is Donnie, Donatello, and to my loving brother here, Donald,” He said with a sarcastic monotone voice.

You smile, watching Leo lean an arm on Donnie’s shoulder. You give Donnie a wave too.

“Wait, isn’t there one more brother?... Raph right?” You ask the brothers. 

Mikey nods. “Yes in deedy! But there is something you should know first… Raph is a little… Bigger than the rest of us. He wanted me to tell you that first before you met him.”

You shrug. “I am bigger than most people my age, too.”

Mikey smiles. “He may look big and scary, but he really is the sweetest guy…”

You smile and nod, looking around the corner to where the other brothers came out from. 

“Raph? You can come out,” You say.

Then, a turtle who was two heads taller than Leo, and at least twice his size, came out around the corner. He was strong, his arms and legs loaded with muscle, and he had spikes protruding from the top and back of his plastron and back of his shell. 

One small tooth poked out from the right side of his mouth, and he smiled nervously when he spoke, clearly shy.

“Hi… I’m Raph...”

You smiled, and gave him a nervous wave. For someone who was generally outgoing, you suddenly became very shy. You didn’t know exactly why.

Raph smiled, and looked towards Mikey with a smile. For him, it was just a win that you didn’t run away.

“H-hi Raph… I’m Y/n,” You say, smiling up at him but, then looking away back at the other brothers as you felt it growing harder and harder to keep eye contact.

Raph beamed, and nodded happily. “Nice to meet you!”

The brothers and April smiled.

The pizza timer dingged, and everyone looked towards the doorway to the kitchen. 

“Time to eat! Y/n, how do you feel about pizza?” Mikey asked, rocking on his heels excitedly.

You grinned at him. “I love pizza!”

It had been about a month since then, and you and April would hang out with the turtles everyday after school.

You and the turtles had gotten closer, you would play games with Leo and Donnie, and make art with Mikey. You really wanted to train or hang out with Raph, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to do it. Something about him was just so… You didn’t want to explain it. But whatever it was, it was making you nervous. You would fidget, avoid eye contact with him, and get much, much quieter. You just couldn’t get yourself to stop being so shy around him, even though you really wanted to hang out with him. 

April and the other brothers didn’t seem to notice, and if Raph noticed. He had avoided you multiple times before. He knew he was big, scary and intimidating, and he thought you just hadn’t gotten used to him yet.

“Hey guys! How about we play a board game?” Mikey called out to the others from where he was playing his video game with you. You had gotten pretty good at that fighting game, and Mikey was getting a little playfully worried that you would beat him soon. That was his high score on the line after all.

You grinned. “Perfect!”

“That sounds great!” April said excitedly, then got up from her spot next to Leo. The two of them had been watching a cartoon on his phone. “I’ll go get one!”

Raph came excitedly into the room, ushering Donnie in as well. Donnie didn’t seem all that pleased about the idea, but perhaps that was just the aloof-bad-boy persona he was trying to perfect.

Everyone gathered around the table, standing over it as April brought in the game, she had chosen Sorry.

You were bubbling with excitement as everyone gathered around… Until Raph took his spot across from you, smiling that adorable smile that had been playing on loop in your head for the past few weeks.

Your heart (for reasons you didn’t want to sort out-) started to flutter again. You took a firm hold of your hoodie drawstrings, seeming to shrink a little. Your smile was still genuine, but it seemed lesser, like you were suddenly self conscious and shy.

The others didn’t notice as they were setting up the game, but Raph did. He always did. He always noticed that you got nervous around him. He really did think you were just shy around him at first, but you had known him for weeks and you still were like this… 

Raph’s smile seemed to fade a little too. 

Just as they were handing him his game token, he put his hands up and took a step backwards. 

“Sorry guys, Raph just forgot that he was supposed to help Dad clean up the living room…” Raph said, speaking in the third person again. Normally you thought that it was adorable when he did that, but something about the way that he was speaking seemed off.

Mikey raised an eyebrow. “You can do it after, I’m sure Dad wouldn't mind if-”

“No, no, Mikey, I told him I would… You guys go ahead and play. Raph’ll catch up with you later…” He said, and walked off towards the living room where his dad was always watching his commercials.

The brothers exchanged glances, and April got up to go after him, when you stopped her. 

“I’ll go get him. You guys go ahead and start, Raph and I will join in the next round,” You say, and follow where Raph had left.

Raph wasn’t in Splinter's room.

You checked the dojo, and the skate ramp before finally finding him in his room.

You heard moving from within his room, but his curtain was pulled covering the door so you didn’t let yourself in. Instead you knocked on the doorframe.

“R-Raph? Are you coming?” You asked.

“Uh- Y/n… Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute…” Raph said. You stood quietly for a moment.

“Can I come in?” You asked.

“Yeah… Sure,” He said. 

You stepped through the curtain into his room. He was sitting on his bed, the mattress bowing beneath his weight. 

His room was nice, a few posters, some weapons hung up, and a few scratches on the walls from his spikes. It was pretty clean, surprisingly.

The one defining feature was the squishmallow on his bed, each neatly in place. That made you smile. 

He watched you expressionless for a moment.

You watched him. 

“Can I sit down…?” You asked quietly. He nodded.

You sat down next to him. It was weird being smaller than someone, you were normally much taller than the rest of your peers, so sitting next to someone so much bigger than you was almost a relief. You more than often hunched over to make yourself feel smaller, but next to Raph you felt like you didn’t have to do that. It makes you feel more comfortable in your own skin.

Raph watched you for a moment. “Why did you come to get me?”

You shrug, playing with your hoodie drawstrings again. “The others got worried when you left, so I volunteered to come and get you.”

Raph nods a little. “But… Why?”

You shrug again, seeming nervous. “I wanted you to come and play.”

Raph looked slightly surprised, shifting so he was facing you. “But… You don’t like Raph. I make you scared… Why would you want me there?”

You look extremely confused. “What? Scared? You don’t make me scared, Raph.”

Raph shook his head, his voice quiet. “But I do… I'm big… I’m scary… I make you scared..”

You looked at him like he was crazy. “What? Why would I be scared of you! You're one of the sweetest guys I’ve ever met!”

He blushes a little at the compliment. “But… You're always fidgeting when you're around me… You get quiet. You don’t like hanging out with Raph.”

You shake your head, reaching up and putting a hand on his shoulder. 

“I love to hang out with you, Raph… Actually it’s been making me a little disappointed that you keep avoiding me.”

Raph nodded. “Sorry… Raph just thought you would like it better if I stayed away…” His eyes dropped down to the mattress.

You shook your head. “Raph, why would you think that? You don’t make me scared, or intimidated at all…” 

“Y/n, I’m a giant mutant snapping turtle. You do get nervous around me. You don’t have to be sorry for that, I get it,” He said, attempting to give you a fake smile, but you saw right through it.

“Raph… I do get nervous around you, but it’s not because I think you're scary. Promise… But I get where you're coming from… Actually, you're a lot like me. I’m so much bigger than everyone else my age, and I'm not trying to brag, but I'm pretty strong in comparison to them, too. I’ve had a lot of people avoid me before.”

Raph looks at you, waiting for you to continue. When you don’t, he speaks.

“So… If you're not scared… Then why are you so nervous?” He asks. You put your hands in your lap and fidget a little again.

“W-well… See… I…” You stutter.

Raph looks confused. 

You sigh, taking a deep breath.

“Well, I… I kind of have a thing for big strong guys…” You mutter.

Raph blinks, and blushes without his expression changing. 

