#there is no moral to this story I’m just still salty about it

[suboficialflores]

Once upon a time I was a Spanish lecturer at a university. They trusted me with 100-300 level classes (lol wild)

Then I was pulled into a Title IX investigation that really had nothing to do with me, and like an idiot I did what I thought was the right thing

If a professor rapes a student and another professor asks you to testify on behalf of the student, you may get fired as retaliation (even though that’s illegal)

Last I knew, the accused professor is still tenured

[roses-ink-dipped-pen]

iif this is okay ? a villain (kid) who got out of an abusive household and is currently hiding in superhero's house ;; then superhero has a talk w him but villain was too out of it to comprehend what's going on around him like how does he just realized that he wasn't exactly safe in his own house :(

superhero noticed and comforted him ;; SORRY IF THIS IS SPECIFIC anything else is ok u dont have to do tis :3

Okay granted, I may have gone a little off script xP

This doesn't exactly take place in Superhero's house, but I guess the Agency Headquarters is technically their home...? I mean, it is convenient.

I still hope this is a decent little story to read. Enjoy :3

TW: Mentions of emotional/mental child abuse, murder, fire

The superior took solemn strides down the corridors of their headquarters, swallowing their anger after returning from a rather abrupt meeting with the city’s most prized and honored heroes. 

Superhero, as the leader of the band of saviors, stood by good morals and kindred acts of empathy. They refused to ever deny a crook who was willing to amend their offenses a chance at redemption.

Those who shamefully defined the word ‘good’ with scorn written on their faces were to be put to justice. The process was swift, yet ruthless.

“There is no room for evil.” The wisest and greatest victors of the side of good would repeat to their pupils a thousand times over, and the cycle would go on.

But Villain was just a child.

It was a shame, not many heroes understood the point of mercy.

After the leader had finished chastising one too many of their followers, they stormed off into the interrogation room where the unfortunate victim sat. The atmosphere inside was damp, growing tense as Superhero and Villain made eye contact.

Superhero walked in, not bothering to follow any precautions when it came to confronting evil-doers. This was not an interrogation to the commander, they did not think about the orientation, deflection, or threats. They knew that whatever Villain did, was a response to fear.

The young boy cringed in his seat as his father’s rival sat in front of him, the table that separated the two of them was littered with plushies. The only reason why Superhero had a pen and paper was to record anything Villain said that stood out to them. However many cruel works the supervillain has forced him to commit, and how many works were aimed towards him, they would make a check on their tally. 

Superhero was well aware of Villain’s innocence. Even though he worked alongside Supervillain prior to the ‘interrogation’, resulting in the assassination of the city official, Villain was not to be held accountable. Many beg to differ, and that irked Superhero.

“You don’t have to be nervous, I’m not like the others.” 

Superhero grimaced as they referred to their fellow members. Villain nodded, reaching out with a small hand to grasp one of the plushies. A teddy bear Superhero picked out just for them. 

“I’m sorry.” Was all Villain responded with. He’s said that nearly fifty times that day. Superhero heaved a long sigh.

“I told you, whatever you did was a decision made for you, entirely by your father. You had no role to play in the incident, and I want you to go to sleep tonight knowing for a fact that we do not think that you are to blame.” They assured with a gentle grin, anxiously picking up their pen to question the boy about what he had been subjected to under the authority of Supervillain. They didn’t need to ask.

Villain huffed, swallowing the salty taste in his mouth as he struggled to hold back his cries.

“Dad told me he would hurt me if I didn’t help.” The young boy blurted out after a few moments of silence, clutching their shoulders.

“It was my job to burn down the community center, but I was too scared to-” Villain was interrupted by a fit of coughing as he choked on his tears.

Superhero was amazed. Villain was crying in front of them, to them. They must be doing something right. Superhero didn’t wallow in their newfound pride any longer; they had a job to do. 

They got up from their seat to kneel down beside the weeping boy, extending a hand for Villain to hold. Gingerly, they hushed the boy, whose face was already buried in Superhero’s shoulder.

Superhero held on tight to the boy, picking him up in a comforting embrace. 

“Dad left me behind as punishment. He said you would get rid of me for good...” Villain whispered, he was too exhausted to speak up.

Superhero was more than disgusted at this revelation. Like hell they would ever think about putting a child to death. It just goes to show that Supervillain truly possessed a sick and twisted imagination.

Only now did Villain realize that he was never in the right hands to begin with.

“Nothing on this planet would ever convince me of doing such a thing. You are worth more than what you were made to believe, and I won’t stop at nothing to make you feel loved. Do you understand?” Superhero’s devastated tone convinced Villain that he was in the right place.

The two stayed locked in a hug for what felt like an eternity, before Superhero offered them some cookies and a movie of his choice.

Superhero put the ‘interrogation’ on halt and allowed Villain to take a break from the accident. Later that week, it was revealed that Supervillain had committed a total of 21 sins and misdoings, all of them directed towards Villain. The superhero marveled as they thought of 21 ways to get back at him. Putting all morals aside, they went to pay Supervillain a visit.

[strawberriemarswrites]

CHAPTER THREE

Chapter Summary: Bartolomeo wants to make sure you're okay and has a close call. He needs a bit of stress relief. Pairing: Bartolomeo x F!Reader Rating: Explicit (18+ for the story, NSFW chapter) TW: mentions of the violence and attempted drugging of last chapter; stalking; Bartolomeo watching you sleep and then masturbating about it. Ao3 Link: Chapter Three (3,550 words)

“Oh, ew!” Nami recoiled, opening the front-passenger door. “And you didn’t slap him for that?”

You shook your head, face twisted. “He smelled like rotten fish. I didn’t want to touch him in case the smell got stuck to me.”

You and your friends were piling into Drake’s SUV after leaving the bar. You and Robin had split the cost of the tab after she’d warned you it was probably time to go before things went sideways. Curiously, you noticed the receipt showed a discount, but didn’t think much of it and still made sure to leave a hefty tip in the jar before you left.

“I’m sorry about your last drink,” Robin said. “I should have made sure you moved it to our table before we left so it didn't have to go to waste.”

You waved a hand dismissively. “It’s fine. If he did something to it, he’s just gonna have to be salty that his plan didn’t work.”

“He tried,” Drake said.

You and Nami shouted simultaneously, “WHAT!?”

He nodded, starting the engine. “I was going to say something, but then I saw your friend behind the bar switch the glasses.” He looked at you in the rear view while backing up. “I can guarantee you, that prick is having a much worse night.”

Your heart leapt to your throat. Bartolomeo did what? Of any other option he could have picked — getting you a fresh drink when you got back, kicking the guy out, even warning you what happened — he switched the drinks, and made a man drug himself.

Nami's laughter cut through your thoughts. “Holy shit, that’s priceless.”

Robin concealed her mouth when she giggled, though the mirth still shone in her eyes. “You should join us for drinks more often, Drake. You have a sharp eye.”

“I would like that.” His eyes flicked to Robin for a moment before coming back to you. “I’m not trying to overstep here when I ask this, but can I say something I hope you’ll keep in mind?”

You nodded, and he continued. “I know I’m not really the chattiest at work, so I don’t know you very well, or how well you know Bartolomeo. But even if I wasn’t made aware that he was part of why you picked that bar, I can tell you’re interested in him at the very least.” Drake shifted into drive, now focused on getting out of the parking garage. “While I'm not against what he did from a moral standpoint, it seemed to be a bit of an extreme measure.” He glanced at you once more in the rearview. “Someone who does something like that without hesitation — he’s either cocky, reckless, or dangerous. Maybe even all three.”

“Oh, come on.” Nami nudged him. “That creep got what he deserved! Besides, it's in the big guy’s best interest to keep the bar and customers safe. I don't know about you, but I think making a guy roofie himself is a great way to deter bad behavior.”

“It is a bit unorthodox,” Robin said. “And technically, if anything bad happens to him afterward, Rooster could be held responsible even if the reasons were justified.” She then smiled again. “Very justified.”

“I just said I wasn’t against it morally,” Drake muttered, sighing. “Just be careful if you intend on seeing him more. Keep one of us in the loop in case anything happens.”

You nodded again, taken a bit by surprise. Drake wasn’t exaggerating when he said he didn’t talk much at work. He tended to keep to himself, only really interacting with Vivi and the head archivist. Yet, you learned more about him in one night out than you’d learned in the four months you’d been working with him. And while you felt his assumptions about Bartolomeo were somewhat misguided, you were still relieved to know that you had an extra person in your corner.

It was nearly midnight by the time you were dropped off at the apartment building. Nami and Robin had already messaged Vivi and Rebecca about the night you all had, and a new group chat was made so that Drake could be included on pay-day drinks planning. You had gotten to see Bartolomeo, and he made a very... interesting impression on your coworkers. And you’d spent the entire night unworried by any break-ins, which upon returning to your apartment you found no evidence of, bringing further comfort to your once anxious mind.

All things considered, the night had been a success. And you were exhausted.

You collapsed onto your bed, now in your comfiest pajamas and staring up at the ceiling. You wondered what time the bar closed, if you’d be awake when Bartolomeo got off work. Okay, it was probably a little shady how he decided to go about handling a drink-spiking creep, but at the same time it was kind of thrilling to think how bold that move was. Besides, it felt like he was dealing a little bit of karmic justice. Maybe he was just protecting his bar and his other patrons, like Nami had suggested, but something deep inside you couldn’t help but hope that maybe he’d done it specifically to protect you.

I’ll need to find some way to thank him, was your last thought before you slipped off to sleep.

It was nearly three in the morning when Bartolomeo returned to the apartment building. The rush in his veins still hadn’t subsided, even after he’d purposefully ridden the subway past the correct stop to try and walk off the rest of the adrenaline. All he wanted to do was see you again and ask if you were all right after what happened. 

He knew you were all right, he’d seen you leave with your friends and you hadn’t tried to reach for “your” drink. Even if the guy with the glasses said something to you about the swap, you’d still never need to know just how much further Bartolomeo had gone to protect you. He’d never try to make himself out as wholly innocent — that would just be ridiculous. And frankly impossible. But it was still better if you didn’t know just how vicious he could be.

