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theerurishipper · 10 months

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Ladynoir and (In)Equality

For me personally, the most important thing in any relationship is that both partners are equals in that dynamic. I think that's a reasonable expectation to have. And Ladynoir did fulfill that requirement for me in the first 3 seasons. Even though Ladybug did most of the leadership stuff by making the plans and directing Chat Noir on what to do, it was understood that this was a mutual agreement. They both understood what they were good at, and their dynamic evolved accordingly. Chat Noir was content to follow her lead and Ladybug was content to make the plans and direct Chat Noir.

Season 2 saw the introduction of the inequality that shattered this balanced dynamic between the two, and quite frankly the later seasons only made it worse. It started in Syren, as we all know, where Chat Noir first expressed his displeasure at being left out of the loop when Ladybug was privy to important information that was being kept from him. Of course, Master Fu arrived to barely smooth things over before the issue was dropped for the season and never brought up again. Their dynamic remained as it was, but the cracks began to form here.

The introduction of Ladybug being the Guardian in Season 4 changed this established dynamic, obviously, and Ladybug began to give the Miraculous out to other holders. Keeping Chat Noir out of the loop began to become her MO, and she effectively replaced him with Rena Furtive in all but name. The central conflict of the season was the cracks forming in their relationship because of her new responsibilities and her secret keeping. And the resolution to this, as stated in Kuro Neko and Risk, is that even if he's no longer her partner, she still likes him best.

Now, the previous Ladynoir dynamic was one of equality, where they knew their roles and acted upon them. They were equals, and Ladybug's leadership in their pair was an informal one, one that was mutually agreed upon by them. The introduction of the Guardian role for Ladybug changes this from a mutually agreed upon dynamic to one where Ladybug is, for all intents and purposes, his boss. She is officially his leader, in the sense that if she so wished, he would be obliged to hand his Miraculous over to her. In the sense that she would be well within her rights to replace him if she so desired (which she does do). She is his superior, and he is no more important than the other temporary holders, with the sole exception that he holds his Miraculous permanently (which has now been exacerbated by the fact that all of them are permanent holders now).

Chat Noir received a demotion for no fault of his own, which he did not want, and someone else was promoted to replace him in the position he once occupied. Rena Furtive is Ladybug's special partner. Chat Noir is not Rena Furtive's equal, and he is definitely not Ladybug's equal.

This is not about a woman making more money than a man. She isn't just more successful than him, and this isn't about him being insecure about her being better than him. The problem is that Ladybug is Chat Noir's direct superior, and she has power over him. She has the power to call him when she needs him, and if not him, she'll get someone else. She has the resources to figure out his identity without him being none the wiser. She has the power to replace him if she wishes. Far be it from him to allow her to lead of his own accord, now he is obliged to follow her orders. She has the power to control what he knows and how he acts, and she has the power to keep vital information from him.

None of this is inherently "bad." But when you look at it from the context of them being on a path to a romantic relationship with each other, that's where the problems begin. Two people in a relationship should not have a dynamic where one has so much power over the other. Ladybug has so much power that she is able to slide a third teammate into their partnership and slowly push him away from his role at her side. She, quite unfortunately, can and has abused his trust because she had the resources to do so. The only opportunity he had in Season 4 to make his own choices that were not dictated by Ladybug's rules was when he quit. The final takeaway from this Ladynoir conflict is that Chat Noir is her favorite subordinate now (because Rena Furtive has replaced him), and just because they aren't equals anymore doesn't mean she doesn't want him around.

And, no, this was not corrected in Season 5. Season 5 was a return to their original dynamic, not because Ladybug and Chat Noir worked around this new shift in their relationship to find a way to overcome this new power imbalance. It's because Ladybug's power was forcibly taken away from her by a third party, and the only reason Chat Noir is her special partner again is because there is no one else left. But the end of Season 5 sees everyone come back, as permanent holders no less, and Chat Noir is once again demoted to his role as "just another holder like any other."

With the establishment of the Ladybug and the Black Cat Miraculous as two halves of a duo, equals in power, you'd expect them to be, well, equals. Me being upset about the inequality of these characters isn't with regards to screentime, or my wish for Adrien to be the main character or anything. My wish is for Adrien to be a character of his own. My wish is for the show to stop promoting such unhealthy dynamics as cute and fine. If they had simply made Adrien's role out to be the love interest, if they had just literally made him Ken who is content with just being Barbie's trophy boyfriend from the very beginning, if that was all his role has ever been and was meant to be from the start, I wouldn't be complaining so much. But the one they reduced into the role of Marinette's prize, the one over whom she has so much power, is the abuse victim whose arc is about self-actualization. And it paints a very disturbing picture. That far be it from Chat Noir to expect any kind of equal treatment from Ladybug, he's going to have put aside any discomforts or issues he has with their relationship to settle for being her favorite by virtue of nostalgia.

And it's just... bad, on a narrative level. Despite its ambitious introduction of so many plot points, the focus of this show has always been its romance. The main narrative goal of the series is for Ladybug and Chat Noir to get together. So, when your narrative hinges on these two characters getting together, and you decide to introduce such a power dynamic into the mix, saying "I still like you," isn't the fix that it's cracked up to be. If they are supposed to be the relationship around which the show is built, Chat Noir should be Ladybug's special partner, he should be her equal and not just another holder whom she likes better than everyone else. Ladynoir's relationship is directly tied to their partnership, and their dynamic as partners is the basis for any future romantic relationship between them. Introducing such an inequality between them in their partnership does affect their ability to be able to get together, and not in a good way.

This isn't a bad plot point. I like Ladybug being the Guardian, I like that they didn't just brush off the fact that there would be some changes in their dynamic. What I dislike is the way it was resolved, with Ladybug essentially saying that they would never be equals but she still likes him. A power imbalance does not a healthy relationship make. Ladynoir do not have a relationship where they are both completely aware of everything they should know. Chat Noir really cannot do anything in their dynamic, because Ladybug has all the control over everything. It's Ladybug controlling this information and Chat Noir accepting that he'll never be treated the way he wants to be treated, because he's been conditioned to believe his feelings don't matter. And she never did end up correcting this, and the conflict as it is ended with him forgiving her for everything even though she never apologized, and accepting that this is how it's going to be.

And it's not good. This isn't the Ladynoir I signed up for, honestly. I signed up for the Ladybug who accepted Chat Noir unconditionally and the Chat Noir who supported Ladybug through everything. I did not sign up for Ladybug trying to pull a Gabe and Chat Noir only being her emotional support who suppresses his own needs for her. The Ladynoir conflict and its less than satisfying resolution caused irreparable damage to the Ladynoir dynamic (it's irreparable because the writers don't see a problem with it and so they'll never fix it), and this has only continued into Season 5, which said "why fix it when I can make it worse."

#MLB #Marinette Salt #ML Salt #Meta #My meta #I know it's too late to be ranting about Season 4 when the Season 5 finale exists #But I needed to say it #Ladynoir conflict

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ego-meliorem-esse · 1 year

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I present to you my years long obsession - female America.

This is not a Nyotalia version it's just a concept of "what if everything is the same but Alfred was born a girl". Like i see so much potential! In a world where all the odds are stacked against her, she despite it all gets to where she is today. Making good and bad decisions along the way.

A lil hc/backstory for my main girl:

• Given name (by dad Arthur) is Elizabeth Felicity Kirkland but during the revolution changes her last name to Jones. Her first name change happens in the 1820/1830s when she changes it to Alexandra, also dropping her second name. (I was young when I came across the name and it means "defender/protector of man" and I was /obessed/ so i just stick to it since she is a loser and just thinks it's a cool sounding name)

• She goes by Alex/Al and I think that's neat :)

• My girl is tall. Like 181 cm tall. Sender but with visible muscles. She does want a bigger behind but her Anglo-Saxon genetics say nah.

• As a child she spent more time in England due to her being a girl so I think even if Arthur was absent he didn't allow her to spend much time alone in the colonies. She resents that ofc

• Just like with Alfred, Alex is very fkn close to Matt even if she forgets to call him or check up on him for months at a time. Al: "Hey man I know I just called a while ago but how've you been? Matt: "you called me 5 months ago..."

• Works at NASA as a part time aeronaitical engeneer. Loves physics, hates chemistry (self projection im sorry)

• During the revolution she dressed up as a boy but the people she worked with knew she wasn't one. People went along with it anyway.

• Other than during the American revolution, she dressed in feminine presenting clothes up until the 1930s. After that it was trousers all the way!

• Alex was never a nurse during wartime but definitely did accountaint work in ww1 and later joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) where she stayed until 1943 when she joined her men fighting on the ground ( Conversion to Army status, Women's Army Corps - WAC). That's when she saw actual combat.

• Isn't fond of birds. Canaries are fine. Eagles are unsettling.

• Obsesses over a certan thing/hobby at a time up to a point where she perfects her skill. When she was about 14 (human years) it was the whole freedom and equality of man and all the politics regarding it. In the 1890s her obession was cars and motor vehicles. The 1910s brought a new obsession on womens rights. 1960s was space exploration where she devoted almost all her time researching and working for NASA, disregarding her goverment/state duties as a country. In the 1980s it was the internet. In 1990s she got really interested in the Balkan wars (self insert >:)) for whatever reason. Today her attention is mostly on social media and her attention span ia short af. Still really likes all things tech.

