#(( under a cut bc the sheer LENGTH ))

[witchembrace-a]

@moonminstrel inquired:

five times left:      ( five times the sender and receiver parted ways ) ( what if this for ludmila and angela hehe )

five times.

The first time they parted ways was just before Khaenri’ah fell.

Angela was still a powerful mage with a weak body,  still so young and naive,  akin to a young fawn who was still learning to walk.  Completely unaware of the tragedy that was to befall her as well as her entire nation.

She didn’t want to leave Ludmila behind,  didn’t want to part for even a second,  but her village needed her.  And no one could ever find out the truth about who she was seeing.  So Angela,  reluctant to say goodbye,  leaned in and pressed her lips upon the other woman’s lips in a fleeting gesture of farewell and left.  There were tears in her eyes as she walked away.

When she returned to her village,  Angela was a forced witness to a divine punishment that not even she would be completely safe from.  If not for her dearest Ludmila,  she would have perished along with the rest of Khaenri’ah.

Her survival was the catalyst for the divine betraying the divine.

. . .

The second time they parted ways wasn’t until after Angela became favored by a god.  Ludmila was leading the Fatui with pride,  while Angela sat by her side,  higher than even the Eleven Harbingers themselves.  Their love was still a secret to all.

“ I don’t want to leave you.  I’m terrified that this body will crumble. “  Angela admitted aloud,  not knowing that the archon could still hear her.  Immediately her body was chilled and warmed at the same time by Ludmila’s arms,  she could feel the taller woman’s head slot itself between her own head and shoulder.

“ I do not wish for us to part,  either,  but the Harbingers could find out about us. “  Murmured against Angela’s ear,  yet it contained the same cold bite her voice always had.

The mage hummed in understanding,  yet still lingered in her dear Ludmila’s embrace until she was forced to part from her.  She silently walked out of the private bedchamber,  passing the Balladeer on her way out.  She hoped there would be no suspicions cast the archon’s way.

. . .

The third time was when Angela decided she was going to fight the infamous Blonde Traveler in secret.  She’d originally wanted to prove to Ludmila that she could do it,  but she was proven wrong rather quickly.

“ Why shouldn’t I go fight her ?  She killed Rosalyne !  What if your head is next ? “  Angela was desperate,  practically demanding an answer.  She wanted to get revenge for the loss of one of the Harbingers,  but she was being told no.

“ Because . . . “  Ludmila was hesitant to finish her sentence,  the confidence she normally exuded slowly but surely deflating as if it were a balloon with a hole in it.  “ I worry about you.  Her danger level is why I forbid you from fighting her alone. “

Angela understood,  though she wondered what made Ludmila so hesitant.  She watched every little expression curiously, at least what she could see from beneath the icy veil she wore,  but wasn’t going to push it right now.  She knew better than to push the Tsaritsa too far.  So instead,  she leaned up and kissed her beloved on the lips,  fleeting and soft,  before saying farewell for the night and returning to her own bedchamber.

Unbeknownst to Ludmila,  it was only a mere three hours before she set out to hunt down and fight Lumine against her wishes.  The aftermath resulted in Angela receiving another new body.

. . .

Another time the two lovers parted ways was the time that Angela was witness to the true might of the Tsaritsa.

Angela had never felt more terrified than that moment.  Even standing to the side while Ludmila carried out her punishment on Dottore was a bit too much for her. The booming voice of the Tsaritsa pounded in her head like a bass drum,  rumbling through her entire body,  making it tremble so hard she was afraid her body was going to crumble.

So she fled.

She didn’t want to,  but her fear got the better of her.  Guilt wracked her heart as she ran off,  flooding her entire being like a chill down her spine as she sealed the door to Ludmila’s bedchamber behind her.  She curled up into a ball and concealed herself with blankets and sheets,  terror making her shudder like a leaf in the wind.  She stayed there for a long time.

Admittedly,  Angela was afraid she would be next.

. . .

The final time was when the final Gnosis was at stake.

Ludmila ensured that Angela would stay behind,  as she was afraid Lumine would interfere and harm her precious jewel again.  And as much as Angela hated that,  she remembered what had happened last time and agreed to stay back without complaint. 

She still lingered at the doorway to their shared bedchamber and watched as Ludmila walked away,  and despite herself,  she sent up a prayer that everything would be okay.

But would the gods ever answer the prayers of walking heresy ?

[decayedgloria]

sundress szn

ft. Capitano, Dottore, Columbina, and Arlecchino

Summer’s finally come, so you decide to wear something that fit the occasion- much to your lover’s excitement.

Tags: First 4 harbingers x afab!reader (minus Pierro and Pulcinella), nsfw under cut, established relationships, Capitano may be ooc bc we have nothing on this man lmao, mdni

Word count: ~2.2K, not proofread

Capitano

Capitano was ever the hard worker. If he wasn’t in his office at Zapolyarny Palace, then he was off fighting in the name of the Tsaritsa, far away from your home in Snezhnaya. Naturally, you miss him dearly- and clearly he had observed how you seem to linger around him more often when he’s around, or how much more clingy and desperate you’ve become in bed. Arranging for a short trip to Natlan, his home nation, you had hoped to reclaim the time you lost with your husband.

The climate in Natlan was drastically different from Snezhnaya. It was warm all year round, and this time it happened to be particularly hotter than any other season. You had packed clothes accordingly, though it was hard as weather like that never shows itself in the coldest nation in Teyvat. Though there was one piece you purchased that caught your attention, and you knew for sure your husband would absolutely love it on you.

Capitano sat on the edge of the bed, patiently waiting for you to get ready. His hands found themselves fiddling with the hem of the loose linen shirt he donned, which appeared to be tight on his massive, defined body, though he did not mind. He was proud of his physique, even more so at the fact you seemed almost obsessed with his broad shoulders and muscled arms. Chuckling to himself, Capitano finds it hard to resist you, his little wife.

“Dear, are you ready? We have the whole day ahead of us.” Capitano called out. You shuffled around in the bathroom, putting on the final touches of your makeup and making sure everything is in place before you emerge. Immediately, his eyes were on you- more specifically, the garment that you had chosen to wear. It was a sundress, of course. It was sheer, but not so much that it didn’t cover anything. It was perfect for the hot weather, especially its length, or lack thereof. Barely reaching over your ass, in fact.

Somewhat shyly, you give a little twirl in front of your husband. “Do you think this outfit is okay? I wasn’t sure it was my size so…” He had foregone his mask for the day, which gave away to his surprised face, blushing and staring as if he was hungry.

“You look amazing, my dear.” As you turn back to face Capitano, you were suddenly greeted with your husband’s chest. Leaning down, he places his large hands on your hips, giving them a light squeeze that illicited a giggle from you. He buried his face into the crook of your neck, taking in your tantalizing scent and grinning as you pull him closer towards you. 

“Irresistible, in fact. I think this is just the right size for you.” His voice was low, almost muffled as he placed light kisses on your skin. You sigh, running your fingers through his long hair, traveling lower onto his chest and then feeling the familiar shape beginning to form in your husband’s pants. You almost laughed when Capitano groaned at your touch, who unconsciously moved closer to you to relieve himself some.

“I thought we had plans for today?” Your honeyed voice only added to his increasingly needy gestures. He couldn’t help but let his hands roam across your body, touching and squeezing at your curves through the dress. Your small stature, so soft against his, in a dress that accentuated everything he loved about you…

Well, he did say that you both had the whole day, so why not spare a few more hours together?

Dottore

As his lovely lab assistant and partner, Dottore decided to bring you along with him to an expedition in Sumeru to collect some sample for his latest research endeavor. At first, you were hesitant and a bit confused as to why he didn’t just send one of his clones or subordinates to go fetch it instead, but he had insisted that the sample was of “utmost importance” and that only he would be able to verify its integrity, whatever that meant.

So that’s how you found yourself in the sweltering desert heat, sitting in a tent that barely blocked out the sun. Your sweat had drenched your clothing since the early morning, so a change of attire was in order. As you sift through your belongings, you groaned as you realized you’d only been packed clothes that the Fatui deemed “suitable” for Snezhnayan summers- that is, clothes that were still too thick to wear. 

You sigh as your eyes scan the room for another solution, stopping at the shopping bag you had left on your desk. The little free time you had before entering the desert was spent shopping around Port Ormos, in which you had purchased a dress you thought was cute. You weren’t expecting to wear it so soon, but it wasn’t like you had much of a choice…

Dottore worked on his paperwork, writing his report in a different tent from your shared one. Engrossed in his research, he barely noticed your presence enter the tent, nor did he notice the dress that barely clung onto your body. He hummed in response to your greeting, hearing you shuffle around and do the tasks you were assigned. 

It just so happens that the moment Dottore looks up happens to be the same moment you bend over to pick up some books on the floor, much to his wide-eyed pleasure. Your behind was deliciously accentuated in the new garment you wore, barely peeking out of the dress. In a flash, Dottore’s focus was taken away from the papers in his hands and instead was aimed at you, his cute little lab assistant.

With not much noise he rose, making his way over to you in silence as you gather all the books in your hands. You hadn’t noticed your lover’s presence until you feel a firm grip on your hips, suddenly knocking you against Dottore’s familiar legs. You let out something in between a gasp and a sigh as you crane your neck to look at him, slightly embarrassed as you felt his growing erection rub your ass.

“Now, you know I’m a busy man, darling.” Dottore’s husky voice sent a shiver down your spine. “So what’s with the distraction?”

“Look, it’s how outside and this is the only thing I can wear-“ A moan escaped your throat as you felt a sharp smack land on the plush of your behind. He smirked, shushing you as he pressed you closer against him. His hands grew erratic as they clawed at your dress, almost ripping it apart while he touch any and every port of your soft skin.

“A punishment is in order, don’t you think?”

Columbina

You sighed as you walked through the Palace greenhouse, on what seemed like your tenth lap of the day. Columbina had promised to meet you there after meeting with the Tsaritsa, but it had been hours- surely, a meeting wouldn’t take that long would it? 

You gaze dejectedly at the lily flowers by your side, blooming in spite of the coolness outside. The greenhouse felt like summer all year round, allowing for plants like the one you had in your hands to bloom effortlessly every year. It was quite impressive, such a large structure protecting plants from all over Teyvat from Snezhnaya’s cold. 

Given that, it really wouldn’t make sense to wear your normal Fatui uniform here, so you opted for a dress that you hadn’t worn in ages, and clearly it showed: the dress was a little tighter on you than you had remembered, accounting for the muscles you had gained while training, and it certainly was too short to comfortably move in, but the humidity of the room left you little to no choice. 

Your mind was somewhere else when you feel a hand snake around your waist from behind, relaxing when you catch a glimpse of magenta strands from the corner of your eye. Columbina made herself comfortable holding you so, nuzzling into your neck. Her quiet, melodic hums filled the air as you turned to look at your lover, a smile blooming on your face.

“What took you so long, love?” You gently tucked a strand of her long hair behind her ear, admiring her beauty. She chuckled, pleasant and light, before burying herself into you once more. 

“The meeting is still going,” she purred, her hands now barely grazing your hips and waist. You blush as you realize what she’s doing, glancing around to make sure there weren’t any idle soldiers or officers. “it was too dreadful. Sneaking out to see my lovely wife was much more important than some trivial talk of war tactics.” Oblivious to your growing panic, Columbina pulls you closer as she moves her lips against your own, smiling gently.

It didn’t take long for the kiss to turn passionate, with gentle pecks now turning into harsh smacks as your tongues worked against each other. With each kiss, your hands clawed at Columbina’s clothes, shredding off layers as her hands tug at your hair. 

Haphazardly, you both managed to find a nearby bench to continue your liaison on more comfortably. As you breathe heavily through your swollen lips, Columbina places herself over you, smiling as she dips down for a kiss one more time.

Arlecchino

Ever since Arlecchino was dispatched to Fontaine by the Tsaritsa, her mind was utterly consumed by you. Not that it normally wasn’t, thoughts of you always permeated her brain one way or another, but at least in Snezhnaya she was able to have you physically there to meet her demands- wether it was an affectionate cuddle or something more intimate, your presence was always just a call away.

However, ever since landing in Fontaine, Arlecchino’s thoughts only consisted of two things: the mission at hand, and you. How she missed the way you would saunter up to her, tease her in a way nobody else would dare, and how your legs would stay quiver and shake around her cheeks every time her tongue explored inside you-

Ah, she was getting carried away again. Arlecchino groaned internally at the paperwork that was placed in front of her, glaring as if it were an enemy. Well, in her mind, anything that kept you away from her was considered an enemy to an extent…

A knock on her office door snapped her out of her thoughts. Sighing, Arlecchino commanded them to come in, placing her chin on her palm, bored as ever. Her face must have conveyed some sort of annoyance as the poor fatui agent that came in visibly shivered a little, lowering their head as they said their greetings.

