#mediocre writing

So um enjoy post mgs4 otasune they're killing me + smth when i was fixated on the otacon beinf snake's god quote from a few days ago that was google translated. Quality might be funny lol

Admittedly, trashing his apartment after yet another fight with Bruce didn't really sound— fine, but he was! And yes, maybe he stormed to one of his safehouses trying to find a safe haven where he could rest and had a minor mental breakdown when he found his little brother there, but he was Fine.

He glanced at Tim, who was sitting on the floor, back pressed to the couch, all and all absorbed in his nintendo. Dick sighed in relief: he didn't have to talk.

He closed his eyes, daring to think about relaxing, maybe taking a nap— which was a bad choice, apparently, because that's when someone crashed through his window.

Two hooded figures (an adult, around 6'4, a fucking tank— and a kid, around 8? 4'9—) landed on the floor with a roll, immediately followed by 5 others— assassins, those were assassins.

The first two swiftly turned around and began fighting, movements perfectly coordinated and precise, like it was etched into the very matter of their souls.

Dick and Tim jumped up a second later, taking the duo's side (an enemy of one's enemy is one's friend and all that jazz).

The fight was— exhilarating; the man easily fell into Dick's fighting style like it was as easy as breathing, and the kid followed suit. Sure, they all took a couple of blows (and slashes and stabs) because it was the fucking League of Assassins, but it was fun.

Before they knew it, they won.

Heaving, Dick turned around, searching for the two. The guy's hood fell during the fight, and it revealed a young face (17?), adorned by a mop of black curly hair with a striking white streak in the middle. But what made him falter was the boy's face; Dick knew that face: he saw it every single day, it followed him around, it sang to him of guilt, of blame.

He hesitated, looking down at the passed out assassins around them: not a complete hallucination, then. Well, it wouldn't be the first time he saw his— Jason's face on a stranger's, even though it was usually kids.

Still.

There was a hesitant, gravelly sound coming from— the man (Not Jason, not Jason, never Jason).

Dick looked up at him (His face was still there, fuck, he couldn't-), before his eyes zeroed in on the guy's shoulder: "you're bleeding."

The boy made a face, but replied nonetheless "Yes, er... It kinda stings, can we go shower?"

What.

"What?"

Not-Jason huffed "Dickhead, did you go deaf? Can we go shower or not?"

An alarm bell was going on loud in his head.

Dick glanced down, pointing at the kid (He was not dealing with that right now. Nope. Not-Jason had Jason's face and used his nickname and he will not deal with that right now).

"Who's that?"

At being addressed, the child perked up, puffing out his chest proudly "I am The Son of Ba-" he was cut off by the older boy's hand covering his mouth, before answering

"Damian."

"Damian?"

"Damian."

Sure, ok, whatever.

Not-Jason bent down, whispering something in the kid's, Damian's, ear. He nodded "The pretender," he spat out, looking mildly disgusted at Tim "and Richard."

The boy made a confused noise at Tim's nickname, but ultimately shrugged and moved on.

Dick, in the meanwhile, bent down towards Tim: "You think he's real?" he questioned "I mean, yeah, he's usually bleeding when I see him but... he's more...little" and mean, but that he didn't say.

His little brother looked at him like he was the biggest imbecile on earth "Yes Dick, I'm pretty sure it's real, because Scarecrow's been in Arkham for two months now and if not fear gas then it'd have to be a shared, corporal hallucination, which would be fucking weird"

Dick glared at him "Oh but the literal walking dead isn't?"

"Are we rooting for shared hallucination, then?"

"Can we go shower, please?"

The exasperated voice of the boy stopped whatever bickering was gonna start between the two brothers.

Dick looked at him and sighed.

Fuck it, He's too tired for this shit.

Disclaimer! My grammar etc. might be booty

(I made it a while ago so don’t judge too much)

Writing below ⬇️

Stiles always assumed he’d die young, with all the near death experiences he’s been through it just made sense. He had come to terms with it. It was accepted. Although he assumed it would at least be after college and not the night of his highschool graduation. Especially not before he got to get drunk in celebration of beating Lydia Martin at valedictorian. 

