#wannabe challenge spoilers

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

PRELIMINARY ROUND - DC COMICS

PROPAGANDA

Stephanie Brown (CW: Pregnancy)

1.) Steph was created by noted conservative Chuck Dixon, so, off to a good start. She's was a superhero called the Spoiler and was Tim Drake's (the third Robin, yes there's multiple Robins) love interest. From the start, she's consistently framed as a wannabe vigilante who doesn't know what she's doing, who needs to be protected against herself. Pretty much everyone in her vicinity but ESPECIALLY the men thinks she's incompetent, and completely dismissing her vigilantism, constantly telling her to stop, condescending to her non-stop, and we're clearly supposed to agree with them. Her relationship with Tim was fraught with misogynistic tropes, from her relentlessly pursuing him like it's her job to him being one of her #1 condescenders. She gets a teen pregnancy arc by, again, noted conservative Chuck Dixon, where she's used as a mouthpiece for his pro-life stance. Eventually, she gets made Robin for like six weeks as a consolation prize. A consolation prize for what? Being violently killed off in a crossover event, where Steph, after being fired from Robin in an attempt to prove herself, kickstarts one of Batman's plans without understanding the consequences, resulting in an all-out, violent gang war where Steph gets tortured to near-death, and then left to die on purpose by her doctor (a character massacre in its own right btw). She does eventually get retconned as surviving the event and hiding out in Africa (don't ask, it does not make more sense in context), and eventually, things start looking up for her when she's made Batgirl, after the previous Batgirl (yes, there's more than one Batgirl) got forced out of the mantle for entirely DIFFERENT misogynistic nonsense reasons. Her Batgirl run has its issues but is mostly pretty good and deals with the lack of support she received from everyone around her. THEN the universe got rebooted entirely (just roll with it) and bc there were a lot of ppl up high (specifically a guy called Dan Didio, who we all hate) who REALLY hated the idea of Batgirls that weren't Barbara Gordon, Steph not only got forced out of the mantle in favor of a Barbara Gordon (who got magically cured of her full below-the-waist paralysis in one of the worst acts of ableism DC has ever seen and that's saying a LOT), but for years, there was a complete, editorial-enforced ban on even mentioning her or the other previous Batgirl, Cassandra Cain. This eventually got lifted and she was brought back with a completely mangled backstory. Dan Didio has since left the company and she's in a better place now, but her character never recovered from All That imo. DC has SO MUCH sexism it's laughable, and even writing this down I needed to skip or skim over huge examples of misogyny like Barbara's treatment in The Killing Joke and Cass's villain arc, but Steph is one of those characters who's just barely gotten any kind of break ever since she was created. At least Barbara got a cool hero identity which specifically challenged and deconstructed her fridging in The Killing Joke (until she was forced into Batgirl again but that wasn't misogyny towards her it was ableism) and Cass had a long-running, extremely popular Batgirl solo prior to being character massacred. Poor Steph just gets consolation prize after consolation prize bc nobody can be normal about her for some reason.

2.) what if you were introduced to be Robin’s love interest had the most batshit teen pregnancy storyline rooted in the writers views of women and theeeeen after all that when ur boyfriend quit being robin batman took you in as the next batman only to try and make your now-ex jealous to get him to come be robin again and you never got a real shot at it? what if then he fired you, the first time a robin has ACTUALLY gotten legitimately fired without getting to come back and then died after being tortured for his secret identity? and what if this all happened due to the editors mandating you should die at the end of their massive event and the main batman writer at the time thinking you should get to have “a bit of happiness before he crushed you like a bug” (paraphrasing here but. “crushed like a bug” is a pull). what if the whole reason you were fired is because they didnt want to saddle bruce with more guilt in having another dead robin despite the hand he had in your death. and then what if the year after you died jason todd came back from the dead. but this only brings more attention to the fact that he got a memorial as robin and you didnt in canon writing and also from the editors and writers themselves. and then what if years later it was retconned that you faked your death to recover from your GRIEVOUS INJURIES so then writers wrote basically everyone being “betrayed” by you “faking” your death. and it cheapens everything about your death which was already a fucking misogyny hat trick. and all the emotional depth of your death is gone and you come back and only get to be batgirl because once again editorial is having problems and cant decide which of the previous batgirls should come back for the new run so you get thrown in as the noncontroversial pick. and what if after this run ends youre doomed to be written as quirky teen girl supporting cast member for like years up to literally present day in canon AND fanon and are almost always reduced to a girlfriend, a supportive friend for your exs endeavors in dating men, or the super put together girl to “get [x man]’s head out of his ass” for various men you have to play second string too. and what if you finally get a series with other women and even then are a Quirky Teenage Girl before anything else despite literally going to college over ten real life years ago and its taboo for literally anyone to talk about your death-not-death or your teen pregnancy or any of your various problems outside superheroics, which include but are not limited to: your mother being a recovering addict and you two trying to mend your family, your criminal father, your issues regarding your relationship to family as an ideal, and mothers and fathers, in differing ways because of these things, the fact that you are an underdog amongst underdogs in the batfamily to the point where your relationships with all of them should be much more fraught than in canon, considering the shit theyve said to you, and dont get to have any real relationships to the superhero community outside of them, the fact that youre one of the few in the batfam to never be on a team. And of course, the fact that not only do the people in canon hate you but also a decent part of the writers, editors, and fans do too. and if they dont hate you you still are almost always portrayed as a caricature of yourself. even if you just look at how steph was treated next to jason irt their deaths, steph should EASILY advance in this damn competition.

3.) Literally tortured to death in a sexualized manner for shock value:

"There was some controversy in the fan community about both the character's death by torture and the fact that even though she served as Robin for a time, she received no monument or memorial in the Batcave during the years of her apparent death unlike the second Robin Jason Todd.[5]

Regarding the former issue, at the 2011 Auckland Writers and Readers Festival, the former Batgirl writer Dylan Horrocks said that the writers were told from the start that Spoiler would die in this crossover and she was made Robin "purely as a trick to play on the readers, that we would fool them into thinking that the big event [War Games] was that Stephanie Brown would become Robin". The decision was unpopular with both him and Nightwing writer Devin Grayson, and he felt "pleased and vindicated" over the eventual controversy.[6]

Stephanie Brown on the cover of Detective Comics #809 (2005). Art by Jock.

During a Q&A at a convention in March 2007, DC executive editor Dan DiDio responded to questions about the absence of a Stephanie tribute from the Batcave, saying that the official position of DC Comics is that "She was never really a Robin", despite on-panel claims to the contrary.[7] When Alfred Pennyworth asks if Batman's acceptance of Stephanie as Robin was conceived by him as only a temporary measure from the outset and constituted part of an effort to lure Tim back to the cape, Batman evades the question. However, when a dying Stephanie asks, "Was I ever really Robin?", Batman answers, "Of course you were."[8] However, her memorial has been present in different publications since the controversy arose.[9]"

Katma Tui

1.) Katma Tui had her head cut off by Carol Ferris (possessed by the Star Sapphire gem) simply to provoke Hal! She got killed to make mad Hal Jordan. She's been ignored and barely referenced for 30 something years, and whenever she is referenced, its only as John Stewart's dead wife, not as a completely capable gl. She's the worst treated Green Lantern character which is saying something given that gl comics are where the phrase "fridging" comes from. Just god there's so much misogyny in her story.

2.) Prior to her death Hal Jordan talked her out of her impending engagement even though he was planning on getting engaged to his girlfriend Carol Ferris.

She is kinda fridged cause her death focuses on the men that it affected, including her husband John Stewart. Especially Hal because it changed his dynamic and relationship with Carol.

She was later resurrected just to be killed again, by Hal this time. Was turned into a black lantern and then killed for the last time.

[patchiko]

What are your thoughts on Jason from Three Jokers?

particularly for me, his emotional dependence is so big just because he confused things with the Barbara

3 JOKERS SPOILERS !

tldr; i ramble a little abt how i hate modern Jason fucking Todd and highlight how much justice this comic did for him

and how modern writers are just trying to turn him into a batfam insert of deadpool

Yes! I dont think Jason had 100% feelings for Babs, like he said, he thought it could work. It definitely came from a moment of weakness/vulnerability, its often that Jason doesn’t get cared for too often, not in the way he needs. So when Babs let out a hand for him, it hit him HARD. Especially with just being traumatized by the last two jokers, I think its pretty obvious he doesn’t need someone to clean up/watch after him but like need someone to generally emotionally guide him.

my personal pet peeve with most modern Jason Todd canon ships is the laziness of it(b4 i get criticized i think ANY ship with ANY CHARACTERS can be good as long as the writings GOOD and makes SENSE) . GOD NO- i dont ship jason and babs, but they still put an odd amount of effort into it, to at the very least actually flesh out their characters.

Jason doesn’t need a character that fixes his mistakes when he’s overly impulsive, or babies him, or fixes his mistakes with a veil of ‘Your so dumb but i secretly care about you!‘ because then it leads to most of lazy writing where he does something stupid but his gf is here to fix it! so its ok! NO!! HES NOT LEARNING ANYTHING!! YOURE MAKING HIM LOOK STUPID AND MENTALLY BRAIN DEAD!! anyways sorry.

Jason needs someone to break him out of his cycle of impulsiveness and self-destruction, not have him indulge in it.Jason needs to go fucking soul-searching or something im so tired of his ass— REALISTICALLY I COULDN’T DATE COMIC!JASON IF HE DIDNT CHANGE,, HE WOULD FRUSTRATE ME RLLY BAD.

ahem. anyways. I think Jasons note shows a lot about his character and something that the modern writers ignore a lot. Jason CAN change, he just needs a reason, a solid reason to. He doesn’t have to put down his code, or the guns, he just needs someone solid to really make him think about himself. “All I need is one chance to you I can be better. And I will devote my life to making you proud. Happy. Loved.” WHERE IS THIS SWEETHEART RN?? I SWEAR EVERY OTHER WRITER IS MAKING HIM A EMO FUCK-BOY WHOS BRAIN MATTER GOT SUCKED OUT THROUGH HIS COCK?? ahem sorry.

I really love how much DC actually puts details into Jason in this comic. Ex. Jasons helmets abilities being highlighted, “Helmets registering multiple security doors opening across the facility.” OR him saying the chronic pain management book was helpful. SORRY— I REALLY ENJOY DETAILS LIKE THIS. It just makes Jasons technical skill and such more obvious then whats normally stated. Also Jason tracking sea water off a wrench to the Aquarium— where is this skill in more modern comics?? I swear they make Jason a braindead wannabe deadpool sometimes i swear to fucking god. Also him shooting the shark tank so it eats Gaggy— I DIE FOR DETAILS LIKE THIS.

They don’t even get rid of his humor in 3 jokers either, he still has a really well displayed personality and his banter with Batman is really bearable for once, it makes sense and its well written. I slightly dislike how hard Babs is being on Jason but i’m not 100% sure what Babs is like. I haven’t read comics centered around her, so I don’t mind it. Also dont mistake this for me disliking babs for rejecting Jay— thats not what i mean at all. Just her constantly saying how he’s a criminal and focusing on getting him in prison like he’s an opp was confusing 2 me..

anyways stop trying to turn red hood into the batfams deadpool challenge!!

inbox is open 2 yap or requests sum!!

[thoughtsinadaydream]

The Spooktacular Halloween Movie Challenge: October 11, 2023

Labyrinth (1986)

A dramatic actress wannabe with a dreamy admiration of fairy tales gets caught up in a tale of her own when, after wishing her baby brother away in a fit of babysitting pique, is given 13 hours to solve the labyrinth to the goblin city and get him back from the goblin king.

Let’s get the problematic stuff out of the way. Sarah (Jennifer Connelly), the main protagonist, can be a bit spoiled and unlikable, and the goblin king (David Bowie) is clearly much older than the 16-year-old protagonist but appears to be trying to seduce her at times.

All I have to say is I love Labyrinth so much that stuff doesn’t matter. Truthfully, Sarah being as unlikable as she is in the beginning allows you to see how clearly she changes through the movie. Also, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t throw a petty fit or two as a teenager, so it tracks. As for the age difference, spoiler warning, but it can be argued that the “seduction” scene is in Sarah’s imagination rather than anything the actual goblin king does, so the characters themselves never have an actual romantic scene together.

