#<– i feel like tumblr is limited to only that part of the fandom which can survive the atmosphere in here

[dokjas-lostselfpreservation]

oh wow you put it into words. i have been irritated about this for sO LONG OH MY GOD

I've been and I currently am in many fandoms and I love interacting with other fans but BY THE GODS the Alien Stage fandom is probably one of the worst because people seem so... illiterate?? In a sense that they can't comprehend characters and actions without having a "black and white" "good and bad" perspective

This is probably because ALNST is a "new" web series born in the Tiktok era where everyone in fandoms seems to be braindead (I blame americans for that, as always, especially teenagers who go around thinking they are some kind of moral police just because they have religious trauma or whatever and need to project their beliefs in others)

But yeah, in the ALNST fandom they can only go "Ivan bad bc kiss and choke Till bad" "Luka bad bc manipulate others bad" when literally THE ALIENS are the reason for all of this and why some characters were forced to act in a certain way (all the time they spend hating on those two characters can be spent hating on the aliens but no)

They are in a life or death competition created by the aliens where they only want to survive or save the opponent and you think the things they do on that deathly stage are THE WORST THINGS??

All the things Luka has done, Ivan's actions while sacrificing himself, Sua's sacrifice, Till's actions, Hyuna's words, Mizi's whole character's point are WAY DEEPER AND MORE COMPLICATED THAN "BAD" "GOOD" "PROBLEMATIC" "TOXIC" OR ANY OTHER WORD YOU LOVE USING JUST TO EXPOSE YOUR INABILITY TO HAVE A CRITICAL THOUGHT ON A MEDIA YOU CONSUME

I can't comprehend this level of immaturity I swear

[esthelle-wanders]

Warriors and Artemis: What The Heck Is Going On With Them (a self-appointed analysis)

SO I don’t tend to get too involved with shipping— but during my time in the Linked Universe fandom, I’ve noticed something consistent: while everyone has their own set of headcanons for favorite couples, Hyrule Warriors Zelink is the princess-hero duo with the widest variety of interpretations.

Aside from other factors— like Warriors fans living for angst— I think this stems from the reality that, in the context of Linked Universe specifically, the dynamic between Wars and Artemis is among the Link-Zelda relationships we know the least about.

Hence, in light of the recent holiday, I wanted to take a moment and collect all the clues we’ve gathered for this relationship over time. And, maybe, spark some conversation! (Buckle up and maybe make some hot chocolate, there’s surprisingly a lot to talk about)

[All image credits go to Jojo, with thanks!]

Part 1: Jojo’s Hints

When considering any Link-Zelda dynamic in Linked Universe, the easiest place to begin is Jojo’s response to the “love interest” question…aka, Default Zelink.

Obviously, this response doesn’t define the limits of fandom creativity, or invalidate the thousands of excellent stories we can tell with our own interpretations. It is, however, incredibly helpful as a starting point when we’re trying to puzzle out where Jojo might take a relationship in future updates!

Note: Redacted

[Originally, this next section included my analysis of a Q&A Jojo gifted to the Linked Universe Discord server. It was brought to my attention that this material was not meant to be shared outside the server. Of course, I have removed it. Creator boundaries are very important, and regardless of my intent or awareness, I want to honor that. Thanks to @luna-loveboop for catching this!

For the purposes of this analysis, I’m leaving my conclusions intact, and replacing this specific section with a link to the LU Discord server. If anyone wants to read the evidence there, along with a host of lovely lore tidbits, absolutely check it out!]

Analysis Resumes:

So, here’s what we know:

1. Wars and Artemis are almost certainly romantically involved.

2. It’s more than mutual feelings, but less than an established relationship.

3. It’s been at least SIX years since the end of their adventure.

Obviously, I still have questions. Chief of which is: what does it mean that this is where their relationship stands, when it’s been 6+ years since their mutual adventure?

This sparks a few more questions.

1. If there’s mutual interest, why hasn’t it progressed?

2. Are there obstacles to a definite relationship?

and, of most interest to me:

3. If there’s an obstacle— are either Warriors or Artemis the reason for this?

Conveniently, that part’s next!

Part 2: Warriors and Artemis

A. Warriors’ side

Thus far, Wars has referenced Artemis (directly) exactly once (in “Moving Forward”):

This doesn’t tell us anything about the specifics of their relationship, but it does show that

1. Artemis is a fond subject for Wars: he cares about her.

2. She’s an exception to his hangups with secrecy: he trusts her.

(I considered providing instances of the “Wars and Not Being Told Stuff” saga, but that would 1. take forever and 2. test Tumblr’s image limit. I think we can all agree that this is a trait of his.)

This is a pretty reasonable indicator of how Wars feels about Artemis… for now. He cares about her, and even more notably, he trusts her.

But what about the princess in question?

B. Artemis’ side

As of now, the Zeldas have only come up a handful of times in LU.

Aside from background comics and cameos, references in the main story are largely restricted to Time giving Sky relationship advice in “Miss Her,” Wild addressing his thoughts to Flora at key moments in the aftermath of Twilight’s injury, and Time mentioning Lullaby in “Timeline talk 1.”

And then, of course, there are the Malon chapters.

Romance, as it pertains to the Links, is the subject of conversation at multiple points throughout this “arc”— but for my purposes, the most important stuff is this panel from “The Bet.”

Okay, aside from Wars making political-intrigue fanficcers very happy, this is super informative. A few key takeaways:

1. Wars also assumes Default Zelink.

2. He doesn’t see birth or status as an obstacle to marriage.

3. He’s so confident that he’s willing to bet on it.

(Admittedly, the Chain places a lot of bets— but it’s still worth mentioning that he’d stand his ground on this)

From here, I think we can make three statements and remain well within the realm of probability:

1. Wars thinks very highly of his Zelda.

He sees how much Time loves his wife, and Time’s general self-possession, and assumes it has to be the princess.

2. If there are obstacles to HW Zelink, they probably aren’t external.

Wars treats public support as a given, as long as the involved parties can play the political game.

3. He seems to be speaking from experience.

There’s no signs of frustration, or even a hypothetical here— he’s talking about this like it’s par for the course. Ergo, he probably hasn’t experienced anything that would contradict that assumption.

My conclusion: Artemis isn’t the obstacle. There’s no indication here that Wars’ Zelda is unable or unwilling to make the political arrangements he mentions. In fact, given how unconcerned Wars appears, I’d say it was never a point of contention at all.

That’s as far as I’m willing to go with this panel alone— but if we factor in Zelda’s attitude in Hyrule Warriors proper, I think it’s reasonable to assume that Artemis is open to taking this relationship to the next level.

*inhale*

So. If there’s mutual feelings, and there aren’t any external obstacles, and it’s been 6+ years— why aren’t they a couple?

Part 3: Let’s talk about Wars

Specifically, Wars and his relationship with… relationships. Of the romantic kind.

Since the earliest years of the LU fandom, it’s been fairly well-established that Wars is the resident flirt.

This comes from a few of the side comics, but also from the first-ever Linked Universe post:

Over time, the fandom’s interpretation of these traits seems to have shifted a bit.

Early fanworks tended to depict Warriors as the “Casanova” of the group. More recently (within the last few years), I’ve seen the widespread reading that “women problems” has more to do with Wars’ personal trauma than with a hypothetical reputation as a womanizer.

While these alternate perceptions have a big impact on how we might interpret situations like this—

— surprisingly, it makes very little difference to this self-appointed investigation. Whether he’s a chronic flirt, processing trauma, or both, the fact is that Wars doesn’t seem interested in “settling down” with a definite relationship.

This is clearest, I think, in this panel from “Powerful Ring”:

Warriors is being a tease here, but using the term “shackle” telegraphs a pretty clear opinion. Time even draws a bit of attention to it with his good-natured “aside.” It’s not something you’d say if you were actively looking to get into a long-term, committed relationship.

We’re encroaching on the image limit, but it’s worth noting that Wars’ attitude here contrasts sharply with Sky’s, and even Hyrule’s. Sky is all bashful interest, and Hyrule expresses doubt over his own ability to “settle down” as the Hero. Meanwhile Warriors, who sits between them on the Zelink romance scale, projects pointed, if very light-hearted, distaste (or at least disinterest).

So here’s Warriors’ side, updated:

1. Warriors cares about Artemis, a lot.

2. He also trusts her, a lot.

3. For whatever reason, he doesn’t want to be in an official relationship with her.

Part 4: Conclusion

Okay! Time for the TLDR:

1. Wars and Artemis are almost certainly romantically involved.

2. It’s more than mutual feelings, but less than an established relationship.

3. It’s been at least SIX years since the end of their adventure.

and, finally,

4. Wars himself is the obstacle to taking the relationship further.

Annnnd that’s as far as I can go, without veering off the tracks into headcanon territory.

Of course, while I tried to be as neutral and “canonical” as possible, at the end of the day, this is just speculation! And Esthelle amusing herself tracking down hyper-specific panels in Linked Universe like it’s an Important Assignment and not an Excuse To Read The Comic Again.

Whatever it turns out to look like, there’s so much potential in the Wars-Artemis dynamic! They’re interesting, and we should talk about them more— even if I didn’t plan to write quite this much about them in one post. I can’t wait to see what Jojo has planned.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far! If you have additions, corrections, theories, or general thoughts, I’d love to read them.

[anistarrose]

If you were an a-spec exclusionist (or even "neutral") in the 2010s on Tumblr, if you remember laughing at "cringe aces," and have since come around to realize "hey that was kinda shitty, obviously aces and aros are queer," then you've obviously taken a huge step forward. But if you haven't actually evaluated what subtler forms of aphobia look like, and unlearned those too, then you absolutely need to do that, or else internalized biases will persist in this community that make a-specs feel unsafe.

The most rampant and insidious type of aphobia on Tumblr in the past few years hasn't been about explicitly saying you hate/want to exclude asexuals. Aphobes themselves say they've moved on from "discourse blogs," now preferring to make superficially "normal" posts with subtle aphobic dogwhistles, and people who don't consider themselves "exclusionists" still pass those dogwhistle posts around! And sometimes, "subtle" is giving the aphobes way too much credit, because a-spec terminology and microlabels are still constantly mocked, and used as punchlines.

Below, I've linked a variety of posts about what aphobia looks like, what commonly misunderstood/mocked a-spec terminology really means, and how a-spec people differ from common stereotypes and misconceptions. I don't expect everyone to read every one of these posts. There are some long ones. But I know Tumblr would be a significantly less hostile experience for a-spec people if everyone unlearning aphobia looked at, and reflected critically about, at least a few.

Subtle Aphobia; A-Specs and Sex Positivity

[Plain text: "Subtle Aphobia, Aces and Sex Positivity."]

Sex Repulsion Vs. Sex Negativity - Know the Difference

“Anti-Sex” and the Real Sexual Politics of the Right (Spoiler alert: religious purity culture is not "anti-sex." Rather, it's actually opposed to sexual autonomy.)

Acephobia and Ableism, Queer Social Spaces "Discourse"

Common Modern Aphobia, Critical Thinking Questions About "Cringe" Ace Posts on the Dashboard

"Virgin" as an insult just perpetuates sex negativity

Tumblr polls as harassment bait

Hey, What Do Those Terms We Mocked Actually Mean?

[PT: "Hey, What Do Those Terms We Mocked Actually Mean?"]

Origin, Use, and Etymology of "Allosexual"

Why "Queerplatonic" Doesn't Have a Set Definition, and Why That Matters (from the actual people who coined it!)

"Queerplatonic is to relationships what nonbinary is to gender"

"Amatonormativity" as Defined by Dr. Elizabeth Brake

Amatonormativity Affects More Than Just Aces and Aros

On mocking people's labels — "I want to limit your ability to communicate"

Masterpost of A-Spec Readings

Aromantic Allosexuals (Yes, Including Men)

[PT: "Aromantic Allosexuals (Yes, Including Men)"]

"Aroallos are often treated as inherently "more sexual" than other allosexuals. Here's why that assumption happens, and why it's bullshit."

Romantic Attraction Is Not Required To Respect Women

You can't support aroallos without unlearning sex negativity

Further Readings on Aphobia

[PT: "Further Readings on Aphobia"]

The problems with "Asterisk Acceptance"

"Aces are Valid" doesn't cut it

Compulsory Sexuality Is An Issue For Everyone

When sex-positivity in fandom swerves into compulsory sexuality and othering aces. (This is the only "fandom"-adjacent post I'm linking, but doing so because 1. I know the demographics of this site, and 2. this post is so well-put that its point is generalizable to non-fandom topics too.)

Aphobia Was Bad, It Was Bigotry, It Was Part of the TERF Pipeline

Bi person discusses parallels between aphobia and other queerphobia

Bi and trans person discusses parallels between aphobia and other queerphobia

Asexual Women of Color Navigating White Patriarchy

"Trauma is not a factor by which queerness should be measured" - excerpt from Refusing Compulsory Sexuality, and related discussion

Arophobia: "You say you accept aromanticism, but..."

A-Spec Experiences Growing Up in Purity Culture Religions

"The World is Not Made For Single People"

Asexual Theory Masterpost

[luminetti]

Dressed to Kill

༘⋆ Summary: In which, you, a professional cosplayer, mistake Bakugou’s hero outfit for a really good Halloween costume. ༘⋆ Pairing: bakugou katsuki x fem!reader ༘⋆Warnings: n/a, reader is just the biggest dumbass (lovingly) also, i cannot stress this enough. they are NOT CHILDREN in this. they’re both at least the age of college seniors  ༘⋆Notes: huge thanks to one of my biggest inspirations for writing in general: @andypantsx3 ! this fic is lightly inspired by—and lowkey a lovechild of—her pieces, baby are you playing tricks and unconventional, so if you somehow haven’t read those yet, i strongly recommend doing so!  also now that i actually have more than one piece of writing, id love for some writer/fandom moots! im very new to tumblr and would love friends :’)  ao3 release

Halloween was by far your favorite holiday. 

As a child, you were always drawn to Halloween, not just for the candy, but for the extravagant costumes and house decorations. Nearly every year, you stayed up late with your father, hand-sewing various details onto your costume. Finally, for your eighteenth birthday, you were gifted your very own sewing machine which officially kickstarted your interest in cosplay.

Throughout your first couple years of college, you worked on your Twitter account, posting quick mirror selfies of your various cosplay projects. Only during senior year did you finally feel comfortable enough to go out in public for your first official photoshoot.

‘Comfortable’ was a bit of a stretch. Very seldom does one feel truly comfortable when posing in front of a grandiose fountain in the middle of a public garden, fully clad in foam armor. What made it significantly worse was when the aforementioned armor looked more like a metal bikini than an actual chest plate worn into battle.

