#sorry for waxing poetic about something i dont even like a that much

[inplateaus]

i get why people hate vapes but sometimes when youre so drunk that sounds have texture a blueberry flavoured smoke tastes like salvation

[rayshippouuchiha]

okay babe, i need to just. calm the fuck down for a second.

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 YOU'RE TOO GOOD TO US

I LOVED IT. I LOVE IT I LOVE IT IM. AT A LOSS FOR WORDS. DESPITE BEING AT A LOSS FOR WORDS, LET ME WAX POETIC FOR A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL IM GOING TO JUST. LEAVE MY THOUGHTS IN MY BRAIN

okay breathe. BREATHE.

okay here we go

“Go and double the standard care package while I get him processed,” Tamakawa orders as she turns to swipe Shōta’s card and input a few things into the computer on the desk.

they know. tHEY KNOW HE HAS A BIG DICK. IM LOSING MY SHIT

“We’re Eraser’s emotional support,” Hizashi protests, his most charming smile firmly in place.

he is--he does--he is nOT THE ONE WHO IS GOING TO NEED EMOTIONAL SUPPORT AFTER THIS ORDEAL, LET ME TELL YOU THAT

(and besides, even if he did, he's got a new shiny boyfriend to...help him deal with these...eroti--ahem, erratic emotions)

“I know,” Tamakawa continues, tone somehow a perfect blend of nonchalant and vicious, “that my nurses would never huddle together to gawk and giggle over one of our brave heroes.  I know that my nurses would never invade a hero’s privacy in one of their vulnerable moments.  I know this because my nurses are the best in all of Mustutafu.  Isn’t that right? ”

“Yes Ma’am,” the gaggle of nurses all answer before they bow and scurry off in different directions.

let me take a break from losing my entire head because of aideku to say: i would die for tamakawa-sensei. she is the ideal superior being and i will quietly thirst for her in my dark corner

“Is he still lucid enough to know what’s going on?” Shōta can’t stop himself from asking.  Because the idea of having to fuck someone who is out of their mind and doesn’t know what’s going on from the get-go doesn’t really appeal to Shōta.

At least not without a number of very serious and in-depth conversations taking place beforehand.

my head is in my hands. don't mind me quietly losing my mind as a fictional man stomps on every single button i have

“Those restraints are coming off,” Shōta finds himself saying once he’s done.

“I’m not sure you understand,” Tamakawa immediately protests.  “He broke an exam table clean in two while wearing quirk cuffs.  On accident.  I’m not even sure he actually noticed.”

“And if I want my partners restrained I’ll do it myself,” Shōta tells her evenly, his free hand coming up again to tug at his capture scarf.  “They’re coming off.”

sorry, was i too quiet? what i meant was, MY HEAD IS IN MY GODDAMN HANDS. DONT MIND ME VERY LOUDLY LOSING MY MIND AS A FICTIONAL MAN CURB STOMPS EVERY SINGLE BUTTON I HAVE

(izuku really do be getting the whole package. the whole. package.)

i will not quote any of the smut, no matter how much i may want to because my brain goes blank whenever those words are presented in front of my sinning eyeballs.

im sure ive said this before, but there's just something so distinctive about your writing? and also, i dont want to say montage because that's just...a really unsexy word, but i guess that's kind of what your smut scenes are? ugh its just, you give us a little scene, but its so descriptive and you can see everything in your mind so vividly, and then it's done. and that? that's so good because you're giving us a situation and some really really good imagery and then taking it away, and you can't help but try to imagine what comes next, except no, you can't do that right at this moment because there is more to read. i really love those little fleeting scenes because it feels like a movie playing in your head, except with more nuance because we know exactly what's going on in the character's heads. im not sure if ive articulated that correctly, so i'll say it in a way that's kind of weird but you'll likely understand better than the mess of words ive got up there.

your smut scenes: literary edging

i mean that in a totally wholesome way, though! lmfao sorry this is such a mess, i swear i get like this every time i finish reading one of your fics. i just...aghhhhhhhhhhh. YOURE AMAZING?????

ive noticed the same thing too, in swallow the fire (whoops, there i am again. seems like this damn fic comes up every time i send you an ask. it's my favourite). it's the same style of short scenes and thoughts that come one after another but aren't entirely like, point A to point B, but somehow you can still tell how they ended up that way?

anyway! conclusion: you are amazing and the superior being, please take my heart eyed babbling as an offering of peace and prosperity

(btw, im not sure you remember, but a couple weeks ago i sent you an ask saying i wrote a long ass comment for swallow the fire which i still havent finished, but it's coming! it will definitely reach you one way or another!)

You're too good to me darling. I know I'm a bit late but ohhh this made me so happy to see!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it enough to gush at me like this and that you like my style!!

[wickedpact]

You can't just drop that "I read Forces Multiplied" bomb on us and not give a ten page written reaction.

[cracks knuckles] if u insist

nicky cant drive hc: destroyed. rip. also i loved how andy and nile stole those sports cars and were being badass and driving off the bridge & meanwhile joe and nicky were just absolutely vibing in the van

'heres the thing about power: people who have it think they deserve it' [shot of police car] i see u greg

5 whole panels being dedicated to booker not being able to unlock his door. booker not even seeing noriko sitting RIGHT THERE in the window at first. incredible

noriko being 24/7 horny was surprising. like wow all of the stuff i saw she did out of context was 100% equally horny in context as it was out of context. love that for her

i didnt think the 'andy + slavery' thing was handled as badly as everyone made it out to be when telling me about it. tho from the way it was talked about i had kind of figured the conflict between andy and nile re: slavery would be really racially charged (esp considering nile is a black american and would obvs have Thoughts on the subject in that regard) but like,, done in a cringey 'a-white-guy-obviously-wrote-it' kind of way? but it wasnt that. i mean. it makes sense that andy would be implicit in slavery through the years

i mean, like she says, is that not what people just did to each other in the aftermath of battles for thousands of years? and i really like how its pointed out that it was what she was raised with (in the beginning when you see her put shackles on that guy after the battle) but she also accepts responsibility for it and acknowledges that it was wrong and not just 'what people did'.

i like how from her expressions you can kind of tell baby andy knew it was off but she sets those feelings aside bc she felt angry. it explains how she felt but didnt make her out to be blameless in it. plus i mean. i dont know, the fact that andy was involved in a lot of morally shady stuff for 7000 years is not that wild for me. if you live that long youre just Going to be involved in some shit, and she didnt even have other immortals with her as positive community influences, she literally just did whatever the fuck she wanted for thousands of years

'i was worshipped as a god once' i mean, yeah no shit she wouldve been involved in some seriously fucked up stuff, gods were fucking scary back in the day

tldr it could use some polish but it wasnt that bad

tho everything people said about moose being boring was unfortunately a little true. sorry king i tried to be interested in you

joe and nicky writing verbal fanfiction about nile and moose was iconic. 'you seeing that?' 'i am definitely seeing that'

it was also extremely funny bc that was like 60% of their contribution to the whole comic, besides kidnapping copley. they came, they wrote some fanfic, they left. kings. at least in tog1 they had an excuse to be useless bc they got kidnapped

joe just found out his old friend who he thought was dead is alive (and also probably wants to murder them) and instead of investigating with andy he stopped to help nile up. champ.

nicky shooting noriko through andy was cool. rip to the concept since it wont happen in tog2

wanna see mr ejiofor deliver this line

on that note imo copley was. weirdly enough, more interesting in fm than in tog1. to me at least. the fact that andy let him live and he was so haunted by what had happened that he came back and sought them out despite knowing they would likely kill him for it bc he wanted to not only make up for what hed done but also to tell them what theyd done for the world was admittedly more interesting than andy just kind of drafting him to the cause and him going 'okie'

i like how nicky was drawn in this one. in opening fire he looks like a blob man but in fm he looks more like a very nice grampa with a very good dye job

'theres no pain like a broken heart' andy 🥺

noriko implying andy's never drowned. .. .idk about that one, she musta drowned sometime

joe and nicky came, they waxed poetic about nile's love life, they waxed poetic about grog, and then they left.

sports bras being a reason humanity is good. i mean..... okay, yeah.

i mean. wild but you cant exactly tell her shes wrong

i liked how noriko telling andy that their purpose is to make people suffer coincides with joe and nicky finding out that they actually did good all those years

joenicky in opening fire: jail for booker jail for booker for 100 years

joenicky when copley tells them he knows where booker is: WE'LL KILL YOU WHERE IS HE

joenicky when copley comes back: if your vibes come off as even remotely rancid we Will destroy you

joenicky 2 minutes later when copley helped them find booker: he made up some ground :)))) <3 lov you j cops

theyre forgiving af

moose: how old are you?? a hundred??? a thousand???

nile [vine voice]: I M 2 7 ?

alright andy you got me there

joe texts like my aunt

i dont know why noriko drowning andy in that car tickled me. Bad And Naughty Andromaches Get Put In The Pear Wiggler To Atone For Their Crimes.

the drowning sequence was cool

copley trying to talk to andy while she was like o_o at him was great

ive hit the picture limit but id seen that panel where nicky goes 'forgive me' as he kills a guy out of context and it was HILARIOUSLY anticlimactic for me to discover that there was literally no context to it. nicky just apologizes to random people he kills. i thought that guy was someone he knew or something. nope its just Some Guy that nicky didnt know from adam

nile's complaint that andy was especially brutal to the guys on the boat... i mean. . , how exactly does one kill a man with an axe and not be brutal about it?

it was funny how noriko kissed andy and the only people who seemed surprised by that were nile and also andy

nicky and joe's complete non-reaction to finding out noriko is alive And Evil Now is endlesly funny. they just left her on that boat and neither cared. i get book and nile not caring but joe and nicky knew her, and they just have 0 input on the subject of what to do with her

pinstripe suit guy!

joe and nicky and booker packing up and leaving with nile

andy blowing up at nile was A Moment tho

i dont know, i get why people didnt like the ending but its. .. . it makes more sense in the comicverse. bc the squad doesnt really. .. interact outside of jobs? i mean, think of the moon landing story in ttt. that was booker and joe and nicky doing a job and andy only showed up a for a couple minutes after it was done. or the brunch in the first issue of opening fire. the squad arent as tight in the comic, and andy often seems to do her own thing outside of work, so andy saying 'i dont want to do work anymore' and the squad being like 'alright bye then' makes more sense in this universe than the movie one

also i feel like greg was Trying to set up a thing where nile becomes the Leader of The Squad after andy dies but like. its not very well done since. . . i mean, nile hasnt spoken to booker since opening fire, (and she only knew him A Day). and shes known joe and nicky all that time, but there isnt really anything that indicates that they have any relationship at all, much less one that's grown. in all the comicverse the only time nile and nicky speak is in FM, and in that scene nicky tells nile about noriko. nile goes from someone who needs to be set aside to have background knowledge explained to her to being the Leader of the group with nothing in between. it kind of... comes out of nowhere.