• Hasn't got many properties/real estate. Al does own a penthouse in Seaport, Boston and a late 17th and early 18th century colonial home in Newbury, Boston (that she needs to renovate asap). The only other real state she owns is in California, though modern and recently buit, it's not big nor does she spend much time there.

• Her personality is basicaly Alfred if he grew up as a woman and had to face opression based on sex and inequality that came with it. So still bubbly, extroverted, a social butterfly but also self-serving, idealistic, manipulative sprinkled in with sarcasm, cautiousness and craftiness. Same feckin sense of humour tho.

• In 1783, at the Treaty of Paris in Versailles both her and her father had to sign the document that started her independence (She herself had a human representitive 'cus of her age/sex bla bla but it was mostly formalities). At that signing Arthur gave her a flintlock pistol that he himself used in the 1640s. Not many words were exchanged, he just put it in her hand to keep. She still has it in her attic. Somewhere. She'd find it if she just takes the time to look for it I'm sure.

• In 1889 she straight up did her first war crime/murder of a fellow nation (if you don't count shooting her pops face off at Saratoga in 1777). After an altrication with Antonio that resulted in him insulting and slapping the girl for her audacity and mouthiness, she punched him straight in the jaw. A fight insued where she got ahold of his belt and straight up strangled him. Took her a while to process that and accept it. On the bright side Antonios scilence was heard around the world and while perplexed and insulted, older and influential (mostly male at that point) nations started to feel a glint of respect forming for the young startup.

• Al was given a family pocket watch by her father in the 90s (No more empire for Arthur so he sad :(((((( ) that was suppoaed to go to a firstborn son of a lord as an inheritance symbol. Everyone thought Jack would get it since Matt is techincally not Arthur's son. But even he would be expected to recieve it before Al. Then in an unexpected turn of events, while visiting her grumpy and nostalgeous empire-missing dad, Arthur pulled out the watch while eating stale kebabs in front of the telly and gave it to her casualy without as much as a word (The empire started with her, it shall end with her). She keeps it in her work desk drawer in a wooden box.

• Al and Zee have an interesting relationship. While being different in almost every aspect, there ia a mutual respect for eachother from eachother. While not really being able to see eye to eye, they are sisters in a certain roundabout and very fucked up way. Girls who learned that they are very much judged by their sex despite being daughters of a high ranking British lord. While aware that she will never be Alex/Elizabeth in her fathers eyes, Zee still gets treated as a treasure by her father. Much to Zee's annoyance.

• It's still Matt who's in Alex's shadow. Despite the dificulties she rises above and is the perfect child of an empire. Smart, intelligent, inquisitive, a fast learner and incredibly aware of the political and historical situation at all times. Even despite being a girl and less than a son in the eyes of a 17th/18th century society, she suceeds.

• Arthur wanted a son to come from his colonial endeavours, as all empires/nobility at the time did. And as all other empires at the time had. But ofc karma is a bitch and he's the only empire with an only child being a daughter. Though at first thougrly dissaponted, when he lays his eyes on his daughter for the first time, the only emotion he can feel is /joy/.

• Instead of sowing/knitting Al's education was very much focused on natural sciences, since that is where Arthur quickly realized she exels at. He swapped her Violin and General History of Music lessions with Astrophysics and The History of Astronomy. All in an attempt to stop her from making his ears bleed from the constant prattling about The Four Square Theorem or The Brachistocrone Curve. It only got worse, but his daughter was happy and content.

I have sooooo many more of these jfc i might do more later but for now this is all I can think of.

TLDR: Female America is great and has so much potential as a character hghhhhhhhh

#i needed yo get this out here eventually #its just so faacinatingghh #also no glasses us 1 i cant draw em for ahit and 2 ber sight is relatively good #she looks a bit like arthur but thats on purpose i think #oh welllllll #hetalia #hws america #aph america #nyo america #nyo!america #nyotalia #my art #myart #historical hetalia #alfred f jones

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familyabolisher · 5 months

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Elaborate on poor things? Haven’t seen it, just curious

i think caden does a great job at getting at the heart of a lot of its problems here. some of my own thoughts on top:

for a piece which clearly wants to work with the materials of frankenstein and dabbles in broader gothic tropes especially in its final plot beats, it really just -- it wasn't very fucked up at all! i think probably the worst thing we saw happen was bella killing a frog in the first half hour. the gore was unspectacular and the plot was profoundly low-stakes -- the film utterly fails in crafting any kind of a sense of tension, such that you're never really afraid for (or of!) bella, never seriously concerned that something bad is actually going to happen. it was all just a fun little romp through europe.

the humour was either just straight-up asking the audience to laugh at how a character telegraphed as disabled moves and communicates, or, like, marvel-type jokes that felt unnatural and forced. i don't think a single joke landed for me. it's not a black comedy because it's not black enough and it's not a straightforward comedy either because it is simply not funny. a better version of this film would've been a) more fucked up and b) funnier, with those two elements complementing one another very well, but -- well. Sad!

lanthimos thinks that making big, unwieldy gestures towards every discourse of the nineteenth century he can think of is the same as interfacing with them at the narrative level. we've got: science and religion! class struggle! sex work! humanism! enlightenment idealism giving way to socialist thought! misogyny! we've got class inequality and a very faint outline of imperialism, helpfully telegraphed by showing some starving brown people on-screen in a yellow filter for all of about five seconds. but none of these are actually engaged with -- they're thrown in as empty signifiers, as if to say, very vaguely, It's The Late Nineteenth Century, Big Ideas, We All Know About Those. nothing changes in bella's material conditions at the end of the film, save for like, the presence of her Black lesbian socialist lover. that's not engaging with what Blackness, lesbianism, socialism ought to problematise about bella's life and worldview; it's tacking the fact of those things on as a footnote and calling it development.

speaking of enlightenment-style idealism, the film makes very little effort to problematise bella's desire for self-improvement, and how that self-improvement comes about specifically through becoming articulate and acquiring greater motoric skills. as i said, the film takes a turn towards (very shallow depictions of) socialist thought once the action shifts to paris, but the underlying suggestion that bella's 'self-improvement' to the ends of making herself, essentially, less disabled was to her benefit is never challenged. this combined with the extent to which the film's aforementioned shit humour rested heavily on expecting the audience to laugh at bella speaking and moving oddly or saying something out of place &c. left a v nasty taste in my mouth.

the premise is stupid sorry. like it's just utterly inane. frankenstein for the most unimaginative people alive. for that matter, most of the plot beats are ridiculous and lazy -- the final arc, with the arrival of her old husband and the return to her old house, was very much giving "the deadline is at midnight and we still need to fill this last half hour and we've got nothing to put here so let's just whack out the first plot we can think of." like, it was incredibly rushed, ridiculously heavyhanded and patronising, and unable to add anything of substance to the piece (which, to be fair, nothing in that film was at all substantial, So Like).

it's misogynistic slop with a lazy plot and no real interest in engaging with the ideas it vaguely raises for five seconds. it's aesthetically decent, i guess, but like ... anything can be aesthetically decent. it's v easy for a film to look pretty and apparently v difficult for it to actually do anything substantial.

#ask

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hacked-by-jake · 9 days

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SPOILER

So...I just I just ended the first episode of Moonvale (and my thoughts on some point I already express it)....when I saw the screen glitching at the end and Alan bodycam's recording the backpack...I IMMEDIATELY knew it was Jake...

THANK YOU EVERBYTE FOR MAKING JAKE SURVIVE 💚💚💚💚💚

I have still some point I would like to talk with you... like what Charlie have to tell us?? Maybe he knows Jake?? Or Richy?? And I still have question form Duskwood... like I would like to know if Phil got discharged from prison?? Who gave Hannah our number and why??

And for the Everbyte dilemma...I really hope they would change the game purpose and restore the Duskwood idea's of the package for the all game

When I saw the first glitch, I was like "Wt-" and then the second glitch came and I immediately knew what is going to happen and my 'Wt' ended with "OH MY GOD!" I immediately started gasping and almost wanted to throw away my phone with excitement. Then it said "new message incoming" and the next second I saw Alan's cam and was a bit confused at first and then I was ready for everything.

At first I actually thought we're going to see Alan chasing Jake through the forest which would have been sooo cool as well but I loved how Everbyte decided to do it. It was seriously everything needed and wanted. 😩

I never thought they would make him die but still, always a little worry in the back of my head. But now I'm just a silly little happy fangirl and this ending have me so much motivation and I love it.

About the thing with Charlie, I link you this post here because I have already talked in much more detail and I certainly can not remember everything I said. And it would only be a repetition.

But I can say that I have absolutely no idea what this means. I have so many questions and theories in my head but somehow I don’t believe in most of them myself.

Just another really mean Everbyte thing to give us this grudge and then to say "Yes, see you later, we’ll talk about it again in the next episode" and then we have to wait and worry again. It really is torture!

And I’m pretty sure we’ll get things answered. As long as they have not forgotten this promise as well...

But no, I think the side story will definitely not be too short and we will have to deal with it in the next episodes and hopefully find out everything. I mean, Everbyte took good care of Duskwood, I hope they brought that to Moonvale.

Personally, I would much rather have a real premium version again, even if I’m sorry for those who can’t afford it. I don’t want to have such inequality and such an advantage but as we have noticed now it is still not so easy to get through the game without paying money. No one is happy about it, and makes it unfair either way.

While some can buy gems, others can’t, it’s simply unfair to everyone. And I also hope that Everbyte will change their mind and bring back a little more from Duskwood.