Poor character design choices aside, you loved Halloween for that very reason. With everyone dressed up–or down, for some–there was no reason to feel self-conscious during your monthly photoshoots. Sure, there was the occasional snide remark, but the number of supportive comments from passersby was enough to quiet your uncertainty.

This year you had stayed up late for the past month putting the final touches on your purple staff, even attempting an LED system that allowed parts of it to glow. It had taken two weeks to get the prototype of the dress situated since you weren’t used to sewing such a large amount of detail into your fabrics. Unfortunately, this also meant it took significantly longer to finish the outfit than expected, leaving almost no time to do your wig. But, in true cosplayer fashion, you managed to whip something together with an older purple wig, just in time for tonight.

You did, however, only realize the character also had a sword occasionally, but there was no way you were going to make that in time so the staff would have to suffice.

The night had already been proving to be one of the best so far. Starting around eight in the evening, you and some of your closest friends had gotten together for a costume party, a series of shitty horror movies, and a plethora of even shittier cheap cocktails. Despite not being much of a drinker yourself, you always participated in the annual spooky-themed cocktail charcuterie. This year you weren’t holding back. Your pride and joy charcuterie consisted of nine drinks including, but not limited to ghost-themed Aperol Spiritz–nicknamed Spirit Spiritz, Bloody Marys, and your personal favorite, Bonejitos. They even had little skeleton dudes sitting on the rim of the glass.

Unfortunately, your friends weren’t very amused by your festive drinks, even going as far to say your ingenious Bonejitos were a stretch. So, clearly they didn’t see the vision. Eventually, the party events died down as the guests began to go home, allowing the night to evolve into just drinking.

“Did you get a photo of your costume yet?” Himari, your friend from freshman year, questioned.

You shook your head, absently watching as the rest of your friends downed your masterly made Bonejitos. Liars, all of them. “‘A stretch’ my ass,” you scoffed.

Himari dug around in her bag, retrieving her camera. “Halloween photoshoot? Your fit is cute and I’m getting bored here.”

You did like the idea of photography-major level photos with none of the price involved. “I love you, Mari.”

She stuffed your spear under her arm and with that, the two of you stepped out into the cold and crisp autumn air, the breeze running over your bare shoulders and thighs. You shivered lightly, pulling up your thigh-highs and hugging the excess fabric close to your body.

Himari glanced at you in concern. “Does the Raiden Shogun not wear a jacket?”

“Unfortunately, she doesn’t.” You chuckled, rubbing your arms. “You can’t be sexy and wear a jacket,” you joked.

She hummed in sympathy, looking around for a good place to set up. The park was a particularly popular spot during Halloween, specifically known for its comforting lighting and ambience.

 “What about there?” Himari pointed to a small gazebo surrounded by violets, lit up by a string of fairy lights. There were a couple groups nearby, but otherwise it was pretty much empty.

You nodded, excited. “Good eye as always, Mari.”

She handed over your spear and offered an arm,helping you step up onto the platform and underneath the gazebo. While she adjusted the lights to her liking, you took a moment to adjust your skirt and sleeves.

“Do you think it’s too short?” you asked, tugging on the cloth. Thankfully the character wore a pair of shorts underneath, but the dress was barely miniskirt length.

Himari looked over briefly before turning back to the lights. “No, not really. Why? Are you uncomfortable?”

Before you could answer, a group of college-aged girls passed by the gazebo, clearly a bit drunk. As they left, one of the girls that was hanging onto her friend’s arm looked over. “Don’t be, girlie! You look hot as fuck!” she shouted out, words slightly slurred.

You flustered, blabbering out a quick thanks in surprise. There’s nothing like a friendly drunk girl to get your confidence up.

From behind the camera, Himari gave you a thumbs up. “Give me one of these.” She mimed leaning against the wooden banister. “Yeah like that, but with your leg more out.”

The shutter clicked several times as you did your best to recreate her gestures.

Himari proceeded to guide you through a series of poses, occasionally having you incorporate your staff or the gazebo. Eventually you got used to the flashing camera and allowed yourself to melt into the character, embodying her essence as best as you could.

Time flew and before you knew it, Himari was calling you down from the gazebo to look over the photos. You hovered over her shoulder as she flipped through each one, pausing at her favorites.

“I’ll import these onto my laptop and send them back edited sometime this week,” she told you, removing her glasses and wiping them off with her sleeve.

You nodded. “Thanks for doing this, you really didn’t have to.” You rummaged through your bag, hoping to find at least a little money for her efforts. Feeling a couple bills between your fingers, you held them out to her.

Himari’s eyes squinted and you realized she was staring over your shoulder. “I think that guy in costume was looking at you,” she said, still cleaning off the lenses.

You turned to see a tall man across the park, large grenade shaped gauntlets resting on both his arms. He quickly looked away once he saw your head turn. Looking closer, you realized he was dressed in a dark black sleeveless jumpsuit with orange and green straps along his body.

He was clearly a Dynamight cosplayer. And by the looks of it, a really talented one at that.

You were almost convinced that he had real hero equipment on. His armor pieces were strikingly accurate, and you made a mental note to look for more realistic prop materials.

“He probably spent a lot of time on that,” you mused to Himari, who had already gone back to inspecting the photos.

“You should go ask him about it.” she suggested, collecting the rest of her things and zipping her bag. “I’ve gotta catch an Uber soon.”

Maybe it was the lingering confidence gifted by the girl from earlier, but you managed to muster up enough self-assurance to wave goodbye to Himari and stride right up to the cosplayer.

As you got closer, you realized just how much work must have gone into all the details. The gauntlets–a very convincing metal–had several dents and scratches, giving it a worn down look, as if it had been used frequently.

His hair looked far too real to be a wig, likely just being his natural hair with lots of product in it. The most impressive detail by far was his physique. Had he trained specifically for this? The closer you got the more you noticed. If you were lucky, maybe he’d give you the name of his supplier.

“I love your outfit!” You smiled cheerily at him.

He turned to look at you, slightly taken aback. “Thanks?” he replied, folding his arms as he looked you over, eyes lingering on your cosplay.

You felt a twinge of anxiety as he inspected your outfit. He probably just didn’t recognize the character, you convinced yourself.

“I’m a cosplayer too,” you clarified, gesturing to your dress. “But clearly not as dedicated as you.”

You watched as his chest puffed lightly at the compliment, though he titled his head, a bit puzzled.

Clearing your throat awkwardly, you tried a different method. “How long did it take to make?”

He blinked at you and shrugged. “Dunno. Maybe a couple of months? I just told them what I wanted.”

Oh, you got it now. He’s just a model. It wasn’t uncommon for people to collaborate on cosplays, especially ones where one person either commissions or buys a cosplay from an artist, and then models it themself. Either way, he was still one of the best you’ve seen.

You nodded in understanding. “Do you have social media? I’d love to see what else you’ve done.” Pulling out your phone, you loaded up your Twitter, preparing to enter his tag.

“Dynamight Official. All one word,” he replied hesitantly, looking you up and down as if he was scanning for signs of sickness.

You chuckled faintly. He was really dedicated to his role. “Well, what's your name? I follow a lot of cosplayers already. Maybe I’ve seen you?” You pulled up your profile and turned the screen around to show him in case he recognized your tag.

His arms unfolded and his face slowly morphed from confused to exceptionally amused. “Bakugou Katsuki. I am Dynamight.”

Waving him off absently, you nodded as you scrolled through your followed accounts. You swear you’ve seen him online before. “Sorry, I’m not really good at roleplay. But you’re pretty convincing.”

He leaned against the cold metal lamppost, watching you sift through various Twitter accounts. You sneaked a glance to check his facial features again, but he was already staring straight back at you.

In such close capacity, his striking crimson eyes stood out to you. Even his contacts were high quality… Fighting back the warmth that threatened your cheeks and ears, you averted your gaze downwards.

Your eyes flicked to his waist. You hadn’t noticed it before, but a thick black bomber jacket was tied tightly around his torso, unlike the real hero’s costume. Well, you stand corrected. You certainly can be sexy with a jacket.

Speaking of jackets, you had been so caught up in conversation you hadn’t realized how cold it had gotten. The soft breeze from earlier had picked up into chilly wind, rustling the fabric of your dress as it blew by.

Bakufaux–haha–seemed to notice your interest in his jacket, untying it and tossing it over your shoulders. “Bit cold for you, Princess?” he drawled. “D’nno how you’ve managed in that outfit.” He gestured to your short dress and tall socks.

You couldn’t help but notice how his gaze lingered on you for a half second longer than normal. Not that you would’ve said anything. Thanks to his jacket, you were enveloped with warm and musky scents of charcoal and sandalwood. Though, being honest with yourself, you’ve been distracted ever since you walked over.

You snapped out of your trance when he pushed himself off the lamppost and leaned over you. It could’ve been twenty degrees out and you’d still swear you were overheating.

“Ever considered cosplaying in my costume?” He asked, watching your darkening cheeks closely.

Maybe it was the shit eating grin he wore proudly on his face, or the sneaking suspicion in your gut, but you had an inkling of a feeling he knew something you didn’t. In a surge of confidence and curiosity, or perhaps just pure adrenaline, you took a step forward.

“And if I have?”

Something snapped behind his eyes and you could’ve sworn his gaze dropped to your lips. He might’ve actually kissed you if you weren’t interrupted by the sound of glass shattering and the screams of customers inside a late night coffee shop.

You felt your heart rate increase as he swore under his breath, whatever smug expression he previously had was replaced by something far more intense and serious.

‘“I’m not leaving you out here alone, stay close to me,” he urged, taking one last look at you before turning and running towards the sound.

It took you a second to realize you were running behind him as fast as possible.

As the two of you neared the coffee shop, you noticed numerous shards of glass laid out on the concrete. On a second glance, you noticed some of the smaller shards were beginning to melt, turning the ground slightly slick.

You halted to a stop, almost crashing into your new friend. You felt a warm hand snake around your waist, lifting your body off the ground and onto a nearby bench.

“Don’t touch the ground, and stay right here,” he told you sternly, before turning and rushing straight into the cafe.

You watched, frozen in astonishment, only able to hear the horrific sounds of glass and… explosions? Occasionally you caught a glimpse of blonde hair, dropping off a poor customer caught in the crossfire, before dashing straight back inside. In what felt like seconds, he had already retrieved nearly every patron from the cafe, all while the villain was still inside.

Quickening footsteps approached from behind your place on the bench. You barely had a chance to comprehend the noises when a flash of red zipped past you, making a beeline straight for the cafe. Only after several trips in and out of the building did you finally recognize the eccentric costume of Pro-Hero Red Riot as he gathered the remainder of the victims outside.

Through the ringing in your ears you could only vaguely make out shouting between Red Riot and someone else still inside the building. It was all intelligible until he turned to you and the victims. The last words you heard was look away, or at least you assumed.

You weren’t interested in waiting around to find out so you shut your eyes tight and turned away from the scene as best as you could.

At first nothing happened. But after a beat, you felt your eyes burn behind your eyelids as a blistering wave of heat surrounded you. You think you screamed, but you weren’t entirely sure. Every muscle in your body tensed as the bench shook underneath you, threatening to break.

But as quickly as it came, it passed. You couldn’t tell how long you had been trapped in that position, clutching your knees to your chest with your eyes sealed shut. A warm hand shook you out of position, jostling your eyes open.

When your eyes finally adjusted, blocking your vision of the cafe was none other than a tall silhouette, and familiar red eyes.

“Hey, stay with me, Princess. You hurt?”

You felt calloused hands hastily press against your body, examining you for injury. He took a hold of your ankle, easing you into extending. “Anything?”

Shaking your head, you gripped onto him as he lifted you from the bench to your feet, steadying you with strong arms.

“Happy Halloween,” you managed to mutter meekly into his chest.

You felt him shudder beneath your head as he laughed, surprisingly heartily.

“Certainly one you’ll remember.” His low voice resonated in your brain, calming whatever nerves were remaining. “Let’s get you home, m’kay?”

You let him navigate you back to your apartment surprisingly deftly given your shaky directions, until finally you found yourself thanking him at your doorstep and shutting the door behind you.

Now that you were home and given a chance to breathe, you weren’t sure what was real. Everything mixed together in a blur and you couldn’t tell if it was all a dream or not.

As you groggily slumped against your bed, you felt something soft bundle against your back. Sitting up, you reached behind your back to feel the cool fabric of the black jacket you had been holding tightly against yourself. Embroidered on the sleeve were a pair of initials you hadn’t noticed before.

B.K.

With a strange pounding in your chest, you pulled out your phone.

Sure enough, you had one new notification.

@DynamightOfficial followed you back

The device buzzed in your hand with a second notification. A direct message request alongside an image. Swiping to your messages, you opened the text from your new follower.

Front and center was a quick photo of Bakugou’s hero costume, laid out neatly on his bed. Directly underneath the image were two small text bubbles.

u take commissions?

ive got something in mind for ya

[rnadett]

Here is your Big Fat Hero- Cailtyn 'defender' post

I somehow get that you think Caitlyn went too far, but so did the fandom. A lot of you talk about her as a 'dictator' and compare her use of The Grey to make her sound like Hitler, it seems people forget that she purposely used it only on her targets, not on civilians or all of Zaun. In fact, she even did a bit of a favor for Zaunites in the long term.

So let’s start analyzing the important aspects in a somewhat objective way. (Don’t mind my profile picture—I promise I'll try to be objective… or maybe not, who knows?)

EVEN after her mother died, Caitlyn still tried to protect the innocent in Zaun and tried to convincing the council not to start an invasion.

She even disagreed with Vi’s opinion on using the gauntlet (Hextech as a weapon), which we saw when she discussed it with Jayce.

This was her last scene before the attack on the memorial.

After that, we can clearly see how much it affected her; it fueled her anger (Good job, Ambessa—a true politician! No wonder Mel learned from her - except she is using it for better reasons). Yet, her anger wasn’t directed at civilians or all of Zaun.

Even then, she managed to call off the invasion, which she didn’t support in the first place. And after the attack, Vi talked her down in just two minutes—a point that hasn’t gotten enough credit, especially since it was her mother’s memorial.

This scene is also telling: there’s a storm brewing inside her, and while she wants to do the right thing, like protecting innocents from war, events escalate too quickly for her to reason through them and find a solution alone. Vi staying as her only remaining pillar in all this madness.

But yeah, her anger hasn’t faded just jet, but with Vi, they found an alternative—morally gray, but still better than risking a massacre between Zaun and Piltover.

And this is what they did. In the clip at the beginning of Episode 3, we see that they targeted ONLY gang members, not civilians in Zaun. I need to mention this a few times because there's already a misconception that Caitlyn and Vi are targeting or harming civilians.

