#this was from me and my best friend's opinion but if you have different scales then like.... i might be able to add it as well | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

runningfrom2am · 4 months

Text

the wedding // LTPF

summary: the wedding of the year, i can see it now.

pairing: coriolanus snow x fem!reader

wc: 2.7k

masterlists / nav / requests

tags/warnings: capitol brat!reader, maybe slightly ooc coryo, idk i tried my best. she's a bridezilla for REAL and i wish i included more of that energy, protective!coryo, idk people are drinking alcohol? (its a wedding, so duh), also TW for Livia and r's dad just existing p much.

based on this ask and this ask!

series masterlist // playlist

Everything was perfect. Absolutely everything you had dreamt of your whole life when it came to your wedding. Coryo had told you money was no object, and therefore, you spared no expense. You had a strong theory that your father was being sent every last bill, since you knew neither of you had anything more than what the Plinth's were providing for school, but that was the farthest thing from your problem. It was the least your father could do.

The hardest part of the whole thing, even before deciding who would give you away without your father, was deciding on your maid of honour. You didn't have many good friends, or friends at all, outside of your new husband. At one point, you wondered if had things gone differently, would you have chosen Lucy Gray?

Clemensia Dovecote was a fine enough choice. "Let me just say," Her speech began, hitting the side of her overfilled wine glass with a fork. "I have called this wedding for years, and no one believed me." She shot a smile over to you at the head table. "For anyone who doesn't know me, I'm Clemensia. Y/N's Maid of Honour." She had just thrived on the title since you offered it to her which, while annoying, was good because she took her position very seriously. She was the perfect choice- she looked nice, presentable in a dress you had picked out, but the colour clashed with the yellow in the whites of her eyes and the few scales that were yet to fall off after the snake bite. She looked fine, but she also made you look better. "But like I said, I knew this would happen."

She was drunk, repeating things in a way that made you cringe internally but nevertheless, you had to watch. The lights spread across the large backyard of the Plinth's mansion lit up the night beautifully, bouncing off every white and red rose you had spread about. You were very grateful to them for allowing you to host the reception there. They had done a lot for you in the last year since you returned from Twelve.

Mrs. Plinth was very involved with planning the wedding- she loved the winter wedding and leaning into it as a theme. It worked out nicely because it gave her something to think about other than the death of her only child, and she was a tremendous help and support to you. You were truly grateful, but this day was hard on them without Sejanus there. She had mentioned on more than one occasion that Sejanus would have been the best man, and you only slightly doubted that. You wouldn't want it to be anyone else- but Coryo would have had different thoughts, you're sure.

"How much longer will this go on for?" Your now husband whispers in your ear, fake smile on his face as he also has to listen to Clem's rambling.

"I really don't know." You reply with the same fake smile, knowing that eyes were on you just as much as her.

"Some choice for a maid of honour." He chuckles.

You roll your eyes, a playful smile on your lips. "Oh, well, I would have gone with Arachne Crane but, you know..."

"Fair enough." He mumbles, sitting back in his seat. "Are you really the only woman in the Capitol who isn't insufferably annoying? You should have been your own maid of honour."

"Well it was her or Tigris, and Tigris is prettier than me so she wasn't really an option." You hum, grabbing his hand under the table as you keep your eyes focussed on Clemensia, not paying attention to a word she says.

Coryo laughs. "Tigris is not prettier than you."

"She's your cousin, your opinion is invalid." You shrug it off.

"Doesn't change the fact that I'm right." He argues, squeezing your hand.

You don't reply, and you let his hand go to clap once Clem is finally finished. You had already eaten, so now it was supposed to be the "fun part", as Clemensia so aptly put it in her speech. You found it rude, yes, but it wasn't a big deal and after tonight you wouldn't have to see her again for a while.

It was brisk out, being a winter wedding you should have expected that, but you still had another dress to change into so you excuse yourself from the table, kissing your husband goodbye as he gets up as well.

You hadn't allowed him to see any of your dresses, and this would be your third one today alone. He loved every one, and did not expect to be disappointed by the next. Or the one after that.

"Hey, congrats, Coriolanus." He tears his gaze away from your retreating figure to whoever was talking to him.

"Thank you, Hilarius." He nods, smiling politely at him and reaching out to shake his hand.

"I saw this one coming miles away." His classmate laughs. "You remember that though, right?"

"When you said that if I wasn't going to go after her you would?" Coryo asks, eyebrow raised. "I do remember that. It makes me wonder who let you in..." It's meant as a joke as he makes a point of looking past him toward the security they have at the entrance.

He furrows his brow when his eyes catch on your father standing there, arguing with one of the security guards, his wife by his side.

"If you would excuse me..." He says, walking toward them before Hilarius could even respond.

"Ugh, I know. Why did you even invite her, Y/N/N?" Clemensia complains as Tigris helps you step out of your gown.

"Who?" You ask, unsure what she was even talking about.

"Livia." She states, yet another glass of red wine in her hand.

"Oh, I kind of had to. Connections and all that." You shrug. You weren't Livia's biggest fan, she had a "greater than thou" attitude that drove you up the wall, but who in this city didn't?

"Ah, yes. Of course." She hums. "She had a lot of audacity to show up in that dress though..."

Your head whips around to look at her. "What dress?"

"You haven't seen her?" She gasps. "I thought you saw her! It's this white-based floral, really questionable for someone else's wedding. Looks like a tablecloth." She accentuates the statement with a sip from her glass.

Your jaw ticks and you look toward the door, already seeing red.

"Hey, Y/N, it's okay." Tigris rests her hands on your shoulders, prompting you to look at her. "We'll tell security, they can escort her out if that's what you want."

You take a breath, forcing a smile on your face. "Let's not bother them. I'll just go chat with her." You smile, stepping out of the dress in bare feet, quickly grabbing Clemensia's overfilled wine glass from her hand on your way out the door.

"Y/N, Wait! Don't!" Tigris calls after you, well aware of your notorious temper by now, but you don't listen.

You're in your white slip when you storm back out to the reception area through the back patio, immediately and quickly scanning the crowd for the guest in question. You know you have seconds before Tigris likely tries to stop you, but you know Clemensia won't. Then, you see her.

You're seething already. That's practically a wedding dress on its own. You would kill her.

You stomp across the ground, tunnel vision locked on her as she raises her glass to her lips, laughing, and talking with other guests, completely careless to what she had done wrong. Well, she would learn today.

"Livia Cardew!" You grin, walking up to her. "I don't recall sending you an invitation, but here you are!"

Immediately, she's taking in your appearance, giggling at your lack of appropriate attire and shoes. "Y/N! Congratulations." She says, eyes finally locking with yours again.

"May I have a word?" You ask, already grabbing her arm and pulling her away.

"Is there a problem here?" Coriolanus asks, addressing only his security as your father stands there, red-faced with anger.

"Yeah, they've got no invite." He nods, showing Coryo the list in his hands which he quickly pretends to look over.

"Oh! Sorry, yes. There you are..." He says, pointing down at the bottom and your father visibly relaxes. "Under the title there that says 'not welcome under any circumstances'... Well then." He looks at your father now for the first time, tilting his head at him.

"No, this is my daughter's wedding and we will be let in!" He demands, raising his voice.

Coryo clicks his tongue, slightly shaking his head. "No, sir, I thought we were clear on this."

"No, you said the wedding. This, if I'm not mistaken, is the reception. I made my sacrifice. Now, I'm here."

"And only about two hours late." Coryo hums uninterestedly, looking down at his watch. "Father of the year."

Your father's fuming, and it's hard for Coryo to not laugh in his face. "I paid for everything here! You can't deny us entry!"

"I can." Coryo says. "Well, actually, my apologies. Mrs. Y/L/N, you are welcome to come in, if you'd like." He smiles at her, polite demeanour flicked back on like a light switch.

Your father quickly pulls her back behind him. "It's both of us or neither of us. Go ask our daughter." He states, gripping tightly on her arm.

"Oh, no. I won't be ruining our wedding." Coryo shakes his head, firm in his decision. "I'll tell Y/N you send your love, Ma'am. Have a good night."

"No! You will let us in right now or-" Your father's tantrum is interrupted by a commotion across the yard, drawing Coryo's attention. People gasp in shock, and then he sees you, about to absolutely lay into Livia Cardew, who now has red wine all over her face and the front of her dress.

"I must be going, now." Coryo tells them, turning back to the security guard and adjusting the cuffs of his shirt to be able to roll up his sleeves. "If you don't mind, call for peacekeepers to escort him from the property. Thank you."

He doesn't have time to hear your father's angry disagreement as he walks away.

"So," You drop her arm, turning to face her. "I'm not sure if you are aware, but this isn't your wedding." You spit, gesturing to her dress. "And listen, I get it! You're jealous. That's fine, but it's extremely tacky and honestly embarrassing for you to wear a white dress to a wedding that's not yours."

Livia's lips fall open in shock, looking down at her dress before she laughs. "Y/N, come on. It really isn't that serious, you realize that, right?"

You stare at her for a moment, weighing your options. You could smash the glass over her head like you wanted to, demand that she leave immediately, or, you could 'accidentally' spill the glass on her. Before you complete the thought, you're throwing the contents of Clemensia's glass at the front of her dress, smiling as it splatters up over her face and in her hair, dripping down the front of her expensive-looking gown.

"Oops."

Livia gasps, wiping the red substance from around her eyes and flicking it off. "I thought that for one day you could be normal! God, you are vile!" She's practically screaming now.

"This is entirely your fault, you do realize that, right?" You tilt your head at her, a slight laugh under your tone. "If you wanted my husband just say that."

"I- ugh!" She groans in frustration and anger, swiping her hands over the liquid on her chest and flicking it all at you, staining the perfectly white satin of your slip. You look down at it, and then back at her. You were about to go through the roof.

The amount of people watching in the immediate vicinity is the only thing keeping you from grabbing her hair and shoving her head into the dirt. You decide to scream instead.

It turns into more of a wail, pumping angry tears into fake sad ones. Coryo is there in a second. "Darling, what's happened?" He asks, horrified as he looks between the two of you, grabbing your shoulders.

"I-" You sniff, pointing to the girl in front of you. "I just came to offer her something to change into because that is out of dress code and I tripped and-" You hiccup as he's rubbing up and down your bare arms. "It was an accident, and then she... It was just an accident! Now my dress is ruined and, and-"

He turns his gaze to Livia who just looks pissed while you ramble on about having had a little too much to drink, that was all. He's sure that's not what happened, he knows his wife better than that, but this show was not for him. He looks her up and down, visibly disgusted by her choice of dress. It honestly looks better now.

"Coriolanus that's not-" She chuckles with the shock of the accusation, shaking her head as she pleads with him.

"It's time for you to go." He tells her, looking toward a member of security who's not busy with your father, quickly waving him over.

Livia looks at the approaching security man in shock. "I didn't do anything!"

"That dress and causing a scene over it is more than enough." He states, wrapping an arm around your waist and wiping your tears from your cheeks. "Let's get you some water, Darling. It's okay..."

"It's not!" You cry, gesturing to the few small drops of wine on the front of your dress. "It's ruined! She ruined everything!"

Just as she's about to be escorted out, you make eye contact with her, offering a smug smile. She scoffs, which earns her a grab on the arm and a more forceful expulsion from the reception.

"Y/N!" Tigris is rushing across the lawn toward you, careful not to stumble in her shoes and bridesmaids' dress. "What happened?" She asks, addressing her cousin now.

"She's okay, there was just an accident with a glass of wine. We're just going to take a few minutes. I'll help her change." He explains to her.

She nods, looking worriedly down at the small stains in your dress. "I should be able to get this out, alright?" She assures you, rubbing a clean spot of the fabric between her fingers to make sure.

"Okay, thank you." You sniff, leaning into your husband's side as he guides you back up to the house.