All the same, however, Bartolomeo imagined you’d probably be a little shaken if you were told about what nearly happened. Anyone would be. So even though he knew you were okay, he had to be sure.

That’s what he kept telling himself as he broke his promise to himself not to climb the fire escape again.

Correction: he never promised not to do that. What he promised was that he’d stop breaking in. There wouldn’t be any harm in just looking through the window, right?

Once he reached the fourth floor, Bartolomeo just barely managed to keep from reaching for the window’s bottom rail, instead sitting down and leaning his shoulder against the building. He bent one knee and propped his forearm atop it, resting his head against the glass pane, its chilled surface like a fire extinguisher to his overheating nerves. After a few deep breaths to bring him down the rest of the way, he peered into the darkness of your bedroom, bringing one hand level with his brow to better block out the reflections in the window.

You were sleeping. Pretty soundly by the look of it. Good. If you were asleep, you weren’t worried. If you weren’t worried, you felt safe. And you were safe — he was going to keep it that way. He watched for a few minutes, the rhythmic rise and fall of your chest lulling him into a sense of calm he desperately needed after stabbing that fucking scumbag.

His fingers twitched. He was no stranger to violence. In a way, he thrived off of it. He’d spent most of his childhood getting into fistfights with other kids over things like whose turn was it to look after the class hamster (“Don't let Bartolomeo do it, he’ll eat it!”), or who was better at dodgeball (“Just because you throw the ball hard doesn’t make you good at it!”). When he first met Gambia in middle school they didn’t introduce themselves, they just started throwing punches until someone caved, and then they were thick as thieves. That was how most of his friendships were made, and even more of his rivalries.

As he got older, the spontaneity of the fights had subsided, though the brutality had increased. People enjoyed trying to get under his skin over superficial shit — his brow, his nose, how he did his hair — and he quickly learned to ignore that. They could say whatever they wanted about him. What he didn’t tolerate was kicking when people were down, or taking advantage of others who didn’t know any different, or people who thought because they were born into better-off families that they were better than others. And god help anyone who decided tried to mess with his friends.

That shit — that was the kind of shit that made his blood boil. He cracked a football player’s ribs for that once.

Bartolomeo didn’t fancy himself a hero or anything, just someone who didn’t tolerate heinous bullshit. With a penchant for fighting dirty.

Still, the fights grew less frequent as he got out of school. He’d had run-ins with people stupid enough to get in his face, and the odd person at the bar attempting to start a brawl that he’d ultimately finish. But those fights felt almost hollow. Routine, even. No thrill or enjoyment to them, just him doing what he does best.

Stabbing some sick creep’s hand as penance for him trying to get you? Felt better than any petty altercation Bartolomeo had gotten involved in. The last thing he wanted was for you to get hurt by someone. But if you did, he’d make sure they'd never do it again, especially after how good it felt knowing it’s to protect you.

His breath fogging up the glass drew him from his thoughts, and he realized that his ass was getting sore from sitting on the metal grating of the fire escape landing. With a heavy sigh he started to push himself upright —

You flinched in your sleep.

Bartolomeo’s hand went for the window in an instant. But he didn’t open it. He held his breath, and waited.

Your breathing evened back out, and he released his own, his hand falling back to his side.

And then he booked it. He didn’t stop until he was back in his own apartment and laying on his bed, though if asked he couldn’t answer whether he went through the front door or up the fire escape on his side of the building. What he did know is that he just risked getting himself caught — what the hell had he been thinking? What exactly was he planning on doing if you woke up and saw him?!

Okay. Now Bartolomeo promised himself he wouldn’t climb back up the fire escape.

But... you looked so cute when you slept. Maybe, if he only did it late at night—

NO. He smacked both hands over his face, groaning. Bad Barto.

Why did he hear that second thought in your voice?

He swallowed, a chill creeping down his spine. He’d almost forgotten your shirt was right beneath his pillow, your perfume wafting up and creeping through his senses. He pushed himself upright, sitting against the headboard as he tugged it free and buried his nose into it. Almost immediately, the tension dissipated, and his mind was filled with images of you: how your face lit up when he called you “sweetheart”, the cute little outfit you’d worn, the way you’d rushed up to the bar and stuck your tongue out at him. How would that tongue feel on his—

Down, boy.

Your voice came to mind again and he whimpered, pulling his knees up. He was rapidly becoming more and more aware of a tightness in his jeans. He briefly considered ignoring it, but the dam had cracked, and he started to think about what it must be like to kiss you. Would you be sweet and shy, making soft little moans every time he pushed against you? Maybe you’d tease him with little bites on his lip, goading him into biting down on yours with just enough pressure to make you wonder if he’d actually puncture.

Really, it was foolish of Bartolomeo not to think it would come to this. How he held off for as long as he did, he’d never know.

One foot slowly slid atop the comforter, laying one leg flat while he busied a hand with undoing his belt and fly. He let his fingers brush against the patch of hair just above his pubic bone, his breath hitching again the further down he went until he finally freed his aching cock from its confines. He let his imagination go a little further down, wondering how your hands would feel against his chest. He thought of you tracing your fingers over the tattoo he had there, ghosting along the curve and dipping near his midsection with each tip of its inked teeth. And then your hand sliding lower, over that same patch of hair he just touched, before wrapping around the base of his shaft, giving him long, lazy strokes. His hand wasn’t as soft as yours probably was, but it would do.

Let me take care of you.

No. He was supposed to take care of you. He was watching out for you, after all. What could he do to prove he wanted to take care of you? Bartolomeo inhaled your scent, moaning and tightening his grip. He would start with kissing you, definitely. Not just your lips, though — every inch of you that he could possibly cover, he’d do it. Your cheeks, your shoulders, your neck. He’d trail down your stomach, stopping right around your hips, then he’d start from the bottom by nipping at your ankles, drawing a path upwards along the underside of your knees and between your thighs.

He increased his pace, your name tumbling out before he could even think to hold it back. He thought about what you would taste like with his tongue sliding between your folds and making you say his name the same way. He thought about how hard it would be for him to keep from holding too tightly to your thighs as you writhed against his face. How he’d have to do everything he could not to dig in and feast.

Barto, please.

From there, Bartolomeo’s thoughts were less coherent. Images flashed through his mind, both from memory and fantasy, as pressure began to build. Your hands fidgeting. Your hands in his hair. Your tongue peeking out at the bar. Your tongue whirling around the tip of his cock. You alone in your bed, then with him in his. Whispering sweet nothings in each other’s ears. Pushing your legs up to your chest and sinking into you as far as you could take him.

I love y—

A desperate, unabashed groan came from deep within his chest, enveloping your name as he again let it slip out. The sound was hardly muffled despite how close he had pressed your shirt to his face as seed spilled forth and coated his hand. A few hard spurts sent it spattering over his leg and onto the comforter. He wasn’t sure when his hips left the bed, but they came crashing back down, making the bed frame creak obscenely as he rode out the last few waves of his orgasm.

Panting, sweating, and feeling like he’d just had the hardest come of his life yet, Bartolomeo let your shirt drop down beside the bed, sparing it from the offense of using it to clean himself up. He stood with a sigh and started stripping, using his own shirt to at least wipe his hand off before throwing it and the rest of his clothes in the hamper. He’d worry about the comforter later. Right now, he needed a cold shower.

Bartolomeo woke up the next morning to knocking on his door. With a groan he pried his eyes open, greeted by the apartment ceiling as he was sprawled out diagonally across his bed. He wiped away the dried drool on his cheek and felt around the nightstand for his phone, sunlight creeping in beneath the cheap blackout shades.

The knocking came again, light and quick.

“All right, all right, I heard you the first time!” he called, managing to find his phone and sit upright. The cracked screen read 10:12 AM, early enough for this to be a pain in the ass. No missed calls from anyone, or messages saying they were coming over, so as he stumbled through the apartment in loose sweats and no shirt, he hadn’t the slightest clue who his visitor could be. With enough force to nearly pull it off its hinges, he swung open his door, ready to chew out whoever it was that thought they could wake him after only four hours of sleep.

You jumped out of your skin at the aggressive opening, but smiled at Bartolomeo all the same. “Hi.”

He about slammed the door out of sheer embarrassment. Why didn’t he think for two seconds longer before opening the door — he probably gave you a worse jump scare than you’d given him! He would have berated himself internally for much longer if you weren’t standing right there, staring up at him with those eyes he liked so much.

“Hi,” he said, having the decency to blush. “Uh. Sorry about that. I thought — well —”

You giggled, a wonderful sound that made his heart rate shoot through the stratosphere. “Not a morning person?”

“No. Yeah. Uh.” His hand slid down the door frame and he leaned against it with all the nonchalance he could muster. “Just wasn’t expecting my day to start before noon.”

You shrank back a little. “Oh, shit — I’m sorry, I can come back later?”

“Nah, you’re here now.” No no no — don’t go. “Whaddya need?”

You folded your hands in front of you, shifting your weight from one leg to the other. “Well, one of my friends saw what you did for me last night, and they didn’t mention anything until after we left.” Your eyes began to flick between his face and his torso, and your cheeks rapidly flushed. “I wanted — I wanted to come by and, ah. Thank you. So.” And then your gaze went straight to the floor, your ears a bright pink. “Thank you.”

Bartolomeo cocked his head, puzzled by your sudden onset of bashfulness. But without you giving him those pretty eyes, it did make it a little easier for him to concentrate. “Oh. Well. I mean, I told ya I was gonna look out for you, didn’t I?”

You looked up at his face, smiling wide and still blushing. “You did. But... well, no one’s ever done something like that for me before.” You averted your gaze again, your little sway halted as you started fidgeting. “I mean, granted, even though I know how to keep myself safe against those kinds of things, I’ve never had someone actually be ballsy enough to try and drug me before. If I’d been a little more careless, I could have been in real trouble.” You glanced at him from your periphery. “But you swapped the glasses, so I still would have been okay.”

This was weird. Normally it was him who had trouble looking you in the eye, but you were being way more skittish. Was everything really okay?

“Anyways.” You took a deep breath, seeming to steel yourself as you looked up at him. “I was wondering if you’d like to get lunch sometime.” You glanced down and up again. “It — it doesn’t have to be today, if that’s too last minute for you, but—”

“Yeah.”