But if you look at every frame, you’ll only see them going after gang members responsible for suffering and exploitation—Margot's and Chross's gangs, for example.

Oh, and let’s not forget, these were the people Isha was running from in the first place. A children!

So, Overall, this is just a continuation of what Vi tried to do in Season 1, but now with Caitlyn instead of Jayce (or alone).

So why does Caitlyn get all the blame?

As I see it, these actions were not hers alone; Vi was part of it too. In fact, this was Vi’s original plan (except the Jinx part, of course).

So, the point of my post is this: Yes, Caitlyn is heading in a bad direction, and killing—even gang members— with gas isn’t a good thing. But at this point, she and Vi haven’t harmed innocents. Despite how it looks, at least these actions prevent more innocent children, like Isha, from being harmed. Another question is where things will go now that Caitlyn has pushed Vi away (which I think was her only truly wrong action in Act 1).

Now Ambessa has taken Vi's place (in meaning of influence, not in any other way you little pervert) , and rather than calming her, Ambessa will fuel Caitlyn’s anger, grief, and self-hatred even more.

Oh my god, I love this scene. You can see the micro-expression on Ambessa's face, how satisfied she is, knowing how good she’s pulling the strings so far.

But I think we all feel that this match is far from over.

I also leave this here:

In the end, though, I believe that Caitlyn, no matter who’s currently influencing her, will have to decide her own path and who she truly is—without relying on anyone else. Even if we love her with Vi, this is something she needs to figure out ALONE.

Anyway, I might have written more in detail if Tumblr didn’t have a 10-image/post limit. Maybe I’ll make another post about the things I left out or would have expanded on.

[mrmustachious]

Happy 10th Anniversary Thunderbirds Are Go! To celebrate, I've put together a list of my favourite fics from the past decade to spread love to all the amazing authors who have been a part of this wonderful fandom throughout the years. I've also included a section of recs that other members of the fandom have given me too! Thank you for everyone who contributed!!

NOTE: This list got ginormous (over 200 fics!) and I reached tumblr's text limit. Please reblog the second and third parts with all the fics included and not just the first part!

Feel free to peruse the list and maybe you'll find something you enjoy! I tried my best to include the author's tumblrs, but if I missed anyone please let me know! Please also let me know if any links are broken. The fics are separated into different categories to provide some semblence of organisation. Enjoy! 💕💕

List below the cut. All warnings, ratings, etc. are inside each fic~~

✨ALTERNATE UNIVERSE✨

Different Circumstances by @godsliltippy

Tanusha had a job to do and international rescue just couldn't stay out of her way. (Evil Kayo AU)

TAG You're IT by godsliltippy

A curfew during summer vacation has the Tracy boys stuck inside. As strange events unfold, can they figure out what is happening to their town before more children go missing? (Stephen King's IT AU)

The Cost of Safety by godsliltippy

Brains will do anything to keep his friends safe. (Evil Brains AU)

Thunderbirds Cafe by godsliltippy

Lady Penelope visits her favorite coffee shop for some much needed stress relief. (Coffee Shop AU)

Unscheduled Leave by godsliltippy

When Virgil goes missing, Gordon is sent to find him and bring him home safe. (Mark & Wings AU)

Demons of Time by @silverstarfics

Halloween Fic. Brotherly rivalry led to a dare, and that led to haunted mansion. And now he's trapped in time with his brother held captive by whatever the dark figure with red eyes was. Halloween had never been this real before... (Supernatural AU)

A Son by Any Other Name by @space-baegel

Cursed as a child, Scott Tracy lives a life in which everyone he encounters must follow all of his given commands. (Fairy Tale AU)

as the world goes away by @whatgaviiformes

A test of the bonds between brothers, between species. Between hearts (vox delphini/Kermadec AU)

✨FAMILY, FLUFF, FRIENDSHIP✨

But I'm only human by @avengedbiologist

Jeff saw something he wasn't supposed to see.

Gordon learnt something new.

Let's celebrate by avengedbiologist

For thunderpride day 24- Let's celebrate!

Dangerous Games by @eirabach

In which Penelope plots, and lives to regret it. Possibly.

But then again, possibly not.

[Or, Pen and Ink vs The Cham-Cham.]

Pressure by @rosellestorm

Gordon's body feels different sometimes and he can't find comfort alone. Luckily his brothers have a way to help him.

A Beautiful Song by @scribbles97

Family is like music, some high notes, some low notes, but always a beautiful song. - Unknown.

Just as things are beginning to settle for the Tracy family, thing take an unexpected turn and life on the island will never be quite the same again.

Tornado by silverstarfics

Hiding in a bathtub from a tornado with your brother isn’t the best of Saturday night plans, but here they are.

✨WHUMP, ANGST, HURT/COMFORT✨

A Fun Winters Walk by @fullmetalninjabunny

The shadows on the bridge were gone now and a new thought struck him harder than the fall had. Those shadows had been his brothers and now they had disappeared like smoke. There were only two places they could have gone; to go get help or onto the ice to help Gordon themselves.

A crack echoed and Gordon knew what they had decided. Either Scott or Alan or Ocean forbid both of them were going to step onto the frozen lake to help him and they were going to fall through the ice and they were going to die all because Gordon had been stupid enough to have climbed up on top of the bridge.

"No..." Gordon moaned, praying it would be loud enough. "Stay back..."

Ask Me Anything (except for that) by fullmetalninjabunny

“What was it like to survive the worst hydrofoil crash in the world?”

Gordon blinked.

The audience fell silent and Gordon could feel their eyes boring into him as they hung off the very edges of their seats, apparently having all been waiting their entire lives to hear this.

"I," He swallowed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

When an innocent interview about ocean conservation suddenly becomes about how Gordon should be dead right now, complete with graphic photos of the hydrofoil crash, he is forced to face not only his fractured memories of that day but also decide how he is going to continue with his life.

Choose One or Lose Both by fullmetalninjabunny

Gordon was right; Virgil had to make a decision. Either he got Gordon out of the rubble, making the entire weight of the building crush Alan, or he rescued Alan and damned Gordon to that same devastating fate. Virgil couldn’t consider it a miracle that his brothers had managed to survive the initial collapse, not knowing that he was going to have to choose which one of them to save and which to sacrifice.

Doll, Girl, Bird by fullmetalninjabunny

Most worrying of all was the line of blood that ran down Gordon’s face. He had hit his head, on what Alan did not want to know. Gordon’s helmet had been taken off for some reason but it had no blood on it which meant it had already been off when the building collapsed. It might explain why Gordon was conscious but not really, still mumbling about dolls and girls and birds but Gordon should have known better than to remove his helmet during such a risky rescue operation.

There must have been a reason for him to do that.

One Word by fullmetalninjabunny

If Gordon Tracey was asked to describe his current situation in a single word, that word would be ‘uncomfortable’.

Now of course being trapped in a volcanic cave with only his radio as a source of light while covered not only in his own sweat but his blood also, the word didn’t quite do what he was experiencing justice. In fact, there were many other words that would describe it better.

Claustrophobic.

Terrified.

In agony, perhaps.

Stick In The Mud by fullmetalninjabunny

Static.

Alan forced himself to be patient, watching the rise and fall of his brothers chest. Still breathing. There should have been a response by now. Maybe no one was listening to the radio. But over fifty personnel including his other brothers should be on the frequency, surely someone at Base should hear him. Surely someone would care that there was an emergency, surely someone would care that Gordon was unconscious.

Gordon was breathing. He was still breathing but at any moment he could stop and then he’ll die and it will all be Alan’s fault so why the hell was no one responding?

The Golden Hour by fullmetalninjabunny

The Thunderbirds did not have lights and sirens, at least not like the average ambulance or police car did. But they still followed the Golden Hour rule. If the Golden Hour passes, the rescue becomes a recovery. Do not take unnecessary risk. Do not allow others to risk their lives, even as the family screams at you to help their loved one, especially as the family beats at your chest, begging you to not give up.

You are not giving up. You are being practical. The Golden Hour has passed. The likelihood of survival only diminishes from here. No lights. No sirens. Only respect.

There's Fire In My Veins by fullmetalninjabunny

Trying to ground himself, Gordon dug his nails in harder but he could still feel the medicine course through his veins. While the Doctors claimed that it was medicine, Gordon knew that it was instead poison that was tearing him apart from the inside. Gordon clawed at the needle that he could feel piercing his skin but it simply would not budge even as he drew blood.

Gordon could feel everything.

There was fire running through his veins, there was metal digging into his body, his bones, his very soul. Every whisper was a shout and every shout a faint memory that had lost all meaning. The lights were too bright and too dim all at once and whenever he closed his eyes he could still see his own blood mixing with the water, he could still see where his body ended and the hydrofoil begin.

He knew they were only memories and that this time it was Alan that was hurt and not him and yet Gordon could still feel everything.

What Not To Do When Bored At a Gala by fullmetalninjabunny

For someone being mocked so thoroughly, Gordon wasn’t rising to the bait. He hadn’t so much as said a word since the youngest Tracy’s had returned from the Gala and now that Virgil was watching him, he noticed that Gordon wasn’t looking at anything in particular. It was like he was staring through Virgil, with every blink becoming more sluggish. Even more concerning was how Gordon’s arm were hanging limply by his sides.

Gordon was never this still, never this quiet. Something was wrong.

A Simple Reminder by @allandmoree

It's been a tough month for International Rescue and tensions are beginning to wear thin among the boys. With Jeff missing, everything just seems to be going wrong. Gordon takes a step to try and bring the team back together, but could it just end in more disaster for the family?

Every time it snows by allandmoree

A simple mountain rescue goes wrong for International Rescue. Gordon battles the elements and his memories, and Scott has a tough decision to make.

Ripples by allandmoree

A one-shot In which Scott is a storm and Gordon holds his breath.

In All My Dreams I Drown by @angelofbenignmalevolence

There are those that say that drowning is peaceful…Gordon Tracy respectfully disagrees. Gordon Tracy knows that drowning can be the most painful experience without ever being dealt a physical injury…

Shiver Me Timbers by @drdone

"a fic where gordon falls through icy water and gets hypothermia and e v e r y brother needs to cuddle him for warmth. All of them. even John."

An Aquanaut Walks Into a Bar... by corbyinoz

Gordon has a conversation in a bar, and Virgil has strong opinions about that. Childhood memories, and the stories we tell ourselves and others.

Yellow Sky by corbyinoz

Scott has always struggled to control his anger. He learned long ago how important it is that he finds a way to do it. A much younger Gordon was the reason he learned that lesson, but it's not Gordon's fault he's close to losing it now, in the middle of a dangerous rescue...

A Tangled Web by crystalquirt

Something has caused heat and trace amounts of radiation in the deep sea. Thinking it volcanic, Gordon takes Thunderbird Four to be sure after John detected an unusual amount of dead sea life in the area. The water around the phenomenon has turned brownish yellow, all the way up to the surface. One species still thrive there.

Backlash by eirabach

Gordon + Used as Bait for Bad Things Happen Bingo on tumblr.

My Brother's Pain by FABThunderbird

Virgil and Gordon are both exhausted after a dangerous rescue. On their way home Virgil notices that Gordon is not only dealing with an injury, but he sees his brother struggling to open up about what he had witnessed during this rescue.

Explorer by @fallenfurther

A family holiday on the English coast and Gordon decides he wants to go rock pooling alone. Intent on finding something cool to show his brothers, he ends up getting a little hurt in the process.

Where the mermaids live by fallenfurther

Gordon decides to cheat on an important test but is caught by the school bullies. They are happy to let him keep the grade as long as he does something for them. Gordon knows he's getting in deeper than he should, but the consequences go far beyond what he expected.

Conformity by @figure-in-black

It was nothing...just a small boy grasping onto his understanding of language. He would soon grow out of it...

Stars in the Sea by Fyoex

The Tracy family thought the hydrofoil accident had been left far behind them. But head trauma is a fickle beast that isn’t quite ready to let go.

No Accidents by Glazier Blue

Gordon thought the Hydrofoil crash was behind him. But there was a lot more to his "accident" than his family realised. It looks like the past with WASP has come back to finish what it started. Now Gordon's life hangs in the balance. Can his family stop history from repeating it self?

100 Degrees in Zero G by godsliltippy

John discovers how far his brother will go to save a life.

Birthday Wishes by godsliltippy

Gordon takes Grandma out for her birthday to keep her occupied while the others get the island ready. Too bad Tracy Birthdays have to be difficult.

Catch Me by godsliltippy

Penelope wakes up to pain and darkness, unsure of what happened. Eventually, the memories return as she realises who is with her.

Cheerleader by godsliltippy

Sometimes the things we learn in highschool follow us into adulthood. For Virgil, there's value in what he learned even if it was only one year.

Confined Space by godsliltippy

Gordon and Virgil are sent to rescue a group from a structure collapse. Luck doesn't seem to be on their side as a new hazard presents itself mid-rescue.

Dinosaur Dilemma by godsliltippy

Never in a million years would International Rescue have thought they would be rescuing victims from dinosaurs. Alan's excited, Virgil is... well, Virgil, John's out of his element, and Gordon is terrified.

What could go wrong?

Disguise by godsliltippy

Alternate Scene - Jeff knows something's wrong, but what is he supposed to do about it in his current condition?

Distraction by godsliltippy

Jeff is given the choice to save his family and forfeit the world.

Distraction by godsliltippy *different fic to the one above ^.^*

Gordon needs some time away from his family while he's recovering from the crash and Penelope is more than happy to offer her home and a party to lift his spirits.

Friendly Fire by godsliltippy

Virgil and Gordon are on site of a routine rescue. It should have been simple. No one was supposed to get hurt.

Kisses by godsliltippy

After a successful rescue and brushing off some unnecessary gifts of appreciation, Gordon, Virgil, and Scott head home, only to realize they had brought back a new kind of trouble.

Look Before You Leap by godsliltippy

Choices have consequences - good or bad - and Gordon learns the hard way that sometimes, his ocean is a dangerous mistress.

MMADay by godsliltippy

Gordon and Kayo are pulled into an undercover operation that could save the lives of the people they meet, along with those already lost.

Motionless by godsliltippy

One can never expect a rescue mission to go smoothly when Langstrom Fischler is involved. Gordon knows this and yet, that information does him no good when lives are at stake and it's his job to get everyone out safely.

No Air In Space by godsliltippy

John's gone beyond his abilities, suffering long hours with little food and sleep, if any. With International Rescue struggling to function without him, one of his brothers has to pull him back from the edge.

Teenie Tinies by godsliltippy

An experiment does more than intended, leaving Gordon and Alan to fend for themselves to find help.

The Job by godsliltippy

Parker's past has a way of sneaking up on him. Unfortunately, he can't stop his past from effecting the people he cares about.