His eyes widened. “Oh- so you're not scared of me- you… you just have a thing for big strong guys?”

You nod a little, feeling your own cheeks burn.

Raph’s eyes widen even more. “Wait- I’m a big strong guy!”

You chuckle, and nod. 

His jaw drops momentarily and he blushes. “Ohhhh- so you think i’m-” He puts a finger to his chest and waits for you to speak.

You nod again. “Y-yeah…”

His face lights up into a bright smile. “S-so you think I’m… Attractive?”

“Yeah… Very…” You say, feeling your cheeks burn. You are smiling a little, but taking out all of your nerves on your hoodie drawstrings.

Raph grins and he blushes. “So you're not scared of me?”

You shake your head, smiling.

Raph nods, grinning. He blushes a little more. “Y/n… Can I tell you something?”

You nod, still blushing. “Of course…”

“Well… I kind of have a thing for strong girls…” He smiled, face as red as his mask.

You blush, looking down at the mattress with a grin.

“So… You…” You say and wait for him to answer.

He nods. “You probably don’t realize it… But you're really cute, Y/n…” He blushes a lot.

You smile, blushing and feeling awkward. “T-Thanks…”

You two sit in the silence for a moment.

“So… You probably think that someone as big and strong as I am is weird for collecting squishmallows then…” Raph said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

You immediately shake your head. “Nope! I’ve got a few at home too.”

Raph’s eyes lit up. “Really! What ones? What are their names?”

You grin. “I’ve got Abby the octopus, Caddie the cat, and Darex the dinosaur!”

Raph grinned. “Cool! I have quite a few… I can show you if you want!”

You nod excitedly, and Raph shifted so he could show you his collection better…

For the next half hour, you and Raph talk about both of your squishmallows, and the conversation slowly shifts from your favorite tv shows, to your favorite foods, and your favorite music.

You and Raph learned a lot more about each other, and you two grew much, much closer.

Eventually April comes up to say the second round is starting, and you two play the game with the others. 

And this time, when Raph stands across the counter from you and smiles that adorable smile of his, you smile back. 

And if you get nervous, he knows it’s not about his appearance or that you think he’s scary… 

…It’s because you like him…

…And he might just like you back…

*****************************************************************

Hope you like it! Thank you very much for the request! <3

This one ended up being longer, my brain took the story and ran with it lol

I am currently working on 4 other requests, and I will write them in the order I received them :)

Master post

Bye bye Butterflies!!

[geekgirles]

Liar Revealed

So Marinette and Sabrina worked together to lure Lila into a false sense of security that eventually led up to her spilling everything in front of an audience she was unaware of. Now everyone knows she’s been lying about everything, she’s a horrible person, and she and Chloé are about to be expelled for good... After 7 years, the fandom finally got what it wanted.

...then why do I feel like I’ve actually wasted those 7 years of my life? 

Buckle up, ‘cause this is going to be a long ride.

As someone who’s been eagerly awaiting for Lila to be exposed since Volpina, a feeling that only grew with each passing episode she’s been featured in, I honestly find this development wholly underwhelming, highly disappointing, even. 

Maybe I’m too vindictive, who knows, but this in no way feels like proper comeuppance for a character who’s been maliciously manipulating everyone around her and relishing in other people’s misery since she was first introduced.

First and foremost, because having Lila accidentally reveal herself while gloating is too much of a cliché. I’ve seen people before mentioning how Lila exposing herself seemed to be the only way this could go, seeing as Marinette’s best attempts always seemed to fail. But if we ignore for a second this was actually set up by Marinette and Sabrina, with the way it’s handled it just feels like a kick in the gut, not the overwhelming catharsis I’m sure most of us were expecting. 

Because, and this is actually my main problem with the execution, by having Lila expose herself by spouting a self-satisfied tirade of every single lie she’s ever told and people have believed without question as she disparages Sabrina’s attempts to take her down, saying how she could easily turn everyone against her, the narrative is actually framing Lila in the right.

When we as the audience know it shouldn’t be like that. 

Lila only really upped her game in season 5 (and even then the writers still rely too much on the characters being dumbed down around her for it to work), up until then all her lies would have been easily discreditable if the writers didn’t need the class and everyone in Paris to believe her for her schemes to work!

From our perspective, Lila is nowhere near as formidable as she presents herself to be. Which, admittedly, goes in line with her consistent characterisation (about her only consistent trait aside from being hateful and a liar) that she believes and presents herself to be more special than she actually is. But the problem is no character other than Marinette, Adrien, and now Sabrina ever learnt of this fact! Maybe now that she’s exposed herself, but with the way she gloated about all her plans going off without a hitch...

Which leads us to another reason this was the worst possible execution of Lila being exposed they could have come up with:

It was a stroke of luck.

That’s it. That’s unquestionably what it was. Because hadn’t Sabrina finally grown a spine and drawn the line with the actions she was willing to commit for Chloé’s sake, Marinette would have had no way of knowing of Lila’s plan and preparing accordingly. 

Really, the only positive thing I can say about it is that it could maybe count as character development for Marinette since she finally learned she needed to be as sneaky as Lila if she wanted to take her down. And there’s of course the fact that Sabrina finally broke away from Chloé. Other than that? It’s a fairly sombre scenario, really. 

Because, again, Marinette didn’t manage to finally beat Lila because she had a strong support network (which would have painted a very symbolic and meaningful picture showcasing how, for all the superficial attention her lies can get her, in reality, Lila will always be alone as long as she doesn’t put in the genuine effort to reach out to others like Marinette does), but because she had outside help. Again, help she couldn’t have accounted for until Sabrina herself reached out to her. 

Relating to my previous point, Marinette never got Alya to even believe her about Lila or at the very least question how genuine she was until Lila spelled it out for her. Even though she’s known her best friend is Ladybug for months, which brings forth the question if letting Alya in on Marinette’s secret ended up being even worth it if the writers refuse to have her help her out where it matters (I’ll be sure to go back to this point in a minute, just you wait). 

What else? Oh, I know! How about the fact that, for a season that was supposed to be all about Adrienette winning, the writers purposely robbed us of that Adrienette vs Lila alliance we were promised back in Chameleon, huh? Because Adrien was completely left out of the plan. In fact, ever since Ladybug back in season 3, he hasn’t been allowed to do anything to help Marinette against Lila. As with the Ladynoir conflict in season 4, his relevance all but vanished even though he was a central part of the conflict from seasons 1-3. 

Even better! When he finally spoke up about Lila to Nino and Alya, arguably his best friends besides Ladybug, they completely brushed his concerns off as him just agreeing with Marinette out of boyfriend obligation! I didn’t know intangible things could slap me in the face, but boy was I wrong!

And the best part? This complete disregard of his feelings, lack of communication, and their assuming they know better than him (which disturbingly parallels to his own relationship with Gabriel...) is certainly never going to be explored, let alone resolved. 

What do I mean with all this?

Well, basically that for a show that’s supposed to promote the power of love, friendship, and teamwork, when it comes to Lila Marinette is all alone. Has been since Volpina. 

But at least that’s done with, Lila got her just desserts, and we’re never going to have to deal with her ever again...

SIGH

Except, not really. Not at all, in fact. 

Because just as she and Chloé were finally being reprimanded for their actions, Mr. Damocles had to choose that of all moments to realise he failed as a principal, attract an akuma, cause a racket, and provide Lila with the perfect distraction to just...walk away unscathed. 

And with the reveal that she actually has more identities, social circles, and opportunities to lie and manipulate to fall back to after being expelled from the Françoise-Dupont...Let’s just say it implies that while Marinette (and the audience) had to endure nothing short of psychological torture, Lila never really had anything to lose.