The ease and quickness with which Bartolomeo answered the question startled both of you. He cleared his throat, standing up straighter. “No — yeah — I mean —” He exhaled through his nose, composing himself. “Today’s perfect.”

Few things made his chest tighten with the urge to cry: disabled cats, movies where the dog actually made it to the end, and the way your face lit up with the intensity of a supernova over him agreeing to go to lunch with you.

“Great!” You bounced on your toes, pointing over your shoulder with both hands. “I can uh — I’ll give you time to get ready, yeah? And then when you’re good just come over and knock, aaand we’ll get going!”

Get ready?

It dawned on him: he was still shirtless. Oh my god.

“Yeah!” His voice was at least an octave higher. OH MY GOD. With another awkward throat clearing it returned to its normal cadence as he backed into his apartment. “That sounds great — I’ll uh. I’ll be out. And we can go.”

“Yeah, no, take your time.” You were backing up toward your door and clumsily opening it, still smiling. And then your eyes flicked downward to his sweats and the blush turned outright excessive. “Bye!”

Both doors slammed at the same time. Neither you or Bartolomeo seemed to care if the other one heard inarticulate, flustered yelling.

[i-am-suffer]

I’m going through the anti Aang tag rn and…. sigh….. there’s so much bull shit….. like people can have whatever opinions they like but so many of them are based off of unbelievably shallow takes on Aang’s character and character arcs. People are choosing to hate a fictional child because they can’t be bothered to see anything other than the worst in him. So now, in a fit of saltiness, I will be debunking some of the recent Aang criticism I’ve found.

Firstly:

Huh???? Whoever you are, anon, I think you’re the one who doesn’t know what good character writing is. Aang isn’t my all-time favorite, and he’s not always written consistently, but he still manages to tell a compelling story of a boy who, even after the genocide of his entire people and with the weight of the world on his shoulders, still manages to hold on to his happiness, his kind spirit, and his morals. And even though he makes mistakes (mistakes that his antis refuse to stop screaming about) he’s still a good person. Not even deep down, either, it’s right there for everyone to see. Which makes it doubly frustrating when people ignore that obvious fact.

Secondly:

Okay, so the context of the comic panel is this: Aang is mulling over his feelings for Katara, and he’s a little sad. Katara walks in, wanting to train with him, but he says he doesn’t want to. Katara thinks he needs to train, especially his firebending — and she’s not wrong — but then she starts throwing water at him and asking him to spar with her. So Aang, frustrated, does some firebending. That’s about where the comic panel is taken from. Taken out of context like that, he looks like he’s about to attack her, but he doesn’t. He actually gets really scared about almost hurting her and asks her if she’s okay. So, thank you for showing the whole unbiased truth, and not ignoring any parts that show things that contradict your opinions on any characters, tumblr user the-badger-mole. You clearly know the importance of reading the entire story before forming said opinions.

*deep breath* Okay. Now let’s talk about the Ember Island Players.

I don’t think Aang kissing Katara was a good decision for the writers to make. In my opinion, Aang was being ooc. They also should have shown him apologizing to Katara afterwards (which I definitely think happened because why else would Katara make the decision to be with him in the last episode?) But even onscreen, Aang isn’t portrayed as being in the right, and he’s clearly shown regretting his actions. He hits himself and calls himself stupid, and he was miserable for the rest of the episode. It was a mistake on his part, and he’s incredibly guilty about it. And it’s important for shows aimed at kids to show characters making mistakes they could make, teaching them not to do those things. That being said, I don’t think Aang traumatized Katara by kissing her. If he had, she wouldn’t have come back to him, and she wouldn’t have initiated the kiss in the finale. Katara is not the type of person to resign herself to a life of assault, and Aang is not the type of person who would knowingly assault someone, especially not someone he cares about as much as he does for Katara.

Which leads into the next criticism:

I am flabbergasted. What do you mean he never helped Katara with her problems? Who was willing to drop everything to take someone he had just met all the way across the world so she could learn waterbending? Who stood up for her when Pakku was being a misogynist? Who comforted her when she was crying about being forced to bloodbend? Who gave up the chance for ultimate power because her life was in danger? And that’s just what I can list off the top of my head. And of course he empathized with her! Also, the kiss at the invasion wasn’t assault. It may have taken Katara by surprise, but it wasn’t assault. Just say you don’t like Kataang and leave it at that.

Fourthly:

It wasn’t handed to him. The lionturtle was foreshadowed in season two, in the Library episode. And stop acting like a thirteen-year-old killing a man with his hands is the best solution. Taking a life is deeply traumatizing, whether or not it’s justified.

Fifthly:

I can only think of one time where the pan-up thing happened, in the fortune teller episode (lmk if I’m wrong tho). Getting flustered when your crush looks pretty is not a crime like these people say it is. Also, Aang literally travelled across the world with Katara and has seen her at her worst, and yet people still have the audacity to claim he doesn’t know her as a person? And don’t try to tell me he doesn’t respect her (“A herd of rhinos… or two waterbenders” —Aang).

Next:

Bro. This boy had his entire people killed, including his father figure and all his friends, and just when he’d made two new friends, they were given an opportunity to leave him and seemed to want to. He was afraid of losing Sokka and Katara! He didn’t hide the map out of malice. Plus, he was going insane with guilt the whole time he was hiding it! Sure, it was presented in a comedic light, but he was clearly suffering! And when he got found out and his friends understandably got angry and left, he didn’t try to stop them! He didn’t care about attention, he cared about his friends. (Plus that whole episode was really poorly written, not just with Aang.)

Okay, that about wraps things up. Thank you for reading my long, salty post. I’m going to put this in the anti Aang tag in an attempt to get the antis to actually think about their opinions for once >:3 To my fellow Aang Aapreciators, I congratulate you on your good taste. Love you guys <3

[troperrific]

/ ekuoto chapter 53 spoilers and mild rant/

Mild bitch and moaning under the cut. If you wanna know why I had mixed feelings about this chapter, here you go. You've been warned.

Now, it’s time to bitch and moan about my worries over how the story will go. If you don’t wanna see that, you’ve been warned.

So. First of all. No “Masses of Trash- Part 2”. Meaning it’ll be in a future arc.

It could be a good thing. I understand that letting Mr. Priest fall to his anger this soon could not be the best writing decision. Maybe we will see him snap and, as it’s been often discussed and “foreshadowed” within the story, lash out against innocent people or even people he cares about.

Or… it could be a bad thing.

Meaning, Mr. Priest will never commit any “sin” and will remain the pure shounen protagonist who doesn’t really have any flaws.

…Sorry, did that sound salty? Because I’m trying to hold back, but it is what it is.

Let me explain.

The biggest fear I have regarding this manga, is that the author will go with the safe route and never have Mr. Priest have any serious flaws or commit any “bad actions” for the sake of having a “likeable” and “relatable” protagonist in the form of a “perfect, innocent victim”, while (slightly) demonizing characters that are traumatized but comparatively flawed, like Dante or Leah or even Virgil.

(Points at Mr. Priest and Leah's narrative parallels and being slowly built as foils. Also points at Leah sitting in Judas' position at the "Last Supper" panel during the Leviathan arc. Points at Dante being lumped with Abott Nicholas and *probably* Belphegor in Mr. Priest’s “flashbacks” when Aria told him a kid shouldn’t be fighting a Demon Lord. Begs the reader to dissuade my fears.)

And that would, inadvertently, create a “Good Victim vs Bad Victim” message within the story.

In a fucking manga about Christianity.

You can understand why I don’t want that.

For example:

The difference on how Mikhail treated the Witches and on how he treated Mr. Priest.

One has his destruction likened to a child’s tantrum and a call for help. Which it is, and I’m so glad it was treated with this amount of empathy.

The others, however, were basically told “cool story, still murder” and “hmm, maybe you should try harder to be happy?? I mean, look at Mr. Priest, he suffered more than you and he’s not evil, he’s a good victim, maybe you should be more like him???”.

Yeah, yeah, I understand that the two situations are different: the witches have been killing many people and serving the Demon Lords for who knows how long, while Mr. Priest hasn’t killed anyone so far, he even held back at the end of the Asmodeus’ arc and didn’t hurt anyone innocent, a sad past doesn’t justify blah blah blah

It’s not about justifying this or that, but about the empathy the narrative gives to its characters.

It has, so far, given all the sympathy and empathy it could towards Mr. Priest. Even when he gets overly violent. Which is great!!

But sometimes it feels like it’s less so towards other characters. Mr. Priest’s violence can feel very dismissed sometimes as something that can be easily forgiven or that is very justified, while the violence of others, even more sympathetic ones like Dante or Leah or even Leviathan will be called out, even if briefly, by the narrative or another character.

Of course, maybe I’m worrying too much. Most of these examples could be (and probably are) just the opinion of other characters, like Mikhail treating the witches and Mr. Priest differently or Imuri and other characters often excusing Mr. Priest’s violence as righteous, justified and utterly forgivable.

I really do hope that’s the case, because after so much talk about systemic violences and the effects of trauma, pushing the sort of narrative where characters like Mr. Priest and Imuri will get a happy ending (possibly without acknowledging any of their flaws or where all the acknowledged morally questionable actions will be done by other characters) just because they’re “innately better” than the rest of the cast (the sinners) will really, really upset me.

This might seem a tad emotional overreaction (and to an extent, it is) but Shounen manga, especially action ones, are infamous for their mediocre writing. Hopefully that’s not the case with ekuoto.

If I had to summarize, I guess, I’d be:

Let Mr. Priest go apeshit and fuck up for real, sensei, you coward.

And then let the narrative continue to give him the empathy it’s given him so far. And let it be given to other characters as well.

Because if it’s just going to be yet another story about how only the “Sinless” get to be loved, who get to be happy…

Especially after all this talk about how we can't always make the perfect decisions in life... how no one is free from making mistakes and hurting others...

Then what was the fucking point?

[social-link-showdown]

Ik Ai is a forerunner for the worst social link, but let me to share my opinion on why Yumi is even worse:

At least Ai’s social link ends in a positive way: if you manage to max it, she realizes that she’s been a jerk and reevaluates her worldview, resolving to work on being a better person in the future. One could argue that it really shouldn’t take that long for her to realize that even if you’re rich and pretty, people won’t like you if you aren’t nice, but she does get there eventually and it shows that the protagonist has made her a better person by engaging with her.