The Most Dangerous Game by godsliltippy

Scott and Gordon find themselves unwilling participants.

The Wave by godsliltippy

Gordon takes part in the winter Olympic.

Thunderbird DSV by godsliltippy

Gordon and John respond to a call for assistance from a crew they both admire. What seems like a routine mission, however, quickly turns hazardous.

Timing by godsliltippy

Virgil and Gordon find themselves stuck under a bridge while they wait for the weather to calm.

Whumptober '19: Don't Move by godsliltippy

Gordon's in trouble

Whumptober Day 2: Explosion by godsliltippy

Alan, Gordon and Virgil deal with a rescue gone wrong.

The Myers Complex by godsliltippy & MadameWinter

On a routine rescue, deep in the belly of a cave, Gordon and Virgil come face to face with a nightmare that will leave more than a few scares to deal with...

The Deep Dark by godsliltippy & @sempaiko

Gordon loves the ocean and everything within it, but he forgets, monsters can live in the darkness.

Survival Skills by godsliltippy & @tenjounotora

Alan and Gordon finally get a chance to participate in an activity their father created.

The Antarctic Accident by @tb5-heavenward & space-baegel

Thunderbird Two goes down in the middle of an Antarctic blizzard.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Gordon by hybryd0

When a call out turns out to be an ambush instead of a rescue, Gordon has to brush off some old skills to save his big brothers

Tracy's Never Panic by Ikklebunny

But what could the Tracy's possibly have to panic about? A little Tracy story.

Four Months by IR Stars

Gordon is ill and he wants to get better, only he doesn't know how or when. This is a very emotional read, full of feels and angst. Written Pre IR during Gordon's recovery from his Hydrofoil crash.

Tears Of The Ocean by @janetm74fics

The ocean is a harsh mistress and Gordon has been burned by her. Will Scott be able to help him get through this?

A pre-iR, military bro's fic.

The Monsters of the Deep by @lenle-g

Chapter 39 of Assorted Thunderbirds Drabbles

Heart and Soul by @loopstagirl

They always knew there would be a cost to International Rescue. They just never realised how high it would be.

Precipice by ManicRavingsofaLunatic

A mission goes terribly sideways, the boys having to battle Mother Nature herself to save one of their own

Look Before You Reach by nhsweetcherry

Gordon experiences trouble on a rescue - all because he dropped his watch!

Unprepared by nhsweetcherry

Gordon finds out the hard way that the island holds plenty of danger - as long as one is unprepared, that is!

Broken By The Devil by @tracybirds

Following a serious incident that lands all five brothers in hospital, the Hood tries to finish the job. Not on Grandma's watch.

Consequences by tracybirds

Gordon is in a bit of a bind, and the older bros will need to help him out of it in a big way.

Gone But Not Forgotten by tracybirds

Gordon's lost a beloved pet and going through the initial grieving process.

Hit by a Truck, Huh? by @phading

The midday sky was blinding blue, there wasn’t so much as a single, stray cloud to focus on. His eyes wandered, searching for something, until Virgil’s face finally loomed above him, dark within a halo of light.

Halfway down a bottomless pit, Gordon dragged a grin up from the abyss. “Not funny!”

The brightness expanded, blowing out the edges of his vision, until his big brother vanished into white and there was nothing.

It's Got Me by phading

The hands clutched around Virgil’s wrists were trembling now. “It’s got �� it’s got me.”

“What’s got you?”

No answer, just a small spasm of fingers and facial muscles.

A Walk in the Light by @quasar-concept

After an incident that left him the only survivor, Scott is still learning how to recover.

You're so Strong, Our Little Fish by rosellestorm

“Scott, your heartbeat just picked up. What’s wrong?” John asked, tone neutral but Scott knew him well enough to pick up the worry in his voice.

“John, I’ll call you back.” Scott said softly as the cold metal pressed between his shoulder blades.

“Put your hands up,” a voice said lowly and Scott’s heart leapt. He would recognise that voice anywhere!

Malfunction by @weathergirl8

Gordon is enjoying some time in the ocean when Thunderbird 4 decides to play some tricks, giving our loveable prankster decompression sickness.

The Break Room by SpaceKat38

Like Virgil once pointed out, there are certain hazards to being on the world's most elite rescue squad. The world doesn't stop just because it's your birthday and, apparently, that infamous Tracy luck just won't let up either. Poor Gordon's having a really bad day.

Where Do All the Lost Souls Go? by SpaceKat38

John wrestles with the knowledge that all astronauts know but can never share.

Silver Lining by Stormyskies89

On request. "Be strong Gordy, because things will get better. It may be stormy now, but it never rains forever." After hurting his back on a rescue, Gordon has a hard time getting the care he needs and wants from his brother. It take some harsh words to straighten Scott, Virgil and Alan out and to apologise to their Silver Lining. Mentions of self-mutilation.

Don't Believe Everything You See by @strongerwiththepack

The Hood is back with a new way to torment the Tracy Family. Is it really him or is there more to what meets the eye?

Gordon & Explosive Device & Storage Unit by strongerwiththepack

Gordon's in trouble when an underwater storage facility explodes with him still inside.

Gordon & Stab Wound & Swimming Pool by strongerwiththepack

At 17-years-old Gordon is one of the youngest ever recruits in the WASP training program. But will his natural talent get him trouble?

Hyperthermia vs Hypothermia by strongerwiththepack

"Do you two coordinate your disasters just to irate me?" Virgil asked in exasperation.

Risky Rockpools by @strongerwiththepack

The Tracy family get a reality check when they remember that living on an isolated island in the middle of the South Pacific ocean isn't actually all that safe.

Into the Depths by @tenjounotora

Gordon was involved in a horrible accident, he shouldn't have survived. He did, he healed, and now it is time for International Rescue to start operations, but Gordon still has some demons he's trying to fight and he's not sure if he'll win.

Picnic by ThatGirlSix

Every Tracy has a type of job they hate, be them car crashes, hotel fires, mine collapses, whatever. Gordon absolutely hates tornadoes with a passion. No, really, he hates tornadoes. His life would be so much better if they never did another tornado job ever again. The rest of the family is starting to think so, too.

Something to Challenge your thoughts on the HOOD by @gentlebluelizard

The Hood and Gordon find themselves prisoners of the Mechanic but only one of them has anyone who cares enough to move heaven and earth to help them.

Who was this Bob guy again? by gentlebluelizard

A simple mission for International Rescue ends up with them all poisoned and in a desperate state but who was in a position to help them this far north and on Christmas Eve.

A Dinner with Danger by @melmac78

The Tracys attend a murder mystery charity dinner, promising fun, games and prizes. One guest, however, isn't interested in the fun and games - only the murder, and it's not part of the play. The Tracys are at the top of the list.

Scenes from Gordon's Bedside by @whatgaviiformes

One-shot exercises, connected by a family grieving, hoping, and trying to make sense of why. Blended Universe

PART 1/3 [PART 2] [PART 3]

[yumeka-sxf]

2-year anniversary post

My blog is now 2-years old~!

After my last anniversary post, I had quite a list of projects planned; in addition to making posts for all the upcoming SxF content, like the movie, season 2, and the video game, I had other personal projects in mind as well. I wanted to start on my Japanese Linguistic Observations in Spy x Family series, which I was able to write five posts for as of now! (I've currently exhausted all the topics I wanted to discuss for that, but I may come up with more ideas later on). There was also the Spy x Family Character Tracker, which took me a while to get motivated to do, but once I did, I'm proud of how it turned out 😃 I also made a lot of scan posts this year too, like the workbooks and my series of miscellaneous collab scans.

But compared to my last anniversary, which was at a time when there was a lot of new SxF content on the horizon, we've been in a bit of a dry spell the past several months. Hype for the aforementioned movie, game, and anime season have died down, and merch and collabs have slowed as well, since there hasn't been new anime content to promote. But I consider it the calm before the storm, lol.

This is also why my posts have gotten a little less frequent lately - there hasn't been as much new SxF content in general besides the manga chapters, and as mentioned previously, I was able to check off the projects I had wanted to do. So as of now, I don't have much new content planned in the coming year besides continuing my Chronological Analysis on Twilight and Yor series when season 3 airs (still no release date yet, but I'm betting on spring of 2025). I'll also make posts for each anime episode like I did with season 2. And of course, I'll continue my manga chapter reviews, and make merch and scan posts when I can.

I've always tried to maintain a "quality over quantity," "only write when I have something to say," mentality for the blog. I don't want to force myself to write when I'm not motivated (this is also why I don't take part in community writing projects and the like). I also have other hobbies besides SxF, so I like to focus my limited free time on those when there isn't much going on in the SxF fandom. Occasionally I think to myself, "Hm, I haven't posted on Tumblr in a while," but if there isn't anything I feel like writing about at the time, it's better if I hold off rather than force myself to churn out something uninspiring.

But as I said, I feel like we're in a calm before the storm. Season 3 will already be exciting enough, but there's a good chance more content will follow. The next Jump Festa is scheduled for late December, and as usual, SxF will have a dedicated panel with the four Forger voice actors in attendance!

The movie and season 2 were announced at this event in 2022, so there's a good chance we'll get more juicy announcements this year! Even if not another movie, I'd be happy with more artbooks, collabs, and other things down the line! There's also a good chance an idea for another SxF project will inspire me and I'll start working on that. Who knows. But I do know SxF is still a popular series with many more years of content to produce! And I look forward to seeing, and blogging about, it all 😁

[letteredlettered]

Related to your last post: For me tumblr would work better as a community site if there was a function that would hide reblogs of the same posts. I get overwhelmed if I follow more than ten people in the same fandom because of the repeating posts. With work and everything else, I don't have the hours to find the original things people are saying. Reddit works better sometimes except the subreddits often have very surface level discussions with high amount of newcomers asking the same questions and the topics are quite limited. Maybe I should just try if there is life on Dreamwidth :P

This ask is a response to this post I made about feedback to fic and fandom community.

Anon, I agree 100% regarding the difficulties of tumblr for discussion that builds community. If you're following this discussion, than you may have already seen these follow-ups:

@eleadore added their thoughts about preserving reader spaces in a reblog here

@yiiiiiiiikes25 added thoughts similar to yours re tumblr's poor functionality as a community space here

@thehoneybeet added to the post that sparked my post here, about how to foster the kind of community we're all saying we want.

I'm linking these posts because I want to call attention to them; I think they're great. But I'm linking them in response to you specifically because yes there are multiple vectors to this problem--the web enshittification I described in my post, the splintering of fandom after the death of livejournal, and the difficulty of tumblr as a venue.

But it's that last, the difficulty of tumblr as a venue, that means that even like-minded people who want the community we're discussing can't really have it. Some went to, and are still on, dreamwidth. Frankly, I still find myself deeply irritated that fandom didn't move there, that it accepted AO3 and not DW. But I think a large factor in that particular exodus actually has to do with the fact that AO3 is closer to the direction the enshittified web went than DW ever could be. AO3 has a "like" button and is not built for deep, meaningful interaction. Again, this is because it was meant to be a limb of the fandom community, not replace community entirely. I'm not claiming that AO3 is enshittified but rather that it bears more similarity to current social media sites because it's only one part of a community that was at the time, thriving (yes, in spite of strikethrough and everything that was happening on LJ at the time).

In my opinion, tumblr straddles the divide between that old style of community website and the new one. Like livejournal and DW, you can view tumblr chronologically, without an algorithm feeding you content. You can remain anonymous, and everyone can see anything you post. But like other more modern social media sites, you can reblog and like, which you couldn't do on LJ and DW. The fact that tumblr is sort of both--and that it wasn't sold to the Russians and torn apart, like LJ--is why fandom fled here and why scattered pieces of it remain here, despite so many others moving on.

One thing I wanted to talk about in my original post, but couldn't find a place for, was how so much of the "community" aspects of fandom are now private. I think that's happened partly because tumblr isn't a great place to hold a conversation, so the conversation quickly gets moved elsewhere--but instead of somewhere where everyone is still welcome (ahem, like Dreamwidth), it gets moved to private spaces. Or the conversation never starts and exists only in the kinds of spaces meant for such things.

@thehoneybeet makes great points about this in the post I linked above. They mention "the invite-only server, the private ao3 challenge, groups and experiences that you need to be in-the-know about to even begin to participate in. that, essentially, require an invitation."

@eleadore mentions it at the beginning of their reblog (also linked above), saying, "i feel discussions of this nature have been severely crippled over the yrs, and people prefer to take to private group chats and such instead of engaging [...]" But they go on to mention "private discord book club servers."

To be clear, I'm 100% with @eleadore about the necessity for spaces for readers, and also 100% with them at the idea that there can be spaces authors don't have to touch. Writers don't "deserve" to hear every single thing anyone's ever said about their fic, positive or negative. Earlier this year I in fact made an impassioned post about the fact that I believe that bookmarks are for readers, not writers, and that making them a space purely for an author's comfort limits the functionality of bookmarks for readers, both in terms of finding fic but also in terms of finding friends.

So, yes, I agree that it's okay to have private discord book club servers. But the mention of discord did make me do a double-take, because in my opinion, discord is a huge part of what I perceive as the problem. You can't find a discord for your chosen fandom by searching discord. You have to have the link. Even if the discord isn't invite-only--which many of them are, you can usually only get the link by knowing someone.

There are all kinds of reasons for why discord is so private. Discords are run by mods, who feel responsible for what happens to people in spaces for which they are responsible. And mods who take a laissez-faire "everyone just do what they want" approach often have servers dominated by people who make the environment difficult, sometimes through racism, sometimes through bullying, sometimes by constantly bringing up traumatic or triggering content, sometimes just by making everything about them all the time. It's not like lj or even tumblr, where you can just unfollow. You're kind of stuck, unless you've got a mod who is policing vigorously, which is a huge job and impossible to do in ways that will make everyone happy. It's just easier if you don't have anyone and everyone wandering through.

I hate that. It makes me want to throw things. To me, fandom is about a space that's for anyone and everyone. You shouldn't have to know someone to get to have discussions about the thing you love. That's not why I'm here. In fact, in some ways I'm in fandom to get away from that kind of bullshit, so I don't have to construct some kind of social persona that is palatable enough to be accepted. I'm hear to talk about blorbos and read porn, maybe write a thing or two. A private discord book club made intentionally as a safe space for readers is a great use for discord. But discord as a place for fandom actually makes me feel a little ill.