You get inside and upstairs to what has become your dressing room and secondary bedroom over the last year. As soon as he shuts the door behind you, you can't hold your laughter back anymore. You're practically doubled over with it, and immediately Coryo understands. He chuckles, shaking his head at you.

"What a show..." He grins fondly, pulling you into a hug which you happily return.

"Oh, you liked it?" You giggle, coming down from your laughing fit.

"It was wonderful." He agrees, kissing the top of your head. "For a moment I was worried about you."

"Aw, really?" You look up at him, jutting your lip out in a pout.

"Definitely." He hums, kissing you softly. "Now come on, let's get you changed, huh?"

"Please." You nod, kissing him again before pulling back to pull your next dress from the closet. "I was supposed to wear this underneath, but now I can't." You sigh, hanging the full dress on the door before pulling the wine-stained one over your head.

"Just that will do, I suppose." Coryo mumbles, wrapping his arms around your waist from behind as you toss the slip onto the ground.

"Oh, you suppose, do you?" You chuckle, reaching up to pull the new dress from its hanger.

"Mhm." He nods, planting a kiss in the crook of your neck. "Makes my job easier later."

You laugh, blush spreading over your cheeks and flushing your chest while you unzip the back. You carefully balance as you step into the opening in the fabric, pulling it up around your waist.

"Don't rush, Darling. It will probably take you a while to recover before we can return to the party." He says, watching you adjust the skirt before you plan on zipping it up.

"Good point." You agree, but make no effort to stop until Coryo places his hand over yours.

"What should we do with all this time we have to kill, hm?" He's already leaning down to kiss over the back of your neck.

"I feel like you have an idea..." You mumble, tilting your head to adjust to his presence.

"Have I told you how much I love you?" He asks as he gently pushes the fabric back down to drop in a pool around your ankles.

"You may have mentioned it..." You turn under his palms as they land on your lower back, gently pulling you closer. "And I love you too. More than you could ever imagine, Coryo."

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tmntxthings · 2 years

Note

Hey I just finished all the love potion ones and I wanted to know if you could do a Casey Jones one specificly Casey jr

A Witch’s Kitchen

author’s notes: so, in my humble opinion, casey rlly didn’t have that much screen time for the movie, so i don’t know his personality that well which is why this took me awhile! hope i did casey justice (＞人＜)

warnings: crack? fluff? yes to all

> part two <

> leo’s < > donnie’s < > raph’s < > mikey’s <

—————————————————————————

“Casey, that’s not-“ You sighed as he went ahead and didn’t listen to you. “-soda.” you grumble the last word. Going back to scroll on your phone. “What was that Y/n?” He asks smacking his lips together after throwing back the pink fizzy drink. “Oh you know just me trying to tell you that was a love potion!” You holler into his face. He blinks, looking down at himself and then the glass that was now empty in his hand. “Anddd why was that just sitting on your counter top?!” His voice rising as he doesn’t exactly know what to expect now, the consequences of his actions scaring him.

But as you looked at him squarely in the face and noticed how the usual signs were immediate you narrowed your eyes. He wasn’t showing the symptoms yet. “I’m a witch Casey. I make potions,” you said as if he should’ve expected that, it wasn’t like the two of you had known each other for three months now or anything?!

“Yeah but shouldn’t you have like a lab, like Donnie??” He says confused. “No a kitchen is fine… and don’t compare me to that science stickler!” You reprimand. Still analyzing his facial features he was paying attention to you, but he didn’t look nervous maybe slightly scared? He wasn’t sweating, nor blushing. Was the potion unresponsive to time travelers??

“Casey.. tell me, how do you feel?” You questioned him as you reached for your wand. Waving it slightly over Casey’s figure to cast a diagnosis spell. A flash of different colors flared in front of your eyes. His eyes were fine, not dilating nor expanding. His breathing, normal and even. But then you got to his heart, well you could definitely see the spell was there! Pink sparkles swirling around the organ in a loop. It would last for at least a week. “I feel fine… though I feel like I’ve got a slight heartburn,” and you watched as he rounded the island counter in the middle of your kitchen. Coming to stand by the barstool that you sat at. “Am I gonna DIE?” He said clutching his chest in dramatic agony. “No, but you are about to experience a roller coaster of emotions and the main one being love.”

“WHAT?” Casey’s voice cracked towards the end and he swallowed, starting to get nervous. “Yeah, and you’ll most likely be in love with me, it’s supposed to go into effect as soon as you lock eyes with the next person you see.” You said and then shrugged. “But don’t worry it’ll stop in around a weeks time. Plus love potions only enhance feelings that are already there. So if you like me as a friend, it’ll just be slightly heightened from the basis of like.” You were on a roll now as you held up your phone showing Casey a scale you had made online. “We all start off as strangers, who we are indifferent to, then if we go upwards, there is associates, then acquaintances, then friends, then best friends, then partners-“

“-Okay I get it!” Casey interrupted you. Not wanting to hear the rest of the stages because he couldn’t get past the part of the explanation where love potions heightened emotions. And Casey suddenly was sweating on the back of his neck. Because unbeknownst to you, he had the biggest crush on you. Though he was a master at concealing that fact, it did help that you seemed to be a bit oblivious to his feelings. And Casey was worrying that this love potion would now make it impossible even for you, to not notice his feelings. He wanted to escape, leave your place and sanction himself off in the lair for a week til he got over this. But he couldn’t find it in himself to move his feet, no matter how much he wanted to move away, it was like his body had a different idea. To stay as close to you as you allowed him to be. He really liked your presence. You were so sure of yourself, he liked that about you. He liked a lot of things about you. How you always stood up for what you believed in. How sharp-tongued you were, it made for some very witty conversations. How beautiful you-

You blinked and a small smirk came over your features as you saw Casey started to breath in deeper, his eyes going a bit heavy-lidded. “How you feeling now Case?” You grinned and watched as he planted his elbow on the counter, one hand holding his face as he leaned forward, “feelinggg nice~” he smiled. You couldn’t help but laugh, shaking your head. You should’ve never doubted your skills, Casey just had a slower reaction time! “Love potion you seems very happy,” you hummed looking down at your phone while you shook your head with amusement.

Casey glanced down at your phone, you were scrolling through social media. Then he peered back at you. You were perched on one of the three barstools you had in your kitchen, and to Casey, everything else about the room faded around you. You were in focus. His hand went out and tucked a few stray strands of hair behind your ear. This caught your attention, eyes widening as your gaze darted from your phone screen to Casey. This had Casey gulping and taking a step back, “heh,” he said sheepishly. Though that was about as far as he was willing to step back, that is unless you told him to go back further. Then he would.

Under your scrutinizing gaze again, Casey felt his cheeks bloom with heat, his ears particularly felt on fire. “I’m- so- what were we doing again?” Casey sputtered trying to move on past him touching your very soft hair. “You came over to tell me about how you lost at the lair games again, I sadly couldn’t make it..” you said reminding him and his eyes immediately rolled. “Ugh! Yeah, Leo won, again!” He admitted and you chuckled at the mood switch.

“I swear, I had no idea Master Leonardo was so competitive!” his mind panned back to the future. He guessed they really didn’t have time for games. Master Leonardo always seemed so collected and cool. Losing to this Leo was the worst too, because he would gloat nonstop! “I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it, this is only your third year!” You noted, trying to lift Casey’s spirits. “Yeah,” he said glumly and you sighed, grabbing your wand again. “Wanna help me make another love potion since someone drank my last one?” You said raising your eyebrows.

Casey nodded, smiling shyly, knowing exactly who you were talking about. “Great, let’s head to the Hidden City!” Casey took another step back as you led the way to the door, him following after you like a puppy. He hoped he would make up for his mistake and be of great help, maybe this could even be considered a date! Casey had been to the Hidden City and the Run of the Mill a couple of times so he knew to expect the unexpected. “Now remember, just let me do the bargaining, you just stand behind me looking tough,” you told him and Casey nodded, not knowing what was about to happen but agreeing nonetheless.

[2 hours later]

You and Casey burst through your front door, arms full with ingredients you would need for making a new love potion! “You did amazing Case!” You said jumping up and down after you dumped the things onto your countertop. Casey did the same, smiling brightly at your compliments and cute reaction. You’d have more than just one love potion, perhaps five more! Your excitement grew at that possibility because it meant more cash for you. People and yokai alike paid big bucks for a well made love potion.

You jumped up into his arms squealing! His eyes widened, this wasn’t the first time you two shared a hug but it somehow felt way more special. He had to hold in a fit of childlike giggles as he held you close, picking you up and twirling you around in his arms. Just as quickly he placed you back down, not wanting you to get uncomfortable but you looked unphased as you stepped out of his arms to look at the loot. “Did good indeed!” You smirked, rubbing your hands together. “Alright, if you want you can head home Casey, I know the turtles will be wondering where you are,” you said shooing him away as you started to sort out the pile item for item.

If you had glanced his way you would’ve seen the expression of a kicked puppy! How could you send him off so quickly! After that hug the two of you just shared?! Oh no no no he wasn’t leaving and he quickly shot the turtles a text saying as much,

[sleeping over at y/n’s-casey 🏒🤍

what?!-leo 🐢💙

i see you like to play with death-donnie🐢💜

have funnn-mikey 🐢🧡

just message if u change ur mind-raph🐢❤️]

Casey closed his phone, not replying to anymore texts and going as far as to mute the group chat for the night. “I thought I could hang out a little while more? Maybe I can help you with the potion making?” Casey asked sounding hopeful but you looked up with a stern expression. “Case, I know you’ve got steady hands, but these measurements have to be exact,” when you saw his face turn cloudy you immediately back tracked. “Uh but, you can watch if you want..??” And his face brightened quickly, happy to have not been pushed to the curb.

You stayed up late into the night brewing up a new batch of love potions. He watched from over your shoulder, standing behind you for most of it but he got really sleepy after three hours of straight standing. “Case, you sure you don’t wanna go home?” You asked and he shook his head, his lower back was leaning against the counter that was opposite from where you worked, his arms crossed and face slowly dipping as he almost fell asleep standing!

“Oh for Merlin’s sake!” You quipped, putting down your wand and grabbing Casey’s hand. Dragging him to the living room where he could crash on your couch. His eyes widened slightly at the contact, his fingers going to lace with yours and his heart started to pound. Gosh just that simple gesture made his stomach flip with excitement. “Here, sleep,” you said letting go of his hand and going to grab a pillow and blanket for him to get comfortable with. But after you supplied him with the sleeping stuff, Casey shot out his arm and pulled you to him quickly before you could escape back into the kitchen.

Now your momentum had already been heading away from Casey, so when he pulled you to him, you were tripping over your own feet at how unexpected this was. Casey caught you in his arms as you fell on top of him, “Oh man! I’m sorry Y/n, I didn’t mean to pull you that hard!” He apologized when he heard you land on him with a ‘oomph.’ You were frozen on top of him, not wanting to move too much because Casey was, for a lack of better word, very toned/super muscular. For emphasis your hands squeezed down on his pecs and you almost died. “Ah- I’m sorry- I don’t know where to put my hands!” You said sputtering, your brain going haywire at such a close proximity.

Casey was astonished with your reaction but took it in stride. Happy to see that he could make you so flustered, he held you a little tighter. “It’s okay,” he smirked down at you and you met his gaze with a furious blush. “This isn’t funny!” You exclaimed which only made him laugh, and you flushed a darker color as you felt his laughter shake his chest. You quickly moved your hands to his arms, but they were just as muscle-y! “Geez Case, do you workout everyday?” You murmured, he wore so many layers you really couldn’t tell his physique under all his clothes.