On the other hand, imo, Yumi gets worse as her social link progresses. To start off, the link itself is misleading because it’s pitched as the Drama Club social link even though only half the ranks have anything to do with the drama club (other than starting there). After the SL pivots to being a family melodrama instead, Yumi’s character arc makes no sense. At first, she understandably hates her father for abandoning her mother, leaving his wife to raise their kid with no support, then showing up when he’s about to die expecting to be comforted by those he left behind. If the game had made this link a message about second chances, forgiveness, or how no one deserves to die alone or something, then that could have been alright, maybe, But no:

The entire moral of Yumi’s story is “this man is my blood relative, so even though he abandoned me and mistreated my mother, I still love him. Simply because he’s my biological father, even though he’s done nothing for me my whole life, I am eternally indebted to him.”

And I just think that’s a terrible message. As the rest of P4 demonstrates, what makes you “family” isn’t blood - it’s the bonds you form with one another. To make things worse, if you max the link, she ends up quitting drama, her passion that she’s dedicated years to practicing, because apparently acting is just a way of hiding who you are and she really, really wants to obey her father’s dying wish. Maybe I’m just salty as a theater kid who wanted there to actually be an acting-centric social link like there is for band, but instead got a whiny girl with daddy issues who decides to quit theater forever.

Final note is Fox Sweep because helpful magic animals >>> adults who flirt with minors, and thanks for reading/running the poll!

.

[chibikittens]

a little sad and frustrated again over HFY. I used to love all these stories, and I’ll admit I haven’t been involved in it lately so I could be completely wrong, but are there any... good stories anymore?

(ngl this is just a vent post about nothing important bc I love to complain, but hey if you have any recommendations... ;_;)

It feels like so many of them steal ideas from one another, and- fine. It IS a fandom, after all. That’s kind of the point. But it seems like so many stories out there are just really wonky (barely there) science facts without any real overarching story. Or stories with interesting ideas but NO drive to explore them. It’s just “woooa humans have this funny organ/bio-chemical and it makes them WAY BETTER than these weak silly aliens who have the personality of a wet napkin haha!” (which is its own problem too ngl)

(and some of them are like, ‘posted 8 hrs ago’ and blatantly rips off a 5m youtube video that just came out about the exact same super niche trivia knowledge... like... cmon)

And then there are the... pro-war, weirdly eugenics-y ones out there that make you raise your brow at the moral. Like all the stories where humans (or whoever) have to prove their personhood, and then... they do. They prove it, as if they needed to in the first place. Or the ones like “fuck with humanity and find out” and then the aliens fuck around and they find out, and there’s SO MANY of those, why are there so many...?

And like I’m not saying there can’t be stories with complex and flawed societies! I’ve read great stories out there like that! It just doesn’t feel like those are being written anymore, and any sense of nuance has been lost, exchanged for this sense of genetic or mental superiority, and it’s so off-putting...

And I think it’s frustrating ‘cause I have read super amazing stories that frankly, baffling that they’re free?? Like, published-book-quality stories I would’ve been glad to pay for.  I remember Prey, an unfinished story where humans were one of two of the only predatory species in the galaxy - and sure, it wasn’t perfect, the enemy was genetically evil. But, as the human race was being shown in its complexities within the story, and their predatory-nature was mostly political and they directly acknowledge the more nuanced hunter-gatherer type of background humanity has had, maybe there would’ve eventually been something like that for the other species too. Sad it ended, but it was showing a lot of promise for unraveling more nuanced ideas along the way.

And then there’s Betty Adam’s short stories! Where, yes, the humans are wacky but their alien counterparts are just as wacky, too! And, not only are the alien cultures unique, but so are the individuals within the cultures as well! And they’re not all just drab fucking dry and salty fucking white-coat scientists! (Just god how much I have come to loath that character sub-type) (I should just be reading those ones honestly, like can I tell you how fucking refreshing it was that, instead of reading another adrenaline-story ((you know the ones they’re ALL the same)) I read a short story where a cleaner wouldn’t start cleaning cause someone moved his favorite broom, and an insectoid person was like ‘what does it matter lol also you have a favorite broom???’)

And then the shorter stories that actually had heart to them, stories that were smaller in scale but just as passionate as the galaxy-wide stories. I remember this one where a man crashes onto a planet, and is rescued by the aliens living there, only they don’t live as long as he does... he ages so slow in comparison that he becomes a sort of living historian/weather predictor for them, and when he finally dies at the end, its like such a profound shift, like this man who has seen generations after generations of this species live and grow and thrive, and he’s just... gone, too. Like everything else that came before.

I dunno. I just needed to vent about it I guess. I miss those stories. Maybe they still exist and I just can’t find them because the sites they’re posted to aren’t really meant for story-archiving and they become buried and lost, but if they’re there then I cannot find them, and I get sad thinking about that too.

[coeursetcolores]

Cyrus, The Scholar: Chapter 2

WARNING! Spoilers ahead for Chapter 2 of Cyrus’ story in Octopath Traveler!

Man, things got dark!

I thought Prim had the dark story, but this was messed up! Human sacrifices, kidnapping, torture...It was not just a name, not just a name.

Someone give Cyrus a break! And this is only Chapter 2?!

I have the feeling Chapter 4 might constitute bumping the rating up, this game is so unexpectedly dark. And so detailed about it.

But, let’s press on.

Since this is the same town as Tressa’s Chapter 2, I actually did her’s first. I figured with Cyrus being a gentleman and all, he’d step out of the lady’s way. 

And wow, can things change between two chapters.

I will admit, the bursts of humor about Cyrus’ obliviousness about how attractive he is got old pretty quickly: not that funny when it cost him his job (still salty Therese). Kinda feels like a double standard, female characters don’t usually end up in his situation...I dunno, I just really don’t like Cyrus getting punished/made fun of because he doesn’t notice when people are interested in him: if they like him, they should be upfront with him.

Lay off Odette, he’s supposed to be your friend.

Oh well; Detective Cyrus is back everyone! Book man’s hittin’ the streets!

Quarrycrest is nice, little mining town. All the wooden parts make it look like it’s still being worked on. It really sells that the place is developing into something else, like it would be bigger and more advanced later on. The wood could get upgraded to stone and the stalls could become stores. It’s nice to think of after Tressa’s chapter.

I do wish the mystery parts had more to them; I know it’s not that kind of game, but they’re just so easy it’s hard to believe Cyrus is the only one who can solve them. Eh. Moving on.

Are all of Cyrus’ chapters going to end up underground? I get that his bad guys like to stay hidden, but there’s more options: attics, abandoned buildings, woods, creepy mansions...

Overall, the sewer starts out pretty basic (hope everyone did laundry after they finished up down there): dark, wet, rats...

And then we get to the boss’ room.

Dang...This guy’s messed up. How do you even crystallize blood? And was the circle on the ground made of blood too?

I was not expecting that corpse to fall. Usually the hero gets there before anyone dies, so I figured everyone would get rescued and that the ritual just took more time.

And the game showed me it wasn’t playing around.

You save three people.

Ten went missing.

We’re going into some dark territory going forward, it looks like.

I’m actually kind of glad Gideon didn’t show up much, this guy is pure evil. Worked pretty well to just show up for the fight. Would’ve liked to have had his motivations explored a bit, though. Honestly just seems like he was written to just creep the player out.

I really like how this chapter shows Cyrus’ moral side: we already learned about how much he craves knowledge, but here we see where he draws the line. He admits the topics about necromancy intrigue him, but he would never actually try them. He knows that some things shouldn’t be researched and has the self-control and morals to reject them instead of blindly pursuing more than he probably should. Usually intelligent characters will disregard the moral choice in favor of research, but Cyrus doesn’t. I like that.

And now Odette wants to be nice. Yay.

Aaaaaaand, we’re being followed.

Let’s hear what our companions have to say about this tonal shifting chapter!

Primrose: Ooh, debate! And a respectful one! Both sides have points, and Cyrus even admits he likes hearing about her perspective. Just a talk about two ways of seeing the world. But did they have to end with another oblivious Cyrus joke?

Tressa: Cyrus, you are going to get killed one day. Tressa’s supposed to be the newcomer to the traveling life, why is she lecturing you? Though, it is refreshing to see how older people can have less wisdom than younger ones at times. Neither of them are naive, they just have more smarts than the other in different areas.

Ophilia: Oooh! I know he’s just being frank, but I have shipping goggles on! Watch yourself, Cyrus!

Therion: Recruit a criminal, solve a crime. But aww! Cyrus praised him! You go inspire that disenfranchised youth, Professor! GO TO CLASS, THERION! Achieve your potential (but also stay a thief, because they’re cool)!

H’aanit: You’re far too modest, my dear! People would line up to take your courses! I never want to hunt, but I’d love to learn biology from you!

Alfyn: Aww, poor guy! You go dad on him, Cyrus! Team Dad #2! I really like how he presents knowledge as ultimately being subject to the user. And yes, Alfyn is pure. I’d love to listen to discussions between these two about their fields, mutual mentoring is an interesting topic to explore.

Olberic: WAIT, YOU GUYS ACTUALLY NOTICED YOU’RE BEING FOLLOWED?! I was not expecting that! No ambushes coming for them, then. I feel so much wiser when these two talk to each other: one about knowledge, the other about danger. 

By the way, I love that everyone addresses Cyrus as “Professor;” even if he’s not on the clock, they respect him.

All we wanted to do was find a book. Now we’re involved in a conspiracy with necromancy, torture, murder and kidnapping.

Who hires someone to do this? And how does the academy fit into it?

And who’s that hooded figure?

Guess we find out.

On to Stonegard!

