#I always try to be more refined with these but the looseness always wins

[myokk]

[whatlurksbean]

any advice for someone starting comics who feel like the storytelling side is their weak point? i started a couple comics but always loose steam on them because i feel like the storytelling/plot/writing is my weak point, and ive found the plots and characters i come up with so uncompelling that it feels embarrassing to even use them, its never been something ive been interested in ive always just been passionate about the art side and never been awfully good at writing as a whole, but i could spend hours diving into stylizing artwork to look like various types of comics and ive had that itch to just make something. am i just built to work freelance being paid to draw someone else's story or do most comic makers feel like that and what ways do people improve?

Writing is also an art! It is something that takes years of practice and learning and it's absolutely fine to aim to improve with it. It is a skill to refine!

I would say, that if it is not something you are passionate about though, you could try looking at other options.

Collaborative stories with friends are an option! Rabbit on The Moon comes to mind, it's a collaborative comic that my friends did. Songdog wrote the script, and Nitteh illustrated and designed the characters. It's a lovely story, and beautifully drawn, I can't recommend it enough.

You could also consider public domain stories! Adaptations are done for a reason! You could make a comic of a an old folktale, or adapt a fable or greek myth, while having the flexibility to do whatever changed you want! There are quite a few webcomics I love that are based on public domain/myths, it can take some of the pressure off of you as a writer.

There is also the freelance option you mentioned. If you're not too passionate about the writing aspect, and are mostly invested in the art, getting paid to do it seems like a pretty winning option!

To be honest, the writing has always been the part I am passionate about. I am constantly writing and rewriting stories in my notes, I have dozens upon dozens of comic concepts written up and even scripted that I can only hope to get to. I like doing lineart and expression work, but the rest of the art process is only the means to an end for me. It's not my focus and would happily hire artists if i had any sort of budget lol

I do not think it is uncommon for creators to be into one aspect more than another, I think it's about just figuring out what works best for you.

[kailysander]

Do you have any thoughts about what some of the GH characters sound like?

THIS is always a super difficult question for me to answer since I’m more aware of the characters phonetic habits than their actual voices. I’ll try my best (and also to explain what exactly stands out) but take these with a grain of salt since they don’t really account for tone!

-

Lorne: Denial You Win Again- The Buttertones

Lorne’s voice tends to be a little on the “darker” end, slightly throaty. His words often feel like they are being pulled from him with a bit of reluctance, and syllables sometimes seem stacked together rather than flowing together as a single word. This “reluctant” pattern often causes him to lean into his “R”s, which can sometimes come off like a mild snarl (this is more apparent in standard "R"s vs rolled).

Lorne, later in the story: The Pact -- Villagers

This one has a lot less context to comic readers, but his voice becomes a lot softer and whisper-toned after um. Some years of mutism. Retains phonetic patterns otherwise. 

Vasariah: To My Enemies— Saint Motel + Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games— Of Montreal

Vasariah is a strange case because he tends to pick up the speech patterns of whoever he is talking to at the moment. Tone wise, I think he sounds relatively androgynous, with a slightly masculine lean (though could easily be conceived as a deeply voiced woman.)

He tends to speak with a tongue-in-cheek attitude, which I think is fairly captured in the Saint Motel song. 

However, his phonetic patterns are quite variable. I think he talks as if there is a small ball of air at the roof of his mouth, and occasionally slip and speak in other peoples voices/multiple voices at once, the mood of which is captured more in the Of Montreal song, particularly the way "Antartica" is vocalized.

He tends to also use the English marginal segment "X" in place of hard Cs/Ks (like in Loch Ness).

Buer: I Should Not Be Seeing You — Connie Conway

Literally. Connie Conway with a thick Italian accent. His voice is fairly refined, and has the guttural qualities you would expect of a lion-man.

Kazimir: Hey Me —Tremantis

Czech accent. He’s just a guy; there’s a direct/confrontational nature to his voice and it is is often very monotone. This "claim" is on the looser end.

Erlea: Fly in My Room — Kerrin Connolly

I’m gonna be honest I don’t really know how to describe this type of voice. Deeper but recognizably feminine, with slightly raspy tones. She doesn’t have a very wide vocal range, and her she sometimes speaks very quickly so all of her words string together into one (happens more often when she is joking or saying an aside).

Azrael: I’m so sorry he sounds like Shigure Sohma from Fruits Basket. 

Tonally speaking, probably a bit deeper. His voice has a sing-song quality to it, often standing in juxtaposition to (and therefore amplifying) threatening or otherwise cruel statements. It is also quite friendly, for the periods in time in which he is also a friendly and comforting presence. 

He also tends to talk like a guy who is hm... Very assured in his own attractiveness. I could link out to some Italian chefs that talk this way but I wont bother you with them LOL

No accent-- As a general cosmopolitan his accent is adjusted to whatever language he is speaking, whatever the local dialect may be.

Charlie: Karen, You’re an Angel — Sleeping in the Aviary

This “voice claim” is pretty loose, kind of based on vibes alone. New Jersey accent with the general vocal patterns of someone who died in the 1940s. Mid-toned voice.

Satan: Inconceivable to try to find a claim, sorry! His voice is deep, but retains a feminine quality phonetically. It harkens back to an older time, as if certain parts of his construction of language have not developed linearly with the evolution of language (globally). Often has a mild echo to it.  

I can offer you La Ciruela by Nico Play, but it is really just that feeling this song evokes in me is similar to what I would imagine Satan's voice evoking.

Fidelia: Stone Wall Stone Fence — Gregory and the Hawk

This is probably the only genuine voice claim here. This is what I think her singing voice would sound like.  She has a young, higher toned voice.

-

This was fun! Let me know if there's anyone I didn't mention that you're curious about (OR if you have any voice claim headcanons that would also be super cool to hear!!)

[aeoki]

SS Finals - Everyday: Chapter 7

Location: Shrine Characters: Hiyori, Jun & Nagisa

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ< Almost an hour later. At a certain shrine in the Chūbu region. >

Jun: ………… *Claps hands together*

I pray we’ll be able to win “SS” this time!

(We’ve got no choice but to pray for that on the outside, huh. The cameras are rolling, so I’ve gotta behave how they expect idols to.)

(Personally, I don’t really believe in these “sorts of things”, though.)

(I was simply living out my days in order to surpass Jin Sagami – the one who was like a god to me when I was a kid, for better or worse.)

(My life will never begin until I clean up all those loose ends with him…)

(To be frank, I once thought I could quit being an idol once I defeated him and laughed at his face.)

Jun: (At the very least, I hope it’ll allow me to verify my worth as the idol, who wasn’t allowed to play with any toys or friends as a kid and worked hard to improve myself…)

(I’ve gotta prove that all the time I spent trying not to cry wasn’t a waste. Otherwise, it would be way too pitiful for my little self.)

(But things are different now. I’m no longer the person who couldn’t live if he didn’t finish the task in front of him, one after the other.)

(I’m not an idol and not a product of my crappy father’s imagination. I was able to come into contact with the human Jin Sagami.)

(When I saw him wearing an idol outfit he probably didn’t want to wear and confronting me properly…)

(It kinda felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

(Of course, old habits die hard and my body goes into fighting mode out of reflex whenever I see him, though.)

(I sometimes forget about him when I’m busy working as an idol every day.)

(He gets mentioned whenever I’m on TV shows and stuff from time to time, but even then…)

(There are times where I can’t pretend and react like it’s not something that “doesn’t interest me”.)

(Haha! There’s no way that wouldn’t be of interest to you, Jun Sazanami! After all, you’ve lived all this time trying to confront and surpass him!)

(But it seriously seems the highest thing on my priority list isn’t “that” right now.)

(I won’t think about complicated stuff like the others – I place my trust in the reactions from my physical body.)

(And that body has decided that “that” is no longer important.)

(I put up with everything no matter how much it hurt and how many times they trampled on me…)

(This body has refined itself!)

(You got any complaints, God~? GODDAMN!)

Hiyori: Come on, Jun-kun – how long are you going to keep praying for? Looks like Mr Greedy here has a lot of wishes…☆

Nagisa: …Hehe. Well, things will be focusing on Ibara for a while, so how we use our time now shouldn’t be an issue.

Hiyori: Then, do you want to walk around the shrine? Although, there’s not much here since it’s not a sightseeing spot.

Nagisa: Yeah. Shrines are originally places of prayer.

…It’s not a place to make money nor is it someplace popular.

…As long as it exists within the confines of capitalism, then even God has no choice but to be connected with “that”, I’m sure.

…God and religious faith exist because of humans, after all.

Hiyori: I don’t understand the whole god concept! Are they really that important?

It’s probably weird to hear that from someone who calls themselves “Eden” and “Eve”, but what’s wrong with being popular?

Nagisa: …There’s nothing wrong with it – You’re always in the right, Hiyori-kun.

…But we shouldn’t ignore those who live with that support.

…Both gods and money are an illusion created for people to live in a more rich and happy manner.

…Trampling over that is never the right thing to do.

Hiyori: …………

Jun: (Hmm? Could they not bicker when someone is trying to pray!?)

(Things have been odd – it feels kinda tense between Ohii-san and Nagi-senpai. Like Nagi-senpai’s the weird one here?)

(He’s been holed up in that strange, abandoned temple too. His actions are way too suspicious.)

(I’ve been feeling like it’s gotten even harder to know what he’s been thinking lately… I don’t like it one bit.)

(Us CosPro idols didn’t form a unit just so we could pretend we’re best buds with each other like the Yumenosaki idols.)

(We formed a unit because we needed it for our work and to earn money.)

(But even so, they were the people who gave me freedom and comfort…)

(When I was mentally controlled and tied down by my piece-of-crap father and Jin Sagami.)

(I think it’s my turn to help them this time.)

(How should I get about doing this? I don’t even know what’s going on, so how can I know what I should do!?)

(GODDAMN! I hate myself for not being smarter!)

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ← Previous Chapter ᠂ ⚘ ˚⊹˚ ⚘ ᠂  Next Chapter →

[cannoli-reader]

Egwene as a puppet administrator, having to pass along dictates from a group of clearly inept and unworthy supervisors, enforce them and take the blowback and consequences as if it's her own policy that fails, and being punished in humiliating ways for the failure to properly implement said superior's clear brilliant ideas. She also has to be obsequiously respectful to these bosses, and they are so well coordinated that every attempt to pit them against each other is easily exposed and laughed off.

Elayne, I think, would be forced to watch helplessly as horrible things are done to her people. It might even be a case where she is free and active, but no one regards her efforts or advice, and every attempt to help is overtly rejected, because no one trusts her judgement. Also, Rand is always popping up among the victims or targets, but she can never quite reach him.

Rand, the Dark One can't actually torture. All he can do to Rand is turn him loose in the world being reshaped in Shai'tan's image, and there is nothing he can tell Rand or do to him that will be worse than what Rand will be accusing himself of doing to the world or failing to prevent. Just give him a mark so that no Shadowspawn or Chosen or high-level Darkfriend will lay a hand on him, and even protect him and Heal any threats to his life. Instead, he has to live and live comfortably. He isn't allowed to suffer except in his head. Any attempt to give away his fine clothes or food burns the recipient. He takes someone's hand to help them up, their hand withers away. It's all his fault.

Mat has to keep guessing. No clues, no hints. No matter how he guesses, people die. He doesn't guess, more people die, so he tries to randomly guess, and a lot of people are spared, but many others are made to suffer. He can toss a coin, or roll a dice, but there is going to be something bad, no matter which side comes up, and he's always aiming blind, he can't think or figure his way out, there are no answers, just random chances. Every now and then, he gets a win, when it is so insignificant or unsatisfying, and the cost is extreme. And he can always tell in hindsight what he should have done. But whenever he has the choice, all he can do is gamble.

Perrin is a passenger in a giant werewolf body that hunts and kills for pleasure, and destroys. Wolves cower in fear and hide from him. It smashes up nice things, things that are well-made or well-built, or things that are important, that many people depend on, even if they don't seem all that big. When it sleeps, it continues to hunt in dreams, terrifies people in their nightmares, depriving them of rest and sleep or driving them to commit horrors of their own on waking. The only way to appease the monster is to join in its hunt, to act as savage and bestial as possible, to lash out at signs of intelligence, refinement, sophistication, to single out the weak and helpless. They are joined by sick, rabid or suffering dogs and wolves. These followers, this desperate pack, they howl Perrin's names when they kill and destroy. "Goldeneyes! Young Bull! Lord Perrin! Wolf King! Blacksmith!" Faile and Perrin's family members are constantly returned to life, with weapons that can hurt him, and warned that they are the only ones who can stop or stall his rampages. The pain their weapons cause drives him to greater fury, but it's never enough to kill or seriously stop him, and they always die trying to save other people from him.