Now I ask you...how the Hell am I supposed to consider that a satisfying, cathartic resolution to that particular arc?!?!?!?

And if you permit me, there is one more thing I’d like to get off my chest. 

Alya’s reaction to this.

After learning the truth she rushes to hug Marinette and apologise, being a clear wreck about it. And while Marinette getting an apology once in a blue moon is always a welcomed thing, once again the writers aim and completely miss their shot. Because Alya apologises for being gullible. 

Look, back in seasons 1 and 2, Hell, even back in season 3, I could have overlooked this. Yes, she never listened to Marinette, could be a tad hypocritical, and the whole jealous thing got old and annoying fast, but at least she couldn’t know for certain Lila was bad news. But from season 4 onwards Alya no longer has such an excuse. No, from season 4 onwards Alya’s problem isn’t that she’s gullible, it’s that she willingly and repeatedly chose to blatantly ignore all of Marinette’s suspicions and warnings regarding Lila. Even after Adrienette finally became canon and Marinette had realistically no reason to feel jealous of Lila in any way, shape or form, Alya still couldn’t fathom that, perhaps, her best friend had her reasons for disliking Lila besides a love triangle. 

The moment Alya learned Marinette is Ladybug, the two should have been allowed to talk about Lila, about the real reason Marinette hates her, and to work together to overcome this issue and bring her down. How do you expect me to be okay with season 5 opening to these two having daily sleepovers to talk about Marinette’s love life, but not a single second could be spared after Illusion to have Alya question why Marinette hates her so much, if not connect the dots herself since she is Ladybug’s best friend, not Lila, and Ladybug hates her?

I’ve seen people justify this saying it’s been a long time since Lila lied about being Ladybug’s best friend, and while I’ll argue the last time it was mentioned was actually Chameleon, not Volpina, I could see your point. Except that is not just another lie, like her claiming she knows Jagged Stone or Prince Ali. No, that is the lie that started everything.

It was because Lila lied about knowing Ladybug to impress everyone, especially Adrien, that Marinette completely lost it and chewed her out for it in front of him. It’s because of that lie and the consequent reaction it got from Ladybug that Lila even developed a grudge in the first place. It’s because of that lie that Marinette ever found out about Lila being a liar, because before she first lied to Adrien about being close to Ladybug, Marinette was panicking because she had no chance against someone as incredible as her. If she hadn’t lied about knowing Ladybug, Marinette would have been as fooled by her as everyone else and the two might have never really come to blows.

So don’t tell me it was never brought up because it was so long ago and it doesn’t matter anymore, when that particular lie carries so much weight and we all know the real reason they couldn’t have Alya in Marinette’s corner is because the writers know Lila needs everyone around her to follow her blindly for her lies to work and everything to always work out in her favour because otherwise she just doesn’t work as a villain.

TL;DR: If you want a good resolution to the Lila Gets Exposed plot, pick literally any fanfic dealing with this exact premise. It’ll be better, I promise.

[matan4il]

Buddie 614 meta

What I find to be the loudest about Eddie’s arc here is that the whole ep is meant to show us everything that can go wrong when people try to live up to others’ expectations, and how much better it is when people are looking in and figuring out what’s right for them, which means they’re performing for and as themselves. That’s the context for Eddie’s date and story. He needs to figure out how to want a romantic relationship again without feeling like it’s a task he’s performing just to please others. That’s the place he gets to at the end of the ep, which is a good place for him to be. ~~

And this is essential to Eddie. Based on how little people talk about it, maybe many in fandom aren’t aware of how 911 implied back in 217 that he only married Shannon because she got pregnant. Eddie said explicitly he didn’t think he was ready to get married at the time, and he brought this up in the context of Shannon and him having Christopher. So I think it’s very meaningful that here, when his aunt wants to set him up, he jumps straight to the (wrong) conclusion that he’s expected to marry Vanessa. He was under this pressure to perform for others before, he knows how disastrous it can turn out, and you know what? Trauma totally triggers this kind of reaction. It tells us where he’s at emotionally, that there are still things he has to deal with. ~~

Speaking of trauma, another symptom of it can be denial, and we do see a bit of it from Eddie during this ep. Remember how he claimed he doesn’t panic back in 501? Right to a doctor’s face while she’s diagnosing him with panic attacks? He did it again in this ep. The thing is that healing isn’t linear. He was advancing with some things, but in 614, faced with his aunt’s ambush, he feels cornered back into a place he’s been in before, a place that left its scars on him, and Eddie regresses. Which is okay! But that’s one step back in order to take two steps forward. Before the ep ends, he will figure out that it’s better not closing himself off completely to the idea of getting into another relationship, even if Tia Pepa’s surprise blind dates are not the way to go about it. ~~

As a side note, I loved Bobby basically trying to trick his subordinates into giving him a review, and poor Buck stepping right into that one. I saw it coming and I almost choked laughing. This show is damn brilliant with comedy, too. We don’t give it enough credit for that! But it's also a moment when I was really proud of Buck. If Eddie's panic caused him to take a step back, we got to see his husband, who grew up so unloved that he needs every bit of approval he can get, being mature and able to point it out when Bobby was over-praising him in his evaluation. And you know what's more? Bobby knew it would go like this. He has seen Buck's growth and he knew his surrogate son would do the right thing and correct this. Bobby's set up wouldn't have worked otherwise. Excuse me while I get emotional over this. ~~

Fitting for an ep where 911 flexed its comical muscles, it was embarrassing how hard I laughed at Buck’s reaction to Eddie’s romantic woes. Remember when Buck heavily implied how hurtful it was to be ghosted by Abby, saying in 502 that he had been in Ana’s position, of being unwanted and led on instead of getting a clean break up? Well, look at how quick Buck was to suggest ghosting as a viable option for Eddie this time! It’s almost like Buck doesn’t even notice that he will offer whatever it takes to keep his husband away from these potential Love Interests, even if it contradicts stuff he has said in the past himself. The way Buck could be so calm making this suggestion, and take the “threat” in stride, because duh, he knows his husband wouldn’t want these LIs intruding on their marriage and family either, and it’s absolutely legit to just ghost this girl if she doesn’t get the memo, was hilarious. And honestly, who can blame Buck? He’s defending his hot man. ;p ~~

Which brings me to my weekly gif set, that I dedicated this time to Buck pointing out on Eddie’s failure to let Ana down easy. I mean, it already IS canon that these two talk about everything, it IS canon that Buck is someone who gets to hear all about Eddie’s romantic woes. But this proves that Eddie doesn’t just fill him in using broad strokes, stuff like just letting Buck know that he indeed broke up with Ana. No, they get down to the finer resolution as well, and Buck gets to hear every detail about how Eddie did it with the delicacy of a bull in a china shop. And clearly, Buck wasn’t about respecting either Ana or Eddie’s pain during that break up, at least not enough to stop Buck from teasing his husband about it. XD It’s so funny how naturally Buck’s staking his claim on his husband even while they’re discussing going on dates. I see you, Buck, and am totally with you! ~~

One last “made me laugh” point. I’m tempted to snicker about Pepa telling Eddie he should be shopping for antiques. I’m queer, so please excuse my dumb queer humor, but ummm. That’s not a very straight suggestion for your nephew, Tia. Or maybe that’s deliberate, maybe it’s implied she is trying to set up Eddie with anyone, girls or guys? After all, she did use gender neutral language during this ep... So we can’t know for sure, but something tells me Pepa just wants Eddie to officially have someone, and if she learns that Buck actually IS her nephew’s other half? (I can’t call either of these morons ‘better half’, sorry) Then she’d be the first one to throw them a party! And I love that, and I love her. Because after all, she’s not just a sassy queen, she’s not just incredibly loving and caring with her nephew, she was also willing to sacrifice her own image in his eyes, she was willing to be seen as herself, and not as what he expects, in order to help remind him that even if his first marriage failed miserably, he can find the courage, move on and re-commit himself to someone else. And soon maybe Eddie will realize and Pepa will find out who is that someone else that Eddie can have a beautiful committed r/s with...