Yet here he was; against a tree, a gash in his side so big he’s pretty sure an organ was half hanging out and a werewolf’s mate standing above him. 

His eyesight was fading, loss of blood and all that. His peripherals and depth perception were shot, and all he could make out was a fuzzy form of the scene in front of him. He couldn’t lift his arms from where they were laying limp by his side covered in his own blood. 

“Where’s your little pack now?” Cassandra, no Carissa, oh who the hell cares what her name is, sneered. “I can smell that alpha all over you, you know. It’s so potent I can barely get to your own scent. I’m going to show Derek’s mate the same mercy you guys showed mine.” She stepped forward and bent down centimeters from Stiles’ neck to take a long drag of his scent, claws raised. 

The fear was gone. Stiles’ heart rate didn’t even change with how close she got. There was no room for panic, the pain was too overwhelming. Sure everyone would be sad about his death but Melissa would help his Dad and Kira would help Scott. Crazy bitch didn’t even have it right, Derek wasn’t his mate. Sure, things were starting to get somewhere but the most that happened was some dry humping and two emotionally constipated boys who don’t know how to express feelings because of all the shit they’ve been through. He had his pack, he would be fine too.

Just one swipe of her claws and it would finally be over. 

Except it never came. He opened his eyes that he never realized closed and saw Cassidy alarmed? Maybe in shock? Her eyes, now shining red, were wide and the hand that was supposed to bring him a fast death was now being withdrawn back to her side. Her mouth gaped but all it took was a second for her face to split out into what you can only call an evil grin. 

“They never told you?” Her head turned at a slight degree much like a confused puppy, he wishes he was able to laugh and make a joke about that. 

“Actually, I have a better plan.” She whispered. “Tell your Alpha that I know their secret weapon and can’t wait to have him watch you die with nothing he can do about it for the second time in his life.” 

Her teeth were elongated and sunken into Stiles’ neck before his sluggish brain could question what the hell she was talking about. 

-----

“Iles. Stiles. STILES.” Someone left out  a whine, a pitiful whine. Wait - was that him? His head turned to the sound of his name still using the tree as support. His eyes were heavy as he tried to make out anything in front of him. Cleo nowhere in sight. Why couldn’t he have an easy death? 

His whole body was thrumming, the bite on his neck leaking so much blood he could feel it running down his chest. The bite wasn’t taking; that was obvious. Even without the giant gash in his side he could feel his insides shutting down, organ by organ. 

“Stiles” A breathless voice was heard above him. He lifted his gaze as much as he could to see Derek standing above him. He immediately went into hero mode, dropping to his knees and adding pressure to the open wound. Stiles grunted as pain shot through him. 

“Stop, there - there’s no use.” It was barely above a whisper but he knew Derek could hear with his supernatural ears. Every word he spoke took a terrible amount of effort. He bared his neck to show the unhealing bite. 

“Please Der, please end it.” He sobbed, there was no cure for a bite that’s not taking. He was dying and he didn’t want to suffer anymore. “Please.” 

Derek had a haunting look in his eye and stayed frozen holding Stiles’ insides inside him. A moment passed with nothing happening and now Stiles was getting angry. He didn’t deserve to suffer anymore, the thought of seeing his mom again was the only thing keeping him calm through this tortue and Derek was prolonging it. 

He just wanted to feel peace again.

And then he did.

 ❀  ❀  ❀  ❀

Finally got around to watching the fansubs of the Shanghai special and “Truth” (I’m still waiting for the other episodes to come out before watching Furious Fu).

Miraculous World: Shanghai – The Legend of Ladydragon

I have to say, I might change my mind later if the Prodigious proves to be more crucial to the overall lore of the series, but right now? Yeah. This special is a major skip for me. 