Nynaeve is always angry. She has a lot of power. She can't control it and she can't keep from using it. And it's tainted, like when Rand uses Callandor. No one can share the burden with her, it burns them to link to her. Every time she Heals someone, someone, somewhere else takes the same wound. For every person she harms, someone, somewhere, gets a matching wound. Every injustice she witnesses burns at her and the power in her strains to be used, and she recalls what she witnesses with the sharp clarity of Power-enhanced senses, and feels the pain the victims suffered, until she has to lash out, and it's not just her targets she hurts, it's always a little spillover onto others. If she tries to undershoot it, her actions are ineffective and weak and the power bites all the harder, and her enemies are emboldened. And eventually she has no choice but to unleash her fury, and suffer for everyone who is harmed in the blast.

Lan wanders the world with all the skills and badassery, but cannot take action to fight any evil or stop any harm, he needs to hear the order to do so. Bad guys come after him, they die attacking him but can't bring him down, so they attack everyone else around him and Lan can't stop them unless he is ordered to. Many unscrupulous, selfish and ambitious men figure out that they can order him to follow them and will occasionally deploy him to save lives, but always to exert their own authority and power and reap the benefits of Lan's skills. The people Lan saves are simply enslaved by these petty tyrants and their lives are not one whit better for his efforts.

Moiraine is allowed to escape and survive on her own, to claw out a hideaway, with some resources and weapons and the opportunity to strike back. People listen to her and follow her, and she always wins at first, though the wins are smaller and somehow unsatisfying compared to what she hoped for, and then things go badly. People following her suggestions or teachings or orders have them blow up in their faces. The most certain intelligence she can obtain is completely false and she and her people blunder into traps that get them all killed (but she gets away) and there are retaliatory measures. If she tries to act alone, her blows always have exponentially greater consequences to innocent bystanders and civilians than she can inflict on the enemies.

Thom is allowed to hear things the Dreadlords are planning, but no matter how he tries to warn people, they can never avoid it, and get worse punishments and torments for listening to him. His music and stories inspire pain and despair in people, reminding them of all that is lost and they can never get back. If he does nothing, he is witness to the cruelties of the people in power until he can't take any more and tries to help again. Any effort to alleviate their sufferings with his other skills only brings more pain, either in the contrast between joy and reality or because some petty asshole will lash out at people having a good time, just to feel better about himself.

Bran al'Vere was the long-serving mayor of the most stubborn village in the world, and a colleague of several years of Wisdom Nynaeve al'Meara, and presided over a Council that included Cenn Buie. He lived under the same roof with his wife, Marin, and their five daughters, one of whom was Egwene. The Dark One is afraid to try.

Super fun thought experiment for those of us who like putting blorbos in blenders. If the dark one won the last battle what’s the most horrific punishment that bastard could come up with to torture our protagonists. Get real fucked up about it, think about what the very worst outcome for them personally is. What’s the true Bad End for them as characters.

[lovelybarnes]

home- b. barnes

pairings: bucky barnes x reader

warnings: language, alcohol mentions and drinking, the use of my own headcanon that bucky gets very clingy when he finds someone he trusts and loves

about: (requested!) prompt 21: person a tugging on person b’s shirt

bucky has been a lot clingier than usual. you suppose it’s your fault, you have dragged him everywhere with you since you met him- although that was to help bring him out of his shell and get him to actually go outside. you’re not sure if your efforts have backfired, as he’ll be trudging behind you like a lovestruck puppy wherever you go, no matter if it’s around the compound or in the small boutiques you frequent. you convince yourself they didn’t, since his days aren’t spent locked in his room, which you consider a win.

a knock you identify as natasha’s interrupts your mutters about an entrance you hadn’t seen before, natasha’s voice cutting through the peaceful silence. “i swear i saw you in that exact same place like five hours ago,” she states, leaning against your door frame as you shrug, not looking up. “you should take a break, the plan you made yesterday is great.”

you’re going over mission plans in your room, trying to figure out the best way to infiltrate the very last hydra base and succeed in cutting off the last of the organization’s heads. bucky is sleeping, his head on your lap. the hand that isn’t skimming the lines on the blueprint is combing through bucky’s hair, calming him down and chasing away his nightmares. once in a while, you coo inattentively when he begins to stir, not wanting him to wake up.

you had been away for two days, during which he got a grand total of three hours of sleep, the rest of his attempts driven away by nightmares. you calm him down, he says, so he’s slept in your room with you ever since you got back. it’s a strange sight seeing the former winter soldier, over two hundred pounds and six feet tall, resting bitch face pressed on the skin of your legs.

“there are always possible ways to fail, i need it to be foolproof,” you respond distractedly. natasha rolls her eyes and raises her hand, holding a pair of black heels between her fingers. “we’re all going out in half an hour,” she instructs, and you furrow your brows, staring at the intimidatingly tall shoes, “what? we are?” natasha hums, raising an eyebrow at bucky, “i haven’t been able to spend any time with you since you got back, besides, you need to have fun for a few hours.”

“i am having fun,” you lie. and natasha, unsurprisingly, sees right through it, shaking the heels and letting you know you have thirty minutes. you sigh, pushing the plans away and stretching, already planning to wear something casual, even though wanda will probably have a fit about it and point out the new dresses you have stored in your closet.

“you do deserve a break,” bucky points out from your thighs, and you look down at him, not realizing he was awake. shrugging, you agree, “i guess you’re right.”

bucky hums in reply, sitting up and looking over the blueprints you just set down. “i also guess i have to get ready, then,” you say, pressing a kiss to bucky’s cheek before going to your closet and taking out what you want.

bucky isn’t in your room when you walk out of the bathroom, light makeup applied (an illusion because you have no idea how to do it), jeans and a loose shirt that you somehow make refined, and heels that you bought months ago with no real occasion in mind. you hope the heels pull the outfit together and get you the wanda seal of approval, avoiding getting sent back to your room and having the woman make a mess of your closet to find something else.

you check yourself out in the mirror one final time, squinting at yourself. “you look amazing, doll,” bucky compliments, coming in through your door to stare at you and kiss your shoulder. you look back at him, appreciating how he looks, stunning as always. “you don’t look so bad yourself,” you reply cheesily, admiring the smile that adorns his face when the words leave your mouth.

it appears you and bucky are the last to be ready, seeing how everyone other than sam, steve, and nat were already on their way to wherever it was you were going. “whoo,” sam whistles, and you twirl when nat claps and asks you to. “you look hot,” she comments, and you do a proud little bow, “i can clean up when i want to.”

“and this will be worth it. we are staying out late like we used to,” natasha declares. you grin, “hopefully i don’t fall asleep. missions are tiring. especially when you finish them that quick.”

“ah yes, we are celebrating the new record y/n set!” steve reminds, and you tilt your head in smug satisfaction. “oh yes, i did beat nat, didn’t i?”

shooting the russian redhead a faux complacent look as she smiles, “enjoy it while it lasts,” she replies simply, and you nod, “i absolutely will. i know there’ll be a new one by next week.”

you manage to drink half of your weight in liquor by the second hour you’re at the new bar, chatting with wanda over her and vision’s relationship while sam flirts with someone next to you. bucky is surprisingly invested in the conversation, pointing out how happy vision has been- as much as he’s noticed, he’s still getting used to vision being a synthezoid- which makes wanda blush and smile wider. you can tell his social battery is running out, though, and you can’t blame him, exhausting your own with how many times you’ve rejected guys and held useless conversations with both the avengers and random people you bump into.

natasha has managed to get you into the dance floor, and you manage to have fun, even through the tiredness that hasn’t stopped coursing throughout your veins and smell of sweat and sex. you’ve sweated out the alcohol in your system, sitting next to your boyfriend while you’re telling steve what you saw the other day. sam is listening along, head tilting back in laughter when you inform him that tony wears captain america underwear. how you found that out, you prefer not repeating.

bucky doesn’t add on to conversations anymore, instead listening silently and driving away any men that dare to bother you with a threatening glare. it isn’t needed, but appreciated regardless.

which each hour that passes, you can see less of the avengers and more of the sun’s yellow, your body planted in your seat, listening to the others’ conversations. you’ve bitten back enough yawns to know your night is ending, your shorter answers only reassuring you.

you’re nodding along to one of tony’s stories when you feel a tug on your shirt, not needing to turn to figure out who it is, but you do anyways.

“can we go home?” bucky asks, weariness clear in the bags under his eyes as you nod, tangling your fingers with his vibranium ones. you bid everyone goodbye, bucky lingering behind you, his own farewells a silent nod of his head if any.

you nearly fall asleep next to him in the car, and he swears it’s the cutest thing he’s ever seen.

-

he’s waiting for you on your bed as you get ready for bed, walking out and ruffling his hair when you see how he’s sprawled out. “come to bed, y/n,” he pleads when you begin to walk away again, his fingers pulling at your-his, really- shirt. “i’m almost done,” you promise, fulfilling it when you come back not a minute later.

he wraps you in his arms and is out like a light, dreams of you replacing the nightmares he’s had, and he vows he’ll never let you go.

[liyuesbian]

liyue characters (+ childe) and what instruments i think they'd play

part two of my genshin characters and what instruments i think they'd play series! part one / part three

beidou

bass guitarist!!!

plays in xinyan's band

the incredibly attractive band member who everyone in the audience fawns over

good luck trying to get her number after gigs, she's most likely got the whole crowd tailing her already

chongyun

idk why but i think he'd suit the ukelele

was probably the one quiet, talented kid whose friends (i.e. xingqiu) made him audition in a famous talent show and guess what? he actually ended up winning

is now one of those quirky, aesthetic, softboy youtubers who posts covers of him singing and playing his little gay guitar

ganyu

guzheng

feels so powerful when she puts on the finger picks

looks so refined during a performance even while doing the notorious musician head-bobbing haha

leaves the string players in constant awe like how can she do vibrato with those picks?! AMAZING

hu tao

tuba player

never takes rehearsals seriously... or her instrument for that matter

is the one making the "tromboner" jokes and telling the strings: "how do you finger your instrument again?"

was also the one who convinced everyone to play the mii channel theme music as a prank in rehearsal

bet it was the only time the whole orchestra played so harmoniously

keqing

parents wanted her to play a traditional chinese instrument. if not, at least the piano or the violin

all hell broke loose when she came home with a synth

"electric instrument eh? keqing, i will electric chair yo-"

oh well, it's kinda like a piano... right...? *ancestors rolling in their graves*

ningguang

erhu player ("chinese violin")

fell in love with the instrument after hearing a busker playing it

tears run down her cheeks when she's practicing alone because the sound is so fuckin' beautiful :'DD

"damn, i'm so good"

qiqi

clarinet

"i'm sorry... what's a reed again?"

definitely forgets her entrance

is only here because she forgot she was actually supposed to join the gardening club and walked into the wrong place

xiangling

drummer in xinyan's band

goes stupid, goes crazy on those things

tries to do the stick tricks (like throwing it in the air midway through playing) she saw on youtube during practice but fails

legend has it she's still trying to this day

xiao

dizi, essentially a "chinese flute"

man is so emo he sometimes goes out to his garden and plays a sad tune :(

maybe does it with his eyes closed and his neighbours probably avoid him around 2pm—his daily sad song hour :((

xingqiu

ok, guys, hear me out. this boy is the personification of that one vine that goes "is there anything better than pussy? yes, a really good book!"

therefore, xingqiu is a pianist

his parents are definitely the asian parents who want their child to be a musician as a brag-worthy hobby (bonus: if he wants to pursue the piano as a career, they will absolutely not be okay with it)

xinyan

honestly, i think she could be an all-rounder with the usual band instruments

guitar, bass, keyboard, drums, vocalist etc.

is, quite literally, a one-woman band

loves rock so much she has become the rock

yanfei

plays the french horn

always has her part down pat

loves to share techniques with her section

during rehearsals, you can hear her more than you can hear her instrument

zhongli

cello. he's a cellist. and a first chair

"do you want to fucking be me or do you want to be fucking me"

the 2nd chair tries to convince him that he'd suit a conductor more in hopes that they'd finally get 1st chair without zhongli being in the way

thing is, this mfer takes it seriously and actually becomes the conductor

why's he good at everything?

tartaglia

"and the trumpets they go—"

EGO EGO EGO EGO EGO EGO EGO EGO

but he actually has the skills to fill up that ego >:(

and the lungs because, jesus, where are my earplugs?!

[oh-for-fic-sake]

Love Is Blind

Masterlist

Summary: The time has come to reveal your and Henry's relationship to your brothers, simple right? Well it would be if your wasn't the baby sister to the infamous Shelby brothers.