[astralpenguin]

i was tagged (a while ago oops) by @newtmsa, tysm!!

rules: recommend us three of YOUR fics, one that is the "most popular" and two that are "hidden gems"

i’m going to stick to tmr fics for this as that’s the main fandom angie and i have in common dsghkgdh

most popular

i was the only one who was looking at you. newt/thomas, 137k

an ‘erased’ au. 29 year old thomas gets sent back in time to when he was nearly 11 and has to stop a serial killer from targeting his friends. it’s a Very slow burn on the romantic front for what i hope are obvious reasons, and it’s the first long multi chap i ever successfully completed! my writing has improved a lot since 2018 but i’m still really proud of it and enjoy rereading it, and i’m not mad that it’s my most popular fic, even if its popularity largely stems from its timing rather than anything else

hidden gem 1

love is for mortals and fools. teresa/brenda & newt/thomas, 74k, wip

yes i know i haven’t updated it in a year but Trust Me I’m Going To. it’s a death note au. you want grey and black morality, and sapphic villain protagonists? that’s this fic. it’s 74k in and the main couples literally only just met, and the fifth main character is sonya and she’s very important to the story. this fic is so good and my goal with it is to make readers cry by the end. i focuses a little more on the girls than the boys, and the order of the tags reflects this, and that’s probably why it’s a hidden gem, because fandom tends to gravitate towards male characters and m/m pairings rather than female characters and f/f pairings. i’m a little salty about it

hidden gem 2

starlight. 1.2k

set between the events of tst and tdc, harriet talks to brenda about how everyone’s falling in love around her while the girl she’s in love with has been taken by wckd. the group that wckd left behind would’ve all become super close during the 6 month gap and i haven’t seen very much that explores those friendships while also exploring the pain that wckd’s actions would’ve caused, so this was my attempt at that! brenda and harriet would’ve become close friends i think

i’m tagging @itsthemxze because i don’t think you’ve been tagged yet and i think most other tmr people have been, but no pressure!! and if you haven’t been tagged and see this and want to do it for yourself then go for it!!

[kazeton]

Imagine how wonderful his development would have been if the dev team actually cared about him as a character and didn’t focus so hard on “oh let’s make him edgy lol nothing personal kid”. Turning his trauma into a joke because that’s apparently all they could come up with. I’m still bitter. -@thewindchaser

Listening to his LoR voice lines alone already gives him so much personality and character. He relates to Shen in their duties. He is a man of honor. He holds grudges that others can be free to move how they want while he has had to live up to expectations his whole life. He's a salty little binch, but he has a good heart. We don't see that in in-game Yone anymore.

The fact that Yasuo used to cut him down in a single flash of steel back in old lore also gave us a glimpse into his character. It told us that Yone, despite KNOWING that he would lose, still went after Yasuo to try and bring him back. This man is dedicated to a fault. But what did they do with that? Made him ignore everything except his own quest.

Yes, he has always been a selfish individual if we have to go by LoR voice lines, but never to this degree. It's basically delusional. Which wouldn't be a bad thing, if Riot didn't set him as a character we are supposed to root for and support. He is very clearly meant to be a good guy despite everything, but none of his voice lines, mannerisms, or lore reflect that. Especially not his short story (god it still makes me laugh)

And while I understand that Yone has, understandably, gone through a lot of pain and hardship, what he is now is such a departure from everything we know about him that I can't see the same character anymore. He doens't fight honorably, he's an assassin. He doesn't have his 'shattering strike' anymore. His hair has grown inexplicably. His beard is gone. His clothes changed colour (it's clearly the same skirt). His morals have changed.

They basically took everything that made Yone interesting as the pillar of duty that he was and just chucked it all out of the window. It hurts to see him like this. If anything, what they could have done with his lore, is make him slay azakana not purely for his own gain, but for everyone else. Other than Shen, Yone does not tie himself to black and white balance. He wants to protect. He wants to still be this standup guy and 'hero'/warrior that he has trained his whole life for. THAT would have been great lore. Give him the resolve Yasuo doesn't have. Let him be the big brother despite everything else. Let him be caring like his SB counterpart is.

Let him be an actual character.

(Oh and don't get me fucking started about Kayn vs Yone either good lordt)

@thewindchaser

If you want to know about the changes in his kit, hmu, I have a bunch of Yone trivia in my brainhole.

[roe-sesandthorns]

super salty thoughts about Dr. Strange MoM, spoilers + rant under the cut  warnings: spoilers, duh. really long. not very complimentary. 

did wanda face no consequences for what happened in westview? legitimate question cause i haven’t seen it and only know the plot + story through osmosis. I thought this was the point of the accords and the oversight and the damn civil war.

it physically makes me puke to hear mcu refer to themselves as earth-616 like no. sweeetie, sit back down, ok? you’re earth-1999999  

they went to one other universe, it was a huge waste of potential BUT I can excuse that cause I understand the limitations from a storytelling/runtime/budget pov but still, disappointing 

ok I loved peggy as the first avenger, monica rambeau as captain marvel, and it’s always a pleasure to see patrick stewart and the inclusion of black bolt was cool (idk if he’s been in other marvel media before but that was my first time seeing him)   

but and that’s a big but, the scene where wanda takes on the illuminati and bodies reed + black bolt and then proceeds to fight peggy + monica felt... off. 

like did they remove the two male members deliberately cause? is it sexist? is it a very shallow, trite attempt at #girlbossing? whatever it was, it felt cheap and weird. and completely disrespectful to all those heroes. especially professor x.

ok, i get it, wanda is supposed to be the Big Bad but the way the superheroes in the mcu become totally powerless in other people’s movies just rubs me weird. like she took barely 30 secs to demolish the entire team. and these are the supposed leaders of the illuminati

why the fuck did wanda of earth-834 or whatever have powers? did she have the same arc as mcu-wanda (i’m not using 616 to describe mcu people cause hell no). but then everything in this world was completely different so how does it compute that this wanda had powers and a normal life. did she have her kids with vision? where was vision? if he died like in infinity war then why was this wanda mentally stable? like what changed?   

why the fuck did stephen from the incursion universe and mcu-stephen have the same damn backstory of both having a sister who died? like how is that something that is constant in multiverses? or was it just a lucky coninkydink? 

i have a lot more, but basically i hate their treatment of the multiverse. i think i prefer any other fanfic writer writing about the multiverse cause they do it so much better. 

i’m not even surprised they tried to give wanda a redemption through death/sacrifice arc cause she changed her mind in the last 2 minutes of the film; disappointed but not surprised. 

like girlie has not even redeemed herself for westview, instead she went full on evil supervillain 

fuck off with the “heartwarming” music and there is NO reason for christine to ask after wanda with concern (other than the fact that christine is amazing and a saint and i love her) but contextually she should’ve been like “the scarlet witch?” (scared shitless) 

also, basically, moral of the whole story: stephen strange can only be happy if he has christine in his life. which seems toxic af, like bro. y’all broke up YEARS ago. you tell her at her wedding that you wish she was still with you, or imply it at least. I would’ve decked him if I were her. Like Christine you’re a saint. I mean you invite your friend (whom you dated a long while back) to your wedding and want to introduce him to your husband and he’s like “im sowwy i miss you” like fuck the fuck off, stephen strange, you ass. don’t make this day about you. 

also can we please kill with fire the idea that you need a relationship to be happy. like, srsly. the whole movie reiterates that if he only “got the girl”, he’d be happy, like no honey. go to therapy. find happiness within you. and in others around you. relationships are amazing and i can totally get pining over Chrsitine cause goddamn i’m doing it too, brother, but really. she’s not gonna fix you or fix your life. i want to engrave kate winslet’s speech from eternal sunshine onto the marvel headquarters entrance cause fuck u marvel. 

another beef with the multiverse, no stephen ever dated anyone other than christine? like my dudes, prime opportunity to really explore just how different the universes are, i mean, come on! 

additionally, it makes the ending seem like a queer ending with stephen and wong reiterating their love for e/o and continuing their cohabitation as they raise their teenage adoptive daughter together. like maybe marvel is saying queer-platonic relationships and aro-ace rights. (hahahahhahah as IF.) 

america chavez was the only ray of hope and the only good thing about this movie and that’s only because her character hasn’t had the time to be handled by 12 different pairs of hands and the mouse overlords’ meddling

also can i just say, 0 character growth all around, great job, guys! 

also also, did i miss an entire movie where mordo goes after stephen? no, so that was just supposed to be one of those things that happened in the interim that we just know because of dialogue. great. so, no emotional arc for stephen having to fight mordo, for the clash of their philosophies, for the consequences of stephen’s actions. 

wait, speaking of consequences, what the fuck were stephen’s consequences for no way home? did he have any? he almost fucked up the entire world on a teenager’s say so. like. i mean. it ended ok but ?????

some technical things: the score was overpowering, there was no room to breathe between moments, the effects gave me a damn headache, and there were some weird transitions thrown in that just felt.... one-note. one or two were cool from a story telling point of view but otherwise it was just. meh.  

tldr; the whole mcu is just like, “consequences? don’t know her” and the mcu multiverse is bland, convenience-based, arbitrary, and boring. also, this wasn’t a dr. strange movie, this was a “look shiny cgi, shiny multiverse, isn’t this fight scene cool? omg that’s professor x, look people from other marvel movies/media! how cool!, we’re self-referential! and COOL!” mess

[prosperdemeter2]

This is going to be an unpopular opinion but...

I feel like the people who complain about MCU Spider-Man only being Tony Stark Jr. have missed the entire point of the MCU Spider-Man movies. It's a lot of discourse coming from the Marvel gatekeep fans that dislike how popular things have gotten. The... "I liked it before it was cool" fans that are super upset that all these young people are into something they also like (instead of seeing it for the positive it is - more merch! More content! Easier to find things about it! And more people you can chat with about things! It's great!). Everything HAS to be an argument over which Spidey’s been better because we can't just let people enjoy things.

But my point.

In Captain America: Civil War Spidey has a very small role to play and a lot of it is a supporting one. But the entire point (in my opinion) of Tony Stark having proof that Spider-Man already exists in New York is to show that Peter Parker would be a hero even without Tony’s tech. The tech is just there to give him the suit (which, I get it, people are salty Peter doesn't have kick ass sewing skills 🙄). It's also stated in their first meeting that Peter makes his own webs and his own webshooters. So he may not have got to the point where he made his own suit but this kid was smart and talented and capable (and younger than both Tobey and Andrew's Peter - approx 14 in CW compared to 17 and college aged).