Everything that has happened is still a bit confusing to me and even if I'm calmer, the disappointment is still there. And I really hope they will give us some of the Duskwood vibe back.

Otherwise, I just hope that you also liked the story of Moonvale itself and that you had a really nice game experience besides of everything around it.

And of course, thank you a lot for sharing your opinion with me/us. I really enjoyed reading it and it's especially wonderful to see other people being happy about Jake as well. 🤭

Have a wonderful day/evening/night! 💚

#jihobixarmy #moonvale #moonvale thoughts #moonvale game #moonvale episode 1 #moonvale episode 1 spoiler #moonvale spoiler #moonvale criticism #moonvale jake #duskwood side story #duskwood jake #hbj mv x dw answers #hbj mv answers #everbyte studio #everbyte game #everbyte moonvale #moonvale everbyte

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redhead-batgal · 7 months

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I hope you do oh miss believer part 3 sometime soon! It’s ok if you’re not feeling that story anymore tho <3

Type: Fic

Part One: Here, Part Two: Here

Pairing: Fem! Vigilante! And Meta! Reader x Damian Wayne/ Robin

Content: Violence, language, flash backs, depressive thoughts, angst, and aged up Damian/reader to 16/17 yrs old

Word Count: 2,573

(P.S: Soooo I can try to write a reaction of the bat fam to the end of part one, or I can write the next part of this one next time. Let me know what y'all want in the comments please! also get ready for some fun angsty angsty times)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are many things in this world that seem unnatural. Paradoxes or impossibilities. People tend to fear the unnatural, to ostracize it and even harm it. Regardless of whether or not said impossible and unnatural thing is living- regardless of if it's human.

To humanity, unnatural things were to be feared and destroyed. They were threats, in a way, to the "peaceful" society that had been created through blood shed and inequality. A society that has classes and impoverished people that kept growing and growing; saw things they deemed unnatural not worthy of life. Why is that? Why does such a society fear so greatly the unnatural, the unknown and impossible?

It seemed to you that they feared the unnatural because the power of mystery gave it. Because what they do not know, they cannot control. And if they can't control something, it cannot be a part of society. Which unfortunately meant you were left on your own; fighting to survive against an environment that deemed you a danger. Even more unfortunately, for society at least, you had bad habit of becoming everything everyone feared you'd be.

An unnatural danger, set on destroy the society that cast it out.

How very, very natural, right?

You could still remember the very first time someone deemed you unnatural- unworthy of comfort in this shitty shitty world.

You must have been no older then six, out scrounging on the streets for pity coin you could use to help your parents out. A rattied hat made from old newspaper by your side as you made your misty and small illusions appear. Desperate for anyone to take an interest. Unsurprisingly, the person who did was anything but kind and far from merciful.

The small boy had shouted at you, laughed, sneered and beaten you to a bloodied pulp. Stealing all of the meager change you had managed to earn as he called you a witch over his shoulder bolting away.

While this was your first actual encounter with such people, you were not surprised. Your mother had warned you of such people.

"Vicious monsters," She had said beginning to explain why you had to be careful in the world, "they like to prey upon those they deem weaker, those who they think are unnatural and strange."

She shook her head as she continued to knit, though somewhat sloppily, "They don't like people who they can't control, they don't like that you're different."

You looked up at her with wide eyes as you tilted your head and she paused. She let out a soft sigh before setting down her knitting and pulling you into her arms.

"My sweet little miss believer, this world is going to be cruel to you simply because you exist. There's nothing your father or I can do to stop it other then pulling you in close like this and letting you know they are wrong."

She rested your head against her chest as she began to rock slightly squeezing you in her arms as she softly began to hum.

"They are wrong because you are a darling gem. A wise and wonderful girl who should not let the world push you down."

Cupping your face in her hands she smiled, tears lining her eyes, "You are my little miss believer, you know many things and have such faith. Do not allow these people to cause you to lose that faith. Faith in your father and I, faith in humanity, faith in your own skills or just merely faith in yourself."

Her words rang far too deep into the truth. Scars, both physical and emotions covered your body the older you got. But you still had your mother and father there, to nurse your spirit back to its brightness... until you didn't anymore.

The night was dark and growing colder and colder by the minute. Your father had disappeared merely a week before and you did not plan on letting him stay gone without answers.

Lurking around the usual street corners you heard the crackling of thunder and through the dense musty smell of Gotham's streets, you could smell rain. Sweet and clear, dancing in the clouds yearning to be released. Pulling your jacket in closer, you slipped down an alleyway, hoping to find answers and remain unseen. After all you had a reputation for causing trouble amongst the rouges and criminals, and tonight was the last night you needed trouble to catch you once again.

Though you had not heard of any rogues causing any chaos, you knew better then to trust the night would remain silent. It's current silence sent shivers down your spine. Silence was a deadly tool, used to confused and trick the naive into false senses of security. It was a tool you yourself had used and yet- something about tonight's silence made you on edge.

Looking around you almost sensed danger as the hairs on your arms stood on edge. Your heart racing as the silence screamed into your mind. Just as you had settled with yourself to finally venture home, a hand clamped down on your shoulder.

A shriek of sorts almost escaped you and you turned to find your fuming mother.

"Y/n! I thought I told you to be home before eleven?"

Though startled you merely blinked, allowing your mother to drag you back down the alleyway, towards the way home. Your heart hammered in your chest. Regardless of all your broken promises to come home on time, your mother had never- ever come out looking for you.

"Mom," You said, finally finding your voice, "what are you doing out here?!"

Your mother froze tilting her head a scowl of sorts on her face with dropped almost instantly. She let go of your hand and slowed to a stop, looking you over she sighed, taking a moment to tuck your hair behind your ear.

"I was worried, I heard that one of the nastier rouges was out tonight and I didn't want you to be out."

At first a wave of warmth washed over you. It, however, turned icy cold as you processed the rest of your mother's sentence.

'One of the nastier rouges'

Your heart skipped a beat and you grasped onto your mother's hand. Swallowing you met her gaze and forced a slow breath out.

"Mom, which one did you hear was out?"

It took her a moment to reply, as her brow furrowed, and she squeezed your hand.

"The Joker."

Your heart actually stopped, you struggled to breath as news reports and alley whispers raced over your mind.

"I heard that the bats pissed joker off so he's shooting for a big one this time."

"I heard that he lost Batman's attention and wants it back."

"Well, I heard that he's finally sick of his cat and mouse game and plans on taking as many civilians as possible with him when he goes."

Finally breathing again, you pulled your mother forward. Heart racing as your mind screamed to run. Your legs began to pump, your mother stumbling to keep up behind you her soft protests barely catching your ears.

"Shit- oh shit, mom we've gotta go."

You had just come up on a corner, knowing once you went down the alley just by here, you'd be two blocks from your complex. It didn't help though, your heart hammered to quickly you could hear your own heartbeat without even thinking about it.

"What? Honey," Your mom began shaking her head and causing you to stop, "it's fine we're almost home and-"

Your mouth began moving before you could stop yourself and you began pulling her again, finally rounding the corner, "No mom you don't understand this guy has been amping up his attacks recently and-"

Just as you did you came face to face with a goon in white makeup and a sinister red smile. He raised something strange, and time seemed to slow as you heard him pressing on a trigger.

"Y/N!" Your mother's shout echoed in your ears as she shoved you to the side.

You tumbled towards the ground screams ripping from you as you watched a fine mist encompass her entire face, "MOM NO!"

The mist faded as a blurry figure slammed the goon into the ground. Your mother slumped slightly as you darted to her side, her body shook, and you looked her over trying to find any damage only to hear a bone chilling sound.

"Ha-ha-ha."

You trembled as your mother raised her head, a large sinisterly familiar smile on her face.

"Mommy? Mommy, no. Please, no. NO!"

A jolt of sorts raced through you as you opened your eyes. A bright light slamming straight into them and sending spots racing across your vision.

"Aw, look," A mocking voice began, "our little Houdini's finally awake."

A piercing ache began at the base of your skull as you forced yourself to sit up. Faintly recalling your last moments, as rain poured down and you made the choice to finally let go.

Blinking you pressed a hand to your face, a sloshing of sorts following you as you found yourself immersed in a small pool of greenish water. Wincing you tried to look around the room- to understand where you were and what was going on.

Your eyes slowly adjusted, revealing that you were in a small cavern of sorts. A woman in a strange outfit stood nearby as a man in a dark clothing loomed over you. You watched as the woman motioned at someone just beyond your view muttering things you could not here.

"Hello there little one," the man began capturing your attention, "I am glad to see you're awake."

You swallowed feeling the headache fade slightly as you shifted. These people and this place did not seem familiar. You too a slow breath looking down to see your own hands and body before looking back up.

"Who are you?" You whispered, your voice cracking, throat dry and aching.

The man smiled, but something about it made you uneasy. He merely stared at you, replying, "A doctor of sorts."

You paused furrowing your brow, "So I'm not dead?"

The man- doctor- whatever he was laughed as he took a step back. Making temporary eye contact with the woman behind him. She had an odd look about her and you could have sworn you spotted a cat like mask before the man captured your attention again.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like shit," You replied wincing again as you stepped out of the pool rising to your feet, "is that normal?"

He tilted his head, "In a sense yes."

His short responses had your mind racing, he was being so vague and something- something about all of this just seemed off.