“What is it?”

“There’s a letter from Senzhnaya, my lady.” She did not miss the quiver in their voice, “It’s from Lady (Y/N).” As the agent reached out to give her the envelope, Arlecchino all but snatched it from their hands, all of her attention now devoted to the piece of paper in front of her.

“Leave.” Her voice left no room for reply, with the agent thankfully getting the hint and scurrying away. Once the heavy doors of her office closed, her ruby eyes inspected the envelope intently, taking in every detail that you may have left her. Just as quickly as she snatched the letter, she opened it, revealing its contents: a neatly folded letter, and what looked like a thin sheet wrapped with something.

She wasted no time in unfolding the letter, taking a note of the way the package smelled just like you- sweet, almost sickening. Her lips curled into a grin as she read the words that danced across the page, her heart leaping at all the praise and sweet nothings you seemed to litter across the paragraphs that you had written. How much you missed her, and yearned for her; all of it made Arlecchino’s head dizzy with pride and delight.

She was too absorbed in reading and rereading your letter that she had forgotten about the other item that you had delivered. Tilting her head, she gathered the thing in her hands gently, taking off the wrapping to reveal a picture taken with a camera- a picture of you, clad in what Arlecchino could only describe as barely a dress. A sheer fabric that did little to conceal your cleavage or your thighs as you pose, somewhat scantily, in a move she was sure was made in order to highlight your curves.

Arlecchino’s fingers subconsciously gripped the photo tighter, a shot of warmth suddenly coursing through her body. She sighed heavily, pink dusting her sheeks as she felt the familiar sensation of aching in between her legs. Tentatively, she took off her gloves and slowly travelled her fingers to the zipper of her pants, breathing growing ragged as she frantically tried to relieve whatever spell you had cast on her.

What a tease.

A/N: here it is! writing this lowkey killed me :,) but i really hope yall liked it. its not full on smut (i dont trust myself to write those with the harbingers just yet for fear of mischaracterization) but its what i can manage. really, im just testing out the waters.

can you guys tell i have a favorite? lol. itll have to be split into two parts since its long enough.

[puckpocketed]

as promised here is my follow up ask on PLD and the caps!! (this time...as a doctor 😎)

first of all thank you so much for the detailed response you gave my first ask. it confirmed a lot of suspicions i had about his supposed character issues and his usage in LA. obviously he's not a perfect player (few are) (except nicklas backstrom, my beloved), but seems like there's a disconnect between the way the media/fan narrative paints him and what's actually happening on the ice and in the locker room.

second of all!! just some kinda ramble-y thoughts based on some of the things you said in the first ask. this is not organized well and i'm sorry (but hopefully it's helpful info to you as you come over to caps land for a bit this season)

(1) Takings Shifts Off. totally agree with you that pld is and always will be viewed through the lens of The Shift. there are definitely players that regularly take shifts off and don't get dogpiled for it, esp. during the regular season (...see Ovechkin, Alex...especially in his old man era! gotta conserve energy). i am very curious to see if pld is like ovi in that he takes shifts off sometimes during the regular season but never the playoffs. from the little we've seen of pld in the playoffs my impression (esp when he played for CBJ) is that he elevates his game. i'm curious to see if he's really got that second gear...but caps gotta make the playoffs first.

(2) A Driver of One's Own. very interesting that in the answer to the last ask you said pld is not exactly the kind of player who drives his own line. this caught my eye bc it's a bit part of the problem w/ finding a center for ovi with backy gone...nowadays, O can't fully drive his own line anymore. he's just not fast enough, regularly (though he can turn it on in key moments). the legs just aren't there as much anymore, he can't really carry the puck in the way he used to, etc. BUT!!! he still has the best shot in the game (sorry auston), so absolutely ELITE triggerman. i'm wondering if pld could like...meet him halfway, i guess. like if TOGETHER they could drive the line. Hmmmm...

(3) Power Play!! everything you said about pld on the PP is promising. if he thrives most net front, then i genuinely think that position is there for the taking. i'm sure they'll try him in the old backstrom/kuznetsov QB spot on the right halfwall but there is a 0% chance our coach doesn't try a few things with the PP, including putting pld in different spots. i wouldn't be surprised if we started off having a weak PP that found its groove as the season went on.

(4) HCSC. our head coach is going to do literally everything in his power to make pld succeed. very communicative coach. last season he started out with an up-tempo system, and then switched to slower defense-first once he realized his personnel was just too slow/old to really pull all that off. with 1/3 of our roster now turned over and filled with players in their 20s, we're gonna see a VERY different capitals team from last year. i'm sure there will be growing pains but...they mystery is exciting, instead of terrifying, for once!!!

third of all!! just wanted to say thanks again for the detailed response to the third ask, and welcome to caps-land. it's a fun time over here. hope you're really looking forward to seeing what the hell our chaotic gremlins are going to do (as long as it makes penguins fans rage and cry, i am happy!!)!!! :)

okay this reply is getting crowded so ill just stick it all under the cut. here is a fun preview:

the media+fan narrative disconnect is SO real!!! i knowww with the amount of players the league has to cover, the sheer length of a regular season and all that happens during, plus the whole....society-wide erosion of journalism as a field... it can be hard for media to keep up, but it's been pretty startling to see their fallibility so... plainly? don't think i have the One Final Truth about Dubois but i think we're likely closer to it than anything the mainstream narratives are saying. i do get that their profits and clicks per/ are greatly increased via if they have a bent toward sensationalism... podcasters, youtube creators, people tweeting... they kinda have to operate like this because thats what the (gags) market and algorithm and audiences crave. does NOT mean i like it. ugh.

bleak reflections on journalism aside, im sitting here and gorging myself on this ask ouhhh thank uuu (for those playing along at home here are manifesto 1 and manifesto 2) and nodding along SO vigorously to all of these... we're having GALAXY brained discussions on here the likes of which spittin chiclets could never even dream of....................

(1) agreed agreed. he MUST be horse-bonded to his team i truly believe this with my whole heart (as in, he's gotta know his role + be comfy). otherwise, no other comment. I DID make that meme though because i was having a laff about Ovechkin conserving energy lkajsdkljajkl

(2) SUPER inchresting that you mention Ovi's lack of footspeed... i know a failhorse who can provide this 👀 we may be cooking something here... more than the sum of their parts kind of vibe?? Dubois has the youth and speed and muscle... he's just been hamstrung by quality of wingers.... and if as you say Ovi needs a hand carrying the puck; well.... 👀👀👀 don't want to put all my eggs in that basket though, I think it would be unfair of us to demand that of him... BUT if it works... oughhhhh i AM hopeful. SO hopeful.

(3) obsessed with this faith in your power play coaches (<- voice of a guy who watched ducks hockey) and their willingness to change things up is soooo nice to hear. NOT a fan of teams bashing their heads against a wall when their special teams clearly aren't working.

(4) and finally, I'm loving everything I hear about Spencer Carbery. i think Dubois has the allure of an wounded animal in the wild (a horse, even) or perhaps a moody teen girl with a hidden darkness in her heart <3 what im saying is, if he doesn't work it out now he's probably always gonna be one of those players every coach looks at and thinks "I could fix him". Carbs on record saying he could tame this wild creature??

link, archive link

hooting, hollering, etc.

Thank you for such a wonderful, warm welcome!! Everyone in caps land has been so lovely... the vibes.. the VIBES!!! peace and love for pens followers but i did in fact choose a side in your Foreverwar ... (my hockey girlbestie actually likes both teams which i find SO fun. the pens are my babygirl-in-laws!) anyway my heart does not divide.... it only swells.... much like the beaugtiful and noble salary of any 30 y/o RHD going into free agency <3 i have enjoyed chatting to caps fans like yourself immensely, and i look forward to hitting the trenches with everyone during regular season !!!

[thatdistantconstellation]

been really into redesigning my gemsonas' outfits lately so here's all the ones i've done so far :)

i'm also changing purple topaz to kunzite bc i think that fits better for her lol

[Image ID: 5 digital drawings of different gemsonas.

first image- 3 different designs of a blue gem over time. she is smiling in all of the designs. first design labeled 'during war' and has long hair, a visor, a dress, leggings, gloves, and boots on. second design labeled 'post war' and has short hair, the same visor, a sleeveless body suit, and limb enhancers on her arms and legs. third design labeled 'post cym' and has slightly shorter hair, goggles on the top of her head, a sleeveless zip up top, shorts, a silver ring on a necklace, and slightly different limb enhancers. her gem is on the side of her torso.

second image- 4 different designs of a pink gem over time. first design labeled 'homeworld' and has a disinterested look on her face, short poofy hair, a sleeveless dress with a diamond cut out on her chest showing her gem and a long slit at her leg showing a white body suit under it, long white and pink gloves, and white boots. the rest of the designs are smiling. second design labeled 'during war' and has the same hair, a sleeveless knee length, poofy dress that is white on the top and pink on the bottom with a star cutout on her chest showing her gem, short gloves, and boots. third design labeled 'post war' and has the same hair, a banded pink and white dress that is opened in the middle to show her pink body suit, long white gloves, and thigh high boots. fourth design labeled 'post cym' and has slightly different hair which is pushed to the side and partially covering her eye, a banded pink and white, frilly dress, short white gloves, and long boots with the top being covered by her dress.

third image- 2 different designs of a purple gem over time. first design has long, wavy hair, long sleeve body suit with cuffs where it stops at the wrist, frills jutting out at the hip, leggings, boots, and red diamonds on her chest and knees. second design has long, wavy hair in low pigtails, one of them being over her shoulder, a dress with a short sleeve overshirt, cuffs at the wrist not connected to sleeves, leggings, and slightly shorter boots. her gem is on her left hand.

fourth image- 2 different designs of an orange/red gem over time. both designs have long, red hair that goes down to her ankles and she is smiling. first design has a sleeves body suit with a band around the waist, a long, sheer skirt with slits on both sides, and thigh high boots. the second design has a sleeveless top, high-waisted shorts, thigh high boots with rips at the knees, and a silver ring on her ring finger. her gem is on her upper right arm.

fifth image- 2 different designs of a light blue gem over time. both designs have short hair partially covering her right eye and she is smiling. first design has a sleeveless, cropped top, a long skirt with a slit at the leg, long gloves that are fingerless except for the middle finger, and shoes with a strap at the ankle. second design has a cropped top with straps crossing over her chest, a scalloped, shorter skit also with a slit at the a leg, sandals with a strap at the ankle, and a silver ring on her ring finger. her gem is on her stomach. /.End ID]

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

stede bonnet in fancy sexy lingerie is something that can be so personal to me. but also, god willing, to stede bonnet himself

because this man loves fashion. he is a self-described clothes horse. he loves fine fabrics he loves colorful clothing he loves choosing his looks to make a statement. his clothes convey a lot about him.

stede also is insecure about his body. we know this bc all the fatphobia in the show is only ever directed at stede, despite him not being fat and despite there being significantly heavier characters in the show who are never targeted with fatphobia. and then there's the fact that ghost!badminton, a figment of stede's imagination and a reflection of his own insecurities, calls him fat.

the thing with stede's outfits is that once he's at sea, they're markedly different from what he wears in flashbacks of his married life. his coats are tailored more, tapering at the waist, compared to the very straight, boxy cut of his clothes in flashbacks. and the colors he wears at sea are significantly more vibrant. there is a noticeable difference—and what's more, it's the clothes he wears before he runs away to become a pirate that match the most with the clothes that the other men in his hometown wear.

but even though his outfits veer away from the norm once he's out at sea, almost all his outfits still button all the way up to his chin. he wears cravats and high collars and jackets over waistcoats and layers upon layers upon layers. his outfits are an expression of himself, but they're also an armor he uses to protect himself. they protect him emotionally by making him feel more confident and put-together. but they also protect him physically, because they hide the body that he's so ashamed of.

i want this man is fancy slutty expensive lingerie bc i want him to learn to use clothes not to hide his body, but to celebrate his body. let him indulge in his love of fine fabric and fancy colors, and let him learn to appreciate them without covering himself head-to-toe. i want him to learn to not be insecure about soft stomach and fat tits, and instead accentuate them with lace and ribbon and silky-smooth fabric. he already knows how good his calves look in stockings, but does he know the same goes for his thighs? does he know that the muscle and fat of his upper leg look fantastic where the garters of his stockings squeeze ever-so-slightly? i want him to pick out fabrcs in colors he knows will compliment his skin tone and get them tailored into bralettes that he knows will drive ed crazy. let stede be practically naked under his fancy robes, let him enjoy the feel of the expensive (stolen) fabric on every inch of bare skin in a way he couldn't in his long-sleeve, floor-length night gowns. put him in fabric so thin and sheer it leaves nothing to the imagination, and let him feel confident and sexy because that's the point. stede choosing pieces that leave nothing to the imagination because he's not worried about being a disappointment. i want stede to know that he's wanted, that his body is desirable and sexy, and i want him to revel in it.

also i want stede bonnet in lingerie bc it's hot as fuck. thank you for coming to my TEDx talk

[nyaagolor]

How would you rank all the Ace Attorney games you’ve played from favorite to least favorite? You seemed to enjoy all of them, to varying degrees.