“Mhm, Raph likes to do workouts most days before patrol or training,” his hands itched to touch you. But with your hands holding onto his arms, he settled for just feeling your touch. “Alright I’m gonna just roll off of you I guess,” you said glancing down at how twisted your legs were with his. “Or…” Casey mumbled to himself but you were so close to his face that you heard him. “Or?” You repeated, raising one eyebrow. “We could go to sleep!” Casey said quickly and held you to his chest as he maneuvered you to be on his right side. That way he was the one halfway hanging off the couch, and you could get comfortable. Well you were still slightly on top of him but you sighed. Now that he mentioned it, it was getting late but you didn’t think sleeping together on a couch while he was under the influence of a love potion was the best idea. But as he started to breath in deeply you realized Casey was already asleep. “You’re a sly fox Casey Jones,” you whispered not trying to wake him up as you fell asleep in his arms.

“I don’t know what to think!”

“Looks pretty obvious to me..”

“They’re so cute!! Let’s take some pictures,”

“Alright we should teleport back now before any of ‘em wake up!”

Your eyes shot open and the sound of four familiar voices. “Too late.” You seethed, trying not to look embarrassed at being caught in such a predicament with Casey on the couch. Truly there wasn’t enough space for two which led to a lot of tangled limbs, both arms and legs. Mikey snapped a picture and you wished for your wand but it was on the counter where you left it yesterday. “Someone wanna explain why the four of you are standing around in my living room?” You whispered harshly, Casey had yet to wake up, his head buried in your neck. “How about you explain to me why my son is in your clutches?!” Leo whispered back.

Your mouth fell open. Clutches?! Like you were some evil falcon?!? “You’ve done it now!” Raph muttered. “Listen here you little trespassing jerk, your son made moves on me, not the other way around and I can explain in further detail if someone would kindly grab my wand!” You huff, almost breaking the whisper rule. Donnie made a face at the word ‘wand’ and you rolled your eyes. “I’ll get it!” Mikey said aloud, forgetting about whispering and Casey was jolting up and falling off the couch faster than Raph could catch him.

“Motherfu-“ Casey started and stopped as his eyes squinted open and saw the turtles. In your apartment?! “What are you guys doing here?!” Casey exclaimed. “You weren’t answering any of my texts or calls I thought something happened!” Leo said hastily, justifying his actions. You got up from the couch, moving past Casey and the turtles, going to join Mikey who had gotten distracted by the love potion ingredients. “Yeah they thought I took your virginity.” You muttered under your breath. “WHAT?!” Casey yelled, his face turning a bright red. “Well, Donnie thought that” Leo clarified. Casey groaned, “I’m fine so can you please leave now?!”

“I told you!” Raph chimed in, “Not helping Raph,” Leo said as he walked over to Casey helping him off the ground. “Like I was saying,” you reentered the living room, wand in hand and Mikey next to you. “Casey is under a love potion right now, self-inflicted,” you made sure to tack on the last part giving Leo and Donnie a glare to which they both returned. To prove you were not lying you casted another diagnostic spell on Casey, allowing everyone to see the pink swirls that were still circling around his heart. “Suuure,” Donnie said sarcastically as his eyes glanced for a second or two at the magical chart. Your tongue rolled into your cheek in aggravation. “Y/n, I’m really sorry about them, they were just leaving!” Casey said with extra emphasis. “Yes we were and Casey’s coming with us!” Leo remarked as he pulled out a sword starting to make a big blue circle. “See ya laters Case,” figuring that it was probably for the best. You didn’t know if you could handle a week of love potion Casey, he definitely seemed to be a bit more flirty than what you were used to. “But!” Casey whined, not wanting to go.

“No buts!” Leo said grabbing Casey’s arm just in case he tried to make a dash for it. Mikey and Raph said their polite goodbyes, while Donnie entered the portal silently. You sent him the middle finger subtly since your arms were crossed. Casey was looking at you with big puppy dog eyes, you couldn’t help but console him even with Leo there. “Don’t worry, I’ll text you,” you said smiling slightly and shaking your head. He brightened at that, “if you ignore me for an hour I’m FaceTiming you!”

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tandaforever · 1 year

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Here is where I ramble a bit.

I looked at posts from the other side (no, not the dark side). I don't do it often and I have most of them blocked that I don't see any of their posts on my dash, so it was a deliberate decision. I don't hate them, trust me, I don't think their opinions are necessarily wrong either but purely for my own sanity I've blocked all of them long ago. But I got curious and so I checked.

It's interesting to read how differently this article was received, even on this side of the fence. An eye-opener. And I get where almost everyone is coming from, I do, even if I don't agree with some of it.

Emotions also tend to run very high in our small corner of the internet. But I've always said there's space enough for everyone here and wherever you land on the scale is your business.

But I DO see that in the end, they also want what's best for our boys, or our boy in question. Sometimes it's disguised in a roundabout way, sometimes it's not expressed so kindly, but I do believe that part to be true. Or else why would they still be here? Firmly on the good side?

But being kind and respectful to one another is KEY. It's probably what I value most in a fandom and I've made really good friends who feel the same.

We're all entitled to our opinions and those opinions can certainly change over time too, don't forget. But what I don't like seeing, are those opinions being pushed down the wrong throats (both ways here, I see you anons).

Read the room, people. Trying to convince people or attack people is a waste of time and energy imo.

Find YOUR people, and stick to them. Trust me when I say, it will make fandom life a haven, not a school playground.

My two cents though?

I've been here long enough to know when truths and half-truths are being presented.

I'm not involved in their lives in any way and so I don't feel like I am owed anything. I don't feel relieved, not really, as I recognize the long road ahead nor do I feel cheated.

He said what he wanted to say, and that's enough for me.

If anything, what he said might have been too much, too vulnerable and I hate that I can't shield him from further public scrutiny, further lynching. But that's a me-thing.

Do I believe everything that was said? No.

That person at work I had a talk with a few months ago? I sent them the article, and their mind was changed.

But what was said can be enough to change minds, so it's a start.

The truth, for those who have half a brain, that he's guilty of no crime, IS out there. And that's enough.

That's enough for me.

But more importantly, the amount of respect I feel for this man hasn't changed. If anything, it's skyrocketed.

His strength inspires me.

His goodness still inspires me.

(And yes, even though he's said himself that he was guilty of being an asshole, I don't actually believe all of that. Hell, I'm probably a bigger asshole than he is. There's a bit of an asshole inside all of us lbr.)

He is good.

And I still support him and love him as much as I did before 2021 and even before midnight on Feb 4, 2023.

And I wish him all the best.

I wish him all the peace he deserves. May he find what makes him happy and revel in it.

I'll still be here. Gushing over two men who has always had an undeniable, life long, soul binding connection, since the very moment they met.

Cuz yeah, I'm still a Charmie too. 😘

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leqclerc · 8 months

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I started watching this year and your tumblr was one of the first places I started looking for content, so basically I got all the sebchal lore and I remember seeing that you disliked charlos and I thought you were too harsh in some asks, because they seem friendly and carlos nice.

Now during the actual season I slowly changed my mind seeing Carlos radios trying to make people think he is faster and wanting to swap, the way he acted on some qualis, his obsession always asking charles time and saying he's doing better (monaco), his interviews and NOW finally with the way his family acted with Charles.

And the fact all of this seems to work with people ? Because it seems people believe everything he says, so now we have people claiming charles points, podiums or whatever are all because ferrari gave him preferential treatment. And claiming that if carlos wasn't "treated as second driver" he would be winning a lot more than charles.

Honestly now I can't even believe a charles fan could still like their "relationship" because their behavior is contributing a lot to the hate charles is getting this season.

I have a belief that is not just coincidental and that they are trying to get in charles head, to make him doubt himself, lose confidence etc

Hello there 👋🏻

Honestly, I tried my best to go into this new "era" at Ferrari with an open mind and just observe this new lineup and their dynamics and then form an opinion based on my feelings and reactions. At one point I even said to one of my friends in this fandom, like, "what if I like Charles/Carlos so much that they eclipse my feelings for Seb/Charles?" I watched the first C2 challenges when they started dropping, and while they seemed quite innocuous, it was already blatantly obvious to me that this was going to be a completely different dynamic to Seb and Charles (understandably, but still.)

I think the first major turning point regarding my perception of Carlos and of their relationship as a whole was Monaco 2021. Carlos never really hid the fact that he blamed Charles's crash for hindering what he thought was a shot at pole (data accessible online proved that if anything, Valtteri was closer to pole than Carlos was on that occasion, but we still kept hearing about how "I could've been on pole" for like 6 months afterwards.) Obviously then on Sunday Charles couldn't start because of the car issue, which was a huge blow for him given that it was his home race, back after a year-long absence due to the pandemic.

Carlos finished on the podium and instead of taking it for what it is he just kept going on about how it's the "least enjoyable podium of his career" (still clinging to the perception that he lost out on pole), and then in 2022 giving an interview in which he stated that drivers will crash deliberately if they feel it gives them an edge, but was coy about what he meant. Still, given his feelings regarding Monaco 2021, it's not that hard to guess what he might've been referring to...

There were a few other points of contention in 2021 but because Ferrari were in the midfield at the time and the world's attention was on the Max vs Lewis title fight, those incidents kind of flew under the radar and most people still had this perception that there's this chill harmonious atmosphere at the team, and most of the cracks only started to publicly show in 2022. Even in the aftermath of Monaco 2022 (why is Monaco always so full of drama fr) I got anons about how I'm exaggerating, hating for no reason, etc. I think the public perception scales took a little while longer to fully tip, but from Silverstone onwards I think things started to shift a bit.

At some point I also stopped bothering with the C2 content because I was just not vibing with what I was seeing tbh. It's like the on-track stuff carried over to the PR content and to me Carlos came across as quite patronizing and envious. 🤷🏻‍♀️ When Charles drove him around Monaco for a video his biggest gripe was that people on the street are rooting for Charles and supporting him publicly. Like what did you expect, it's his home race, in a country that has a population of like 39,000 😭

I think one of the biggest problems is that Carlos's entire family is involved, and very closely at that, in his career and by extension in Ferrari's internal affairs. It's basically an open secret that they like to engage in a political tug-of-war and plant stories in the media to drive a certain kind of narrative that makes Carlos's optics look more favourable.

I agree that Carlos seems... a little too invested in the optics and statistics vs Charles. Yeah, your teammate is the first person you want to beat, but when you're content to finish 5th or something as long as you're ahead of your teammate then it becomes a bit of an issue. I saw a clip of a recent podcast sit-down thing Carlos did, where one of the questions was like, how do you cope with a mistake and recover from that; he brought up Charles unprompted, comparing Charles's "I am stupid" team radio after a qualy crash (from like 4 years ago) to his own approach and how he doesn't think or say that kind of thing about himself. It's like was this necessary, lol.

#replies #anonymous #shows up 5 days late with starbucks and a lot of Opinions sdkfkg #also everyone talks about charles's 'pretty privilege' but you can't underestimate how carlos is perceived in that regard #he's conventionally attractive & charismatic to many and it's doing wonders for sort of smoothing over all the questionable stuff #discussions and predictions #long post

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fivekrystalpetals · 1 year

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@longagoitwastuesday (I think you and @jacksintention are the same person, your writing seems similar; jic I am tagging both of you)

ahfhghikl thank you so much for all your comments on my meandering rambling post! honestly I dunno how I got from point A to point B without losing track of what I was meaning to say in the first place lol but it all came together in the end so :D

I totally understand you not agreeing 100% with me (and you don't have to! as long as you are being nice to me about our difference in opinions, I don't have a problem!) and I am glad, despite this, you could enjoy the rest of it! If I have to take a wild guess, it must be about Jack where our views differ, and while I am very curious about your thoughts, i would like to hear them after i finish my lacie post bc i wanna write about her (and Jack) from my own first impressions of the story.

Part 2: Ah I understand being frustrated seeing the fandom jumping from one opinion to another with every chapter update (that's the problem with a serially updating manga, with tons of plot twist) and i can't speak for myself what i might have done had i been reading this serially as well. reading this altogether helped me form a more solid opinion about overall events happening in the series. Although I have to confess while reading Past Arc, I saw Oswald more as a victim of circumstances (as in, I sympathized with his depressed state at the time and I solely blamed Jack for taking advantage of his friend like that) but later reading on into the last Arc, I started to hold him responsible for a major part in the Tragedy as well as I explained in that essay.