"Uh okay. Then is fine to assume I'll get better right?"

The man nodded as the woman smiled at you. You narrowed still not entirely understanding what was going on or what had happened. You were sure that the fall would have kill you and- and you could still remember the impact.

"Wha-" You began as a wave of defenseness washed over you, "what is going on?"

"Whatever do you mean little Houdini?" The woman asked her eyes glinting.

"Who are you? Where am I? How am I still alive? And what the fuck happened?"

Your demand echoed in the cave like chamber causing the woman to smile even more. She even began to laugh and the man stepped in-between the two of you.

"Just please calm yourself, Y/N L/N. All will be explained soon."

You locked your jaw, a buzzing of sorts climbing up your chest as you began to grind your teeth. Tingles raced across your hand, a tell tale sign your body yearned to release some engery. To produce the false images and twist the illusions into exsistance.

"When?"

The man paused before the sound of footsteps approached. He went still and so did the woman behind him. A wave of fury rose up in your chest, were you such a fuck up you even fucked up dying? Was it possible that something else was going on? Regardless of your current internal turmoil you needed answers.

"Would someone please answer my fucking questions?!"

Just as your frustrated shout escaped a new woman walked into the room. she breezed past the first and stopped right in front of you. Allowing you to get a good look of her and a better grasp of the situation. She was dressed in a green and gold trimmed dress, her dark brown hair spilling around her face, dark skin and sharp bone structure that screamed Arabic descent. And her eyes, her bright- familiar green eyes stared at you with a curious gaze.

"I would be happy to, Y/N."

Something about her- whether be her eyes, her voice or face- something seemed familiar- so familiar you let your guard down.

"Where am I?"

The woman smiled, "Safe in my home."

It wasn't entirely a bad answer, but once again a vague one. And despite your concerns on where you were at you had to know one thing.

"How did I survive that fall? I just can't wrap my head around it."

The woman went still before she softly laughed moving a bit closer to you, "You didn't."

You froze as you answer caused your breath to stop, "What?"

"You didn't survive. In fact, that fall killed you, you died."

"But- wha- how? Am, am I dead?"

"Not anymore, but you were."

"I was- what do you mean I was dead? How can that be possible?"

The woman's smile deepened, and she took a step even closer, "You're not asking the right questions."

Grinding your teeth, you met her gaze and raised your chin frustration and desperation climbing up your throat, "Fine, who are you then?"

"Much better, I am Talia."

Something about that name set off warning bells in your head and your stiffened, allowing your guard to rise as you eyed the woman.

"Where am I? I want specifics."

"The league."

Your blood went cold as a realization began to dawn on you, "The league?"

"Yes, the league; assassins, shadows, what have you. You, are at one of the bases for the League."

"And- and-"

"I am Talia Al Ghul, and I brought you back to life."

You went still as everything began to click into place. The green water, the man and woman nearby, the vagueness- how you are alive, and you looked at Talia swallowing. The familiarity. This was Damian's mother, the person who you died trying to run from.

"You brought me back with the pit?" You whispered your voice trembling and cracking.

"Unbeknown to my beloved, son and the rest of his rabble, yes... so any more questions?"

You swallowed as your world began to scream and burn as it crashed down. They- they thought- no they knew you had died and- and no one would come save you this time. You were on your own you were alone.

You shook your head, refusing to let your voice tremble, "No."

"Good, because I have a lot of work for you..." Talia paused looking over her shoulder to the other woman, "what did cheshire call you? Ah, yes. Little Houdini."

Digging your nails into your palm you tried to calm your breathing as Talia tucked your hair behind your ear smiling.

"Let's get to work my Little Houdini."

Tag List:

@andromedaj2003 @thomasbeloved @instabull @zvtanna @daemonnix96 @krswrites @thefallingstarlights @masset-fotia @rrowwii @ssak-i @legendarylearner18

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dekheinjee · 1 year

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I rarely see anyone talk about chapters 62-64 so I'm going to do it myself. Be prepared for a VERY long post (and possibly full of grammar mistakes). These chapters are severely slept on which I don't understand because it shows us a different side to Albert's character and how special his relationship with Liam is.

We all know that Albert has always hated how this world worked. He hated how there was no equality anywhere, especially as he saw firsthand how much his family cared about status, how they tortured their servants, and then he found out a close friend of his was only friends with him because Albert came from a family of high status. At first he tried to bring change in the society he lived in by forgiving a thief and paying for all his previous crimes. Then he covered for that thief from a nun when he was trying to commit a crime again. But then that man goes and kills someone so Albert starts second guessing if he really could bring any good change in this world. He then concluded that this world truly was as rotten as his father and brother claimed. And this thought depressed Albert so much to the point that he was ready to end his life because he felt he was too useless. But at the end he couldn't gather up the courage to do it and this made him feel worthless too.

But after that, he met William and Louis. And he saw something in Liam that made him think he wasn't alone. He felt like he had finally met someone who shared the same thoughts he did.

They start to get talking and discover they have the same motives. The only difference is is that Albert had given up hope on changing how the world works but William hasn't. In fact, he had actually made progress by winning that trial in court. Besides this, Albert also saw how William was always solving everyone's problems and making their lives slightly better and easier. That's what attracted Albert towards William.

This is why I think their relationship is so pure. William gave Albert the courage and energy to take action on what he's always wanted to do. That's why Albert made his family adopt Liam and Louis.

A year after, Albert grew more and more tired and frustrated with his family. The way they cared so much about wealth and status and how they couldn't bring it in themselves to have even a little bit of sympathy for the poor.

But he found himself unable to take the first step he needed to get rid of his family. And that's where Liam came in.

Liam gave courage to Albert to finally get rid of the people who have been frustrating him, the people who are responsible for allowing this system of injustice and inequality to keep on going.

But as we all know, when he's all grown up, Liam starts to feel all the burden of what he's doing. This is what I love about his character by the way. It's how Liam (and Albert) knows what he's doing is a sin, he knows this is not the honourable way to achieve his goals, but he's aware this is the only way to do it. Albert tried it another way when he was younger, by forgiving that thief, but it didn't work out. So Liam knows this is the only way to do it, and he's ready to be the bad guy and take all the blame after all this is done.

After he made society better, full of kind hearted people and unity, he started to feel the burden of his sins. Even though he's aware he did a good thing, he knows it is still a sin. That's why he tries to end his own life (but then Sherlock saved him and made him see things in a different light but that's a different topic).

And after all this, while Albert is in prison, he starts to wonder if he's responsible for Liam taking his own life (because at this point he, or anyone else, isn't aware that Liam survived and is living in New York with Sherlock). He starts to feel guilt too, and starts feeling worthless again. He blames himself as he wasn't ready to take the steps needed to make his goals a reality, he need Liam to lend him courage.

So Albert starts to blame himself for what happened to Liam. He feels guilty for making his hands dirty, as Liam is the one who executed almost every single plan even though him, Albert, and Louis all were lords of crime.

This panel is just so beautifully sad. Liam tried to solve everyone's problems, he tried to make everyone's lives better. But Albert feels like he only became the lord of crime because of him, and that's what made him so depressed and suicidal.

As he's thinking all this, the door to his prison room opens and William makes an (dramatic lol) entrance. And he convinces Albert that he's not responsible for what happened. William was going to execute his plan of making the world a better place one way or another.

Liam expresses after this how grateful he is to have someone like Albert, how grateful he is that he found someone who could carry the burden of this sin together, and claims he himself is the weak one rather than Albert.

He also claimed he's selfish. He and his brothers were all lords of crime, they all shared the same responsibility of this sin, but Liam wanted to escape this burden and that's why he decided to kill himself. It was done because of his ego.

But he's realised that this was no way to atone for his sins. The only way to do it is to actually live, not just kill themselves to escape it. Albert agrees with this and that's why both him and Liam agree to live and atone, even though they're both aware that the shackles of this burden will never leave them.

All of this makes their relationship so deep and meaningful. The way both of them regretted the way the acted with each other and both of them convincing the other that they weren't in the wrong. And both of their sides are understandable. I think it's beautifully written. This is why their relationship makes me so soft (and why I prefer them over William and Louis even though the latter had a beautiful relationship as well).

Anyways, if you read till here, I love you. I'm aware this post has gotten too out hand jdjsjsk but I enjoyed writing it and I hope you guys liked reading it. Let me know what your thoughts are on this, I'm happy to read different opinions (although just be respectful about it lol. Can't believe I have to say this but some people can get too heated and disrespectful over sharing their thoughts).

#yuukoku no moriarty #moriarty the patriot #william james moriarty #yuumori #yuukoku no moriarty meta #Moriarty the patriot meta #yuumori meta #yuumori headcanons #ynm albert #albert james moriarty

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beacedocrime · 28 days

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Welcome to

Artemis reads:

(JONATHAN IS BACK!!!!!)

"Then write now, my young friend," he said, laying a heavy hand on my shoulder: "write to our friend and to any other; and say, if it will please you, that you shall stay with me until a month from now."

"Do you wish me to stay so long?" I asked, for my heart grew cold at the thought.

I want to personally stake him through the heart actually

and besides, while Count Dracula was speaking, there was that in his eyes and in his bearing which made me remember that I was a prisoner, and that if I wished it I could have no choice. The Count saw his victory in my bow, and his mastery in the trouble of my face, for he began at once to use them, but in his own smooth, resistless way:—

While reading, externally, I was calmly sitting in a café, reading on my phone.