on the other hand tho... i felt really bad for andy thru the whole thing. well, i always felt bad for andy, but in this one she seemed so miserable, especially since it really felt like none of the others actually.... cared about her. when noriko came back no one asked andy how she was doing (big question ik, but it wouldve showed they cared at least), nobody ever expressed any concern for her, no one even really seemed to want to be around her. in opening fire everyone was more distant than in the movie of course, but there were little moments where she would joke with joe, or nicky would try and comfort her, or stuff like that, but in FM it really felt like they just didnt really care about her. & in opening fire it felt a lot like andy's relationship with nile breathed some new life into her, but in FM it felt like all they did was argue. i get theyre not *as* close in the comics but it really felt like the only person who cared about andy at all was noriko (which was probably also how andy felt) but it just seemed to come out of nowhere. honestly i was reading and i was honestly agreeing with andy that she might just be better off if she did just die. opening fire, on the other hand, never make me feel that way

tho everyone made it sound like when the squad split up it was one of those cursed 'the found family leaves each other at the end of the journey' tropes. but guys i mean,,, this is the second installment out of three. that isnt the End. theyll come back in the third one and Dramatically Reunite to fight some baddies (probably those 'others' noriko mentioned). im guessing yitzhak fits into that too somehow.

anyways it wasnt That Bad but it made me kind of sad and the only Sweet Found Family vibes in it were when they saved booker. also they shouldve beefed up that nilemoose romance, it underwhelmed me. 6.5/10

i also ABSOLUTELY understand all of greg's comments about how you couldnt make FM directly into a movie, he always said that it had no plot and. i get it now. it really didnt have a plot sdfghjkl

[transsexualhamlet]

sherlock holmes reactions part 4 (?) ive lost count already but unsurprisingly ive grown even more attached to him

using this as the cover image because i made him a playlist. cause im awful

no legit this is gonna need a read more because it's SO LONG SHIHEWIESHEFSHIEWHF

Had three mental breakdowns this week and realized i do in fact kin sherlock motherfucking holmes. this does not bode well for anything in my life mentally I've diagnosed him with so many things

Oh boy lol you want the list I think hes autistic (undisputed honestly) plus also adhd but on top of that there's the manic depression and uhhh the bpd lmao I dont even think that's it those are just. the obvious ones

But yeah man's a fucking mess and a shit person but in the same way as me so 👍

Some highlights I thought were very funny:

watson: we are in fact going to be waltzing into a place where people are Shooting People you do not have your gun. this is a problem

sherlock: don't worry watson I have my trusty stick!

watson: visible pain

This clearly happens like every day or so with them

but yeah there were some really honestly sweet scenes with them at the apartment and why am i getting soft over the crusty man being gay

have you considered tho. have you considered them

have you considered sherlock, who usually only plays absolute garbage on his violin serenading watson to sleep when he was tired and in pain and watson being so fucking in love with the man and waxing poetic about falling asleep to his music and waking up to see him fallen asleep on the couch next to him and oh my god them

They're just really sweet together for such a completely dysfunctional couple so much of the time lol I just. Sherlock being like.

Sherlock half of the time: watson you're fucking stupid. no i won't take care of my personal needs stfu. watson get a goddamn life. watson shut up. watson no one cares about your goddamn opinion. no i need to disturb you in the middle of the night it's for science. hey watson mind if i manipulate mansplain malewife

Sherlock the other half of the time: HELLO SIR YOU ARE MY FAVORITE MAN TO EVER MAN HELLO MAY I SPEND THE REST OF MY DAYS WITH YOU HELLO I WILL DO ANYTHING FOR YOU WE ARE PERFECT MATCHES I LOVE YOU AND I NEED YOU YOURE SO MUCH BETTER THAN ME PLEASE MARRY ME

They're... they certainly are.

ALSO OH MY GOD.

THIS ONE TIME WHEN SHERLOCK WAS JUST PACING AROUND THE ROOM AT 3 AM GOING "IT DOESNT MAKE SENSE >:(((" AND HUDSON LIKE BARGED IN TO COMPLAIN AND THEN WATSON WAS LIKE DUDE YOU GOTTA STOP DOING THIS AND PROCEEDS TO SAY THE LINE "YOU ARE KNOCKING YOURSELF UP, OLD MAN"

BAHGHSFHGRHEWHEWHIFEW

BRB SOBBING

CALLING HIM AN OLD MAN???? KNOCKING HIMSELF UP?? I DONT KNOW WHATS FUNNIER

The main highlight of this part was I have now gotten to see him have a great time watching his homo homie get married

Its so fucking funny.......

I was prepared for a funny reaction by yuumori sherlock's face when he said it lol but. Damn i was really not prepared tbh

watson: I'm engaged!

sherlock: *pained groaning*

watson: do you... not like her?

sherlock: no she's fine she's great you'll be wonderful together bUT I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE ARE HETEROSEXUAL WATSON DO I HAVE TO MARRY MYSELF THEN WATSON? ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE ME MARRY MYSELF.

watson: yeah... yeah... fair, I feel really bad because you did this whole case and I got a girlfriend out of it and all you got was me leaving you alone fuck man im sorry what are you gonna do without me

sherlock, highly sarcastic: dont worry watson I've always got my handy cocaine! *pulls it out and gets high in front of watson just as he's about to leave*

watson: *in fucking agony*

sherlock: good for you!

I DONT EVEN- THIS SCENE KILLED ME MULTIPLE TIMES OVER WHAT

ITS SO GODDAMN NONCHELANT ABOUT IT SHERLOCK IS JUST LIKE YEAH I WILL IN FACT NOT BE MENTALLY HEALTHY IF YOU ARE NOT WITH ME 24/7 BUT WHATEVER YOU DO YOU /S

I'd like to apologize to watson on sherlock's behalf lmao. man is being a bit too codependent on main

The last thing about sign of four I do need to address is yeah, there's the Horrific Amounts Of Racism in that one and the whiplash hearing it is just ridiculous because they seem to be so knowledgeable in all other areas and fairly... politically correct, taking sherlock's original misogyny as a purposeful character flaw, but then they just mention someone indigenous once and suddenly its all parrotting racist propaganda and just... really awful shit. There's no way I'm gonna speak for the group that just got absolutely hate crimed here but anyone can tell the author just has no clue what he's fucking talking about and it's physically painful.

And I don't know, it's just so bad it seems out of character? Doyle's making these motherfuckers say shit that honestly, Sherlock would know better about. And especially Watson. Come on, you cannot tell me watson is mentally capable of being prejudiced against someone. Please do not make him that way.

I'm not sure how to handle it specifically, or what's the proper way I should handle something like that in a media I otherwise like. Is it ok to say Doyle was clearly a piece of shit on the matter and separate those characters from his bias or is that insensitive?

I don't know, I was Not a fan of it and I'm glad to see they've at least finally shut up about the guy

But anyway yeah, uhhhh onto the short stories because I'm trying to read those before I get to the final problem

Scandal in Bohemia was a fucking ride, first of all, before we even get to Sherlock's girlboss arc we have to discuss how gay the whole situation was and how Doyle's attempt at making them less gay failed spectacularly

Like he's all "ah yes I need to marry off watson and uhhh make sherlock ummmm interact with a woman so they dont look gay" but he does it SO BADLY that it makes them look EVEN GAYER

cause i mean, even the conversation they had about watson getting married back in sign of four was gay af, but how Doyle handled things afterward was in no way straighter.

Cause you know, the man kind of wrote himself into a corner with the fact of Watson narrating these stories. So Watson has to be around to witness them, and to witness Sherlock's own thought process rather privately, so he has to be around sherlock at night, a lot. But trying to come up with a reason for that happening just... it didn't occur to Doyle. He just went. Ah yes this makes sense. And it's Watson just like Sleeping Over At Sherlock's like every other goddamn day and every time his wife leaves town and having them basically still live that cute domestic home life but they have absolutely no excuses for doing it anymore. It's quite funny

Like it was gay already the way they interacted when they officially lived together but it was like, a necessity for them. Now it's not, Watson just comes over because he goddamn wants to, and it's hilarious to me.

LIKE IDK I THINK THEY KIND OF BROKE UP FOR A YEAR OR SO BC OF WATSON GETTING MARRIED AND THEY LIKE DONT HAVE CONTACT WITH ONE ANOTHER BUT ONE DAY WATSON JUST INEXPLICABLY HAS THE URGE TO COME VISIT SHERLOCK ON NO NOTICE AND THEN SUDDENLY THEY ARE TOGETHER NEAR 24/7 AGAIN LIKE BARELY ANYTHING CHANGED AHIEHOEWH

SIT DOWN AND TRY TO TELL ME THOSE ARE NOT HOMOSEXUALS

Watson walks in on no fucking notice after a full year and Sherlock is just. In the middle of some experiment obviously but hes like

Sherlock, carrying around unidenfiable chemical mixtures: W A T S O N you look good you look good! i see you've gained seven pounds!!

watson: uh. thanks??? Hey lol *awkwardly waves* Uh um Wanted to Uhm sEe you

Sherlock: ABOUT gODDAMN TIME AND YES WONDERFUL LOOK LOOK SIT DOWN I HAVE THINGS TO INFODUMP ABOUT

watson: :) ok :) *turns to camera* and we were back to the old days

sherlock: makes a deduction

watson: wowwwwwwwwwwww !! so true bestie !!

sherlock: !!!!!!!!! :))) !!!!! :))) uh fuck im supposed to be smooth Its Elementary Lol

watson: *turns to camera* when i stroke his ego like this and compliment him he blushes like a girl like i just complimented his dress so i do it more because he likes it. this is a homie trait

watson: well i should probably get going! my wife will notice that i am gone my dear buddy bro homie!

sherlock: NO DONT LEAVE IM LOST WITHOUT YOU (pretty much a direct quote lol) your. wife doesn't. get back home until monday. I know this because I am smart and definitely have not been stalking you.

watson: alright :)))))

AND THEN HE FUCKING SLEEPS OVER LMAO FUCKING HOMOS

So yeah they're right back where they were before pretty much and there's a case bc of course there is

And honestly I think this short story specifically was so insane mostly just because of how absolutely fast it all went. Yuumori kind of made me believe the original Irene Adler was more of an important character than she really is? And I think that's. Honestly so funny. Motherfucker shows up for ten pages, girlbosses her way around town, and changes sherlock's entire opinion of the female gender while still keeping him gay?