I also have an extreme fondness for fairy tales, so much so that I know the whole setup of a maiden going through a trial of some kind to earn something from a goblin king is also a classic trope that always has such a rich story but isn’t utilized much. I appreciate that this movie pulls on that rather than the typical maiden to be rescued by a hero type of story.

The costuming is beautiful. The music is great, if you like David Bowie (because of course it’s gone singing. It’s David Bowie). There’s a sort of upside down logic to everything that is just interesting to follow along. The puppetry is diverse, unique, and still looks pretty good all these years later. Finally, it’s just fun. It’s a fun movie and a great way to spend an afternoon.

[honeymochibubbletea]

May I request a Dr Phantasmo x reader that can shapeshift into any animal and uses their ability to escape him everytime he tries to get them and even tauts him about it till he eventually captures them

Sure thing! >:3

☆~Phantasmo with a shapeshifter darling~☆:

You were a very adventurous person, you always were a free spirit. No one could trap you or enslave you. Yes, you’ve heard about this oh so “feared” Dr. Phantasmo and the things he did to those who dare to cross his path… but honestly you couldn’t give two shits about him: hell, you weren’t afraid of him! You’ve always laughed at the face of danger! So, what was a mad-wannabe-scientist to you? A joke, of course!

You both have met for the first time when you were invading his property and teasing him to try and catch you. At first he thought it wasn’t worth it and ignored you for a while… until you’ve transformed into a panther in front of him (you know, just to show off how amazing you are) and you’ve peaked his interest… you better prepare yourself, because this man was now determined to catch you at any cost!

And then, this cat and mouse game went about for three months: every time he was about to catch you, you would transform into a different animal to slip away from his grasp. He was starting to give up until he had an idea:

Phantasmo: hey y/n~ i bet you can’t escape from me as a mouse~

Y/n: pfft, of course i can, watch me!

You knew this was a trap, but your pride spoke a little louder for you to remember that his chances of capturing you were higher now that you were a mou-

Oh shit! And he indeed succeeded in capturing you! Okay, no need for panic, right? Right?! Maybe you could bite his fingers or-

Phantasmo: well, well, well~ looks like this cat here finally got his catch~

Y/n: pfft, yeah? So what? You got me, what are you going to do big guy?

Phantasmo: you really shouldn’t talk like you have the upper hand here. Perhaps are you trying to cope by sounding arrogantly confident~?

Y/n: well, at least that’s something we both have in common: we both are overly confident… and now, if you excuse me, i’ll escape from you again and laugh at your-!

Phantasmo: face~?

Phantasmo had you in front of his mouth… wait… he wasn’t seriously considering eating you… was… he…? (Spoiler: no, no he wasn’t. He was just messing up with you, he wouldn’t eat a mouse… even if he could… but you didn’t know that and you didn’t needed to know~ ;) )

You desperately tried to transform into a bigger animal but… what heck?! Why weren’t you transforming?!? He licked your face teasingly and you started to grow more and more worried with your situation: you hate this option but… you needed to do this or else…

Y/n: please! Don’t eat me! I’m sorry, okay?! I’m sorry for calling you a snail and other upsetting things! I’m sorry for sitting on you as an elephant that one time! And i’m sorry for challenging you!

Phantasmo: ah~ choosing the coward option to get out of this mess~? Pathetic~ hahahaha!

Y/n: p-please… what have you done to me…? Why can’t i-

Phantasmo: HA! Shapeshift~? Well, “darling”, you see: when you were bragging about how you couldn’t beat me when you were transforming into a mouse, i took this opportunity to throw into your way my newest invention: the anti-shapeshifting dust! I had plenty of time to study you and your abilities and now, you will remain as a mouse forever! Buhahahahaha!

Y/n: Huh… so that’s why you were blowing something at me… wait… WHAT?! NO! Please! I don’t want to be one animal forever! I also like my human form!

Phantasmo: awww~ and why should I give you an antidote~? Hmm~?

Y/n: i… i… i could… i could be your assistant…! Y-yeah…!

Phantasmo: hmmm… alright, you know what? Sure~

Y/n: phew��

Phantasmo: but, under one condition: you’ll be my lab rat whenever i feel bored~ deal~?

You weren’t so sure if this was a good idea… but, like, did you really had another option?

And so, as promised, phantasmo would give you the antidote and bring you back to your “normal” self. But, every time he wanted to experiment on you or simply whenever he was bored, he would order you to transform into some animal: usually a cat.

Don’t worry though: every time he wanted to experiment on you, he would bring you back to life with one of his machines, as long as he had your soul, you would always come back into a brand new body! Isn’t he nice? :3 (btw, he would create a new body identical to your first old body out of someone’s dead body… he only makes some… adjustments… it’s better if you don’t ask him how he does that)

You two weren’t that close for quite a while… but, eventually, you would eventually tolerate each other’s presence and start loving one another

Remember when he would get bored and boss you around to turn into a cat? Well, here’s the thing: he is secretly a fan of cats and loves them greatly. He would just be petting you and massaging your back or using you as a emotional support animal whenever he would feel overwhelmed and stressed by something🥹

Oh and one last thing: you know that old cliche of a villain sitting on a chair and stroking a cat? That would be you and Phantasmo hahahaha! (Relationships goals everyone, Relationships goals…)

[magnorious]

A Titan’s Curse Retrospective, 16 Years Later

Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters **Spoiler Alert**

When I first got my hands on this book, I looked at how thin it was and worried that each consecutive book would be shorter than the last. Titan’s Curse is the off-beat middle episode of the five, occurring around the winter solstice instead of during summer break.

It was never my favorite, but I remembered liking it because it felt darker. I remembered that, for the first time, characters we were supposed to care about were dying on the page. The gods were up close and personal now, at the heart of the quest. There were guns in this book, destiny-challenging decisions to forestall the Great Prophecy for a little while longer.

And, of course, Blackjack, the Dam Snack Bar, Fred, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, and the arrival of the di Angelos.

Maybe that’s just nostalgia talking, ‘cause I’m pretty sure that when it came out, before HOO, Titan’s Curse was dead last on everyone’s tier list for one reason: Annabeth is absent for most of the plot, and Zoë is kind of irritating.

—

The Titan’s Curse

We open immediately to a much more serious tone than before, and a timeskip unlike before. The growth of Percy and Thalia’s relationship happens entirely offscreen between books, which is a bit disappointing. During the gap between TlT and SoM, the time in between books was filled with school, details unimportant to the plot. Here, though, we’ve missed some potentially juicy plot beats like Thalia’s reaction to the passage of time, her meeting Percy, another illegal demigod, her reunion with Annabeth and discovery that Luke turned traitor.

Maybe, if the Disney show makes it that far, we’ll get to see those missed opportunities on screen. But you do start the book feeling like there was a chapter left on the cutting room floor.

Doubly so, they spent at least a couple months together before chapter one, enough to build a rapport and make a confident team together, and yet Percy somehow has never seen Thalia manipulate the Mist before.

Sixteen years later and it is buckwild even seeing Nico’s name dropped for the first time nine pages in. He’s not even in the book for more than the first couple chapters and right at the end for the big reveal. He was nobody’s favorite leading all the way up to House of Hades four whole ass books from now, just an eager little kid, then a bratty little goth wannabe, then an angsty goth wannabe.

Getting flung back to lil’ wide-eyed and bushy tailed 10-year old Nico is sobering. He was such a little nerd with his Mythomagic figurines and cards and dumb, dorky 10-year-old questions.

**Side note - in my SoM I falsely recalled that the Grover empathy link never made a reappearance and I am pleasantly surprised that it does get mentions here, even if it doesn’t do much.**

—

The opening fight, while thrilling, is held back a little by Percy’s continued ignorance. He’s fourteen, he’s been at this for two years now, and he’s still the last to find things out (for the benefit of the audience). Before, it made sense, he was young and inexperienced, but if he’s out here leading raids and rescue parties, he’s got no excuses to not be doing his homework and I wish Riordan had come up with a different method of getting exposition to the audience this time around.

Immediately after, enter the Hunters’ blatant sexism and I’m left scratching my head on why I remember liking this book so much. It’s off to a rather rocky start.

It’s not so much that Artemis leads a club of eternal tweenage virgins. The Hunters are a sanctuary alternative to Camp Half-Blood and it has its pros and cons. My problem, especially as I’m older reading this, is that Artemis gets Bianca murdered promising her a break from her horrible, no good, very bad baby brother, and there’s no reckoning for that.

There’s no alternative to her statement of only being patron to girls “before they go astray” like the moment puberty hits Artemis kicks these hedonistic sinners to the curb. Thalia sure hates them and calls it stupid (before joining them in the end) and Percy makes his opinions on Bianca’s selfishness clear, but beyond a reluctant approval of Percy after he almost dies holding up the sky, there is no “yeah our club isn’t actually as awesome as us snooty girls think it is”. Artemis is still a good guy, so are the hunters, and their ideology is never challenged.

Bianca dies! She’d still be alive if Artemis hadn’t been a predatory patron, snatching her up in a moment of weakness and ripping her little brother’s only family away because, by nature of being a boy, he sucks.

In other words, she doesn’t get to be painted as a decent goddess when she’s no better than Hera and Zeus with her strawmanning. Especially when Apollo and, heck, Dionysus, show so much more humanity in this book.

Artemis is just so hard on the poor kid and thank the gods Percy didn’t die before he could save Nico from himself. Nico would have absolutely joined Luke and burned Olympus to the ground without Percy’s intervention, and it would have been Artemis’ fault. “Yes, boy. You see, Bianca di Angelo is not the only one with an annoying brother.” My good bitch, who do you think you are? He’s 10!

It is abundantly clear why the Nico di Angelo Protection Squad found such strong footing. The whole nexus of this series is the gods’ neglect and the first 70 pages of this book are a stellar example of what Luke’s been yammering about this whole time.

—

As always, the foreshadowing and subtle reminders are solid. Tyson’s throwaway line about the Princess Andromeda heading toward the Panama Canal so it can eventually reach the West Coast, the reminder of the dragon that scarred Luke’s face via souvenir claw in the Big House attic. The reminder that Percy’s sword Riptide has a tragic past and all the hints that Bianca and Nico are children out of time as they suddenly remember forgotten details from their past and Bianca’s lucky strike on the skeletons.

Oh, and this poignant little nugget from the souvenir pile in the attic, a tag attached to a broken sword hilt: “This broke and Leroy got killed, 1999.” I can picture Leroy’s surviving friends staring at that broken weapon and having nothing more to say than that, and abandoning it to collect dust in the attic.

Percy is still rife with realistic, humanizing flaws. He’s jealous of Thalia and suffering an inferiority complex, mucking up the di Angelo rescue mission thinking he can do it on his own, and then the capture the flag game, and then going off on his own during the second quest that’s not about him. His rivalry with Thalia, the only demigod that can go toe-to-toe with him in terms of abilities, is something fresh for this book. Thalia’s like a less obnoxious Annabeth because she doesn’t suffer that Athenian hubris making her a know-it-all.

—

Bianca fits right in with the Hunters, not missing her little brother one bit (stone cold, girl. Stone. Cold.) Acting like a sudden expert at the Ping Pong table counselor meeting. I know she’s been groomed by a selfish misandrist but she’s not long for this book and it has done nothing to endear audiences to her.

She gets worse when she has her first minute alone with Percy and he reassures her that abandoning her baby brother is perfectly fine so long as she’s happy when… no? Percy took like, two weeks to come to terms with being a demigod and an entire quest. Bianca takes two days and she’s rearing up to go on a quest to save her cult leader.

She explains that she’s raised Nico all her life and wanted to experience something outside of caring for him, even though she knows it’s selfish of her to just up and abandon him, his feelings be damned. Thing is, it is selfish. I feel zero sympathy for this girl and I doubt she fully understands what she signed up for. She will be twelve forever and Nico will, theoretically, grow up, grow old, and see her only a handful of times in their lives before he’s dead. All because he’s a bit irritating at his age and she wants a vacation.