Warnings: RPF, Swearing, Slight Angst, Fluff, Confrontation, Implied Violence

A/N: so here is the Peaky Blinders AU that i started a few days ago, Im really happy with this and had a lot of fun with it. But please excuse the typo's

Taglist: in reblogs

You looked around the road eyes wide ,watching the passers by. The peaky blinders were everywhere... this was always a risk, not to mention you wasn't entirely sure where each of your brothers were. Or aunt Polly you only knew that Ava was off with her lover Fred. And you were doing much of the same... Well not Fred but Henry, your own lover. You'd met him when welcoming Tommy home from the war... He was hard to miss tall- taller then Tommy even! and injured he was searching the crowded dock but... It was clear to see that noone was there to greet him off the boat. He looked distraught and shattered. You were a bleeding heart and had approached him as your family had a small get together, you'd given him a hug pressed a sweet kiss to his cheek and welcomed him home giving him one of the flowers in the bouquet you'd brought for tommy. He had appreciated it, more then you'd ever know.

What you hadn't known was that he was moving into a home a few streets away. A few weeks later you saw him and he thanked you politely, you couldn't help think how very handsome he was, perfect blue eyes but for a speck of brown in his right eye, sharp regal features and pale alabaster skin now free from the bruising of his injury. He hadn't been as broad or muscular back then, but had been tall and lean.

Over the next few months chance meetings became dates, dates became full days basking in one another's presence until finally after a few months you'd fallen for the amazing gentle giant. It had been hard falling so hopelessly in love with Henry and having to hide from brothers and gangsters alike. But somehow you'd both made it with minimal near misses. Three years. Three years you'd been having this secret romance with him. But now you wanted more, as selfish as it was you wanted to be free to love him in public. Without worrying who may have seen you or if Aunt Polly will tell Thomas.

Yes she knew alright. There are no secrets from Aunt Polly. She said you done well and had even spoke with Henry a few times, she liked him. He wasn't in the business but could protect you, his shear size would be enough of a deterrent to others. And honestly she thought Tommy would get along with him, henry was clever and had an imposing frame. If Tommy had the chance, you knew Henry would be pulled into the fold, you were just unsure if that's what you both wanted.

Henry hadn't had much luck with work at first when he was here, so he became a boxer for a time learning to fight and defend himself and bulked up. It was terrifying to watch him be so ferocious in the ring and you thanked god each day Henry had avoided gaining a crooked nose. A few times you'd run into Tommy at the fights, your brother had singled you out and had you brought to him to stand and watch. But you were pleased to find out that your brother always placed his money on your man... So that was a good sign wasn't it?

Henry knew you didn't like his fighting but continued, he wanted to offer you everything. A home with kids and garden a cute little dog and the best clothes and food money could buy. So he saved everything! Kept all his winnings and in just over a year he had a nice sum of money in bets from his winnings and managed to earn enough for a small house. Since then he had a job doing the heavy lifting in a local Steel works.

Everything was set! Henry had a home for you, which you had a hand in help decorate. He promised a long and happy future with you! There was just the small problem of your family. They were... Protective to say the least, not only were you a Shelby sister but younger then Ava.

You quickly left the street today you were meeting Henry by the docks where Tommy kept the horse he'd just got. It was close... but not too close, it was worth the risk to be able to see Henry. Today was the day. You both decided! Henry will talk to them, introduce himself to your brothers this afternoon at the pub before they could drink too much.

You rounded the barn casting one final glance over your shoulder out of habit and slipped into the stalls. You could see him already, his flat cap and dark blue suit. Oh god he had dressed up for it, shit tommy would laugh him out of the bar. You chewed your lip and quivered you were anxious, this could be make or break. If Tommy was against it there was no way you could sneak about and keep your relationship going. They would chase henry out of Birmingham. Or kill him.

You stepped around the horse and giggled watching as henry gave himself a little pep talk twisting his signet ring on his pinkie with shaky hands. He was terrified and so were you. He paused and spun around to face you when he heard the small clicks of your heels on the concrete floor.

"W-what do you think?" he said spinning around holding his hands out letting you get a look at him. You stepped closer to him trying to settle your rapid heart. He was immaculate, stunning and handsome, sculpted by the gods... But looked too pretty. And god knows a Shelby girl wont be allowed to date a pretty boy. You smiled at him stopping inches away from him and walked your fingers over his chest slowly unbuttoning his suit jacket.

"You are magnificent... But a little too refined." you hummed motioning for him to shrug out of the loose suit jacket. He hissed out a shaky breath as you took the jacket from him and tucked it over your arm. That was better, the vest and white shirt showed his frame perfectly, and it also showed the slight strain on the buttons of his shirt. Hinting at the powerful man hidden beneath. You wanted them to see he was a strong man and it wasn't all the cut of the suit. You needed them to see you'd chosen a strong man capable of protecting you.

"There perfect" you said stepping back straightening his tie a little and stood back eyeing him carefully. There really was nothing more you could do. He would have to prove himself in what ever test your brother would conjure on the spot. By god you hope he impressed them.

"Yes you are" he quipped quickly eyes locking on to you making you blush and look away tip toeing around the horse in the stall that hid the two of you. Henry drew in a deep breath watching you closely. This was it. Today was the day, and he hadn't a clue what he was going to say to the great Shelby men. He cursed under his breath turning from you for a second. You understood, this wasn't just your future you were risking today, it was his life. Not many impress Tommy and far less managed to get in his good books when they were trying it on with the baby sister.

"You know that you have to just... Go in there and say 'I'm dating your sister' Right? Be firm and tell them like it is! Stand up to them! They would respect that" You cooed grinning at him from across the barn watching as your love eyed you from the other side of the magnificent white horse Tommy had recently got.

"What and have John blind me with his blades?" He scoffed at you before rounding the horse ducking under the stallions huge head and leant forward trapping you with huge hands resting either side of the horse stall you were leaning on.

"Ugh Johnny boy couldn't even reach your eyes Henry... Its just Tommy and Arthur you need to watch..." you rolled your eyes at him trying to act normal and ignore the black cloud hanging over your head. If this was the last time you were to be alone with him you wanted him to remember you as you are, not the nervous terrified woman you were at this moment. You smirked rising on your tip toes and teased his lips with your breath making him groan silently, the deep contracting of his wide barrelled chest the only give away to the effect you had on him.

You pulled back just as he dipped down to meet your lips and giggled at him as he wound his large arms around you hoisting you up by your waist and sat you on the wooden fence on the box stall bringing you eye level with him. You giggled folding your arms in your lap with his jacket knowing he wouldn't let you fall, he never did.

"Ah just Tommy and Arthur... That is cruel, I'm shaking in my shoes love" he teased wetting his lips with the luxurious pink tongue you knew all too well.

"Aww my poor bear, so frightened of my brothers I know, perhaps this will help you find that courage of yours~" you cooed before pressing forward kissing him on the lips. His lips drew up into a beaming grin and he stepped closer forcing your legs to part and dress to rise up to your knees as he devoured you in a heated yet forbidden kiss.

"Well then lets go shall we?" He grumbled eyes alight with a new want, a deep desire he had never shown before. It was thrilling and awe inspiring. Like he had a new lust, a lust for life and not just what was hidden beneath your skirts.

"Oh love like you said Tommy and Arthur?! I'm going to need all my strength for this meeting" he laughed as your face held a look of shock and disbelief then a petulant pout when you realised  there will be no quick romp in the hay this afternoon. With one final wink he spun around heading for the door.

You stood outside the pub. Your brothers were inside, you could feel it. There was a buzz in the air, the destinct feeling that followed 'the boss' hanging around. You had drawn a little attention walking the streets With henry at your side. People watched as the young Shelby woman walked arm in arm with an undisclosed male carrying his jacket no less. It made you cringe hearing the murmurs of 'should we tell the boss' 'does tommy know?' 'should we help her?' but luckily none made any moves towards you as you moved deeper and deeper into the heath. Towards the pub. You slowed as you neared the final destination and henry pulled out his cigarette tin fishing out the small stick deciding to have a quick smoke before entering the proverbial lions den.

"It will be okay... He will... Test you, but remember family is everything and I'm his youngest sister so..." you trailed off, the truth was you didn't know what Tommy would do or say. He was unpredictable and cunning, he liked to test people. You just hoped Henry passed with flying colours... or the only thing flying will be... you closed your eyes trying not to think of what would happen if things went sour. Henry could die, literally die today for loving you. It curdled your stomach you cant loose him. You hoped Tommy would see that.

"I know that... Here twos?" he said offering you the small cigarette he had been dragging on quickly nervously trying to pull some more courage from the small stick. Because once he was inside he couldn't show any weakness. It was daunting unable to show weakness when the love of his life was on the line. Henry was under no illusions Tommy could and would kill him, and there would be little Henry could do.

"Just remember y/n no matter what I love you. I will always love you" henry said as you toom a few drags on the cigarette. You whined and nodded breathing out the smoke trying to exhale all the tension and anxiety with the fumes.

"I love you too Henry, so much more then I thought I could ever love anyone" without a thought Henry pulled you to him and pressed a kiss to your lips. He didn't give a damn he was kissing the forbidden princess right outside her king brothers castle, or that the others around them would see. Be needed this one final pick me up before faceing the firing squad.

You smiled pulling back handing Henry the remainder of the cigarette and nodded to him. You got this. Then entered the pub walking right into the private room where your family sat. Instantly Polly looked at you frowning seeing you were pale, worried. Then her eyes flicked to your hands still folded with Henry's jacket draped over them. She drew a deep breath and sat straighter looking at the three males wearily. Oh god.

"Tommy I need to talk to you" you said seriously. But the blue eyed man rolled his eyes flicking the ash off his cigarette into the crystal ashtray before speaking dismissively trying to wave you off.

"Your not having that cat its final" john and Arthur chuckled at the automatic response Tommy gave but you frowned. You wasn't to sure what to say next, you didn't want to agitate him but you needed him to listen.

"No its not that- I have something to tell you and its important" you said drawing the attention of John and Arthur, but tommy heaved a sigh and moved stubbing out the lit cigarette and flicked his eyes to you letting you know he was listening.

"Mr Shelby could we talk?" You looked up seeing Henry standing there, tall and wide. Firm and unafraid confidently eyeing your brothers in a way oud never seen before. People cowered. Henry wasn't there was no hint of the anxious man outside. Henry was on a mission.

"Not now can't you see I'm speaking with my sister?" He grunted his voice was even. But to others could be seen as irritated. You turned as Henry didn't so much as flinch, you thought he'd run off but Henry let himself into the room standing closely behind you, one hand moving to his head removing his flat cap revealing the neat styled hair. The usually fluffy curls pulled into a slick style that accentuated his angular features. You nodded to him with a smile pleading him to carry on. What you didn't expect was for henrys huge arm to wrap around your waist in front of your sibling's. Fuck. You felt the shift in the room, anger and shock radiating from the men but an overwhelming curiosity. They wanted to watch this, it was rare someone was so god damned stupid as to put hands on you.

"She is the reason I'm here Mr Shelby" Henrys voice carried over the small space in a low determined tone. You tucked yourself into him, pivoting and twisting a hand to his tummy resting there, fingers twisting the button on his vest. You just needed to feel him, you felt like you were shielding him, but it was also self soothing. You needed to reassure yourself he was here for you. No one else. You.

"Oh? And why is that then?" Tommy shifted leaning back eyeing the man who was being so familiar with his baby sister. Tommy was no fool, you hand flinched or pulled away, this male had been around you enough that you were used to him touching you. You gravitated towards him like... like a lover? Tommy's blue eyes bit into the man. As unsettling as it was seeing his sister so close to another man Tommy couldn't help feeling a little relief, a small spark of joy. If this was your beau you'd done well. Tall, muscular wide and imposing. Not many would pick a fight with him, even drunk people would steer clear of him.

"She invited me" Tommy smirked hearing the man speak, he was confident. Unafraid that boded well too. He wasn't a fucking coward... or atleast he was pretending not to be.

"This is what I wanted to talk to you all about...Tommy, Arthur, John... This is Henry... My?" You hesitated and looked between henry and our family. You just froze, clammed up at the calculating look on Tommy's face. It was frightening being scrutinised by him.

"Lover sweetheart we agreed no more secrets" Henry finally broke the silence tipping his face down to yours with a smile. Ignoring your family in favour of snapping you back to reality.

"Oh no you fuckin' aint sonny boy- y/n you get your ass over here now!" Arthur broke the silence with a rough voice shouting, ordering you to round the table and sit next to him. You grit your teeth and shoo, your head at Arthur watching as he turned red in anger. You wasn't like Ava, you never caused trouble or made trouble for your brothers, heel you were a 'goody two shoes' always doing as you were told. But this time you refused to do as you were asked and stayed put.

Tommy ever the eagle eye noticed. He had been ready to rip this man to shreds but, your simple act of defiance caught his attention. You wasn't a girl to play silly games, so to blatantly refuse and tell them no and side with this Henry meant you were serious. This was serious. And Tommy was wracking his brain he recognised this man... But from where? He was sure he wasn't a blinder so who was he?