LIKE NO LOL SHES NOT IN ANY WAY A LOVE INTEREST AND WATSON GOES OUT OF HIS WAY TO SPECIFY THE FACT THAT IN NO WORLD WOULD THEY HAVE BEEN ROMANTICALLY INVOLVED BECAUSE. SHERLOCK. DIDN'T DATE WOMEN.

HE WAS JUST??? SO IMPRESSED AND SHELL SHOCKED BY HER EXISTENCE HE DECIDED IT WAS TIME FOR GIRLBOSS APPRECIATION DAY TODAY AND ALL DAYS HENCEFORTH???

AND THEY HAVE LIKE O N E INTERACTION?? God, the power this woman(?) has. Watson looks at her once like. damb shawty 😳 and she's like "no<3" and he's like FUCK

Like yeah it's pretty much just the king walking up like "help girl the whore is blackmailing me" and sherlock being like "ok lol this will be easy" and then it proceeded to not in fact be easy or even possible

sherlock like... posed as a dead body and tried to get her to give up the location of the photo but she out-acted him and skipped the town the next day after doing the 'good night mr. sherlock holmes' thing with sherlock completely tricked

and she just. sends a letter like "dear sherlock holmes. you're a fucking idiot and i think it's funny that you lost. nice job tho mad respect" and sherlock just SHORT CIRCUITS

the king comes back a bit later like "hey Dude where's my Photo" and sherlock's like oh yeah uhhhhhhhhhhh about that and the king is like HOW COULD IT POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN THAT GODDAMN HARD i would have dated someone more noble if she wasn't so pretty i swear im on a whole different level from her

and then. GIRLBOSSIFIED SHERLOCK HOLMES RESPONDS "from what I have seen of the lady, she seems indeed to be on a very different level from your majesty" ABSEHHESHEFHHFES ROASTED

and the dude just LEAVES

After that I read a few more of the short stories and well the highlights I got from that pretty much were these conversations

Watson: sherlock. honey. have you. eaten anything today

Sherlock: IT DIDNT OCCUR TO ME DEAR WATSON

Watson: ITS FIVE PM

and:

Sherlock: *having one of his Moment Moments at three in the goddamn mornig* GRRRR CRIME ISNT WHAT IT USED TO BE

Watson: MY DEAR SHERCOCK WHAT IS CRIME S U P P O S E D TO BE LIKE ACCORDING TO YOU

Sherlock: no one's original anymore fucking copycats

Watson: so you want the criminals to make things harder for you specifically.

Sherlock, exasperated: yes!

I love them your honor.

[murdershegoat]

in an ideal world how would you want lena and kara to come back from the fallout of lena's confession/betrayal

ok i think i would ignore crisis happening lol but let’s say we pick up after all that shit and lena is still big mad and still plotting the mind control thing

only kara doesnt tell alex bc shes gay bc she doesnt want lena to get in trouble. i know what youre thinking, ‘sho thats dumb stop being so fucking stupid why wouldnt she try and save the world like she normally does she knows lena is doing something bad’ and i wanna say valid i am fucking stupid,,,, but maybe she doesnt think lena’s idea is evil? she doesn’t know what lena’s full plan is, not yet anyway. and she knows that lena will never try to inflict pain the way lex did. lena is angry, lena hates her, lena trapped her in the fortress of solitude.

but lena isn’t evil. 

kara knows that. she knows that on every level, every facet of being. lena is not evil. lena does things for the betterment of society. lena must have a plan for this, somehow. she waits to see what happens. 

jonns brother finally reveals lena’s plans for myriad and why she had kept him captive. the deo gears up immediately, ready to fight there way into l-corp, ready to arrest lena luthor. kara stands in front of them. tells them if they go after lena, then they’ll be facing kara and they all know kara will beat them, every time. alex asks her what the effword she thinks she’s doing. kara says ‘im doing the right thing’.

she flies to lcorp to warn lena and protect her. lena tells her to leave and kara says she wont. she sees the hope/eve hybrid and she just sort of sadly looks at lena. 

‘why did you do this to her?’

‘she betrayed me once. this way it wont happen again. now leave. before i mind control you, too. i wont hesitate.’ her voice shakes, though, giving her away.

‘dont you get it?’ kara says. ‘i’d already do anything for you.’

lena falters, just for a moment.

‘why aren’t you stopping me? this is the type of thing you usually wax poetically about.’

this time kara falters. 

‘maybe.’ she hesitates. ‘maybe i’m tired of expecting the best in people.’

lena laughs, but nothing about the situation is remotely funny. 

‘giving up on humanity already, supergirl?’

kara shakes her head. ‘i think i trust you more than i trust them, that’s all.’

‘that’s ridiculous. i trapped you in the fortress of solitude. i used kryptonite on you, knowing how painful it is. i hurt you.’

‘i hurt you first. you were angry. i betrayed you.’

‘so you’re just doing this to get back on my good side? dont be so transparent, supergirl.’

‘i’m doing this because i love you. and it might not be in the way you love me but--’

‘what do you mean in the way i love you?’ lena’s eyes narrow. her heartbeat speeds up, kara notices.she panics.

‘i. uh. nevermind. you dont love me, anymore. im just being stupid.’

‘what. do you mean.’

‘im doing this because i want humanity to be better--’

‘i dont believe you.’

‘- i need them to be better.’

‘do NOT lie to me, kara.’

kara’s shoulders droop. ‘im doing this because im in love with you.’ she pauses, and then repeats herself, this time just a fraction more confident. ‘im in love with you, lena.’

‘no youre not.’

kara laughs softly. lena isnt laughing. they both feel sick.

‘what youre doing. i know you, lena. if you think this is the right thing to do, i’ll protect you, i’ll support you doing it. but if you’re doing this because i was a fool and i hurt you--’

‘dont think so highly of yourself.’

‘if youre doing this because you think any other person would do what i did if they were in my shoes... they wouldn’t. people are braver than i am - humanity is braver than i am. i pretend to be some superhero and i run around all day in this ridiculous outfit and i think im helping people but what good is that if i hurt the person i care about most in the world? if im just a scared little girl who would rather lie to her best friend than be honest with her? people are better than that. they’re better than we give them credit for. 

‘but if you think - if you think deep down that this is the right thing to be doing, then you have my support, even if you don’t want it.’

silence settles between them.

‘youre right.’ lena finally says. ‘people are better than you. that outfit is stupid. and i dont want your support. but. youre also wrong. we loved each other in the same way. but not anymore.’

tears prick at kara’s eyes. ‘you loved me?’

‘more than anything. and then you broke my heart.’

‘i will never stop being sorry.’

‘i know.’

‘and i will never stop loving you.’

lena squares her shoulders. ‘i know,’ she says, as though she’s been in this exact situation before, as though once you’re in love with a luthor it’s impossible to stop.

they don’t fight the deo that day. lena finally agrees to stop her research and keep it all in the fortress of solitude - neutral ground - out of the hands of the government and out of her hands, as well. there is no dramatic showdown, no huge 'i forgive you’ arc. kara saves lena’s life several times because such is the life of a luthor. slowly, lena realises that granting forgiveness is so much easier than holding onto hate. slowly, it ebbs away and she’s left with her feelings for kara - not exactly as they were before, but pretty damn near. 

and then one day kara arrives home and lena is on her couch. kara sits beside her.

‘that supersuit is ridiculous, but the pants are better than the skirt.’

‘i know,’ kara smiles.

‘and people are good,’ lena says. ‘but so are you.’

‘some days i’m not too sure about that.’

‘well i’ll be sure enough for the both of us,’ lena says with a small smile.

‘and what about the other thing?’ kara asks. ‘how we loved each other in the same way? because i didnt like. i still. have, uh. feelings. for you. big, very important feelings that i dont want to overwhelm you with but that would be pretty great if you felt as well. but i dont want to pressure you or---’

lena cuts her off, not with a kiss, but with a hand. a hand that threads carefully and intertwines their fingers together. she squeezes.

‘let’s talk about it over dinner?’

[kurtanaaa]

Thank you for your thoughts in the tags. I went super hard cause work was slow today lol. I listen to Halsey when I'm in a MoodTM you know. I had so much fun picturing all of this. Can't believe i still have this many feels about glee all these years later

i SO GET IT I ALSO LISTEN TO HALSEY WHEN IM IN A MOOD™ badlands is just. the Mood™ album for me. also trouble and is there somewhere are genuinely such lyrical bangers to me idc idc!!!

i never know how exactly to explain the weird connection i seem to have formed with glee? i was talking to someone i went to middle school with today about glee (because life is strange and the past comes back to haunt me through my interests) and like. honestly the show is not that great. like objectively? its pretty fuckin bad for a lot of reasons. but (and i think ive said this before) theres something so compelling to me about a bunch of kids communicating through music and finding a family of their own through music, just because music so fundamentally important to the way i think.

and the way that the characters were played... the cast is made up of so many genuinely talented people who gave so many layers to a bunch of characters who may have otherwise been completely one-dimensional. i could see how someone would find any of them boring and superficial had they been played by someone less talented. and its because theres so much potential there that wasnt explored beyond what little the actors tried to give us that keeps me coming back, always. i just keep wanting and hoping that at some point maybe ill find new evidence of the deeper meanings and histories these characters shouldve had, and when i dont find it, i just want to create it myself in my own head.

and that brings me back to the music aspect. this shit goes fuckin full circle. i want to create it myself in my own head, so i turn to all the music ive collected in my silly little spotify library and i crank it and i assign it to the characters and i build up their histories and give them what i think they shouldve had - but only inside my head. but i do it set to music. im communicating my thoughts about glee through music.

im compelled by the characters communicating through music, i stay for the actors giving layers to characters that could be one dimensional, i build off what the actors tried to give us, i think about glee set to music. lather rinse repeat it all comes back around. glee said they were a musical and they made damn well sure they would stay that way even in our goddamn imaginations

i'm talking like ive hit the end of the universe but really im just waxing poetic on a fuckin musical tv comedy. i promise im not high

this is so much more than you expected, im sorry i infodumped about my crazy person brain processes on you. thanks for reading and thank you for the ask!!!!