When she dies not long after, the point of her character even existing beyond being Nico’s motivation gets a bit muddied. Artemis and the Hunters aren’t punished by the narrative for getting her killed, she doesn’t die doing anything spectacular and she wakes the very monster that kills her trying to get a trinket for Nico, then she’s dead.

Trying to be independent set her on the path to dying young, feeling guilty about abandoning the only family she had left is what sealed the deal.

—

The original cover art! The ‘07 American version with Percy and Blackjack in indigo. TLT’s art didn’t pull from any one specific scene and SoM was more inspired by the rope bridge with Polyphemus on the sheep island, but TTC’s art is ripped straight from the page and I love how it has both nothing to do with the title of the book and is totally out of left field concerning Dionysus (and I think the best moment of the book).

The scene in question is Dionysus interrupting Percy and Blackjack’s pursuit of the questers in Manhattan, showing more agency in that moment than he had in the past two books. He tells Percy about Ariadne and why he hates heroes (because they’re selfish) alluding to why Zoë hates heroes. Percy has been quite self-important in this book, but he's no Theseus, not even close.

The settings in this book aren’t nearly as colorful as the previous two, and the same goes for the monsters along the way. It’s winter and it feels like it, in more ways than one. There’s human mercenaries, the grey skeletal soldiers, the Nemean lion that doesn’t talk, Talos that doesn’t talk, and a few other oddballs.

The junkyard of the gods where they fight Talos has wonderfully creepy and foreboding vibes. Things that get thrown away there are abandoned for a reason.

All the quirky sense of adventure that existed before is gone this time around and while I enjoy the tonal shift personally, I don’t know that it was the best choice to make for the series as a whole. The lack of “color” is made worse by all the other irritating and frustrating elements.

The best elements remain the most off-beat ones, like Apollo in incognito mode, the Dam snack bar, everything I remembered from reading this as a kid, along with Dionysus’ moments and Dr. Chase.

TTC’s prophecy is solid, and since we get it at the beginning this time, we get to wrack our brains trying to solve it along with the cast. It’s not as ambiguous as TLT’s prophecy, but I like the cadence, how long it is, and how ominous it is – right off the bat, you know two people are dead this book.

Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,

One shall be lost in the land without rain,

The bane of Olympus shows the trail,

Campers and Hunters combined prevail,

The Titan’s Curse must one withstand,

And one shall perish by a parent’s hand.

—

Zoë is… frustrating. I hate to go all “not all men” but jeez, girl, not all men. She even says those exact words herself as she’s dying. So much bitterness and resentment in her long life. Why couldn’t Artemis be a good patron of immortal tweenagers and find them a decent therapist? I’m lumping her in with Artemis for their antiquated and frankly ridiculous pontificating. I get that’s Artemis’ schtick; doesn’t make it fun or interesting to read.

Zoë is a victim of godly propaganda and her death is as tragic as Bianca’s, the fate of heroes little more than divine chess pieces tossed aside at a whim. Her memorial as the new constellation is poignant, it just unfortunately was given to a character more frustrating than endearing. Her whole arc in this book is appreciating that not all heroes are awful thanks to Percy, but she struts around like her sh*t doesn’t smell.

Zoë hates heroes because Hercules did her dirty, Thalia hinted that Annabeh considered joining the Hunters because of Percy, and Dionysus told Percy he’d never stop being selfish and self-centered and the thing is he’s… not?

Yes he messes up at the start of this book but they’re kind of strawmanning him, like by nature of being a boy and being a Greek demigod he’s doomed to be exactly like his predecessors when he’s shown no indication so far of using and abusing people. His fatal flaw is loyalty. Annabeth was never going to be his Ariadne.

—

The villains plan here is solid, Riordan has a good track record of walking the line between complex and contrived. They needed Artemis to hold the sky to get her away from the Solstice meeting so the gods wouldn’t be productive. To get Artemis, they made do with using Annabeth as bait. Then they needed Bessie and an illegal prophecy child (Thalia, the oldest) to trigger the prophecy two books early. It almost works, until Thalia dips out of turning 16 by becoming an immortal fifteen-year-old at the last possible second.

The villains also use mortals this time, and mortal weaponry – guns and helicopters and mortal mercenaries. They don’t do much, none of them even get named, but they exist and they help make this book a little grittier.

—

Despite all the above complaints, the book doesn’t fall to middle-chapter syndrome. The story is fast paced and gritter than the two before it, the battles are all well written and unique. It’s not a bad story by any means, it just has some frustrating elements that dampen the enjoyment. The slower beats aren’t between Percy and Annabeth this time and Grover spends a lot of the book mooney-eyed over the moon goddess so he and Percy don’t get a lot of solid moments either. Thalia is too prickly to let her guard down long enough for a deep conversation but she almost gets there.

Major characters die this time and the approaching war feels that much closer, delayed for now but still looming ever over our heroes. I do like the characterization of the gods this time around being much more involved in the story. When Percy and Annabeth do finally reunite, matching grey streaks in their hair, it's cute and fluffy and a great way to wrap up the story before the Nico reveal, and what a reveal it is. It's not Thalia, unambiguously older, it's Nico, definitively younger leaving you antsy that, still, Percy might not be the prophecy kid after all.

[aboutdragons]

Daelyra ‘Lyra’ Targaryen as an adult

Daelyra Targaryen is hardly just some lady, or even a wannabe knight. She was brought to this world by the gods themselves, tasked with saving the dragons, and she will do what needs to be done to fulfill her mission.

Step One: become someone even a fool would think twice to challenge

Face (&body) Claim: Rhea Ripley

platinum blonde hair (long, usually in twin Valyrian braids, side-shaved on both sides) & almost black, dark purple eyes w/ slit pupils&tapetum lucidum & as tan as a heat- and fireproof Targaryen can get (not much, but it’s an honest effort; at least she’s not pasty-white like the rest of them)

tattoos, including but not limited to: the Cannibal dragon on her back, names of her precious people (Daemon, Baela, Rhaena, Laena, etc+) on her left forearm, Caraxes in red ink on right arm (Essos is great like that)

has several nasty scars after close encounters of the third kind in Old Valyria (is this even a spoiler? I feel like everyone knows she’ll go there eventually soon)

piercings: nose, eyebrows, tongue, ears

exactly 6ft (183cm) tall (1cm taller Daemon, for sulking purposes on his part) & muscular (heavier&stronger than she looks due to Targaryen muscle compacting)

(increased height and physical mass generation due to magical meddlery much like in Maegor’s case)

wears very bold, black makeup (makes it herself)

can easily bodily throw a man

Otto really thought that Daemon was the worst thing to ever happen to him.

It makes what’s coming for him even funnier.

[deadaccount1211]

TD 2023 Review: The Final Chapter

Spoilers Down Below.

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Episode 9: I ain't gonna lie from the way they structured this episode in the beginning. I already knew Caleb was winning immunity.

Funny screenshot I grabbed ^.

I started off this season liking Mkulia because I saw it as an alliance between two equals. But ever since the cheating plotline, they've only ever used MK as a punching bag. And then the cherry on top is Julia eliminating her for a second time.

Left a sour taste in my mouth tbh. And I can believe the hockey bros were dumb enough to vote her off. But you're telling me that Julia somehow convinced Priya and Damien that MK is the bigger threat between the two? She literally told you guys she eliminated Nichelle. But consistency be damned I guess.

Episode 10: I kinda wish the memory game was more about remembering events that happened through the season and less press a button on a ipad.

This julia vs damien rivalry is cooking. It's about time Julia faced some opposition in this competition.

A bit ironic considering they're athletes but I don't think Wayne and Raj have done well in a single competition this season.

Priya admitting she knows Julia is manipulative and then proceeding to get manipulated by Julia. ://////////

Me going into the elimination scene: Oh so the praleb drama is resolved! Priya or Caleb is going home right?

??

??

???

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN DAMIEN GOT ELIMINATED? WHAT THE FUCK???

Ok Julia shared her immunity with Caleb. Vote off Priya? She won last season??? It's not that hard???

"Sorry bro we can't vote off Priya because she's in love with Caleb" WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT LOGIC? That's exactly why you should vote her off!

Damien running around the island looking for his idol and then getting dragged away screaming is legitimately pitiful to watch.

This season loves giving ppl undignified exits but this was the worst one of all.

I want to add on that I knew there was a very low chance Damien was gonna win given how his arc was structured. But this elim was bullshit, should've been Priya.

Episode 11:

Starting off the episode with the hockey bros saying they miss Damien is lame. Ya'll never interacted and you voted him off. Fuck off.

Julia starting an off screen alliance with Caleb is lame. I don't want to hear the excuse "They can only fit so much into 22 minutes." They did perfectly fine in S1? Why the steep downgrade in quality?

We finally get a non gen 1 cameo and it's fucking McArthur. God I hate this season.

This is the worst challenge of the season. This is the third time ya'll have done run around and be chased by animals challenge. At least nobody is farting this time around.

Maturing is realizing Raj was never gonna get a character arc and he's only here to be comedic relief. Sigh..

Julia being a challenge beast doesn't feel as fun as it did in S1. Probably because she's casually steamrolling the game rn.

They waited way too long to boot off one of the hockey bros. We literally only have two episodes left. How are they gonna be able to make wayne idependent and stand out on his own?

Episode 12:

Why is Julia so insistent on gaining Wayne's vote when she has the immunity idol?

Caleb really is whatever the plot demands him to be. He spent the first half of the season being a wannabe f boy. Now he wants to act all sweet n shit and say he don't wanna lie on Total Drama. Like please get the fuck out of here. Not even Millie was this annoying. Steroid ass freak.

Maybe it's the inner fanfic writer inside of me. But imagine if Damien was in this fear challenge and his final fear to overcome was Scary Girl. Would've been peak imo.

They're really giving Wayne a last minute character arc about learning how to be himself without Raj around.

Tennis Rivals cameo? Isn't RR supposed to be an in universe spinoff? Why are there more RR references than like Revenge or Pahkitew? Are those seasons getting swept under the rug?

They really tried to make this elimination suspenseful when we already know Julia has the idol.

I still like Priya overall. But i'd be lying if I said Season 2 makes it hard to do so. Besides a few mentions from Chris, her being a canonical winner has no effect on the story. Her storyline is a near identical repeat of last season but worse. Just change the genre from friendship to romance. And replace Millie with Caleb. It naturally ended in episode 10 but the writers wanted to stretch this shit as long as humanely possible so here's more problems for the two to overcome. I could go on and on but to sum it up, priya x caleb is ass.

The Finale:

Hmm. Who should I root for?

The guy who just became relevant last episode?

Generic romance plotline guy?

Overpowered villainess?

I like Julia the most out of these three. But a complete Julia steamroll would be mid. Like if she won S1, I'd be cool with that. Because she fought tooth and nail to get into the final 4.

First boot to winner is a neat idea but I don't want it wasted on a bad character like Caleb.

Wayne exists.

Wait so Ripaxel is still together? Why was she so distant towards him in their elimination episode? So Ripper legitimately quit for no reason then? And didn't Chris say last season if you quit then you owe him a million bucks? Is that never coming back up?

Say it with me everyone, "This season is ass!"

Team Caleb not giving a shit about him is so real.

Why is Julia surprised that only MK wants to be on her team?

I don't know how many of you have seen it. But there's this fanmade show called Disventure Camp. And the finale challenge for that show is almost identical to this one. Not accusing anyone of copyright.

I just thought it was interesting to point out.

Considering Chase's pizza obsession that got him eliminated in season one. Shouldn't he have been the one to go back for pizza? This season can't even remember the minor details.

I thought they were gonna do bald julia for a second lol. Mullet Julia looks cool though.

Wayne won. My honest reaction: :/

I can't be the only person who thinks it's sus that Terry McGurrin. The white straight ally who likes hockey. Wrote the final episode where the white straight ally who likes hockey wins. :/

People have been comparing his win to TDI Owen.

Owen was a goofball but at least he had a S Tier social game and interacted with loads of ppl (cody, gwen, trent, heather, duncan, izzy, noah)

And he was decent at the challenges. (dodgeball challenge, eating challenge)

Wayne sucked in every challenge and only talked to Raj and sometimes Julia.

Honestly might be the 2nd worst winner this series has ever had. Mike still holds the crown for worst winner.