~~ (my weekly meta posts) (my Buddie gifs) (all of my content)

~~ My tag list will follow in the reblog, please let me know  if you wanna be added/removed here.

~~ Thank you so much for reading and for any reblog, like, comment or supportive tag! I really couldn't keep doing these without knowing people want to see them. Also, my eternal gratitude as always to @whosoldherout​. I'm always in awe of your giffing!

[h-worksrambles]

Ok, so Episode Aigis dropped, they changed some dialogue and now people are pissed and saying P3 Reload ruined The Answer.

If you want my TLDR, Atlus’ changes (both writing and mechanical) for the DLC are overall small, some good some bad, but they’re ultimately band aids that fail to address the much wider flaws of The Answer as a story.

I think there’s a genuine intent to try and better get across the character’s motivations. And for some characters it works well. I think the new dialogue for Mitsuru is a genuine improvement. I’ve seen some criticise it for focusing more on Mituru’s thoughts towards the protagonist then her (rather queer coded) loyalty to Yukari. But as much as I love my SEES lesbians, I genuinely think giving Mitsuru multiple reasons to side with Yukari rather than just blind loyalty, is much more in character for her than FES’ approach (where she comes across uncharacteristically stupid). But I think by only changing minutia like this it just ends up highlighting the bigger problem.

A lot of people hyper focus on Yukari’s role and talk about how irrational she is here. And now you’ve got people complaining that Reload softens and sanitises her character and makes her storyline weaker. But I feel it’s a case of identifying something doesn’t work but being incorrect as to why.

The thing about the SEES group fight is that it’s fundamentally a really poorly done conflict. It sucked in FES and it sucks here too. There’s not enough meaningful disagreement between the group to make it feel earned. The only one acting out and taking the MC’s death badly, is Yukari. When really if this is the climax they wanted to build to, everyone should have been grieving badly and constantly at each other’s throats. It could have been this building frustration and animosity, until they’re all at odds over what to do with the key and a fight breaks out.

What we get is everyone…mostly being pretty chill, aside from Yukari being kind of petty and jealous at Aigis. And I think the reason people react badly to her (misogyny notwithstanding) is that it’s really weird when she’s the only one having this extreme reaction. Instead of everyone dealing with the MCs death in their own distinct way, it’s only explored with Aigis and Yukari and only somewhat. Hell if you didn’t have such a jarring disconnect, and there was a better variety of reactions and thoughts from across the cast, I think more people would praise Yukari’s writing here. As it stands, when everyone else is almost ridiculously reasonable, it looks very jarring.

And then when the group do fight it feels completely out of nowhere precisely because of how agreeable everyone’s been. Everyone willingly jumps into a pointless fight that could get them all killed, one that only one member of the group even wants. All for a very contrived plot point that was set up five minutes ago. It’s executed in such a sloppy way that it makes the genuinely good scene of Yukari’s breakdown ring hollow. You get the sense that the writers weren’t really interested in exploring Yukari’s grief beyond using it as a plot device to make a dumb, unnecessary punch up scene happen.

I can see what they’re trying to do in Reload. They wanted to make Yukari stick out like less of a sore thumb compared to the rest of the group. But if they were gonna do that, they kinda needed to dial everyone else up, not dial her down. Build the tension between the party further rather than decrease it. Because now, if Yukari, and by extension the rest of the party are way more reasonable, it just begs the question even more of ‘they why are you fighting in the first place?’ It’s slapping on a band aid in a way that just exposes the whole scenario’s weaknesses

I genuinely think Episode Aigis needed to either keep the Answer entirely as is, or overhaul it completely. Making little changes like this won’t win over people who hated The Answer the first time, and will just annoy people who liked it as is. As it stands, The Answer is still a mess of good ideas mired by poor execution and Reload’s take only makes a handful of small changes that are ultimately different, not better.

[mazzystar24]

i feel like im in the minority who don’t want eddie to have a slut era in general like… idk even without chris it feels so ooc for him to me, like i feel like he’s so far repressed at this point that if he didn’t wind up with buck he would end up just living the bachelor’s life…

and like i feel like that was the whole point of not having eddie and tommy be the couple this season was bc it wouldn’t make sense for eddie to step forward in that way unless it was buck… or at least that’s what i interpreted the initial decision to swap the storylines to be so maybe i’m wrong

i guess after six years i’m just tired of them dragging their feet and i’m sick of them giving them meaningless relationships with zero chemistry rather than just letting them be happy… and giving eddie a slut era would just feel like they’re rehashing buck 1.0 and i’m tired of them reusing plotlines they’ve already used for other characters (and even giving characters the same plotlines again)

like eddie can be gay without having a slut era and i kinda would like them to not play into the hypersexual queer stereotype since they’ve decided to do so w buck

One thing is 3am me is a gremlin and I don’t like her or her brain (that was the time I made that post) also she just likes to make fun of annoying people but so do I and I had seen TOO many posts talking about a straight slut era for Eddie so hence the chaos gremlin post

Normal me’s thoughts on this:

• the reason I don’t like slut era as gay Eddie canon for Eddie is like you said it’s a bit ooc but also imo like I feel like BECAUSE he’s so repressed it’d take a really meaningful and impactful relationship to give him the like motivation/push he needs to get him outta that closet (which was my same reasoning for why I was glad they didn’t do Eddie/tommy like they originally planned- cos buck just never realised it but Eddie like actively represses it and has much more like in depth reasons for it- like buck wasn’t so much in the closet as he just thought that was his room meanwhile Eddie is like in a super bolted chained Houdini level closet)

• I mentioned in the tags but I want to be FLABBERGASTED when buddie canon happens I want to let out an audible scream in shock and wake up my neighbours and realise it only after I get a noise complaint and if they make them both canonically queer it’d feel like a matter of time (funnily enough i said this but about making ONE of them queer when the bi buck rumours were going around and legit the next week or so we get 7x04 and I was right - true I didn’t anticipate bt fans and the fact that it doesn’t feel FULLY inevitable- but fingers crossed I am psychic again and we get gay Eddie)

• while I think the fact it’s so ooc would be interesting because like it’d show how Chris leaving is affecting him I feel like it’d also be a huge disservice to Eddie because his queer arc and experiences deserve better than like strangers and one night stands as a coping mechanism if you get me

• if I’m fully honest even if his queer arc doesn’t end up perfect I just want him to be canon like it wouldn’t be my ideal like honestly if they do a disservice to him I’d hate it but still I’d just take the win because gay Eddie deserves to be free from😔 like even with buck they kinda weren’t great with his arc but my joy at bi buck overpowers that

But yeah sick and tired buddie canon now Tim please😔💔

[edenfenixblogs]

I have told the one (1) real friend I have out here that I plan to move home because the antisemitic isolation has gotten so bad.

If I were a pettier person, I wouldn’t tell anyone else until I’m already closed on a house back home. And when they’re like “why are you moving?” I’d say “antisemitic isolation from most social groups.” And when they ask “Why didn’t you say anything?” I’d say, “Because you’re the ones who did the isolation.”