So this is actually kind of hard for me to answer depending on whether you base your metric on “how much fun were they to play” “how much do I think to explore the themes / writing / think about the game in general” or “how well written do you think they are”. I’m gonna do all of them and prolly talk a lot so yeehaw. Under the cut bc. surprise surprise! I got long winded

Quick disclaimer: Not including DLC cases or spin off games because if I did we’d be here all day

“How much fun did I have playing through the actual game”

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney

Trials and Tribulations

Apollo Justice Ace Attorney

Justice for All

Dual Destinies

Spirit of Justice

This might be kinda surprising to some people considering what I talk about on this blog, but honestly my opinions on these games changed drastically after I had time to ruminate on them. Here’s some explanations if you’re curious!

AA1 very well could be at the top because it was the first game in the series and I was going in fresh— while Turnabout Samurai was a bit of a slog, I managed to get through all of these cases in a day each and just could not put down Turnabout Goodbyes. I don’t think about it as much anymore because it was so foundational and all the things it introduced have been explored by other games, but this game really is the reason I fell into this series with such ferocity.

AA3 was much of the same, and I don’t think I had as much fun with a tutorial case as I did with Turnabout Beginnings. The characterization present in this games and the nonlinearity of the narrative is genuinely fantastic, and my opinion of it has only increased over time.

AA4 is ranked a little lower because I actually wasn’t vibing with the game when I first played it— it was only after Turnabout Succession that everything fell into place and the game skyrocketed up my favorites list. Once I’m finished with all the spinoffs and have some time to chill I actually plan on revisiting it with fresh eyes because I think a second playthrough has the potential to be soooo much better than the first. Also APOLLOOOOOOO he’s my little guy :)

I thought justice for all was fine, but boring. Big Top made me feel some emotions that were less than positive, but generally speaking all the cases were fine but didn’t leave a big impression on me. Also I don’t like Farewell My Turnabout nearly as much as other people— I still like it but it didn’t totally blow me away or anything. Game is still like an 8/10, but it didn’t leave a huge impression on me.

Dual Destinies was confusing as hell timeline wise and it made it kinda difficult to figure out what was even happening, and for that same reason I struggled to attach myself to the plot. The game had some moments that really were stellar but the sheer length and layout of the cases kinda made me wanna cry

I literally only finished this game so I could get to Investigations. Characters were great but it was so. Damn. long.

“How much do I like thinking about the games, its writing, and its themes”

Dual Destinies

Apollo Justice Ace Attorney

Trials and Tribulations

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney

Spirit of Justice

Justice for All

This part of the list actually has very little to do with how good I think the games are or how much I like them, but sometimes a game’s themes just Captivate you.

If you’re reading this you’ve probably seen this blog, and you know how I feel about Dual Destinies. I am OBSESSED with this game. I love the characters, I love the themes, and I am fascinated by every part of the writing process and how the game ended up the way it did. I think about this game an unhealthy amount actually. Don’t let my complaining make you think I don’t love this game to pieces. Bc I do. So much.

I love expanding on things. The media I blog about? KIrby and Pokemon, stories that practically beg for you to fill in the gaps and work with their vagueness. So when Takumi handed me a game with half a dozen hanging plot threads and massive time gaps just begging to be filled? You can bet I would never shut the fuck up about it. AJAA my absolute beloved

I could probably talk about Miego for hours. This game is incredible I think about it on the regular. Ough.

This game slams but all the ideas introduced by it have been expanded on and talked about and worked with in a hundred different ways so it’s hard to me to really go back other than to say “wow Turnabout Goodbyes was so fucking good”

Literally the only context in which I think about this game is “this should have been a spinoff” but honestly it barely crosses my mind except when I purposefully try to ignore it

JFA is good and makes me feel absolutely nothing

“How well-written do I think the games are”

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney

Trials and Tribulations

Apollo Justice Ace Attorney

Justice for All

Spirit of Justice

Dual Destinies

These are suuuuuper close so this list is a lil shakier than the others but explanations are below as usual!

Ok this is really REALLY tough because I think AA1 and AA3 are tied. They both have their moments and I think the themes are incredible, but for the purposes of this list I’m putting AA1 above AA3 because BttT is a little bit absolutely batshit insane? Turnabout Goodbyes is TIGHT. Sorry Godot you’re still my favorite prosecutor ily kitten

See above

I’ve never seen an AA game whose final cases elevates the entire game quite like AA4. I thought the game was good, but the Turnabout Succession hit and oh my GOD. I think about this game constantly it’s so, SO good. Also helps that Apollo really shakes up the series, he’s my favorite species of insect

These cases were fine, Franziska is a solid prosecutor, the whole “chooses death” thing was fresh, and Farewell was some of the best character writing this series has seen. I don’t honestly have much to even say about it bc it’s super solid

The difference between DD and SOJ is that I think DD had a really good story that it failed to tell effectively while SOJ succeeded in telling its story but that story fucking sucks. Jokes aside I don’t like SOJ but the story is cohesive at least. It had a plot. It was Fine. DD failed miserably but oh my god what you could have been. Ily. Mwah.

See above

Sorry this wasn’t a clear ranking / favorites list, hope you enjoyed regardless!!

[aiyumiyeou]

yumi & harumi 🪷🕷 snippet (season 15, crystallized) under the cut!

their dynamic is actually so toxic and fun it hurts almost... they're not supposed to be romantic but they do emit more yuri vibes than they should

(also 🪷🍀 endgame is. such a long road. from s1~s4 lloyd likes yumi first (in a puppy crush way), then s5~s15 yumi likes lloyd back (but in a kind of tsun/tease way) but lloyd doesn't realize it & yumi thinks its for the better bc he doesn't want to be a weakness to lloyd) (they become boyfriends after crystallized... yay!!!)

Harumi warily watched the fox-eared teen slumped against the pillar he was chained to.

The vengestone glinted an eerie hue of orchid against the bloodied hanfu of the pink-haired boy and the pillar of crystal pulsed as if it had a heartbeat. Wounds littered Yumi's body, gnashes and cuts visible through the sheer and delicate fabric.

"You're pathetic," Harumi scoffed.

She was met with a razor sharp glare from Yumi who lifted his head up and woke his body from its lethargic state. Despite the thick disdain in his eyes, Harumi could see fear and timidity.

"What do you want, Harumi." Yumi's tail bristled with agitation, but his voice was slightly raspy and unthreatening. His pink hair was dulled and unkempt, haloing his face messily in a way Harumi could describe as beautiful.

She was supposed to feel happy for causing considerable damage to Yumi and his life.

But she felt a weight of dissatisfied.

"It's my duty to check up on you." She curtly answered. Yumi huffed and turned his head away from her greedy eyes, which sunk its teeth on the sight of the Yāojing ninja so defeated.

"I'd rather you just kill me," One of Yumi's soft ears flickered in annoyance. "It's impossible trying to use only my blood, sweat, and tears to empower the Overlord's entire army."

Ever since he and Lloyd were found infiltrating the Crystal Council's meeting, Harumi had the pleasure of seperating and tomenting the two. Yumi was chained and skirmished almost every quarter of the day. His initial cries were loud enough to help Harumi convince Lloyd that the pink ninja was no longer with them.

In reality, Yumi was being farmed for his very essence. His blood was absorbed into the crystals that suffocated him and his screams fell on empty ears as the council each had their turn in honing their new powers.

"Don't be silly. Even if you could die, your own soul won't let you," Harumi crossed her arms, slowly inching towards the chained-up boy. "Isn't it so lovely? Being unable to die?"

She found herself at the edge of Yumi's tangled legs. The replacement of his gi to a simple hanfu reduced his image into a helpless boy. Yumi's bruised ankles peeked out from under the splattered cotton, but the sheerness led Harumi's eyes futher up his calves to right above his knees.

The white-haired girl bent down to Yumi's eye level and his gaze refused to meet hers.

"Lucky you. People who don't deserve to die still do." Harumi seethed through her tongue. Yumi found strength to roll his eyes and Harumi watched his glinting eyes, a soft purple casted from the shine of the crystals bleeded into his soft apricot and rosy pink irises.

She watched his throat flex and the scar that she left him. Yumi swallowed harshly and dryly opened his mouth.

"Like it's my fault I can't die," Yumi's tail now twitched in annoyance. "I'm no different from those people."

Harumi growled before standing her full length and slamming her foot onto one of Yumi's exposed ankles. He responded with a hiss of pain and it quickly melted into a warning growl bubbling in his throat.

"You don't deserve anything!" Harumi gritted her teeth. "You're nothing like an innocent person. You only think of yourself, you are the reason why so many people have died. Do you truly think you're innocent, Yuyu?"

The nickname she spat with venom caused Yumi to flinch harded, but his eyes became furious. Harumi was taken aback and lifted some weight from the pink-haired boy's ankle with means to create distance.

"I only think of myself." Yumi repeated. "I'm the one who thinks of myself?"

Yumi suddenly pulled himself up and the sudden energy and struggle against chains startled Harumi backwards even further. Another low growl emerges from his throat until Yumi snapped.

"You have no idea what it's like to be selfless! You have no heart! I don't understand what Lloyd even saw in you."

Harumi's eyes settled coldly on the frenzied Yāojing ninja.

"If you're not thinking about yourself, you're thinking about Lloyd," Harumi pursed her lips to mock pity at Yumi. "But even then, you treat him selfishly. You and I both know he likes you, yet you reject his love. You're heartless for leading him on."

That's when Yumi shattered all his self-resolve.

"I reject him for the good of his heart! I can't let him love me," Yumi's voice raised tremendously. With quivering breaths and teary, wild eyes, this image of Yumi burned itself into Harumi's mind.

"If I tell him I love him he'll do everything in his power to love me back. I can't risk that! I can't risk all of his life being poured into mine!" Yumi's cries became more unstable as he continued to try to struggle free from his imprisonment. "If he knew what I want, he would sacrifice it all." His voice trembled from screaming.

Harumi was silent. She watched Yumi's eyebrows knit and the tears threatened to spill from his exhausted eyes.

"He's sacrificed so much to love everyone, especially you," The pink-haired ninja collapsed onto his knees without warning. "I want that."

"I wanted to be loved unrelentlessly like how Lloyd loved you," Yumi lowered his gaze from Harumi, voice cracking into a high whimper. "I want to be selfish. I want to be as selfish you."

Harumi found herself back at Yumi's feet again but this time crouched down in front of him. Her limbs felt cold as she brushed her knee against Yumi's and he flinched away, shaking like a lost animal.

"You only think of yourself," Yumi cried into the chains wrapping him against the clean ridges of the crystal stabilizing him. Without another thought, Harumi's hands reached out to hold the crying teen's face.

"You're so selfish and even your stupid revenge is centered around you," The hiccups and stutters errupted against Harumi's calloused hands and she leaned forward to hold Yumi's head against the crook of her shoulder. "You have no idea how hard it to care about others."

Yumi continued to cry his vents into Harumi's quickly collapsing chest. She felt a dread she hasn't experienced in years.

With every insult the pink-haired ninja threw at her carelessly, the harder Harumi found it to breathe. It was hard to tell how long she had sat there even after the tears stopped wetting her skin.

Harumi was alone with her thoughts and the occasional flick of a soft and wispy fox ear brushing against her cheek.

[watsername]

okay the tierlidt . disclaimer: everything is cropped weird bc the website wouldn’t let me use the portrait crop and made everything square, and i can’t include eventi one so these are the photos that ppl sent to me

details under read more

i’m not going through everyone bc there’s like 60 images on the screen rn so i’m gonna talk about notable things .

THE SUITS

Yes, almost every man is in the same category . it’s a suit . i know that’s the basic of men’s evening wear but it also doesn’t impress me . some men are placed higher bc i feel like they took the basics and did a little something to make it more interesting .

THE SAFE CATEGORY

the safe category kind of stands for it’s not a bad outfit but it’s rather. basic on the scale of outfits seen throughout the night . its a nice choice they look good but its also a safe choice .