If they really wanted an underdog finalist they should've went with Damien. He was an underdog and actually did shit in the game. And they built a rivalry for him and Julia. Only to throw it away immediately.

Kinda wish these were the two pairings instead of Ripaxel and Praleb.

I know they teased a S3. But if it's the same level of quality as S2, I don't want it.

[bemeiqi]

hello hello! i'm kero and i'm so excited to bring meiqi to wannabe! tumblr's still a new platform to me so i apologise in advance for any mistakes or anything i make! ANYWAYS! below the cut is more information about her (her bio is still a work in progress) and some possible ideas for plots! i'm always open to different ideas and brainstorming so just give this a like and i'll send you a dm and we can figure it all out from there! :D

basic background:

she was born in changsha, a city in china to a single mother and was raised by her mother and her grandparents (as well as friends and the occasional boyfriend)

she's always had a passion for arts and her want for fame has been around ever since she started ballet as a child

so, at the ripe age of 18 and with years of begging her mother for this, she moved to korea to pursue her dream of fame!

sure, she only knew basic korean but, how hard would it be?

spoiler: much harder than her optimistic self went in expecting

she was taken aback by the competitiveness of the auditions and training processes and decided to revaluate her decisions

she didn't want to give up on her dream, just take her time to work towards it and let herself get used to the new environment before stressing herself out more

so she started studying full-time and taught herself the language, now tutoring other foreigners in korean language to earn extra money to pay for her rent without relying fully on her family at home

but she's still practicing her skills, don't worry!

she's settled into korea well at this point but, she has anxiety and has for years, which sometimes makes life a little bit harder, but nothing she can't handle!

possible plot ideas:

someone she met while studying and the two bonded over their shared dreams, becoming pillars for each other and working together to overcome challenges, never leaving each other behind. unless..?

someone she met while attending a public dance class, she can't help but feel like she's competing with them as she sees them as good, thus making her competitive side come out and win the contest in her mind.

i can't really come up with that many ideas at the moment so...i'll be more creative in dms i PROMISE!

[ferocioustrout]

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOIL-

Episode 01, The kids will (not) be okay:

-The episode starts with Chris, Chef and the entire cast from the Total Drama island (2023) on a plane, going to a new season in a "new" place. Chris was talking to someone by a Walkie Talkie.

*Biiz*

???: Mr. McLean, seriously that you're lying to them saying that they're going to some kind of "total drama: World Tour" 2?

Chris: umm... Maybe--?

???: McLean! That's pratically clickbai-

Chris: Hey! Don't you dare use this "modern generation" language on me! Anyways, be ready because we're almost getting to there.

???: ah, ok-

- Chris ends the transmission

Chris: wow! That boy still annoying...

Chef: Chris, we're recording!

Chris: Ah, don't worry! After this introduction we will be finally free! ... I mean, just me, not you!

Chef: grr...

Chris: ah, calm down! Anyways, it's been a year 'total drama fans'! Since we don't see Each other THAT long, I'll give y'all a quick recap.

Last season on Total Drama Island:

16 new contestants showed up with the dream of taking that 1 million dollars price.

And the eliminations we're surprising!

Caleb was just there. until he even had the chance of doing something, Bowie made everyone eliminate him! Poor boy...

Nichelle humiliated herself Infront of everyone.

Emma HAD a chance of showing to everyone on live tv that Chase is (or was) a horrible person, but Chase was luckier than her.

Julia was boring, the way she talked, the "spiritual, love and peace" things that she normally talks about was annoying enough to her team.

Wayne would do anything and everything for his best friend Raj, and he was more than happy when he found out about his buddy's secret!

Scary Girl was Creepy, but not for Axel and Ripper! They we're her Unic friends that she had in a while, and the Unic ones that think that her actions are more annoying than scary.

Priya was pathetic! Seriously that she think her parents are so great that she easily go insane when someone criticizes them? Pff, surely the most well deserved elimination of that season.

Mk was smart, a little too much. And because of that, she went from being Bowie's Allie, to be a traitor! Well, it was that, that Bowie made everyone believe.

Raj has a secret, he loves Bowie! And because of that, he made our fandom go wild for them! The fandom loves them! Especially that people from that one Social Media that has "Tum" on the start...

And Chase knowed About that! The fact that Bowie and Raj we're dating, of course. Not the fact that the fandom is crazy for them. So, as a indirect revenge for MK, he was double eliminated with Raj!

Ripper and Damien have a... Interesting friendship. A "nerd hater" and a nerd!

Ripper was... Adorable? Yeah, he went from being a pathetic alpha male wannabe, from being a even nicer version of Owen, and because of that "adorable" personality that he gained he made Damien, Zee and especially Chase be his best friends! (Axel and scary girl too) Good for him, I guess.

Damien screamed a lot until His friends convinced him that being public humiliated in live television isn't that bad!

And Millie was nice, she tried to write a book about how much this generation is potentially bad, but after Priya's elimination, she learned that it was just a exception! There IS good people from this generation, you just need to find the right ones! (Priya not included)

And let's go to the final 3...

Axel, she had everything to win! The strength, the power, the personality... But, Ripper and Scary Girl missed her, so they finded a way to make her go back to them! That's what you gain when you are friends with a fake emo and ex-bad boy.

Zee, how did he got in there?! He could easily be eliminated until the merge but no one wanted to! And if wasn't for the "milk" part of the last challenge, he would have won! But he didn't.

And Bowie won! He used and eliminated half of the cast not counting with Wayne and Raj, of course.

Chris: So yeah, EVERYONE that I mentioned is back!

-Then it cuts to Chris in the passagers cabin with the 16 participants.

All the 16 participants are in here

The one that went out first:

Caleb: I'll make YOU guys regret voting me off...

-Caleb said in anger, while pointing at Bowie

Bowie: geez...

Ripper: you got a bit 'edgy' after 1 year, huh?

Caleb: what?

The most misunderstood one:

Ripper: huh?

Chase: wait, since when Ripper is misunderstood?

And the worse one:

Chase: excuse me?!

Emma: pff...

And of course, the winner:

Bowie: yeah, exactly, me!

Chris: well, I don't know if you guys noticed but Bowie was the Unic villain after a long time that won a season, the Unic one that did that was heather.

Bowie: wait, reall-

Chris: okay, this is slowly getting boring! So let's make the things end quickly!

-the ground below all the participants opened up, making all the participants fall into The water.

Chris: Ahaha... I'll miss that, and Chef already leaved without even saying "bye"!!

-Chris quickly ran to the drivers cabin, grabbing the plane's volant and taking control of it.

Chris: arg! Okay, I'll be quick! This surely the last time you all will see hosting this program! Yeah, this is Sooo sad! But listen up! The future is bullet proof and the aftermath WILL be secundary! And time to them do it now and do it loud! I am Chris McLean, and I'll see never, EVER see y'all again! Bye, losers!!

-after Chris leaved everyone behind, the scene cuts to the brand new hosts

...

Topher: Yeah, we're finally hosting our favorite reality show ever!

Sierra: But it's just so sad that Chris is gone for like... Forever?

Topher: nah, judging by the way he is he'll surely randomly appear when we Least expect it or something. But anyways, yeah, Chris finally gave his role as host for someone else!

Sierra: two to be exact.

oooo this is interesting.. also loving the topher and Sierra interactions I think they’d be besties

[risingfire17-the-weeb-trash]

40 Day Anime Challenge Day 10- A character you despise with all your heart and soul: Almost everyone in Welcome to the NHK (2006)

I was excited to watch this. It had great reviews, and fans raved that it was a realistic and positive portrayal of people with mental health issues. As someone with these myself, of course I was excited.

But here are my thoughts after watching the anime: 

1) It is not a realistic portrayal of people with mental illness, because the characters are not given much characterization beyond the problematic behaviors of their disorders, no redeeming qualities, and very little character development that was rushed at the end.

2) It is not a positive portrayal of people with mental illness at all. Once again, they are almost entirely reduced to stereotypes, and they’re pretty terrible people. If this is the representation people like me, who has put in a lifetime of therapy and self-reflection to continue overcoming my issues and have healthy relationships, then I fear what those without mental illness would think of me based on what they see in these individuals.

So let’s get to why I despise the characters, yeah? (Spoilers ahead)

Tatsuhiro Sato, our protagonist. 

I don’t have a problem with the fact that he is a NEET. I have a problem with the fact that he never got professional help. I have a problem with the fact that he lied to his parents to keep getting their money, and cursed them when they finally cut him off. I have a problem with the way he treated his friends, yelling, name calling, throwing things, and then guilting them into letting him mooch off of them. I have a problem with his attraction to Misaki. First, because she is a teenager, and instead of staying away from her so he doesn’t act on this, he continues to spend time with her, has her pretend to be his girlfriend at one point, uses her as a cook and housekeeper, and ultimately confesses his love and starts dating her. The second reason is that until a rushed confession in the last episode that may not even be genuine because he said it to literally talk her off the ledge, he was only attracted to her physically and because she would do anything he wanted. He told her multiple times that she was a nuisance, a nag, had a terrible personality, etc. He belittled and bullied her through most of the series.

Misaki Nakahara, our wannabe hero. 

Clearly, she’s a struggling teen and needs help. What she does not need to do is berate and enable a grown man that she only latches on to because looking down on him helps her feel good about herself (which she admitted to halfway through the series and never worked at changing afterward) She coerces him to go along with her “treatment plan” rather than encouraging him to seek actual professional help. She nags at him, bursts into his home, and often pushes him farther out of his comfort zone than he can handle at the time. She enables his codependency when she starts cooking and cleaning for him, all the while scolding him for not doing it himself, so he learns that he is incompetent and should just let her do everything and accept her criticism when he does. I’ll give her a bit more of a pass than the other characters, because unlike the other characters behaving like children, she is literally a child. But she is still a toxic and manipulative person and her problematic behavior needs to be addressed by her guardians (and a licensed therapist)

Hitomi Kashiwa. 

This girl was the catalyst for Sato having a breakdown, always talking about conspiracies. When she comes back into his life, she asks him to join a group she is part of for a trip, not telling him that they are all there to commit suicide! She takes her vulnerable junior, who, despite all his flaws, is at least trying to get himself together, and exposes him to a group exacerbate his depression and he almost gets killed because of it. I haven’t read the manga, but I am told she tries to have an affair with Sato after she is married with a kid. (And the person she is married to, Akira Jogasaki, is so sweet and supportive, he’s the only character I like in this show, so it really hurts to see her betray him like that.)

Kauru Yamazaki, Sato’s best friend, giving otakus everywhere a bad name.

 This guy is supposed to be the “functional” one of the group, being the only one who has a job and is in school to pursue a meaningful career. That’s great and all, but he has a shit personality. His life revolves around perving on 2D women, and complaining that real women can never compare because of the imperfections that make them human, like having their own personalities, motives, and goals. He voices this in a way that is very misogynistic, painting women as manipulative. When he finally starts to fall for a human girl, he pursues her after being rejected, gets mad at her for interacting with other males, and has Sato videotape his confession to her without her knowledge for reference for their game. After moving home, he dates a girl who looks just like her, implying that he does not love this girl, but just sees her as a stand-in. And this is the guy Sato goes to for advice, ugh.

Finally, Megumi Kobayashi. 

After finding out about Sato’s issues, she lies to him and manipulates him into joining a toxic MLM scheme. Even when he tries to get out, she tricks him multiple times into buying her stuff. Look, I feel sorry for her circumstances, but that doesn’t excuse her behavior.

This show was painful to watch. (Even with Akira Jogasaki carrying the whole show on his back) I don’t know if the manga did any better and never will because I’m never touching this series again. I hate these people. Time to search for an anime that is actually a realistic and positive portrayal of people with mental illness.