I did not connect with Fei the way I fell in love with Jess and Aeon. I am so pissed at the set-up the writers came up with to GET Marinette to Shanghai; her reasoning is the most selfish thing we have ever seen her do and it is such an injustice to her character. Plus, it is like neither Ladybug nor Chat Noir learned anything from the New York trip as they both show up in Shanghai kind of spur of the moment (i.e. didn’t tell the other they were leaving Paris). In fact, Marinette - again, going back to my hatred for the setup to get her to China - didn’t even CONSIDER the fact that Paris would be left unprotected; that Ladybug would be MIA. Granted, it was stated that Hawk Moth was surprisingly inactive, but shouldn’t that put her on hyper-alert; waiting for the other shoe to drop and Hawky to release something big that he was building up to? Instead she just lowers her guard and doesn’t even consider her superhero duties when planning on following Adrien. 

Another annoying thing is that the writers didn’t seem to learn anything from backlash against the episode “Kung Fu.” They just once again have Adrien be the one offering to teach Marinette Mandarin; not her mother (whose Chinese name Marinette never even knew), nor her great-uncle. Another writers flub was in the battle against Roi Argent. Ladybug questions Mei Shi’s suggestion that revenge does not equal justice (if that was translated properly), and... I’m pretty sure Marinette already showcased in previous episodes such as “Silencer” that she very much knows that revenge doesn’t equal justice??? She’s the one who corrected Chat Noir that Silencer coercing Bob Roth to admit he stole from Kitty Section and Marinette isn’t justice; it’s revenge. So???? HUH? NOW she magically feels like Fei’s revenge on Cash is justice for what he did to her? 

If all of that wasn’t bad enough, the pacing of this special was in complete overdrive as well. You didn’t have any of those emotional moments - both heart breaking and fluff-bombs - that you had in the NY special. The focus was largely on Fei, and I didn’t even really like her. She didn’t have the heart and the fully-fleshed characterization that Jess or Aeon had.

I’m also confused about Gabriel spending the past 15 years planning this whole thing. HOW!? WHY!? This is before Adrien was even born, or VEEERY shortly after if we skipped over his 15th birthday in the series. This was LOOOOOOONG before Emilie’s illness, which is presumably why Gabriel started using the butterfly miraculous in the first place (as showcased by Gabe in Origins asking Nooroo to remind him how the powers even work before using them for the first time in a corrupted state on Adrien’s first day of public school). So, if getting the Great Power of the Prodigious was something he was planning on doing literally all of Adrien’s life, why present it as “I found something that can finally give me an edge against Ladybug and Chat Noir”? I mean, what was his original endgame going to be? He couldn’t have possibly known that he’d be in dire need for the cat and ladybug jewels but struggled to take them from two teenage superheroes. It’s like the writers are trying to set him up as some mastermind akin to David Xanatos from Disney’s Gargoyles, but they are failing miserably. The whole Hawk Moth plot just doesn’t make sense to me.

Honestly? The only things that made this special worth it for me were: 1) Finding out a bit more about Sabine and her family (I love that she probably picked the name Sabine because it sounded like the pronunciation of her Chinese name) 2) Seeing Gorilla be his action figure nerd self a bit more (and the action figures of Uncanny Valley and Eagle) 3) Mei Shi in Renling (?) form, who was hella adorable! I need him as a plushie STAT 4) Adrien being the precious bean that he is. Just every moment he’s on screen was adorable (complete with him STILL having the picture of Marinette that was sent to him in “Evillustrator” saved to his baton and using that to try to find her) 5) Seeing the world through the eyes of a kwami for the first time and learning a touch more non-crucial lore 6) Mei Shi in statue form reminding me of the Dragon costume on The Masked Singer.

(I know, seeing them side-by-side now, they really aren’t that similar after all, but it’s been about a year since Dragon was on The Masked Singer, and he’s still what I kept thinking of as I watched Mei Shi on screen)

While I obsessively watched the New York special at least a dozen times, I’m really only seeing myself re-watch this special once more when it’s in English, and maybe whenever I do a full-series binge (which is super rare that I take the time for that).

Not impressed. Sorry.