Internally, I was (and still am) turning the Count into a pincushion.

One of the letters was directed to Samuel F. Billington, No. 7, The Crescent, Whitby, another to Herr Leutner, Varna; the third was to Coutts & Co., London, and the fourth to Herren Klopstock & Billreuth, bankers, Buda-Pesth.

Oh, I wonder what sort of importance these people might have in the future. Which ones might be there just to fill names and which ones might actually appear.

"Let me advise you, my dear young friend—nay, let me warn you with all seriousness, that should you leave these rooms you will not by any chance go to sleep in any other part of the castle. It is old, and has many memories, and there are bad dreams for those who sleep unwisely. Be warned! Should sleep now or ever overcome you, or be like to do, then haste to your own chamber or to these rooms, for your rest will then be safe.

Oh, gee, I wonder what could be so dangerous about going to sleep around the castle. Surely Jonathan isn't going to fall asleep on a couch partly just to spite Dracula.

I quite understood; my only doubt was as to whether any dream could be more terrible than the unnatural, horrible net of gloom and mystery which seemed closing around me.

I love this man far too much for my own good, how am I gonna withstand the later entries when just this sentence makes me feel so bad for him.

Jonathan Harker why are you so lovable aghhhhhhh

I am beginning to feel this nocturnal existence tell on me. It is destroying my nerve. I start at my own shadow, and am full of all sorts of horrible imaginings. God knows that there is ground for my terrible fear in this accursed place!

I knew this was gonna start affecting his psyche sooner or later

I looked out over the beautiful expanse, bathed in soft yellow moonlight till it was almost as light as day. In the soft light the distant hills became melted, and the shadows in the valleys and gorges of velvety blackness. The mere beauty seemed to cheer me; there was peace and comfort in every breath I drew.

Yes, yes, grab whatever shred of happiness and joy you can find, and hold onto it, kicking and screaming if you have to, because you're going to need it, my friend.

As I leaned from the window my eye was caught by something moving a storey below me, and somewhat to my left, where I imagined, from the order of the rooms, that the windows of the Count's own room would look out.

Is this. Is this what I think it is. Oh my god I completely forgot today was Lizard Fashion Day

What I saw was the Count's head coming out from the window. I did not see the face, but I knew the man by the neck and the movement of his back and arms. [...]

But my very feelings changed to repulsion and terror when I saw the whole man slowly emerge from the window and begin to crawl down the castle wall over that dreadful abyss, face down with his cloak spreading out around him like great wings. [...]

I saw the fingers and toes grasp the corners of the stones, worn clear of the mortar by the stress of years, and by thus using every projection and inequality move downwards with considerable speed, just as a lizard moves along a wall.

LIZARD FASHION DAY.

I was at first interested and somewhat amused, for it is wonderful how small a matter will interest and amuse a man when he is a prisoner.

Also this line 😭 Jonathan please stop making me sad The HorrorsTM haven't even properly started yet

What manner of man is this, or what manner of creature is it in the semblance of man? I feel the dread of this horrible place overpowering me; I am in fear—in awful fear—and there is no escape for me; I am encompassed about with terrors that I dare not think of…

screams into the abyss

Not to worry, my newest blorbo going through SituationsTM is causing me no stress whatsoever.

Anyway on a completely different note, I need you all to know that if Dracula has haters, I am one of them. If Dracula has one(1) hater, I am them. If Dracula has no haters, I am dead. That is all. Thank you.

May 11 / May 16

#dracula daily #dracula #jonathan harker #count dracula #my good friend jonathan harker #dracula daily may 12 #dracula may 12 #artemis reads dracula

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graaaaaayy · 3 months

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Book reviewwwww

Scythe by Neal Shusterman. probably spelled that wrong, but I can’t be bothered to verify. Anyway, 6.5/10

Let’s start with the list of things I liked, because that one’s shorter.

you guys better give this notes cause it takes an embarrassingly long time for my dyslexic ass to write a 1k word review with everything almost everything spelt right.

SPOILERS BELOW

Goddard died, thank goodness he was starting to get on my nerves

Faradays alive, fucking called it

the thunderhead is very intriguing I want to know more about it. Every dystopian setting has to have ‘its thing’ to set it apart, which ironically makes them similar. The thunderhead should be a plot hole ridden cliche but it stands out, because it’s very carefully written. We don’t know much about it but whatever we do know just piques one’s curiosty even further. 10/10 writing in that respect

Faraday and Curie’s romance ??? Come onnn

The goddamned High Blade himself has an illegitimate daughter. I have a love hate relationship with the dystopian genre because the mcs are usually the only ‘woke’ ones who start the revolution but here the entire frickin sycthedom is corrupted and they all know it. But nobody wants to do anything because then all hell will break loose which is exactly what we saw at the end of the book

what I didn’t like ( don’t come at me ) :

Okay, why were both citra and rowan bland as hell ? They both have exactly one personality trait. Rowan never shuts up about being the lettuce like that makes him special - have you ever heard of this concept called being the middle child buddy ? - and citra’s whole thing is that she’ll always say whatever she’s thinking. You and me both but at least that’s not my whole personality girl.

I WANT MORE BACKSTORY ABOUT THE AGE OF MORTALITY AND THE THUNDERHEADS WAY OF GOVERNING AND NANITES AND REVIVAL CENTERS AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY AND CELEBRITIES AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AND I DIDNT GET IT. It wasn’t even to build suspense or anything it was just sloppy world building. And before you tell me an author can’t write a 700page novel, first off yes they can and second the first half of the book dragged on so much that I nearly gave up on reading it. Some of that could’ve been sacrificed for actual world building and plot.

Rowan and Citra kissed once, one time and basically the next time they have a conversation they’re proclaiming their love for each other ? And Citra had absolutely no proof that rowan hadn’t been corrupted, the guy snapped her neck, seemingly participated in goddards massacres ‘willingly’ and then she’d just heard that he shot a family member in the head during his test before the instructions were fully given. Why the hell would she just let him go ?

the way people react to scythes changed drastically from start to finish. People just went from terrified grovelling to just showing up to their parties ? What happened to ‘you never know if a scythe is just gathering people to glean them ? Especially Goddard who’s known for mass gleaning.

if the thunderhead had indeed done away with everything that was harming humanity then why didn’t it get rid of the concept of celebrities ? Consumerism still seems to exist. It’s got more cons than pros. Why isn’t there AI law enforcement that can’t succumb to bias ?

The klunky world building deserves another mention because it really pissed me off

If Goddard ( bad guy ) was smart enough to have cronies that hung on to his every word, then why couldn’t Faraday, Curie etc ( supposed good guys ) also rally together and secure allies so that they’d be ready when the inevitable uprising arrived ?

okay I know some of this is because of ‘undisclosed plot purposes ^TM’ but it could’ve been done better. That is all. Goodbye

#scythe book #book review #citra terranova #rowan damisch #scythe curie #scythe faraday #scythe goddard #scythe anastasia #scythe lucifer

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carriagelamp · 10 months

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I had an impulsive July! Some of these books are continuations that I more or less expected to read, but I sure did just grab some random books this month. Most of which pleasantly surprised me! A couple of which just simply surprised me...

A Marvellous Light

A Marvellous Light was probably my favourite book this month and it was one of my random impulses! I saw some fanart that intrigued me so I grabbed it from the library on a whim -- by now I have bought my own copy because it was just that well done. I am always a sucker for a well executed period adventure, especially when it can work in magical elements (I’m looking at you Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue) and this did everything I could possibly want from this sort of novel. It’s set in the Edwardian period and was such a perfect blend between action, tension and mystery, comedy, and romance; I was completely invested in both of the main characters the whole way through. Oh, and it felt like it fit in the time period, that the dialogue, narration, manners, stage dressing were all appropriate. There's nothing worse than a historical novel where the writing feels painfully modern.

The story starts out with baronet Robin Blythe who is having a no-good very bad day at work. He holds a civil servant position in the government and was just demoted to a shoddy little nothing position that he’s never even heard of by someone with a grudge against his parents. He quickly realizes how in over his head he is though when he finds out that the “special” part of “Special Liaison” actually means “magic”. Something that definitely doesn’t exist, except apparently it does, and now he has to navigate this strange new world with a very exasperated magical coworker, Edwin Courcey. His day only gets worse from there...

A Rover’s Story

A charming little novel told from the point of view of a fictionalized Mars rover. I admit I’m not a very science minded person, but from my inexpert opinion it seems quite well researched, with their Rover being heavily modelled after the previous rovers that were sent to Mars. I appreciated the author's note at the back that discussed some of the research that went into the novel, what was and wasn't accurate, and what was changed for the sake of narration.

It is a very neat journey that starts with Resilience still in pieces in a lab, as it gets to know the scientists around itself and what its eventual mission will be, and how its life goes from there. Though it can't communicate with the humans, it is able to communicate with all sorts of other electronics in the lab! The story is counterbalanced by the daughter of one of the scientists who writes to the rover as a sort of journal to deal with her mother so rarely being home. It was a quick read but very sweet.

American Girl: Meet Addy // Addy Learns A Lesson // Danger at the Zoo

I have continued to read the American Girl books after being pleasantly surprised by the Kit book I read last month (Kit Saves The Day). Their strongest point is definitely what strong historical fiction stories they are! At least from the ones I’ve read so far, the time period is never just a backdrop, the authors do take the time to ensure that the novel’s plot and problems are directly tied into what makes that point in time unique, and even as an adult I found myself learning interesting tidbits of information. The little “looking back” nonfiction section at the end of the books is especially neat!