Part 3 +

hmm, it's interesting to me that you feel that way from my writing. I won't say I like him (um, no, I don't think I like him as much as many other characters in the story. In fact, I like Lacie way way more than him) but yeah, I did pity him in the beginning when I thought he was struggling with last minute measures so the world won't come to an end bc of Jack's recklessness. I think the moment I started to.... dislike (i am so conflicted where exactly i stand on the love/hate scale for him) him was when he decided that killing Lacie was the only way to prevent the Tragedy of Sablier. That's just victim blaming at its finest. He already cast Lacie into the Abyss and killed her once. Now, he wants to drag her out out of it and kill her once again? for what? making one (1) friend in her whole life? please.

so yeah, I don't really think I like him, but I did try my best to keep my personal opinions out of this essay and keep it neutral (mostly) so maybe, that's the reason you feel like i like him.

Other than that, thank you for your words: "Even today, I'd say it's perhaps not super extended to find such a nuanced criticism of his character."

"suffering hero to Jack's villain" -> for me, this is not Oswald, but Oz. Oz (and even both Alices) is the ever suffering hero to Jack's villain. Oz never wanted to kill or hurt anybody; he agreed to become a chain for Jack for White Alice's sake. But then, he was forced to commit mass murders and even had to witness his dear Alice commit suicide right before his eyes. Like, it's all so, so, heartbreaking for a doll that got a spark of life and just wanted to do good for his two girls. Even later, when he was in Jack's body, he had to stand by and watch Jack hurt his friends until he, spurred on by Oscar's words, managed to take control of Jack's body. So, if you see Oswald and Jack, I hold his negligence partly responsible for the way Jack turned out. But Oz is a victim through and through.

Part 4: Yes, I agree with all of what you say here! Oswald had the power to end the cycle of trauma by stopping Lacie's execution (if you see Retrace 91/92, he even attacks one of the Juries there. He could have done that at his Succession Ceremony if the Jury tried to intervene in his decision or take away his title of Glen. Moreover, as I understand, there is only one Jury for one story and they are no big fighters or anything.) but in spite of having all the powers of the Abyss, he lacked the strong will to take a huge, game-changing decision and that turned out to be his undoing.

About Alice:

ahhh I am not sure if it is an artistic choice to give Oswald and Alice just enough interactions for us readers to realize that they had been on good terms once,, yet I find it super interesting that Alice has no other memories of him while she has tons of Jack. Like Jack taught her to dance, braid her hair, taught her to play the piano too (I think?) and I don't know whether that memory of Jack and Alice near Lacie's grave and listening to her music is real or manipulated, for Alice iirc was never let out of the castle. so where does that memory come from? Is it Alice's wish that she imagines to be real? On the other hand, White Alice and Glen seem to have had some small interactions after all, bc if you remember Break's teatime with her down in the Abyss, she does mention Glen telling her about chains and stuff and claims to hate him as well. again, with the context of Retrace 76/77, I don't know if I can trust those memories either because her own were already shredded and lost at the point.

And, I was not quite sure the reason she hated Glen anyway. Like, I have seen many different reasons floating around, from her knowing in some way that Glen cast her mother into the Abyss that the other Alice doesn't—to Glen not letting her talk to Jack (?) (uh, I am not sure what this exactly means, but I remember her saying the same to Break as well, I guess it's bc of her broken memories she remembers like that),, it's all very confusing—but.... I think your reason makes the most sense to me. Because, if Glen kept her caged in and didn't let her go out and that's the reason she hated him, then yeah, it makes a lot more sense, why Jack was easily able to sway her to his side with the promise of taking her to the Rose Gardens of Vessalius House.

But, on the whole, yes, I do believe Oswald dropped visiting Alices after Jack took charge of them. Because, artistic choice or not, in such a painful event as Alice witnessing her uncle getting beheaded right in front of her, she must fondly remember and regret all those other memories as well, right? but she still has flashbacks to just that one scene.... so take it as you will.

About Black Alice, it's sad if you think about it. She really loved her uncle, okay? yeah, she might be an idiot for being ok with remaining in a cage among other things, but i think of her as more of a lovable idiot. She loves everything and everyone around her without noticing faults in them. She is that impressionable and good-natured child. She even names her favorite doll after Oswald! In fact, (once again) it's Levi that realizes how Alice likes Oswald the best (and interesting how Levi does spend a lot of time with Alice up until his death in spite of her being a product of his experiments. he has his moments, i guess? lol. and idk if he ever told her that he was her dad. does Oswald know this? or, did he tell only Jack? I mean, like obviously after seeing Alice, Oswald must have realized Lacie had been pregnant when he cast her into the Abyss but does he know Levi is the dad? He might have assumed it's Jack or someone else? idk)

okay, I am rambling now but what I mean to say is Alice really did love her uncle. But Oswald was so drowned by his sorrow and regrets that he didn't open his eyes to what he could still protect, instead spent his days dwelling on what he couldn't. In the end, Alice took her own life.... and, in more than one way, Oswald failed Lacie all over once again. I know for sure, Lacie loved her kids bc she went all the way down into the Abyss to request 'her' to take care of them when they are born and hoped the plush dolls could be friends with them. So yeah. He just keeps hurting her again and again.

ahjfjshgj thank you so much!! about Lacie, I have tons to write about her but i think I hurt my hand a bit, so i am taking a little break from writing so both those essays will have to wait :(( i meant to write an analysis about Lacie separate and about Jack/Lacie (and both topics have soooo much to write idek where to start lol, but i will figure that out. rn, I must worry about my fingers more so yeah a break from fanfics and writing in general is necessary (cuz i can't avoid irl work anw :((( )

and actuaaaaally, I wanna write about Levi too. In spite of his few appearances in the story, I feel like I might have tons to write about him if I reread the series. Such as, he is the sole Plot Starter Flint for the Entire series: it's his experiment that led to the creation of the Will of the Abyss; the only standalone (sorta) arc—Head Hunter's Arc— happened bc of Humpty-Dumpty, the chain that was formed from Levi's body. He has the most fuck-around-and-have-fun energy of all characters, and yet, I think, I think, it might be controversial for this fandom, but I think he is deeper than what comes across. Especially, his expressions in the last few chapters did not.... seem of a person having fun with all this. although he did keep repeating that he was having fun and that's all that matters to him but.... unreliable narrator much? idk. i still hate to the core what he did to Lacie but i wanna know what made him so warped in the first place.

Finally, part 5:

Warning to anyone who likes Reim!!!! please, please, please don't proceed any further. You have been warned. If you read on, it's at your own risk!!! if you get upset by my views don't come @ me. If Reim is your favorite character, stop here, press the back button, leave this page.

I have never written an analysis on Reim, but if you mean this post, then yeah i did rant about him. I didn't delete it, just took it off the main tag bc it was attracting Unnecessary Attention from the fandom.

(also please don't reblog the linked post, I didn't delete it but I don't want it to attract attention again)

My Opinions on him largely differs from the general Fandom Opinion from what I have seen. To put it simply, his character annoys me. Whatever I wrote in that post, I still stand by—two points as the tip of Iceberg Of My Opinions on him:

1] He didn't trust Break enough to reveal the nature of his Chain to him

2] I am sorry but I can never get behind his excuse for shooting a child as this:

He didn't even try to simply disarm/render her unconscious (like Break did for Zwei); no, he shot her. In the head. With full intent to kill. A child who was chatting merrily with him. A child who told him everything about the Baskervilles. A child who had wholeheartedly accepted him as her friend. In fact, the build up in the panels leading up to his shooting is… ominous, to say the least. Then he closes his eyes and tells himself that he is doing the Right Thing bc, ofc, he is The Good Guy. Nah, I can only see his selfishness here: he wanted to do something Useful for once, bc he is always called weak and useless. He wanted to go back to his people, inform them Baskervilles are here, but "oh, I took care of one of them all by myself." He (and the whole Pandora, for that matter) has this Black and White worldview: Baskervilles: Black: Bad and Pandora: White: Good. In spite of Lily telling him everything about herself, he still doesn't make the slightest attempt to change his view of them. At least, Break didn't have that kind of prejudice; he did "talk" to Lottie as he would to any other 'human enemy'—in the end, he even apologizes for being a jerk to her... and then goes on to being a jerk again lmao

Point no. 1 is..... I don't have words about how much I hate him for withholding such vital information. From Break. Break, of all people, who he knows is always looking out for him, thinks of him as his only friend, might engage in a fight for his sake etc. And then, says shit like this:

What. is. wrong. Xerx. what's. with. that. sad. face. While reading this chapter fresh, I uttered Shut Up at the same time as Break, you know. That's why I believe he was also, for once, really pissed off Reim didn't share something this important. Break would have died. Like D I E D if best boy Gil didn't arrive on the scene on time. Please. Why you look so sad. Go die in a ditch somewhere.

And, I loved Fang, okay? He might be a minor character and all, one that the fandom most likely doesn't care about but... I loved him, for all the small things that were shown to us, he was one of a kind of an honorable gentleman and a true warrior. He genuinely politely talks to his enemies—he even said he was honored to cross blades with a strong fighter like Break. He didn't want to use his chain bc he wanted to fight Break (who was using Mad Hatter anyway) one-on-one like.... what a strong warrior code! Fang died because of Reim, only and only because of him. Not only bc of all what I wrote here, but also—like what was Reim even trying to do by distracting Lily in the heat of the battle? trying to get her killed? Break was poised to kill her and she lets down her guard bc of Reim, that's why Fang couldn't even block his sword.

You know, what's sadder, Lily had no intention to kill him even if he shot her in the head with full intention to kill. See:

Yeah, the only reason he appeared 'dead' to Fang was bc he put himself in hibernation. Had Break known of this, he would have rushed to check on Reim's wounds first, instead of immediately giving him up for dead and jumping in to revenge him.

Eventually Break succumbed to his injuries from this very battle, because, you see:

Break has always passed out bc of his Chain (and he won't die from it) but he was unparalleled in his sword skills. Fang got an advantage on him bc of his underground attacks with his chain. This is the first time Break got injured. The first time Break got injured. With things moving so fast after this, his injury never heals properly; while in captivity, Vincent reopens that wound and finally, Break succumbs to it. I read a couple of meta about how time was never Break's ally that's why his time runs out,,, but I maintain he died bc someone he considered a friend didn't reciprocate his sentiment enough to trust him with vital information and that's what cost him his life in the end. and then, you wonder why he always wants to be a one-man army.

This is just the tip of Iceberg of My Opinions on him. Retrace 93 must be why he is so upheld as a beacon of diplomacy or something in this fandom but sorry to say, my views differ. I think people overlook Lottie's role there. Not everyone might agree with me, and might still credit Reim for doing something that Break already set in motion and Lottie brought to the finish line. All of his "bullet points" were nothing that couldn't have happened 40 chapters ago had he not blindly clung onto his prejudice. And, finally, happens in Retrace 93 with Reim and Lily becoming friends at the cost of one life on either side. Isn't it ironic that this 'friendship' that started off on the wrong foot thwarted the other that was actively pursued by both sides? the things that might have changed if Fang never died? Lottie might even have helped them in some way while Break, Sharon and Shirley were imprisoned. other than this, it might be bc I am already annoyed enough by him but I dislike his overall attitude toward Lily in this chapter. (annnnd if it is true, he proposed to Sharon within a year of Break's death..... well. idk if I can take it canon or it's just a non-canon sidenovel thingie buuut it rubs me in the wrong way for... reasons. or, maybe it's just me. i take those kind of things seriously)

Anyway, jic what you meant by Opinion on Reim was not this, and something in the lines of Good/Nice/Different/What a lovable character he is, isn't he? ^^

then let's just pretend you didn't read any of this and:

But in case, you wanna read more of My Opinions on him, I will have another 50-page rant ready lol; I can never possibly physically sit down and write a neutral unbiased analysis on him. No, I feel so strongly about him that I will always end up ranting. I might even attempt a neutral analysis on Levi, of all people, some day; can't on Reim. Sigh.

either way, i'd rather spend my time writing about characters i love than wasting my time thinking about those i don't. sooo, chances are I won't write anything more about him anyway; but yeah, to put it shortly, I don't have much of an opinion on him.