Truth

“Truth”, on the other hand? Hhhhhnnnnnngggg. My heart! It breaks! Poor Marinette. Poor poor Luka. I mean, silver linings at the end there, but also BIG OOF. (Also, why wasn’t Adrien around at all whenever Truth made people confess that Marinette’s secret was her love for Adrien? xDDD)

I’m also a bit confused about the Adrien pictures. She had them taken down pretty much since “Troublemaker”, and yet her walls are once more papered with Adrien’s likeness now that Marinette is trying to get over him and date Luka? How does THAT make any sense outside of the writers going “we need an awkward phone call between Marinette and Luka. Oh! I know! A picture of her Adrien-covered bedroom walls is accidentally sent to Luka!” >3> Also.... what is UP with Luka’s animation again!? The kid was so pale it’s like they forgot to add any color to his model in this episode. WHY CAN’T THEY JUST ANIMATE MY PRECIOUS SON LOOKING HANDSOME EVER!? FIRST NO EYELASHES, AND NOW NO SKIN TONE!? WHYYYYYYYYY!? Personally, I prefer “Silencer” to “Truth” both in overall story and in Luka’s akumatized form design. Also, side note, did anyone else notice that Ladybug was hit by Luka’s attack and couldn’t speak for most of the battle both times? And that she needed Chat Noir to help her set up her Lucky Charm both times? And that Luka’s drive both times was to get to the truth?

I did still enjoy this episode very much. It showcases the new stresses Marinette has to face (totally unfair; I agree. However, it’s a standard trope in most teenage superhero stories such as Teen Titans and Spider-Man, so I was expecting it). It showcases how hard it is for her to figure out a balance between life and superheroing (again, re: standard teen-superhero trope). The fans get confirmation on a fantheory that’s been circling pretty much since Luka was introduced (ESPECIALLY after the episode “Desperada”). The Ladynoir shippers are well fed, and it’s great to see LB and CN praise each other - including Ladybug’s love of Chat Noir’s humor. 

I hope this isn’t the end of us seeing Luka in the show (that would break my heart even more) and it feels lame to build up the Lukanette “love rival” arc only for it to die off before it really goes anywhere. There was so much story potential there where Marinette could grow to learn what it truly means to be in love, and not just idolize and romanticize someone you’re infatuated with. Instead, all she learned is that she is alone aside from Chat Noir, and I feel like that’s SUUUUPER railroading the Ladynoir ship. And, frankly, I’d much prefer to see the Ladynoir side grow naturally, as it has been, instead of forcing Marinette’s hand because Chat Noir is the only one she can be MOSTLY honest with (secret identities notwithstanding).

It’s been a long hiatus. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to dodge fandom salt, but still get a larger dose than I intended to have in my fandom diet, so maybe my views are a bit tainted from that. However, this special and season premiere feel a bit like the writers are stumbling. I don’t know if the pandemic somehow affected their writing flow, or if they feel pressured by the fans to tell the series’ story a certain way and are scrambling to do so, or if they are rushing to an ending instead of taking their time and letting it naturally unfold as they had with the first few seasons. But, regardless of their reason, I hope they re-find themselves; the ones who told great stories in seasons 1 and 2 and (poor writing for Marinette notwithstanding) really good stories in season 3. I hope they can step up their game for the remainder of season 4. 

It’s been a long break, and we all deserve something good to feed us. We don’t need another GoT or HIMYM final season. Especially when this isn’t even supposed to BE the final season of the series.

together in the marrow of this body,

he would at once believe me.

I am sure of the rhythm of my heart -

but he is sure only

that I have begged him to believe it.

personhood is the courtship of certainty,

but he hears of mine and is married to his doubt.

the same veins that made their home in sappho,

settle in me for the winter.

I cannot put his fingers to their pulse,

cannot spill them open for him to read

the mettle of me written in the red.

(I would break my legs backward

to be heard).

I have heard a great many things

about being a good daughter,

but when I used to look for her in mirrors,

all I saw

was who was locked in her ribcage,

starved, and biting his hands through the bars.

someone asked my father once if he and I were close,

and his fingers bled in answer.

WARNING: THIS IS SET POST-ENDGAME! CONTAINS SPOILERS SO READ WITH CAUTION! Also, super mediocre writing, so I’m really sorry.

Summary: It’s hard trying to go back to the way things were before the Snap, but hopefully with Ned and MJ’s meddling, Peter can start coping and even be happy again. Maybe the dog named Lemon and her pretty owner can help with that...