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

PROPAGANDA

STEPHANIE BROWN (DC COMICS) (CW: Pregnancy)

1.) Steph was created by noted conservative Chuck Dixon, so, off to a good start. She’s was a superhero called the Spoiler and was Tim Drake’s (the third Robin, yes there’s multiple Robins) love interest. From the start, she’s consistently framed as a wannabe vigilante who doesn’t know what she’s doing, who needs to be protected against herself. Pretty much everyone in her vicinity but ESPECIALLY the men thinks she’s incompetent, and completely dismissing her vigilantism, constantly telling her to stop, condescending to her non-stop, and we’re clearly supposed to agree with them. Her relationship with Tim was fraught with misogynistic tropes, from her relentlessly pursuing him like it’s her job to him being one of her #1 condescenders. She gets a teen pregnancy arc by, again, noted conservative Chuck Dixon, where she’s used as a mouthpiece for his pro-life stance. Eventually, she gets made Robin for like six weeks as a consolation prize. A consolation prize for what? Being violently killed off in a crossover event, where Steph, after being fired from Robin in an attempt to prove herself, kickstarts one of Batman’s plans without understanding the consequences, resulting in an all-out, violent gang war where Steph gets tortured to near-death, and then left to die on purpose by her doctor (a character massacre in its own right btw). She does eventually get retconned as surviving the event and hiding out in Africa (don’t ask, it does not make more sense in context), and eventually, things start looking up for her when she’s made Batgirl, after the previous Batgirl (yes, there’s more than one Batgirl) got forced out of the mantle for entirely DIFFERENT misogynistic nonsense reasons. Her Batgirl run has its issues but is mostly pretty good and deals with the lack of support she received from everyone around her. THEN the universe got rebooted entirely (just roll with it) and bc there were a lot of ppl up high (specifically a guy called Dan Didio, who we all hate) who REALLY hated the idea of Batgirls that weren’t Barbara Gordon, Steph not only got forced out of the mantle in favor of a Barbara Gordon (who got magically cured of her full below-the-waist paralysis in one of the worst acts of ableism DC has ever seen and that’s saying a LOT), but for years, there was a complete, editorial-enforced ban on even mentioning her or the other previous Batgirl, Cassandra Cain. This eventually got lifted and she was brought back with a completely mangled backstory. Dan Didio has since left the company and she’s in a better place now, but her character never recovered from All That imo. DC has SO MUCH sexism it’s laughable, and even writing this down I needed to skip or skim over huge examples of misogyny like Barbara’s treatment in The Killing Joke and Cass’s villain arc, but Steph is one of those characters who’s just barely gotten any kind of break ever since she was created. At least Barbara got a cool hero identity which specifically challenged and deconstructed her fridging in The Killing Joke (until she was forced into Batgirl again but that wasn’t misogyny towards her it was ableism) and Cass had a long-running, extremely popular Batgirl solo prior to being character massacred. Poor Steph just gets consolation prize after consolation prize bc nobody can be normal about her for some reason.

2.) what if you were introduced to be Robin’s love interest had the most batshit teen pregnancy storyline rooted in the writers views of women and theeeeen after all that when ur boyfriend quit being robin batman took you in as the next batman only to try and make your now-ex jealous to get him to come be robin again and you never got a real shot at it? what if then he fired you, the first time a robin has ACTUALLY gotten legitimately fired without getting to come back and then died after being tortured for his secret identity? and what if this all happened due to the editors mandating you should die at the end of their massive event and the main batman writer at the time thinking you should get to have “a bit of happiness before he crushed you like a bug” (paraphrasing here but. “crushed like a bug” is a pull). what if the whole reason you were fired is because they didnt want to saddle bruce with more guilt in having another dead robin despite the hand he had in your death. and then what if the year after you died jason todd came back from the dead. but this only brings more attention to the fact that he got a memorial as robin and you didnt in canon writing and also from the editors and writers themselves. and then what if years later it was retconned that you faked your death to recover from your GRIEVOUS INJURIES so then writers wrote basically everyone being “betrayed” by you “faking” your death. and it cheapens everything about your death which was already a fucking misogyny hat trick. and all the emotional depth of your death is gone and you come back and only get to be batgirl because once again editorial is having problems and cant decide which of the previous batgirls should come back for the new run so you get thrown in as the noncontroversial pick. and what if after this run ends youre doomed to be written as quirky teen girl supporting cast member for like years up to literally present day in canon AND fanon and are almost always reduced to a girlfriend, a supportive friend for your exs endeavors in dating men, or the super put together girl to “get [x man]’s head out of his ass” for various men you have to play second string too. and what if you finally get a series with other women and even then are a Quirky Teenage Girl before anything else despite literally going to college over ten real life years ago and its taboo for literally anyone to talk about your death-not-death or your teen pregnancy or any of your various problems outside superheroics, which include but are not limited to: your mother being a recovering addict and you two trying to mend your family, your criminal father, your issues regarding your relationship to family as an ideal, and mothers and fathers, in differing ways because of these things, the fact that you are an underdog amongst underdogs in the batfamily to the point where your relationships with all of them should be much more fraught than in canon, considering the shit theyve said to you, and dont get to have any real relationships to the superhero community outside of them, the fact that youre one of the few in the batfam to never be on a team. And of course, the fact that not only do the people in canon hate you but also a decent part of the writers, editors, and fans do too. and if they dont hate you you still are almost always portrayed as a caricature of yourself. even if you just look at how steph was treated next to jason irt their deaths, steph should EASILY advance in this damn competition.

3.) Literally tortured to death in a sexualized manner for shock value:

“There was some controversy in the fan community about both the character’s death by torture and the fact that even though she served as Robin for a time, she received no monument or memorial in the Batcave during the years of her apparent death unlike the second Robin Jason Todd.[5]

Regarding the former issue, at the 2011 Auckland Writers and Readers Festival, the former Batgirl writer Dylan Horrocks said that the writers were told from the start that Spoiler would die in this crossover and she was made Robin "purely as a trick to play on the readers, that we would fool them into thinking that the big event [War Games] was that Stephanie Brown would become Robin”. The decision was unpopular with both him and Nightwing writer Devin Grayson, and he felt “pleased and vindicated” over the eventual controversy.[6]

Stephanie Brown on the cover of Detective Comics #809 (2005). Art by Jock.

During a Q&A at a convention in March 2007, DC executive editor Dan DiDio responded to questions about the absence of a Stephanie tribute from the Batcave, saying that the official position of DC Comics is that “She was never really a Robin”, despite on-panel claims to the contrary.[7] When Alfred Pennyworth asks if Batman’s acceptance of Stephanie as Robin was conceived by him as only a temporary measure from the outset and constituted part of an effort to lure Tim back to the cape, Batman evades the question. However, when a dying Stephanie asks, “Was I ever really Robin?”, Batman answers, “Of course you were.”[8] However, her memorial has been present in different publications since the controversy arose.[9]“

AKI IZAYOI/AKIZA IZINSKI (YU-GI-OH! 5D'S)

1.) Famously built up as part of a protagonist group during the first and second season, complete with her own tragic backstory and several duels she got to participate in (very important in yugioh), only for a change in the lead writer (who, in some of his other works, literally admitted “he’s not good at writing women”) to occur after the second season, turning her from almost a main character into a literal “benchwarmer” for her duelling team (one of the outtro sequences in the later seasons literally refers to her as that). Fun things included such as: Had special powers in the earlier seasons which she struggled with and learned to control only to lose them for no reason in season 4; went from duelling several times to duelling literally twice during the entire 3rd, 4th, and 5th season, one of which was a tournament duel she lost embarrassingly despite being set up as a very capable duellist before; painstakingly learned a special form of duelling (card games on motorcycles) only to lose the only duel she partook in in this format; was briefly put into a coma (and lost her powers directly after) shortly before two of the male protags GAINED power upgrades; went from an acceptable amount of screentime to a background prop; also, despite being canonically sixteen, standard overly sexy outfit design with lots of cleavage (big tits because of course), a very short dress, and stockings with garters.

2.) She develops psychic powers when she is 8, accidentally injures her father since she can’t control them yet. He calls her a monster, abuses and neglects her, and eventually sends her to a dueling boarding school rather than actually care for her. Other fear her and her powers so she suppresses them and never really learns how to control them. Eventually a cult called the Arcadia Movement recruits her because they want to exploit her powers for their own gain. In the first season she is introduced as a strong duelist with psychic powers, a rival on par with the male protagonist. She also nearly beats the protagonist in duel when they go head to head. She only starts to lose because she starts to open up emotionally about her past and fear of hurting others with her powers.

After this she joins the protags and is a love interest for the main character. They NEVER bring up and develop her backstory and stuff after this EVEN THOUGH this is such a good and interesting backstory. Even though she is introduced as a competent duelist, they reduce her to a benchwarmer on the team. THEY LITERALLY SAY SHE IS A BENCHWARMER IN THE SHOW!! She doesn’t get to contribute to the plot, partake in important duels, or develop her character arc after the first season despite the fact she had so much potential.

Her character could EASILY have been used to explore trauma and exploitation, major themes already present in the show. But sadly they chose to only explore how those things impacted the male characters instead

3.) My poor girl. Her story starts off great, good set up, good characterization. She has psychic powers and her parents did not know how to help her. She ran away from home and joined a cult of people with similar powers. All normal character beats. The main character shows her the power of friendship and shows she has a connection to 4 other ‘signers’ who are suppose to protect against the season antagonist. She starts leaving the cult, talking to her parents again etc because she now knows there are prople who care for her. But thats where her development kind of ends. She learns the leader of the cult was manipulating her but she never really gets to confront him.

By the end of the season, she and the other female signer get sidelined because they doesn’t have the core mechanic of the series, how to play a card game on a motorcycle. Instead they are replaced by a character who was not originally a signer but by the end became one cause he helped.

Season 2 and beyond is shows not much more than that. Except for she has a whole episode dedicated to learning how to ride a motorcycle. The biggest thing about that is we never really see anyone else in the series learn or be uncomfortable riding and while it’s realistic, it’s only her. And in that episode there was like a couple of guys trying to make her fail like? I guess it’s part of the episode of learning and overcoming challenges but why intentionally introduce the misogyny now? I think there was maybe 2 other woman who rode motorcycles in this show which is an overall series problem.

She went from a main character to background as the rest of the story focuses around the main character and his 2 childhood friends for the rest of the series.

Ultimately her story is wasted potential, she started out with interesting character and development but there was no strong follow up. We never see her work through how the cult used her or how it affects her after a first confrontation. She was just left hanging like every other woman in yu-gi-oh. And don’t get me started on the manga. Iirc she gets introduced at the end for plot reasons and nothing else.

[maiz-of-light]

Rant about ableism and censorship beneath the cut, also slight TotK spoilers, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Seriously, if you look beneath the cut and proceed to get offended, you did that to yourself. This is my blog and I will share my thoughts if and how I want.

Hi! In case it isn’t already obvious, I’m annoyed, and I’m about to go into why. Recently, with the release of the Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, a post has been circulating accusing the game of being “riddled with ableism” for its depiction of “body horror” and “medical trauma” - that is, at the very beginning, Link is attacked in such a manner that his arm becomes infected and he loses consciousness. When he wakes, he has a sci-fi, kind of steampunk-y, fantasy arm in its place that was grafted to him while in his coma because, as is explained, the infection was spreading and his life was at risk. Or, in summary, a dead arm was grafted to him without his consent.

When you put it that way, it sounds pretty dark - and fuck, I’m not arguing that, at all. What salts my onions, lads, is that the game is being described as “ableist” for not containing specific trigger warnings.

Guys. What the fuck.

For starters, have you not seen the trailers? The demonic mummy with the glowing red eyes? The animation of Link’s sword arm wreathed in what we now call “gloom,” followed by footage of him examining that same arm and it is clearly not the same? Goddesses help me these were the earliest fucking trailers, too. If you’re not smart enough to put two and two together then chances are you were never smart enough to enjoy a game created to challenge your problem solving and puzzle solving skills in the first place.

If, on the other hand, you hadn’t watched the trailers beforehand, and got triggered by some unmentioned content afterwards, that’s your problem. You are responsible for your own triggers - for knowing what they are and for scanning content prior to engaging. You don’t click on a fic with mention of alcoholism, skip over the CW in the notes, then harass the author when you stumble upon the line/scene/paragraph containing said alcoholism-centric content. Creators are not obligated to tiptoe around you. In other words, if you have bad triggers, consider not playing a brand new video game before you have any idea what it’s about.