#may-answers #thanks for all your comments!! it was super fun to read through them!! <3 <3 #i tried to be as coherent in my reply as i could but this is still a bit all over the place ;_; i hope you get this #whatever i am trying to say lol

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zahri-melitor · 7 months

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Okay, Babspoll thoughts.

John Ostrander & Kim Yale: it’s all about Oracle Year One. Their combined rehab job of Barbara as an effective hero on the pages of Suicide Squad, then writing her reasoning? It’s beautiful, I know why they’re popular.

Alan Moore: I did say everyone significant. Unfortunately Moore simultaneously wrote the most significant thing that ever happened to Barbara as a character, while failing to centre HER in the narrative of her injury.

Chuck Dixon: as much as I respect Ostrander and Yale’s work, we wouldn’t have the Oracle we know and remember today if Dixon hadn’t given us Birds of Prey and Dick/Barbara (and Barbara & Dinah what do you mean this is completely straight). He made her an essential part of the nascent Batfam. He gave her so many community connections and made her a central figure among the heroes. He made her a team leader. Plus he wrote Batgirl Year One, which is the main reimagining of Babs’ Batgirl period post-Crisis and well beloved.

Gail Simone gave Barbara what nobody else had ever bothered to do - more women friends. She also altered the feel of Birds of Prey to be less “single agent sent in on a mission” James Bond style and to be a more complex juggle of experts with different skillsets for larger missions. She gave Barbara more scope. Simone also ups the ‘Barbara as a mentor’ stakes and has her training more teenagers, and I love Babs as a mentor figure.

Tony Bedard managed two particular stand out moves in his run, in my opinion. The first was the fight scene with the Joker, where Barbara got to tell him in person “you have taken nothing from me”. The second is the way Babs moves everyone to Platinum Flats and openly denies this is partly due to proximity to where Ollie and Dinah are living, I don’t know what you’re talking about, also agent please keep spying on the Arrows and reporting everything they’re doing to me.

Kelley Puckett as much made this list for his two Babsgirl issues as for Batgirl 2000. He’s one of the few writers who writes her both as Batgirl and as Oracle in this period, so he’s thought about the difference. Also he created the Barbara as mentor dynamic, which I love and which has provided so much over the years.

Bryan Q. Miller is probably my least favourite Babs writer who isn’t Alan Moore. His best stuff with her is with Wendy/Proxy - I feel he missed the mark with her otherwise.

Grant Morrison gave us the main Oracle on the JLA run. And respect for putting her in that weight class and respecting how important her skills were to the whole community. She’s helped save the planet a time or two.

John Francis Moore I popped in as he actually has an interesting overlooked duology of issues with Barbara and Selina: one while Babs is Batgirl and one while she is Oracle. He also wrote Batman: Family which has one of the broadest scale Batfam team ups of post-Crisis (I think the only event with more core and peripheral members involved is Battle for the Cowl). And I’m always interested in more pre-Oracle content.

Devin Grayson uses Barbara a lot but has the usual issue that she’s SO dramatic. Her best stuff with Babs is probably the Dick/Babs breakup phone calls in Nightwing #100, and how she counsels Dick and Tim in Gotham Knights #26. Unfortunately Grayson also wrote GK #6 which turned the already-complicated ‘how is Barbara biologically related to Jim’ into an even more painful snarl. Jim’s her dad no question but didn’t need to be her bio dad, you know?

Overlooked (ran out of slots): Barbara Randall Kesel. Kesel wrote both Flawed Gems and the Last Batgirl Story, and established the immediate post-Crisis state of Barbara. A lot of this was later overlaid/retconned by Batgirl Year One, but Kesel’s important as she’s the writer who brought Babs over to post-Crisis.

#barbara gordon #writer comparisons

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swearyshera · 1 year

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I want to say I really respect how you're handling Glimmer's arc, her interactions with Bow in particular. Them dealing with the emotional fallout of this in a harsh and awkward but earnest way is really gratifying. I feels like pulling teeth in the best way possible. Glimmer's arc still rings amazingly to me and somehow hasn't diminished since the apology bit.

Is it weird that I "respect" Glimmer's redemption more than Catra's? I guess I always thought Glimmer's heart was in the right place despite like... everything she had going on. I never once felt Glimmer couldn't be redeemed and frankly my opinion on if Catra really "deserved" redemption still flips every time I think about it. If i thought I had a way to annihilate the people who took my family away, I don't know if I'd hesitate to top-rope elbow drop the Big Red Button even as much as Glimmer did. I guess that was Catra's rationale too on a deeper level, but at least Glimmer wasn't fine with the world dying once confronted with that reality, as sad a step up as that is. I feel like the fact I don't feel much sorrier for Catra reflects very poorly on me.

The series had a bad habit of Catra's choices having their more catastrophic potential consequences avoided so her redemption could go down smoother, my most prominent example being the corrupt shera virus. I'd pay damn good money to see how the story could even begin to salvage Adora and Catra's relationship if Adora killed someone like Glimmer or Bow under the effects of that. (not to mention the portal only kills one, albeit very important, person, Adora just happening to survive falling a pit, the story conspicuously forgetting about Angella etc) This sort of thing makes me think the author is cheating or working backwards from the ending they already want. Other characters were involved in some of those choices but that only expands the problem imo.

Glimmer's doesn't kill the universe either, but there's still disastrous consequences for Etheria and people she cares about, pretty much all of s5, and her story is all about understanding what she brought on them, and becoming a more responsible person to her friends/people. I really liked that. The only person Catra is really held accountable to is Adora, and maybe Perfuma on Scorpia's behalf. There's Entrapta but I dont think she operates in terms of blame/forgiveness, at least in canon. I know she literally forgave Catra explicitly, I guess I'm too mean to believe people could let go of stuff that "easily' and write it off like it doesnt count.

I know Catra's arc wanted a more intimate scale and they didn't have time to litigate all this, but my deep gut reaction is "tough shit, you shouldn't have had Catra do all that if you weren't gonna make her face what she'd done", especially since Adora makes a point that Catra is afraid to face people she hurt, then Mermista, Micah and Scorpia are conveniently chipped until the last minutes of the damn show. HP really did Catra a solid there. Glimmer's arc felt more willing to make her culpable in dire shit and not pull punches about it, even less so here, so sincere gratitude from me there. Not that Adora and Catra weren't put through hell but their s5 relationship seems to happen in its own little bubble safe from outside responsibility apart from Adora's martyrdom pathology.

Anyway, very excited to see how the Catra reunion will be handled given everything so far, and for Glimmer and Bow stuff. You've never done wrong by us yet. Sorry for this fucking thesis. Please feel free to point all the ways I'm being a myopic dumbass.

I always see Catra and Glimmer as two sides of the same coin - the same person but treated very differently by those around them. Glimmer had love and forgiveness from the people she grew up with, particularly her mother, whereas Catra had none of that outside of Adora.

But I think the end of season 4, start of season 5, we see a little bit of a flipside of that, and that's what starts making both of them wiser, more mature, etc. Up until then, Glimmer had never really had to deal with consequences for her actions - her mother, outside of grounding her, didn't appear to really punish her when she did things wrong. Even Bow, at least until Fractures, felt he always had to support and agree with her (and his own arc played into that). But when Glimmer decided to plough ahead with her plan to activate the Heart and ignore her friends, she actually had serious consequences for once. She had to deal with losing friendships, attracting Prime. And that wasn't something she'd really had to deal with.

Catra, by contrast, always had negative consequences to even the slightest of actions. Usually by Shadow Weaver, and then by Hordak, she was punished for her mistakes. But in season 5, she gets shown kindness and forgiveness despite her actions, and it too, becomes a turning point for her.

I also don't really see the story as 'redemption'. It's not about Catra or Glimmer redeeming themselves, it's about accepting you've done wrong and making the choice to be better. Yes, they do have apologies to make, wrongs to right, and we don't see a lot of that in the show. But we don't need to. What we see is Glimmer becoming more levelheaded and choosing to use that in place of recklessness. We see Catra choosing to return to Adora in Heart not for herself, but for Etheria. Both these young women have done things that have had a huge negative impact on other people, but they both end up trying to do better, to be better.

Redemption is based on how other people treat you. This is a story about how you treat yourself. Both are important.

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rabbittwinrithings · 1 year

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I’m finally making it, My Beyond Reach Review

Disclaimer: While I didn’t have the best time with this mod, that doesn’t mean you may not. I never want my opinion to sour someone else’s, and have the risk of them not playing the mod. So I highly recommend you check it out.

I’m putting this disclaimer as well since my playthrough of the mod is a bit unfair. I played it with godmode (since I suck at game combat,) and after a while started to clip through dungeons to get them over with. This started to happen around halfway through as I found myself more frustrated with the mod and kinda wanted it done. I also played through only mostly the main quest. However, a friend of mine did tell me about one sidequest I do have a problem with. So keep this in mind with my review that I may be treating it a little unfairly.

There’s also the point that mods are hard to make, let alone one of this scale. The mod author did an amazing job at creating this mod and I never want to invalidate that. With all that said, let’s get going.

CW: Sexual Assault, Child Abuse, Ped*****, Cannibalism, and Harm Towards Women.

And Obviously Spoilers!

First off, I’m not the best at writing reviews. It won’t be wonderfully crafted or anything, just mostly detailed bullet notes of what I liked and disliked. While there is more I disliked, I did find some positives and will be layouting things in a sandwich review (that’s the right word?) going from positive to negative. Here we go!

This is a review for the mod, Beyond Reach by razorkid.

Good: Grimdark. I will always love me some Grimdark. Hell, my current playthrough of Skyrim is currently a grimdark playthrough all with dead trees, gallows, horror monsters, ect. And while I think some parts of Beyond Reach’s grimdark-ness falls flat, most of it holds up and creates an eerie atmosphere. There were bodies hanging, creepy monsters, creepy dungeons, and a lot of stuff that fit the tone of the mod. However... some of it did not...

Bad: A lot felt like shock value. In grimdark there’s always a tendency to add a lot of stuff for shock value, and sadly, BR had an abundance of it. I knew the mod got dark, but still I decided to play the uncensored version as I did want to get all the content. However, some it felt just... unneeded. At one point the player is tasked to go raid an Orc stronghold where there are legionnaire prisoners. However, you end up finding two of them, both women, one alive, one dead. The player can piece together what happened from that alone, and yet the mod goes as far as to have the alive prisoner wail at one of the soilders about how she was raped and would have an Orc child. The only purpose of this scene felt like to show how horrible these Orcs were. But why not just do that with dead prisoners (doesn’t need to be SA,) or why have her go on a whole speech about it. After playing through this part I really was trying to rack my head around how it could have been done better. And honestly, after a day, I was reminded of Red Dead Redemption 2, and the scene were Arthur finds a woman who was also SAed. The only difference is that the scene added more than just “wow, those guys we killed were pretty bad,” instead, it added to Arthur's character. He helps the woman home. When she’s about to explain what they did he simply said “I know.” Subtly in situations like this tend to be the most powerful. As people our brains peice together what we want to see and having the woman simply say “They...” and the solider reply with “I know,” would have made the scene much more powerful. (She’s also naked during the whole ordeal, let me give the woman a blanket, something!) There’s other darker themes that I felt like were shock value (mainly the ending place with some children, however, talking about will just make me sick. So I think I’ll just move on. Basically, some stuff happens to kids and again I feel like it’s only there to prove how bad someone is and doesn’t give much of anything else. I feel like something horrible and big like that need to have numerous reasons to be there than a singular “look how terrible this dude is!”)