I don't have a good suggestion of where fandom community should be built. To me, the best place is dreamwidth, and I think that after fifteen years, I really need to give up on the idea that enough people will move there (in this economy????) to really get the numbers you need to be able to find the people with whom you really click and connect. When tumblr tried to ban nudes, a lot of people talked up other possibilities--and some people went, to Mastadon, to pillowfort, even to twitter and IG. But those spaces all have their downsides, and none of them have the critical mass to be a real fandom home. As before, I have no conclusions about this. I just wanted to highlight some other aspects of this problem and describe some other food for thought.

[boyfridged]

tumblr might’ve eaten my ask in the process of submitting it so i want to send it again just in case but i loved burning money! it was so so so good! something that was interesting to me was mai (and the others’) disgruntlement with the foundation—which makes sense, big corporation encroaching on small community—but it’s the first time i’ve really seen a stance like that in fics? so i was curious about your thoughts on it! mostly because the foundation is usually depicted as doing good and nothing else, which isn’t true, of course, there is more depth to it, and i really liked and thought your depiction was interesting (even if it was intended to be a one-off thing) so i wanted to ask you about it :) if you don’t mind!

it seems it did eat it, so i'm glad you sent it again!

i absolutely do not mind, and i am happy to elaborate on that -- not only in the context of the fanfic, but also in terms what i think of the canon and fanon depiction of the work of the wayne foundation, and bruce's philanthropy.

that scene in burning money is, after all, symptomatic of my own politics. but as i always say, there was also a time when dc attempted to take in-world politics seriously -- leslie is a sign of that! so i do not see why i should not, given batman is an inherently political text, more so than most superhero comics (where the power fantasy elements are not as pronounced in their relation to class and the category of crime). and batman is just impossible to read without a consideration for these elements of discourse.

the love that contemporary comics (and i do think it's much more emphasised nowadays; the editorial seems to feel a need to continuously justify bruce, and there is not an ounce of modesty in how charity is portrayed) and fanon have for the foundation is something i find perturbing; the excitement regarding it even in the more progressive fandom spaces, the willingness to indulge this narrative of saviourism is really hard to ignore. and that is a narrative i have little patience for -- i, personally, like bruce as a multi-dimensional character, his flaws included. and that does not exclude keeping in mind that he is in a position of power.

the wayne foundation is not a grassroots organisation; and as such it is bound to have it's problems at the very core of its mission. the main issue is that it has a huge potential to become an instrument of biopower; that is to say, that people in charge get to say what sort of help the area will 'benefit' from most; and that is often a calculated choice that has little to do with the existing structures and even simply the wishes of people in question. while not directly related to the foundation, this is also something that i wanted to come across in the paragraph about the plan to make the crime alley into the entertainment district (btw, my rundown of the history of east end is by no means a canon one; i took different elements and mentions from comics and even adaptations into it, since it all remains vague otherwise). even when providing the people with a new (albeit limited; there was another bit that i ended up cutting out, about crystal being a nurse and the foundation putting a lot of money into nurse training programmes, since it is productive) range of opportunities, what it often leads to is yanking the populace around according to their latest charitable ideas, rather than providing long-time support.

here is also another thing to consider, that being -- no matter bruce's best intentions, he also cannot control everything that goes on in the foundation (which again, he should not -- but that also means that his 'stellar morals' will not save it from corruption and even just administrative troubles -- like the 'queues' that arlo mentions in burning money).

and about the scene you bring up in particular -- i want to say that this principled (!) reluctance to engage with the foundation it is not supposed to reflect the attitude of the community as a whole, but some part of it. mai, especially, has a personal connection to willis (and jason); this is very much a matter of pride and resentment regarding jason's death.

i have another wip with a scene of a somewhat similar, if not more open, conversation -- that one starring benny harlowe, who mentions that after jason's death the foundation seems to have doubled down in their efforts to 'fix' the alley (a trope somewhat popular in fanon, along with catherine todd/jason todd foundations), and he says: "The whole time I was thinking, why now? What was it, our boy’s trust fund? They murder our kid and then come back with a check?"

while I do not (obv) think the whole crime alley knew Jason (neither as jason nor robin; canon does not give us much reason to think that bruce would approve of robin-era jay venturing into the alley), nor do I subscribe to modern-era exaggeration of bruce's celebrity status, I do think most people in east end would hear about a billionaire adopting a child off the streets and the child dying not that long after; and there is surely some bitterness and distrust to come with that knowledge. is this what they are -- disposable charity cases? this is, needless to say, not true to bruce's feelings -- but what does it matter? there is little dignity to be found in this whole situation (with the system) to begin with.

this got ridiculously long... sorry about that! and thank you for reading!

[thepseudowoodo]

Iiiiiiiit's FANFIC TIME.

This is a multi-part disaster that I wrote completely out of order and will be posting as I get things edited and comprehensible. Eventually it'll go up on AO3 but you'll see it here first, folks! However, as I am a terrible old person who got her fanfic start on ff.net back before the dawning of Fandom As We Know It Today, my formatting here is probably going to be trash. Please be patient while I learn the ways of Tumblr.

Title: Measured With Blood

Rating: M for themes of canon-typical violence and sexual content

Summary: Hans reflects on his relationship with Henry and how it is viewed by the people around them.

1: Hans

Hans was an expert at denial. It was perhaps the only true and consistent thing about himself, he felt. Of course, he would never say that out loud. But he knew, deep within his churning heart, that he was extremely good at ignoring things he did not want to acknowledge.

He had first noticed it in Nebakov. Well, no. That wasn’t true, but Hans wasn’t willing to admit that he’d actually observed the phenomenon happening not long after Henry had been assigned to serve him. But he had ignored it because Hans was, as previously stated, an expert in denial. Which was why he found himself watching in fascination as Henry ambled around the fort making himself useful, and that was probably the secret to it. Hans was decorative. Maybe that was the second true thing about Hans; his use was limited and everyone around him seemed to know it too. Except Henry, who seemed to value Hans higher than anything else.

Henry made friends everywhere. Even in places that, by all rights, should be extraordinarily hostile towards him. Hans didn’t make friends. But Henry did, and Hans had the feeling he didn’t actually know even half of the adventures and mischief he’d gotten up to while Hans was away from him To begin with, Henry had very plainly already had an in with that herbalist, Klara. She had greeted him with relief, and they chatted like old friends as she listed all the many things she had to do. Henry had promptly offered to tend to some of the wounded for her, and Hans had wondered briefly when Henry had developed his medicinal skills. Then he had seen Henry speaking hesitantly with the blacksmith whose name Hans had never bothered to ask. The man had an aura of belligerent busyness that encompassed the entire smithy and Hans had reflected that actually, his armor didn’t really need those minor repairs right now. When he had wandered past barely an hour later, Henry was hammering away at something on the anvil as the smith sat at the grindwheel, the two of them shouting a conversation back and forth over the noise of their work.

It was like his special power or something. A blessing from God, maybe, to make up for his unfortunate beginnings in life. Henry could charm almost anyone simply by being himself, and those he couldn’t charm he managed to get around anyway somehow. Hans, on the other hand, barely seemed able to charm anyone as himself. Oh he charmed them, definitely. He was good at it, even. But he charmed people as Lord Capon, as the reasonably rich noble Lord of Pirkstein. No one was ever charmed by Hans.

Except Henry.

Henry, who laughed at Hans’ jokes, even the stupid ones. Who asked for his advice and seemed to actually place value in it, considering what Hans had to say before making a decision. Henry, who did small things to make Hans' already easy life even easier, just because he liked when Hans smiled. Henry, who genuinely seemed to actually see something worth caring about in Hans Capon. It was baffling. Henry could have had anyone in the world, gone and done anything he wanted on the power of his sincerity and smile alone, and he chose… to stay. With Hans. A useless, stupid, spoiled brat of a man. He just didn’t get it.

Hans was no stranger to feeling inadequate. It was one of the things he was the best at ignoring. He had grown up spoiled, sheltered, held apart, never given anything of substance on which to value himself. Oh, he believed Hanush had his best interests at heart, but Hans also believed that Hanush had his own interests even deeper at heart, and Hanush’s interests didn’t involve Hans actually growing into a person worthy of taking charge of Pirkstein and Rattay. And so Hans had been raised into a somewhat indolent, idle prick of a man, and it wasn’t until Henry appeared in his life that Hans began to truly see what he was becoming. Because he knew. Hans knew exactly what was happening to him, but he had also never been taught to care so he ignored it. Then some impertinent peasant boy had stood in front of him, unwilling to be cowed by the title or threats of violence. Hans had been confronted by a mirror, a reflection of himself in Henry’s angry eyes. And it was terrible, waking up from that warm slow existence to the cold truth of his own insufficiency.

So he kept ignoring it. He went on as he had been, treating Henry more or less poorly, even after he had saved his life more than once. Because he was still in denial. Hans had been in denial about his situation all the way to the moment at the Semine wedding when he found himself launching a punch at a man approaching Henry from behind. Found himself thinking that was his bodyguard, damn it, how dare they try and hurt him.

Then they’d come to in the Trosky dungeon and Hans was staring down his own inadequacy again, seeing his own pathetic reflection in Henry’s eyes. His apology had been poorly executed and Henry had accepted it anyway, forgiven him for everything at the drop of a hat, and that was also the moment when Hans realized he was well and truly fucked because he hadn’t planned on this. Hadn’t planned on falling in love with the god damn impertinent peasant boy who looked at him like he was worth something.

When he had been younger Hans had heard a visiting lord say that a man’s worth could be measured in blood, and Hans had assumed he’d meant the strength of the noble blood. Or that perhaps it was meant to describe soldiers, and the amount of blood a man shed from his enemies. But now? God in heaven, now Hans knew. Whatever that lord had meant, he knew that he could measure the worth of a man by how much blood he would shed to keep him safe by his side, forever.

Hans would shed a lot of blood, to keep Henry safe with him. Because God have mercy on his sinning soul, Hans was in love with Henry, and he had spent all the rest of his time since that moment trying to become the sort of man Henry deserved by his side.

[end pt.1]

[atlas-of-the-sea]

It's -45 days!!

'til Jimin is back and I have something to express 'cause I am MAD as F*!

First I'll share my -45 days favorite Jimin and proceed with the rant.

I wish for all this negative energy towards you, to transform into the power that will push you to be as successful as this universe (God) wants you to be Jiminah 💛

Look at those mochi cheeks 😍

Now my rant...

Since BTS solo careers started officially in 2022 with the hiatus to focus on their personal careers. I've seen A LOT!!! And everyday I think I can't get more disappointed with "Army" but I am proved wrong every damn time!

How I ended up here, my personal story with Jimin (feel free to skip this green color)

I am more of a observer than an active follower.

I know BTS because of Jimin. So I learned to like BTS songs because of Jimin.

With that being said, I am not ARMY, I am not PJM either. I have problems with labeling myself. I don't like labels.

I'm simply a Jimin fan that likes BTS as well. I respect the guys and I have many songs from BTS as a group and the members as solists that I like, I am surprised that I do have songs from each member that I listen to now since I don't really vibe with most of their solo songs for the most part. HOWEVER!!!! I can't come here and say I am ARMY when I know very well, that I do not support the others as deep as I do with Jimin, I have a clear biased support for Jimin that can not be compared to the others at all, neither by streaming or by investment in their work. Nonetheless, I am not gonna be attacking another member just because Jimin is the one I like. I have my opinions of BTS as a group, and about each of the members as individuals, and I may not like some things, and I am ALLOWED that because I am my own human, with my own brain and thoughts, so as long as I do it in a respectful manner that's all that matters to me. I could care less what an "ARMY" "OT7" thinks of me in that regards and what they want to label me as.

With that being said...

Before I start I will make a clear distinction

(which is my personal opinion)

Army for me are those that love, respect and support all members. It doesn't have to be on an equal level. But Army is not disrespectful and hurtful towards any remember. (Anyone that thinks real Army are those that support all members on an equal level is DELUSIONAL! PERIOD! That's why people have biases because there's always one that you deep down do more for or pay more attention to, it doesn't matter how much you OT7fy this, even if you think you don't have one member singled out, you do 😉)

"Army" when you see this in quotations here. Know that I am talking about those that call themselves Army, but are clearly shady towards other members, and have a superiority complex because they have been in the famdom since the big bang theory happened.

Now that I cleared what Army vs "Army" means to me, I shall proceed.

In my opinion, the online Army space, meaning every social media presense of OT7, even YouTube and Reddit, it's 85% "Army" and the other 15% are the real Army. Now those that are not actively engaging online with the fandom, that only care about the members and their music. That's a different story, but from those people, you really don't see things about since those are just normal people living their lives and minding their business. I am like that with all the other things I am interested in for example Beyoncé, I have no idea what's going on with her, unless it's about music and concerts. And I should go and do the same with Jimin because these spaces are too toxic for my limited patience.

The online Army space whether Twitter (I refused to call that X), Instagram, Tiktok or Tumblr, is full of solos that reunite as "Army" when BTS as a whole is being attacked, (Look at them now, uniting against Jimin) but even if they have an OT7 account you can see their clear biased opinions and shady behavior towards other members. Majority always let their real sentiment leak into a post or a comment somewhere, no matter how hard they try to be "OT7 for ever and ever" and "Army for life 💜" in their bio quotes.

And I finally concluded that this week with all the AMA drama going on!

( I will note here that I don't think anyone but Rosé is going to win that AMA. Just by logic of the song with Bruno, and the fact that she will be there present and probably perform that song. It's clear. But I will still vote for Jimin just in case I am wrong.)

Carry on...

How SAD it is to know that this is how most of this fandom moves!!

I feel so bad for the members that are aware of how toxic most of their online fans are. How sad it is to know that they want to feel proud, but is an online fandom that is rotting each day, more and more. And I hope one day, them as a group address their fandom, even if their words do nothing in the end. All these toxic people need some reality check. And only BTS can maybe make them touch some grass. Seeing the comments on their lives is so disappointing that even them have said something about it at one point.

I see some OT7 here and there saying that the real Army are those you see at the concerts, not the ones in the online spaces making fools of themselves. And to that I say, my brothers/sisters/non-binary siblings in Christ! You are just part of the online 15%, don't be delusional! (Honestly, 15% might still be a lot as of right now from where things stand) Even solos go to BTS concerts. A lot of solos were once Army, and they are going to go see their bias whether it's a BTS concert or not. Even PJMs, JJKs and KTHs solos watched Jikook's show, to talk sh*t but nonetheless, they still watched and generated views. So 😬

"Oh! but, you see, those online that defend BTS against the ones that want to destroy them, those are the real Armys, we gather up! We protect our boys" LOL, don't make me laugh!

My brothers/sisters/non-binary siblings in Christ! That's 85% solos, united for the same goal, to defend BTS because their bias is within that group as well. No more, no less. There is only that 15% that is truly Army online. You can even see it now. Solos uniting against Jimin to only vote for RM. It's a fact!