"Now y/n don't make me come and get ya"

"I said no"  you snapped at your eldest brother, but your eyes were on Tommy. Henry squeezed your waist as you stared down your most threatening of brothers. Eyes locking with his blue gaze as you held your ground. The smallest of smirks tugged at his lip. You were unsure if it was good or bad but he wasn't scowling so you'd take that as a win.

"Your the one that was boxing...pulverised the others" Tommy said pointing slowly at Henry whilst pulling a crystal glass of whisky towards him, his thumb skimming the rim of the glass in thought. He was thinking, scheming... but then again when was Thomas Shelby not scheming?

"Yes, not that it was personal I needed to win" henry spoke clearly not letting the severe glares f your other brothers shake him. He was impenetrable a solid rock- a mass of a man all firm and sharp angles determined and poised.

"Oh? And why is that then?" Tommy purred still keeping his cards close to his chest, no one knew what he really thought of you and henry or the relationship at that moment. But he was speaking, not shooting. And that was all that mattered.

"I needed the money to buy a house for your sister" Henry said plainly placing his hat on the table in front of him. It was a strange gesture but one you understood. He was making himself comfortable but also using it as a metaphor throwing his hat in the ring so to speak, showing your family he had no intentions on hightailing it out of there and leaving you in the dust.

"You did, did you?" Here was something, a twinkle in the cool blues. You tried to dig deeper but as soon as it was there it had vanished. For a second you dare say your brother was impressed with your choice in man.

"I wasn't coming to you without being able to offer your sister something... I wanted to prove I'm capable of providing her a future" Henry shrugged feeling Tommy with a stare. You shivered hearing the iron will, the absolute control Henry had over himself. John scoffed and leant over the table glaring at Henry dragging on his cigarette then spoke up trying to mimic Tommy's own indifferent threatening demeanour, but failed. There was only one Terrifying Tommy.

" and some tiny house on a backstreet in Birmingham is a future?" john scoffed laughing outloud trying to dampen Henry's resolve. But your man was ready and grinned smugly showing off the perfect teeth and stunning looks.

"Medium actually... not huge but its bigger then what she is used to, with front and back garden bought and paid for... Last week I even got her a kitten... Russian blue expensive but y/n wanted one and I wont deny her" he replied without missing a beat. Henry was proud of what he had achieved, and so he should be. The house he had managed to buy was a  nicely sized three bedroom home, and it was indeed larger then where you lived with your family at the moment. Well decorated and furnished with tasteful furniture most of which you picked out together.

"And what you think I'll give my blessing because you got her a bloody cat?" tommy drew the attention back to him. You swallowed dryly. Tommy sounded mad now. You moved shuffling in front of Henry trying to cover him more, yet your hand wandered behind your back and you clasped your lovers hand tightly hoping things wont go from bad to worse.

"No, you don't need to bless anything, I'm not here to ask. I'm telling you that we are together and serious...We've been a couple for almost three years... And its about time I informed you" your breath hitched as Henry's voice resounded in the room. Oh god that was too far! You paled and snapped your head to him on the brink of tears and pressed back into Henry trying to make him pull back, but no. The man was a brick wall- immovable and stubborn... yet cool and unfazed. But what struck you most was the shock on your brothers faces. No one had spoken to any of them like that for a very long time. And for good reason.

"There is a fine line between courage and stupidity Henry" Tommy said recovering from the shock quicker then the others. He didn't even see you now standing on shaking knees trying to shield henry as much as you could with your frame. But it was no use, Henry was to big, you were but a tiny waif of a woman in front of him. But Tommy bore his curious gaze into the huge man. It would appear your love now had his undivided attention.

"I know, but I'm on the right side of it. I love your sister. And I have loved her for three years, since the day I got off the boat" tommy tilted his head to the side surprized once more by your lover. You drew a slow breath in. You knew tommy respected those who fought for their country.

"You served?" came the question as tommy poured himself another glass and then lit up another cigarette. You saw a quick smile light up his face, but again it was gone before anyone could really notice. Henry heaved a deep breath and nodded, he was no fool. He took a chance and it had paid off, or it seemed to have paid off he wasn't staring down the barrel of a gun or had a peaky cap flung at his face.

"Yes, along side you in fact... I was smaller then... Easy to miss. Your sister showed kindness to me when I had no one and nothing. She gave me hope, hope for the possibility of family and a normal life. She managed to ease my terrors and pull me from the memories of the war. And for that I will give her everything" henry spoke, you noticed your brothers each shrunk. They understood, the war left scars on the mind and it was true even henry had suffered, but you were able to sooth him and bring him back from the worst night terrors. Tommy grunted and flicked his gaze from you to your man then back again. There was a warmer hint to the blues, dare you say an acceptance. But even you knew he was still going to pull something out of the bag and throw a curveball at your love. Tommy still needed to test Henry, but atleast you could say so far so good.

"And taken something I assume?" Polly hissed looking away as your brother spoke. You rolled your eyes, did he seriously want to know if you'd fucked? Tommy held Henry captive in his gaze he knew the answer but for some reason he wanted the hear it out loud. You couldn't help this was Tommy's test, he was daring your lover to lie to him. You prayed Henry wasn't that stupid. To your reliefe he proved he wasn't as he replied sincerely.

"I shared something freely given I assure you there was no pressure" the statement wasn't smug, henry didn't make you sound like an achievement, something to conquer. And he made it clear that he hadn't pressed you into anything. It earned him a nod from all three men, you smiled they were coming around to Henry. Thank fuck!

"And you come here and say that to my face? Tell me you've broken in my sister? You certainly have balls" your smile dropped and you shifted on your feet. What just happened? Things were going great, and now they weren't? Luckily Henry was more prepared for this then you and he answered smoothly not fazed by the way things had turned so quickly.

"Yes I'm not going to stand here and lie about our relationship I love her. And I'll not hide it a second more. I will protect her and cherish her she has my upmost respect"

"So you say you respect her? Yet... She's carrying you jacket around like some maid?" tommy tried twisting things pokeing at Henry trying to get a rise out of him. Probably so he had a reason to chase him off. But you wanst having it.

"Tommy, I'm holding it so he cannot run! Stop being an ass" you growled releasing Henry's hand and moved forward seething at your brother who lounged back regarding you carefully.

"That's enough mouth from you y/n you've done enough becoming a fucking little whore when our back is turned?" you paused takeing half a step back as tommy's furious gaze landed on you. You quivered feeling hurt, flushing in anger and embarrassment. Not once had he spoke to you like that, you were always praised by your brother, protected and loved to hear him growl at you so cruely was heart breaking.

"I'd ask you don't speak to her like that-" Henry spoke up growing angry himself with the way Tommy had spoke to you. But henry was ignored as Tommy began to lay into you hissing venomously belittling you in front of your family and lover.

"Tell me sister is this some last mineut attempt to cover up a bastard? If so is it even his? For all we know you could be bed hopping all over the heath" you whined at the assault mouth hanging open trying to form words but it was hard. Your eyes welled with tears. Call you a cry baby but you loved your brothers and tried to do them proud to have one of them be so nasty cut you deep.

"No!- Tommy of course not-"

"So your just becoming the heaths bike then? To think after everything you'd sink so low to ruin yourself- Ava was one thing she's always ran around behind our backs but you? I really expected better then to become a two bit whore" his words were like razors ice picks hitting your chest, he always knew how to slice deep. It came with being a blinder- but you never thought you'd be on the receiving end. You moved back another step bumping into Henry, you wanted to run and hide. For the first time in your life you were scared, you didn't want to feel your brothers fury.

"Do not speak to her like that in my presence ever again" Henry snarled brushing past you hiding your quivering from behind him. He was livid and for a second you thought he was going to swing for your brother.

"She's my sister-" Tommy started looking back at henry who had taken the bait hook line and sinker. But was cut off by henry stepping forward leaning over crowding Tommy thumping the table with more force then necessary. Everything jumped, the glasses ashtray even the bottle leapt from the table. You jerked gasping as the bang echoed  in the room.

"I don't give a fuck. You wont ever talk to her that again. She is mine and brother or not you will treat her with respect or you will pay for it!" everything stopped. No one moved. No one breathed. It wasn't everyday someone threatened A Shelby, least of all Tommy. Henry growled at your blue eyed brother. Tommy tilted his head taking him in.

"H-henry?" you whispered moving forward pressing a hand to the small buckle as the back of his vest tugging him back, making him stand at his full Hight just in time as John shot up from his seat ready to lunge.

"Oi! Don't you talk to him like that I'll have your fucking eyes!" he roared jumping up turning on your lover but Tommy stopped him fisting a hand in his jacket and tugging him to sit back down... He was grinning?

"Tommy?" Arthur asked not following, but then again he always was a few steps behind everyone. You frowned blinking back tears and gasped. That bastard! It was a trick! You slumped  and wrapped yourself around henry before anyone could realise what happened. Henry curled himself around you frowning confused and you tucked yourself into him.

"Any man who a the balls to defend her against me...Will protect her from anyone..." Tommy spoke and tipped his head to the seat across from him offering Henry a seat at the table. You both sat quickly beside one another Polly moved pouring you both a drink, you looked like you needed it.

"So? So you mean we can be together?" Henry asked trying to keep up with how he'd just gone from having a target on his back to having a seat with the family. Tommy smiled nodding whilst bringing his own drink to his lips sipping the amber liquid then spoke.

"Mmm But you've broken her... You'll repay me for ruining her by making her an honest woman"

"The rings in my pocket" Henry said rubbing your back as you shook next to him, the adrenaline and worry now rushing through you. All these years of anxiety washing away with sweet tears of reliefe. Henry tucked you under his arm and held you close on the bench seat hushing you as you crumbled. You didn't really register what was said instead pressed your self into him hands tugging his clothes trying to calm down.

"Then do it- but you ever turn your fists on her I'll kill you" Tommy threatened holding out his cigarette tin offering one to henry, he took it thanking him then popped it between his lips and lit the white stick. His hand only quivered slightly, the rush of what just happened hitting him.

"It will never happen, I couldn't live with myself if I ever made her feel less then perfect let alone harm her" he said squeezing you tighter to his side.

"Then we have a deal?" tommy smiled, a genuine smile as he spied the two of you. He had no doubt, if henry was willing to go toe to toe with him in his pub, in front of his family- probably the most dangerous thing you could do in the heath. Then henry will take care of you and protect you with his life. Plus Henry made you happy and that was all Tommy could ask for, your safety and happiness. Contrary to what people thought he had no issues with anyone dating his sisters. He just didn't want his girls to have weak simpering husbands to protect them should the worst ever happen... And Henry knew how to shoot a gun from his time in the forces, so when handed a weapon Tommy wont have to worry about having a newbie protecting his baby sister. And Henry will be given a gun to protect you with.

"That we do" Henry grinned shaking Tommy's hand and quickly snagged your own placing a thin gold band on your left ring finger before you could even muster a single sound. You blinked wiping your eyes pawing at the salty droplets and gasped seeing the band on your finger, a small diamond in the centre or the dainty ring.

"W-what your not e-ven gonna ask me Henry?" You stuttered at him hiccupping and sniffling trying not to have a full blown breakdown and cry from both relief and happiness. Henry laughed pressing a cheeky kiss to your cheek making you flush and tuck your head back into his chest trying to hide from the onlookers.

"Now why would I give you the chance to say no? Hmm? I may be a tad slow sometimes but I'm not a complete idiot" he purred finishing with a small chuckle, that the others echoed everyone had calmed down accepting the news. You whined at him and slapped his chest lightly pouting as henry laughed.

"Besides your brother and I made a deal" he added as you pulled back eyeing your new ring with a weak smile managing to control yourself bar a few sniffling gasps and the odd rogue tear.

"Oh s-o I'm b-business?~" you tried to tease him but the words lost their bite as you were still tearful from your crying. You were weepy you couldn't help it, today had been stressful- hell this past week had been stressful!

"Business? No... Your my world love" he cooed not caring in the slightest at how soppy he sounded. He wasn't here to put on a show for your brothers. He was here for you.

"I love you" you said peeking up at him with a shy smile.

"Good to know~" he hummed winking at you taking another drag of the cigarette, but you pouted sticking out your bottom lip like you did each time he teased you.

"Yes, yes I love you too" he caved pressing a chaste kiss to your lips drawing a growl from your eldest brother, but nothing was thrown so you summarized you were safe.

"Congratulations Henry I told you they weren't that bad" Polly spoke up quickly ending your sweet kiss before anything could go south.

"Yes Ms Polly you were right, we should have listened to you" henry admitted rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly

"Wait pol you knew?" tommy growled snapping to his aunt but the older woman rolled her eyes. Honestly you think he'd learn by now. No one pulled the wool over Polly's eyes.

"Who to you think has helped keep her from having a kid for three years Tommy! At least that's one thing I don't have to worry about anymore thank god!" she huffed pretending to be annoyed but you knew she was happy for you. She had been routing for henry, and trying to get you to tell the boys for a long time. You were just scared.