Good: Cool enemies. I don’t really feel like there’s much to say on this part. I just thought some enemies were really cool. I think the ones that stuck out to me are part of Vicn’s Creature Pack, but could be wrong. Mostly it was the bloody skeleton monsters. Very cool to see.

Bad: Not much role playing. Honestly, this part kinda made me the saddest as after one sidequest (which may have been my favorite part of the mod,) I had become an enemy of the state. It felt super in character as I was playing Alllin and despite being a serious guy, is also a little chaos gremlin who will flip off authority. But despite all that, I still ended up becoming a knight of the very state I was an enemy of and was forced to pick dialogue options that bended my knee to the king and was very formal. I’m not saying multiple path options in the way of a knight or criminal are needed, I just wish there were more dialogue options.

Good: Neat dungeon horror design. So this one is a bit here and there as the dungeons I went through had super neat astrosphere that did have the grimdark feel to them. One was an asylum dungeon which I found pretty neat. However, there was also a problem with length...

Bad: Long Dungeons. While this whole review is subjective, this part may be the most as I hate dungeons. If they’re neat looking I don’t mind. But when they take around thirty minutes to complete and little progress has been made I get real tired of them. This is why I started clipping through dungeons to just get the thing I needed and get out.

Good: Music is nice. (But as I type this I went to go find the composer. But I don’t see any credits to music, so a slight bummer. If you know who did the music, please let me know and I’ll edit this part with credits.)

Bad: A lot of dead women. And I get it, a lot of people in general die in this mod. And maybe I’m misremembering stuff, or looking to deep, but in the main questline there was one main female character. And she is killed. And then there are several spots that are just about women in harm. (Like the SA I mentioned before, a part where a little girl is killed by a griffin, an Orc woman being tortured, a brothel getting massacred.) And I just didn’t see so much focus on men. And that sounds weird. But when it leans to one side so much, it is just super noticeable.

Good: Voice Acting is nice. I know there isn’t too much to say there. I just really liked it. There were some unvoiced lines, but I don’t have too much of a problem with that since they are still looking for voice actors for various roles. I think the only problem I have with the unvoiced lines is that there’s no white noise for the line so the dialogue would just blink in and out and I couldn’t read what was said.

Bad: Very railroad path. You are forced to be a knight, and see red flags of the nobility and yet you can’t do anything. Most of the time when you question a noble why you should do something it’s “well I’ll just have you killed,” and sure, not dying is great, but then the next line I’ll talk as if my life wasn’t just threatened. A friend of mine who tried to be a bit more through in the mod took a sidequest where it told you a noble (who turns out to be evil later on in the main quest,) is a cannibal. Can we confront the noble about it? No. Can we warn those who may be hurt by him in the future? No. Do we talk to him as if we don’t know that he eats people? Yep! It’s all just odd and I think again it just falls back to the lack of player choice.

Good: So on my list I wrote “Liked sick town,” which makes no sense to those who haven’t played it. So to explain it better there was a Side quest I really liked. Not only did it give a ton of player choice, but it actually made me feel like a good person, and the people were nice to me! During my playthrough I made a rule that if someone was mean to me, I wouldn’t help them outside of the main questline. Cause why would I help someone who is rude to me? (There’s also an issue that most of the place is filled with mean people, so it creates little to no agency to help High Rock.) But one event was with some guards at a city I had to get into. I had to help them with an issue of some sick people and one of their guards who went missing. Come to find out the guard got sick and was trying to find medicine for the town so that they could live about three more years in peace. And in the end I was given a choice to kill the town, or help it. Obviously I helped it and became an enemy of the state. But I loved it! While the sick people would threaten you if you got to close to them, the guard with them was understanding. And his compassion for these people really stood out to me. It’s a shame I later had to bend my knee to the very people that wanted to kill them...

Bad: Lore Friendliness. This one is very short as I see lore in ES as free real estate. I don’t care what you add in your mod. That what makes it fun. However, I know this will be a turn off for some so I thought I would say it. I think the main factor is you talk to Mara on various occasions and I’ve been told that isn’t possible.

Good: City Design. I just like the layouts and looks of the city. What else can I say? Districts were interesting. (I think I'm running out of typing juices...)

Bad: Too much going on at one. There’s an Orc extremist group, there’s reach men attacking, there’s Namira shit, there’s a plague, and there’s a civil war starting. That is a lot, and it’s just the main quest. I realize it’s good to have a lot going on in a location, but not all of it needs to be in the main quest. All this stuff makes it super confusing and hard to keep track of what is really going on.

Bad: Buggy. I’m doing two bads in a row as I do want to leave the review off on a good note. There were quite a few buggy stuff. However, considering how I played through it I wouldn’t doubt if a lot was my fault. That being said, I know some who did play through it correctly did also suffer from bugs. That being said, I know the mod author is still working on the mod so bugs will most likely get fixed.

Good: Dialogue explanation. One thing I really found helpful was that in front of dialogue options were [lore], [quest]. These little tidbits made it super easy to tell what dialogue I was picking or which one I needed to pick. Very small detail, but works wonders.

Oh me, oh my, that is long... Sorry about that.

TLDR: The mod is successful in it’s eerie astrosphere, but is dragged down by heavy writing. lack of player choice, and shock value issues.

Thanks for reading all this and want to say again I don’t want to sway anyone away from this mod. I think it’s always important to try out something for yourself. Though, if the Content Warnings from above upset you, I recommend playing through the censored version (it will ask you in the game.) I haven’t played through the censored version, but it says it get’s rid of those events.

I may try and do more reviews in the future, but understand these reviews are never an attack on the modder as I get modding is extermley difficult. My reviews are here to be optional constructive critism, and if I’ve said anything wrong or you disagree with I’m more than happy to have a conversation in the comments. (I also say optional as sometimes modders aren’t looking for critism and just want to mod/create and that is 100% valid.)

Thanks for reading again, and hope y’all enjoyed!

#skyrim mods #beyond reach #Skyrim Beyond Reach #Skyrim modding #Modding Review

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see-arcane · 1 year

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The conflict in other couples: "she doesn't like me back, he's in love with my best friend, he's cheating on me with my sister, he treats me like dirt, we bicker and fight all the time while our friends are saying it means we should get together"

The conflict in the Harkers: "I'm very pious and religious and righteous and proper due to being raised in a society where a woman must be so while having to pray extra hard due to my background and lack of family or I'd not survive, and he's blasting Highway To Hell in his victorian airpods"

I (21 F) am unsure how to approach my loving husband's (22 M) increasingly heretical habits, especially as I (very much a Christian!) seem to be his inspiration. WDID?

To be clear, there is nothing on Earth or in Heaven (or in Hell, as my husband seems very prepared to visit) that could make me love this young man any less. He is my soulmate and there is no changing that. He feels the same towards me...and that may be a problem.

You see, recent harrowing events have conspired in our lives. All caused by a certain individual who will not be named. We'll call him 'DeVille' (excuse the pun, it was not my idea). DeVille, though deserving of pity for his own plights in my opinion, really was thoroughly monstrous. Be it leaving porters without a tip or committing mass murder for a snack or, closer to home, harassing, imprisoning, and/or forcibly conscripting victims into his undead thrall. My best friend suffered the latter. My husband came close to the same, but escaped. I was preyed on last, and was nearly turned in full.

But my husband and our friends prevailed! DeVille was destroyed in time, I was cured! All is well!

Mostly.

You see, ever since the night DeVille attacked me, my husband has been...different. You'll think I'm being hyperbolic, but his hair truly did go from brunet to full shock-white in the space of minutes when I told everyone what happened. Later, I learned that while he and our friends were out sabotaging DeVille's lairs, he also came near to slaughtering the fellow with a kukri knife. Not just in the privacy of the building; he scaled down a house wall and chased DeVille out into the street--where he fled.

This was after he had sworn aloud that he would sell his soul to kill DeVille. (And before meeting my pity for the fellow with a furious decree that if God gave him the chance, he would send DeVille directly to Hell himself.)

That much I could write off as mere passion on my darling's behalf. I will confess it, it was almost as thrilling as it was worrying. It might have been fine if that were all. Only I fear I pushed the issue without realizing. Knowing the stakes, I insisted our friends make an oath to me to give me a posthumous euthanasia--that is, destroying me/my corpse if I were to succumb to the vampiric poisoning and die--so I could not rise as a vampire.

Our friends agreed.

My husband did not.

He agreed to read me a burial rite, he remained wholly, icily focused on killing DeVille with the others, but He Never Agreed to Destroy Me. Much later, after DeVille was ended, he gave me his journal to read* (*many of us were keeping journals to record the whole ordeal as it happened). A section of it was in shorthand that only he and I could read.

And in that section, he had made his own vow, long before I made the euthanasia request. He wrote that if I were to become a vampire, he would too. He was so opposed to my ending in any form, that he would rather join me in Hell than raise a hand to me.

(I do not dare to wonder what might have happened if our friends really had made a move to make good on their promise. He never once took his hand off the kukri since that awful night of the blood. He still wears it today.)

But even here, now, in our safe present, there's more! Though he still attends church and will occasionally pray to (or swear at!) God, he seems increasingly drawn away from the mild state he shared with me prior to this ordeal. He has taken to a brazenness I would never have expected of him outside the privacy of our own home.

He has raised questions with me and with one of our older scholarly friends, how it is that God allowed DeVille, over 400 years old and a nobleman when we crossed him, to run around unimpeded for centuries and allowed two of our dear ones to die, if we were in fact part of some blessed crusade on His behalf. Likewise, he demanded to know how it was I was burned by the Eucharist barely heartbeat after I'd been assaulted by DeVille, saying,

"Is the Son so quick to judge that he would injure someone for an attack inflicted on their body, when their soul remains pure? Why is that?"

Receiving no answer he found satisfying--frankly, I think it was a trick question--he used it as an excuse to start stockpiling books of myth and lore from countries far more archaic than even those that were scoured during our hunt. In that vein, he has also taken to throwing out his old travelogues--he calls them all rubbish now--and has thrown himself into becoming an omniglot and scholar of other lands in his own right. All of which is not so terrible, I know, for seeking knowledge is never a sin.

What troubles me is that he has shown increasing interest in the gods of pagans. Especially in such powers as Milda, Dogoda, Eros, Astarte, Freyja, Inanna, Kamadeva and--I can hardly believe it--Lilith herself! Even Lucifer and Asmodeus! ...Though I admit the latter three's notes are compiled in the same pages he has dedicated to the test of Abraham and his near-sacrifice of Isaac. There are many points in this pile to do with questions of damnation by disobedience/rebellion (Lucifer and Lilith), the seemingly hallowed act of forcing another (Asmodeus) to do one's work for another (Solomon), and the nature of sacrifice as it pertains to loving/obeying God above all else, or else.

...

If nothing else, I cannot say he is not pious. But between all these gods beyond God, I cannot say if he is the man of faith he was when we married, overseen by the nuns who nursed him to health.

I am not asking for advice on how to change him. I am asking for advice on what I am to do.

For I find myself, against all sense, beginning to enjoy the changes that have come packaged with this change. He is brazen in so many things now; things I, a teacher of etiquette, would never have dreamed possible outside of fantasy.

He takes my arm or my hand wherever we walk. We share kisses in public--often in full view of other couples whose husbands are in full bray when complaining about their wives. When he is addressed after I ask a question, my husband makes a point of speaking solely to me or to the man's wife, regardless of how elevated the topic. He also has a habit of somehow introducing talk of advances in divorce law into such chats, and how much property a divorced woman could be expected to attain under the right circumstances...