Before you call me “ableist” or “insensitive,” let me tell you a story. I won’t mention any details, as trauma dumping is not something I do, but I will state that I have an official, professional diagnosis of PTSD. I have triggers, specific ones, that send me spiraling into severe panic attacks if I don’t catch them in time and deal accordingly. And do you know who’s responsible for that? Me. I don’t get to police content creators, what they share and how they share it. I am responsible for curating my own media experience, and if someone isn’t comfortable accommodating my specific triggers, preferences, etc., I can choose not to engage. Nothing, nothing bothers me more than when people appropriate my disability, either to get their way somehow or to score brownie points and make themselves look “considerate.”

As for Link’s little fantasy medical procedure - yeah, he lost a limb. It happens. It sucks, and for some it can definitely be triggering - but like I said, all the signs are there. Complaining that all the trailers, leaked footage, advertisement, etc. somehow wasn’t enough is whiny and annoying, and entitled, and as I’ve mentioned feels like it’s mostly coming from non-disabled individuals shooting for a “woker” image. Get therapy and let the rest of us enjoy this awesome new game and affiliated content without having to hear a bunch of pointless, wannabe-woke carping.

[fluentmoviequoter]

The Slayers

Pairing: Tim Bradford x fem!cop!reader

Summary: Vampires begin attacking people in Los Angeles, and as the chosen one, it's up to you and your partner to stop them.

Warnings: mentions of being shot, discussion/depiction of drugs, typical The Rookie warnings, spoilers/references from Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Word Count: 2.8k+ words

A/N: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Rookie 4x05 "A.C.H." mixed in my mind and this is the product. (This isn't set at Halloween though.)

Masterlist Directory | Tim Bradford Masterlist | Request Info/Fandom List

“I can’t believe I just witnessed Tim Bradford get shot,” you muse as you exit the liquor store, pushing the handcuffed shooter toward the shop.

“I didn’t mean to!” the man says.

“You have the right to remain silent, and I’d suggest you take it,” Tim snaps.

“I think he’s mad,” you whisper as you open the back door. “Watch your head.”

After the door closes, you press your lips together and look over the hood at Tim. He points at you, a silent warning to stay quiet.

“Are you okay?” you ask. “That bullet hit you right in the throat.”

“It was a NERF gun.”

“Right, sorry, that cartridge hit you pretty fast.”

“Drop it,” Tim warns.

“I’m just worried about your health, Tim. Getting shot isn’t easy.”

Tim rolls his eyes and waves you off as he enters the shop. You join him in the car, and when he looks over, you raise your hands as a promise won’t bring it up again... for now.

“7-Adam-15,” Nolan says over the radio. “Unknown… 11-2… bite!”

Tim furrows his brows as he watches the radio. Nolan sounded upset, but the audio cutting in and out worries you more.

“Nolan, repeat that?” Wade requests.

“One suspect in custody,” Nyla answers. “We need an RA. The suspect- he bit somebody.”

“That’s not weird,” Tim murmurs.

“Sergeant, he’s got fangs and there’s too much blood for one bite,” Nyla adds.

“Sending additional units now, Harper,” Wade radios. “RA’s en route.”

“Did she say fangs?” you repeat. Tim reaches for the radio, but you snatch it to ask, “Nyla, are you at Sunset and Highland?”

“Just north of it,” she replies.

“We can’t respond,” Tim points out. “This genius needs to get to booking.”

“The trigger was faulty!” the man behind you defends.

“The trigger was plastic.”

“No, Tim, this is just starting,” you state.

“What?”

“Fangs, blood, biting? Tim, that was a vampire.”

Tim narrows his eyes at you before he scoffs. The wannabe liquor store thief behind you whimpers, but you know better than to push the subject. Hooking your finger under your hidden necklace chain, you can only hope that a vampire sighting in the middle of the day isn’t a bad omen.

“Bradford!” Wade yells as you exit booking. “We’ve got over a thousand calls about sightings, attacks, and assaults. Whatever this is, it started somewhere.”

“Whatever what is?” Tim asks.

“Have you been listening to your radio?”

“More vampires,” you say. “Any leads?”

“Not a single one.”

“Were Nolan and Harper the first to make contact with the vampires?”

“Yes they were. Do you have an idea?”

“They were less than a block from Bar Sinister,” you begin.

Tim raises his hand and cuts you off to say, “Don’t start with this again. Location relative to a bar doesn’t give people fangs and make them bloodthirsty.”

“Tim, most of the people who frequent Bar Sinister have sharpened or enhanced canines to look like fangs,” you point out. Turning to Wade, you ask, “Are they actually biting people?”

“Yep,” Nyla answers from behind you. “Drinking the blood and everything.”

“It’s gross,” Nolan mumbles.

“The bar sounds like the best starting place we’ve got,” Wade decides. “You four go check it out.”

“And when we find that it’s just a bar and have no idea where the blood drinking is coming from?” Tim challenges.

“Hellmouth,” you remember.

“From Buffy the Vampire Slayer?” Nolan inquires. “I loved that show.”

“No, not the Hellmouth. It’s a newer drug, making its way to high-end buyers.”

“How do you know that?” Tim asks, his brows pinched.

“A friend of mine, Tan, he worked vice back when Hellmouth had just started. It’s a combination of oxy, anti-psychotics, and some unregulated hallucinogen,” you explain. “Those medications in combination, excess, even, might disrupt the brain enough to make someone thirsty for blood.”

“I’ll let narcotics know,” Wade responds. “For now, get to that bar and find out if it’s ground zero for Hellmouth.”

“How do you know all of this?” Tim asks as you return to the shop.

“I do my homework,” you answer lightly.

“Yeah, and you’re a vampire slayer,” Tim replies sarcastically.

“It seems like we’re both slayers now.”

“Well, that was a waste of time,” Tim complains as you return to the shop after the most recent dead-end lead. The sun has set, but your end of watch is nowhere in sight. Now, there are even more bloodthirsty civilians on the streets of Los Angeles.

“What do we do now?” you ask, looking into the dark alley.

“You tell me, slayer.”

You nod and pull the silver necklace chain under your uniform. “Which makes you Angel, my dark, mysterious helper.”

“Sure,” Tim answers, preparing to pull out and return to patrol.

“Who I shouldn’t kiss but really, really want to.”

Tim’s eyes widen, and his fingers curl tighter around the steering wheel. His triceps flex, popping beneath his sleeves, as he pushes against the wheel, unsure what to say or how serious you are.

“That’s not… we should,” Tim begins. “Actually, you, uh-“

“Tim,” you interrupt. You reach across the car and place your hand on his forearm. “I’m sorry. I’ll stop.”

“Okay,” Tim whispers. He nods to himself as he repeats, “Okay.”

You turn toward your window and hesitate before you say, “Uh, Tim?”

“What?” he asks, his arm tensing under your hand.

“There’s a vampire at the window.”

Tim looks over quickly, your hand sliding from his arm. The man nearing your door has sharpened canine teeth, and a thick red substance drips from his chin. When he raises a hand, prepared to break your window, Tim yanks the gear shift into reverse and presses the gas pedal to the floor.

“7-Adam-19,” you radio urgently.

“Additional units and RA en route,” Wade replies before you finish.

“Any word from narcotics on where this is coming from?” you inquire as Tim leans over the wheel to watch the man.

“Nothing. They’re not even sure what it is, but they’re tracking your Hellmouth lead.”

You return the radio to its place on the dash and raise your phone. “Screw this, if I’m the slayer, I’m getting our answers.”

“Do it quickly, because he’s not alone,” Tim says.

You look up, your finger hovering over your phone screen. There are at least half a dozen men now, and you have no idea how to stop them.

“Got any wooden stakes in your war bag?” you joke, but it comes out as a desperate last resort.

“They’re still people. We can keep them contained.”

“Until when? Sunrise? Tim, without knowing what they’re on, we’re blind in this.”

“Then be a slayer,” Tim answers. “But do it quickly!”

“C’mon, answer,” you plead softly. The call connects, and immediately, you say, “Does Narcan work on Hellmouth?”

“What?” Tan asks.

“Victor, we’re dealing with vampires, answer the question!”

“Hellmouth doesn’t always respond to Narcan, it depends on the chemical makeup. If there’s an opiate, yes, administer it.”

“And if I don’t know what’s in it?”

“What’s going on down there?”

“Right now, I’m trapped in a shop with six high vampires outside. How’s your day going?”

“Hellmouth wears off quickly, either the ingested blood dilutes it, or the body starts shutting down,” Tan explains. “It shouldn’t take long.”

“Okay, thanks, Tan.” After you end the call, you tell Tim, “We can wait it out or try to get to all of them with Narcan.”

“We wait,” Tim decides quickly. “But we need to know where these drugs are coming from.”

“I have a bad idea.”

“Don’t get out of the car.”

“I’m going to get out of the car.”

Tim says your name, but you exit the shop and raise your hands. “You guys don’t want to meet my friend in there,” you call. “I’ve got a silver cross around my neck, but he’s a whole lot meaner than me.”

The men stop, and one collapses before he begins convulsing on the ground. It’s wearing off, you think. Within a minute, all of them have slowed or fallen. Tim exits the shop and radios for the ambulances to meet them on the scene.

“Where did you get the drugs?” Tim asks the last conscious vampire.

“Bar Sinister,” he groans. “It was initiation night.”

Tim’s jaw clenches, and you smile as you taunt, “Told you so.”

“LAPD!” Tim yells as he enters the bar.

“Hands up!” you instruct. “Everybody!”

“Officers,” the pink-haired bartender says with a tired sigh. “I can assure you that our liquor license is up to date.”

“And the illegal drugs turning people into vampires?” Tim asks. “Is that license up to date?”

“Initiation?” she asks. “That’s a placebo, it’s just a sugar pill.”

“What?” someone demands across the bar. His fangs make it sound like waff?

“How often do you do this initiation ceremony?” Nyla asks.

“Once a week, sometimes more depending on the crowd size. We did it two nights ago, had about two hundred people through that night.”

“Grey,” you radio. “How many people have we brought in on Hellmouth?”

“About 150,” he replies.

“That means there’s fifty more,” you realize. “We need to confiscate what’s left of the drug.”

“Oh, uh…” The bartender fumbles for words before she blurts out, “I gave them to my boyfriend, and he sold them.”

“How many?” Tim demands. “How many did he sell?”

“About a hundred pills to five or six people,” she answers quietly. “I swear I didn’t know what was in them.”

“What’s your boyfriend’s name?” you ask. When she shakes her head, you add, “You don’t want to get any more involved in this than you already are, what’s his name?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“I love Los Angeles,” Nolan murmurs to himself.

“What’s he go by?” Nyla asks.

“Spike,” she says. “Like-“

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” everyone in the bar finishes.

“You’re never riding in my shop again,” Tim tells you.

“Um, excuse me, officer?” a woman huddled in a booth by the door calls.

You nod to Tim before you approach her, and she gestures for you to come closer. With you squatted beside her seat, she leans forward to whisper in your ear.

“Spike didn’t sell them. He’s keeping them for himself,” she says.

“Why?” you ask softly.

“He saw what they did and thought, you know, that he could use them for something.”

“To make more vampires,” you guess. “Do you know where Spike is?”

“He’s in a house in the hills, I don’t know which one.”

“He can afford something in the Hollywood Hills?”

She shakes her head and mentions that he’s housesitting for a family member whose name she doesn’t know. “What I do know is that he owns this place. We don’t know his real name, but it must be on some kind of record or something, right?”

“Thank you…” you begin, hoping she’ll tell you her name.

“Buffy, and, yes, it’s my real name.”

“Thanks, Buffy.”

“Narcotics is here,” Tim alerts. “Folks, you’ll have to give a statement before you leave tonight. If you choose not to, there’s a nice holding cell where you can spend the night and enjoy your vampire daydreams.”

“Guys, I’ve got something,” you tell Tim, Nolan, and Nyla quietly. “Spike’s in the hills, and his real name is on the property records as owner.”

“A wooden stake would’ve been easier,” Tim grumbles.

“Spike, man, hey!” Nolan yells. “It’s been too long.”

“Do I know you, bub?” Spike replies.

“I thought he was Spike, not Wolverine,” Lucy murmurs at your side.

“He’s insane,” Nyla corrects.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Nolan continues, approaching Spike on the sidewalk. “But there’s so much filth inside your head, ain’t no room for the words of truth. Right? Listen, I’ll let you think about whatever you want, but I need some sunny in my dale, you know what I’m sayin’?”