POKIMANE

gorgeous . the only thing i have to say is that i wish the bag (? they weren’t allowed bags idk what it is) was the same undertone as the dress . the dress was more yellow while the bag seemed more pinkish in photos . she looked fantastic tho

VALKYRAE

she’s always stunning but that green dress just complimented her so perfectly . the length was perfect the fit was incredible the tailoring was perfect she looked great . the mirror dress was stunning although i wasn’t a fan of the nude illusion slits in the front

SAPNAP

i really wanted to talk about this bc he looks great i think all black suits are wonderful i love them they look fantastic and elegant and they’re something other than the average but for the love of god you can afford a tailor . the arms and legs were too long they bunched up a little and i love oversized things but for suits it makes them a little messy . great outfit but tailoring would make it fantastic .

RANBOO

Everyone’s gonna give me so much flack for this but . i just don’t like it . i like the mcr green day vibes of it all but the red is too concentrated in one area . maybe if the jacket was open or the mask was a different colour ?? idk there’s just too much goin on i around his neck it’s distracting the idea is good but execution could’ve been a lot better

ERET

gorge. perfectly fitted to them i think the combat boots are a nice touch the only thing is i think the hem is a little short in the front this is purely a personal thing but i like the hem to be touching the floor in gowns so that’s all i’d change rlly

CYR AND PEACH

listen i love the joutfits im not hearing anything about it it’s creative and they pulled it off well they looked good . girl they looked good and i thought it was fun . i liked it .

NEEKOLUL

she looks damn good don’t get me wrong i just . didn’t like this dress in the first place . it puts me in mind of those ‘it’s girl’ sheer dresses that took tiktok by storm last year and like it’s nice but i’m just not a fan of it . the random cut out on the thighs i just don’t get

NIHACHU

i loved this outfit although it was simple it’s a silhouette we don’t see a lot and it suited her really well . it’s rlly elegant and i think the hair and accessories suited it and kept it interesting but still to the minimal idea that niki was going for . she looks good .

OKAY highs and lows .

top toot : triciaisabirdy. that floor length white floral gown was made for her. the colours compliment her skin tone and her tattoos the puff sleeves added a bit of flair to the bodice to distinguish it from the other sweetheart neckline gowns that were popular on the carpet the makeup was minimalist but effective her tattoos almost acted in place of necklaces or other accessories she looked fantastic

top boot : ranboo i just don’t get along with that mask . there was too much going on in one area everything interesting about the outfit was centred around his neck and sternum the red were all slightly different shades the idea was good i liked the idea of the colours but execution needed work .

Trend alert !!!!

SHEER FABRIC !!! bodice panelling, sleeves skirts, full dresses, nude illusions, there was a lot of sheer moments happening

BLACK !! black for a red carpet event . groundbreaking .

NO JEWELLERY !! minimalism is definitely in full effect right now in the fashion world there was a specific lacking of necklaces across feminine outfits this year.

if u have questions . i might answer .

[bonesandthebees]

And I need these fashion notes like, yesterday. I have so many images in my head and now I need to see what you have in mind!! Here is your free invite to dump all of the worldbuilding of Roses here :)

- ❄️

okay yknow what since i got both of these asks I'm gonna make two posts: I'm gonna answer these asks with specific photo references and talk about my inspo for the fashion, and then I'm gonna make another post where I list out the actual in universe fashion trends I have written down for the world of under the hanging rose. how's that sound?

okay so first off, the inspiration for most of the fashion in the rose universe is from a few time periods of royal european history. I'm a big fashion history girlie so this might not make sense to most people who aren't into fashion history, but I kind of imagine the royal court fashion in Arestes (the country under the hanging rose takes place in) for women to be a mix of the tudor era and victorian era

specifically, the bell shaped silhouette and long, tight sleeves of the tudor era, but with the off the shoulder necklines of the victorian era. sometimes the square necklines of the tudor era are also worn, but in Arestes that's considered recently out of style as the off the shoulder neckline styles become the latest fashion. hair-wise I took a lot of inspiration from both renaissance era hair and a bit of the late middle ages, and also just game of thrones/house of the dragon because the costume design in those shows is amazing. intricately braided updos are standard for noble women in the capital city, and there's always some kind of veil/hair covering pinned to the updo even if it's not covering the hair completely.

the mens fashion is a bit less historically-based, but I guess if I had to make comparisons i'd say loosely late 18th century to early 19th century?? but with a few elements thrown in from the renaissance era and the middle ages. for the most part though a lot of my inspo for the mens fashion comes from game of thrones and house of the dragon. button-up coats and tunics with dark pants make up the standard structure of most mens court wear, with tunics going from anywhere to mid thigh all the way down to calf-length. the references I post under the read more will help it make more sense, but I'll also go more into detail in the actual fashion masterpost i'll make

okay photo references for niki, wilbur, and phil's dinner outfits (bc those are the only ones i have good references for) in chapter 1 of under the hanging rose below the cut!

alright so first off since she got asked about directly, niki.

I don't have a singular photo reference for her dress because it's kind of a mix of several images I saw.

this was the main inspo for the neckline/shape of the dress, although I'd say the waistline is a bit lower and there's less gathering in the skirt.

the color is definitely closer to this painting of a tudor era woman I saw

while the veil in her hair is pinned up like this

except the veil isn't black, it's a sheer white/gold color

also regarding the earrings wilbur mentions niki wearing, I have a full list of her piercings/the jewelry in them here

NOW

then for wilbur one of my main reference pics is this

now this high-collared coat is kind of his basic/standard look for at least this part of the story, except his coat is dark blue and decorated with lighter blue embroidery as opposed to the dark orange/lighter orange combo you see in the pic. also, wilbur's not royalty, so he's not wearing that huge gold necklace thing at all (and obviously he's not wearing a crown). his everyday tunic is a similar structure to that coat, it's just less fancy.

now wilbur's ferronniere is most similar to this

with the gold chain being pinned into his hair and the pendant resting in the center of his forehead

and also as mentioned in the chapter wilbur isn't as huge on piercings as others are, so he has far fewer piercings than niki does

moving on

like wilbur, phil's dinner outfit is pretty much the same as his everyday wear, just a bit fancier.

phil's tunic is a light blue color, with the cloak over his shoulders being a soft grey color. the metal clasps are made of a pair of wings, and the main difference between his dinner outfit and his every day wear is that his dinner tunic is covered in embroidery whereas his everyday one is more simple. I sadly don't have a reference for phil's Consil pendant necklace, just know it's there.

and the silver headband phil wears is mostly similar to this

although it wraps straight around his forehead instead of sitting on top of his head like this one does in the pic. the gems are ones of darker shades too

and of course phil's piercings bc I decided ear piercings are extremely popular in Arestes mostly for my own enjoyment

I do have more references for people's everyday outfits, but I'll probably make another post with those once we get introduced to the rest of the characters

[aeide-thea]

the thing that's actually really fascinating abt prev reblog is the people in the notes saying they use both versions (that is, both 'on accident' and 'by accident') but feel the two have slightly different, not registers (which people are also saying and which one might expect—the established 'by' being seen as more formal, and the up-and-coming 'on' more casual), but shades of meaning?

most commonly, speakers seem to be outlining a distinction that's roughly describable as passive vs active: 'something happens by accident' vs 'someone does something on accident.' which is so totally foreign to me, and so neat! love that this shift away from hegemonic usage is also a shift towards greater nuance!

secondarily, a couple of people frame the choice in terms of positive vs negative: 'by accident,' these speakers agree, applies to happy (or at least neutral) accidents, while 'on accident' is reserved for unhappy ones. interestingly, both respondents in this category give examples where the positive outcome is something the speaker has stumbled upon by chance (a 'delicious new spice and food combo,' a 'book series'), but the negative outcome is something they themselves have caused ('i hit someone on accident,' 'i fucked something up as a result of an action i took'), so there are consistent connections being drawn between passive-positive and active-negative.

this is all really interesting to me because i don't think i would ever personally say i had come across something 'by accident'—i'd feel the chance nature of the outcome was already expressed, or at any rate adequately implied, by whatever verb i'd chosen to describe it ('stumbled on,' 'happened upon,' 'came across,' &c), i think, and so for me 'by accident' only really comes into play when disclaiming malice aforethought. language! what is it even!

supporting examples under the cut for length (now in transcribed plaintext):

unending-niight:

#i've actually thought about this myself somewhat #i personally feel that 'by accident' feels right when in some situations and 'on accident' sounds better to me in others #the vibe for me for 'by accident' is the outcome of the accident is more of a neutral feeling or perhaps a good outcome #i found this book series by chance by accident #however if i fucked something up as a result of an action i took then i want to use 'on accident' #i did it 'on accident'

treecakes:

#by accident sounds right in a phrase like ‘he did it by accident’ #but not in ‘it happened by accident’ that sentence should be ‘it happened on accident’ #idk why that sounds more correct to me…. generally i use on accident more than by accident

wiltshired:

#tbh i change between them based on the level of action taken by whatever caused said accident #on accident is for when you mean to one thing and it fucks up #by accident is when you like. bump into things or spill a glass y’know??

abrightclearfield:

#me and my gf agree it depends on context #'it was on accident' vs 'i did it by accident' #if the subject is an event/action it's 'on' #if the subject is a person then it's 'by' accident

rat-knife:

#i feel like i use them differently? #doing something by accident is like. i didnt even notice but this thing happened and it was bc of me oopsie #vs doing something on accident is like oh fuck. oops my bad gang i did not mean to #like if i did something by accident it feels like im not taking credit for the outcome vs if i did something on accident #im trying to assure people of my intentions #by accident as compared to by sheer force of will or by the hand of god vs on accident as compared to on purpose ig?

abracafuqueue:

#something happens by accident #someone does something on accident

lady-harrowhark:

#…….i didn't know 'on accident' wasn't standard #i use both and never thought twice about it #i guess 'on' sounds more active and 'by' seems more passive so that might impact how i choose based on context? #like 'i spoiled my birthday gift by accident when i saw it as i was getting a coat out of the closet' #vs 'i broke the window on accident when i tossed the ball too hard' #like in the first it's just something that happened and in the second it's something i did #ja feel?

thenerdyindividual:

#i use both #by accident is for when something good happens like ‘I found this delicious new spice and food combo by accident’ #on accident is for negative things like ‘I hit someone on accident’

clichenuance:

#as an expansion on my response that nobody will specifically know unless i state it here #i expect-wonder that it has something to do with [SUBJECT EMPHASIS] on purpose #versus [CONDITION EMPHASIS] by accident

thatcacidork:

#on accident = it was dumb of me/my fault #by accident = whoops the universe willed to to be so/no one at fault

rosencrantz:

#instinctively I think there's a semantic difference in the two #but i'd have to collect and review a bunch of examples to pin it down #like there's an ownership or responsibility or something to one and not the other maybe? #or maybe not!

lowtideandhightea:

#i have a slight preference for 'by accident' in situations where passive voice is being used intentionally #and 'on accident' is more correct when an active voice is being used

osterby:

To my ear (native speaker, US, I would have been right on the threshold of your two age groups when you did your interviews), both are correct, but "on accident" is the only formally correct way and the only one I'd use in an essay, and "by accident" is correct in conversational English. But the two have very slightly different meanings. "On accident" is agentless, the thing just sort of happened, no one made it happen, it happened on accident. "By accident" has an agent, I was trying to do something else but I screwed up and I did this by accident. "On accident" emphasizes that the thing itself is the accident. "By accident" emphases that accident was the means by which something did the thing.

[loregoddess]

I'm curious, what would your ideal FE be?

And do you have any particular FE concepts in mind?

Hmmm, I've been thinking this over since you sent it to me, and it's hard to say because there's a lot of things I like that I dunno if they'd actually work together, if that makes sense? Mostly I just have a lot of thoughts about things I'd like to see in a FE game, which I can write out. Under the cut bc, length (it is Very Long, I'm so sorry). Also fair warning that I'm kind of rambling with some direction and organization, but this was all very train-of-thought while I wrote.

Like, ideally, my first thing would to be to get rid of all gender-locked classes. They're absurd. Fates got the idea right by getting rid of them, honestly (although I think women should be allowed to be butlers and men maids, as a treat, even though I know those two classes were literally the same class w/ different aesthetics). I don't have any specific wants for which classes should appear, be added, or be dropped really, just so long as the classes make sense for the overall story (Fates once more takes the prize for having the most narratively-appropriate and creative classes). I would like to see some really weird classes though, like the wolf riders in Engage are Very Cool bc wolves, and I want more weird stuff like that. Give me people riding skeleton animals, or giant bugs, as well as bears and moose and all manner of creatures that actually exist. I mean heck, historically camels and elephants were used as mounts, and we've yet to see either in FE. I also want more diversity and creativity in the infantry classes. Again, whatever fits the aesthetic and themes of the story, but I feel like we only get a handful of really weird infantry classes every now and then if we're lucky. Mounting/dismounting should be a permanent mechanic as well, there's nothing more satisfying that sticking a flier in archer range and then having them get off their flying beast.