I really enjoyed both of the Addy books I read. These stories take place in 1864 during the Civil War. Addy’s family are slaves on a southern plantation, and the first book is about Addy’s escape from captivity with her mother, while the second book looks at the continued hardships and inequality that even free black people in the North suffered. They did a good job balancing the intended age bracket with the seriousness of the subject matter, and it didn’t feel like it shied away from making its point.

The Kit Mystery book, Danger at the Zoo I was less impressed with, which disappointed me because I really enjoyed Kit Saves The Day. It wasn’t bad, per se, just rather middling. A fine read, but not dazzling. Maybe I had overinflated my expectations; given that it was a bigger book, I had hoped that it would up its game a bit, but it felt rather the opposite. It was a fine story, it dealt with historical details well, but it did a poor job creating the sort of tension I would want from a proper “mystery” novel. It often felt like we were treading water, where a quicker pace would have helped.

Doctor Who: Deep Time // Silhouette // Mission to Venus

My Doctor Who kick is still going strong. Relentless. Silhouette and Deep Time were both fine, basic examples of a decently written Doctor Who novel. Deep Time was rather forgettable... the side characters never really succeeded in interesting me, and it often felt like it suffered from pacing issues. It was about the Doctor and Clara on a doomed space mission that gets stranded in deep space, but I enjoyed listening to it in the background while I was doing other stuff.

Silhouette was actually pretty great, probably because I’m a total sucker for the Paternoster Gang. It was a fun mystery set in a ~mysterious carnival~ during a frost fair on the Thames. It had the characters splitting up and exploring different avenues to solve a set of murders. Lots of good Vastra and Jenny stuff, and Strax was absolutely hilarious, he stole the show every time he was featured. Love him. The whole thing was a pretty solid plot, pretty funny, and I thought both The Doctor and Clara got pretty decent characterization throughout. Would recommend this one if you want a solid Doctor Who read.

The last one, Mission to Venus, was hands down the funniest though, albeit unintentionally. Did you know there were really trashy Doctor Who Choose Your Own Adventure books written in the 80s? I didn’t, but I do now and obviously I had to get my hands on one. It is Exceptionally Bad but in the funniest possible way. I had a blast reading through this and I really don’t know what to say about it besides look at the cover. Look at it. Amazing. The Doctor, Peri (and You!) wind up on a spaceship that is trying to transfer dangerous by highly nutritional plants to a stricken colony, but is very soon imperiled.

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation v4

I creep every closer to finishing the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation series! Not much I can say about it that I haven’t said about the others that wouldn’t enter outright spoiler territory, so I’ll just say that this was another great volume. Some of them have felt overly bogged down by some of their flashbacks (like the entire back half of volume 2 and the endless Yi City arc. I'm not saying it wasn't interesting but my god this was a Victor Hugo level diversion) but this one went at a great pace and it’s nice to feel like we’re actually making progress in the main plot even if, romantically speaking, WWX and LWJ continue to be two of the dumbest human beings alive. Bless this slow burn, I’m gonna kill them both. Also enjoyed the side characters we got in this book — I loved how great the Juniors were, loved my dear, cranky, miserable Jiang Cheng, loved Wen Ning Doing His Best. Great book. I’m dragging my feet about reading the fifth book because I don’t want this to end.

Love Beyond Body Space & Time: An Indigenous LGBT Sci-Fi Anthology

A really neat anthology of short stories written by Canadian Indigenous authors that are all focused on queer sci-fi stories. It’s way too easy to box Indigenous stories into the singular genres of “historical” or “contemporary” so it was great having an entire book devoted to various Indigenous perspectives on science fiction. Like any anthology there were some weak stories and some phenomenally good stories. I picked this one up specifically because Cherie Dimaline (author of The Marrow Thieves) wrote for it, and she did not disappoint, but all the stories were so different and so interesting that I can’t recommend it enough.

Short story collections like this are especially good for people without a lot of time or who are trying to revitalize their reading attention span imo because it gives you fully formed, bite-sized stories that put a lot of care and detail into their telling.

Nimona

Obviously I had to finally read Nimona. It’s been on my TBR for ages, and, like absolutely everyone else I think, I figured I had better read it now that the movie is out. I enjoyed both the comic and the film very much! It was interesting to see two slightly different takes on the same narrative, and I think both expressed the point they were trying to make very well. I honestly couldn't say which version I enjoyed more. I doubt I have anything to say that someone else hasn’t said much, much better, so I'll leave it with that.

Torchwood: Skypoint

One of the better Torchwood books I’ve read so far, I think! It had some pretty solid characterization tbh. The story wasn’t anything mind blowing, but a survival adventure in a high tech apartment was a fun setting, and I am literally never going to say not to a fake marriage plot line 👀 so a story about Owen and Tosh going undercover as a newly-wed couple in a sinister apartment building that might be eating its residents was just plain old fun. It also delivered me some truly delicious Tosh/Owen angst. Mwah. It was all around a pretty darn good Owen book, which he deserved after being slandered so badly in Something in the Water. Though I was a little disappointed by how Tosh was handled — I kept expecting her to have a bigger role than she really got by the end.

Yuri Bear Storm v1

…I have no words. I bought this one on a whim because the description on the back made me laugh:

Every night, 16-year-old Kureha has a strange dream involving lilies, storms, and... her classmate Ginko as a bear?! At school, Kureha's unassuming personality and looks render her practically invisible. Sometimes, it feels like no one notices her at all... until cute and energetic Ginko asks Kureha to talk privately one day during lunch. Maybe she really is a bear... or maybe she's just got a crush on Kureha!

but frankly there were too few bears. I thought I was getting a bear-themed magical girl book with lesbians. I have no idea what I actually got. You can tell there’s some sort of metaphor at work here — and I’ve got an Honours Degree in English Literature, dragging bullshit metaphors out of the text kicking and screaming is like my whole thing — but I’ll be damned if I could actually tell you what it is. It’s either wildly inconsistent and deranged, or genius. Or maybe there's no metaphor at all and the authors just really wanted to draw bear ears and panty-shots *shrug* I cannot emphasize enough how little sense this book made. Every time I thought I maybe had a handle on things it got progressively more inscrutable, it was actually rather impressive.

May get the second book, we’ll see how weak my resolve is not to waste my money.

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irondad-defensesquad · 1 year

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just some thoughts i have on (mcu) toomes.

i saw a video of a channel i really admire pointing out that most mcu antagonists genuinely want to make the world a better place, mostly in terms of oppression like racism and social inequality. but suddenly the villains act completely out of character, usually by killing a lot of people or causing unnecessary destruction and chaos. and all of that is likely done on purpose because you're supposed to side with the characters who defend the system, who defend the status quo, so the antagonists who actually want to change things are seen as evil for it.

i can agree with all of these points. but then the video showed toomes' speech and basically said that he's right. and this isn't the first time i've seen folks agree with toomes, because he criticizes the powerful rich people that exploit the small ones like peter and himself. but since peter is close to tony stark, everyone claims that mcu peter has "betrayed" his own social class.

okay. my thoughts.

toomes is a family man, an ordinary worker, true. but from the very beginning, he's completely on board with selling alien weapons that are incredibly lethal. dare i say, toomes is a lot similar to walter white: two white, middle class family men that resort to the criminal world so they can provide for their wives and children. however, their gigantic ego is what drives them further and further into crime, so they no longer hesitate to commit atrocities such as killing people who get in their way. in the end, walter admits that he did all that for himself, not for his family. i know toomes is not as awful as walter, of course, but they're very alike in terms of backstory and motivations.

to emphasize: toomes does not hesitate to kill people. he killed one of his own crewmates, but even if he claims he thought the weapon wouldn't actually vaporize the guy, toomes doesn't feel one smidge of regret. he just shrugs and moves on (the moment is played for laughs even).

but most importantly, toomes tried to kill a fifteen-year-old teenager. his whole dad speech wasn't actually genuine, toomes was just preparing to drop the entire warehouse on peter. also, do people forget the scene where he talks to peter in the car while holding a fucking gun? he uses the whole family speech here, too. "nothing is more important than family". he lets peter go, but he also threatens to kill him and everyone he loves in case peter tries to stop him.

that's toomes' entire character! at no point in the movie does he act out of character; he's always been an egocentric dick that uses his family as an excuse, even if he does love them. he's not a good guy, he has never been a good guy.

but the issue here is that people take toomes' speech out of context to prove that he's correct and that peter is an idiot or a bootlicker for not siding with him. except peter doesn't fight toomes because of tony, he fights toomes because that's the right thing to do. because toomes is a criminal that is willing to do anything for his own benefit, not caring at all about any lives lost to him and his weapons.

again, i agree that the mcu is a huge police and military propaganda that demonizes activists who fight against them. i agree that most mcu antagonists deserve better. but toomes is not the case here. his speech isn't genuine. he's willing to kill a teenager and everyone else to keep his business up. you guys take out the context to make him look great, and to hate on mcu peter.

you can have your grievances with the mcu, like i do myself. still, toomes is not a guy to look up to, and peter is not a bootlicker. you can stop distorting the whole movie now.