I won’t. Cuz that won’t actually solve anything. It’ll just make people who don’t think they’re antisemitic go “oh? Eden? Yeah that was super weird how she called us all antisemites and then left. She must’ve been a Zionist or something cuz I didn’t even say anything about Palestine to her.”

Like…I know. You didn’t say anything to me. You didn’t ask how I was doing. You certainly didn’t acknowledge Jewish pain in any way, beyond liking one (1) post a few months ago. Most of you muted me on here. Most of you don’t respond to unrelated information or posts in group chats about genuinely nonpolitical topics. None of you are ever “free” to hang out. You don’t support me when I’m sad. Fine, maybe that’s not what you do. That’s ok. My emotions aren’t your responsibility. You don’t offer distraction. You don’t offer an ear. You leave me on read when I see you online.

I see the statistics that seem to say “most people think their friends hate them but they actually really like you!”

But I don’t think this applies to Jews. Especially leftist Jews tbh. But I do wonder if the antisemites who hate their Jewish friends even KNOW that they hate their Jewish friends.

Like, I wonder what they’d say if they were asked “Do you dislike Eden?” Because I think they’d say no. I think they’d say that, maybe, I’m a little much right now. I’m a little too intense. Maybe they’d say they like me a lot but just want this all to die down before we hang out. Or maybe they’d say that they did used to like me but I’ve recently made them uncomfortable.

But that’s not friendship. When someone you care about enough to call a friend is literally an emotional wreck for months, regardless of the reason, and you have not at any point attempted to be there for them in any meaningful way (and I mean, at all. Hanging out once. Calling once. Asking how I’m doing once. Saying “antisemitism is bad” even once. Taking me up on my offer to discuss anything about current events if they have questions. Politely declining my offer to discuss current events because you find it all too stressful. Letting me know that you care about me as a person but the current crisis is too much for you to think about right now, so you’d rather not bring it up. Literally ANY of these actions and a million others that would take you hardly any effort at all.) then you clearly don’t think of me as a friend, actually. You do hate me, actually.

Because what kind of person does that to a friend. What kind of person abandons us like this? It’s like they might as well just say “we like you so much, but like…not when you talk about or experience life as a Jewish person.”

They might as well just say “she’s fine enough to be around. Too bad she’s a Jew.”

Or, maybe, being isolated from people for 5 months is really distorting my perspective and none of this is true or valid.

But I can’t help but feel…being isolated for 5 months is very much reinforcing my points.

I’m officially done trying to make plans with any “friends,” except the one person who ever replies to me.

I basically said “if anyone ever wants to hang out, let me know” and that’s the last I’ll say to basically any of them about making plans.

What’s the point? I don’t want to beg people to spend time with me.

That said, when I called one of my best friends back home to tell her I was moving back, I told her the isolation was really getting to me. I told her that I was feeling like maybe nobody ever really liked me all that much and that I’m hard to be around and that being Jewish at this time and experiencing pain publicly was just the final straw to them excluding me. Maybe I’m just fundamentally unlikable.

But she told me that was dumb and I’m dumb for saying it. And she’s seen me at my best and my worst.

Idk. This post is long and personal and weird but I’m trying to be vulnerable and document how I’m feeling during this time. I think maybe I’m prone to look back on this when this current I/P flare is over and think to myself, “maybe I was just making a big deal out of nothing.” I want to have a record of how I’m feeling. Because at this moment when I’m living through it, it feels cataclysmic.

Like..I’m not even concerned about any of my “friends” finding this cuz I’m pretty sure they’ve all muted me anyway.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Wasted 11

Warnings: drug dealing/use, violence, noncon, and the usual. Proceed with caution.

Feedback is always welcome. Love you and thanks for the wonderful responses so far.♥♥♥

The other girl in this one is from Black Light

Part of The Club AU

Throughout the night, you find yourself thinking of Bucky. Not in any meaningful way, merely wondering how someone as nice as the man beside you came to be friends with a pill-pushing brute like him. Steve is too sweet to believe and you know better than to buy anything at face-value but you’ve yet to find a crack in the veneer.

As he asks for the check, you pull your purse into your lap. He peers over, “oh, don’t… I got it.”

“Really, it’s nice of you to offer,” you try to factor out the chunk from your cut for the night. “I don’t mind going half–”

“My mother would pale if I didn’t insist,” he reaches over to clasp his hand over your purse before you can pop open the flap. It’s the boldest move he’s mad all night. You relent, he doesn’t have to twist your arm, your bills are already doing most of that. “I had a really good night, it’s worth it.”

You smile. A real smile. You can’t lie and say you didn’t. 

“I did too,” you say, “thank you, Steve.”

He blushes and turns to watch the server as she approaches again. He fumbles around his jacket and takes out his wallet. His hands are shaking. You’d finally calmed his nerves but they just as quickly bubble up. Bucky is less than an honest man but you suspect he didn’t lie about everything.

But what did he tell Steve? Is this a date? Or are you a hired escort? That makes your chest twinge. You’ve never been overly sentimental, you’ve had your share of one night stands, but you don’t want this to be like those.

As Steve folds up his wallet and thanks the server, you brush his arm with your knuckles, “hey, do you wanna walk through the park? Elizabeth Square is near here, I’ve never been to see the fountain.”

He turns to you with wide eyes, “really?”

“Sure, why not? Unless… I’m keeping you.”

He shakes his head and a broad grin spreads across his pointed features, “I’d love that.”

You nod and gather up your purse. You stand and pull on your jacket as Steve rises on the other side of the table and smooths his jacket. His pants are a little too long but he looks nice. You can tell he put a lot of thought into tonight.

He gestures you ahead of him, “ladies first.”

You accept and lead him between the tables. He’s quick as you reach the front door and flits around to open it for you. He really is playing the gentleman well.

As you get outside, you wait for him on the sidewalk and as he nears, you turn to walk parallel with him down the wide pavement. He’s quiet as he twiddles his slender fingers at his side. You take out your lip gloss to retouch your lips, twisting the cap on and tucking it away before you figure out what to say.

“You don’t really think I’m a lady, do you?” You kid.

He peeks over at you, “of course I do.”

“Steve,” you hum, flattered by his sincerity. You don’t know what to say. 

You sidle closer with your next step and take his hand, twining your fingers through his as he flinches. He jitters then squeezes. You can feel him beaming.

“I like you, Steve,” you say, “but I think I might disappoint you.”

“You could never,” he counters.

“We barely know each other.”

“Yet.”

“Steve,” you chide as you turn through the archway of Elizabeth Square. You look up at the big letters wrought in iron. “I’m trying to warn you.”

“I don’t need to be warned,” he says, “I can handle it. I can handle you.”

You almost laugh. He’s brave when he wants to be. Just like back in the coffee shop.

You near the fountain and sigh, watching the water lap down over the lit basin. Heat seeps into you from your interlocked hands as he stops beside you. You both just stare at the spouting streams.

You tug on his arm and turn to him. He glances over shyly, “this is romantic, isn’t it?”

He chuckles nervously, “sure.”

“I think… if you want to,” you push your shoulder up and tilt your head, “it might be the perfect time to kiss me.”

He gulps and shifts to face you, “really?”

You arch a brow, “my lip gloss tastes like cherry.”

His mouth opens slightly and he sways, “cherry?”