[bookersebastien]

From your Booker anon:

That was perfect, thank you. 🥰 In fact, as a fellow book nerd, I’m deeply jealous that Booker literally has all the time in the world to finish his to-be-read pile.

(Although, I think the sun will probably burn itself out before that happens. There will always be more books. Trust me on that.)

So another headcanon for your imaginings... it’s been my personal observation that a lot of bookworms are also writers and vice versa. Has Booker ever attempted to write something? If so, did he publish? Maybe he’s accidentally or deliberately acted as a muse for a mortal author? Has an author ever inserted him into their work (called “Tuckerization”)? What genre did he or does he write in? Does he use a nom de plume, changing it from era to era? 📚🖋📝

Yesss more headcanons! Also sorry this is so late, my tumblr queue is acting the fuck up

But yes i think you’re right that many people who are avid readers will at some point in their lives begin to write, whether it’s poetry or fiction they’ll try their hand at it and booker is no different

Booker is definitely a writer, was one before his death and still is one after his death. However i think his subject matter has changed over his long life

I think booker has always, and will always have a way with words. He’s a thinker, always considering different things that can happen, he’s a forger after all and i do believe he conned people when he was younger. 

When he was younger i think he wrote short stories, or collections of short stories. And they were fictional stories, about different and average people. But this is the late 1700s, the modern novel was taking shape at this time and they were still in the age of enlightenment, many things were written as philosophical commentary on the church and state. 

I think he wrote what @mrmarinelli (ty elena) helped me call: satirical adventure stories with hidden moral quandaries about life. They made you think without realising it. I mean he was most likely a fan of voltaire and one of the most famous pieces of this time was Candide, a satire in which he ridicules religion and philosophers while the main character goes on a whimsical adventure - a book written for intellectuals who could pick on the thinly veiled blasphemy and hostility. 

He’s a pretentious asshole when it comes to books and philosophy, and he seems like just the type of person to find inspiration in voltaire’s work and work on his own stories that made people think about things they never usually did without realising, weaving it into adventure stories that were probably not as heavily satirical as voltaire’s work and was written more as an escape. 

He most definitely wrote under a nom de plume, i dont think he wouldve wanted this connected with him and didn’t want anyone to find him under his real name as he was most likely working as a forger by this point. He probably chose some generic name like Jacques or Nicolas but he’s also a little shit so probably chose a last name like filloux (a variation of the name filou, which translates to “trickster”)

I don’t think he’s ever deliberately acted a muse for another author, i do however think someone probably inserted a booker-esque character into their book. Someone he spoke to while getting drunk at a bar, not realizing he let slip about a forgery he had done, laughing into his drink about how stupid people were to pay so much for art when they couldn’t even distinguish the real from the fake - they just wanted to say they had the piece. So he became a character in some book somewhere, a bitter forger who waxes poetic about the rich people’s lack of care for anything they can’t show off

After his death things were different though, he had been found out as a forger, forced to join the army and then he died. And then he didn’t. I don’t know how long it was until the others found him, but it was a while before he went back to see his son, and even then his reaction didn’t go well. He couldn’t go back to his own life, but he also no longer had the same outlook, he couldn’t.

I think it took a while for him to start to write again, he had lost him family and his life and he had to come to terms with that and as of the present day he still hasn’t. But him and andy i think are very similar, family oriented and maybe slightly jaded. Who knows how andy went at this alone for so long, forgetting her own family before finding quynh and lykon, she probably went through something similar to him. But she’s has thousands of years to deal with it, or forget, and booker has only been alive for like 250, he’s not there yet

But he doesn’t want to forget, he maybe isn’t completely happy but he loves his new family so he begins work on a memoir. Writing fictional adventure stories isn’t the same when his life is straight out of one of them. Despite how terrible he is with expressing emotions, writing is one place where he feels safe and is able to get his thoughts out. I think he has a really poetic way with words, and his memoir would read so nicely as a fanciful adventure story, beautiful and a little haunting. He keeps many journals, and just as he does with his books (as per my previous hc) he doodles inside the book, cities as they look a hundred years ago and the view from their safe house. His memoirs focus more on how he feels, rather than his notes in his books that capture the small moments so he can remember, he focuses on how he feels living through the centuries and watching the world change before his eyes. 

The journals are scattered throughout their safe houses but he knows how many there are tucked away under mattresses and in between books on the bookshelf. His life contained in his messy, scrawling handwriting, every single journal signed at the end ‘booker’ because that’s the name of his life, the name his family gave him

[mi-corazon]

kinda feel insecure bc you post beautiful girls and say beautiful things but i dont feel like you post the girls who arent really and it makes me feel a little intimidated and sad :(

First and foremost, every one is beautiful. Including yourself. That's a fact. My little blog does nothing to take away or add to anyone's beauty, whether I post them or not and regardless of anything i say. If I wax poetic it's likely towards a very dear friend/mutual I've made on here and my sentiments come from a deeper place. That being said, you've sent this at a time I'm feeling EXTREMELY insecure myself and have been for a while. So much so, I just finished crying while talking with some friends about how much I dislike my own appearance. Something I don't really enjoy talking about. In fact, i took my own selfies down from here a while back (I doubt anyone even noticed 😂) and won't be posting anything new for the foreseeable future (I know I've been tagged a few times 😬) I'm sorry if you're feeling the same. I appreciate you for making your voice heard. You're definitely not alone. Again, You Are Beautiful 💙 and I honestly mean that 🙏🏼

[justalittlebluetiefling]

Somehow I can relate to your position about Fandom drama, like, I just so happened to follow the right blogs. U, criticalrolo is another, kimabutch ofc, among other people, and there rarely any drama that I see. I live in fear of the tags which is rlly depressing bc theres so much amazing fan content i wanna support, but I also dont want to go into the tags and find, god knows what kind of dumb call out post. The closest I got was the stuff with Grey on twitter (thank goodness they handled it)

I didn’t use the block feature at all my first few years on Tumblr and it made going into the tags for my fandoms unbearable, even if I just blocked certain tags. But ever since I stopped feeling guilty about it, I just block if I see something that is a trigger point for me and then go into the fandom tags in peace. For the most part. There are always going to be new inflammatory takes, but if my dash is slow, I want to be able to go in there and not be so upset all the time. 

And then it’s like you said. Following the right people (those two blogs you mentioned are excellent btw, 100% agree). There are always certain situations that permeate the whole fandom regardless of blocks/filtered tags, but it helps to follow people who just love the show. And love the characters. And know how to use a tagging system and tag their anti opinions if they even decide to post them at all. 

It’s hard for me, because I mean... okay. This is a horrible weakness of mine. I used to be a huge gossip irl. I have that instinct in me, as much as I hate to admit it. I blame my mother, okay? I love her, but I always want to know EVERYTHING. She instilled this whole ‘knowledge is power’ attitude in me. And for her, that means ALL knowledge. It took me a long time to figure out that I was happier not knowing everything (even if it’s something I still struggle with).

Idk sorry I took your ask and used it as a platform to wax poetic about the block feature and talk about my personal failings lol. We really are fortunate to have a fandom that produces so much amazing creative content and as long as we cultivate our fandom bubble, we can generally do so in peace. 

[cinnaminsvga]

In the past I've asked for how your characters would react to their counterparts across your smaus. It's time for the new version: Who would win in a fight if you put your characters against their smau counterparts (so all Y/Ns against each other, all Yoongis against each other and so on)??? You can choose to include/exclude whoever you want and take as long as you want in replying or even choose not to lol

HAJDHAJSD THIS TOOK SO LONG TO ANSWER IM SORRY but i do get super excited whenever you send me one of these, so i wanna get this right!! i think i’m only gonna include the last three smaus (tddup, 300mdh, lib) bc i dont think i could even handle imagining what it would be like to have six seokjins... that’s some forbidden knowledge right there 😳

seokjin - jfc where do i even begin... for all my old followers, yall know that i just love writing seokjin as unhinged and chaotic as possible so you can only guess how terrible it would be if three of him were to fight. ok tbh 300mdh!jin would definitely win bc?? hes a fucking spy?? but i could somehow see tddup!jin finding a way to fight back,,, idk he could probs trick zeus!kook to help him by promising him some miku merch or smth,, LMAO and lib!jin is just there,,, smartly avoiding the conflict and streaming it on twitch or smth

yoongi - oh my boy,,, tddup!yoongi is absolutely frying lib!yoongi’s ass for not confessing his feelings HDKWJDKWK as hades, he’s probs gone thru his own fair share of heartbreaks (haha OOP spoiler alert for a prequel series maybe??) and he’d honestly be so so sad for lib!yoongi but also just frustrated?? he’d be frustrated with 300mdh!yoongi too tbh bc that dude has repressed feelings for mr kim seokjin that he still hasnt figured out yet,,, tldr yoongi smites the other two yoongis but then comforts them afterwards inside his cavernous ass ❤️

hoseok - sorry but 300mdh!seok is winning no cap,,, tho OKAY i havent revealed yet why, but he’s actually a pretty harmless guy,,, (ignoring the fact that hes a double spy and HAS killed people in the past... uhhh) but yea he’d just pretend to be a really nice guy and get along well with the other two hoseoks,,, tddup!seok is an idiot and probs wouldnt even notice anything off about him, but lib!seok might have a gut feeling that somethings wrong,,, this is actually a really strange trio and idk how it would turn out exactly,,, definitely some sus things going on,,, lol

namjoon - well, tddup!joon is currently a turtle so you bet your ass that lib!joon is keeping him as a pet LMAOOOO my dude would unknowingly keep tddup!joon until he somehow magically returns to being a human. 300mdh!joon is a bit harder to pin down, since it all depends on whether he’s drunk or not LMAO bc if he was drunk, you’d bet your ass that he’d be a fucking dramatic/emotional mess and would wax poetic about turtle joon and lib!joon would have to comfort him. if he was sober, he’d just be a “regular” guy, or however regular a spy can be. overall, they’d hang out altogether just fine,,, like a couple of nerds,,,

jimin - well, you all know how tddup!jimin is like and that bitch is hornier than all my smau jimins combined. he’s so ferally horny that lib!jimin would probs shit himself, though i’d imagine 300mdh!jimin could maybe handle him a little better.... somewhat. they might even get along after a while, though i have a standing theory that all my smau!jimins hate each other no matter what, like that popular clique of girls you have in high school. they all pretend to be friend with each other, but they would not hesitate to stab a bitch if and when provoked. fun times!