#lotus speaks #spider-man: homecoming #homecoming #adrian toomes #mcu peter parker #pro mcu peter parker #ranting #(if you happen to find the video i mentioned)#(please don't send hate to them)#(they still have valid points despite this one thing)#also clowns will be blocked on sight

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gayofthefae · 9 days

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Hey! I love reading all your byler posts (I'm also exposed to Buddie/Chenford stuff through you and am fully confident in them despite never having watched the show(s?))

I was thinking about something in a recent post you made about innocent vs mature relationships:

"In season 2, Mike was in a sort of caretaking and protective role over Will. This isn't a bad thing but it also isn't exactly equal. With that, in the story itself, Will didn't see enough of Mike's flaws."

And, this wasn't really the point of your post, but it made me wonder what your thoughts were on the dynamic between Will and Mike where people see Mike in more of a protective role. Like idk d'you think that is an unequal thing of the past (s2) and their dynamic is no longer like that - and maybe people romanticised the caretaker role Mike assumed because it's proof that he cares for Will? Or dyou think their dynamic is still like that as a byproduct of the fact that Will is still affected by the Upside Down far more than Mike? Or do you think it's just their personalities and their relationship would still be like that if none of the supernatural shit ever happened?

Idk your comment just really made me think because I'd never ever considered that Mike's caretaker role in s2 made their relationship slightly unbalanced on Will's part, that it was something that needed leveling or 'maturing'. Maybe just cause ppl look at it through a rose-tinted lens, and it's ingrained as the sweetest testament of Mike's devotion.

Anyway I'd love to know what you think!

Hi! (tldr at the bottom if you like)

I can answer most accurately to my live perceptions at the time of watching each season. One of the reasons I actually didn't see the romance the first time around on season 2 was because I felt it was equal, of course, that is also in large part due to us having yet to see Will's POV on their relationship. Similarly, I actually didn't see Mike and El as romantic in season 1 and was surprised when they kissed for the same reason.

In season 2 with Mike and El, we saw more of El's perspective of their relationship so I got more on board. Same thing happened for me with Joyce's perspective on Jopp3r in season 4 where I was pretty indifferent on them before, so as a nerd, I have to acknowledge where those POVs come into play, not just behavior.

With that, I think their behavior has stayed much the same but they are no longer inequal because of the camerawork etc but like I said in the post you're referencing, also because of that fight that prompts the song in Will's playlist about coming down out of the clouds from idolizing someone.

I think their dynamic of protective still exists just in their personal inclinations but now outside of the power dynamic, which was more about idolizing each other. That was broken when they first fought because in Will calling him out, it built the trust required for future complicated situations that Will won't just fold even when he's in the right and will call him out. Though the roller rink fight sucks, I don't think it would have happened without establishing that. Mike was gentle leading up to their rain fight until he allowed himself to get defensive after Will allowed himself to get offensive, but not before then. And in the rink o mania fight, Mike initiates that time. And a lot of it was poorly communicated and impulsive, but I don't think he would have picked a fight if he still didn't think Mike would call him out and fight back. In the same way that he stops as soon as he sees Will stop defending himself.

And with the protectiveness, there's a change in it too in some ways. Because Mike's seen Will fight back now and knows he can and will, it's more like that one meme comparing them to the same thing with Lucas and Max: Lucas and Mike both know Max and Will can protect themselves but are protective of them anyways, simply because they don't want them to have to. That's their personal inclinations.

And I don't know if it's true about the characters 100% of course, I just remember not seeing it when I watched season 2 BECAUSE I felt like Mike was caring for Will and I as a viewer

I felt that shift that Mike semi-described himself that he hasn't had with El, from need to want. Will doesn't need him to protect him and he's independent enough from him that if he's mad, he will leave. Mike knows that now, maybe he believed it before, but a situation to confirm had just never arisen. Now, because Will has left, it shows him that Will coming back and staying is a choice and that he can fend for himself, so he protects him because he wants to since he trusts that Will would be okay without him. Love is choices, as I always say, and if you know someone can call you out on your bullshit an walk away, you feel no obligation to stay. And yet you do.

I hope that answered your question on my thoughts!

#asks #byler analysis #stranger things

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plurdledgabbleblotchits · 9 months

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Excerpts:

"Case and Deaton documented an astonishing fact: unlike virtually every other demographic group in America (and other rich countries), the death rate of white, middle-aged Americans was rising instead of falling. And that this macabre trend was being driven largely by a rise in what they would call "deaths of despair" — from suicides, drug overdoses, and alcohol abuse — especially in the population without a college degree."

"When Deaton first came to America in 1983, he recalls being gobsmacked by how indifferent his fellow economists were to rising inequality, and how ideologically opposed they were to government intervention in the economy.'

"I was appalled when one of my new colleagues (publicly) proclaimed that 'government is theft,'" Deaton writes. "I had grown up in a country where I, my parents, and our friends saw the government as benevolent, a friend in times of trouble, and I found it hard to believe that a distinguished academic could be so cynical and so libertarian. I still do not agree with his sentiment, but I have come to understand the extent to which state and federal government in the United States often work, not to protect ordinary people but to help rich predators make ordinary people poorer."

"Deaton writes that "the decline of good jobs" is a crucial driver of despair. "This decline, in response to globalization and, more importantly, technical change (robots), is made much worse in the United States than elsewhere by the grotesquely exorbitant cost of healthcare," Deaton writes. "Beyond that, when bad things happen and people need help, the safety net in the United States is fragmentary compared with those in other rich countries."

"In all this, Deaton sees economists as largely as complicit in the changes that have made life harder for millions of Americans. He argues that many (but not all) of the people in his profession have provided an intellectual legitimacy for a range of policies that have stripped away support for working-class Americans and forced them into an increasingly cutthroat labor market."

"They are apostles for globalization and technical change that have enriched an elite and have redistributed income and wealth from labor to capital, all the while destroying millions of jobs, hollowing out communities, and worsening the lives of their occupants," Angus writes. "And when confronted with deaths of despair, they blame the victims and those who try to help them."

(I get it... Donald Trump didn't come out of nowhere and he pandered to this MAGA demographic. I am sympathetic to a degree: they feel like they don't have anything to lose, by trying to shut down the government, and all the other stunts they are doing around the country. But the problem is they are out for blood and attacking everyone with the same vitriol, even people who are not their real enemies [like gay rights issues, and womens rights issue, and other minority issues, etc... using these groups as easy scapegoats, instead of correctly identifying the problem. The entitlement mentality of the dominant hegemony of white nationalism also plays a role in this dysfunction.]

In this, I think the MAGA people are being manipulated and being misled by those who want to confuse or conflate the real issues to service their own personal agendas.

And Donald Trump is a false Messiah for them. True, he tapped into the problem but used it for his own benefit and helped create the false narratives using these easy scapegoats to feed the flames.)

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my-misericordia · 1 year

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As much as I'm enjoying this show there is one thing that definitely keeps bothering me and that is the depiction of low income people as represented by Kawi.

From the start we are told that his finances are bad. He has a job and goes to school at the same time. As someone who did that in high school and university I can tell you that doing that is not only hard but also reallyyy isolates you from your classmates. You lose a lot of opportunities to socialize with people your own age, you get jealous that you can't do the things they can, They can't understand Why you can't attend activities even though they say they do, you stop talking to your peers Because of that rift, and your peers also stop trying to involve you because your answer is usually no.

It's a no brainer but being Poor is Hard!!! That's why I really empathized with Kawi in the beginning. While everyone saw a brat, I saw a kid being isolated due to his circumstances. If he already had a base anxiety of "fitting in" then that surely got worse because he was unable to tackle it due to having to work in order to stay afloat.

But as the show keeps moving forward...he hasn't gone to Work!!! lol Yes he says it but we've Never seen it!! How is the audience supposed to sympathize with him when this whole time he's just complaining in their eyes? Why can't we have scenes with him going "and i couldn't do X today because I had work" while lying in bed with his uniform on? A few scenes of him meeting up with people a bit late because of work and still wearing his work uniform?? A few days ago I thought it would have been really effective to start the the first episode with him working, in a restaurant lets say, the camera panning to the clock at like 11pm and then panning out and it being 11 am where he's falling asleep and then he starts his little narration. And you know what we could also never return to that location just have him with his uniform like I mentioned!!

I say this because so far Nothing he mentioned has been shown to be standing in his way! He seems to be able to anything...and it really just makes it seem like it was ALL in his head! He really ends up looking like he's just been a whiney person this whole time...and ughh! If that's the case the story didn't have to create him as a lower class person because this is such a terrible representation! This type of depiction just makes it seem like poor people just complain because they have a "negative" perspective, that they just need to look on the bright side and things will just magically improve and I just hate that!!

It's really disappointing because it actually had some great commentary on how economic differences do affect how you go about the world. Like the conversation that Kawi and Pisaeng had in the 2nd episode. Yes we all have 24 hours in the day but when you're poor you do have less. Also the fact that Kawi's father didn't want to keep going to the hospital because it was too expensive. Had Kawi been paying his medical expenses? Did he start working because he knew he wouldn't be able to attend university otherwise?

Idk it's just...moments like these where it's kind of obvious who's creating these shows lol Income inequality is pretty big in Thailand and with series like this it Shows. But like I mentioned before, it did have a few good points that shed light on how it is to be low income so hopefully that's absorbed by some people? Truthfully I don't think so though because like I said most people just see Kawi as a "spoiled brat" (ironic lol) just having a bad character that needs to changed through "positivity".