In Spider-Man: Homecoming Peter rocks that Stark Tech suit. But he also hacks it. He also repeatedly makes phone calls to try and get Tony’s attention to a problem he thinks is worse than it seems on the surface. He's 15 and he feels things like a 15 year old. But okay, I get it, you're mad that he has Tony Stark as a mentor instead of Uncle Ben (so am I but mostly because I want Uncle Ben and not because I'm really mad about the mentor thing). Oh? Wait? That's not it? It's because... he's not expected to figure it all out on his own?

Only that's where you're... kind of wrong. Aside from Ned, Peter rarely received any help against Toomes at all. And it wasn't because Tony didn't care it was just because Peter was 15 and Toomes was good at hiding things.

My big point - big big point - about HOCO is that Peter doesn't beat Toomes (Vulture) until AFTER Tony takes the suit away. He doesn't beat him with the help of SI tech. He beats him AS SPIDER-MAN. There's even the iconic, stuck under a building, "come on, Spider-Man" scene where Peter realizes that he needs to be BE this hero in order to save the city. And not in a big way like Tobey or Andrew always was - Toomes wasn't trying to destroy New York. But he WAS selling weapons to people across the city to hurt dozens of others. Peter was literally being the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man we all want him to be. And he did that. Without a suit. Without any tech that wasn't of his own invention. And he even saved the bad guy's life. No one died that day.

But, okay, whatever, that's not your problem either. It's Far From Home. Okay, let's break that down.

Peter helping out SHIELD? I mean I get it but also there's literally a cartoon where that happens and no one complains. He also does it a few times in the comics. Oh wait, no it's the Tony Stark connection again. I get it. You don't like Tony Stark. Chill, guys, it's not that out of character. Peter Parker always looked up to the guy.

"He needed Stark's tech to beat Mysterio". Uh... tell me you didn't watch the movie without telling me you didn't watch the movie.

The entire point of FFH - as far as I took it - was Peter learning to trust himself again. He falls again and again and again for Mysterio's tricks because he doesn't listen to himself. He doesn't trust his "Spidey Sense" (aka Peter Tingle lmao) because of PTSD due to the events in both Infinity War and Endgame. The only way he beats Mysterio in the end is by TRUSTING HIMSELF. When he closes his eyes in that scene against the drones? He's not using tech to figure out where they are - he's using his Spidey Sense. When he stops Mysterio from shooting him? He's using his Spidey Sense. The entire story of FFH was that he was relearning to trust in his own powers and instincts and believing that he was still a hero even after having let down his hero (in his own mind).

I think I see the real issue. Other than the one i pointed out where we're mad what we liked is now more commercialized and popular - MCU Peter Parker has a pretty strong support system. He doesn't only have Aunt May but he has Ned and MJ, Tony Stark for a bit, Happy Hogan, etc. He works hand in hand with the Avengers.

All I'm saying is you can't argue that MCU Peter Parker is a terrible Spider-Man because he works with Tony Stark and then choose to ignore the fact that he beat both of his villains in both of his solo movies without using that tech.

And this post isn't to say that Tobey and Andew were terrible either. They were and are all great Spider-Men in their own unique ways (and let's be honest, Into the Spider-Verse was 100% the best Spider-Man movie out of the bunch and Miles Morales deserves a lot more love).

Why is it so hard to let people enjoy things without turning into a fandom discourse fight?

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Greek Colonization…

I feel like there should be more of a narrative about colonization, but I hate that it would always be used against us. As if modern Greeks are guilty for 3,000 year old crimes… Things can and should be said about modern Greeks in Africa or the Americas, and the effects that they had. Guess what, pretty much every culture has done terrible things, but you don’t see westerners appropriating Arab culture bc the slave trade (well they still do appropriate it, they just don’t justify it). It’s all hypocrisy! Attention should be paid to the ugly parts of Greek history, but that doesn’t mean that we’re less deserving of our own culture or stories.

The Medea is an amazing play and it highlights the terrible experiences that came from Greek colonization. The rape of Cassandra is another that highlights the actions in Troy and how they’re not good either. We should have more stories highlighting that, but it will always be equated with modern slavery and Western European racism.

People just need to get over their fetishization of Ancient Greece and acknowledge that they’re only saying this shit to defend their own interests and not for any moral reason.

I’m of Asia Minor Greek descent. Genetic testing has shown that we are related to the Anatolians that were colonized. It was our ancestors that were victims, but that doesn’t make us less Greek now. Colonization did have harmful effects, but it’s not black and white. We became Greeks. The Persians destroyed Miletus and the coastal Greek civilizations. The Latin peoples destroyed Constantinople and Byzantine Greek civilization. The Turks made us slaves, second class citizens, and finally forced us out of our homeland. The Turks then spent every effort they had to profit off of our culture while still discriminating against Greeks living in their boarders. When we went to Greece, we were seen as Turks and were discriminated against. Those who fled west were discriminated against further (my family included). However, all of the while, maintaining a Greek identity and pride. All of this to show, Greek colonization was 3000 years ago, but those colonized peoples should not be used as an excuse. We are them, we felt the pain and we grew from it.

It is not and never will be a reason for our culture and history to be free real estate for anyone who wants it. Not even to mention that they don’t even understand what it all looks like since Ancient Greeks were extremely homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, etc. They want our aesthetics and will no everything to excuse their use of them

Thank you!! Also when we say "get over it, this was too long ago" we are actually talking about colonizations and wars happening literally millennia ego. Are the Italians themselves angry because of this ancient colonization? Are the Iranians salty because we beat them in some battles 2.000+ years ago, and we because they kind of conquered us in the end? No. Is it relevant in their/our lives? No. Then whoooo the fuck gives these internet people the right to be pissed about it?

*In fact it's the Grecoitalian (Griko) culture and language that are endangered TODAY in Italy and South Italians are seen as less educated sometimes and face bigotry. It is the Christian Greeks that faced centuries of oppression in Iran after the Arab invasion which was much more recent than the Persian wars or the Greek colonization of Italian grounds. And yeah Italians brought a largely culturally Greek-Orthodox empire to its knees with the crusade. Imagine if we were pissed about that today 🤦

Some people of the "New" world just need to learn how to view ancient peoples

[filthforfriends]

Lyrics to LIVIDI SUI GOMITI

Calm Down!", I said, "Look at me!" / Haven't you ever seen those that danced with fucking devils? / Those who grew up with strong dreams but frail hands / Those who were thrown into the pit, pushed to the margins/ Covered with gold and then pierced, the beautiful Frida Khalo

So you stay with your crowd / Crawl, pray, blend in / We don't give a fuck about you / And the crowd you eat, crawl, pray, vomit with / We don't lack courage, we are fearless / We grew up with bruises on our elbows

And if you want to know my story, sit down and listen up / Wanting to shine, being afraid when everyone else is complicit / Beautiful morals, but made for half men / A secular culture, but made of stereotypes / And I've been kicked around many times without complaint / I'm zero, but zero pisses on you and your crowd

- LIVIDI SUI GOMITI

A mish-mash of my fav poignant Må translated into English

I hear a thousand voices speaking, but I don't hear what they're saying / I look in the mirror and I imagine I’m in a circus / On a merry-go-round of happiness and I don't want to get off of it / Even if I'm not having fun anymore

And so take me, bite me, strip me of everything / I still won't be afraid of the dark / When I'll be on the ground, shattered / I still won't be afraid of the dark / And so spit on me, tear my clothes off of me / I still won't be afraid of the dark / And so buy me, sell me, do everything to me

- LA PAURA DEL BUIO

But I'm twenty and I'm already wondering if I'm too tired / If what I need is what I've desired / If one day I'll be able to feel fulfilled / And I'm scared

And you, keep yourself one step away from my ass, you dickhead / I've always chosen to be one and one only / Sometimes I cried, but this is not stopping me / I want my payback

Has someone ever talked to you about what being an artist is? / About all that I lost, that I sacrificed / About losing your voice, being left with no breath / About having a thousand people waiting for one your mistake / And the push of my anger doesn't end / I hope that paper will take my past away

- IN NOME DEL PADRE

And will you put the blame on others / or will you be the guilty one? / Will you run straight to the sun / or towards the dark? / Will you be ready to battle / to always search for freedom and to go one step further, / to always be true, / to explain what colour is / to those who see black and white? / Promise that you’ll speak about me to everyone tomorrow / Even though I’m 20 years old, I’ll have to run

And you’re only 20 / I’m writing to you now / before it’s too late / The doubt about / being nobody will hurt

-VENT’ANNI

If you hear the bells toll / you'll see Coraline mourning / She takes the pain of others / and carries it inside her

Not everyone can keep going / with a heart split in two / It's cold already / She's only a girl but she can feel / a kind of heaviness and sooner or later, she'll break / People will say "She's worth nothing" / Uncapable of even walking out the damn door / But one day, one time she'll succeed

And so Coraline mourns / Coraline is anxious / Coraline likes the sea, but she's scared of the waters / Perhaps because the sea is inside her / And every word feels like an axe / A cut on the back / Like a raft sailing / the river in flood / and perhaps the river is inside her

I’ll even be a soldier / or the evening light / And I'm not asking for anything in return / but a smile / Each of your tiny tears is like an ocean on my face / And I'm not asking for anything in return / just a bit of time

Coraline, Coraline, tell me your truths

She's lost the fruit of her womb / She's never known love / Only a father who's not much of a father

- CORALINE

The sun is illuminating the people's weaknesses / A salty tear wets my cheek, while / With blood on my hands I'll climb all the peaks / I want to get where the human eye stops / In order to learn to forgive all of my sins / Let's run away from those who are too thirsty for revenge / From this motionless land, because I'm feeling it stifled now

I was in the balance between being the victim and being the judge / And I'm in doubt, whether they were deaths or rebirths

- TORNA A CASA

Because your mistake was loving me as if / Tomorrow the world would be the same as yesterday

Because I feel the anxiety that rises, I drink the bitter tears / Please let me lose myself in the water of the sea / Because the distant words, I swear I want to shout them

Now, take me home because the winter scares me, and my legs are giving up. / You can't see how much I'm freezing.