“He’s laying it on a little thick,” Lucy says.

“It’s kind of creepy how much he sounds like Caleb,” you mumble. When Nyla looks at you, you ask, “Am I the only one that watched the show?”

“Yeah, I gotchu,” Spike replies. “We’re just down the hill from the Hellmouth if you want to see it?”

“Love to,” Nolan agrees, discreetly signaling you to follow him.

As he joins Spike on the sidewalk and walks up the hill toward Spike’s aunt’s house, you drive slowly in the dark SUV. Tim and a Metro team are waiting at the house, but if anything goes wrong before they cross the property line, it's your job to handle it.

“Grey said our two hundred vampires are accounted for and receiving treatment,” Nyla says, reading a message on her phone. “So, once we’ve got Spike and the rest of Hellmouth, we can finally go home.”

“And do it all again tomorrow,” you add cheerfully.

“Hey, what freaked Tim out so much earlier?” Lucy inquires. “When we got there to take in the six vamps, he was totally off his game.”

“Well, one of them snuck up on us. Plus, I implied I wanted to kiss him even though I shouldn’t,” you answer without looking away from Nolan and Spike.

“Implied?” Nyla repeats, barely concealing her smile.

“We’ve got to move.”

You exit the car to stay behind Nolan and Spike on foot. When they reach the top of the hill and see the officers waiting, Spike turns quickly.

“As much as I’d get a big laugh watching Bradford kick your skinny, white bum, and as much as I know I can give you a little bum-kicking myself right now, I’m here to tell you something: you’re not even worth it,” you quote, leveling your gun on Spike. “And you’re under arrest.”

He furrows his brows, and you sigh in the realization that he doesn’t understand the references either. Maybe I’m the chosen one in this generation, you think.

“Where’s the rest of the Hellmouth drug?” Nyla asks after reciting his Miranda rights. “They’re going to search the house anyway, so if you tell us now, you might save yourself some trouble.”

“In the urn above the fireplace,” Spike admits. “It opens clockwise.”

“Whose urn?” Lucy asks. “Wait, no, I don’t want to know.”

“Bradford,” you radio. “Spike’s in custody. Hellmouth is in the urn over the fireplace, which opens clockwise.”

“Nice work, Buffy,” Nolan tells you.

“Wait, you’re Buffy?” Spike asks.

“Not happening,” you and Nyla exclaim together.

“I want a lawyer,” Spike demands.

“How’d you know all of this stuff?” Lucy inquires.

“I’ve heard about Hellmouth before, it’s unique enough that it wasn’t hard to piece together. And Bar Sinister was on my beat when I was a rookie. They used to know me in there, I could just walk in and high five a few people to respond to noise disturbance calls.”

“And kissing Tim, your Angel?” Nyla teases.

“Is something that I probably need to apologize for. Again.”

“Tim, wait up!” you call, jogging through the station parking lot.

When he turns, you stop suddenly and blink in surprise. Two white fangs glint in the streetlight above you, and though you can tell they’re fake, it still catches you off guard.

“Cute,” you murmur. “Look, I’m sorry for all the teasing and the comment about kissing you. It just- I guess it was my way of dealing with a weird day.”

Tim shrugs, and you offer your hand to shake his. He takes your hand, holding it rather than shaking it.

“Do Buffy and Angel end up together?” he asks clumsily around the cheap mouthpiece.

“I’m not spoiling the show for you. You’ll have to watch it for yourself.”

Tim smiles before he pulls your hand. You try to catch yourself rather than run into his chest, but Tim’s arm wraps around your waist and keeps you close as he dips his chin and kisses you. The plastic fangs hit your bottom lip as you raise your hands to hold Tim’s jaw. Tim moves with you, both of you forgetting about the fangs as you get lost in one another. When you pull back, breathless, Tim removes his hand from your waist and removes the mouthpiece, sliding it into his pocket for another time, you’re sure.

“So,” you begin slowly. “How’s your throat?”

Tim shakes his head and tightens his arm around your waist.

“Sorry,” you apologize. “Want to go watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer? You’re going to love Giles.”

“I’ve been shot, attacked by vampires, and had to dig through an urn to find illegal street drugs today, and you’re going to suggest we watch that?”

“You said you wanted to know who Buffy chooses.”

“I want to know what you are choosing,” Tim says, his eyes dropping quickly to your lips.

“I think you know,” you answer, laying your palm against his cheek. “But let’s try this without the fangs and I’ll let you know for sure.”

“Getting shot in the throat hurt less.”

You roll your eyes and push yourself against Tim’s chest to kiss him again. He might be quiet and mysterious at times, but you and he both know, in this moment, that he’s all you’ll ever want.

[kudosmyhero]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) Micro: Villains #4: Alopex

Read Date: April 10, 2023 Cover Date: July 2013 ● Writer: Brian Lynch ● Art: Sophie Campbell ● Colorist: Sophie Campbell ◦ Heather Nunnelly ● Letterer: Chris Mowry ● Editor: Bobby Curnow ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● I love Alopex as a character. I'm really curious to see where her story arc leads ● she's brutal

● oh fuck… Shredder promotes her, but also burns down the forest. she attacks him ● actually manages to draw Shredder's blood ● she gonna fuck Shredder up one of these days ● 👏👏👏👏👏

Synopsis: Alopex has followed four Foot Clan ninja who are trying to sell clan secrets to a high-powered businessman and wannabe ninja. She takes out the man's two security guards and then the man himself. The four Foot ninja stand on guard. She tells them to hold up. She says they all know she's going to win, so to make it an actual challenge, she agrees to fight blindfolded if they each agree to fight with four weapons which happen to be the same as the Turtles' weapons (she apologizes to whoever gets the bō staff). Alopex tells them they deserve their fate, since they betrayed Master Shredder after he took them in to his clan. She takes them out one by one. The last one begs for his life, telling her she can keep the money if she just lets him go. She says there is no escape from the Foot and she kills him.

After burning down the building to destroy the evidence, Alopex returns to the Foot's headquarters. She passes Bebop and Rocksteady in the hallway. Master Shredder is waiting for her. He tells her that the conflict with their enemies is escalating and they need to consolidate their resources. In the morning she will accompany him to clean up one of their old research facilities in Fairbanks, Alaska. She knows it well; it's the place she was mutated, it's the area where she lived in her former life.

Upon arriving in Fairbanks, Alopex asks to be allowed to take care of the job on her own. She searches through the research facility, searching for any useful supplies and planting bombs to destroy it. After going through the entire place, she sees a rabbit outside and the sight of it brings her back to her old life. She remembers living with her pack and helping provide food for them. She tries to fight the memories back but they keep coming. She remembers the polar bear that kept all of the other animals in the area in fear, forced to hide in order to survive. Suddenly she sees a normal arctic fox run past. She smells something burning. She runs towards the source of the smell and arrives to see Shredder and Foot ninja burning down the woods. Shredder tells her that this is her final initiation and she is now a chūnin within the clan. He tells her it is time to let go of her past so that she may embrace her future; Shredder tells her he is proud of her. At that moment Alopex snaps and attacks him. He orders the other Foot ninja to stand down so that the two of them may handle it on their own. Alopex manages to draw blood. She tells him that he already had her loyalty; that his was just a senseless act of violence. Shredder smiles. He tells her it was his idea to mutate a fox to use as a soldier. He beats her to the ground and tells her to remember her place: with the Foot Clan. She wants to fight him off, but she knows there is no escape from the Foot.

On the way back to New York City, Alopex comes to terms with what has happened. She vows to be Shredder's most valuable asset, to remain close by his side. In this new life of hers, he is the bear now, whom all live in fear of. But this time, she plans on killing the bear.

(https://turtlepedia.fandom.com/wiki/Alopex_(IDW_issue))

Fan Art: Alopex by BakaMeganekko

Accompanying Podcast: ● Shellheads - episode 46

[callmebrycelee]

9-1-1: LONE STAR REACTION

This reaction is for the season 4, fifth episode "Human Resources" which originally aired February 21, 2023. This episode was written by Molly Green and James Leffler and directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá. Spoilers ahead!

***LAST TIME ON 9-1-1: LONE STAR***Carlos finds held captive by a serial killer and his mother. TK and Gabriel join forces and investigate his sudden disappearance. Carlos almost dies after he is injected with a lethal dose of morphine. TK revives him and the serial killer and his mother are taken away by the cops. Meanwhile, Owen meets up with Sgt. O'Brien and he learns he is indeed one of the good guys. The two of them are kicked out of the Honor Dogs and the FBI no longer has use for either of them. We end the episode with a hooded figure, presumably Andy, building a bomb using the stolen ammonium nitrate. 

Now that we're all caught up, let's discuss episode five - HUMAN RESOURCES.

We begin the episode at a remote location where we see several department store mannequins positioned around a parked yellow school bus. Our hooded, bomb-building, wannabe terrorist from last episode uses a detonator to blow up the bus while Mozart's "Lacrimosa" plays ominously. A hiker (Nick Hope) happens upon the scene and is immediately shot dead.

Title card!

We next head over to the 126 where we see Owen trying to convince a man named Mitch (Jamison Webb) to purchase his motorcycle. Mateo pipes up and tells Mitch that motorcycles are called donor cycles due to the high mortality rate of their owners. This dissuades Mitch from making the purchase and he walks away much to Owen's disappointment. Marjan asks him why he's selling the bike considering he's only had it for three weeks. Owen tells her that he's ready for a new challenge. Hopefully his next challenge doesn't involve a white supremacist group or terrorism.

Owen says he has another potential buyer stopping by and tells Mateo to keep his mouth shut. A young woman walks up and comments on his fine-looking machine. Owen tells her that she would look smoking hot on his bobber. The woman (Amanda Payton) introduces herself as Asha Fulton - the department advocate from the Professional Standards Division of the Austin Fire Department Internal Affairs. Also known as Human Resources. HR. Yikes! It's not a good look sexually harassing the person who is coming to investigate a recent complaint lodged against the 126, Owen! Asha tells Owen she wants to speak with him privately. 

At the 9-1-1 dispatch, Grace receives a call from a little boy named Linus (Mason Bloomberg) who is struggling to get through his homework. In an absolutely adorable scene, Grace teaches him a mnemonic device to help him remember his multiplication tables. We get to hear Grace sing and I must say she has a lovely voice which is not entirely surprising since Sierra McClain comes from a family of singers. Linus thanks Grace for her help and the call comes to an end.

Meanwhile, Asha sits down with Captain Strand and asks him about the culture at the 126. Owen tells her that he maintains a professional, diverse, and inclusive environment and challenges her to take a look forself. Asha then brings up the 126's reputation for having a 'cowboy culture'. Owen thinks she's referring to Pearce Risher (Andy Favreau) - former paramedic at the 126. What follows is a hilarious montage featuring each of the 126 firefighters and paramedics being questioned by Asha. The scene is very reminiscent of the police interrogation scene in the 9-1-1 episode "Ocean's 9-1-1". Tommy refers to Pearce as a "disgruntled prima donna whose departure was mutual". Owen calls Pearce a 'coward' and Judd refers to him as a 'jerk'. Asha asks if name-calling is part of the culture at the 126 and Nancy asks if she's referring to 'lard-ass' which is a reference to the episode "Impulse Control" (season 3, episode 14) where a character named Al (Larry Joe Campbell) got stuck in a drive-thru window and the 126 used pig fat (lard) to pull him out. 

During the line of questioning, Asha asks Paul if they know each other and Paul says he doesn't believe so. Asha asks Owen if there are any other instances where an insult or slur was directed at someone in the field. Mateo mentions a call where Owen called someone a "woman-beater cuck". This is a reference to the episode "Spring Cleaning" (season 3, episode 17) where a woman and her kids were accosted by her abusive ex-husband. There's a pretty funny moment where Nancy attempts to explain what a cuck is and then Tommy comes behind her and says that Owen only called the man that because he was trying to goad him into punching him so the cops would have an excuse to arrest him. Poor Asha! She must be so overwhelmed by hearing all of this information! TK then says that Owen would never do anything that stupid again. 