Also weapon durability should stay gone, I hate weapon durability so much. Although I do like how combat arts and spells worked in Echoes and Three Houses, but like, the mechanics need to be tweaked. The easiest solution would be to simply have like, an attack power meter or something similar that characters could draw on to use combat arts and spells. Also, rather than locking combat arts to specific weapons a la Echoes, have is so that each character either has unique combat arts (and spells), or that they can learn combat arts and spells from specific weapons that they've "mastered" by using a certain number of times in combat, which they can then carry-over to a different weapon.

I also liked how 3H allowed any class to use any weapon, but I think this also needs to extend to magic, so that magic can be used with any class as well. This would open up a lot of opportunity for the player to really experiment mixing and matching classes, weapons, and magic with different units, which I think would be a lot of fun to play (based on how much fun I had with similar mechanics in 3H), and offer a lot of replayability for the sheer madness of trying new things with new characters. This will also do away with a lot of "I love this character, but their stats suck and they're nigh unusable" that sometimes occurs, since the player could theoretically just try out different combinations until they got something that worked (RIP to all the people who said Ignatz wasn't a good unit, I ran him through the thief/assassin line and gave him some magic, and he was a crit machine by the time I landed him in mortal savant, I want more madness like that honestly).

Obviously, having an AP pool would also require mechanics that replenish the pool during battle, which could be any variation or combination of skills, specific actions taken on the map (resting on a specific tile, attacking normally, etc.), or even adding in a special staff. Speaking of, staff durability has to go too, I'm so tired of needing to buy staffs. Also, I know a lot of magic in FE is either "a single spell stored in a tome" (most games) or "spell that character can personally gain access to" (i.e. Echoes, 3H), and like, cool beans, but I think, ideally, I'd want like, actual grimoires or other sorts of magical foci (crystal balls, wands, scepters, magic cards, the possibilities are literally endless). Either the magic weapon allows units more powerful magic attacks (if units had magic specific to them), or "taught" the unit specific types of magic (i.e. a Fire Grimoire might teach a unit fire, elfire, and bolganone, or something along those lines). Also, I want there to be a magic triangle the same way weapons get a triangle, although how that should be arranged (for both) would vary based on what types of weapons and magic the game actually contained.

Aside from what I'd like to see out of classes and battle mechanics, I don't have too many other things to wish for. I really am one of those rare "actually I really do play the game for the mechanics" FE fans. I'd want an interesting, and consistently written, story, mostly. Engage actually hit the story notes perfectly in my opinion, all the characters were about equal in their characterization--even the women were as diverse and interesting as the men--unlike the rampant sexism in Echoes or the uneven characterization depth of 3H, or the unrealized potential due to :too many characters" in Fates; Awakening was fine too, but Engage really polishes the support-based characterization to a shine. So I'd want more of that, like, even if a character is a side character, they should have interesting supports that build their characterization, and I want every character to be about equal in their writing (I know protags obviously get more attention, and that's fine).

Generally I feel like the model for supports is fine, although I think it'd be interesting to have group supports of 3+ characters to contrast the one-on-one of the current support model, just to really add more depth to the characters outside of what they get from the story. Also, while I liked that there was a lot more platonic supports in Engage, I really do miss seeing different paired endings, so I'd honestly bring back S-ranks between non-protag characters, but like, maybe not too many, if that makes sense? Awakening and Fates' supports suffered a bit from the "every man and woman can S-rank every other unit of the opposite gender bc of the child units", whereas I feel that limiting character supports per character really helps to focus the writing in a stronger way (Echoes and Engage did this the best, although I will give kudos to 3H for its unique take on supports, although the roulette of paired endings was...not well-implemented at all). But I also want there to still be a lot of platonic supports, I dunno. Mostly I just want well-written and interesting supports.

Supports aside, the only thing I'd want from the main story--aside from "well-written, consistently written", would be to Not Do whatever the writers were trying to do in 3H. It's my unpopular opinion, but (for as much as I love the characters and gameplay) the story writing just isn't that good or consistent in 3H. Fates, even with it's shitty localization, is more consistently written, and more strongly written, than 3H. FE has never actually been about war a critique of war (go to MGS or like, Triangle Strategy for that). FE flourishes narratively when it's a little goofy, and completely earnest, and focused on a few key narrative themes. I dunno what I'd want to see specifically for those themes, because I enjoy all sorts of stories, but yeah...(although to be fair, FE would probably fail as a cosmic horror story--or as any type of true horror--so I wouldn't want that I suppose, despite loving cosmic horror). Also, no split-timelines, multiple routes, etc. Just one storyline. I don't hate how Fates and 3H use multiple storylines, but...I prefer a singular story arc.

The music has been really good for basically every game, so I'd be fine with the current composers being allowed to do whatever they please. Now the art direction...I have a lot of conflicting thoughts because, on one hand, I know why a lot of the things I have personal beef with exist from a production standpoint (almost everyone has one of like, four body model types in Engage and it drives me insane bc there is NO body type diversity, but also for the modelers, it was probably more cost-effective to just have a handful of models for each class to swap out character heads and palettes for class changes, but I still hate the lack of body diversity, but I also understand why it would be easier, but...and so on).

That said, if we are talking what my absolute ideal would be, I just, really, really want diverse character designs. I want many different body shapes and sizes, I want lots of different skin tones (and please enough with the nigh grey-skinned characters), I want people to have actual noses and more than one or two nose shapes, I want crooked teeth and wrinkles and other "allegedly unflattering" physical appearances for characters who aren't evil, and just, I want the character design to really push beyond the whole "aesthetically pleasing based on the current sense of what is considered aesthetically pleasing" that I've seen in...too many media. Also enough with making all villains "ugly" (or the weird "big tiddy evil lady" trope, we've moved beyond demonizing women by making them sexy femme fatales), like, as much as I love the cartoonishly evil villains, sometimes the caricatures are just, tiring and uninspired. Honestly, Heroes is pulling more weight in the "interesting villain designs" department (as well as Kozaki just pulling all the weight in trying to have more diverse designs for women for Heroes), and just, we need more of that in the mainline games.

Also, for as far as like, animations and cutscenes and stuff, I feel like Engage made a lot of progress with it's pre-rendered cutscenes (they're back to being on par with the animations for Awakening and Fates, which had the best pre-rendered animated cutscenes of the games I've been using as examples, in my opinion), but the in-game cutscenes reverted back to the characters standing around in a circle talking a la 3H. We'd never get something like Sumia punching Chrom on the screen in either 3H or Engage, and that's a real shame bc the 3D models do look a lot more complex and pretty than the little polygon people of Awakening, Fates, or Echoes, and yet the in-game cutscenes don't do anything with them. Again, I get that from a production standpoint, having a handful of stock animations for body language and then setting the characters in a circle in a skybox to talk is easier and less-intensive cost-wise, but damn does it really suck the life out of the story at that moment. If it wasn't for the stellar voice acting, then scenes would really fall flat I think. So yeah, more character design diversity all around, better utilization of 3D assets.

And that's...where I think I'm gonna call this a post. I don't have any particular concepts for a hypothetical FE game, partly bc any time I think, "I wish this narrative device or type of story existed" I just end up taking it and turning it into one of my many personal original project ideas instead. Which is...probably why I don't have a lot of AU ideas ever, bc part of me figures if I'm gonna change that much from canon, I might as well just make up my own thing entirely and be bound by no rules except my own. But since I can't see myself getting into game coding and trying to make my own game anytime soon, I can at least think about the types of things I'd like to see in a FE game, though they may never come to be.

[cemeterylanes]

xmen oc post wee i still need to work on her face. i have an idea of what i want her to look like i just have to draw her and the various fits i see her in under the cut bc im cringe and not free sorry

fatima mohammed adara as-sihr ; "hex"

born september 13, 1917

physically 26 (107 as of 2024) / she/her / speaks & reads english and arabic

powers were inerhited / X gene was passed from grandmother to mom, and reinforced by her father's. her powers are derivative of nuha (n. arabian sun goddess), ruda (n. arabian moon god), atarsamain (n. arabian astral deity) who she can hear and talk to in dreams in addition to the others. stellar, solar and lunar manipulation as granted by the trinity. on her own, she possesses black magic power - telepathy, telekinesis, reality alteration/illusionism, black magic (curses/hexes), item transformation, occultism, self regeneration (exacerbated by deity granted powers). magic starts a bright green and turns black when being used ie moving things, etc. she also pretty please begged the gods to let her cat be immortal with her. lovecraft has been her cat since 1945.

intelligent, semi-confident, somewhat self-assured and very self-reliant. length of her fuse depends on how fast someone gets on her nerves (which seems to be pretty fast). keeps to herself for the most part for her sanity. suffer in silence type - introverted socially. will open her big mouth if she hears or sees something she doesn't like. would rather die than ask for help. analytical, stubborn. tends to be overcritical of herself a lot of the time and other's especially when she gets upset. chronic worrier. the devil is in the details. she hates being seen by other people but loathes being ignored. very much an outsider in more ways than just one. lover girl. strong sense of justice and believes in an eye for an eye, or more. more than willing to serve it herself. flawed in the way that she thinks she is the worst person in the world and deserves to be alone despite doing nothing wrong. ambitious, cunning.

consistently wears a lot of gold rings on each hand with various symbols/numbers for luck (literally never takes them off) usually black or green painted nails. about 5'2 or 5'3 without heels, about 5'5 or 5'6 with them. civilian clothes are pretty much mostly black outfits meant for different occasions with some accent of gold and/or green to them. tattoo of a wishbone on her ankle. tattoo of the sun, the moon and the north star on her back, on her right shoulder. long dark brown hair, dark brown eyes. wears a jade jasmine necklace from her grandmother.

fatima was born in armenia to a young mom dad (aged 13 and 14) in the duration of the armenian genocide in 1917. her mom turkish, her dad armenian - in trying to move to keep fatima safe, her mother and father left her with her maternal grandparents because they were afraid the ottoman empire would kill her too for being armenian. her parents taken and placed in a death march line down to iraq. her grandparents raised her, and as she got older stranger things would happen as her powers developed - as did her connection with nuha, ruda and atarsamain. at 3, things would disappear and reappear in the house, change shapes and forms as she experienced emotions and changes in her development. by 10, she learned / gained her other powers of telekenetics, telepathy, regeneration.

frequently was responsible for things like getting so upset and shake the surrounding buildings and farms, neighborhood through primary school. mostly, leaving behind acts of defiance and her brand of justice in her wake. her grandparents loved her very much but did not understand her powers - or why she had them. she took care of them up until they both died - her grandmother of breast cancer and her grandfather from a staph infection from cutting part of his leg open on farm sheers. the deities intervened and offered to care for her and guide her, but she needed to leave the middle east. she moved to the united states after she laid them to rest in 1943. allowing the deities intervention stopped her aging process at 26.

she had been on xavier's radar since cerebro's inception in the 1960's, but it was only when a semi-severe earthquake struck her college when she was studying in california in the 70's, causing structural damage and a fraternity house was burned down, runic symbols were burned into concrete, and all the fraternity members were found in their underwear, strung up by their ankles and crying - that it caught people's attention and was cause for concern, particuarly the xmen.

it was also not the first time where an earthquake and arabic text and runes were burned into the ground but proof someone was there that charles could hold against her. previous documented places it occured was not only the college - but through time it's been a documented phenomenon across the united states. after graduating college that semester, she backpacked through europe and left the same hellish trail behind her. she has fought them every time she has encountered them with no desire to join them because of her solitary nature.

after evading the xmen for a few years, she retired to the woods in washington state. she slowly resocialized herself into the small town of north bend - going into town to work, eat, and that's it. she would spend the rest of her time reading, and cultivating a small cabin and greenhouse. getting comfortable, she went in more often and drank at a bar called the drunk cattle. eventually, charles would try again despite her fighting them a few years prior - following another large event like the one at the college, occured in gig harbor - another small town in washington following an attack from juggernaut's attempted forced recruitment for the brotherhood of mutants. fatima had not been seen by the residents of north bend in two weeks when wolverine and storm came asking for her around town. storm was frustrated and wolverine was pissed. charles / cerebro can't find her because she's blocked herself off.

they leave the bar with logan fuming and ororo trying to be reasonable. two teenagers tell them about the lore of a witch that lives in the woods outside of bend and that she's been alive forever. logan scares the shit out of them and they spill that some lady does live in the woods but it's just the town's librarian/historian (she is really weird, never talks to anyone about more than the town or work, never has anyone over. "my dad's the mayor and he says she's nice. jack's mom works at the library with her." "my ma thinks she's a mutant." "you can't say that!" "i'm not! my ma thinks that. i do too.") followed by ororo asking nicely what that means before logan gets pissed off and almost tosses a 15 year old asking what that means.