taehyung - in contrast with jimin, i feel like all my taehyungs would have a good time together, no matter what au (okay, maybe except for looh!tae but thats a whole different story lmao). i think tddup!tae would get along super well with 300mdh!tae, mostly bc theyre both incredibly chaotic and have a kinda “go with the flow as long as we’re having fun” vibe. lib!tae is just maybe a little more “calm” than them, but he’s always down to clown. tddup!tae would probs bonk lib!tae on the head tho once he finds out about what he did to lib!oc, but other than that... i think they’d all be good buddies. 

jungkook - oh boy where do i even start... i feel like tddup!kook, despite how absolutely stupid he is, he’s still... somewhat morally sound?? i guess?? like he loves his wife a lot (#1 oc simp lets get it) so he’d probs be so angry and frustrated with what lib!kook did. might even hit him with a lightning bolt if we’re being honest. 300mdh!kook would agree and beat the shit out of lib!kook, and then he’d bond with zeus!kook over weeb shit and they’d become the best bros ever. but then zeus!kook will say some,,, weird kinky shit and break the mood so then 300mdh!kook + tddup!oc will have to tie him up so he never speaks again,,, they’d certainly be a very wild trio,,, maybe even worse than the seokjins and that’s saying something!!

oc - OHHH MY GOD like fr but tddup!oc is gonna baby lib!oc so much you have no idea ;-; she’ll see how badly her heart got broken by her version of jungkook and probs offer to kill lib!kook, but sweet lib!oc would protect him even after all she’s been thru,,, i see tddup!oc as being a great older sister figure for lib!oc and tbh i stan!! and uhh... we all know how 300mdh!oc is... she’s also an older sister figure, but demented and insane. okay, so she’s maybe more like your crazy aunt that smokes too much crack but you know what? you cant hate her so shes just kinda there and sometimes she’ll say something super profound and is genuinely a loving person (deep deep down... like you have dig deep lol) but otherwise yea!! all the love for my ocs,,, they’re my babies and i love them so so much :-((((

[gelum-lumen]

(( yawn im awake and im gonna drop my two cents before i go back to sleep again bc i only got like an hour of restin. under the cut bc i typed a lot lol

strictly talking gamewise i think vergil is remorseful about what happens in dmc5. i think its important to note that he didnt like. summon the qulipoth or how ever the fuck its spelled. if you read the in game library it specifically says its a tree that grows every millennia or whatever and blooms all the way from the underworld to the surface and the only thing keeping it from blooming in so many years was because sparda had severed those worlds. now that being said its still definitely vergils fault since...guess who rejoined the demon world to the human world in dmc3 lmao but its not like he set out to do it. what happens is that urizen being a god damn demon who doesnt have feelings or a brain apparently beyond what literally EVERY other demon thinks (gotta get my number REALLY HIGH so i can be king of the underworld) just takes advantage of that situation.

anyway i say all that to say this. v (the part that thinks and feels) clearly doesnt care for the situation and when he reforms into vergil he doesnt exactly get a good chance to like. do anything. his brother attacks him immediately and hes like “>:/ well i dont care for that” and leaves to go sit in a chair and contemplate....SOMETHING. we dont get to find out bc dante once again IMMEDIATELY goes to fight his brother thinking he has to take the yamato away from him lest he fuck up again. they dont exactly give vergil much room to talk about his feelings. the closest we get to if vergil feels anything about the situation is when he goes out of his way to provide the solution to the problem. this is kinda important?? bc like??? dante doesnt do that. nero doesnt do that. vergil is the one who solves the blood sucking tree problem meaning he obviously feels a type a way about it. and then we get brotherly playful sword fights in hell

i really think they were holding back bc the ending of the game is already SO cutscene heavy and this is an action game and we got to get the big fights in quickly before people get bored. so vergil emotionally doesnt get a ton of screen time so they just drop very subtle things to tide us over until dmc6 or dmc5se. he might not say anything explicitly but vergils never been the type to like?? wax poetic about how sorry he is?? i dont think hes apologized once for anything hes done because hes a prideful little bitch? but i also think like. he doesnt need to yet. dante seems to pick up on how his brother feels pretty damn fast while theyre in hell together like i could go for a essay long break down on those last few scenes on their silent communication but im not rn. like vergil does everything he can in the moment to fix the problem when hes back together he SOLVES the damn problem and sets out to correct it even BEFORE dante says hes going with him like i dont know what more any one can ask of him lol...

ANYWAY fuck all that for a second so i can talk about ME and MY VERGIL lol my vergil.....doesnt give a shit about the humans.....hed never say it but he really only feels shitty bc like. he didnt mean to fuck up THAT hard again and ultimately make his family hate him (oh by the way he has one of those now cool!) so hes just fixing his mistake so he can fix his OTHER mistake (not being there for nero) and not seem like the biggest asshole on earth. but like...thats it lol. his time as v made him realize he misses his brother and wants to be around family again and feel like he belongs so hes trying to get back into their good graces and if pretending to care about humans is the way to do it then so be it

[mollypaints]

Hi! I'm sending this ask for a friend 'cause they're a bit too anxious to send it themselves (since you dont have anon on). Here's their message: 'I think your artist trademarks are a lack of faces and even in the pieces with people their faces are obscured or distorted, floral patterns, fun bright colors like you are not afraid of saturation and I love that.'

Okay, I cannot BEGIN to tell you how much I appreciate this message!

One of the most common comments I get about my artwork from family/friends is that they can "see faces", particularly in my abstract works. Oftentimes, that's the only engagement I get, other than "I like it" or "Good job"—and I truly do appreciate that feedback, but it also makes me very frustrated because I feel like it's a bit reductive. Like they're searching "for" something as opposed to actually seeing. I have started to consciously avoid making faces in my work so I don't get that kind of response.

Whether or not that's a good idea, I can't say. I like faces. I like portraits. I also have a very hard time doing them, particularly from reference, because I get too confused by the details and start obsessing over perfection, which I am never able to achieve.

And the florals! I don't know why I gravitate towards florals. They're visceral, I guess, and generally circular. I like circles. They've always been my favorite shape. I associate flowers with traditional femininity pretty heavily, which is a concept that weighs heavily on me. I feel the call to be "womanly", and yet, I despise how suffocating and quiet the concept tends to be.

On the topic of saturation: try as I might to convince myself otherwise. I don't believe in desaturating. Color is so...raw. For example, when I see a full and true orange, I feel it put its hand in my stomach. And blue makes my lungs swoop down and ache, like a ship in a storm. Even though this all sounds unpleasant, it's vital and wonderful. I feel alive when I see color like that, like maybe it's why I'm supposed to be here. That sounds a little silly, doesn't it? But I never felt at home the way I do when I let my eyes drink in the right color.

...Sorry for waxing poetic! I got a little carried away, but seeing this message just hit me the right way at the right time, I guess! Please give your friend all my thanks and all of my love—as I would like to give YOU my thanks and my love for sending this to me in the first place.

(And, note: I can't believe I didn't have anon on before this! I'm turning it on now, so if anyone would like to message me about anything, please don't be shy!)

[sometimesrosy]

Madi's purpose cant just be there so Clarke has a different world view, just like that wasn't what happened with O and Bellamy, they didn't parallel the "girl under the floor" thing for nothing.

Who said that was her only purpose? She’s got her own story. It is causing tension for everyone. And she is not really keen on following Clarke’s instructions because she has her own goals she wants to achieve. And those are actually at cross purposes with Clarke’s. She’s not a lamp sitting around for clarke to hang her feelings on.

…..

Just wondering suddenly, not really about your ask but it made me think about fandom reactions lately. 

Do y’all actually KNOW what a well rounded character IS? Do you know the difference between a cardboard character who is just a prop and a character with their own motivations and agency? Because now that it occurs to me, a lot of the criticism I hear from people about characters they don’t like or characters they DO like doing things they don’t like, is based around “bad characterization,” and I’m sitting here going, what are you talking about? her character is clear. His character is consistent. They are all working on their own motivation with a backstory that (to varying degrees) is separate from the other characters. there’s development there and personality and psychology and motivation and they grow and change and learn things and challenge people and are sorry and want to be better. 

What about that makes for a bad character? 

Do y’all know what a supporting character is and what the purpose of supporting characters in fiction is? Because I’m seeing criticism there too, about supporting characters not being treated like main characters, as if that is some flaw in writing, rather than actually HOW you tell stories. 

A character like Harper or Miller? They are supporting characters. They are tertiary characters. They do not get as much time as Clarke or Bellamy. Who are main characters. Or, for that matter, Monty or Murphy or Raven, who are SECONDARY characters. This is not bad writing. It’s just writing. Characters are tools to tell the story, all of them. Some characters ARE the story. Clarke and Bellamy ARE the story. Our secondary characters get stories of their own, but less screentime and they eventually lead back to the main stories. And there are times when we dont’ see them at all. Tertiary characters are generally there to support the more major characters and give them more development. The storylines they get for themselves are going to be shorter and tied into other plot lines. Thus harper or miller. They were there to challenge monty, bellamy, to further the plot. And this is okay. The more story they have to develop their characters, the more their characters become important. So you can see them getting more importance. Minor characters get even less development and are there just for the story or characters, like, say, Gina, or Titus. They never got storylines of their own. They were there SOLELY for other characters or plotlines.

I don’t know. I hear a lot of complaints about this story not being a good story and these characters not being good characters and i’m telling you, this is not true. So who is coming up with this interpretation and exactly what do they know about what makes a good character? And what makes a bad character? What makes a good story vs a bad story? And how come we only ever hear them talking about how things are BAD and never have them waxing poetic on the GOOD craft.

Oh wait. They actually do. Until Bellamy is in a ship they don’t like. Then he’s all of a sudden being murdered as a character.

oh. dear.

Characters doing something you don’t like is not the same thing as  bad characters, guys. “I don’t like it”=/=bad writing.

[darkdarkmydesire]

I really hope it wasn't (just an experiment)

Chapter 4:

"Fuck", Alec swore, running his hand through his hair, while simultaneously blocking the flow of students. He ran his gaze, once again, over the text from his boss.

According to the typed lexis, Alec's shift had been cancelled and the café closed early. He was in the middle of tugging the roots out of his head, when Alec was interrupted by a warm hand on his arm, a gliding voice. "Is there a reason, darling, why you seem yo have decided to pursue a career in being a road block?". came a familiar voice.