"Polly! Stop it" you squeaked flushing, no one needed to know  just what Polly had been helping you with! Least of all your fucking siblings!

"What its true? Now your free to pop them out without any uncomfortable questions from this lot, and i have no doubt it will be soon" she teased with a smirk enjoying tormenting you, she had bit her tongue for too long it was about time she got to poke fun at you. You were such a shy innocent little thing.

"Oh my god stop" you moaned ducking down as everyone chuckled at your expense. Henry then made it worse by ducking down beside you and whispered in your ear.

"...She does have a point love" then nipped at it quickly before turning back to your brothers as your face flamed.

It hadn't been the easiest of days, but in the end all the worry and anxiety had paid off not only had you managed to reveal your relationship to your family with no casualties. But you also became engaged to the man of your dreams. Tommy seemed relived, he was happy for you in his own over protective brotherly way. The freedom that came with todays outcome was worth it and now you and henry were free to start your lives together. Truly start with a marriage kids the whole nine yards! And you'd never been happier.

[lifblogs]

Whumptober 2021

No. 1 ALL TRUSSED UP AND STILL NOWHERE TO GO

"You have to let go" | barbed wire | bound

Title: A New Weapon Fandom: Star Wars Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Word Count: 2173 Summary: Anakin is lured aboard a Separatist ship from rumors of a new weapon. WARNINGS: Graphic Depictions of Violence READ ON AO3

Anakin collapsed to the reinforced durasteel deck aboard the Separatist ship he’d chosen to board. Someone was screaming; maybe it was him. His body writhed and tensed even as some part of him was telling it to stay still, that if he relaxed and just breathed it would hurt less. Was he hurting? All he unequivocally knew was that his body was in overdrive. What had happened to him? Shouldn’t he be dead?

Panels had slid back from the deck, strange-looking guns rising up, aimed directly at him. He’d been surrounded, and before he could do anything there had been a clack from all of them and then they’d fired. He should be dead, right? Or… Perhaps not. He had expected the whine of a laser, a blaster, but there had just been a scratching and screeching that hurt his ears.

Then… pain. Yes, that’s what he was feeling.

There was a dark tremor in the Force, the very feeling that he’d followed to this particular ship, and he struggled. The pain dug deeper, his arms trapped at his sides, his legs together. There was no mistaking the blood coming out of him, darkening his robes.

Through vision beginning to darken, and ears preoccupied with the sound of his dry sobs, he just managed to hear even steps and see an older man in dark clothes and a refined cloak walk in.

Dooku, he wanted to hiss out, but all he could do was try to quiet himself with a loud gulp that he nearly choked on.

“Young Anakin Skywalker,” he said, “I thought I might find you here. Or perhaps you were meant to be here. I hope you don’t mind that I took the liberty of testing my new weapon on you.”

Eyes swimming with tears, Anakin finally managed to appraise himself as he choked out, “Not… at all.” Metallic wire was haphazardly wrapped and tangled around him, trailing off and away across the deck. Part of the metal itself was adorned with sharp barbs, and what could’ve been tens of them were embedded deep, his blood turning the metal’s shine dull.

Sickened, struggling to breathe, he rested his head back down.

Think, Anakin. Think!

The pain was immeasurable. Sore and sharp at once, and seemingly all-encompassing. The very act of breathing put pressure against his barbed restraints, and the pain shot everywhere, like long needles had been stabbed through the length of his body. Pain in his thigh went up to shoulder. Pain from his hip went down to his toes.

The Force was clouded around him, frustrating him just as much as his sudden helplessness.

Grimacing, and then letting out an accidental high-pitched noise, he asked, “Are you sure… these can hold a Jedi?”

Dooku held out his hand, and Anakin’s lightsaber—which had fallen from his grasp—flew into his waiting palm, fingers surely grasping the hilt, clearly planning to keep it from him as long as possible. Anakin growled, but he couldn’t do much more than that.

“If you’re thinking of getting cocky, now is not the time.”

“I don’t know. I think it’s the—mm! Ahh! Agh!—perfect… time.”

His body started shaking, and he was sure he’d lost consciousness for a few seconds. That was difficult to tell though what with those moments of darkness feeling exactly the same as his waking state.

Count Dooku seemed to have been saying something (something stupid, more than likely) and he was cut off as the ship shook and he was tossed to the side.

Screams, followed by more of those dry sobs, came from Anakin as he was thrown a few feet and rolled, crashing into one of the gun turrets, cracking the back of his head against it. His vision sparked, but then cleared at least somewhat.

Those’ll be the shields.

Anakin tried to grin through his agony, even as a now-righted Dooku lifted him into the air and further wrapped the wires around him. He screamed through gritted teeth, jaw clenched so tight his teeth hurt.

“You think you’ll win this,” he observed.

Shuddering, he ground out, “I know I will.”

“Because Kenobi’s coming?”

Anakin’s eyes widened. A cry left him as he was unceremoniously dropped to the deck.

“Don’t look so surprised,” Dooku said with a wave of his hand, the guns lowering back into their hatches, and the panels sliding back into place. “I knew he would come. That’s why I trapped you here. These new weapons of mine served their purpose. I had the intel carefully leaked through appropriate sources back to the Republic. I knew it would draw you in—you, who is always so desperate to prove himself the hero. And in turn that would call to your insufferable master.”

“Former master.”

“Your strong connection would say otherwise, and the strength of that is just what I required.”

“Required for what?”

“Now, now, boy. A Sith Lord must not divulge all his secrets. Patience. You will see, but I fear you will not like it very much.”

“Just seeing you… is the worst part of this,” Anakin snapped.

“Quiet. Don’t act like a child.”

Another growl left Anakin.

The ship shook and shuddered, BOOM!s emanating through to their level. And then the ship listed, Dooku and Anakin both going flying.

Anakin’s lightsaber slipped from the Count’s grasp. Touching the Force, Anakin reached for it, but the wires around him got caught on a beam. He hung, and then smacked into the bulkhead. His vision swirled, and too much saliva came up in his mouth as an uncomfortable warmth and sense of chaos filled his stomach. The ship tilted again, and he was away from the bulkhead. All the weight he had from the artificial gravity pulled him down, making the barbs dig and rip as their positions changed, effectively twirling him in the air. Sweat that had been going down his neck and face now went to the ends of his hair. Blood dripped onto his jaw, his cheeks. It was splattered on the bulkhead, as well as the deck. It reached his left ear in moments, and dribbled in, making Anakin grimace at the odd sensation, and at his ear being blocked.

Panicking now, barely aware of his physical surroundings, Anakin did his best to trust the Force. His lightsaber ignited in a brilliant blue beam as it flew towards him, and it sliced through his mechno-arm. Just as planned, without his mechno-arm—which was now sparking from the few centimeters that were still attached to him—some of the wires hung loose. Not many, but possibly enough, he hoped.

Yet he was still trapped, hanging, bound in barbed wire on a ship that was getting bombarded with laserfire.

Obi-Wan, where are you?

Thankfully it was easy to tug at the wires now, groaning as the barbs came out of his skin. His left hand and arm came free just as he dropped from the beam. He caught himself with the Force just before he slammed into the deck.

Beyond that, Anakin wasn’t sure what to do. Pain had him collapsing, and part of his torso and his legs were still bound, wrapped and entwined with deepening agony. Dooku was approaching, even as the ship shook.

“You might… want to take care of that,” Anakin got out.