You smile and lean in, stopping just before him as you pucker your lips. His brows rise high on his forehead and his cheeks brighten rosily. He steps close and meets your lips with his as he closes your eyes and you do the same. He presses against your lips before he shyly recoils.

He lets go of your hand and covers his mouth, “sorry, I never– was that bad.”

“Not at all,” you flick your lashes open, “that was sweet.”

“Sweet?” He murmurs.

“Come on,” you turn and sit on the wide ledges of the fountain, “we can work on it.”

“Work on it?” He squeaks.

You slap the marble next to you, “Steve, let me show you how to work in the tongue, that’s the fun part.” He looks like he’s about to faint. You laugh as he sits stiffly and you rub his back, “or not.  You don’t have to do anything you don’t like.”

“No, I want to,” he pokes his tongue out to lick his lips, turning his head to you slowly, “you’re right, it’s cherry.”

You giggle and lean on the heel of your hand, bringing your other hand to his cheek. He grabs your wrist and pulls your touch away, surprising you as he frames your face instead. He grips your chin as he leans in and smushes his lips to yours again. 

You open your mouth slightly and slip your tongue along his lips, welcoming him in. He takes your invitation as his hand crawls up your jaw, firmly holding your head. You lean into him, purring as you rest your hand just above his knee. Why hadn’t you tried a nice guy before?

[starlit-typewriter]

Hello! (*^^*) I think you should post the deleted scenes. I think that It will be quite fun to read them, and I kinda think that it would be a bit of a waste not to post them since you put your time and effort into them even tho they aren't part of the story anymore. But of course, only post the ones that you're comfortable with since I like to think that every once in a while, writers write a story that might be too embarrassing for them to post (lmao)

Take care and have a good day/night!

(σ≧▽≦)σ

That's why I asked!

The thing with deleted scenes, is that some of them just straight don't happen in the actual storyline, they're like alternate version of what could've been. So I didn't want to confuse people on what actually happens in the main story.

Be that as it may, here's a deleted scene of the Wanderer ruminating over his own blessing. An alternate ending to Part 5, where he doesn't get dismissed by Nahida and gets grilled a lil bit.

~~~~~

Deleted Scene from Part 5, not canon to main storyline

The two watch the Traveler and Paimon leave, the Wanderer suppresses the urge to tap his feet in impatience. The Dendro Archon has made a point to ask him to stick around after their departures and whilst he had a sneaking suspicion why, he knew he probably wouldn’t like it.

Lesser Lord Kusanali turns to him with a sly smile on her face.

He already could already tell this was going to be bad.

“Just another tool you say,” she smiled innocently, parroting his stance from earlier.

The puppet looks away, unwilling to meet her eyes.

“You already know how I feel about divine favor,” he mocks, “The gods aren't guided by any kind of rationality or moral compass, it was probably done out of curiosity or on a whim,”

“Maybe so,” the Dendro Archon acknowledged, “But just because it’s out of curiosity or on a whim doesn’t mean it can’t be meaningful.”

He had no response to that.

“-and besides, don’t think I didn’t notice how smug you were when you discovered how much stronger your blessing was compared to Tighnari.” She added teasingly.

He didn’t know she noticed. Not that he cared, it was only natural he’d have more favor, frankly he’d be insulted if a mere forest watcher managed to succeed him. Besides it's not like he was comparing them or anything.

Lesser Lord Kusanali smiled at his silence. 

“Can I go back to my essay now,” he grumbled, wanting to leave this conversation.

“Ah, but you didn’t answer my question,” she interjected.

“I already told- ”

“I didn’t ask what you think of your blessing,” she shook her head, “I asked how it felt receiving it,”

Deep down he knew the answer, he just didn’t want to acknowledge it, didn’t want to get his hopes up only for it to be crushed by the merciless hand of fate. 

But he knew that she wouldn’t let him go until he answered, he also knew that if he submitted his essay late, he’d risk falling behind on the class rankings.

“I felt like I had the gnosis again,” he snapped, “Happy?”

She blinked at him, face unreadable.

“What!” he bristled,

“Is that something you still want?” She asked gently,

His mouth opened and closed, he wanted to say ‘Of course’, but well.

He wasn’t really sure anymore, it seemed that she realized it too since she dismissed him from her office soon after.

His mind was in turmoil as he stomped his way back to The House of Daena. 

If he concentrated, he could feel the flickering spark of divine energy cradled in his hollow chest.

Why are you here, he wanted to ask.

Why me?

Why now?

~~~

Hope you enjoy!

[leonw4nter]

i was wondering if you had any general dating headcanons for re2r leon (and fem reader)? like how he would act in a relationship, treat is partner, etc (sorry if this is vague i just really enjoy your writing so when i saw requests open i ran here lol)

General Dating Headcanons with RE2R!Leon x Fem!Reader

RE2R!Leon x Fem!Reader

When you two were first dating, he was shy and didn’t initiate most displays of affection aside from kissing or wanting to hold hands but after a month and a half, he was a lot more himself now. He wouldn’t hesitate to ask for cuddles now and is a lot more comfortable with giving you kisses on the cheek or hair in public.

Once his coworkers catch a glimpse of the cutesy messages you two send to each other, he will start fighting for his life in the work group chat. There was one particular incident where you left work early in order to surprise Leon and pick him up. Throughout the day, he was quiet and reserved but as soon as he saw you out of the corner of his eyes, his eyes twinkled and the widest grin spread on his face. His voice raised in pitch and he practically skipped over to you for a big hug.

When you two are working in your shared bedroom, doing individual tasks, and he realizes that you two aren’t talking but there’s a peaceful feeling, he’ll point it out and say something along the lines of “we’re like a married couple because we’re doing our own thing but it feels nice and we don’t feel obligated to entertain the other because our presence is enough” and then follows up with some random sentence and gets back to typing away in his laptop or reading reports again.

While dating, he developed the habit of saying the most romantic and poetic thing ever only to get back to doing something weird; just a day ago, he said “In the vast expanse of outer space and all the stars and galaxies in there, my universe begins and ends with you” then proceeded to hit his elbow against the chair, which made him cry out in pain and curl up in the ground.

Leon also tends to play with your stuffed animals in a way that he makes them do flips or do a little dance sometimes, to heal his inner child that he never got to bask in because of his rough childhood.

In the unfortunate event that you and him got into an argument, he would be the type to walk up to Jill and say “I should set myself on fire”. Jill will definitely look at him all confused and concerned, saying “And why is that…?” and he will respond with “Y/N and I got into an argument. She’s mad and I need to set myself on fire to feel the turmoil I have caused in her heart.”. Jill doesn’t know how to comfort him in this time so she pats his shoulder, giving Leon a judgemental side-eye but she knows he means well. In the end, she will give him advice like treating you to ice cream or doing all the chores for an entire week to appease you and calm the storm in your heart.

Although he earns well, he saves up and doesn’t buy most of what he wants (for example, a Linkin Park CD) so he could spoil you and buy you things without worrying about the expenses. In the end, he ends up being at the receiving end of your spoiling because you felt that today was a good day and ended up buying him the CD he’s been eyeing for.

He’s also the type to scold other men for looking down on their partners and start fighting them to treat their partners right; before dating, he already did that but it was much more meaningful to him after you two started dating. If he was already the type to help his female coworkers ask for a day off due to cramps, he upgraded by petitioning to install sanitary pad vending machines in all the women’s restrooms in his workplace and offering to chip in some money for the said machine. At first, you were worried that he did all that just to get your approval or for you to cave in to giving him a chance but Jill and a few other female coworkers of his said that he’s been doing that ever since.