Lifting his head Alec came face to face with the glittery man, he called his friend. He took in Magnus's form. Compared to Alec's policy on choosing practical clothes with no thought on their asthetic appeal, Magnus crafted his wardrobe on the basis of enhancing and highlighting his beauty. He wore crimson jeans and a white flowing shirt, that tightened around his biceps and ended in folded cuffs just below his elbow. The sheer material hung off Magnus's frame almost poetically. He had on his signature twine bracelets and various rings, while his hair was glittered and streaked red. Coalesced, Magnus looked edible. Casually removing his eyes from Magnus, Alec grumbled, "None, except the fact my boss cancelled my shift." It may not be an extremely mature move, the professed ignorance of his tangible attraction to Magnus. However, it was an effective move. Eying Alec suspiciously, Magnus clarified with a measured tenor, "So you're pissed, because you're boss gave you a day off?". Magnus was quiet perplexed at discovering the source of Alec's perturbance, he was thoroughly unaware of the existential crisis the lack of commitment had bestowed on Alec.

"That's seems backward logistics to me.", he observed arms folding, stance shifting. Magnus leaned forward slightly, " You do realise free time is an actual concept? Don't you know how to relax?", he questioned smirking. Magnus was clearly teasing the younger man.

However, at the sight of Alec's resigned face, his superior grinned faded, as he huffed out an exasperated laugh, "Okay, it is decided. I, the fabulous Magnus Bane shall spend the evening with you.", he declared straightening with a flourish. Magnus clapped his hand together in finality, if Alec had forgotten how to relax, Magnus would show him, he was nothing if not a dedicated pursuer of improbable challenges. He would make Alexander once again enter the gate way to adolescent amusememt. No, he would make Alexander build his own mansion beyond the gate way of adolescent amusement. Lost in the maze of his multiple plans, Magnus stood eyebrows furrowed deep in thought, as he tapped an incessant finger to his lips. Magnus therefore, didn't have the foresight to move out of the way of a wayward individual, causing him to stumble forward on unsteady feet, barging past the pair.

" Excuse you ", he called out after the offending party, straightening the sleeves of his blouse. "We were having a conversation here.", he called out, raising his voice slightly, far it be from him to let injustices committed against himself pass fleetingly.

Alec had to admit, spending time with Magnus wasn't a bad alternative and Alec could relax. No, Alec would relax. Filled with a new purpose, Alec began dragging Magnus way from the bickering match he was having with a surly looking student. Chuckling at the Magnus's antics, Alec lead them away.

"Honestly, what a rude man.", Magnus muttered, not at all perturbed as the taller man dragged him away. At this words, Alec's smile widened, as he lead Magnus through the hallway and to his next class.

-------------------------------+

After the bell signalling the end if school rung, Alec texted Magnus that he was going to the library. He had an assignment and finishing early never hurt anyone. Fine, perhaps Alec didn't know how to relax, but the sooner he got his work done, the sooner he could have piece of mind and get to the relaxing part. Alec's idea of relaxing differed from the average teenage view. Clubbing and ruckus, parties and noise, were fun enough, but Alec preferred curling down with a book, when relaxing.

Running his fingers along the weathered spine, Alec sighed in content. He would gladly spend every waking hour of his free time among the ink filled pages. Standing in the swirling dust motes, illuminated by the shafts of sunlight, the musky smell of old books and pine filling his lungs. Running his finger over the dust covered shelves, which became more prominent the further back he traversed. This was Alec's haven.

Realising, he couldn't find the book he was looking for, Alec drifted towards the front desk. Perhaps, the student librarian knew where it was, he mused.

"Excuse me.", new said, knocking softly on the desk, to get the attention of the man behind it. He sat with his head buried in a book.

The man was quiet plain, from his sandy blond hair, to his square shoulders and symmetrical face. Pleasant looking, but plain. Although, as he lifted his head, Alec was confronted with a stubbled jaw and the most mesmerising eyes. A pale green, so light they were almost translucent.

Scowling, the man snapped, " Something on my face?", his tone carried a hint of exhaustion, despite the snarky words. As if he had heard all the jokes and what Alec had to say was no different.

"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't stare.", Alec answered apologetically.

" I get they're creepy, but if you have a problem, dont look at them.", the man growled angrily.

"What?", Alec sputtered. "I wasn't thinking that. I was thinking they're mesmerising, beautiful, like the surface of an iridescent, rippling lake."

"They're not creepy.", he spoke firmly, " More like a jewel. Rare and precious.".

"Oh.", blinked the other man in surprise. "Is this how you pick up all your men then, by waxing on the spot, poetic lyrical on their features?", he said grinning.

Alec felt himself burn with embarrassment, he had got so caught up in making the man see how stunning his eyes were, that he had forgotten himself. "I actually just came for a book on Derivativea and Rates of Change.", he coughed, looking up from his lashes in embarrassment.

" I'll go get it then. Its out back.", the man said standing, a grin still on his face. He was surprisingly tall, almost as tall as Alec, if not an inch taller. He wore a chestnut brown T-shirt over black tight jeans A simple attire, much like Alec's own black sweater and black jean, albeit in hindsight, Alec probably looked like a future felon, or Dracula in his all black piece.

Returning the man gave a cheeky smile, "Calyx Atarall, by the way.", he introduced. "Alec Lightwood.", Alec answered, reaching for the book. This man held a powerful allure, his gripping eyes a contrast with his plain features. And Alec was not a painter, but as he looked at the man he thought this: he would definitely capture this man if he was. -------------------------------+

Magnus strolled through the library doors smiling. Of course Alec would want to spend his free time studying. What a nerd, he thought fondly, but any traces of a smile vanished as he beheld Alec leaning slightly against the front desk, in the midst of a conversation with the man behind it. It was not the interaction that bothered Magnus, but they way Alec looked at him. As if he wanted to take his picture and hang it up for all to admire. Which he could do, of course, but Magnus was no third wheel. And Alec shouldn't treat him like one.

Arranging his face into a neutral smile, Magnus made his way to them. " Alexander", he breathed, sliding his palm over Alec's behind and squeezing hard.

The action caused Alec to jump slightly and swallow his yelp, "Hey", Alec said turning towards Magnus, putting their faces an inch apart.

"Ready to go darling? I was thinking we could study at Nightingale.", he purred, ignoring the presence of the other man.

'That's fine by me.", Alec answered, stepping out of Magnus's grip. " Thanks for the book and sorry again for offending you. I meant what I said though.", smiled Alec earning a reluctant smile from Calyx, who had watched the exchange between Magnus and Alec.

"No problem. See you around.", he said.

" Definitely. ", answered Alec causing his smile to widen.

-------------------------------+

Upon turning down a few blocks, Magnus hailed a cab, all the while not saying a word to Alec. As the two climbed, Alec heard Magnus tell the driver the address. Confused, Alec broke the silence, " That's your house address.". In lieu of answer, Magnus roughly captured Alec's lips.

"Can't do this at Nightgale's. Can I?", he smirked, licking Alec's bottom lip, before leaning back.

Pleasantly surprised, Alec agreed, " No, no you can't. ", unsure of what had brought on the sudden change in mood, but Alec couldn't say he minded.

As they stepped into Magnus's apartment, Magnus slammed the door shut, before pushing Alec up against the wall and attaching their lips. The kiss was a war dance. Magnus roughly biting Alec's lip, sweeping the roof of his mouth and sucking on his tongue. The action caused a lightning bolt to sear Alec's spine. Noting the change in Alec, Magnus pressed harder against Alec, grinding his hips. Alec moaned and slide his hands over Magnus's abdomen feeling the burning skin, he stroked higher brushing Magnus's nipples, eliciting a sharp gasp in Alec's mouth. Loving the sound, he did it again and again.

When suddenly, Magnus pulled off and spoke voice scratchy from desire, " Just two adults acting on attraction, right?".

The words sent a surprising pang of pain through Alec. The way Magnus had acted, Alec almost thought he had been jealous, that maybe...

Lightly shaking his head, Alecs sent the half formed thought clattering on the floor."Yeah.", he panted, hands on Magnus chest and eyes on the shorter man. Alec knew this was unhealthy, but he didn't care. Tomorrow, he would think about what the disappointed meant. Right now, he just wanted Magnus, wanted his touch.

"Fuck.", he groaned, " You're addictive.".

"And dont I kow it, darling ", Magnus smirked, before pushing off Alec and turning him around.

" Wha-", Alec asked confused, as he found himself staring at the biege wall, as Magnus yanked his hands up and pinned with an almost painful grip.

"Quiet, darling. You'll enjoy this.", he whispered, biting harshly at Alec's exposed neck, earning a strangled moan. Complying to Magnus's silent request, Alec stretched his neck, allowing further access to Magnus's teeth. Magnus continued biting and licking over the hurts, hard enough to leave marks, while his right ripped open Alec's shirt, running a proprietary hand over his torso. His slightly heaving breaths were no comparison to Alec's jerking gasps. Reaching down, Magnus opened his trousers and roughly gripped Alec in his hand.

Hissing, Alec leaned against the wall, " Fuck - Magnus. ", he ground out. Laughing huskily, Magnus bit at Alec's lobe, moving closer until Alec could feel Magnus's arousal against his behind, causing him to buck his hips backwards.

" Now, now. ", Magnus whispered sultrily. " Patience, Alexander.". His hand tightened around Alec, his thumb flicking the tip, as he began stroking, slowly. With a firm hand he continued pulling and twisting, but not increasing his pace. "Magnus.", Alec moaned breathless.

" Yes, darling.", Magnus crooned in a midnight caress.

"Do you want me to beg?", Alec gritted out, as he began to pull his hands down to grab Magnus and make him listen.

Magnus tightened his grip in response, pulling Alec's arms further up in a swift movement. Magnus hummed, circling his tongue over Alec's ear, taking in Alec's restricted form with hungry eyes.

"Maybe.", Magnus whispered, lips ghosting over Alec's neck and trembling shoulders. " Tell me what you want, Alexander. Ask for it. ", he urged, voice hard, emphasising his command by sliding his finger across Alec's base, eliciting a shudder.

" You.", he gasped.

"Be more specific, love.", Magnus purred, slamming his hips into Alec's forcefully.

Alec's knees buckled at the contact, as Magnus's hand kept moving at a a torturous pace. " Magnus.", Alec whimpered. Alec had begged the last time, but he would not do this. Would. Not.

Voice clipped, Magnus asked, "What. What do you want, Alexander?", dragging his nails along Alec's length.

" I want you to - to grip my - my -", he trembled, grinding out the words.

"Grip your?", Magnus taunted, stopping all movement.