they settle for what information they have. eventually fatima comes out of her hole and goes back to the bar after a third week. xmen bar intervention. everyone pretends to do their own thing. fatima doesn't really notice or care. it's the cranberry festival and fall faire. it's busier. each of them take turns saying hi to size her up and talking to her. she gives the same dry energy to everyone. smiles with her mouth and not her eyes to anyone. logan takes a stab at it and is annoyingly persistent. she gets annoyed easily and leaves to go to the fall carnival. more watching from the sidelines. logan tries again at charles' request ("she told me to fuck off, so we should fuck off. can't make her do nothin'." "logan, were we not patient with you?" "can't make the lady be an x-man, bub." "she does not have to be an x-man, but she must know she's not alone in the world like some other mutants i know.").

she walks around the carnival and logan talks to her. she's annoyed but she doesn't tell him to go away. he talks at first trying to have a conversation with fatima before getting annoyed and cutting to the chase. we've been looking for you a long time. she looks at everyone in the crowd. that's foolish. a waste of time really. why. 'cause charles believes in that kinda thing, no mutant being alone kinda shit. i'm not alone. i know there's other mutants. no, like bein' a pack animal. i'm no pack animal. i don't talk to anyone and i'm fine that way but thank you. is that all you want? what? to convince me to become an x-man. is that all you want?

i guess. well the offer is on the table if you change your mind. i don't know if it means anything to you i was like you. i don't think we're the same. i don't think so either but you're not alone. what's your name? logan. thank you logan. no problem bub. (forgets to ask for her name. he knows it because the papers know it, and charles knows it but it's different for someone to introduce themselves.)

he does take it upon himself to go back to north bend more often than not to see her and visit her in the bar. they don't do more than exchange maybe a few words and drink in silence. sometimes he'll talk about stuff and she'll nod or offer an apology no one has given him for the pain he's endured. she doesn't introduce herself by name once. you never told me your name. you never asked. what have you been calling me all this time then? i dunno. hex. the whole magic thing. i lke that. but what's your name? fatima.

eventually fatima does become an xmen and leave north bend after pyro burns her home down and threatens the citizens of the town, and after their fight on the washington coast and another set of runes burned into the rocky shores she shows up to the school. some people aren't excited to have her, like scott initially and butts heads with him a lot. she didn't talk to anyone. ororo and jean are happy to have her. jubilee is scared of her at first. hank is polite. gambit and rogue try to be really friendly even if she isn't receptive to it.

at the end she's a happy little member of the x-men <3 she does get a matching besties bracelet with logan (genuinely) where it's one of those silly heart bracelets that magnetically link up. their conversations are still the same but they talk more now. scott still fights with her but they get along sometimes over food or talking about strategy when charles is mediating. ororo and her talk about nature and jean helps her control her powers. jubilee hangs out with her and lovecraft watching tv. she'll borrow hank's books and ask him questions about what he knows and she finds interesting. she fits right in.

[marchingxiezhi]

Sorry for going nutso insane mode but I’m literally already thinking of the logistics of making her like

Can add a tassel to existing pearl earring by looping it around post. Luckily she seems to only have one, and it’s on the ear where my lobe piercing doesn’t close itself after every single time I wear earrings.

sheer tights turned into a top, the feet turned into homestuck-style glove arm socks with nails glued on

Overdress pattern looks like you can goose a jumpsuit like splitting the legs apart. Would probably pattern off this old navy dress I never wear bc it’s super tight and low cut on me actually. I’d be more self conscious about how I look since I’m a chubby lass but I look hot in that dress so it should be fine, adapt the outfit to your body and not the other way around.

Mid length mint wig with long ponytail claw clip, felt base to keep the shapes flat for her bangs and feathers, pva glue, and then I guess like. A second wig or weft for the black part on top

Can’t easily find red bottom half rim glasses so the move here might actually be to get cheap clear or rimless glasses and add the red frame - if clear, paint the plastic, or like… model magic? I’m not confident sanding that. Acrylic or 3D print it to match frame? Would need to measure and get a friend with access to laser cutter or printer

Most designs on cape and dress can be goosed with freezer paper stencil and just thinned white paint to get that frosted look IMO. Blue stripe can be a ribbon. Gold shit looks like it should be foam or 3D print which is annoying. Would like it better if it was just yellow or gold colored satin.

Feather could be foam, fabric/wire, plastic, actual feather… split long pin into 2 parts and add to either side of a claw clip?

Roommate owns a sewing machine that we don’t have the table space to ever use; I’m much more comfortable with hand sewing (buttons on) “have you ever sewed anything? When you altered your dresses to fit better weren’t they super crooked?” Be that as it may.

The cutout panels in the sheer tights under layer is INSANE and would be better executed as a nude fabric with black details sewn on TOP of the tights. Honestly every design I hate from liyue is the stupid body stockings but this one at least has coverage that makes sense apart from the hips

………honestly gaming has an outfit and hair that’s closer to what I actually look like at this point but. Things we do for love

[queeroftherodeo]

Masc4Mask: An Update!

Chapter 6, The Switch is live after a freaking year. After breakfast, Orville has a photoshoot and an interview, and when he gets back things between he and Brad start to take a turn in a different direction.

Going to bury the chapter's notes behind a cut, but the TL;DR is, it's been a fucking hard year, and my editor @nectarine-migraine deserves all the thanks in the world because without her, this chapter wouldn't exist.

THIS HAS BEEN A YEAR IN THE MAKING, and for everyone who has been anxiously awaiting an update, I'm sorry it's been so long and THANK YOU for waiting, reading, re-reading, commenting, and reaching out to me now and then to let me know that this fic means something to you — that means more to me than you'll ever know.

This has been one of the hardest years of my life. Over the past year, I got a new job, moved apartments, struggled incredibly with my mental health, ended up in the ER due to work stress and anxiety, started working with a therapist and got medicated, figured out the job is killing my soul, and got covid (I'm okay). Covid actually came at a good time, and the time off is giving me time to regroup, figure out what I want to do, and finally finish this chapter.

Words can't adequately describe the sheer magnitude of this chapter. It's actually split in two, and chapter 7 is almost complete (currently maybe half the size of 6, but split just in the interest of readability). Chapter 6 alone is over 13,000 words — that's just under a third of the length of the story up to this point. This took a colossal amount of effort, and has been being worked on off and on over the entirety of this past year. Just this week, it's caused a couple all-nighters (my sleep is borked bc of being home sick though, so it's less like an all-nighter and more just consumed my and my editor's evenings). This is a labor of love. It's something I need to write, and something I know a few of you have said you really look forward to reading more of. To those folks who are invested, I want to let you know I have this outlined right through the end (which is going to be at least 5-8 more chapters, who knows, honestly). I'm seeing this through.

As a final aside, please do not use any access you may have to Brad or Orville on social media to bring their attention to this story. This is a work of fiction. Please abide by local and regional RPF by-laws and just be cool. I'm not aware of anyone who has been un-cool, but I just feel strongly this bears saying, because I want to keep writing this thing.

Lastly, this chapter simply wouldn't exist without my editor, nectarinemigraine of ao3, who has been my constant cheerleader and challenger throughout this past year. Thank you for giving me the feedback I need to hear, telling me when I need to expand a thought or an idea, for making me follow the Kiss Rule, for saying terrible words like "gerund" to me, and for letting me have the brain sometimes so I could knock this thing out. I love you, you're so talented, thank you.

Enjoy.

[ace-malarky]

ok! nano project time! are we still doing comic sans powerpoints and do I actually care

it's mostly words like. I don't really do pictures and you should know this by now.

... did I mention anywhere that Selene and Solaris are dual viewpoints or did I just say "hey here are two protags"

smooth

I'm not editing it again

Anyhow yeah Soul of the Party! I'm slightly hype for this thing! If you want on some sort of taglist for updates which I am fully planning on doing through the month. Let me know. There are bits and pieces under either "The Soul of the Party" or "Dichotomy" tags because I haven't fully swapped them over yet.

I may also be doing some writing streams on twitch over the weekends if you wanna hang out there? idk. We'll see how it goes.

I am also SCMalarky over on the Nano site if we aren't already following each other over there <3

oh wait. picrews used; baydew's, androgynous, poicon, character maker, and kahuna929, and of course Elise was drawn by @loopyhoopywrites bc that's rad af and also from this wip hehe

image description for all of them under the cut! (it got long I am so sorry there are so many words on this thing)

a series of powerpoint slides, all white backgrounds with comic sans font.

slide one; The Soul of the Party (formerly known as Dichotomy) [line break, smaller font] (I just thought it was a rad word. It sort of fit) [line break, smaller font] Sir is that a pun in the title [line break] Yes? Maybe what of it [line break] Goddammit Ace I thought you were better than this [line break] No you didn't <3

slide two; Can I get a Uhhhh fucken plot? [line break, smaller font] God you and me both buddy

crime [in all caps]

Theft. Theft is happening

It looks as though people are stealing from their own houses, but they have no memory of the act

It's been going on for a while. Local authorities have no clue

Dedicated task force are brought in to look into it because of the annual summer tournament going on

Solaris was coming to stay so he could enter the tournament, but Selene's parents decide that isn't safe

He and Selene decide to investigate instead, because that's perfectly safe

Most of everyone gets dragged along in their wake

The Magic Thieves are here for their own Crimes, but UHOH they're the target for these ones

slide three; So basically [in all caps]

The Soul Mages would like their fucked up experiment back, thanks

Elise has a Green Witch's soul stuck in her body as well. It's a time-share thing

The Soul Mages were the ones to stabilies it, but they weren't too happy when said Green Witch broke them free

The Soul Mages know she's with the Magic Thieves bc. Well. Someone had to work it out? Elise's soul buddy has a Very Distinctive MO

It's called destroying the fuck out of everything

Elise's Soul Buddy is not very nice

So they go on a magical crime spree

enact a lot of crime that looks like the Magic Thieves.

Count on them coming in to see who's stepping on their toes

Take Elise back

(for the record, Elise saw this coming)

What could possibly go wrong?

one nosey motherfucker and her friends, that's what

Slide four: The Protagonists

image one; a digital image of a white girl with brown shoulder length hair, gold hooped earrings, and a flower tucked behind her left ear. She's wearing a pink top with white edging, and a sheer gold shawl, and a red pendant. She's smiling.

Selene Taskeral

She/her

The young lady of the house

Curious to a fault

Investigating amongst the nobles

Knows her way around a sword

Image two; a digital image of a white boy with brown hair tied up in a bun, with thick strands falling over either side of his face. He's wearing a green poloneck under a black coat with a heavy fur collar. He's smiling slightly.

Solaris Taskeral

He/him

The out-of-town cousin

Investigating in the streets

Doesn't always think decisions through

A distinct lack of self-preservation

They share a secret!! The family is in on it! It's a surprise for later :3

Slide five; The Noble Team

image one; a digital image of a white girl with blonde hair tied back in a plait. She has a gold wreath of leaves placed on her head and is wearing a blue tunic with a gold collar and a gold cloak clasped over her shoulder, with gold droplet earrings. There are sparkles in the space about her. She has an open, almost innocent expression.

Abigail Gaulivant

She/her

Selene's best friend

Local gossip

butter wouldn't melt in her mouth

Has a crush on Saro

image two; a digital image of a white boy with short, slightly scruffy brown hair. He has round glasses and is wearing a red tshirt under a black jacket. He looks despairing.

Saro Taskeral

He/him

Selene's older brother

Tired

The sensible one

Protective of Selene

Image three; a digital image of a white girl with long red hair tied back in a ponytail that is swept to the left. She has freckles scattered across her face. She is wearing a black and dark grey tanktop and a gold pendant. She is grinning and has one eyebrow raised, and there is a small speech bubble leading to her with an exclamation mark in it, against a green background with a lighter green circle.

Llinos ferch Rhydderch

She/her

Feral mage; unbonded

Hired to keep an eye on Selene

Archer, handy with a dagger

Tumbled to Selene's secret within minutes of meeting her

Slide six; The Street Team

Image one; a Heroforge figurine of a cat person with light yellow fur and black spots, with black tips to his ears. He's wearing red-brown leather armour and a dark brown cloak flowing back over his shoulders. He has a sword at his side and is stepping forward with one hand outstretched in a welcoming gesture.

Jasper sa Adrassa

He/him

Feral mage; lynx (fire)

Was looking for some peace and quiet gdi now he has to babysit some kids

Image two; a Heroforge figurine of a fox person with black fur and white tips to his ears and eyebrows. He's wearing a warm yellow and orange shirt and trousers under a green waistcoat. In one hand he holds a slingshot, and his other is held across his waist.