- LA PAROLE LONTANE

You poor bastards / Restrained with handcuffs / Tied with rope / You look like, yes, marionettes / But I write songs / So they'll last forever / Leave me alone, leave me alone / Let me fly away

“Yea, you're too young / Young for this, and no, you can't fly / It’s still too soon” / “But it's not for money or for fame or for respect, but / But only for my plan”

Now, I have the power it takes to be reborn / To see the dirty side of your masks

- LASCIAMI STARE

[butterfly--empress]

BnHA...Rant...Sort of...

I was trying to wait until the series finished but I feel like adding two cents worth of salt right now.

I won’t say, BnHA is terrible, but it hasn’t been really all that great either. I still enjoy it and it’s still fun to have the show replay in the background while i’m doing something else when bored. It’s also fun to see people’s reactions to the show.

However, I can’t help but feel like the story has lost some of the mojo it had in the beginning. 

Again, I don’t claim to know or think I know better than Hori what he ultimately decides to do or how he wants to go about writing his own story.

But IMHO, it really feels like he wanted to have his cake and eat it too with the overall conflict in his story and it feels jarring if not very satisfying. We know this because even before I got into the series, this fandom seemed already split. 

I mean, fandom is going to fandom but the general criticisms (ones not salty that their fanon headcanons didn’t come true) I have seen is the handling of certain characters and story arcs. 

Which I have to agree with in some regard.

What I mean by ‘Have his cake and eat it too’

Horikoshi on one hand seems like he wants to tell a deep complex compelling story, at the same time, writing the typical battle shounen that isn’t meant to be that deep. 

And I think this is what frustrates people. I personally don’t mind if BnHA was ‘deep, dark complex, etc’ but I also don’t mind it being a run of the mill shounen either. It could have easily been both but I personally think the author fails to deliver on this honestly. 

IMHO, I think this is one of those moments where the author should have stuck to one and tried not to do so much. 

I say this because Hori introduces heavy topics, in the very beginning for our main protagonist’s origin story but then those issues are never brought up again, and if they are, they are treated as non issues (or comedic gags that if one can’t remove the bullying Izuku suffered under Bakugou, just comes off in bad taste). 

You can’t have it both ways. If Hori wanted the ‘rivalry’ between Izuku and Katsuki to be treated as your typical rivalry in every other shounen, he shouldn’t have even introduced their relationship the way he had. (Katsuki could have still been an asshole character/rival without the bullying). 

This is why on one hand: There’s people who don’t think the relationship between Katsuki and Izuku is all that serious, while you have people who thinks the opposite is true and are rightfully upset/frustrated that there’s no pay off to be had even now as far as current manga chapter 342. Because the author couldn’t be assed to stick to a writing conviction without waffling around with his own characters and arcs, despite him deciding along the way to change his mind. (There’s also the hot topic that because of his favoritism of Bakugou, the story falls weak on expanding on other characters that in all honesty, desperately needed the character development. But good well rounded character development can also go flat too when you already start out with a large cast of characters, it gets worse when an author starts to favor one or two characters outside of the main character, when the story has no reason for the ‘writer’s pet’ to even be present, this is even worse still when said character(s) are written to getaway with things that the narrative established they shouldn’t getaway with). 

This is the reason why I personally do not like any of the villains at all. 

Except for All For One, that fucker amuses me to no end and I think I only like him because Hori has not yet tried to woobify him like he did the rest. 

Hori introduces grey morality, which is fine. I like grey morality, I even enjoy characters, protagonists and villains alike when they’re showered in grey morality and are humans with flaws. 

The problem for me is again, Hori tries to throw in shades of grey but still writes in black and white.

In other words; He wants to have it both ways. You can’t tell me Hero society is corrupt and the villains might have a point, when you aren’t really showing me this is in fact true. While no society is not without its flaws. BnHA has only shown me:

A) Regardless of their reasons, regardless of things like quirk discrimination (especially when the author fails to address this as a societal problem/treats it as a non issue) Heroes are still shown to be inherently good and society doesn’t seem all that corrupt.

B) With the argument of maybe Stain’s reasons, your not showing me much of anything the LoV wants to do to change society. All I get from them is they want to destroy it because unfortunate tragic backstories. *shrugs* It’s rather weak.

‘Everyone has a sudden tragic backstory’ is not enough to get me invested in what Tomura and the LoV are doing. They had already annoyed me, (but when they were just shown to be villains who enjoyed being villains that was okay) but this need to make them all of a sudden sympathetic is jarring to me when I have yet to see anything from them in all of the 300+ plus chapters that would imply they can feel things like, remorse, guilt, empathy, or even compassion for anyone, outside of their little group. Or even the willingness to change for the better. (See, Gentle Criminal and La Brava)

They are not vigilantes, they aren’t ‘well intentioned extremists’ with moral ambiguity. So the eventual redemption/atonement this story is trying to force me to accept is not going to have a good pay off. It just seems wholly uncharacteristic to all of a sudden have Deku/the young heroes redeem the LoV, after all the destruction they caused and is shown to actually impact these characters. 

So, Like Gran Torino said: Fuck them kids. 

This is worse when you factor in, with the exception of Endeavor, (whose not a corrupt hero, he’s just a shitty father/husband but he’s damn good at his job, REGARDLESS OF HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT HIM) where is the corruption? And I’m going to stop you right here if you try to come at me about stuff that happens in the Vigilante manga. I should not have to go read a separate story (written by another person mind you with Hori’s blessing btw) that explains how corrupted Hero society really is (if it’s even brought up at all in that series).

The moral ambiguity of Hero society should have came up I’ll say fuck, if not season 1 at least with the later half of season two, especially when we had the Stain fight. This would have been a good time to start to introduce the HPSC as this corrupt gov agency which would have really shown that okay, maybe Stain isn’t some hypocritical raving lunatic that’s a cold blooded murderer, he has a point and maybe we can really say, the corruption of hero society led to him turning out the way he did.

We also should have gotten more ambiguous heroes to really balance out this whole moral conflict. 

Waiting this late in the story to try to make these things matter feels like weak writing. It’s not going to have as much as an impact as say the All For One vs All Might fight did for me. While I have confidence Hori will pull off memorable fight scenes for the final showdown (because he’s really great at that and I cannot wait to see what he does) unfortunately, the story’s end isn’t going to be as great as I think it could be or was meant to be (unless he does something to make me eat my fucking words and I will gladly eat my words) but as it’s looking now, I really doubt it. 

I have the same issue with the UA traitor subplot. I don’t have a problem it waited this late to be revealed. But it feels like a cheap ‘shock moment’ with no pay off. If this subplot was sprinkled throughout the story as something that’s serious, or even at one point had the students start questioning if there’s really a traitor. Only to come out with nothing, then I think this reveal would have been more impactful but that’s just me. 

In conclusion: BnHA is a story that might have started out being more than your typical shounen but in the end turn out to be a typical shounen to the surprise of no one and to the frustration of many. (unless BnHA was your first rodeo into anime/manga than I feel for you).

TL:DR version, if you’re not going to stick to your writing convictions to delve deeply into mature subject matters, when your focus is just writing a simple cool fighting action story about good vs evil, maybe...don’t delve too deeply into moral ambiguity and introducing mature subject matters in your story when you decide to not treat them with the nuance and maturity they rightfully deserve. (No matter how much you change your mind along the way in writing a story.)

That’s all I sayin. 

[mandareeboo]

SU Music Rankings

Bc I can and I wanna start some Disk Horse rip. These are all in order of preference, with explanations, etc. It’s a long bitch. That said, I’m not counting little short jingles or small joke songs like Little Butler. This is the meat and potatoes of SU music- just under 30 songs. I might do the rest if people like my takes lol.

I scored it mostly on three bases- how dear it was to my heart, how much/often I relisten to it, and also what it means to the plot. That said, little fun songs don’t automatically go farther down than big, plot-heavy songs either! It’s a strange little balance.

Special Note: I don’t dislike any of this music! I love SU and that includes its bumps and glitches. I just pick favorite children lol.

1.) Change

Was there ever a more Steven moment than when he wiped the blood off his face and kissed it into sparkles? I think not. 

If “Be Wherever You Are” is an ode to young Steven, then this is teen Steven’s. Talking about change, and how much and how little it can do. How he holds his arms up for Spinel to hug him, so trusting. How he seems able to just. Break into soft tears at will, and not to be manipulative- it’s just his kind nature. The warmth in his voice. Fuck yesssss.

2.) Change Your Mind

This song is only fifty five seconds and it’s EVERYTHING to me. It really felt like someone was speaking the words I’d always held deep inside of me, unsure of how to say. It feels like a goodbye to someone who never really loved me. 

As much as I enjoyed Future, if this was the finale of SU, I would’ve been perfectly okay with that.

3.) Drift Away

This song gave me legitimate shivers the first time I heard it, and it still haunts me to this day. Spinel stayed, and waited, and all she got was a transmission thousands of years later. Fuck.

4.) Here We Are In The Future

THE MOVIE IS SU AS ITS BEST AND I WON’T BE SWAYED ON IT. Steven being a teen who loves his weird family but is growing just a bit sarcastic to their drama. The adorable love he and Connie share. His slow realization that he will always be working, always have things to do, is both somber and real. The Crystal Gems won’t be safe with one epic battle. They’ll be safe with years of hard work and love. HIS LITTLE HANDSHAKE WITH AMETHYST.

This is a helluva bop and a great way to summarize the main character’s backstories.

5.) Let’s Only Think About Love

Did ya’ll know that Zach Callison killed his throat with that last note? He gave his all for this performance in a vocal range he no longer comfortably do and by god did it SHINE. The FLAIR. The FORESHADOWING. All of the Gems all being awkward about Rose and Steven trying to bring them to the present. Peridot having a mini-existential crisis in a cute yellow dress. I love Zach Callison’s normal singing voice but man is that a fucking bop. Nothing will ever beat it.

6.) Here Comes A Thought

This bad boy helped me out a LOT with some mental issues I was dealing with in high school. I was unmedicated, unsupervised, and full of anxiety. I’d have break downs when I tried to speak about certain things. I couldn’t function. This song inspired me. It helped me feel okay with my intrusive thoughts.

And the episode! -chef’s kiss-. Once again bringing up the morally gray area of training child soldiers. Connie expanding her social group. Steven’s trauma hauling ass in that second half. The ANIMATION. Stevonnie’s gorgeous singing voice. GOD yes.