" My cock.", he chocked, " Goddamn it Magnus.", he swore voice breaking. "Grip my cock and pull faster, harder.".

" Now?", Magnus deadpanned, "Alexander, where are your manners. I do remember teaching you.", he said in a scolding tone.

" Please.", Alec gasped, "Fuck Magnus. Please Now.", he groaned as Magnus began moving his hand.

" Keep asking, wouldn't want me to forget? Would you love?", Magnus said, voice smooth, containing the hint of a threat.

"Faster, Magnus, faster", Alec sobbed, nails clenching into his palms on the wall, as Magnus began to pump harder and faster. " Harder. Fuck... fuck.", Alec cried, spilling into Magnus's hands.

Not giving the taller man a moment to recover, Magnus dragged Alec to his room , before bending him over his dressing table. He wanted to look at Alec's face, as he tore into him. Magnus was too lust riddled to care that his actions seem to stem from a particular emotion. He just wanted Alec, he wanted, wanted with such a burning ferocity that his desire flared inside of him until all he could think was: Alec, Alec, Alec.

Splayed out on the dresser, Alec met Magnus's eyes in the mirror, his mouth becoming dry at the sight of Magnus shucking his jeans, before pulling down Alec's. Not breaking the contact, Alec opened his legs, watching through lowered lashes, as Magnus's eyes darkened and he gripped Alec, nail digging into his hips.

Without warning Magnus thrust into Alec, earning a loud moan, eyes pinned on Alec's, he collided with the bent man again and again. Hitting his prostate and causing Alec to arch backwards with a feral cry. Eye's shuttering, Magnus coaxed throaty moan, after moan of pleasure. Magnus's own member strained painfully but Magnus was not done yet. Increasing his pace, Magnus thrust into Alec harder, as he reached yet another climax. His eyes stayed locked onto Magnus, lips parted, crying out his name, as he shuddered through his release.

Snatching his face, Magnus placed a sloppy kiss on Alec's lips, as he slowed down slightly. It was more of them panting into each others mouths than anything. But, he still did not stop.

"Magnus.", Alec whimpered, vioce gravelly, " I can't, I - ".

" Yes.", Magnus growled, "You can.", his voice guttural. He pushed in deeper and once again increased his pace, roughly slamming into Alec. Hard enough to cause the dresser to rattle underneath.

Alec took in Magnus's rumpled firm through the mirror, he felt Magnus throbbing inside of him, but he was still raw and sensitive from his previous release and as Magnus shoved in, Alec shouted in pleasure.

Looking at Alec's glazed eyes, white knuckled hands Magnus pounded in hard and deep, earning scream, after scream, until Alec came once again with a hoarse cry. Unable to hold back any more, Magnus too succumbed to intense waves of pleasure, as he flicked blazing eyes over Alec's wrecked form. Shuddering he pulled and stumbled with Alec to the bed, both men collapsing into each others arms.

-------------------------------+

" Magnus.", Alec croaked, as they lay tangled in bed. The moonlight pooled along their naked bodies. Magnus tried and failed not to recall the reason for Alec's voice like that of a seasoned smoker's.

"What's wrong, love?", he whispered back, his own voice slightly scratchy.

" Get up.", Alec chuckled, "We need to clean ourselves and the apartment.", he reasoned.

" And who's fault is that?", Magnus teased, rolling over and caging Alec's head between his forearms.

"Yo - ", Alec pauses mid - sentence taking in Magnus's shining eyes and plump lips curved into a smile. His hair brushed Alec's cheek softly. The moonlight cast a faint glow around Magnus's frame, making him seem ethereal in the light.

" That was great just attraction sex.", Magnus gave a lopsided grin. His words caused Alec to reel himself back. Of course, what had he been thinking? He had agreed to that. Deciding the freshly released hormones were confusing his brain, Alec pushed off Magnus. It was immature of him to even think of other alternatuves. Flicking the other man's nose, Alec swiftly slide out from under Magnus and slipped into the bathroom without looking back once, much to Magnus's confusion at the abrupt departure.

Taking turns, Magnus entered the shower as soon as Alec had exited, unintentionally leaving Alec to clean the apartment. Upon emerging Magnus perpetually insisted he was planning to help, much to Alec's dubiousness of the matter. With no prior engagements, the two spent the rest of the evening lightly teasing each other and working on the project from the book Alec had dropped in the hallway. They're laughs echoed around the apartment: light and easy. In contrast with the heavy atmosphere of the earlier frenzy. Soon Alec had left and Magnus found himself alone in the apartment: exhausted, but content. The reason for initiating the steamy encounter lost in his slowing breaths.

[feckyeslife]

we now return to a dramatic critique of “Four” picking up where we left off. Having just finished The Initiate, I needed to take a long break before coming back to this... writing.

(side note, I somehow skipped the Son and had to go back to read that about 10 pages into the Traitor)

THE SON

- Four waxes a bit poetic about how he’s not Abnegation anymore and it kind of amuses me because he’s not really Dauntless, either. 

- Max comes in to ask/encourage Four into picking Leader. The smoothness of the process makes me feel a lot better about my own Leadership training fic scenes, though the fact that it takes over a year gives me pause because it’s implied in the next section that Eric had given Four orders on how to lead training in that interrum year. So... either trainee-Eric was given some power or he finished it quicker than a year. Or continuity doesn’t matter in this collection of short stories -.- Also he TAKES the role? Whaaaat.

Putting the rest under a cut to save all y’all’s dashboards. But there’s more. So much more.

- Zeke volunteers Four to be on a double date with him and it was the perfect moment to question if Four might have possibly been not-straight, but alas. 

- Alright I know I was a bit tipsy by the end of the last read-through but how have these people already forgotten / not realized that Four came from Abnegation? It feels awkward and forced in this moment bc this is literally like... not even a week after Initiation. Not enough time to have legitimately forgotten to consider that maybe he was an Abnie. 

- The banter about hand-holding is lame and awkward. No 16 year old boys banter about hand-holding, I’m SORRY. 

- Also Shauna’s interest in Zeke is just *yawn* like I don’t care that she’s jealous of this double date.

- Someone was in Four’s apartment and broke a drinking glass. I facepalm and wonder why a single apartment would have its own kitted out kitchen when they have a MESS HALL

- Four’s internal thoughts about Dauntless wisdom of living life without fear are actually very nice. This is the side of him as a protag that would have been interesting because it’s less self-righteous as the rest of his actions and comments in the other books.

(for those just joining us, VRoth stated that originally the series was about Four as a protag and honestly it makes way more sense. And would have allowed Tris to be a very solid side character and *gasp* even a failed love interest to show that the world isn’t always perfect and you don’t always actually work with the girl you ~have love at first sight~ with)

- The training program includes tests to see how quickly they learn and Four - and the narrative - once again one-dimensionally claims that this is an Erudite quality and therefore odd. How freaking hard is it to acknowledge that intelligence is something that the military Leadership would need? Very hard, apparently.

- Max passes out info sheets for them to fill out and it’s like My First Fascism spelled out. Very dystopian and, again, a better cue for the reader than how very straightforward the tension was with Tris’ initiation. A little heavy handed but not terribly so. 

- OKAY HERE AGAIN with the inconsistencies. Earlier I made the comment about him hiding his heritage and it was flavored with OH NO THEY CAN”T KNOW I’M ABNEGATION. Here during the double date, there’s a moment where Four is asked how he met Zeke and if he was a transfer. Four thinks that he doesn’t want people to think he’s uptight and also doesn’t want to cue in about his parentage. But the feeling is so different from earlier. Naturally this means that he just straight up lies and claims to be DB. /sigh

- Nicole is conventionally attractive and as flat as a pancake, character wise. She gets pissed that Four is being a shitty date - he is - but has to walk about because he doesn’t call her pretty. 

VROTH THIS IS NOT HOW TEENAGERS TALK. I’M SORRY BUT WHAT THE FUCK. 

“Personality is much more important that-”

“Than my unsatisfactory looks?”

- Shauna once again is upset that Zeke’s mackin’ on a girl that isn’t her. I’m yawning and bored that this is as dramatic as VRoth thinks the background relationships can get.

- I might actually vomit the next time we’re introduced to a side character whose entire description is just LOOK HOW COLORFUL THEIR HAIR IS AND ALSO SO MANY PIERCINGS!!!!! Sidenote, this was actually Lauren being re-introduced. 

- please please please dont make me read through VRoth trying to describe code. i’ll do anything. no? I have to? fine.

A) Lauren explains shit too fast, for too long, and doesn’t give people paper to even make notes. that’s not teaching that’s torture

B) Eric’s a smug jackwad about already knowing it all and I love him for it even though it’s a dick move. Remember, the last time he and Four interacted was when Four beat the shit out of him after he conceded.

C) Why the fuck would Dauntless be writing their own code to do stuff? I get that you might need to tinker with settings or whatnot, but are we honestly jumping to a world where the program to call up a security feed is something that you have to hand write or piece together to get working?

D) the punctuation that VRoth has Four paying attention to are periods (fine) quotation marks (alright) and backslashes (nope). Not a semicolon? REALLY? What language is she assuming they’re using? 65% of all my code errors ever were misplaced semi-colons or improperly nested loops.

E) apparently the only errors they’re looking for are like Baby’s First Code issues because there’s not a mention of BASIC shit like loops, defining variables, or even having to decipher the logic of any of the programs which is, you know, how you do code review. 

- Ah the intruder has to do with his mother. Alright then. But why the fuck did they knock a drinking glass down? Unless they’re two unrelated break ins. 

- Cameras are everywhere in the world yeah yeah but what about when Edward gets stabbed? Ah yes, getting Peter caught then would have broken the plot so clearly they weren’t in the initiate dorms.

- So here’s where there’s basically confirmation that Eric’s been an Erudite pawn all along. I don’t have to like it, so I won’t. 

- Four waxes on about acknowledging that he’s his father’s son and once again it’s slightly grounding as a character and further drives the knife into my metaphorical back that he’s such an ass in Insurgent.

- Evelyn is totally Jewish in heritage. Curly haired, hooked nose. Mmm. Part of me wants to extrapolate about the outright Christian nature of Abnegation versus the other persecuted people - the Factionless - but I’ll hold off because I’m too tired to do it well.

- Evelyn pulls the same crap about the city changing and people needing to pick a side. It’s classic dystopian YA lit and makes sense if only because we’ve all already read Insurgent and seen the city make those choices. But two years before that all boiled over, its a bit... meh. The dialogue once again is very heavy on crap like “Jeanine Matthews frequents Dauntless headquarters” and other crap that people don’t actually say unless they’re writing something down or making a speech. 