And I am clearly giving 15% because I have no way of actually measuring this, I am going off from the years of online reading posts of different people within this fandom I have determined my numbers that way. Nonetheless, the case here is, majority are not real OT7 as they paint themselves to be, the purple 💜 won't make them real.

(It's a good time to mention that these are the names I go by, and I could care less of any opinions of my names choices, RM, Jin, Suga, Jhope, V (TH), Jimin (JM very rarely) and JK. And I say this because I've seen "Army" talking sh*t at what names should or shouldn't be used. If I want to call Namjoon, Rap Monster, let me be, unless you are Namjoon, I don't care about what you think)

The things I have seen the past days, but that have been happening more evidently since the guys started their solo journey:

1. OT7 accounts partnering with solos to vote for RM because and I quote:

"RM deserves an award"

"Jimin would be happy to see RM win"

"Army gave Jimin a Daesang and now it's RM's turn"

[So much more that I don't have the patience to write here.]

Yes, RM deserves this award, but so does Jimin. Let fans vote for who they prefer for this award. Period!

2. Every time Jimin has a upcoming milestone there is always something else that "Army" wants to say all Army need to focus on.

Let that be:

Jimin breaking Billboard or Spotify records, or even voting for any award he is nominated for, this is not the first time that this has happened with a member, back when Jimin and JK were nominated separately it was another disaster, anything that involves Jimin succeeding, especially if there is no other member that has ever done said thing, there is always an imposition to not make that happen.

And every time I see some "Army" pulling through at the last minute, it's because another Kpop group fandom got involved and started attacking BTS as a whole through Jimin and they want to prove those people wrong. But at the end, it's never for Jimin, it's for their "Army is the best and biggest fandom" ego.

That's tragic! To say the least.

3. Jimin biased Army saying that they will be voting for RM because, and I quote an actual posts I saw, "that's what Jimin would like us to do."

Are you mental????!!!!!!!!

Weeeeehhh??? *Korean tone*

When did Jimin say that???!!!

Because the Jimin I know from the very little I can know of him as an outsider that doesn't know him personally, it's a Jimin that is ambitious, goal oriented, a man that since his debut said that he wanted to succeed and be that one idol everyone talks about, that even if he didn't make it in the BTS group he was going to find a way of making it somehow, a man that is always saying to his fans that he will do his best, and that he will be better.

(and I don't even know how, because he couldn't be more perfect already)

Is that the Jimin they are talking about?

I don't think that they, as Jimin bias OT7 are really talking about that Park Jimin, they might be confused. I hate how they are only doing this because they are scared of going against their "OT7 for life" moots so they don't get blocked by them and kicked out of the chats and asigned as a solo for life!

You coward!

Don't be taking Jimin as your pathetic excuse. I've seen enough of you the past 3 years. You all make me sick!

I even saw a few people that dared to say that they were going to vote for Jimin, and they legit got blocked and called a solo. This is not just an example. I really saw it happen in real time in Twitter and Instagram.

Jimin wouldn't want for any of his members to get achievements based on pitiful behavior. No person feels okay of getting something because someone else feels bad for them, especially someone like RM. When you know you got something because people feel bad for you, it never feels good at the end, that only increases impostor syndrome on that person.

And Jimin loves his members, which is why he has not left the toxic environment that that company is for him. But he also loves his career. Don't use his emotional qualities and character to make such an ignorant statement! I wish I could Will Smith you all in the face.

[ Did you get the Will Smith reference? No? Ok, moving on ]

4. Jimin biased Army being called solos because they want to vote for Jimin.

I legit saw more than 5 comments of "Army" accounts, commenting on other people's OT7 accounts on Instagram that were voting for Jimin with the # vote. Like they legit were writing to them, that they should vote for RM not Jimin because that's what Army is doing, and that RM deserves this award.

Oh! So Jimin doesn't????!!!!!

So you're telling me that you with an OT7 account. You forgot that Jimin is also nominated and part of your OT7 for life SH*T, so you can't let another OT7 Jimin bias make their own decision?

Like??? Are they for real??!!

LET PEOPLE VOTE FOR WHO THEY WANT!! Especially if Jimin is their bias, that's their bias!!! What the F*!!!!

[Forgot to mention and had to edit this in:

This is a US chart award. And Jimin was the one between the two of them that dominated the charts in the US, by that logic, Jimin should be the choice, but you see, I don't care, if I wanted to vote for RM, I would, regardless of logic. That's just how it should be!]

5. You see solos complaining about what they think their bias has not been given and so on. On a regular basis, but this is more evident, when there is an award nomination, new music releases, new content out or new records achievements made by another member.

And I speak about all solos, PJMs included. They all complain and complain. I see some arguments as valid, the execution in which they bring these arguments and the way they act about it is what I don't agree on.

But one thing I have to admit, and I don't care if this will classify me as solo by whoever read this.

PJMs do the damn work!

(Yes, I intentionally made that purple!)

Like I've seen a lot, and I have to give it to them.

FACE and MUSE had the success they had because of PJMs, "Like Crazy" went number one because of PJMs, "Who" spent 33weeks in the Hot100s because of PJMs.

No matter how much Army, OT7 or whoever wants to call it. Jimin is doing numbers because of PJMs.

Yes, he has the general public and Army, but by definition PJMs are Jimin's solo fanbase, and there is a lot of those people out there making things happen. Getting him on playlists, working on radio, buying albums, streaming songs, voting!!

I've seen other solo member fandoms and their complaints are more effort than what they actually do for the members they stan. PJM are annoying in many ways, but these people are working hard to give Jimin what they think he deserves. And I recognize that. I hate to break it to "Army", the more they go against Jimin the more OT7 who bias Jimin are going to become solos. I've seen it a lot the past 3 years. And this week has made that worse.

And yes, going solo shouldn't depend on what online "Army" says to another Jimin bias, but it's very hard to be in the online spaces and see the injustice and aggression against Jimin (or any other member for that matter) and keep calling yourself OT7, many of these people (PJMs) don't stop caring for the members, but they do start investing and streaming harder for Jimin due to the circumstances which at the end of the day makes then a solo under everyone elses definition. And God forbid you support Jimin publicly as a Jimin biased OT7 and you show how proud of his achievements you are without mentioning another member in the same sentence, you are called out for it and asigned as a hater by default.

"Army" is dividing the fandom into solos themselves. Because unfortunately it doesn't matter if the real Armys are not like this, the online presence of the toxic ones is so big, that it overshadows the real Armys and push them to the back into a place where the general public can only see the toxic ones, and by that mix, you all end up in the same pot in the eyes of those that don't follow BTS. I was one of those that before I knew about BTS as individuals, I knew about Army, and nothing I knew about the fandom was positive. My first encounter with "Army" was very negative due to a misunderstanding, at the time, they started attacking and after realizing they made a mistake, the damage was already done. All these "Armys" move like sheep and don't think for themselves or do their own research before trying to cancel people.

It's unfortunate, but that is the reality of their social media presence.

I believe BTS almost disbanded in 2018 because of the outside negative pressure they were facing with so many people in the industry and Kpop community against them. And they survived together because they did the psychological work it took them to understand that they were stronger than that and that they would not allow the outside forces to dictate their future. Plus the support of their fans meant a lot to them.

And it's sad to see that they are coming back to a fandom that has become so devided, and that now there are more Ex-Army who have become solos attacking other members many times unintentionally just to defend their bias, because a backhanded comment is still a micro-aggressive comment anyways. There is more of those people than possibly other Kpop fans from other groups out there that attack BTS. Now the hate is coming from within!

How sad! I'm glad that Jimin has cut his social media engagement, because I am sure it was the toxicity of "Army" that drove him away. It killed him to see that the ones he thought wouldn't hurt him have turned the ones that wanted to disappear his soul to defend another member's honor.

Some of you may say that Jimin doesn't acknowledge PJMs. And that they don't exist to him, because for him his fans are Army, and to that I say, do you really think that any BTS member will full on acknowledge their solos by their name? LOL be for real! They know they have solos, they are fully aware, if you heard Jimin, RM and Jhope's comments lately on their solos project, you'll know that they are very much aware and that they don't address it because they have a rule within the group. For them you all will always be Army, solos or not, you'll be Army. The most you'll get out of them is "My fans".

The day one of them addresses their solos in a positive manner, that's the date you can say, BTS as a group is in danger. Especially if that comes from Jimin.

Some of you really need to sit and watch your bias in original content and learn what he is truly like.

How disappointing!

P.S. I might be reaching here, but every time a member during their solo activities promotions mentioned the word "fans" or "my fans" instead of Army when it had to do with their personal work projects, that to me was some acknowledgement to include their solos that they know are out there.

And also, let me clarify this danm thing!!!

NOT ALL SOLOS STARTED AS ARMY! SOME HAVE JUST BEEN SOLOS SINCE DAY ONE.

The members are not a set on a box, they all have their own individual careers and personalities that attracts the general public to them individually, and for some, eventually to BTS, like in my case, although as I mentioned I am not labeling myself as a PJM. I'm just a Jimin's fan. Same as I am just a Beyoncé's fan and not Beyhive. Or insert the name of any other artist I like.

She is from Destiny's child. I like some Destiny's Child songs, I like the other 2 women. But at the end of the day, I have supported Beyoncé more.

You get my point? 😌

I can't wait for Jimin and JK to do their live (I hope they do) and see Jimin's cheeks 🥰 that's going to be another sh*tshow in which many of their solos will combust!

And I have been having this feeling that those two are going to do some big project together or have an official subunit. If that happens, find me in a dark corner losing my breath as I laugh my life away LOL 🤣

P.S. I am not reading all this. Whatever mistakes I made either by grammar or spelling will be forgiven under the sun. Amen!

-Atlas ❤️

[whatonearthisgoingon]

How do you feel about Jegulus? (James x Regulus) I love the Marauders!!

I think it's an interesting ship. I like the content made about them and think the lore that has been made is quite well designed. It's a cool dynamic. However, due to the fact Jegulus has no canon basis at all, along with some other reasons, I prefer Jily. Here's the gist of what I think!

While I'm not saying it started out like this, or shippers who ship Jegulus mean this intentionally, Jegulus sadly reminds me of the popular fandom trope where you kick the female love interest aside for a popular m/m ship. This is very popular in the Harry Potter fandom with Jily, Hinny, and Remadora.

However, I understand why it happens at the same time, at least with Hinny and Remadora. JKR did a shit job with her female characters. Both Remadora and Hinny have very limited good tension, especially in the movies, compared to the popular m/m ships. It makes sense why you would ship Wolfstar over Remadora when Remadora felt so rushed and awkward. And JKR said she wrote it in, to prevent Wolfstar; that makes people ship it more. Hinny are extremely alike in the books, and to me gave off a brother and sister vibe until the 5th or 6th book, other than Ginny's one-sided crush in the 2nd book. I do think Hinny is very much possible and is one of my favorite ships now; it just needed slightly better writing (especially in the movies, tf was that). But I get because of that writing, why Drarry is popular.

But Jegulus.. it throws me the wrong way when I think about it too hard, because they had no canon interactions at all. There is no shitty straight relationship that they did better than. I think it started out for the "brother's best friend" ship dynamic, then got insanely popular, and throws Lily completely under the bus. I do get a lot of people don't like Jily because James harassed her about it for years. I agree, it was a dick move, but she did say she liked it in her later years at Hogwarts. That's child and teenage James being dumb, and he luckily got better.

Additionally, at least in the books, they have nothing in common. The one thing they have in common is Quidditch, and that's not even discussed in the ships. Regulus is a Death Eater and a blood supremacist. He only betrayed Voldemort because of Kreacher, and maybe a slight realization that what he was doing (killing people) was wrong. But he was still pretty racist. That is the exact opposite of what James is. Sure, James was an asshole, and caused a lot of problems in school, but he was a good person in the end. He was most definitely never a killer, a blood supremacist, or a racist. Hell, he was best friends with a werewolf, which most of Wizarding society fucking hated, and he learnt incredibly advanced magic, for said friend.

Regulus is made to be this nice little tsundere twink that did no wrong, was the abused younger child in the Black House that wanted out, and never hated anyone. That's wrong, a bad characterization; fuck that shit. He's a bad dude, and that's reality. He realized he was wrong, sure, but he was still bad. The step out would have been hard in school, but he could have made that step if he wanted to; he didn't. James would not like the person Regulus is, when they knew each other. In my opinion, Regulus probably would have reminded James of a younger Severus. Severus, Avery, and Mulciber; Regulus, Barty, and Evan. Copy and Paste. That's the reality, despite what the fandom has turnt the characters into. By the time Regulus was better, he wasn't around James anymore.

Now part of my Jegulus hate is that I was also not around to see how it formed. Jegulus blew up on Tumblr and other medias when I was in middle school and did not have Tumblr yet. If I dive into the fandom more, I may find some love for it, but I highly doubt it.

The biggest route I tolerate with Jegulus, is James and Regulus dating in James' 5th/6th year, but then Regulus gets the mark. Due to the respective loyalties they have, they break up. From there, James gets together with Lily, and the rest of the story happens as is canon to the books.

I've seen fics where they all live, and James and Lily have Harry, then get divorced, and Jegulus gets a happy ending while Lily isn't talked about for the whole thing. It happens so fucking much. I like(?) the Jegulus and Pandalily or Marylily, co-parenting fics, more like settle honestly. I tolerate it more when she's discussed and is a part of Harry's life. But so often she isn't discussed at all.

What I hate the most though, is where they make her the villain, and she's an asshole to James or Regulus, which therefore causes Jegulus in the fic. Or she ditched the family and left James with Harry to be a single dad. I just don't like that, and it drives me insane. That's not Lily's character; that's not the woman who begged for Voldemort to take her but spare her child. I try to avoid those fics, but sometimes I see them, and it drives me nuts.

So back to you OP. Basically, I like the Jegulus content, in the way I'd appreciate artwork (kinda like OC's really), but Jily has my heart, 100%.

I'll never write hate on an author of fic for writing Jegulus where they kick Lily aside, but I don't like it at all. If I'm in a roleplay that has Jegulus, I'm not going to say shit because often it's done cute and tame, and Jily never happened, and the Lily rper is fine with it. If I see good artwork of Jegulus, I'll leave a like and keep scrolling, but that's it. If I see a cute headcanon of the two boys, that doesn't vilify any other character unreasonably, I'll like, and maybe reblog it. If I think of something cute about them, and want to share it, I'll write and talk about it. But it's not the ship I love with my heart and soul.

If someone brings Lily up in a bad way, whether subtly or directly, with Jegulus, I get a little annoyed, and keep scrolling, or block if it's really bad.