And then he couldn’t speak, feeling as if a hand was around his throat, blocking his airways. Knowing it was the Force, he fought his instincts, and refused to uselessly claw at his throat with his one hand. Instead he reached out, trying to do the same to Dooku. But he was lifted into the air, the grip tightening, hurting. His eyes bulged, his tongue wanting to come out of his mouth. With a pounding head, and screaming, begging lungs, all went black. There wasn’t even time to feel afraid.

~~~

“No! No, please! I just got promoted!”

The voice Anakin heard was tinny and high-pitched: a B1 battle droid.

The hum of a lightsaber effortlessly moving and slashing through metal followed, along with pieces clattering to the deck.

The Force roused Anakin as lightsabers whirled and all but screamed as they clashed.

Anakin blinked open his eyes and saw that he was on the bridge and Dooku and Obi-Wan were dueling. Obi-Wan had a slash down his left arm, and one across his lower back, but his Soresu was still effortless. One with the Force.

With the help of the Force, it only took a mere second for Anakin to take in everything: he was still bound in barbed wire from the hips down, and his left hand was restrained to a support rod with metal binders; nothing made specially for a Jedi (Dooku had probably been counting on him staying unconscious for awhile). His left ear was still blocked, and it was as if his eyes had trouble focusing, the scenes before him moving around and blurring, listing—like he was drunk. The burned and ruined parts of battle droids were around him. His former guards, perhaps? As to the whereabouts of his lightsaber, that was easy; it was on Dooku’s hip.

With Dooku distracted, Anakin breathed in deep, and with the aid of the Force snapped his binders. He reached out for his lightsaber.

Carefully, he managed to slash the rest of the barbs off of him once it was in his hand and the brilliant blue blade was ignited. He stood, swaying, his vision going fuzzy and sparking for a bit.

He was jolted forward as laserfire continued to bombard the ship, but no longer the bow, all of it aimed at the stern. His guess was that the engines had been hit.

Letting go, Anakin jumped into the fight, the Force putting him where he needed to be. Even while hurt and bleeding he blocked a lightsaber blow that had been about to slash down into a fallen Obi-Wan’s head.

“Anakin, stay back! You’re injured!” Obi-Wan cried.

Anakin ignored him, anger from his pain flooding through him, and all he saw was Dooku’s smug grin. He stumbled, but managed to fall into Shien, his lightsaber high. Though, he wasn’t used to doing it with his left hand, so after being pushed back relentlessly, he tried to adopt a form of one-handed Jar’kai. Yet his mind wasn’t working right, everything was fuzzy and confusing, and his blows began to miss and raising his arm was difficult.

Obi-Wan came to his aid.

Everything spinning, Anakin collapsed.

All he could do was lie on his back, free, yet helpless as Obi-Wan fought off the Count. He drove him into a retreat. Anakin rolled onto his stomach, trying to pull himself up to go after him. He barely even managed to drag himself a foot across the deck.

Obi-Wan retracted his lightsaber, clipped it on his belt, and was then by him.

“No, Anakin. Don’t move. We don’t have to go after him.” Then, Obi-Wan spoke into his comm, “Admiral, a pick-up would be really nice right about now! And Anakin needs immediate medical attention.”

“A gunship is on its way to your position. Can you get to the hangar on the lower deck?”

“We’ll certainly try.” Then, to Anakin, as he began to pick him up and put him over his shoulders: “Alright, it’s okay. We’re getting out of here.”

Anakin cried out from the pressure of being carried by Obi-Wan.

An explosion rocked the ship while they were in a passageway, waiting for a lift.

“Wha…?” Anakin moaned, even as his head tried to come up with what it could’ve been.

Blood.

He was getting blood on Obi-Wan’s robes.

Oops.

The shuddering grew worse, and Obi-Wan nearly fell.

Right. That.

“Dooku set off an explosion. My guess is in the hangar. He doesn’t want us getting off this ship.” Obi-Wan raised his comm. “Admiral, change of plans. We’re getting to an escape pod. Use a tractor beam to pull us in. Have a medical team ready.”

“Right away, General.”

The rest of the trip was a blur (quite literally) as Obi-Wan fought and destroyed droids, and the ship heated up, and metal screeched. The fires were coming.

Time was a slow slurry filled with excruciation, yet before Anakin truly realized it they were in an escape pod being pulled in by one of the Venator-class ships nearby, probably the Resolute.

Obi-Wan brushed Anakin’s sweaty and bloody hair back from his forehead.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to get to you,” Obi-Wan said. “Oh, this is all my fault.”

Anakin wanted to reach out for him, but his body decided that that took too much energy, and he simply gave a rough swallow. “It’s not your fault.”

“I’m sure we can get you all patched up.”

“You too.”

Obi-Wan looked at his arm in surprise, as if he’d entirely forgotten that Dooku had gotten a hit or two on him. “Right. We’ll both be okay.”

The escape pod was brought into the hangar aboard the Resolute. Help came.

[mmmleckerlecker]

I was reading the questions you've answered, and I'm curious now: you said that the co-existence between preds and prey is very recently. So I was thinking the HP world from years ago, when pred could snatch up whoever prey they wanted... How was the society in that time? How did they live? (Headcanon: prey lived underground?) Did the preds have no qualms in consuming whoever they could find? (prey children/teens or the elderly, for example?)... The harmony was founded by a prey or pred? (1/2)

What was the reason for the preds to make the jump from consuming indiscriminately to the public/private contracted prey? (another headcanon: preykind severely disminishing in numbers?) I find your worldbuilding so enchanting, I'm sorry for the avalanche of questions. You're awesome! (2/2)

AHHHH YES!!! THE QUESTION I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!!! No need to apologize!!! I have considered making a post about stuff like this for awhile now but I’m always like “do people REALLY wanna hear all that?” But now i have the perfect excuse. Thank you, anon! You’re awesome too!! (WARNING this kinda turned into a chapter length read. So I hope y’all like to read history about fictional worlds.)

Okay so. This is all stuff I’ve sorta kept in my head and have built upon when I’ve had ideas, so sorry if there are some gaps currently haha.

So I imagine preds and prey started trying to “make peace” about five centuries ago but didn’t start living in true “harmony” until about two hundred years ago. And I use the term “harmony” loosely because clearly there’s still a lot of infighting happening. Before that, the preds and prey lived in two entirely separate cultures. The prey lived in larger, more stationary groups while the preds lived in much smaller, more nomadic groups. They also DEFINITELY didn’t speak the same language.

So for preds, the groups they would live in were more like traveling pods that consisted of maybe 1-3 families living/working together. Having groups of preds getting too large was… not sustainable. It would create too much competition for food. So each group would usually give other groups of preds a wide berth. Granted there were definitely still spats for territory, especially if said territory had a good supply of prey available.

Prey, much like in modern times, were never really the preds’ main food source, however. Preds would still hunt and gather like normal. It would usually take some organizing to get a raid together on a prey village (or a pred could just get lucky and stumble across one that wandered off alone). Consuming prey all the time was just too much effort. They weren’t a practical food source nor a completely sustainable one if they were over-predated. Also! Keep in mind, the more a pred consumes, the more their body acclimates to handling such a large meal. It would be better for the preds to consume every once in awhile and have their prey take longer to digest (hence, keeping them fueled longer) than to consume ALL THE TIME and risk addiction. I think consuming would probably become more regular in the cold months too, when it was harder for preds to find other food sources.

As for WHO the preds would consume? Definitely adults would make for the best meals. Children? Well, I imagine prey would be very protective of their children, first of all, making them difficult to obtain. But also they would just make… not as filling meals? Also prey children are mostly the same size as pred children so there might be that little hesitation there on the pred’s end as they’re reminded of their own kind. I guess if the pred is desperate? There’s always gonna be a time and place for special circumstances. As for the elderly… I imagine they also live in places that are harder for preds to get to. I also think if a prey managed to live that long, they would have a trick or two up their sleeve. But like I said, there’s always a possibility for things to happen.

Now for how prey live…. Like I said, they live in larger groups. There is safety in numbers, after all. These groups were basically villages, sometimes even cities where prey could really know their territory and set up defenses against any invading preds. (An underground dwelling is really cool idea tho! I also believe that prey evolved to be able to fold themselves up and be comfortable/feel safe in tight spaces that preds could never reach them in, so prey living in like a cave system might actually work really well!) Like it’s been stated in the story, prey tend to have a lot more children than preds for “just in case.” This could cause their towns to become rather large and populous sometimes.

Prey, also unlike preds, usually tried to keep in contact with neighboring towns/villages/cities. This was one of the key factors for what made it possible for the shift to both sides living in harmony to happen. Since the prey lived in settlements and kept in contact with other prey settlements, it allowed for a certain development of culture as well as the sharing and recording of knowledge that preds… just didn’t have. Prey were able to develop things like farming and running water. They could study math and science and share their knowledge in libraries and schools. They were really on their way to becoming an advanced society, they just had one big (both figurative and literal) problem holding them back. They constantly had preds attacking and killing off their people.

Despite their efforts to fight them off, the prey just weren’t winning. So they decided, if a war against preds wasn’t going to get them anywhere, then why not make peace? The first step for this was the prey learning the preds’ language. This was… dangerous, of course. But it was done enough that the prey were able to open conversation with preds. Just this move alone caused a huge shift between both sides. What are you supposed to do when your food, which for centuries has only babbled nonsense at you before you swallowed it down, suddenly starts speaking to you like an equal? It certainly gave preds pause, but not enough to stop consuming. Not that the prey didn’t expect this. They approached the preds with more than just a common language. Their first big move was offering them food. And not just any food, but GOOD FOOD. Cooked food, decadent food, spiced foods, foods that preds didn’t have the resources (nor the patience) to prepare.

Sharing food took… probably a little more effort than one might expect. Prey and preds view food fundamentally different. To prey, it’s sustenance but also something to enjoy and connect with. To preds, it’s simply something to stop hunger. There was a sort of learning curve for preds to actually learn to ENJOY food for its flavor, but once they got it… OH BOY!!! A door was opened! Because despite LIKING prey food, the preds weren’t always so good at preparing it, so it gave the prey something they could exchange for safety. (This is also something that persists into modern times. Preds are still often stereotyped as not having very refined palates and not being very good at preparing food. This is referenced a little in Heart Pangs itself as well as the one-shot I posted last week!) Once the food trade became established, it opened up relations enough to exchange other things!

The prey shared would they could with the preds in exchange for their own survival. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. Sometimes it SEEMED to work but then the preds turned on them and things went downhill very quickly. But the prey had the advantage of sheer numbers and determination on their side (that and if they didn’t keep pushing they would literally be eaten alive). It took generations of negotiations, but the preds and prey eventually came to a sort of truce, though consuming never stopped entirely.

The preds weren’t stupid, they saw the prey had a lot of good stuff to offer them. At first they took what they needed and went their separate ways, but as they gained more trust from the prey, the preds encroached more and more into their territories until both sides were more or less neighbors. There were some advantages to this. If both sides cooperated enough, they were able to make further advances as civilized societies. But there were also disadvantages… like the fact that the preds were always bigger and the prey were always making sure not to anger them so it became very easy for the preds to take whatever they wanted and leave the prey with less than they deserved.

The prey even began to lose their own language as most of the preds couldn’t be bothered to learn the prey’s language (although a lot of prey terms for food and science stuck around). The preds stopped being the enemy who lived outside the prey’s walls and suddenly became the bully who lived next door. Yes, technically the prey were a little safer than before, but the advantages they once held over the preds were slipping away as the preds claimed more and more of what the prey had until the preds were able to start developing their OWN advantages.

For a long time, the preds and prey operated as two different societies that lived in one space, meaning each group had their own leaders and their own laws. But as things began getting more and more strained between each side (as they tend to do when two natural enemies live side-by-side), the prey (once more) tried to make peace. They made the bold move of reaching out to the pred leaders in an attempt to work together and function as a singular society (although both sides more or less continued to live as two societies, just under the rule of one government). The preds were surprisingly open to this change, which was a relief to the prey… at first. But then it became clear that this was mostly just a power grab for the preds to acquire more status and wealth and power amongst the prey.

Besides the fact that a lot of prey were falling into poverty because of this, the most glaring issue was that the “unification” had made it even easier for a lot of preds to break the peace and consume prey with barely any consequences. This caused a lot of prey to flee and seek out safer, more remote places to live. Eventually it got to the point where the prey leaders threatened to break away from pred society completely. The preds didn’t like this, though, as they’d gotten very used to having prey within easy reach. They also knew that losing half the people in their society would cause a lot of problems in terms of keeping everything running smoothly. However, the preds very much did not want to give up consuming entirely. It was in their nature after all, they argued.

So after A LOT of negotiations, both sides came to a compromise. The preds would actually start enforcing consuming as something illegal UNLESS the prey being consumed had agreed to it beforehand. Obviously the prey leaders couldn’t see any prey ever AGREEING to being consumed, so they settled on the compromise thinking that was the end of it. This was the true beginning of the “harmony” between preds and prey, but of course, the preds always have something up their sleeves.

Rich preds began offering up money and food and shelter to all those desperate prey in poverty. Those prey could get everything they could ever want for, the only payment was their lives ending in said pred’s gut (after a specified amount of time). These ventures started slow, but once they started to catch on, BOY DID THEY CATCH ON. The desperate prey began hearing about certain preds who were practically giving away wealth, all it took was a signature written in (figurative) blood. Meanwhile preds began hearing about other preds who had found a loophole in the consuming law and wanted in on the action. Like any good entrepreneur, the preds turned their contracts into a business and started selling them to other preds.

The prey leaders, of course, despised this, but what could they do? It all aligned with the compromise they had made. The only thing they could do was stand by and help come up with regulations for this new practice. So they did. Over the decades, the contracting businesses grew to what they are today (large corporate monsters… although the smaller, more private contracts still exist) as well as became the core to keeping the peace. Even the government itself offers contracting services now.

Society has shifted considerably in the years since harmony was reached. The two sides have mostly learned to live with each other. Prey have fought viciously to be treated as equals while a lot of preds go their whole lives without consuming (particularly fatally) even once. And, as you know, the development of neutralizers allowed preds to experience consuming without having to hurt anyone. A lot of progress has been made, but a lot of progress still needs to happen.