7.) It’s Over Isn’t It?

Just barely squeaking above Stronger Than You, this ballad is everything gorgeous. The whole episode is. I think Mr. Greg stands in the top five of my episodes for the entire show. It even got nominated!

There’s just so much about this song that I love. The gentle melancholy of Pearl’s voice. How the crew had to redo the shots for this bit bc Deedee went so fucking hard. The hard cuts between Pearl, remembering the love of her life, and Steven, who has begun to feel like he took her away. I’d recommend this song to anyone, regardless of what they do or don’t know about SU, simply bc it tugs so many heartstrings of love, loss, and responsibility.

8.) Stronger Than You

Did you realize this episode aired SEVEN years ago? This bitch was what got me into SU! Hearing about Ruby and Sapphire made my little gay heart so happy inside, and then getting a whole song confirming that they were a couple, that their love powered the strongest Gem on the team? Aaaaaaaaa

To this DAY I get excited when I hear Estelle start singing. This song is timeless. This song will live in media history. God I fucking love this song.

9.) Other Friends

I’m not the biggest musical person, so I hadn’t heard of Sarah Stiles before her casting as Spinel, but JESUS CHRIST the lady went hard. She went SO fucking hard. Sarah Stiles started on 100 and somehow just kept CLIMBING. You can just hear the sheer manic energy building in her voice, the anger and resentment. 10/10 Sarah Stiles is a queen.

10.) Independent Together

This made the list entirely bc the crew was like “you’re gonna get a himbo ass Steven-Greg fusion singing with Opal while Garnet flies across the moon on Lion while floating” and I am forever thankful to them for it

11.) Who We Are

Bismuth deserved more songs. ‘Nuff said.

12.) Peace and Love (On the Planet Earth)

It Could’ve been Great is EASILY one of my favorite s2 episodes. I love the entire concept of this song. Of Steven making music to reflect how much Earth means to him and his family. Of him teaching Peridot some self-care. Also Peridot’s singing voice is really cute and squeaky. 

I know it’s silly, but I would’ve really enjoyed a flip around of this in Future! Like Peridot reminding Steven how much he loves music, that he needs to take time to relax for himself, maybe with a new verse or just a remix of the original song!

13.) Something Entirely New

I watched this episode as it aired, and I legitimately almost cried. I love Charlyne Yi’s voice so much ya’ll- her raspy, not perfect singing voice against Sapphire’s deep soothing lull is great.

And to have Ruby and Sapphire’s meeting be the way it was- for Ruby to bemoan Sapphire losing Homeworld, to being stuck with a single Ruby, while Sapphire is a noble who has always been taught everyone in her “caste” is vitally important (and has, in her own mind, taken that to mean every Gem, as she should) and how they come together and make each other happy. Good shit good shit.

14.) I’m Just a Comet

The fact that Greg’s music career never really blasted off pisses me off to this day bc Tom Scharpling’s voice is fucking BUTTER. Also the song really feels like a jab at his parents now that we know the kind of dynamic he had growing up. “This life in the stars if all I’ve ever known” is definitely him wiping away their existence after reminding them (and himself) the things they used to say about him.

15.) Do It For Her

This episode. This fucking episode. This episode got me permanently hooked on SU. I’d just binged season 1 and was kinda meh about it overall after the bop of Stronger Than You. “Oh,” I thought to myself, foolishly, “I’ll probably just casually watch this from time to time.”

Like three days later Sworn to the Sword aired and that was it. I was hooked! Pearl’s gentle training song turning darker and darker, Connie’s accompaniment from nervous to determined to fully into such a toxic mindset. The fact that SU had the BALLS to discuss the repercussions of training child soldiers, now and later. This episode was everything to me, STILL is everything to me.

Six years and well over 100 fanfics written later, I think it’s safe to say this show swallowed me whole and never let go.

16.) System/Boot.pearl_final(3)

I debated putting this on the list because it’s not anything crazy important, just a way to show things are Wrong, but I had to do it entirely bc Pearl is so damn SALTY.

Like telling us about the Gems makes sense, she felt like she was given a duty, but she went so damn petty. WHY is that Ruby alone. Gross. This Amethyst is a trash dump. Wtf are you people.

17.) Full Disclosure

This episode really feels like a turning point for SU. Before, the show had its dark moments- but now we’re in the thick of it, and it’s not going away. Full Disclosure felt like an rebuff to the idea of returning to any normal we’d established in season 1. Gems are actually a giant species now. Gems tried to kill us now. There’s this Yellow Diamond bitch who got namedropped. Something about a Cluster. 

The song itself is BALLER, with its ingenious use of Steven’s ringtone and photos as he tries to decide whether to clue in Connie on all this nonsense. Meanwhile we, the audience, already know damn well Connie about to yeet some common sense into him.

18.) What’s the Use of Feeling Blue?

I’mma admit it- I’m a Yellow Diamond stan. I’ve always loved her- her anger, her poise, her hardworking nature. I actively argued against the “Yellow Shattered Pink” theories back in the day. But, man, when this arc leaked? I got so overexcited I was too jittery to watch it for like two days. It’s easily my favorite arc of the series. The sheer alien nature of the zoo, the Famethyst, and absolutely Patti Lupone’s beautiful ballad. Goddamn. Yellow singing to Blue to try and help her regain her old status, the warble in her voice as she reminds Blue she misses Pink too, the movement of the bubbles as she talks about attack. It gives me shivers to this day. FUCK.

19.) Tower of Mistakes

This is, fun fact, that only SU song I have completely memorized. The story itself is kinda funny! See, we lost internet at my house for a solid 5 to 6 months when these episodes aired, so I only got a very brief window to view them all. But this was the first Amethyst song in a long while, and I didn’t want to forget it! So I keep replaying it in my head for ages. And that’s still definitely a thing.

Anyway will never not be sad that this entire song was about making it up to Garnet for Amethyst’s perceived slights with Sugilite (which was a two-way road), only for Garnet to pressure her into fusion later when pissed and never discuss it again bc Garnet probably never thought twice about it and Amethyst has the emotional openness of a clam that’s just been told its ugly. Helluva way to make someone feel like shit, G. Helluva way to bottle that shit, Ames.

20.) On the Run

I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: Amethyst! Needed! More! Songs! 

The dichotomy between Steven’s play and Amethyst’s honest desire to run away from home is so well-done, especially when you consider a lot of Steven and Amethyst’s actions are playing together. The song is also near and dear to me simply bc it’s my favorite Amethyst episode to exist (well, maybe second to What’s Your Problem, but not by much). Moments like these are all the proof I need that they were right to fuse first.

21.) Be Wherever You Are

This tune really just feels like an ode to who Steven was as a kid. Trapped on an island with no way home, and he’s just happy to be with his friends. The stars are beautiful and not oppressive. Also that one animatic with Lars and the Off Colors playing in the Homeworld Kindergarten to this music was iconic and made this song get stuck in my head for a solid month.

22.) Familiar

I ADORE how the crew use bright neon colors to show how alien Homeworld can be. And Steven recognizing that the Diamonds treat him how the CGs used to, and how prepared he is to “fix” a broken family. It’s a soft, gentle tune about melancholy. Also the Pebbles are beautiful.

23.) Let Me Drive My Van Into Your Heart

Such a cute little love ballad, but every time I listen to it now I just imagine the heart attack Rose must’ve had at the line “And if we look out of place/Well, baby, that's okay/I'll drive us into outer space.” like there’s a Vietnam war flashback if I ever heard one

24.) What Can I Do?

I’m kind of neutral on this one? Rose and Greg both have great voices, but the song itself lacks many lyrics. I think it was definitely a good way to show Rose’s flaws in thinking.

Also, I’m shocked they managed cram that much vaguely sexual innuendo into two minutes, followed by how Not Hetereo that dance between Rose and Pearl was, and not get their asses chewed by it. You go guys.

25.) Cookie Cat

I love a lot of the vibes this song has. The lyrics are so damn prophetic, but they also sound like the kind of weird 90s commercials I grew up on. It’s been like two decades since I saw the Shirley Temple commercial but I’ll be damned if I don’t remember “Animals crackers in my soup! Monkey and rabbits loop-de-loop.”

26.) Giant Woman

I am. NOT the biggest fan of Steven’s original singing voice. I feel bad saying that, since it was just Zach Callison as a kid, but he never jived well with me for some reason. So I wouldn’t listen to this on the fly. 

The song itself is still really good though, with all sorts of fun animation of Amethyst and Pearl being bitchy to each other. It’s a bit sad in hindsight to see tiny Steven trying to get his moms to get along. Ahh, season 1.

27.) Strong in the Real Way

This song has SUCH a strong start. Pearl reflecting on Sugilite’s problems, but the show making sure to show us that Pearl’s lack of enthusiasm towards her also lends itself to jealousy as well as just general malaise. How much she cares about Steven, and wants him to grow up strong. 

And then Steven just kinda. Ruins it? I appreciate his enthusiasm for tryna bulk up but to take what was starting as such a rich, personal song and broadcasting it to random strangers just makes me a bit sad. Almost a bit angry on her behalf?

28.) That Distant Shore

I KNOW this is gonna create some discourse, but I’m just not the biggest Lapis stan. I love her voice. I love the visuals of the song. And I get why she felt afraid and needed to flee.

But Lapis never got to take responsibility for her own actions. And, in the end, the song feels hollow to me- because we all know she’ll never talk to anyone about it, know she’ll burst back in and destroy the barn, and no one will ever question it. I like Lapis a lot, but I feel like her arc never was fully finished. She never got help. She never learned to feel safe.

29.) Dear Old Dad

I’ve yet to meet a single human being who likes this episode tbh. There’s some great discussion about what kind of parent Greg is from it, and what kind of dynamic he has with the Gems that he felt he had to fake an injury to hang out with his son. Honestly the first half was fine and dandy. It’s just that then they Greg just went out of his way to drag Steven away from missions and such. It never jived well with his character before or after.

Also, is it just me, or does Zach himself sound like he hates the song as he sings it? There’s no passion or heart in his voice. It sounds like they told him to read off cue cards and he did. Tom Scharpling’s best attempts didn’t save this one for being a skipper. But the episode, unfortunately, isn’t, so it gets a spot on here.