Tadg ap Saril

He/him

Feral mage; fox

Tamhas' twin

A Gentleman(tm)

Plagues Jasper

Image three; a Heroforge figurine of a fox person with pale sandy fur, though his throat, hands, legs and ears are all black. He's wearing an open dark green shirt with yellow cuffs, a low brown corset with blue string over dark green trousers with a yellow sash. He stands at the ready with a pouch in one hand.

Tamhas ap Liram

He/him

Feral mage; fox

Llinos' brother

A Menace(tm)

Plagues Jasper

Image four; a heroforge figurine of a bird person with black feathers and red scaling on her feet. She's wearing a green gilet over a red shirt and yellow trousers that only reach her knees. She has a large sword attached to her back and holds a ukulele ready to play

Kaua

She/her

Feral mage; raven (speech)

Local bardcore lesbian

Dating Llinos

Pintsize badass

[in smaller font] Also plagues Jasper

Slide seven; The Magic Thieves

(... not the actual thieves this time)

Image one; a digital drawing of a white woman in a purple edwardian dress that has large puffs for sleeves over her upper arms. She has blonde hair tied up behind her head, with some strands trailing past her face. She's resting one hand on her hip and looks disbelieving.

Elise Teekeros

She/her

Thief/con artist

Really doesn't want to be on this world

Ready to throw hands

Image two; a digital image of a light brown skinned man. He has close cropped brown hair and wears glasses, and looks unamused. He's wearing a dark purple suit & tie with a white shirt.

Skir Aracel

He/him

Arch Mage

The money

What he says goes

Too much pride for one man

Image three; a digital image of a white woman. She has blonde hair tied in a low bun and a frint that covers her forehead. She wears round glasses and has a slight smile. She's wearing a grey polo neck under a brown cardigan, and a necklace of pearls.

Millicent

She/her

Skir's family servant

Costuming department

Image four; a digital image of a brown skinned boy. He has floppy dark brown hair that ties into a small ponytail at the base of his head. He has small antlers with three tines protruding from his head and looks worried. He's wearing a loose dark brown shirt.

Skren

He/they

Faun

Older than he looks

Soft

Scared of most things

Slide eight; Featuring Brief Appearances From;

Image one; a digital image of a dark brown skinned person with short light brown hair that's combed back. They have a slight smile and a beauty mark on their cheek. They're wearing a white shirt under a tan waistcoat.

Carlin Everglade

They/them

Saro's best friend

A flirt

Entered the tournament

Image two; a digital image of a white skinned boy with fluffy blonde hair. He looks worried. He's wearing a high collared green shirt and a gold waistcoat.

Abban Gaulivant

He/they

Abigail's twin brother

Likes to party

Little bit naive

Image three; a digital image of a brown skinned woman with almost shoulder length brown hair. She has white stud earrings and is wearing a grey kimono patterned with cherry blossoms and thin branches. She's smiling in a way that suggests she knows more than you

Drassa sa Enser

She/her

Jasper's mother

Mysterious(tm) but well thought of

Slide nine; I'm sorry you said tournament?

Local generic tournament! Sword fights! Jousting! Group battles

Jasper entered on a whim

He was looking for something simple to do on his break from Llinos and Kaua

Physical skills only, magic isn't allowed

In the main events. There's a magic part now I [in all caps] have decided

... not that I know how that's going to work yet.

It's mostly a backdrop

Sometimes you just wanna write flashy low risk fights alright

There are some less flashy higher risk fights involved. That's how Selene meets Kaua

It comes with parties and Events for all the family! People travel to take part and see this thing! Whole lotta strangers in town if you catch my drift hmmm

Slide ten;

Hey what even is your world building

... yeah, sorry about that

Welcome to...

[in bigger, orange print] The Mist Worlds!

image description; the spongebob imagination meme

19(ish) interlinked worlds, most have their own magic type, people can travel via the Mist Gates

[at an angle, leading from "19(ish)"] Some have been destroyed, One is split in two

[In increasingly smaller font] The Gates are grouped in a couple of places in each world these days, anyone travelling by them needs the correct papers before a guide will take them. Originally they were unstable and dangerous and under the whim of the Fair Folk. Anyone walking through couldn't control where - or when - they'd come out. That's how Skren got lost! A couple thousand years ago the Arch Mages sealed the gates in place at the expense of locking a couple of worlds [The text cuts off]

This story is set on Tatariel! Magic type is Soul Magic

It's not one of the nicer ones

They can control people. Mostly it's about using the "power of their soul"/energy of their life to enact change

Other magic types mentioned;

Feral Mages - have animal companions! Can bond and become furries! [in increasingly smaller font with each parenthesis] (they were probably furries anyway (don't tell Jasper that))

Green Witches - destruction. Death by water.

Arch Mages - OP af at the expense of their sanity

Slide eleven; [in all caps] anyhow

... actually that's it

Investigations!

At least one masquerade ball!

Sword fights!

[in all caps] crime

A fair amount of nonsense I'm gonna make up on the spot!

Should be fun, you should come with

[iamanartichoke]

I wrote a Thing. It’s extremely long. I’d prefer it not be reblogged; I wrote this for my own catharsis and would prefer it not be circulated, bc of Reasons. 

I changed my mind, okay to reblog. <3 

Under a cut for (extreme, did I mention?) length. 

So I got about 12 minutes of sleep last night, as you do, and around 3am or so I found myself - out of sheer curiosity - going down a meta hole of Ragnarok discourse, trying to figure out where this "satisfying redemption arc" for Loki happened. (I mean, there's a lot of things I would like to figure out, but I started there.) Because I could. 

Basically I was looking for meta that went into detail about how Loki was redeemed in a satisfactory way. The ‘satisfactory’  is an important word here bc there is a redemption arc in the film, in that Loki starts off the film as an antagonist (kinda) to Thor and he ends the film as an ally to Thor, standing at Thor's side. In that sense, yes, there's a redemption arc. I didn't find much (and I had no idea how much people just despise Ragnarok "antis" [I really dislike that word] but that's another topic [that I don't particularly want to get into, tbh]) but I did find some. I read what I could find, and I read it open-mindedly, and overall I came away feeling like, okay, there are some valid points being made here and I can kinda see where they're coming from.

But it was a bit (a lot) like -- flat. Idk. The best comparison I can think of is that it’s like if a literature class read, I don't know, The Yellow Wallpaper for an assignment, and some of the students came away from it feeling like it was a creepy story about a woman slowly driving herself insane, and the other students came away from it incensed at the oppression and infantilization of women in the late 19th century -

- and neither side is wrong, but the former is a very surface-level reading and the latter isn't (bc it stems from looking at why she drives herself insane, why she was prescribed 'rest' in the first place, the context of what women could and couldn't do back then, etc; basically, a bit more work has to go into it). 

[Note: I am not disparaging the quality of The Yellow Wallpaper. At all. It’s just the first relatively well-known story that popped into my head.]

In this sense, I can see the argument for Loki's redemption arc, but I don't think it's a very good argument. Not invalid, but not great.

I mean, for example, I think the most consistent argument I found variations of re: Loki's redemption is that Ragnarok shows Loki finally taking responsibility for his bad behaviour and misdeeds. This includes recognizing that his actions were fueled from a place of self-hatred and a desire to self-destruct in addition to bringing destruction on others. That he probably feels awkward and regretful of these things and doesn't know how to act around Thor, but he figures it out by the end, and decides that returning to Asgard is the best way to show that he's ready to make amends. His act of bringing the Statesman to Asgard is an apology. He allies himself with Thor and ends up in a better place, both narratively (united with Thor once again) and mentally (having taken responsibility and made amends for his past).

And setting aside that he had already made amends by sacrificing his life in TDW (and also setting aside that the argument is made that Loki redeems himself in IW by sacrificing himself to Thanos but if that's the case, wouldn't that imply that he hadn't achieved redemption in Ragnarok or else there would be no need to achieve it again in IW? Or, if you think he did achieve redemption in Ragnarok, then what the fuck did he give his life in IW for? What was his motivation there, and why did the narrative not make it clearer? I digress.) 

- setting aside those two factors, I think this is a very fair argument. Loki is fueled by self-hatred, and he does want to self-destruct, and he does want to inflict that pain on others as well (particularly Thor). No lies detected here. 

However, I also need to know where that self-hatred and desire for destruction (toward himself and others) comes from and for that, we need to go back to Thor 1.

Thor 1. 

Loki starts Thor 1 out as "a clenched fist with hair," to borrow a quote from the Haunting of Hill House (that I tucked away in my mental box of Lovely Things bc it says so much so very simply). He's very used to bottling everything up, pushing it down; he slinks around behind the scenes, pulling the strings to this plot or that. He's "always been one for mischief," but the narrative implies that the coronation incident is the first time Loki's done anything truly terrible. And it all immediately pretty much goes to shit, so Loki spends the rest of the movie frantically juggling all these moving pieces while trying to seem as if he's got it all under control, every step of the way. That's how I view his actions. 

But I always come back to that quote where Kenneth Branaugh tells Tom, of the scene in the vault, "This is where the thin steel rod that's been holding your mind together snaps." In other words this is where Loki discovering he's Jotun is just one thing too many. He can't take it. But though the rod snaps, his descent isn't a nosedive. It's a tumble. As the story progresses, the clenched fist starts to loosen, the muscles are flexed in unfamiliar ways (that feel kinda good, after being stiff for so long), and it culminates with the hand opening completely and shaking itself out. All of that repression, that self-hatred, that rage and jealousy just explodes so that, by the time the bifrost scene happens, Loki's already hit bottom. It's not just about proving his worthiness to Odin. He wants to hurt Thor, too; he, essentially, throws a tantrum. (That's right, I said tantrum.) 

(Note: The word 'tantrum’ has negative connotations bc we normally equate it with a toddler stamping their feet and screaming in the aisle when their parent won't buy them the toy they want. But in itself, the word tantrum isn't infantalizing. It's an "emotional outburst, an uncontrolled explosion of anger and frustration" [paraphrasing from dictionary.com]. That's exactly what happens here [and why Tom called Loki's actions a massive tantrum, but people took that to mean Tom agreed it was childish whereas I doubt Tom meant it that way]).

He's been pushed past his limit, and he does bad things. He does really shitty things. He hurts Thor, he hurts his family. I'm pretty sure he knows this all along so this isn't, like, some revelation further down the line that "hey, those things I did were probably kinda bad." He got the memo already. 

Ragnarok 

Fast forward to Ragnarok, and we're introduced to a version of Loki who's had 4ish years to sit with everything that's happened. To sit with it and not do much else. The rawness of it has faded, and now it seems as though it's just become a thing, like when you move through life aware of your childhood traumas and have more or less just accepted them (and you probably share a lot of really funny depression memes on Facebook, which is kinda the equivalent of Loki's play, but that's probably just me). 

Loki has, more or less, chilled out. He seems more bored than anything else; he's been masquerading as Odin for longer than he ever planned or intended to, so he's more or less ended up hanging out, letting Asgard mind its own business, and entertaining himself with silly plays. This is the version that starts out the movie as an antagonist to Thor - a version that is, arguably, in a much different place [and is a much milder threat] than the version who originally did those Bad Things. 

And of course Thor is still mad at him, and of course they're going to butt heads, because that's what they do (and Thor's grievances are genuine, I’ll add, bc it's not really his fault he assumed Loki faked his death, nor can he be blamed for being pissed about Odin).

One argument framed this version of Loki as being a person who is facing the awkwardness of coming out of a dark place, which is fair. If we're going to frame his actions in Thor 1 as a tantrum, then Ragnarok would be the part where the toddler has been taken home, possibly has had some lunch and a juice box, and is now watching cartoons. They're over the tantrum, and would probably feel pretty silly about it if they weren't, yknow, toddlers. They probably can't remember why they even wanted that toy so badly. If they're a little older and self-aware, they might even be embarrassed for having melted down.

Like the word tantrum, this feeling isn't a thing limited to toddlers. I know I've had a few epic meltdowns as a grown ass adult, and I know I always feel deeply embarrassed afterwards - like, want to crawl into a hole and die. I've said things I can't take back. Adolescents and teenagers throw tantrums, mentally ill people throw tantrums, adults throw tantrums (I mean, my god, look at all the videos of Karens having screaming meltdowns - screaming! - over having to wear masks in order to shop at stores). Humans throw tantrums. And usually, after the feelings have been let out and the tantrum has passed, humans feel pretty regretful and awkward and embarrassed about whatever they did and said in the midst of their meltdown. 