And I think that pretty much catches us up to the setting of Heart Pangs (whew)! I keep thinking it would be really cool to write a story that takes places in an earlier time period to further explore how different the relations between preds and prey would be, but I have yet to come up with a plot haha. Maybe someday. I’m sure an idea will come to me at a proper time. Anydays, thank you for your interest! It was really nice to be able to (finally) type all this up somewhere!!

[dinapaulson]

7 Things Squid Game’s Ji-yeong and Kang Sae-byeok’s 30 Minutes Teach Us About Humanity

ART CREDIT @claieart

The thirty-minute marbles game in Episode Six of Squid Game (Netflix) killed me emotionally. (In millennial terms, I paused to tweet #wtf once I heard the rules). The episode has its own hashtag there and is destroying people. “Squid game ep 6 reaction mashup” is a whole thing on YouTube.

For quick review, until episode six, where marbles are featured as the fourth game, none of the games are played in pairs. When the players are asked to choose partners, their instinct is to choose someone they trust, or, if that’s not possible, because trusting in the games is like quicksand, then to find someone who seems like they could win. In other words, the players are looking for their plus ones. Then, the rules are revealed. Each player is pitted against their partner and the losers will be eliminated; we know by now what that means.

We’ve felt plenty of emotional and cognitive cruelty from the Front Man and his higher ups until this point, but this specific perversion of trust, trusting already a pipe dream for the players, is venomous. The games bet on the players knowing they’ll be tricked, but the house always wins. Still, the players try to outsmart what they think will happen but end up more compromised before they even start playing. No pair approaches the lump-in-your-throat Kang Sae-byeok (Jung Hoyeon) and Ji-yeong (Lee Yoo-mi) make in their marble game pairing. Here are seven places Kang and Ji-yeong ache; wrestle through humanity’s fundamentals with their compact, emotive prose, and show us that love is raw, beaming against odds, time irrelevant.

1. One Is the Loneliest Number

Solitude doesn’t imply loneliness, but they could be kissing cousins. Kang and Ji-yeong’s first interaction is before the last game of tug-of-war, when Kang recruits Ji-yeong, hanging out by herself in the barracks, to join her team. Instinct compels Kang to Ji-yeong; they speak the same body language, tight, not trusting or giving, aware of everything. Ji-yeong is attracted to Kang for the same reasons, so, in Episode Six, she tells her they should be marbles partners. Two self-reliant people could form a duo, or maybe what results instead is a loose alliance of distinct souls, each knowing what survival is and dancing to survivalism together.

2. Dialogue

Interpersonal growth gets a leg up by putting aside distraction, shifting focus from obstacles, and talking one-on-one, honest and direct. Ji-yeong will protect Kang at all costs (she tells her that), so, for her, evaluating the potentials of their time is a no-brainer. Why don’t they just hang out, she tells Kang, because the result of their time is pre-determined. Kang agrees. Theirs is no-nonsense commitment, without an agenda, tenuous but somehow freeing, and a delicate one. Conversation is a stand-in for lengthening their lives, a little, or, in other words, allowing the time they have to fill with what connection can bring.

3. Focus

…is how anything gets dissected, created, made a whole. The other players, most of whom are in shock knowing they are sending their allies to their deaths, immediately start playing. Their approach, deer-in-headlights, makes sense. Yet, Ji-yeong and Kang demonstrate another possibility: their concentration is simultaneously present and forward-thinking. They understand the stakes implicitly, because they’re both intense and exacting as hell, so, they make the present count. They don’t avoid the future so much as comply with it, but make it theirs, determine themselves how they will get there.

4. Pull Off the Band-Aid Fast

Let’s circle back to Ji-yeong’s pitch to Kang, that they play their game of marbles at minute twenty nine and get to know each other until then — it’s brilliant. They know, cerebrally, those thirty minutes end with Ji-yeong being shot by a red suit guard. But, look at what Ji-yeong’s idea refines around the concept of endurance. With the game’s outcome set, the two women have the possibility to inhabit a space removed from the pressure of circumstance, while holding their devastation that this experience is their last together; moreover, these are the final minutes of Ji-yeong’s life. There is no space to wallow in inevitability, neither is there space to prolong it.

5. (Taking People at) Face Value

Ji-yeong and Kang are cut from the same soul cloth. Their stamina, and resolve to achieve, is a response to their early traumas at home, when they weren’t in control. They recognize a toughness in each other, a defense that plays like offense, which is both true and untrue. No one, at least, not me, was prepared for Kang’s hysterical insistence that Ji-yeong roll her dice again, even though Kang wants to win, even though she knows Ji-yeong is throwing the game for her. So, there is something underneath these exteriors, in Ji-yeong’s cracked voice, seconds before she is shot, when she thanks Kang for choosing her; experiencing what it feels like to be chosen.

6. Fantasy

Ji-yeong’s word is bond, as she chides Kang with saucy, sad eyes to let her lose in style (for Ji-yeong, that means carefully dropping her marble at her feet, nowhere near Kang’s, and no, she will not roll it again). Ji-yeong swore her life away to protect Kang’s, by some sort of soul impulse, but gets even more affected by Kang hearing her goals to bring her mother over from North Korea and get a home for her mother, her brother, and herself in South Korea. Moreover, Ji-yeong feels a verve in Kang’s motivation that she can’t locate in herself. Ji-yeong fantasizes about an island, which lights up Kang’s eyes for the first time. The women need fantasies, dreams of accomplishment, to have a chance at survival in the games. But, for Ji-yeong, Kang’s fantasy is the one worth putting everything on the line for.

7. Love

It’s the age-old, gold state of being, threading Ji-yeong and Kang’s thirty minutes together. Love is an elasticity, also a causation, something your body writes that your mind receives, that says, I must be here for this person because. The question is not, does Ji-yeong value Kang’s life over hers? That inquiry reduces conversational chemistry, how they heal and enlarge each other by listening, their profound convergence of thirty minutes proposing that individual life does, and doesn’t, have value that can be compared. So, there are gradients to loving, and to its scarred sibling, sacrifice, or maybe love is only gradients. It is, for sure, not measured in minutes. Love is a position.

original publication at FanFare here

[leqclerc]

Hi! Just wanted to say I feel like Charles seems more relaxed with other people on the grid (even with Lewis and Max) than with Seb. I don’t mean it in a stressful way but more like... Trying to have his approval and burning with excitement for his response kind of way. But oddly he doesn’t seem like that with Lewis (even though he is a 7 times World Champion and is more distanced with other drivers than Seb) to me. I wonder if it is just me though.

Hi! Oh, interesting 👀 I love hearing people’s takes and discussing things *cracks knuckles*

I mean the intensity is definitely at its peak around Seb in terms of, like you said, seeking approval and sort of consciously glancing over with this “is this okay? Did you see that? Are you proud?” kind of mentality. There’s definitely an element of hero worship in there, certainly evident in FDA/Sauber Charles; they know each other better now and Seb’s been sort of “demystified” in a way so while the respect and admiration and desire for validation is still there, it’s a slightly different vibe. I mean...compare the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix press conference and something like the recent Hourglass Challenge. It’s night and day; Sauber Charles would never allow himself to be that unhinged around four time WDC Sebastian Vettel, lmao. But again that’s the kind of familiarity that comes with spending a lot of time around someone and sharing experiences and seeing them in different situations, experiencing different emotions. Opening yourself up to someone and showing a different, maybe less refined or “controlled” version of yourself because you feel like you know them well enough to allow yourself to do that.

Why his behaviour is different around Lewis vs Seb... Hmm. I mean I think a part of it is Lewis having a more... not laidback attitude maybe, but between the two of them he’s the one who’s “down with the kids” in a way. He’s the guy Charles texts about piano lessons or whatever (or Lewis texted him, I can’t remember which way it went now.) He can be nice to everybody (or at least he’s good at pretending lmao.) 

Seb is...more difficult to decipher. Gaining his trust, his affection, his respect, is kind of a challenge. Especially since, you know, he was always nice to Charles, but his disappointment after the announcement was palpable. Kimi’s been his friend for a long time; he was his longtime (and only, up to that point) Ferrari teammate. And then there’s this kid that he’s interacted with maybe a handful of times coming into the team and yeah it’s a big adjustment, yeah he’s going to be wary. He knows he’s talented but that’s about it. On a personal level they’re little more than strangers. And then gradually you see that thaw, you see them getting to know each other, becoming more and more familiar with each other. You see it in their body language and the things they say about each other. Seb grows increasingly fond of Charles, and Charles gradually becomes less shy, less timid, as he peels back the layers of enigma Sebastian Vettel, Four Time World Champion to reveal Seb. 

On top of that, they both have strong ties to Ferrari --- Seb obviously signed on to drive for Ferrari from 2015 onwards and Charles became a FDA driver not long after that (2016) and was the first Academy graduate to make it to F1. So for Charles Seb was the driver he looked up to and wanted to emulate, more so than Lewis (who in turn was a huge inspiration for the young British drivers we have on the grid now.) They briefly met --- well, “met,” I’m using the term very loosely here as it wasn’t exactly a one-on-one meeting --- in 2016 when Seb visited the Academy. Charles did some testing in 2016 and 2017 so it’s possible they interacted during those years too. In 2017 he stood with the team and looked on as Seb celebrated his win in Monaco. So in many ways they already shared a tentative connection long before they became teammates. They were aware of each other at any rate --- I believe Seb was distracted during one of his interviews in... must’ve been 2017? because he was watching Charles’s F2 race lmao. 

So while their relationship really “took off” after they became teammates, the seeds were planted way, way back. They already had a certain foundation to build upon, and Charles’s respect and admiration for Seb is obvious even in his past interviews:

And then he goes from that to, well. An entire helmet tribute, design homage and collage and everything.

And it’s like, “well what is he thanking him for?” I think he knows. I think they know. I think Seb’s positive influence on Charles and how much he means to him can’t be overstated (yes, even with shoggles [shipping goggles] off.) A driver’s helmet is their personal canvas, their outlet for self-expression. You don’t do this sort of thing for someone you don’t care about, someone who means nothing to you. 

Also, fuck, I’m trying to picture that moment when he shows Seb his helmet, his homage helmet...🥺 Spare footage of this, someone, anyone?

TL;DR: Yes, you’re absolutely right, Charles is always seeking Seb’s approval and burning with excitement for his response.

[numbaoneflaya]

8, 21, 22, 26 for Caz , 25, 27, 29, 39 for Felria, 23, 30, 40, 43 for Suds, and 21, 25, 26, 35 for Nirn? 👀👀

HERE THEY ARE IM SJORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG GDSHEDG...

Caz

8. How does your character feel about religion?

Not a big fan! Hates the chantry and Andraste and the Maker and the Qun. Being raised in the circle run by templars and nuns and seeing the corruption of the church firsthand from the inside really left a bad taste in her mouth for organized religion.

21. What are your character’s manners like? What is their type of hero? Whom do they hate?

She has the ability to flip her manners on or off depending on who shes with. If shes comfortable then shes going to be more crass and impolite, but shes capable of really cleaning up her act and pretending to be professional if she needs to be. Her type of hero is anyone who goes against the status quo and disrupts systems of oppression- She considers Thurwen/the HOF and Hawke personal heroes (if Hawke sides with the mages) as well as Anders. Has read all of Anders manifestos and reports on Thurwen and Hawke and would geek tf out meeting them.

22. Who are their friends? Lovers? ‘Type’ or ‘ideal’ partner?

Friends are anyone who accepts her for who she is and doesnt snitch on her, people she can trust to do the right thing or atleast try to, and people she can have a good laugh with. Lovers are only a couple in the past as she needs to get to know someone well/find them interesting to want to sleep with them. Her type is large, charismatic and rugged. Anyone who looks like a good brat tamer but is also intelligent and keen. Iron Bull.

26. What does your character’s home look like? Personal taste? Clothing? Hair? Appearance?

Everything is covered in tomes and journals but theres a method to the madness. She likes to keep her things organized, surprisingly. She likes cool colors like greens and blues, likes dressing comfortably. Oversized shawls that second as blankets and loose pants. Her hair she likes to keep down with the sides pulled into little braids in front of her ears.

Felria

25. What are their hobbies and interests?

People watching and painting! She knows how to blend into a crowd pretty well or how to find a hidden vantage point where she can just sit and watch people… for hours. She finds peoples behaviors/reactions fascinating and makes little journals of interesting things she sees. Finding how other people work differently than her is vital to figuring out how best to manipulate and control them and she loves learning new ways! And painting because she has an artist's eye and enjoys beautiful things. A few bottles of blood and a quiet evening in front of an easel is a great way for her to unwind.

27. How do they relate to their appearance? How do they wear their clothing? Style? Quality?

She relates her appearance with how easily she will be able to blend in or stand out of her surroundings, and how to dress in order to play the role she wants to play. Because of her line or work (professional assassin and information gatherer) she has to have a lot of costumes available to fit the personalities she plays. Shes a performer at heart but only for herself and the joy she gets in deception. Her own style, if shes not performing, is simple reds and blacks and silvers. She keeps her hair long so shes able to do more with it.

29. What is your character’s weaknesses? Hubris? Pride? Controlling?

Her pride could definitely be her downfall as well as her curiosity. She believes shes just better and different than everybody else and that its her right to play with people as much as she wants, I can see her eventually trying to play with the wrong person. She believes she can get out of any situation by herself without help and that she deserves the finer things in life, and if someone gets in her way, they deserve whatever harm befalls them.

39. What do they like to ridicule? What do they find stupid?

She will really ridicule anything and anyone because she finds most things stupid or benign. She likes to ridicule any of the gods and aedra, and anyone who worships them. She ridicules mortals and werewolves and any other creature that's not a vampire.

Suds

23. What do they want from a partner? What do they think and feel of sex?

Back in his youth he wanted spontaneous fun, a charming and outspoken person to sweep him off his feet. He always wanted someone to take him on adventures and be dangerous and in the moment. Now? Poor guy just wants commitment and someone genuine. Hes tired of charismatic liars who he always seems to fall for. He wants someone to help tend his garden and bond with the bees. He feels that sex is a sacred thing to be shared with people you trust, not something thrown around haphazardly. Relationship and trust come first with him, and he casually waves any flirtation most of the time as if he hadn't noticed it. He's been hurt too many times to trust easily like that.

30. Are they holding on to something in the past? Can he or she forgive?

Yeah hes holding onto a long ass past full of betrayal from the people hes held dearest to him :/ He by nature is a very forgiving person and believes one must be generous in forgiveness. Hes holding onto his past hurt from Felix and cant seem to get away from it- hes forgiven him many times and each time Felix just does the same things as before.

40. How is their sense of humor? Do they have one?

A little dual natured in this aspect. Generally pretty reserved and soft with other people and can seem serious to those who dont know him. Underneath that is his reputation as a trickster- fond of pranks and revelry. The little twinkle in his eye is the only thing that would give him away as the culprit when everyone is looking for who filled a bucket of mud over Nirns chamber door. His favorite kind of jokes are the really long ones, the ones that have a seemingly normal storyline and go on forever and then end in a way where the joke is really on the person listening. And everyone around goes “AAAUUGHH!”

43. Does your character have any secrets? If so, are they holding them back?