And that's to say nothing of the New Woman activities.*

*It turns out he's been a supporter of the movement even before the business with DeVille! He was as shocked to learn that I wasn't! Now it seems that's no longer the case.

I've been introduced to members of the New Woman wave and have been shocked to discover so many of them look like the girl in the mirror! I suppose that's what I get for being so slow to broaden my social circle--and perhaps taking a view too many from the Punch comics. Even so, it all feels terribly scandalous to be meeting my husband's new-old friends in this space, reading their literature, and finding myself agreeing with so much of it.

More so, when my husband seems to have no end of fun in verbally trapping some of our friends in conversation that pokes holes in their benign, if (yes fine I will say it) belittling, regard to women, showing admiration only when they have 'man's brain' such as I have. It has snowballed so far that he is now catching everyone in tripwires to do with all the assumptive work that goes into deciding a person's character merely by sex, by skin, by nation, and, yes, by skull.

Lombroso is now a dirty word in his vocabulary, especially as he initially found as many regal as nefarious traits in DeVille's countenance; he with his Roman nose and wise forehead. Physiognomy has departed from my husband's habits. And I must admit, he is making fast friends after doing so. As am I.

But enemies too.

"Where is the science in this, exactly?" he has grated out at more than one ponce casting sneers at one friend for his nose or another for her brow.

It is a striking thing to see, this ghost of the morbid huntsman he was back on DeVille's trail. His eyes burn anew, the air chills, and even the hardiest of men all take a pace back. (Though I note that most of our bosom companions take a pace forward. And perhaps take a drink to hide their smile.)

"Is it truly science or is it bias and bluff in masquerade, a con snuck under the noses of scholars who see it flatters themselves? You will forgive me, sir, if the only proof you have to offer for a body's lesser status is that you do not personally find them pretty enough, or pallid enough, or rosy enough for your tastes. How curious it is, that this 'science' has such a habit of lauding only one sort of man or woman, the better to excuse poor treatment of anyone who is not their twin. 'Of course they must be stupid! They must be a villain! They do not look like me!' I know from experience that even the finest vessel can carry nothing but horse dung behind the eyes. And truthfully, I can smell the reeking heap that passes for your character from here."

It does help that, following such scenes, or those in which he sees I am upset that some snide commenter has thrown a slight his way (none of which appear to bother him, but he is always bothered that I am bothered), he takes great pleasure in acquiescing to any physical challenge. His trimness hides a Herculean strength, and he no longer even pretends to struggle in those schoolboy scuffles of an arm wrestle. He once tipped up a horse carriage to kick a child's ball loose--in full view of his peers.

My husband is always humble as a rule and the dearest, gentlest sweetheart as a rule; but now he shelves both these traits with abandon when he feels the urge to gut some cad's pride out of him.

These and other scenes have become the norm for us. Extreme heights of passion and compassion on one end, extreme lows of disdain on the other, and a medley of worldly-to-pagan study over it all. He has shrugged off so much of the restraint and faith he lived in before and, though he would never force me to do likewise, he has left the door open and waiting, as he sits on the staircase to a strange and unknown land. And it all began when he decided to put me over God and the Devil both. I do not know what to do.

Especially when every day, I feel less and less like I should do anything but walk down with him.

Advice?

#might have gotten a bit carried away with this one #but I needed a break #mina harker #jonathan harker #dracula #dracula daily #holiest love

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iztopher · 9 months

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I keep seeing posts going around with the sentiment of "people need to learn to distinguish media they like from good media/media they don't like from bad media," and while I appreciate the sentiment and I'm sure I've reblogged them before, the more I think about them the more I think that's not actually a useful way to judge media. If you approach things that way and it works for you, that's genuinely great. But I don't find it a productive road to encourage other people on.

I'm one of those people who think good art and bad art don't really exist in any objective sense. I think creativity is way too subjective for that. I remember, when I was first starting to use the "just because I like it doesn't mean it's good" metric, saying about a piece of art, "my personal opinion is this, but objectively-"

The best friend I was having this conversation with cut me off. "You can't be objective about art," they pointed out. "That's still a personal opinion." Yeah, okay, fair enough.

You cannot actually fully separate your personal opinion of art from your thoughts on it. Deciding what "objectively" makes good media is still a biased exercise. Where did you learn what makes good media? Why do you agree with it? These ideas are still personal! So is deciding whose opinion you agree with. You are, on some level, making a choice to agree with your mom, or your best friend, or the critic you respect, when you think a movie is bad but they say it's good and you decide that means it actually was good, personal opinions aside.

Everybody's different, but I lived by "distinguish if art is good or if you just like it" for years. It didn't help me understand media analysis any better, as any of my friends who had to patiently explain the basics to me time and time again could tell you. It didn't help me be less judgmental of other people's tastes. It just made me more insecure about my own.

It does not feel good to love a piece of art deeply, to admire it and use it as inspiration in your own work, and feel the need to tell yourself, but this is objectively bad. It does not feel good to suffer through art you've seen loved and praised but don't personally enjoy and feel the need to constantly remind yourself, but this is objectively good. In my experience, it mostly just makes you doubt your own right to experience and share your own opinions on art.

I am personally sick of saying that art I hold close to my chest is actually bad, but that's okay, because I love it anyways. Especially when I can articulate the things I like about it! I would much rather say, "I've seen people criticize this game's level scaling for requiring too much grinding, but I like it because it gives me more time with the characters and helps me better immerse myself in the game's world."

If you genuinely love a piece of art and also genuinely think it's bad art, whatever that means to you, all power to you. But both of those are your personal opinions, and I think owning that is a way more productive way to approach media than pretending one is and the other is just objective reality.

#dear mel #long personal post abt media analysis lol

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peppertaemint · 6 months

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I've always felt that the jikookers vs. taemin feud kinda mirrored the taekookers vs. jimin situation, but at a much smaller scale, of course. I agree with you that they feel threatened by taemin's indisputable stature as an artist, as it disrupts the narrative that bts is always the first and always the best at everything, and also because jimin looks up to him and is influenced by him (as if it wasn't obvious enough before, now we got the confirmation from the man himself, thank you very much). This reminds me of taekookers getting mad at jimin for standing out so much as a performer. I mean, he obviously does, that's why they're always all up in his business instead of focusing on their favs' "records". Also, they hate the fact that they're close because they read taemin as queer, which makes them think that they actually might have kissed, once, at a party (just once). Kookie's friends look straight enough to them, so they can stay. A bit homophobic if you ask me. I'm sure that if we saw taemin around jimin publicly more often, he would've been already promoted to the same The Other Woman™ role jimin occupies for tkks. And besides all that, I could write an essay on why jimin's friendships have always been under scrutiny because many people can't take the fact that he has more going on in his life besides being the members' cheerleader and jungkook's devoted wife, but that's a different topic.

Thank you for this Ask, Anon. You raised a lot of salient points here. The one I'm gonna pick up on is Taemin's perceived queerness, with emphasis on perceived.

There is an odd thing that happens with non-fans. They mostly think he's gay, that it's obvious, and they don't really like their favourite having a connection to him. While, within the fandom community, shawols cannot decide if they think he's gay. If you were to ask around, you'd get quite a few different opinions.

I find it interesting because the "outside" community has very specific and strong opinions of him. I connected with a Korean-American lady in her 50s a while ago and talked about all things Kpop. She wasn't a shawol. One of the first things she said, unprompted, was, oh Taemin, he's gay but can never come out, what a shame/challenge for him (I was chatting from a 2Min account, just for context). I was a little floored at how readily she shared this fully-formed opinion.

It seems the world outside shawols have already made up their minds about him, in one way or another. I think about when he was young and had that beautiful long hair, but his frame was still so slight that the gender confusion for an onlooker was understandable. It must have been hard to have the world decide that you were sitting somewhere on the trans spectrum. And to know everyone thinks they know you're gay.

There is a zero percent chance of him not feeling these things, and he's certainly done both reactionary hetero-leaning performances and queer performances. Pretty Boy is and Internet War are the first that come to mind. And it's worth remembering that sometime in the early 2010s, there was a Korean news report about homosexuality in kpop idols, and he and Jonghyun were named in it (as a couple, I think 💀).

I don't love the song Pretty Boy, but the choreography with its military steps and these lyrics have a lot to say.

Hey you, tough guy / Relax your hardened shoulders / Hey feel the way I move

I’m like a speeding train / You’ll be surprised / Look at that poor girl, I hope you notice / She says “you’re a guy so…” like a habit / Why is being sensitive and prepared the opposite of being a man?

Cause I do it I do it for you / I won’t pretend to be innocent like a puppet / Everyone talks so easily

I may always seem pretty, I may always seem good / I may seem nice, I may seem soft / But that’s all a part of your imagination that’s over my head / (Pretty Boy)

youtube

#kpop and gender #kpop and queerness #taemin #lee taemin #taemin Ask

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erenspussy420 · 2 years

Text

TWST ANDROID AU PT 1

Warning: Hey while this post doesn’t contain any Nsfw stuff my blog is, so please be careful and enjoy the Au. Thank you -Mod 420

Fem Reader Insert

Parts: One, Two, Three, Four, Five

(Ring Ring Ring)

The store you entered was brightly lit by over hanging chandeliers that looked very expensive and frankly you can bet it cost more than your house. It’s pretty though, it’s twisted rails remind you of a tree. There are three levels open to the public, the ground level you are on and a second from the grand stair case that leads up to a second level of androids. You heard there’s a fourth level, but no one can really tell you if it’s true or not. There are large cases before you, Three rows, each with a different android, and guessing from their color schemes divided by what collection they represent.

You step closer to one of the cases peering in, eyes wide as they took in the immaculate details of the android. So life like, they looked like they were just sleeping. You couldn’t even tell it was an android if it wasn’t for the fact their chest didn’t rise, or the cables that were charging them. Their clothes white with black checkered sash that crossed their chest, the cape that made them seem bigger than the android really was, that or the high heels the android sported. And even if the cape didn’t indicate how important this android was, or expensive in your mind, the crown and scepter in their hand surely did. Their hair was such a beautiful red, that even roses couldn’t even compare.

Your hand reached out to touch the glass, before you hand could touch the glass a loud voice startled you.

“Welcome, dear customer! I greet you and most graciously ask you to come to our store!” A figure stepped out from behind a the glass cases, with a duster in one hand and a large practiced grin, their face obscured by a mask that covered their upper half of their face. You step back, surprised and a little wary. Where did this person pop up from?

They step forward slowly, careful as their heels clicked on the blue mosaic tiles. They curtsied and gestured for you to come closer, with a patient smile. You shouldn’t really, you only wanted to peek inside, see what the big hubbub was about from your friends, you didn’t think the owner...manager or whoever this was, was like this. They’re of average height, black glossy hair and dressed in a soft mix of pinks, stepping closer you can smell a soft mix of flowers on them. Before you knew it, you have already came too close and you can see the delicate details of scales on their mask. She didn’t seem to mind though, so you guess you were in the clear. With a grand sweep of their arms, they present the glass cases before you with a showman’s voice:

“In this world, there are companies who created androids to serve humans. Be they a servant, caretaker, or even a companion! Please step inside out store and browse our large Twisted Collection modeled after our dear beloved Seven! There are many unique androids dear buyer! From our large collections we offer the best we have!

Oh! I see you spotted this rowdy group!

This group is one of our largest collection! The Heartslabyul Units have all six figures including the prized Roseheart Unit legacy! His signature red hair stands out from all other units as it is ONLY to be used by the Roseheart Collection. This group is quite lively and each unit have their own unique personality and interests! The Deuce Spade Unit and Ace Trappola Units are our most buy-together units in our group! They’re rather the trouble makers, but please don't let that put you off from them their both quite endearing in their own ways but truthfully in my opinion they’re quite the combo! You have siblings? Need a baby sitter or rather a boyfriend material? Our unit Trey Clover is just the man for the job! He may look plain but don’t let that fool you he’s quite charming and trust me I would put a ring on that finger in a heartbeat! Need a picture perfect photo or how about a scoop on the hottest trends? Look no further we have the amazing Cater Diamond or as his fans call him Cay-Cay! The Heartslabyul Collection isn’t a easy dorm to list off, but hopefully you get my point!