Leon kept the relationship secret for a little bit (he sucked at hiding it); Chris and Jill decided to check if you and him were dating so they said your name in a conversation they made sure Leon could hear loud and clear. In the end, Leon promptly turned around with the most dilated pupils, sparkly eyes, and a giddy ass smile and boom they caught him.

He won’t be the type to ask from you because he’s going to feel like a high-maintenance boyfriend; he’d hint but very subtly if there’s something that he wants and if you somehow managed to guess what he wanted correctly, he’d blush and then admit he did want it but he’ll always add “but I don’t want it a lot, it’s no big deal!”. If you do get him what he wanted, no matter how simple the thing you got him was, he’d always jump around and giggle before giving you a big hug and his “thank you”s.

He’s very cheerful and happy, he’d do his best to make you laugh and smile but if it’s not one of those days, he’d offer to stay silent and just listen to whatever you’re venting. He’d give his own thoughts and advice but he’ll make sure to listen to every single word you say. It would turn into a full-on rant + shit talk session and you always manage to feel a lot better afterwards and that enough is okay for him.

If you were sick, he’d be so worried sick. As soon as you say that your throat’s feeling a little weird, your head is pounding, and your temperature is above normal he WILL fetch you the most heavenly and refreshing jug of water and cook you chicken noodle soup or congee with bits of chicken. He’d bring a tray with your food, water, and Advil. Oh, he’d also have a trash bin ready if you’ll need to vomit. He’d help you up, propping pillows behind you so you’d be able to comfortably sit up in bed. He’d tell you that he’ll take a day off to look after you but you disagree, urging him to go to work the next day because you’re grown and can look after yourself. He’s hesitant but decides to go to work anyway. On the way home, he’d pick up some more pills and some warm food. He also wouldn’t forget to wring the wet towel on top of your forehead and adjust it if needed.

If he was the one sick, he’d try to play off what he was feeling. He’ll try to downplay the itching in his throat and how he’s so dizzy and on the verge of falling over. You’d catch on to him and tell him to get back to bed and rest, while you do the same thing he does for you: cook food, place a damp towel on his forehead, and try to help him out to the best of your ability. He wouldn’t ask for massages but you’d give him one anyway, a sigh of relief occasionally leaving his lips when you soothe the joints he didn’t notice was sore. He feels pathetic whenever he’s sick but he’s very thankful that there’s someone who’s willing to help him and take care of him until he’s back to full health.

When you two got into an argument, he’d feel bad. He got the last word but at what cost? You’re not speaking to him and the only look you’d give him is a glare and side-eye, if he’s lucky– sometimes, you wouldn’t look at him at all. He’d feel extremely guilty and he’d try to talk to you but the cold glare you’d give him was enough to make him forget whatever he wanted to say. He’d try to make up for whatever mistake he made by cleaning up the apartment, arranging your items, cooking you your favorite meals, or driving you to and from wherever you need to be.

He’d ask his female coworkers for help, especially his coworkers in relationships. He’d approach them with a pocket notebook and pen in hand, ready to write away whatever wisdom they’d give. That day, he got off work early and sped home in order to prepare a nice dinner and run a nice, warm bath. When you arrived, he offered to undo the laces of your shoes and pack away your coat and bag. When you were done, he served your favorite meal and watched you eat. He explained how sorry he was and swore to never plant the seeds of anger and resentment in your heart ever again and to be a better boyfriend for you. You chuckled and accepted his apology, giving him a peck to the cheek before continuing to finish your dinner.

If you’re on your period and the blood somehow leaked on the bed, he wouldn’t feel disgusted or get mad at you for staining the sheets. He’d always say that you don’t get to control when you want to bleed and that you have enough troubles for a week every month so cleaning the sheets and replacing them would be one of the things he can do to help you. If you two were somewhere outside and your blood seeped through your jeans, he’d take his jacket and wrap it around your waist. If he didn’t have a jacket around, he’d walk you to the restroom while rushing somewhere to get you some new underwear and pants, along with tampons or pads and some tissues.

If you didn’t own one already, he’d look for those heating pads that wrap around your waist like a giant band-aid in order to ease the cramps in your lower abdomen and back. He’d buy you whatever foods you were craving for and be in his best behavior; cramps could make you cranky and one wrong move from him could ruin the entire day, which he understood. In the entire week you’re bleeding and suffering, he’ll cuddle you as you watch something on the TV and ask if you need anything else. If it’s his turn to do laundry and spotted that you leaked some blood into your clothes, he wouldn’t feel disgusted to take it upon himself and clean it up nicely. It’s just blood and everyone has blood, why would this blood be any worse or any more shameful than blood from nosebleeds or wounds?

During ovulation week, he feels a little flustered that you’re flirting with him a lot more and eyeing him like he’s a tall piece of meat. You’ve also began to be a lot more touchy with him, giggling and breathily whispering into his ear. He feels a little shy, the tips of his ears reddenning because he’s not used to being called “handsome”, “pretty” or “hot”. He does his best to meet your needs but he still finds ovulation to be… interesting. He talked to Chris’ younger sister Claire about it and she said that it’s normal since the hormones are going haywire in that phase.

One night, you came home a little later than you normally do and found Leon in the restroom, trying out your skincare products in small amounts. He was putting them on in the wrong order and applying the wrong amounts, sheepishly grinning at you when he got caught. You offered to help him after changing into much more comfortable clothes, teaching him which creams to use and in what order. In the end, you both fell asleep in the masks you two were meant to wear for only half an hour.

He’d also let you do his make-up, straddling his lap with his arms around your waist as your tongue was poked out in concentration while you did his eyeliner, making sure it was heavy and dramatic with a sharp wing. You told him not to move after he already sneezed twice while you powdered his face, not wanting to mess up the eyeliner work you already did in order to really complete his look. Somehow, he looked so pretty in the make-up you gave him, his lips were even more plump-looking with the gloss and the eyeshadow complimented the frosty blue of his eyes. He’d let you take pictures but he won’t want you to send it out to his coworkers because he’d feel so embarrassed.

After discovering that you know how to manicure and do nail care, he stopped going to the nail salon to get his nails and hands taken care of and let you do it instead. Most of the time, he’ll only have you push back his cuticles and paint a clear coat on them. Every single time, after you finish up making his hands and nails look pretty, he would repay you with hugs and kisses. If you ended up getting your nails done with nail accessories and gems and all things shiny, he’d end up asking to look at your hands and just admire the intricate details on them. With permission, he’d gently run a hand through your nail and feel the textures on them. Sometimes, he’d end up staring for hours on end or repeatedly glance at them again. He’d be even happier if you seem very visibly pleased with the nails you got for yourself.

If you’re insecure about how you look and you’re not feeling very confident about yourself, he’s going to be there to reassure you that you’re not ugly and you’re better than how you currently perceive yourself. If you two were going out and he noticed that you weren’t visibly confident with the outfit you put on, he won’t hesitate to reassure you but he won’t push wearing the outfit on you if it’s really not what you want to wear.

Lastly, he’s probably the type to own reading glasses but not actual prescription glasses. When he does wear them if he’s reading reports or on his laptop, you can’t help but pinch his cheeks because he looks utterly and absolutely loserly and nerdy in them. Like he’d probably get rectangular black metal frames and he only wears it a handful of times. He doesn’t like wearing them because he doesn’t like the feeling of wearing glasses and doesn’t like how he looks with them on but you digress, encouraging him to wear them more often when he’s around you. Sometimes he makes you wear them and now, he finds you cute! He took so many pictures when he made you wear them for the first time, debating if he should change your contact photo on his phone to that one.