When Asha asks if there is anything else she should know about, Marjan talks about how Owen has rebuilt the 126 twice and how he brings out the best in all of his firefighters and therefore if he has done something wrong, his intentions were good. Asha then drops the bomb that the inquiry is not about Captain Strand - it's about Marjan. Marjan, like myself, is confused as to why a complaint was filed against her. We are then reminded of the events of this season's second episode "The New Hot Mess" where in the opening scene, the 126 responds to an emergency involving a woman's mobile home being hijacked by her ex-husband. Marjan recounts the steps she took to rescue the woman. She talks about how she repelled out of a helicopter, crashed through the woman's ceiling and pulled her out. Asha reminds Marjan that while attempting to get the woman out of the trailer, she called her a "crazy lady. Asha asks Marjan why she felt the need to use language like that and Marjan says that she was trying to get her to move along so she could get her out of the trailer. Asha says the woman felt unsafe during the rescue. Marjan scoffs at this information and Asha reminds her that the term 'crazy' is a slur and that as a first responder she should be invested in the emotional well-being of the public just as much as the physical well-being. Asha tells Marjan that jeopardizing emotional and/or physical well-being is a serious offense. Marjan asks if she's in trouble but we don't get an answer right away. 

Back at the 9-1-1 dispatch, Grace gets another call from Linus who is attempting to make macaroni and cheese but burns it. He is worried about getting in trouble because the casserole dish he is cooking in belonged to his great-grandmother. Grace asks if anything is on fire and Linus tells her that everything's okay aside from the burnt macaroni and cheese. Grace is relieved and tells him that he shouldn't be cooking by himself. Grace asks Linus if he has school today and he tells her that his mom stayed home because she has another headache. Linus's mother, Janet (Hayley Chase) comes into the kitchen and chastises him for calling 9-1-1 for a non-emergency. While speaking to him, her words are noticeably slurred and Grace picks up on this. Janet takes the phone from her son and apologizes to Grace on his behalf. Grace assures her that everything is okay. At the end of the call, Grace seems bothered by the interaction.

We head back over to the 126 and see the crew debrief after Asha's questioning. They all hope that Owen is not in trouble but Marjan tells them that she's the one who is in trouble. Marjan tells them about her calling the woman they rescued 'crazy' and the funniest part of this scene is that Nancy responds by saying 'that's crazy'. Judd asks Marjan what her punishment is. Marjan tells him that she won't know anything until the Internal Resources board has had a chance to review all of the facts. She tells them all that her punishment could be a slap on the wrist or something worse. Marjan starts to spiral a bit by saying that she had no right to call the woman 'crazy' since she is not a mental health expert. She's justifiably upset because she's worried that everything she worked for is about to be flushed down the toilet. Owen hears her going off and tells her he wants to have a word with her. 

Owen tells Marjan she needs to be very careful about what she says because he doesn't want her to end up in even more trouble. It's weird hearing Owen say this considering most of the controversy surrounding the 126 is a result of something he has said or done. Owen tells her that he's been where she's been and has ended up in the crosshairs of HR before. Marjan points out that she called someone a mean name and Owen punched out the deputy fire chief - Billy (Billy Burke). Right on, Marjan! Owen tells Marjan there is good news and that good news is that they want to meet with her and him at headquarters to discuss the matter. Marjan wants to know how this is good news and Owen tells at least this means they're not going to drag the process out. Owen tells her that he has her back. When the alarm goes off, Owen tells Marjan to stay put at the firehouse. Marjan is angered by this but Owen tells her that he doesn't want anyone in the field whose head isn't completely in the game - which is understandable. I see where Owen is coming from but I also see Marjan's side as well. Before he hops on the firetruck, Owen tells her to be in her dress uniform at five o'clock. As the truck leaves, we see the guy from the beginning of the episode standing outside of the firehouse. 

After the commercial break, the guy heads into the firehouse and asks Marjan if Captain Strand is around. She tells him that Owen is on a call and asks if there's anything she can help him with. He asks if she's Firefox and he tells her he's a big fan. He tells her that he started following her on Instagram shortly after the attack on the capital the previous year. He asks if the 126 was there and she says yes. He then comments that the 126 always seem to be involved in the big emergencies. He then tells her he's a veteran of the Army and that he wants to submit an application to the 126. Marjan tells him they don't have applications but she can get him an interest card. While she leaves to go get it, the guy takes one of the radios. Marjan hands him the information and he thanks her before leaving. 

Back at the 9-1-1 dispatch, Grace goes to talk to her boss, Sara Ortiz (Michelle C. Bonilla). Grace tells her that Linus McKinley called back again. She tells Sara that Linus was not at school and that his mother was asleep in the other room while he was attempting to cook macaroni and cheese. Sara asks Grace what she's thinking. Grace plays the 9-1-1 call and points out that Linus's mother was slurring her words. Grace then tells Sara that she pulled Janet's file and saw that she had a DWI six years ago. Sara asks Grace what she thinks they should do. Grace suggests doing a wellness check but Sara points out that doing so could result in child services being called in which could then lead to a myriad of other trouble for Linus and his mother. 

Marjan and Owen meet with Asha, Lila Geralds (Ashley Rae Spillers), and Lila's ex-husband, Mitch (Jamison Webb). Lila announces that she and Mitch have decided to reconcile and they are not interested in destroying Marjan's life. Owen is here to ask the important questions. He asks how Mitch is not in jail considering he kidnapped Lila and put the 126 and the general public in danger when he decided to drive their mobile home down a highway. Mitch says that he was given a fine. Marjan takes a moment to provide a heartfelt apology to the Geralds however they want her to make a public apology via her Instagram while also tagging their GoFundMe. Owen objects to this but Marjan tells them that she has zero issue with posting the apology on her Instagram. However, she does take issue with asking her followers (her 5 million followers) for money. The Geralds tell her that's okay but if she refuses to follow through with their demands, they have no problem continuing the legal process. I hate them!!!

Marjan looks at the video the Geralds have made for their GoFundMe and tells Paul, Mateo, and Nancy she feels conflicted. Paul and Mateo think she should just make the video and tag the GoFundMe but Nancy thinks she should take a stand. Paul and Mateo point out that Marjan was the one who drove to Owen during the snowpocalypse last year to shame him into signing the apology letter and how her situation is the same. Marjan points out that it's not the same because she's actually apologetic whereas Owen wasn't. Paul reminds her that the 126 needs her but Marjan tells him that her followers need her even more. She tells him that so many of her followers are young and they look up to her and they respect her for being exactly who she is. She's worried about compromising her integrity.

We head over to the Ryders' residence and see Grace, Judd, and Baby Charlie who is just so adorable. While Judd relays the story of how Marjan got in trouble, Grace seems distracted. Judd gets her to open up about what's bugging her. She tells him about the two calls she received from Linus and how his mother was slurring her words on the call. Grace wants to check in on him but is worried about child services getting involved. Like Marjan, Grace is trying to figure out if she should follow her intuition or follow protocol. Judd being the good husband he is, suggests that she follow her intuition. He tells her to go check on the son and if everything's okay, then it's no harm, no foul. 

Grace drives over to the McKinleys' house with Judd and Baby Charlie in tow and Linus answers the door. They hear Janet collapse in the other room and Grace goes to check on her. She finds Linus' mom unconscious on the floor so she calls the 9-1-1 and then calls Tommy. Tommy asks her to check to see if Janet's pupils are responsive. Grace turns on the flashlight on her phone and checks to see if Janet's pupils react to the light. The right eye is responsive but the left one is not, which is a sign of a stroke. Judd takes Janet to the car and the five of them, including Linus, drive to the nearest hospital. I have to say, it was interesting seeing Grace, who is usually cool as a cucumber during an emergency, panic. She even snaps at Tommy which is very out of character for our favorite Lone Star dispatcher.  

At the hospital, we find out that Janet is going to be okay. They were able to remove a blood clot and restore blood flow before any permanent damage was done. The doctor tells Grace that she and Judd were able to get Janet there in the nick of time. If they had showed up 20 minutes later, it would have been a completely different story. Grace is relieved and she apologizes to Tommy for losing her cool. Tommy is such a good friend in this scene. She doesn't hold it against Grace because Grace is human and she was in a situation she typically would never be in. 

We next see the creepy guy from earlier being given a tour of a renovated apartment. The building's owner (Aaron Coleman) asks him if he's married. The guy responds by saying he is married and has a son who is 6 years old. Putting two and two together, this has to be Sgt. O'Brien's nephew, Andy, who went missing after he joined up with the Honor Dogs. Andy (Brennan Keel Cook) tells the owner he's not interested in purchasing the space after all but he does manage to open one of the windows before he leaves. The 126 respond to a fire at the same apartment building where we last saw Andy. Marjan and Paul enter the building via the top floor and they find a man who is refusing to exit the building. His actions are very similar to Lila Gerald's which makes Marjan second-guess herself and her actions. Paul ends up knocking the guy out so they can carry out of the building. Hopefully he doesn't end up in HR! By the way, it should be noted that while the 126 was responding to the fire at the apartment building, Andy was watching the whole thing unfold from the safety of his car. 

Speaking of Paul, he goes to see Asha to talk to her about Marjan. He tells her that Marjan is his best friend and that he is there to file a complaint. He tells her that what the department is demanding of Marjan is not an apology. It's extortion. He tells Asha that the Geralds are simply trying to make money off of Marjan's name. He says that Marjan is one of the best firefighters he has ever known. He begs her to do the right thing. Asha tells him that she's going to leave her tablet "unattended" while she leaves the room. Paul reads the confidential email Asha drafted in defense of Marjan. Asha tells him that five minutes after she hit send, the AFD called her to tell her they are not interested in a lawsuit from Lila and Mitch Gerald. So, either Marjan gives in to the Geralds' demands or else she will have to face dire consequences. Paul thanks Asha for going to bat for his dear friend. 

Asha finally remembers where she knows Paul from. They were in the same sixth grade class. Back then, Paul knew her by her first name - Jasmine. When she moved to Texas she started going by her middle name, Asha. She said she had an identity thing which Paul says he can relate to. He asks her how she remembered him and she tells him she never forgets a smile. Asha tells him that he hasn't changed a bit and my, oh my can I feel the chemistry forming between these two! Hopefully we get to see Asha in the near future because my boy Paul needs some lovin'!

Marjan films her apology video for Instagram but rather than tag the Geralds' GoFundMe page, she calls them greedy opportunists. She goes on to say that she cannot work for a place that forces her to compromise her integrity. Her final statement in the video is that she is resigning from the Austin Fire Department. Marjan shows the video to Owen and he tells her that she shouldn't post it. She tells him it's too late. Owen tells her that he's mad at her but more than anything he's so proud of her.

In the final scene of the episode, we see that Marjan has purchased Owen's bike. He hands over the keys and we watch as the rest of the 126 says goodbye. Paul looks especially saddened to see her leave. Marjan tells TK that no matter what, she will be back for his and Carlos' wedding. Seeing Marjan hug Nancy was especially touching because it made me realize just how close these have gotten over the last few seasons. Paul tells Marjan that he loves her and she tells him that she loves him, too. Marjan puts on her helmet, gets on the bike, and drives off into the proverbial sunset. 

This episode was a nice palate cleanser to all of the terrorism, kidnapping, and serial killer drama we got in the first four episodes. As much as I love Owen and TK and Carlos, it was nice to see them take a step back so we can focus on Marjan and Grace. I love the message of this episode. Sometimes in life we have to go with our gut, even if it means putting our reputation and livelihood on the line. Even though Marjan had to quit the fire department to follow her intuition, it was nice to see her family support her decision. 

I don't know how long Marjan will be gone but I suspect she'll be back sooner rather than later. I hope they don't try to replace her like they did Chimney on the OG series. It would be nice if we got to see the others learn how to cope in her absence. Something tells me that Marjan will come back just in time for the culmination of the plot involving Andy and all of the ammonium nitrate he stole. Hopefully Marjan doesn't blame herself when she realizes that she invited him into the firehouse. I'm so anxious to see what happens next. The first third of the season has been wonderful. I hope the next two thirds will be just as great! Until next time ...

[autumn-ginkgo-leaves]

Imagine being desperately in love with someone for hundreds of years and then her reincarnation keeps doing this