- SINCE WHEN ARE TATTOOS ABOUT DAUNTLESS SUPREMACY? Where is this jump in LOGIC? Ugh ugh ugh the whole Divergents-are-better-than-everyone-bc-we-know-how-to-be-multifacited narrative is horrible and lame. Suddenly there’s active call-outs that people are faction traitors and concerns that even situated Dauntless feel like they need to prove themselves. Where is any of this? It’s all tell and no show beyond the special people like Amar and Four and Tris who have already been made special by the narrative paying attention to them. If we saw someone like Lauren concerning about being “dauntless enough” I would take it with less complaint, but instead it comes off as just WE GOTTA RAMP UP THE TENSION.

- There’s talk again about “if we believe that Dauntless truly is the superior faction” then blah blah blah, Eric’s ideas for training (which on their own make sense to me). Four gets on about the actual idea of choosing values over supremacy like a normal human being. There’s also this assumption that people getting kicked out wouldn’t kind of deserve it - again, it’s a military so freaking AL should not be in it, I’m not sorry. Four makes the assumption that the “small, smart, brave” wouldn’t be able to succeed which really shows that either people aren’t being trained to use their skills - christina did fine as a small, smart, brave girl in fights - or we just needed the casual reminder that Tris and people like Tris are the special ones who manage to survive and shouldn’t have. If I were Four, I would counter Eric’s arguments against the bs supremacy ideas and also support giving proper training and evaluation so that “qualified” doesn’t only mean big and beefy. But, hey, that argument’s tough to make. His arguments hinge on the whole idealism crap and doesn’t touch real goals beyond “take out the knife throwing” which of course isn’t going to impress. 

- Max has Eric leave and actually is a bit... mature in the conversation with Four? He doesn’t talk down to him and it’s rather jarring compared to the earlier conversation. Four still thinks Max just wants someone to control which doesn’t mesh with this conversation or even really with the earliest one of the section. He seemed to genuinely think that Four had solid qualities but dealing with others in power clearly isn’t one of them. Or really, dealing with Eric. 

- Eric gloats, fully in the evil villain role. I’m unimpressed. He works best as Four’s antagonist, though, rather than Tris & Co’s. Another reminder that the direction of the story has always been on Four and his struggles, not Tris’.

- We get acknowledgement that of COURSE Four’s going to be a good teacher because he taught Shauna that one time (because he’s a boy and she’s a girl nevermind the fact that she’s grown up here)

- The section ends with him leaving a message for Evelyn that one day he’ll support her but not yet. After he just had this section rambling about how he chooses the middle path to be himself and find moments of rebellion against the people trying to control him INCLUDING Evelyn. Doesn’t seem very rebellious to yield to the woman who doesn’t care about you as a person, just as a weapon or a tool.

THE TRAITOR

- .”Beatrice. That name is so wrong for her.” I’m like 80% sure that this is the only time i’m gonna agree with him. But also, I feel like i remember him calling her Beatrice in Insurgent sooooo

- Tris was fragile-looking when she first entered Dauntless. Not a great descriptor but not the worst.

- Two years later and he’s still broody mc brooderson. His supervisor in the Control Room reminds him it’s alright to have fun and he literally grumbles under his breath. 

- He get’s Max’s password from the security feed because Max is bad at typing. I almost want to sin that just because even if you suck at typing, you can usually do your password (esp one that’s just numbers) entirely by instinct. But maybe - just maybe - Dauntless rotates passwords and Max just sucks. Either way, meh. 

- Lauren’s part of the technical staff. An interesting (re)discovery [I had read this before realizing I skipped the other part]. She helps him to get a program to mirror Max’s computer under the pretext of a prank on Zeke. I’m a bit befuddled simply because... How would Four ever prank Zeke with a mirroring program? Like, they just watch security feeds and maybe write reports? I also feel like it reflects even more poorly on Dauntless that they’re cool with pranks like that. But, then again, Dauntless is a bunch of morons according to VRoth’s POV so, I guess I can’t be too surprised. 

- The conversation /chewing out by Gus is SO stilted and awkward. We already got the info dump about taking feeds out of rotation but here we get literally the same explanation as Four’s defense. A good edit would have eliminated the awkwardness. Also, Four getting called out for being shitty at his job amuses me because from Tris’s POV in the other books, he can do no wrong. 

- Four gets Edward and Will mixed up in his head. These are his kids for the past x weeks and he doesn’t know who the “blonde erudite” is? Sideyeing so hard.

- Max and Four duke it out verbally over the stabbing as Four insists that it’s Eric’s fault bc the kids are so wound up. And Max gets some niiice jabs in about how Four could have a better leg to stand on if a) he stopped insulting every superior officer in his path and b) didn’t back down on the leadership role. Also a jab that, hey, you know who’s 100% at fault? The person who STABBED EDWARD!

- Ugghhh Tris is Dauntless but the faction “isn’t really Dauntless anymore.” Dude you’ve been here 2 years. You refuse to work with the current system to help it to teach the real values. Like here, where you refuse to call Tris out for insubordination - or at least WARN her that she’s getting away with it - and earlier complained about how you got bitched out for stopping last year’s fights. Figure out how to teach real lessons Mr. “Great Teacher” while following the letter of the writing. 

- He also pulls the “i’m hard on Tris because she can take it” line and I’m unamused. He had the time here to actually say what he wanted to say or at least a version of it that isn’t tempered by being a dick like he claimed ten seconds ago he wasn’t with her because he “respects her.” The amount of flip-flopping could fill a beach.

- he touches her back and it addles his mind. Either his balls are that blue or VRoth is laying on the one-sided attraction a bit thick. 

- I don’t remember this scene being this long in Divergent, but at least Tris is getting credit for being perceptive about things. Even if that perception is just to put Four on a pedestal of “so much better than Eric/Dauntless.” There’s also more detail about how training had ACTUALLY changed to previously include padding and not bare-knuckle boxing. Six years ago. I’m 200 pages into this short story and this is the FIRST empirical evidence that Dauntless had changed before Four got there beyond early Fear Landscaping.

- Tris calls Eric jealous and Four spends a hot second considering that Eric might actually have motives and emotions beyond cocky. It’s the best I’ll get and I’ll take it.

- Two years into Dauntless as Four “tries a Dauntless expression” to tell Tris that she doesn’t look like she’s been crying. Two years. What a friggen outsider. Again, makes sense with the previous storyline but not really in the actual story because, gee, if he’s such a good Dauntless why is he an outsider? (well because Dauntless - even the non-Erics or Maxes - is horrible, don’t’cha know UGH)

- He discovers the plans for the attack on Abnegation and claims how this makes sense because of how much Max and Jeanine hate the Abnegation. Far as we’ve seen, Max doesn’t give a single shit about Abnegation, but hey, it wouldn’t do to have a villain who didn’t hate where the protag came from. 

- Please lets note how even in these scenes, Tris has displayed no actual return affection towards Four’s tiny attempts at connecting with her. It’s all about Four.

- He goes to mommy dearest about the danger of Max and Jeanine’s plans. It’s regrettably the only logical thing to do. And mommy doesn’t care. The only interesting thing about this is that this is the only scene that doesn’t present the attack on Abnegation as an attack on the poor innocent Christians. They’re shown as liars and backstabbers, supporting Marcus rather than good hearted folks helping the Divergent. It explains Four’s desire to back his mother in Insurgent rather than the rest of the city. 

- We hit one moment of Tris actually responding to Four’s kindness which I feel like I need to emphasize is the only time that he’s actually said nice shit without being a tool before or after it. Weird how girls don’t like that.

- Earlier Four couldn’t remember who the Blone Erudite transfer was but he can tell from the shape of a hooded figure that Al’s the third attacker. Mmmkay.

- UGH he hates the fights but he doesn’t resent how Tris beat Molly into a pulp and beyond because she’s got tits and Eric doesn’t. It’s as simple as that. Sorry, not sorry.

- Four’s internal dialogue: I need to find someone I can trust. This girl is cute and she also beats people into a pulp when she’s upset but this will never happen again and any further rage from her will result in me telling her to stop and be a better person but this is what connects us right now so it’s okay. 

- Four makes a pathetic attempt to consider reporting the assault to Eric who uses it to rightly call out Four’s inability to control his kids. Then Eric goes over the villain line again and says it’s a way to tell who the strong and the weak are. Yawn.

- Holy balls, Shauna and Zeke get brought in to be Four’s muscle and scare Peter. I get why we never saw this through Tris’ POV but you THINK it could have maybe been mentioned? Also we get a tiny glimpse into Dauntless culture as they threaten to ruin Peter’s reputation forever, etc etc. Not that any of this really matters because all Dauntless are dumb, remember? Only the special main characters matter. 

- Zeke also makes a vague insinuation about Al falling into the chasm and I’m suddenly a bit astounded as the next scene is, well, Al’s body being dragged up. Four realizes he’s been a shitty instructor and a choir of angels sing “of course, you idiot”

- There’s the scene of Tris and Four after Al’s death where he attempts again to give her half answers and sideways comments that only serve to frustrate her and me. And the stupid line about pushing her until she breaks because he thinks how it doesn’t mean he wants to hurt her but it’s so CLEARLY not his actual goal in literally any of their interactions, even from his POV! Where does this line come from? His imagination?

- We flip-flop again, this time about how most of Abnegation IS actually good don’tchaknow

- There’s the re-do of the fear landscape where we go back to other-book canon where jumping off the side is all well and good because you don’t need to have a perfectly logical reaction to the landscape. Mmm. Tris is also like 80 times better than him, still. Just sayin’

- I’m again reminded of how quickly they go from one sided to barely flirting in the fear sim to touching casually and him kissing her forehead. All those subtle intimacies are just way too sudden. Ugh.

- His decision to go to Marcus is driven by the desire to protect her and I’m once again a bit nauseated by the idea that Tris has to be protected by someone. It makes sense for his character and as much as I’m nitpicking this story, it’s a better, clearer story arc than Tris’. I love Tris to death, but the story of the trilogy is not hers. It’s her dealing with the fall of Abnegation and then tumbling into Four’s family drama. Everything works WAY better from his POV (with tweaking and with her breaking up with him because I say yet again HE IS SUCH A DICK IN INSURGENT)

anywho i’m skipping the last three “bonus scenes” because I need to take a break and also not kill myself.