Hope that answers your question :)

[hallowpen]

I know you said you're not talking about it anymore but I would like to invoke my special privilege of being your most favorite mutual who has suffered for you creating sh weapon references until visions of runes replaced my very thoughts

What is it that distinguishes general shipping culture from Thai-specific shipping culture? Because you mention Thai shipping culture a lot, and while I know there is a difference I can't seem to put into words what that difference is. I don't know if I'm making any sense, but like, under the umbrella of QL in Thailand, what part of it is culture and what part of it is marketing? Like the presenting of a "ship" as a "product" part.

Listen you... (Only because it's YOU asking... but be aware: You cannot pull this 'fave moot' card for the rest of our tumblr interactions. You had one shot! And you've now used it hehe)

So let's sort of break down the Thai QL marketing strategy, as you've put it: You have the 'production' and then you have the 'fandom/engagement' side of that production.

Production Marketing Branded Pairing - the production companies are going make a QL series and then present you with the leads as an easily 'shippable' pair. In Thailand, we refer to these ships as คู่จิ้น or 'imaginary couples' (จิ้น is pronounced as "jin" like imaGINE... cute no? hehe) These pairs are the product... the draw to attract viewers/fans. It's more common for branded pairs to stay working together once they've developed a comfortable relationship with one another. However, this can lead to some stagnancy within their working relationship and the types of roles they are offered. Companies like GMMtv, in my opinion, go a little overboard in this aspect. The logos and mascots are cute, but they're firmly cementing the fact that these pairs will never star opposite someone else in a BL production once they're established as a brand. It's very limiting for the actors involved and the fans who crave varied content... because at some point it all starts to feel very same. But again, that's just my feeling. It does work very well in some instances. And as long as production companies are gaining revenue, I don't really see that changing anytime soon.

Fanservice - the pairs' job is to sell the product: attract brand deals and increase fan engagement. The best way to do that for QL is to play up the fantasy (at a level that both individuals involved are comfortable with). They're going to pretend and have fun with their fans with a little back-and-forth. At this point in the conversation it's important to note that in the early days of fanservice, and even still, there was a lot of cultural nuance involved in order for businesses and potential viewers to be more accepting of mlm relationships which were heavily featured in the series that were being promoted. There's also discussion about whether or not the proco's allow their pairs any say in the level of fanservice they must perform. For the most part, it seems that they do... but that's not always the case.

Production Engagement Shipping - the viewers and fans are the 'consumers'. They essentially buy the 'product' the companies are selling, with both financial support and through their engagement. Now... in Thailand, as fans of these pairs, we are very aware of what is being sold to us. This is what I refer to as 'Thai shipping culture'. It's part of the 'game', for lack of a better word. We tease and we joke and we partake in the shipping... but at the end of the day, we know it's not real. Our support doesn't have any strings attached and isn't based in contingencies. We support the actors because we like the content they are providing for us. It's as simple as that. It's equal parts unfortunate and heartbreaking that this culture has been lost in newer fandom (from Thailand specifically). But it's important for interfans to understand, as well, that fanservice and shipping are not forms of queerbaiting. No one is trying to trick anybody... it's all very laid out in plain sight. And if you're buying too much into the fantasy, that's a YOU problem.

I don't really know how else to end this, other than to say what I always say, which is:

Please re-evaluate what it means to be a "fan" of someone. You are no more entitled to an artist's time or attention because you paid for it. You did that because you wanted to; you wanted to SUPPORT them. This doesn't give you any right to dictate their life; you cannot claim ownership over them. They are NOT your property. So if you truly "support" them, just let them be themselves...and love them all the more for it! The only thing misplaced anger/hate accomplishes is to create an environment where artists no longer feel comfortable interacting with their fans altogether, out of fear that every little thing they do or say will be misjudged.

[pastellieria]

The latest round of AO3 comment discourse crossing my dash made me suddenly realize that people are just taking it as a given that AO3 is a "fandom community website". AO3 is often directly compared to Livejournal and other older fandom hubs amidst laments about how "no one cares about participating in their community anymore".

But AO3 is not a "community" website. It's not social media. It's a fanfic archive that was designed to center the fics first and foremost. There is no space on the site for general, casual fandom discussion. You can't even DM other users. The site was designed this way on purpose to protect writers, because its creators were familiar with the ways in which writers have been harassed on other sites and wanted to minimize direct access to writers as much as possible, but that decision comes with the tradeoff of limiting the amount of communication and discussion between fans that is possible on the site.

This is, to be clear, not a criticism of AO3. It accomplishes its goal of being an archive very well. I don't particularly want DMs or larger discussion forums on the site, and I enjoy how it centers the writing it hosts. But as it exists now, it is simply not built to be a "community" and does not function as one. Unlike sites like Livejournal where fic posting and general interpersonal fandom interactions all took place in the same space, fics are posted to AO3 while the "community" for any given fandom now largely takes place on Twitter, Tumblr, Discord, or another site, depending on the fandom.

You're free to personally dislike those spaces and voice valid criticisms about how they function as communities, but they are undeniably where the actual "community" parts of most fandoms currently reside. These sites, not AO3, are where most fans talk to one another, form friendships, and express themselves. It's not impossible to do these things on AO3, but it is not the norm because the site simply is not designed that way.

The latest posts I have seen about commenting culture have gotten this dynamic exactly backwards. If readers are discussing a fic amongst themselves on Twitter or Discord, they're characterized as antisocial and accused of "not participating in the fandom community". But Twitter and Discord are the fandom community sites! The "bookclub" servers and Twitter threads are where the community bonds are being forged between fans! These spaces are the modern analogue to the old Livejournal groups and web rings, not the comments section of any one individual fanfic on AO3.

If an author's only interaction with their fandom is to post fics to AO3 and passively wait to be found, and they aren't seeking out their fellow fans in these other spaces and interacting with them... they are the ones who are "not participating" as much as the readers that are so readily being cast in so much of this discussion as "selfish" or deliberately spiteful for not commenting "enough".

I understand why many of my fellow writers feel this way. I too often find socialization on sites like Twitter and Discord draining and difficult. It takes time and effort to build friendships organically, discuss ideas and share snippets to pique people's interest in a fic before it is posted, and provide reciprocal effort when it comes to everyone else's ideas and snippets and stories, and there are many days when I just don't have the energy for it all. At the same time, I'm also very curious about my readers' thoughts on my stories, and if I learned that they were being discussed in a server I couldn't access, I would want to know what was being said. It's a natural impulse to feel curiosity like this when it comes to one's creative work. And of course, I also love getting comments on my own fics and I'm not immune to feeling disappointed when a fic seems to "flop".

However, it's not fair to take out feelings of disappointment and frustration on readers for participating in their fandom in the spaces where their fandom's community actually exists. If you find out that fandom discussions are happening in a place where you are not present, you have a choice in what action you will take. You can either make the effort to join the discussion, or you can knowingly distance yourself from it. Neither of these choices are objectively correct for every single individual's situation, but you, the AO3 denizen, are the one who needs to choose whether or not to engage with your fandom's community, because AO3 is not where the community lives.

If you choose not to join your fellow fans in their actual community hubs because of low social battery, annoying features, or a site culture you dislike, that's perfectly fine and a valid choice... but you shouldn't be surprised when the author who is participating in their fandom outside of AO3 gets more comments on their fics. And you certainly don't have the right to project your own social withdrawal onto your readers and accuse them of maliciously withholding "community" from you.

Comments are wonderful, and positively encouraging people to leave comments on the fics they enjoy is completely fine, but comments are not community. AO3 is not a community website and in fact is designed to put us writers behind a wall for our own protection. We are the ones who need to choose whether or not to venture out from behind the wall and join our communities, instead of getting angry that the community isn't spontaneously appearing in our comments sections.

[abibliophobiaa]

Hi Luna! I hope you're feeling better! I hope you don't mind me asking, but I was wondering if you know what happened to Emmy's (upsidedownwithsteve)'s blog? I was away all day yesterday and when I went to read one of her fics last night, it asked me for a password? If you don't feel comfortable answering this, I totally understand. I would also be happy to come off anon to chat directly if that makes more sense. Anyway, can't wait for the final part of RWYLM and I hope you feel better soon! Xx

She actually just posted something over on AO3, for anyone who was looking and searching (I saw a few people asking yesterday alone). I posted it down below.

It’s unfortunate that people on here are just so nasty. And it’s honestly why you’re seeing the fandom continue to shrink. I don’t really understand what people’s goals are. Other than being mean for the sake of being mean.

You curate your own space, and when you run all the writers off this site, what fandom experience are you going to have left? Think about it.

It makes me not even want to be on this site anymore (I’ve already been limiting my time on, which I’m sure many have noticed). And I’m sure I’m not the only one on here feeling this way as well.

I’d just say check on your favorite authors, because it definitely hurts when one (like Emmy and many others at this point) that we all love gets quite literally run off the site. And I’m sure it also prompts some to reevaluate whether or not this is a safe or fun space anymore.

Especially when this is someone (Emmy) who has always been kind to those around her (myself included), and is running her own business and pregnant. She should be ENJOYING this season, and some people just have literally no sense of decorum or common decency.

Remember that WE ARE ALL HUMANS ON HERE.

KINDNESS is free.

Just some food for thought. 🤍

[crowdusk]

One Piece Chapter 1132: Adventure in Elbaph (thoughts & predictions for the arc)

Part 2 here.

[These are the feverish autism-fuelled thoughts I wrote out after reading chapter 1132 because I was overtaken by the urge to connect some dots (I did edit a bit to hopefully be more coherent). I didn't engage with any other reviews or theories on Elbaph apart from quite general ones before reading this, so it'll be cool to see if other people have similar ones. Wasn't sure whether to post this but I wanted to put it somewhere before chapter 1133 came out and next week's break so it doesn't just sit on my laptop for me to forget about, and more importantly so I can refer back to it and see if anything I said was even vaguely correct. It's a monster and I don't have time to do a proper editing process so please kindly look away from any mistakes and poor structuring. One of the really fun aspects of serialised storytelling for me is theorising and analysis, even if it makes a fool of me more often than not. I'm not expecting to be right but it's fun when that happens!]

This also ended up being, uh, Very Long. There is a chapter review part with some thoughts on the arc, and then there are thematic sections where I got more into detail about what I think Elbaph will explore. This whole thing will be split into multiple posts because of Tumblr's limit, but there will be links to the different sections/posts. Ok, end of intro.

Overall thoughts on the chapter

Firstly, this chapter was so fun. It had all the familiar thrill and excitement of a new island and adventure, with some wonderful panels (rainbow-sailing, Bonney and Robin, the Elbaph village). We had ‘Adventure in the Land of Mystery’, and the suspense was interesting, but I’m sure I wasn’t the only one extremely confused (especially because of the mistakes). From what I saw the whole fandom was essentially the when ur whole crew doesn’t know a damn thing meme. But I’m glad Oda had his fun with the fake introduction to Elbaph, which also helped set up Luffy meeting Loki and the delay in receiving Vivi’s message amongst other things. 

1132 really feels like quintessential early One Piece where we’re off to a running start now that we’re finally sure we’re where we want to be. Love to see the Strawhats get somewhere, play around, and immediately cause chaos. It’s somehow packed with new information and fast-paced, while feeling like we get a bit of a breather from plot-intensity after Egghead. 

I’m also, of course, incredibly happy we’re finally getting to see Elbaph in all its much-anticipated glory. The natural features of the island – especially the landscape, the scale, elements like the rainbows and the giant tree as a living support–  make it feel extra fantastical and wondrous beyond what I, at least, had imagined. Hats off to Oda and especially his assistants for the gorgeous Rivendell-Zelda-Skyrim vibes in the village introduction spread. I love a fantasy-style nature-based environment, and I don’t think we’ve had that in a while. Wano and Egghead had some incredible settings too, of course, but the story felt a lot more people-centric once they got to the islands. Here, the landscape really becomes a character of its own in the same way it did in say, Zou (quite literally). In fact, Yggdrasil is both alive and ancient, just like Zunesha. I’m looking forward to seeing how that feeds into the story. 

I'm also very glad that Oda is leaning into that and giving us those wide-angle shots. He doesn’t always get perspective and scale exactly right, but I personally don’t mind – the man knows how to draw an impactful double-spread. I can’t un-know the fact that the Sunny is supposed to be more than twice the height of Goldberg, who’s carrying it, but it doesn’t ruin anything for me. I’m used to Oda just doing shit like that because he wants/needs the Sunny to be carried around like a toy. It would be such a shame if we got to Elbaph and we only got smaller views or workarounds in order to avoid the challenges of scale and perspective. 

On top of that, one of my favourite parts of the One Piece experience is finally having puzzle pieces and references fall into place after arcs and years – like the architecture and landscape we recognise from Big Mom’s flashback. We've been waiting for this for over 20 years! More than 1000 chapters! I love this manga. I love it here. The sequence of the rainbow bridge leading into finally getting to see the village was lovely, and as a huge Skypiea lover, I am having a great time. Seeing our experience reflected in Luffy and especially Usopp’s reactions was also beautifully moving. I’m glad they were highlighted and we had the flashback to Little Garden to really drive it home.  

On the plot side,  we’re slowly building a picture of the variation in how different giants feel about humans. We have Gerd and Rodo, who both have strong feelings in completely opposing ways. Where Gerd infantilises humans in her fascination with them, Loki and Rodo clearly seem to think they are inferior. It remains to be seen what other perspectives exist in Elbaph. Is there real resentment or hatred from those like Loki and Rodo, or do they generally just think giants are superior due to their strength and size? Regardless, it feels like Oda is slowly setting us up to understand that there are different groups of giants with different beliefs even within Elbaph (we already know Saul is not from there and considers them ‘barbarians’). Just as in any society there are surely faultlines and disagreements, and their relationship to humans – and maybe even the world at large – might very well be a point of tension within the kingdom. 

Speaking of points of tension, it’s obviously very ominous that Luffy has made a promise to Loki, particularly since we don’t know the specifics of it. Oda has cleverly given us only a glimpse of the very end of that conversation in relation to Luffy’s famous difficulty with lying and we’ll see how long he decides to tease us with it. He could definitely give us that information in dribs and drabs to keep us guessing, but I also think most of us are probably right in guessing that Luffy promised to free Loki, even if we don’t know if he wanted anything in return. Honestly, the first time we even saw Loki in chains I thought oh Luffy’s 100% going to free that man, and I know I’m not the only one. 