I get all of that and agree it's valid and that Loki probably feels it. By the time Ragnarok happens, Loki's had some time to reflect and think hmm, yeah, probably could've handled that one a lot better. The argument further goes that in order to navigate this awkward period, Loki must come to terms with what he's done, acknowledge that some things can't be unsaid or undone, and begin to make amends. Supposedly, some people feel that Loki becomes a better person because he does "own" everything he did wrong and, even though he feels like a jackass (paraphrasing), he sets that aside to become a become a better person by choosing to help Thor and Asgard at the end. 

Thus, the overall arc goes like this. Loki, Thor's jealous little brother, 

throws a tantrum of epic proportions bc Reasons 

continues to act badly and make things even worse (Avengers) 

has to face consequences for his actions (prison sentence) 

ends up with a stretch of time in which he's free to contemplate and chill out 

feels embarrassed and awkward about how he's behaved

sees an opportunity to make up for it and decides to take it 

helps Thor, saves the day, and ends the film a better person. 

Redemption achieved.

None of this is wrong. The film supports it. It's a fair interpretation. But it leaves. out. so. much.

To circle all the way back around Loki being "a clenched fist with hair," and his actions stemming from his self-hatred, you have to ask - how did he get that way? He didn't end up with all this self-hatred on accident. Generally, one isn't born despising themselves, it's a learned behavior. (I realize chemical imbalances are a thing, obviously, as I have Mental Shit myself, but for argument's sake I'm assuming that's not the case with Loki [at this point in time]). 

Where did Loki learn it? From his family, from his surroundings, from his culture. We see examples of these microaggressions in the first, like, twenty minutes of the movie - a guard openly laughs at Loki's magic after Thor makes a joke about it (the tone of the conversation implies that Thor "jokes" like this often) and though Loki does the snake thing, the guard faces no real consequences. Thor doesn't acknowledge that anything went amiss. Not much later, on their way to Jotunheim, Loki's barely gotten two words out to Heimdall before Thor cuts him off, steps in front of him, and takes charge. Loki doesn't look annoyed at this; he looks resigned. 

Then, for absolutely no reason at all, Volstagg decides to make a jab at Loki ("silver tongue turned to lead?") just because he can. The ease with which he makes this comment and the way that no one else blinks an eye at it implies that this isn't out of the norm. And Loki doesn't react, not really. In the deleted version, he delivers a particularly nasty comeback but he delivers it under his breath, without intending Volstagg to hear it. In the final version, he simply says nothing, though his expression can be read as hurt or stung. Either way, the audience sees an example of Loki being walked all over by Thor and his friends and bottling up his reactions instead of standing up for himself. 

Microaggressions matter. They are mentally and emotionally damaging. They hurt. The implication that this is not unusual treatment for Loki means that Loki's probably gone through this for most of his life. It's like the equivalent of being, I don't know, twenty two and you're the friend who has to walk behind the others when the sidewalk isn't wide enough, and it's been that way since the first day of kindergarten. At this point, you're used to it, but that doesn't make it hurt any less when the jabs come seemingly out of nowhere, for no reason other than to make you feel bad.

(I personally identify a lot with this bc I experienced passive bullying in social settings for years. I was the 'doesn't fit on the sidewalk' friend; I hung around with people who'd pretend to be my friend and would be more or less nice to my face, but would laugh at me and make fun of me behind my back for whatever reasons. And often there'd be the random jabs at me, things that would come out of nowhere to smack me in the face, followed by the fake laugh and “just kidding!" so that I couldn't even get upset without being made to feel like I was overreacting and couldn't take a joke. I'd deal with this socially, particularly in middle school when girls are their most vicious, and then I'd go home and, because I was the only girl with a lot of brothers and because boys are mean and because I am who I am, the dynamic was that my brothers would just endlessly roast me to my face and sometimes it was a "just kidding!" thing, where I was the only one not laughing. But that’s beside the point; my point is that microaggressions, passive bullying, and consistent invalidation are harmful and that shit stays with you into adulthood.) 

So, yes, Loki needs to be held responsible for his misdeeds, and it's valid to say that he recognizes those misdeeds and wants to make amends. I have never disagreed with that. But the problem with this interpretation is that it lets every single other character who contributed to Loki's self-hatred and mental breakdown (let's just call a spade a spade here, that's what it was; he was broken psychologically) get off scot-free.

First of all,

Odin is not held accountable for instilling in the princes a mentality of Asgard first, everyone is beneath us but Jotuns are benath us the most, they are literal monsters. He is not held accountable for pitting his sons against one another (even if it was unintentional, he still did it) with "you were both born to be kings but only one of you can rule" being the general tone of their upbringing. He's not held accountable for his favoritism toward Thor.

Frigga is not held accountable for deferring to Odin both in supporting the above things and in keeping the truth of Loki's origins a secret while doing nothing to discourage the "monsters" narrative. 

Thor is not held accountable for his own tendency of taking Loki for granted (he assumes Loki will come to Jotunheim, he oversteps Loki constantly, “know your place,” etc.. He grants his implicit permission for Loki to be treated as the sidewalk friend in their “group,” a group which is loyal to and takes their cues from Thor as Thor continues to do nothing in his brother's defense).

[Note: Wanting Thor to be held accountable for things he's done wrong isn't vilifying him. Acknowledging that Thor benefited from Odin's favoritism and his own place as Crown Prince doesn't negate Thor also being raised in an abusive environment. I don't think anyone's saying that or, if they have, it's not something I agree with.]

Furthermore, 

Odin is not held accountable for his cruelty in disowning Loki (”your birthright was to die” is never going to be forgotten, speaking of people saying things that can't be unsaid or taken back) and in sentencing Loki to a severe prison sentence (life! only bc Frigga wouldn't let him execute Loki) for crimes that are no worse than what Odin himself has committed (around which the entire plot of Ragnarok revolves! Colonialism (and subjugation) is wrong is, like, a major theme [that people rush to praise, even] here). 

Thor is also never held accountable for not trying harder to understand what made Loki snap (fair enough, he didn't have a ton of time after returning from Earth, but certainly he had lots of time to sit around reflecting while Loki was being tortured by Thanos for a year). He knows Loki is "not himself" and "beyond reason" and accepts it at face value; he questions it once and then lets it go. He's fine with assuming Loki's just lost his mind, and isn't that a shame. (I realize I'm simplifying Thor's emotions but my point is that Thor could've tried harder to figure out that Loki was being influenced and/or not acting completely autonomously.) 

Thor is also never held accountable for - if not facing consequences for his own slaughter of Jotuns - then at least addressing why Loki can't kill an entire race even though Thor tried to do that, like, two days ago. (Granted, it’s difficult to understand how Thor got from Point A ("let's finish them together, Father!") to Point B (this is wrong!), but that failing belongs to Thor 1 (which is not, by the way, a perfect movie).

The interpretation that Loki is fully redeemed because he took responsibility for his actions, returned to Asgard, and allied himself with Thor to save their people is all well and good - but, why is Loki the only one here who has to take responsibility for their actions? 

What about all the loose threads in his story? 

For example, how did he get from: 

Point A (believing himself a literal monster, having a complete mental breakdown, getting tortured and further traumatized after that, etc) 

to 

Point B (Hey, yknow what would be fun? I'm going to write and direct a play about how I heroically died to save Thor and Jane, and I'll go ahead and have Odin say he accepts me and has always loved me. I'm going to do these things because Odin never said this in real life and instead of acknowledging my sacrifice, Thor left my body in the dirt, so someone has to validate what I've done right and that someone might as well be me. And hey, while I'm at it, I'm going to control the narrative on revealing myself as Jotun to Asgard, instead of living in fear of it being found out, and I'm going to do it in a way that they have to sympathize with me and revere me in death, bc they never bothered to do so when I was alive. And Matt Damon should play me, also.) 

to 

Point C (Yeah, I guess I feel kinda awkward about that whole tantrum thing, also I should help Thor and support him being king.)

? 

The answers to these questions are handwaved and the audience takes that to mean they don't matter. Furthermore, framing Loki's redemption around an act of service (more or less) to Thor makes Loki's redemption about Thor. Does Loki make this decision for the sake of Thor and of Asgard, or does he make it for himself? It's not super clear to me, and I think arguments can be made for both. Which, again, is fine, but - whatever.

If we're going to collectively agree, as a fandom, that Loki is complex, that he's morally gray, that he's worthy of redemption and therefore arguably a good person who's done bad things, then why is it asking too much to have it acknowledged that Thor (also a good person who's done bad things) played a part in Loki's downfall and has shit to apologize for, too? Bc one can only assume the reason is that you're taking a very gray concept and making it black and white by saying Loki has to apologize and make amends because he is the villain, and Thor doesn't because he is the hero (and it's his movie). And it's lazy.

This is where the crux of the issue lands. There's more than one valid interpretation, yes. And no two people (or groups of people, or whatever) are going to consume and therefore interpret or analyze the source material in the same way. I think I saw a post recently about how studies have been done on this, in fact. But, there is a lot going on under the surface that tends to get overlooked when exploring Loki's redemption arc in Ragnarok, as far as I can see, and that’s why I don’t consider it satisfactory. 

[I did read similar arguments regarding other issues that are often debated ('debated'), like Loki's magic and/or being underpowered, whether or not Loki's betrayal of Thor was the natural outcome of the situation on Sakaar or not, whether Thor actually gets closure with Odin [if he does, how does he reconcile the father he's idolized with the imperialistic conqueror he's discovered? Why doesn't he hold Odin responsible for covering up Hela's existence and the threat of her return, especially as he knew he was nearing the end of his life? Is Thor's "I'm not as strong as you" meant to imply that he acknowledges those shortcomings of Odin's and that he's okay with them, or that he's just overlooking them, or is he not okay with them but didn't have the chance to get into it bc he was in the middle of battle? T'Challa confronted his father on his wrongdoings in Black Panther; could Thor not have had at least one line that was confrontational enough to establish where he stands as opposed to this gray middle? Can someone explain to me how any of this equates to Thor gaining closure? Please?) but obviously I'm not going to go into all of them (well, I tried not to), bc this mammoth post has gone on long enough (I may not even post this tbh)]

- but my overall point to this entire thing is that when I say I'm critical of Ragnarok bc it's flawed, that Loki's arc was neither complete nor satisfactory, that many things went unaddressed and, due to all of these things, I do not think Ragnarok is a very good movie nor a very cohesive movie, this is where I'm coming from. I have not seen anything to change my mind to the contrary. 

But I am not saying that anyone satisfied with it is wrong, or shouldn't have the interpretation that they do. I'm not vilifying Thor in order to lift Loki up, just acknowledging that Thor is arguably just as flawed as Loki without the stigma of being Designated Villain. I think a lot of these arguments get overlooked or dismissed, and that's fine, but it doesn't make the people who do engage with them hateful, or bitter, or trying to excuse Loki's crimes, or feeling like redemption means that Loki's crimes should be erased rather than reconciled. 

And sure, yes, perhaps we are expecting too much and exploring all of these themes (or wanting them explored) means that somehow we think it should be Loki's movie (we don't). Loki is a supporting character, but he's still a character. And the movie itself doesn't have to delve into all these things - no one's saying that. (At least, I'm not.) We just want acknowledgement, from the narrative, that this stuff was an Issue. 

This could have been accomplished with - 

Some dialogue closer to the novelization (and original script), like Thor and Loki both acknowledging the harm they've done one another and their kingdom due to their Feels.

 A single line of Thor confronting Odin, or even asking "Why?" 

A narrative acknowledgement that Odin did both Thor and Loki dirty (”I love you, my sons” isn't an apology, because it doesn't acknowledge either that there's been wrong-doing or express regret for having done the wrong in the first place). 

A little bit more nuance in the way Loki treats his own past (ie, instead of flippantly telling the story of his suicide attempt, maybe - if it must be flippant - talk about getting blasted in the face with Hawkeye's arrow or sailing through to Svartalfheim [And in that moment, I sang ta-daaaa!]) or whatever. 

I recognize that wanting full, in-depth exploration on all of these issues regarding a supporting character is probably too much to ask or expect - but, I also feel like, if you're going to be professionally writing a narrative (or rewriting/improvising, as it were), it's not too much to ask that a little more care be taken in regards to all of the layers that have contributed to said supporting character's downfall and subsequent redemption arc. I don't think that's an unreasonable thing to want. 

And maybe if there had been more nuance and continuity in how these things were portrayed on screen (ie, if TW had actually done as good a job as his stans think he did), the fandom wouldn't have divided and conquered itself over which "version" of the same character is more valid and whether or not the film did its best to close out a trilogy (not start a new one), to the point where everyone in this fandom space makes navigating it feel like walking through a minefield. 

But, I mean 

(Again, please don’t reblog if possible.) 

Edit: Okay to reblog. <3