NOTE - Big, big thanks to the anon who asked for this!!! I hope I managed to write this one nicely :) I haven't been posting as much as I had when I first started writing bc I haven't been getting much inspo (hence me opening up requests ; I wanna write but my only issue is that I don't know what to write :'c) I still have my asks open so if anyone wants me to write something up, fire up the ask box <3 My bff is going to Japan soon and they said that if they manage to come across a Capcom store, they'll look for the Leon tsum!!!! WAEOWIRXYTGUS- I'm not going to force them to get it but I'd be rlly happy if they did :D I procrastinated doing my paper that's due tomorrow to be able to do this so I'm going to be rushing right after I post this :))) Anyways, thank you to everyone who likes, follows, and reads my fics, it means a lot to me :) I <3333 UUUUUUU !!!!!!!!!

The hanging star divider is made by @benkeibear , the images are colored by me (sourced from Pinterest).

[ashironie]

I don’t have a good feeling about Celia

I tried to post this earlier but it got deleted so fuck

But from so many standpoints she just irks me

-She has the same character archetype as Alice. Many have pointed out their similarities and while this by itself isn’t much (as is everything on this list) with everything else it makes me weirded out

-She just came out of the blue. We had no warning in the episodes before no build up. We were introduced to the concept she was coming and then she came with little fanfare.

-Her introduction to the rest of the cast is a lot different than Sam’s. A lot understated. Maybe Jonny and Alex just didn’t want to do the same thing again but it felt really rushed and weird.

-I cannot see how she can possibly contribute to the plot in any meaningful way if she is just another victim coworker. She was introduced too late to have her death feel like anything but fridging (when you make a character just to kill them for momentary character drama), once again she shares a character archetype with Alice so the only thing that they could give Celia could be given to Alice perfectly fine, and she once again feels forced

-Celia was also too comfortable too quick for me. She just instantly trusted none of her coworkers would report her for talking shit about their boss. She seemed too genuine about everything even though she was in a completely new environment. And she was just so laid back with everything, like sure she might not know the full scale of things but she seems like she’s been their for as long as anyone can remember (something that might be due to the fact I associate this trait with Alice who has been there a long time)

-idk if I’m reaching or going crazy with this one but Alice seemed off. She moreso just said “I’m Alice” and and Aliced all over the place. But as soon as Celia left she said ‘yeah’ sorta suspiciously? Maybe I’m crazy. Then she’s back to herself replying to Gwen, who we can assume is only less interested in what Celia has to say due to the situation she’s found herself in during ep 4 was it? with Lena. The only time we really get to know her thoughts about Celia when she isn’t in front of her is when she’s bugging Sam about his crush on her, and also literally all conversation she has with Celia she also has with Sam and shifts the conversation (aside from just meeting Celia) to Sam (imo). The only time we get her opinions on Celia away from other characters is the little ‘yeah’.

-We don’t see Colin’s reaction to Celia either, which would mark the third episode in a row where Colin is only mentioned (to my knowledge). Though we don’t have any mention that he’s been hostile to her. The only characters that truly talk to her and that we can see their reactions to her are Alice and Sam. One who I’m convinced is suspicious of her and the other who’s ’in love’ with her (I was completely caught off guard by this due to not even thinking about any of that in the very beginnings of a horror podcast, I’m autistic and demiromantic, and because I was half listening the first time I listened. I sense it more but it still feels like a stretch to me before Alice mentions it though makes a lot of sense due to Sam’s reaction to her mentioning it)

-I feel like I’d be amiss to not mention the fact this is the episode we truly have an Avatar in it. Needles is the first avatar we tma enjoyers know as an avatar (in Norris’s statement in ep1 we have the maybe scammer but it’s unclear weather that’s an Avatar, someone being possessed, or something else entirely). Thematically, this would be a great way to establish a connection with Avatar and Celia. She was introduced exactly when Avatars were. Also the episode name could also be a reference to the fact we are having our “introductions” to Avatars thought this episode, but that’s unrelated.

-People has also pointed out Celia is in Tma, same name and same voice actress (so no Michael situation or helen and Mel’s therapist situation [I think I remember them having the same voice actress and that being a problem] here). Although I don’t know what the could mean but that’s actually the reason I decided to rewrite this mini-notsomini-rant.

I could be wrong about all of this and am prepared to be wrong but still, needed to get this out there.

[batbabydamian]

The new writer for nightwing (Dan watters) wrote a Damian-centric backup story in tec (multiple even, I think?) do we think it's too early to hope that the best duo may return to us sometime in the future? Also any hopes for the upcoming B&R arc by PJK? I have a few, mainly Maya sticking around for longer but also. The solicit opening on how Damian is the same age Bruce was when Bruce traveled the world makes me nervous. Please don't take Damian out of Gotham unless you have another book to put him in and I cant live in a Damian drought rn

ALWAYS HOLD HOPE FOR DUO INTERACTIONS!! a lot of Watter’s backups seem to be assigned to him, SO if he specifically chose to write Damian for that one backup then all the more fingers i am crossing 😭🤞 also funny enough in the Gotham City Villains book where PKJ wrote a Ra’s story, Watters has a story in it featuring Damian! seems promising that he enjoys his character enough 🤞🤞

PHEWWW...hopes for B&R… it’s oddly poetic that the first arc of Tomasi’s run featured a villain from Bruce’s world traveling days, and now we’re teased with that journey in relation to Damian. if this is really going down a self discovery sort of arc, i’m hoping for more exploration of Damian’s character outside vigilantism - like, Williamson having Damian develop his art in a “manga style” was such a good touch. art and storytelling (history, fairytales, his own father lol, etc) have been consistent details in Damian’s stories, so for him to really take them as his own by MAKING COMICS is so self indulgent of him!! it makes me so giddy it’s such a sweet piece of development 😭 SORRY FOR THE TANGENT but yeah more of Damian making choices for himself and his future!! he’s capable of doing so many things!! “a different way to help the world” has repeated in my brain so many times. i’m so curious. the main bit being about HELPING AHH Damian is so good…but also WHAT DO YOU MEAN...

i'd love for Talia (and Ra’s? whenever he’s done being a ghost ig?) to have a more meaningful role in this time of Damian’s growth!! orz speaking of Ra’s, NIKA?? icb we’re still in the dark with that but i’d like to at least have backups to continue her story with Ra's because that combo sounds so fun. is Ra's stuck to haunting his grandson's gf?? is Nika exposing him to kpop?? many questions

on the vigilante side, i need this villain and mystery to get me so hyped… i was excited for Damian to have another rogue to add to his list but Williamson dropped the ball on both Shush and especially Mistress Harsh 😭 ok didn’t mean for this to turn into criticism, at least his last arc has been giving something to gnaw on but YES i need to feel the stakes!! the INTRIGUE!!

smaller hopes would be more of Damian’s quips!! and HIS PETS. if they’re really moving in to Pennyworth Manor, they must have room for a dog, cat, and cow again!! and Goliath should continue to be a free spirit outside lol but still at Damian's side when he needs him :’)

Maya staying past Williamson's run is a big one that i'm wary of hoping for based on the "whole new arc/great jumping in point" marketing going on, BUT if she manages to make it, BIG WIN!! 😭 i like to think we’re safe from a Damian drought for a while considering the consistent greenlight on projects he’s in!! if DC actually ends B&R with this arc because Damian goes on another self discovery journey i can only hope he gets another solo or we all suffer together LOL

would love to hear your further thoughts on the upcoming arc as well!! :]