The Savanah Units while less than Heartslabyul have their own gruff charm. The Leona Kingscholar Unit is quite coveted and while not as popular as it’s brother unit, Farena, it’s still one of our top best-sellers! His beauty is nothing to scoff at and his intelligence can keep up with even the brightest, however he tends to be on sleep mode most times so be aware. The Ruggie Bucchi Unit, is small in stature but he’s quick on his feet and very resourceful! His ear’s are soft to the touch and any owner would be happy to have this money saver unit in their homes! And finally we have the Jack Howl Unit, ah! Don’t be scared he’s quite the sweetheart! While his looks tend to intimidate most buyers, he’s a loyal hardworking unit who’s tough exterior hides a golden core underneath!

Ah yes, we even have Units that shape-shift from our limited edition Sea-folk Units! Octavinelle Units are quite popular! Azul Ashengrotto Unit, is quite the smooth talker if I do say so myself! His second form is quite a beauty, but he’s a bit shy so you might have to work on that. Ahaha, the twin Units Floyd and Jade tend to be bought together and don’t seem to get along with other units, unless it’s the Azul unit to keep them company. It’s to be warned they do tend to be quite naughty so keep your head in the game!” The figure spoke so energetically, pointing to each unit to you as if they were simply long time friends and not androids.

And in a way they felt like it.

A loud clap from your tour guide drew you back, and you realize you had only seen the floor level units. Your tour guide, really what can you call them tour guide seems rude, but they really hadn’t told you to call them anything by- waited patiently for your reaction, the way they press their lips together suppressing a smile.

“So what do you think? Quite the beauties aren’t they?” She asks. She taps her heels and turned to point to the Riddle Unit.” He’s my favorite, that one. Funny too.”

“Yeah, um,” You point to the stairs, the woman turns comically following you finger’s direction,” I heard you have more? Can we see them?”

“Of course sweetie!” the owner, you think as that’s more easier to say, agrees she strides forward towards the stairs so quickly you ran to catch up. “Prepare yourself! There’s so many to see!”

You’re halfway up the stairs when the owner turns to you with a pleasant grin, you wonder does her mouth ever cramp from smiling so much?

“Be careful now, this is where the magic begins!”

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lylethewaterguy · 5 months

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your opinion on the green lantern corps

Don’t know if this means the members or the corps itself, so I’m gonna answer both. Also I was supposed to go to bed 3 hours ago so I’m tired as hell but wanted to get this out. So if this makes no sense… I’m sorry.

Members:

Don’t really know much about the GLC tbh, I’ve pretty much only read about them from an outside perspective or in very specific comics, so I’m only gonna go over the four corpsmen (sorry Jess, Simon, Jo, and Alan but I just don’t know shit about y’all).

Hal - Have a very love hate relationship with him. He’s generally a really entertaining character with a fair bit of depth but he can also just be super boring at times depending on the writer. I also absolutely hate the parallax retcon and it’s kinda made me not like his character as much as a whole. That being said I do still love him in the context of the GLC or as friends with GA. And I’m really enjoying the current green lantern run (even though he’s being a bit of an annoying ass).

Guy - my baby, my son, my child, the light of my life. Guy is by far my favourite lantern and he’s THE GL in my books (which is mostly due to the JLI as a whole being my all time favourites). He’s a very interesting character who’s a lot deeper than is immediately noticeable, and I love any story about his insecurities and self confidence issues (a relatable king). That being said I’m of the opinion that he was better as a red. And I’m kinda torn between not wanting him to be green so he can step out of Hal’s shadow and wanting him to be green so he can prove Hal (and everyone else) wrong. But really I’m just down for anything guy.

John - Idk how to explain it but I feel similar reading John as I do reading Alfred. Where he’s just a comforting presence that holds the team together and makes me feel safe. That being said John and Kyle are by far the two I’ve read the least of out of the four and so I’ve mainly only ever seen john from the leader of the pack perspective. But as that stands I think he’s awesome. A natural leader and a genuinely great person whilst not being a completely 2 dimensional bore (which some characters in his position tend to be).

Kyle - I think his constructs and the way he uses his ring is really unique and fun and I absolutely loved the moment where he saves Orion’s life by giving him a fake heart for hours on end. He’s such a genuine character who can somehow still seem down to earth and humane whilst being a literal god.

The Corps:

I love the way the corps and powers of the green lanterns really highlights the uniqueness of each of the characters. Like obviously every super and every flash uses the powers slightly differently, but with the GLs you can really see their characterisations shining through with every construct they throw. And every time they use their powers it gives you more insight into them as characters and really builds them up to be unique and three dimensional. Which is really fun.

As far as the corps itself I think it’s really weird how there’s just like an unelected police force with godly abilities flying around imposing their laws on everyone in the universe and the comics are like… cool with that? I’m sorry but the corps (and ESPECIALLY the guardians) seem like a really fucked up concept. From what I’ve gathered it seems like earlier comics dealt a lot more with criticism of the corps (but I haven’t really read a lot of those) and if that’s true I wish it’d come back. Don’t get me wrong it’s an incredibly interesting concept and I do really enjoy reading about it. But it also very rapidly falls into copaganda territory. Especially considering how they’ve made basically every GL have some history in the police or military. Not to sound like GA but it sounds awfully fash to me. So basically: as a fictional concept it’s interesting and I like reading about them (also love the cosmic scale of the corps) but I just wish the comics actually focused more on how, at best, questionable the morals of the whole corps are.

Final add on: Tomar-Re is hot as hell and he can absolutely get it, argue with the wall.

#again I’m half asleep already #so if this was nonsense I apologise #green lantern #green lantern corps #hal jordan #john stewart #guy gardner #kyle rayner

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aptericia · 3 months

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Can I ask you Yuri Leclerc for your new ask game? I saw you liked him too and I'm especially curious about your opinion for the 4 and 6 . If it's okay ^^

ofc friend!!!! thanks for stopping by and giving me a chance to talk about Yuri 🥰💜🐀

Send me a character and I will tell you:

1. how much I like their personality

I LOVE his personality!!! He’s smart and thoughtful, he’s definitely rude and arrogant but does it in a funny way, and he’s exactly the kind of character who deserves both a ton of respect AND to be made fun of relentlessly.

2. how much I like their design/aesthetics

10/10, he’s GORGEOUS but not at all generic, and his style and mannerisms are filled with personality. Unfortunately the Trickster outfit is truly awful, and although his timeskip outfit made it better, it’s still pretty bad.

(also his VA is absolutely amazing)

3. how interesting I think they are

I find him pretty interesting! Due to being a DLC character, he definitely gets fewer support convos, less screentime, etc than most of the regular characters, but if anything that makes him mysterious and gives each of his interactions more weight.

4. how well-written I think they are

I’m going to go as far as to say that he’s the best-written character in FE3H (which honestly isn’t saying that much…but still). I think the other house leaders, as well as Rhea, have deep and complex personalities but suffer from being forced into roles depending on the route. And most of the other students/faculty get reduced to certain iconic traits in order to make them instantly recognizable. By its nature, I think Cindered Shadows allowed much better character development for its characters, and Yuri ofc got the most care put into him.

5. (if applicable) how much I like their mechanics in-game

He’s not my favorite, but I still like him quite a lot! I greatly enjoy hybrid physical/magic units, and his stats let him excel in a lot of different classes.

6. if I think they are a Good Person(tm)

He’s definitely morally ambiguous, but I’d err on the side of calling him a Good Person(tm). I think he hypes up a lot of his questionable behavior to keep up appearances and to weed out the people he can’t trust. Ultimately the game never portrays him as an antagonist, and I think that’s because all the good and evil things he does are on a much smaller scale, more selfish and personal, than the leaders of the main routes. He might screw over a few innocent people, but he’s not leading any huge bloody wars, even in the name of eventual peace.

#thanks for the ask!#fe16

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taumoebaa · 3 days

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Finished reading the chapter. My lungs feel like rocks rn. My heart is broken. An entire fic populated into my head as I stared at the wall processing the chapter. I will never recover.

There it was—an empty space by her side—the space I was meant to occupy. This space was reserved for me; her shadow, her guard. I needed to reach out to her, needed her next to me, immediately.

I don't even know where to start. As one does with time loop fics, I ponder the ramifications of changing the course of history by saving Liam.

He didn't die, therefore his life thread continues. He didn't die, therefore Sloan is not so wounded and bitter. He didn't die, therefore he developed feelings for Violet and she for him. (let's be real) He didn't die, therefore he and Ridoc were able to become friends in their mutual concern for Violet, and Ridoc is obviously quite happy to be in Liam's proximity. (who wouldn't)

He didn't die, and it changed everything.

He didn't die, and it changed him.

What are the differences between the life he could have had, versus the life Violet stole for him? She straight ripped him out of fate's hands, and how does that impact Liam as a person, though he has no conscious understanding of the act? Does it tie his soul to hers in a way that neither of them realize? Does his blood thrum with some divine need to balance the scales? Does dragon magic require a tit for tat? Is his love real, or is it just an illusion brought on by forces he has no understanding of?

Does it even matter? Can we not just settle into some ravenous urge that he feels to please and care for Violet, and just let it happen? She tried so hard to save her golden boy, twice, and doesn't she deserve a little worship?

Her time loop signet basically makes her a god in my opinion, and I love how you effortlessly write the draw she has, even Jack seems compulsive in his obsession with her. And it feels natural, though no one else understands why they sense her otherworldliness.

Anyways, this was THE BEST chapter I've read in a long time. You remain my favorite Fourth Wing writer. You inspire me.

I had to sit down and re-read this a couple times just to process everything but I'm dying. DYING. Over your take on the chapter.

He didn't die, therefore he developed feelings for Violet and she for him. (let's be real)

This here is so important to me. I needed the reason for Liam catching feelings to be related to her signet. Like all this would've never happened if Violet hadn't grown in some way.

Does it tie his soul to hers in a way that neither of them realize? Does his blood thrum with some divine need to balance the scales? Does dragon magic require a tit for tat? Is his love real, or is it just an illusion brought on by forces he has no understanding of?

On this, I wanted Liam's attaction to her to be incredibly un-divine. The juxtaposition between Vi/Xaden vs Vi/Liam is something I think about a lot. Like. In my mind, Violet and Xaden and bonded in life, in an almost 'fated' way. There's a forced proximity because of Tairn and Sgaeyl. But in this story, the Liam/Vi relationship only exists because Vi has literally fought for his life against all odds. So in a sense, Xaden/Vi exists because of some divine fate, but Liam/Vi exists in spite of fate.

So to hopefully answer your questions, Liam's realisation of his love for Vi is very much a result of the way she's changed because of the time loops. Because she learned to be understanding of secrets and the war, and because she learned to accept a bit of caretaking from him. I need their attraction to be real and romantic in a very un-magical way, forged through Violet's brute force, and existing only in the 0.000001% of alternate timelines.

Do I sound insane? Yes. Probably. This fic is driving me insane.

She tried so hard to save her golden boy, twice, and doesn't she deserve a little worship?

Seriously. And he!! Doesn't even!! Know!! I love a selfless tragedy.

Anyways, this was THE BEST chapter I've read in a long time.

Every time I think a chapter is about to be a flop, it's nice to know that at least one person out there enjoys it!! And this is a bit off-topic, but I can't believe how you slept on your latest Service Dog Johnny chapter, and talked about struggling with his characterisation, only to put out the best communication and care I've read in a smut fic in forever. The way you write dialogue and realism inspires me to step up my game 😤😤

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