Regardless of exactly how and when we see that conversation, I imagine we'll see Luffy’s actions start to confirm and clarify our suspicions. For example, if he did agree to free Loki and needs to retrieve the key, then he might well start making moves to do that soon (although after the feast, of course – nothing comes before a metric ton of meat). I also think it will be very interesting – and comical – to see Luffy try and execute a stealth operation, because as we’ve seen time and time again, that is the opposite of his forte. He’s bad at lying, he’s bad at keeping secrets, and he’s bad at doing things with subtlety. So I’m looking forward to seeing how Luffy deals with that – whether he manages to keep it a secret from everyone or if, as I suspect, he ropes in at least one of the other Strawhats, even if by accident. Take your guesses! There’s a whole range of options ranging from experts (Nami, Robin, Brook) to the sneak mission equivalent of throwing a grenade onto a presidential lawn (...Zoro).

My more specific pet theory when it comes to Luffy’s meeting with Loki is that I would not be surprised if in one of the upcoming chapters up we get a sort of split screen set up with Hajrudin or an equivalent giant on one side, explaining more about Loki’s deeds and why they imprisoned him, and the flashback to Luffy’s conversation with him on the other. We know from DorryBrogy (yes I’m using that now) that Hajrudin wanted to come and retrieve the Strawhats from Egghead himself, but ultimately couldn’t because of “some (Loki-related) trouble back on Elbaph”. It would make sense to me if Hajrudin explains in more detail what happened that prevented him from sailing to Egghead, and tells us more about Loki himself. At the same time that Hajrudin is talking about the terrible things Loki has done, we get the penny-drop of Luffy flashing back to his agreement to free said evil man. 

It’s a perfect storytelling device in this medium, especially when it comes to revealing important (and in this case stomach-dropping) information to us as omniscient readers. We saw something slightly similar most recently during Vegapunk’s speech, which Oda used to clearly signpoint us to characters and their links to mentions of important information in the speech, (e.g. showing Shirahoshi, Vivi and Momo when talking about the ancient weapons). Of course that was very different in tone and intention compared to what the Loki reveal I’m hypothesising would be like, but I’m mainly just trying to highlight the use of the manga medium and how it lends itself to this kind of layering. I’m sure Oda’s done something much closer to what I’m thinking of before, but in all honesty I can’t recall an example right now. Regardless, I could be completely off the mark (I am just a little jester honestly), but we know Oda loves his dramatic reveals and drumbeats so I’m willing to put this out there. 

I am also particularly interested to see how Luffy will react to the information about Loki. Will he dislike Loki but still go through with it? Will he disagree with Hajrudin and the other giants? Will it change nothing for him? I think Luffy won’t go back on his promise no matter what information is revealed, but knowing Luffy, he also might just not really pay attention or care what Loki’s done. It will mainly be for us as readers, and the rest of the Strawhats, to decide how we feel about it. We know that Elbaph has very strong values and rules, especially surrounding their warrior culture – ones like honour, strength, and probably truth/honesty. I’m waiting to see whether what Loki’s done is considered bad specifically within Elbaph culture, or whether they’re just terrible in general. This is why in my opinion Loki won’t be A Classic Villain, because I don’t think the central conflict in Elbaph will be as simple as just Loki vs the rest of the giants and Strawhats. There’s too much ambiguity present.

Plus, we haven’t seen Luffy’s instinct about people go wrong yet. The first time he met Blackbeard they immediately started fighting, even if it was about something as stupid as food preferences. He hated Doflamingo the minute he met him. Even Buggy couldn’t actually betray him, despite wanting to. If Luffy generally trusts someone, we know that means they’re trustworthy or at least even if not at the beginning, he wins them over or is able to deal with the untrustworthiness in a way that makes it irrelevant. 

Of course, Loki could prove the exception to the rule, but we know that part of Luffy’s strength is understanding and seeing through people. It would take a lot for Loki to fully trick or betray him, since Luffy just does what he wants and deals with the consequences as they arise. He’ll be more than happy to fight Loki if he threatens something/someone he cares about. To be clear, I’m not saying Loki is a threat at all – I do think his desire to “destroy the world” means mass violence, but Luffy doesn’t tend to care about larger villainous plans until they directly affect his loved ones. He’s also the first ‘evil’ character so far who’s been shown to have very obvious parallels and similarities with Luffy, so even if he is an antagonist, I expect it to be in a way we haven’t seen before (more on that later). 

Another possibility is that Loki and certain other giants have a strong dislike of humans, and therefore want them off the island as quickly as possible. This would also align with Louis Arnot’s warning about not overstaying your welcome. I imagine not everyone on Elbaph is inclined to be friendly to humans, and there might even be other people (other kinds of giants, or non-giants) living on the island. It feels like Oda has strongly emphasised that Warland is only a kingdom on the island of Elbaph, implying that there might be other groups of people – or even countries – sharing the land mass (perhaps on the Astral level?). To me, it feels like Elbaph is holding some kind of secret that makes it particularly dangerous. Maybe, like in Skypiea, there is a forbidden area in Elbaph that is off-limits to people (prime candidate being the Astral/Celestial realm) whether to maintain that secret or perhaps for spiritual reasons. Trespassing could incur serious danger or punishment, and we can probably predict exactly what will happen if a certain captain hears about it. 

And there are other ways I think Elbaph will parallel Skypiea. The Strawhats first connected with the Skypieans (Conis and her father) and were quickly thrown into conflict with both Enel and his forces (including the White Berets) as well as the Shandians who weren’t too happy about outsiders. They had to work with the different groups against Enel, and as part of that, prove to the Shandians that they were trustworthy. The Shandians, who had the crucial connection to the Ancient Kingdom and the poneglyph. We might see a similar situation in Elbaph where the Strawhats have to prove to a group of people (maybe outsiders to Elbaph’s society, maybe those who distrust humans) that they are trustworthy so that they can all unite to fight against a bigger foe like the World Government. It remains to be seen who that might be, but this would also be an opportunity for Oda to give the Strawhats even more people, groups and allies who believe in Luffy’s power. 

Additionally, both Skypiea and Alabasta were countries in the midst of internal conflict – specifically over natural resources – when the Strawhats arrived, and in both of those cases the actions of the crew helped end the wars. Elbaph might be similar. In both of those arcs the conflicts had roots in the secrets of the Void Century, be it because the Shandians were protecting their ancestral lands and the poneglyph after being persecuted by the World Government, or Crocodile’s desire to gain control of Pluton. The giants of Elbaph seem to be one of the only groups of people who have maintained a consistent sun god worship, probably not for lack of the World Government trying to wipe it out (their strength will certainly have served them in that regard). On top of that, I’m sure there’s other crucial information, not just from the Ohara library, that the giants have managed to protect regarding ancient history. If we think about their lifespans, the Void Century was only a few generations back for them, so there may be important oral histories that have been passed down from elders. It’s clear that this is a culture with strong links to the secrets of the past, like the Shandians and the royal family of Alabasta. Though the wars in those countries were exacerbated by many other factors, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see something similar in Elbaph – some tension that relates to events further back in history, and maybe even the Void Century.

Loki, Luffy, and the power of myth

My current theory on Loki is that he believes he is the new Joyboy, and/or an incarnation of Nika/the sun god from Elbaph’s myths (in the same way that King believed Kaido to be Joyboy). We don’t know yet whether Elbaph is polytheistic – Nika/the sun god might just be one of their deities – but if we use Rodo’s weird RPG cage world as a reference, he did create a bunch of different minor ‘gods’. Elbaph itself might have a similar system, with the Sun God being the most important deity. Regardless, we know that Nika is important in their culture, given Dorry and Brogy’s immediate recognition of Luffy in Gear 5 and the celebration of the Winter Solstice as the return of the sun in Big Mom’s flashback. We’ve also seen the painters being called sunstones, which is reminiscent of Vegapunk’s pursuit of solar technology and the Motherflame, and the giants live on the Sun level of Yggdrasil. On top of that, the Underworld – where people are sent for punishment – is specifically noted to lack sunlight. We already know that the sun in One Piece’s world is associated with Nika (liberation, joy), but in terms of general symbolism the sun is also linked to clarity, truth and perception. 

This is why I think questions of faith, belief and truth will be so important to answering what makes Elbaph’s giants such mighty warriors, what kind of devotion do they have, and how do their beliefs and worship link to collective liberation in the One Piece world, both historically and in the present? 

Oda is also going to get meta in this arc, I believe (even more obviously than he already does). I'll get into this more later, but the Lego kidnapping introduction already served to set up important questions. What is reality, and what is fantasy/illusion? Whose world are we in? Who are the storytellers and what are the different ways stories are lived and told? What is their nature, function and importance? There are going to be many layers in this arc and it's narration, encompassing past present and future, and I think Oda will play with form to achieve this (off the top of my head - the adventurer's log voice of Louis Arnot, to flashbacks, to legends told by the giants, to reading the texts of Ohara...). Contradictory stories, multiple perspectives on one narrative, and different but coexisting truths might well all come into play as important.

Speaking of one type of story, myths and legends are the vessels of belief, and it’s likely the Elbaph culture includes and centres many related to Nika and Joyboy. In fact, this was already mentioned by DorryBrogy (“they tell tales about this god in Elbaph”). I don’t think we’ve had direct confirmation yet, but I’m sure the giants had a connection to the Ancient Kingdom and may very well have preserved information from the Void Century by virtue of their fighting strength, passing stories down across generations, despite the World Government’s best efforts. I also think those stories handed down from the Void Century (maybe even from the first Joyboy, or Roger) may have included some kind of prophecy that Joyboy/the Sun God will destroy the world when he returns (similar to Madam Shyarly’s prophecy about Luffy destroying Fishman Island). If that’s the case, Loki could very well think he’s the chosen one to do so. 

Of course, we know that the final war will likely involve some form of physical destruction (Fishman Island amongst other things) – and there are many theories around that – but to me, the idea is most importantly metaphorical. The world as it is needs to drastically, fundamentally change (including materially), which requires the destruction of things as they are so that the dawn can arrive. Loki’s interpretation, in contrast, could very well be a literal and narrower one involving setting everything on fire Ragnarok-style, hence the other giants imprisoning him to stop him. The way they’ve referred to him as having “a few screws loose” also suggests they think he’s mad or maybe delusional, which makes sense if he’s claiming to be an incarnation of their sun god. His belief may in fact be so pure that it is extreme. As Oda is making clear over and over, you cannot choose to be a god – myths and gods are made by people’s collective belief. I don’t think we’ll ever see Luffy declaring himself to be Nika or even Joyboy for that very reason. 

Luffy is god-like sometimes, but he isn’t one (“Luffy’s not a god, he’s just an idiot!”) nor would he want to be treated as one. Luffy doesn’t even know he’s the new Joyboy, or who Nika is, and what his Gear 5 powers are. If the giants try to project any kind of divine responsibility or title onto him, Luffy will absolutely not care – he refuses to be anything other than himself in all his freedom. However, he does have a great amount of care for friends and is willing to go to any lengths to help them, so we’ll have to see which characters act as those anchors for his desire to fight during this arc. 

I think we’ll see a lot of complex and interweaving traits with Luffy and Loki, as characters who have many similarities but also fundamental differences. Luffy pretty much can't lie, whereas I'm guessing Loki is pretty good at it. Luffy is selfish in his words but his actions help the collective, whereas I could see Loki causing widespread harm but claiming selflessness and doing collective good (e.g. cleansing the world via Ragnarok). Loki claims his godhood fully, demanding respect and imposing obedience, believing fully that he is fit to command others. Luffy doesn’t demand faith, he inspires it.

Indeed, Oda has clearly set up Loki to parallel Luffy in the past few chapters. They had very similar childhoods where they spent a lot of time alone in the wilderness and befriended beasts – in Loki’s case, in the frozen outcast space of Elbaph. This is particularly interesting given he’s a prince – we have to wonder why. Like Luffy, he seems to have humorous and silly traits like getting people’s names wrong, which is an exact copy of what Luffy does. He also has an older brother in Hajrudin, like Luffy with Ace and Sabo, although we don’t know the nature of his relationship with Hajrudin. Were they close growing up and then there was conflict later because of Loki’s actions? Were they always at odds? I wouldn’t be surprised if Loki’s strength wasn’t in his physicality but more so in his cunning and intelligence, which might not have been celebrated or seen favourably as what was expected of an Elbaph prince, in contrast to Hajrudin better fitting the mold. This theory is mostly based on Norse mythology, where both the god Loki and the jötnar Utgarda-Loki are associated with trickery and illusions. It would also mean Loki flaunts the rules of Elbaph warrior culture, making use of strategy, intelligence, language and mischief to win his battles. If Loki was seen as strange or not quite fitting into society and expectations, he may have just chosen to isolate himself and spend time in the Underworld with his animal friends. Alternatively, maybe he was sent down there by his father to get stronger, in the same way Garp threw Luffy into the jungle. 

With all that said, I’m particularly interested to see what his devil fruit is – initially I thought it could be a mythological zoan, which I believe is still very possible, but I could also see it being related to these themes of magic and illusion. The one thing I’m unsure of in this regard is Loki referring to himself as the strongest in Elbaph. Is it because of his devil fruit? Does he mean something different to strength in combat? Was he just lying? That remains to be seen. 

We also don't know what Loki did yet, but I think a lot of the themes of this arc are going to be about the values of Elbaph and how different people come up against them. I’m particularly interested in our dear captain Luffy, of course, and how he relates to those rules, because Luffy’s whole character is about pure freedom regardless of what’s happening around him. The only form of bond that Luffy accepts is those of love, friendship and connection with people (often conveyed through food, as we know). Of course, it could be that Luffy doesn’t particularly come up against Elbaph’s rules (we didn’t really see him in tension with the samurai code in Wano) but I have a feeling that the challenges of this arc will be a complex set of tensions – buried information, the overarching evil of the World Government, the consequences of history, the values of a war-based society, and how those have shaped the people of the island they’re on. 

Even Luffy’s embodiment of something Nika-like in Gear 5 goes against stereotypical expectations of a ‘warrior’. He is a warrior, but the epithet isn’t complete without the liberation aspect. He doesn’t follow any rules but his own when he fights – in his freest form he can literally bend the rules of space and material (maybe even time). He is so strong not just because he can smash things, but because he is completely unpredictable, silly and joyful – only limited by his own imagination. I also think it will be really interesting to see what Elbaph’s version of Nika is like, because people and societies shape gods, and they can evolve over time. It would be fascinating if Elbaph’s version of Nika is more of a stereotypical kind of war(rior) god. We’ve had mentions of their warrior god before, with the belief that the winner of a duel is the one chosen by that deity, so fighting itself – and the glory of victory – is clearly sacred to them. It may well be that their warrior god is a separate being to Nika, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out to be a version of Nika that has been shaped by their society’s dominant values. And maybe that is also the version that Loki thinks he is or has warped to fit his desire for violence and destruction.

Part 2 here (ft. strength???, summoning a princess, gay technology and shadow the hedgehog)