**A small extra thing that I think could have been done to depict Kawis' economic standing is his presentation? He kind of looks too good?? lol Like all his clothes look brand new and I know they're kind of trying to make him look 'poor' by not styling his hair and whatever but come onn you can do better than that...I guess what I'm saying is it wouldn't hurt to take a lesson from Japan? They do a pretty good job at dressing people down.

#be my favorite the series #be my favourite the series #At least it's not as bad as it could be #Y'all I was ripping my hair out in Never Let Me Go and ATOTS

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afterthegreatunknown · 1 year

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Randomity: A Sapphire Fortune Worthy Question

“Hey, Quigley! We finally got the DVD player to work! You want to watch—you’re still working on your homework?” Duncan enters their bedroom, keeping a short but still reasonable distance.

Quigley, sitting at the study desk, has his hands together in its tent-like position. “I’m thinking.”

“Thinking about what?” Isadora skips into the room, and joins Duncan’s side. She then takes notice of the math book on the study desk. “Are you thinking what’s the greater than and less than symbols? Again, the less than symbol is the left hand, and greater than is the right hand.”

“I’m not thinking about linear inequalities, but thanks for the reminder.” Quigley sighs, and drops his hands. He then spins in his chair to face them. “I’m thinking about Hector. It’s been one year since we escaped that creature. A year of us living together. I thought a year could change things, but it didn’t. Or maybe things did change, but I’m blind. Because I swear, I get the feeling Hector doesn’t like me. Or he does, but doesn’t make the attempt to know me better.”

“…And where did you get that impression?” Duncan slowly turns his head towards Isadora, who is repeating the same action. Both of them stare at each other with a puzzle expression.

Quigley gives out a hum, and twirls a lock of his hair. “This morning. We were eating breakfast, talking about my Earth-Space project of the Solar System, and then a dead silence came over us. Neither of us talk again until you two came in, asking us about which toothpaste to use.”

Duncan and Isadora turn their direction back to Quigley. “That’s funny for you to think Hector doesn’t like you,” they say in unison, “because Hector thinks you don’t like him.”

Quigley quickly narrows his eyes, and stands up. “Where did he get that impression!? How could I not like the man! He willingly decided to stay and raise us after we escaped that creature! A man we barely knew continued to stuck by us! He thought we’re worth it all! Even everything that happened in in that vile village, after what he let happened to Jacques—”

“And there it is!” Duncan sighs as he lowers his head, and runs a hand through his hair. “We said it before, and we’ll say it again. Isadora and I do agree that what happened to Jacques Snicket was wrong. He got murdered for crimes that weren’t his own, and he never got to defend himself. And while we don’t like his methods, the man took care of you. He was in a way, your guardian. We understand why you’re still mourning him, even a year later.”

“And Hector freezing up was terrible,” continues Isadora, walking her way to Quigley himself. “Terrible, yet understandable. You don’t know how vile that village truly is, Quigley. You really don’t. They didn’t know us, yet still wanted our heads off and dead the second they saw us.”

“Please, understand that Hector’s freezing up didn’t kill Jacques Snicket,” says Duncan calmly.

“Anything Hector could have said or done wouldn’t change it.” Isadora then places a hand on Quigley’s shoulder. “The subconscious grudge you have on Hector, it’s time to let it go.”

---

Quigley continues to observe Hector drying and putting the dishes away. The man is whistling a tune he never heard of, but it’s remarkably catchy. Quigley keeps his hands in his pockets, and walks further into the kitchen. He stands beside Hector quietly, and then clear his throat.

“That’s a really catchy tune you’re whistling. Great whistling, in fact,” says Quigley, moving his hands out of his pockets, and start swinging them around. “What it is exactly?”

Hector stops drying the bowl he’s currently holding. “Thank you. I’m whistling La Llorona, the weeping woman. It’s one of my favorite songs. First heard it in my childhood.”

“Oh? That’s interesting.” Quigley tilts his head to the right. “What’s La Llorona about?”

Hector soon places the bowl into the cabinet shelf, and then leans back against the counter, folding the towel into a little square. “The legend is of a young woman who marries, and upon seeing her husband with his new lover, drowns her two children in a rage.”

“…I’m sorry, she did what?”

“Drowns her two children in a rage.” Hector says it all so casually. “Depending on what variation you heard, she had reasons to fear her husband will want to take her children when they separate, and drowns them so they won’t raise by the other woman. Either way, the woman eventually drowns herself in grief due to committing murder. Instead of passing on, she is force to roam the earth until she finds her children again.”

“That’s morbid as hell.” Quigley shakes his head, and shudders from the horror he just heard.

“If this helps you feel less disturb, the song has little in common with the legend,” says Hector. “The song is about a singer who is in my opinion, misses his love terribly so. The suffering and grief are akin of the weeping woman’s own pain by her terrible lover.”

“Ah.” Quigley slowly nods his head. “Less morbid. But still, who makes a kid listen to this?”

“My papa. Whenever I didn’t go to school and got the chance to hang out with him, he would sing La Llorona.” Hector places the towel down beside himself, and sighs. “It’s a very fond memory I have of him, in fact. I suppose you have a memory of someone you miss too.”

“Yeah,” answers Quigley, smiling and sticking his hands back into his pocket. “I do. Several people, in fact. I always think of those memories when I feel their absent is greater than usual.”

Quigley soon turns on his heels and begins walking away. He stops though, when he reaches the door. “You know, I know how to whistle, but not a tune. Well, not properly at least. But my mom —and Jacques— could. Would it be alright if you could teach me, in your spare time?”

“…Yes. I would. I should warn you, I’m not good whistling a tune too. I can only do so for a few songs.” Hector soon gives out a sudden chuckle. “Someone I knew took pity on me and gave me lessons, though I think he wanted an excuse to make a whistling band of sorts.”

“Snrk…ha-ha!” Quigley couldn’t help but chuckle also, before he continues on walking.

#asoue #a series of unfortunate events #fanfic #quagmire triplets #quigley quagmire #duncan quagmire #isadora quagmire #hector #hector asoue #randomity (a collection of ficlets and fics)

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succs · 1 year

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5 & 6 for your kenneth & stewart questionnaire (i hope those are their full names)

it’s not for either of them but i respect my delusion indulgence anyways thank you

5. What were they like in college?

I feel like Kendall was still in the grips of Logan’s claws in college of course. He was in a different city, a different state, and I do think that physical proximity away from Logan helped him feel a little bit looser on the leash. That relieved him as much as it scared him. Didn’t amount too much more, but waking up in the morning without the anxiety of his father’s stature looming over him is a nice relief. While I don’t believe it on a personal ideological level, I think Jesse Armstrong’s claim that “people don’t change, not really” (He said it in an interview but I can’t for the life of me find which one if someone can help out) holds a lot of weight to their relationship. Like, Kendall’s course of action and motivations may change but on a fundamental level he still revolves solely around his father. That will never change. So I feel like, much how he does now, if Stewy wanted to either guide Kendall in a direction (for financial/tactical purposes or otherwise), he would do what works best, and that’s frame Logan’s approval/disapproval as an attainable asset in whatever they’re cooking. “You gotta demonize him before you kill his ass.” “I saw what he did to you when you were a kid, I was there.” I think part of Stewy realizes that Kendall’s world revolving solely around Logan, even through disdain, is unhealthy. But I do think he assumes that’s so much more healthier for him than being the dog that keeps crawling back. I think Stewy gave Kendall his first blunt, first line, first beer. And yeah, while maybe he partially fumbles with that guilt a little considering Kendall’s rehab trip, I do think Stewy is still a private equity finance bro who’s perception and understanding of addiction is shaky at best. His drug habits started in Harvard (assumably) a period in his life where (assumably) the company and his family didn’t have as close reach to him. See; my first point.

Of course they had the late night “We’re gonna take over the world, man. It’s gonna be ours.” But i don’t know, personally that always seemed kind of bittersweet and bleak, which fits. Two 1% bozos circlejerking about they can’t wait to own the world and profit off of inequality because of capitalism and Logan’s assurance that Kendall serves no other purpose. The fact that that’s eventually unattainable to both of them says a lot about their dynamic, yeah? It’s depressing on all fronts. Uhhh what else, I think Stewy is the only man Kendall ever fucked. Stewy fooled around some though, Harvard boys make do. I think they had those funny celebrity magazine clippings mentioning them, probably some jokes about Kendall sucking dick like stock or some corny MTV bullshit. Most of them would be testimonies of people calling Kendall annoying and stuck up. Rumors about him using and Stewy’s involvement yatta yatta. I’m sure Stewy likes the attention though, even if it’s often indirect. I know I would. Also my truth is @onemagpie @doodoocumfart and @ophiocordycep draw my ideal college KenStewy like those goobers just exist in my mind now to me they are real and palpable.

6. sexuality n gender headcanons. r they bi4bi. t4t. gay4bi. etc etc. u get it

Not my concern. I think sexuality and labeling in Succession is such like, a particularly alien concept for these characters. I think @romanroydinnerparty has made some insanely spot on posts that probably explain that point a lot better than I can. But I do think the idea of Kendall using his bisexuality as pseudo-woke publicity bullshit (like the faux-feminism arch) and doing the “QUEER AF CEO💪🏳️‍🌈” thing is sooooo funny.

#succ.txt #sorry went insane #I have more to say on college KenStewy but eh I’ll do it later I’m tired

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