A lot of them! Hes a very good secret keeper as hes who many people go to with their problems. After being alive so long and being somewhat involved with politics he probably knows more than a few that could take down nations, and always seems to know whats going on wherever in the world. He has his connections, his mushrooms and his bees and such have eyes everywhere. And don't tell anyone but he is an ardent fan of juicy gossip.

Nirn

21. What are your character’s manners like? What is their type of hero? Whom do they hate?

Impeccable manners. The posture of a God, obviously. Always eloquent and polite, knows which spoons to use for certain dishes and common diplomacy practice from all over the world. Nirn has no heroes, hes never held anyone to a pedestal or been one for hero worship. If he had to choose hed say his mother, for how graceful yet ruthless she was in politics and trade. He also does not hate anybody, he considers strong feelings a weakness and to harbor such resentment would only make him act rashly. He dislikes the slovenly, though. Not the common man but the drunken aristocrat with wine breath who gambles his savings and acts impolitely.

25. What are their hobbies and interests?

Chess and games of strategy are some of his favorites in the odd chance he has any free time. He also plays the violin and the harp and the lute, instruments he's known since he was taught them as a child. Wine tasting as well! Hes one of those mfs who can just sniff a certain drink and say with precision the date time and location it was made.

26. What does your character’s home look like? Personal taste? Clothing? Hair? Appearance?

Everything is refined and elegant with a certain air of someone who enjoys the arts. Many expensive paintings and sculptures on display. He prefers the colors red and gold and white, sometimes a darkish blue or purple. He is always dressed to impress, satin and velvet and exotic leathers. He keeps his hair long to the small of his back, or tied up in a bun. In appearance hes intimidatingly tall and knows how to stand to look even taller, does not tilt his head down to you but moreso stares down his nose.

35. Do they always rationalize errors? How do they accept disasters and failures?

Failure is only a means to greater success to him. To win a game sometimes you need to sacrifice a few pawns, etc. Takes them calmly and with little indication that hes upset at all. He usually has four or five backup plans for any endeavor, so hes able to quickly jump tactics if something isn't working. In game or battle hes typically a good sport at losing, though he very seldom does. Hed be more impressed that someone managed to make him fail, and get to thinking on how to get them in his employ.

[muthaz-rapapa]

HealPre Final Review: Not terrible but not entirely laudable either...

*sigh* Where do I start?

Well, one thing I’m pretty sure of is that COVID definitely affected production somehow. By that, I don’t just mean the show needing to go on hiatus, resulting in a shorter run compared to previous seasons. I’m also talking about any possible changes that might’ve been made to the original narrative, if there was one.

Much like how Suite’s story had to be altered in the wake of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami disaster, I believe Heal underwent a similar treatment in response to the pandemic becoming more widespread as 2020 went on.

Especially since it dealt with health and nature, HealPre is probably the season that has come the closest in relevancy to real life events.

Frankly, that can be quite scary because this virus was and is still a fucking nightmare on a massive global scale. From that view, I can understand why the writers/producers would be concerned of the anime hitting too near home. At least for their main demographic’s (children) sake, maybe they were compelled to shift to something lighter and less edgier so that the kids could find some comfort and enjoyment in the midst of the world’s current crisis.

So I can’t fault Toei for that, if that’s really the case. Going through a pandemic is terrifying, infuriating and exhausting and UGH. We could use something that can help ease our worries or momentarily distract us even a little bit. 

Though would it have killed them to dedicate one episode to the importance of wearing a mask or washing hands? (-_- ;;)

HOWEVER! Seeing as I am not a fragile child, I’ve still got several (oho~) criticisms to air out before I put this season behind me. This review isn’t particularly scathing but...there is a lot of discontent so you’ve been forewarned.

But first, let’s tediously review what structure means in Precure.

We all know that there are certain things that will forever (?) remain fixed in the series formula.

The plot is always going to be “magical girls fight evil doers threatening to ruin the world”.

There are plot points to indicate story progression but in reality, are put there to correspond with toy releases which are usually marked by these five: introductions, first power up, midseason Cure, second power up, and build-up to the climax + finale.

There is usually a specific message (a theme) to be told with every season and motifs (narrative tools) to aid in getting that across. For HealPre, the theme is “living is fighting” and its motifs are “health” and “nature”.

I left out “animals” b/c 1) it didn’t hold as much significance as the other two did, 2) animals are part of nature anyway and 3) let’s be real, it’s just a synonym for “mascots” which we already get every year. :P

Right. I’m probably forgetting something but for the most part, these are immovable pillars of Precure.

Story, on the other hand, has more variables you can work with.

Story is how you tell the plot, how you convey the message.

Precure, as a tv series, is unarguably carried by its main stars, the Cures. So it only makes sense that a huge percentage of a season’s success owes itself to how much of an impact its characters had on the audience as well as how effective their individual story arcs were as sub-plots tying back to the bigger picture (the message/theme).

Ideally, these arcs would shine the brightest in the filler episodes, where the plot  (“good guys vs. bad guys”) is less of a focus so there is more space for personal development and growth.

Also, not all character arcs have to be directly related to the plot but they ought to be written well in order to support the overarching message (the theme).

Now, has HealPre done that? Has each girl’s story demonstrated a good example of what “living is fighting” means?

...nnnnnnyyeeee... look, even I can’t give a straightforward answer on that because while technically they did, by virtue of Nodoka’s observance in ep 44 recounting it as such, there’s also actually not enough to make it feel substantial from a viewer’s standpoint.

At least, that’s what I thought while watching HealPre.

With the exception of Nodoka’s, there was a lot of saying but not much doing to convincingly back the other girls’ arcs up. The fillers themselves were very weak, loosely composed in relation to the motifs and, if I may be so blunt, downright boring that if Nodoka didn’t phrase those episodes as things that counted towards the theme, I probably would put up more of a fight on disagreeing. so shoot me, I’m soft for her :P

And I know that sounds confusing right now but I will elaborate as I continue.

Before that though, to be utterly fair, some seasons keep their respective themes shrouded in vagueness until they’re given a more concrete form in words around the finale. So it’s not like we can do much except make educated guesses on what they really are. Most of the time, we’re just measuring everything against our perception of a standard in the fog. Or maybe that’s just me?

Nevertheless, you can just tell, y’know? By simply watching and observing the whole show, you can tell if the characterization, the development, and the outcome (essentially the content given) really live up to what the season claims is endgame.

So let’s go through that first then. The characters, starting with our lead Cure...

Nodoka being the only Cure in her team to have an arc deserving of the praise “exceptional” should come as a surprise to no one.

She was the most solid in terms of direction on how her story was going to proceed. Out of all the girls, her journey had the greatest connection to the subject “health”, repeatedly delved into it every time the spotlight was on her and fulfilled everything it seemed to promise from her debut in episode 1.

Her struggles on the road to recovery from a long-term illness and the strength she’s drawn from that traumatizing experience as well as her time as Precure did more than establish her as the strongest character in HealPre.

She has also rose to become one of the most memorable Pink Cures in the entire franchise (personally, I rank her in the top 5).

And it’s not hard to see why she’s earned such high regard in a lot of fans’ hearts.

The writers clearly worked a lot on her character composition to the point where she can pretty much embody the theme of “living is fighting” all on her own.

She came into HealPre fresh out of the hospital and full of earnest desire to make the most of her newfound freedom but she also wasn’t without knowledge on what hardship is. From there, she only got stronger, even when she was stumbling and trying to figure things out along the way. She grew more fortified in her beliefs on what it means to be truly live a healthy life.

She bravely defied the ones who attempted to take advantage of her and twist her cause against her. And she learned that taking care of herself is equally as important as wanting others to be safe from harm.

It was never about winning or coming out on top. It was about protecting a fundamental yet precious truth. That one thing any decent human being should never have to concede: the right to live well.

Honestly, Nodoka is absolutely inspiring all around, as a fictional character, a heroine and a normal everyday person.

Everything about her arc went satisfyingly right like it was meant to and the best thing is, we don’t need to question it because we saw how it all happened with our very own eyes.

I sincerely wished I could say the same for the others but sadly, they were just too flawed.

And Pegitan can throw flippers with me all day if he wants but as undeniable as the above statements are about Chiyu, her arc failed to leap over the increasingly mounting disappointment I had with every episode that’s been assigned solely to her.

Two of which weren’t even about Chiyu. One centered on Pegitan’s admiration for his partner and the other focused on her brother, Touji. Which, while nice to give to supporting/secondary characters, is a fat waste of valuable screentime and not what I’m here for.

It also didn’t help that the conflict of her arc (the indecision over choosing between two dreams) started really late in the game and was resolved so quickly within two episodes. There was no time for me to get invested into it, there was no powerful sense of conviction like how Go!Pri or Hugtto handled theirs and really, it just felt like Chiyu was only following what the script dictated for her rather than genuinely awakening to her own competitive passion towards track and field.

It was almost like it didn’t matter. Almost as if the writers procrastinated in thinking up something worthwhile to further her development...but then settled on grabbing an old idea off the shelf without refining it to suit Chiyu when they ran out of time.

This happened similarly with Minami in Go!Pri and Elena in StarPre, both of whom left me angry at how their arcs were executed. Yet theirs don’t compare to how pissed off I am about Chiyu’s. Because while Minami’s took a while to arrive, it wasn’t done poorly and linked back to Go!Pri’s theme well enough. And while Elena’s was over crammed last minute, at least it was unique to her character and had lots of potential ways to play out if they actually started it earlier on in StarPre.

Chiyu’s arc is like a discount version of the former with hardly any of the intriguing qualities of the latter. Sure, she had two early episodes that laid out the two most important aspects of her life (her family inn and her dedication to her sport) but after that, they weren’t brought up again until we were only weeks away from the ending. Y’know, just to fill up episode slots and meet the minimal requirement of saying they did give Chiyu some issue to resolve. 

It was not engaging at all.

Furthermore, the fact that her arc had very little to no relation with either “health” or “nature” hurt my appreciation of her character somewhat. I just...don’t think her kind of story really matches with the central topics of HealPre?

...but maybe I’m being bitter about this all wrong and that’s screwing up my rational thinking on this matter.

Because Chiyu’s arc is valid under the logic of the overall theme, I would never say it isn’t. And again, character arcs don’t have to be close to the plot nor is it necessary to employ the “suffering builds character” method to make them interesting.

Chiyu always does her best every day. That’s sufficient argument on why her story does fit within the frame of HealPre’s premise.

Guess I’ll just have to wrangle my resistance into acceptance somehow.

...still, her arc could’ve been done so much better than what we were given. Chiyu at least deserved that much.

Next, Hinata.

Since the beginning, I knew she was gonna be runner-up to Nodoka for having the (for lack of better term atm) “best” arc because it was heavily implied that she has ADHD and therefore, immediately checked off the “health” trait. She was even more obvious about it than Nozomi was.

Difficulty paying attention, hyperactivity, impulsiveness. Hinata didn’t just display all those signs, she also showed how hard it was for her to deal with the downsides to them on a regular basis.

She kept apologizing and put herself down excessively for inconveniencing her friends even though they never blamed her for her condition. Got them annoyed a few times, yes, but didn’t stop them from staying friends with her and definitely didn’t make them hate her either.

Everybody was understanding of Hinata...except Hinata because she always took her failures to heart and considered quitting several times to avoid the crushing dejection of making mistakes over and over again.

She got better, though, and no one could have summed it up more heartwarmingly than Nyatoran with the encouraging words he gave her at the conclusion of her arc. 

But it still feels like there’s a huge chunk of development missing between the start and finish. Or rather, it seemed like all of it occurred offscreen and we were only informed later that it did in fact, happen.

To recap, iirc, Hinata had around 5 episodes that focused on her (ep 9, 13, 23, 35 and 40). Ep 18 doesn’t count because that was a Nyatoran-centric filler more than anything.

Ep 9 and 13 did their jobs of introducing and highlighting the details of Hinata’s troubles while also suggesting she will eventually learn to overcome her insecurities. The ones after, though? They pushed those issues to the backseat.

In Ep 23, she had to share the (uneven) spotlight with Asumi. Hinata’s improvements were briefly mentioned but the majority of the ep went to teaching Asumi what “cute” meant and how to get along with puppies. I mean, I get that Asumi recently joined the group and bonding with her was mandatory by tradition. But since each Cure only gets a limited number of eps to herself, it would’ve been more beneficial for Hinata if she didn’t have to split screentime with someone else’s growth schedule.

Ep 35 is slightly better but not by a whole lot. Sure, Natasha was able to reconcile with Elizabeth which was very sweet and heck, it was the goal for that episode. But again, nothing was really done or addressed about Hinata’s main conflict. She tossed it back with the rest of her homework to deal with later. ahaha, a TroPre hint

Then ep 40 came to formally close the curtains on her story and apparently, Hinata screwed up lots of times since...whenever but she picked herself up every time after and kept on trying. Awesome. So WHY didn’t we get to see that? 

I’m not asking for the impossible here. I’m not asking for Hinata to be cured or anything miraculous like that. There is treatment available for ADHD but it is not curable.

Also, forcing Hinata to find a way to get better at studying, the thing she struggles with the most, is not the solution either because that would only make her more stressed and anxious over her own disorder.

What I want is to see how she moved from wailing “I can’t do it! I don’t wanna! I’m so scared of failing so why bother?!” to determinedly declaring “So what if I failed 1 or 100 times? So what if I fail another 1000 times? What matters is that I don’t let that stop me!”

That confidence is not something that can be built up overnight. It’s gradual and it takes numerous tries to reach from where Hinata was to where Hinata is now.

Telling me she grew emotionally stronger can only allow me to believe so much. I need to actually witness the changes as well.

If it weren’t for that, Hinata’s arc would have been a lot more impressive. Shame.

Finally............... Asumi.

Asumi, Asumi, Asumi, Asumi, Asumi, Asumi, Asumi... *sighs & drums fingers*

...she has no arc, ok? Seriously, what story is there to speak of, much less write a hefty analysis on?

A spirit born for the sake of Latte who just went along with the Precure ride because Latte didn’t want to abandon her duty. She made friends with those who aren’t Latte, extended her knowledge and understanding and gained valuable human experience during her stay on Earth. But ultimately, she will always define her entire existence around a puppy. 

Nothing is more important than this puppy.

...... to be honest, Asumi not having a storyline isn’t what bothers me. It’s her lack of depth that does.

Hell, even the giant burger she ate had more depth than she did!

Oh, Asumi does have a personality alright. She’s consistently and unfailingly polite, utterly devoted to her raison d’être and in crucial moments, gives pearls of wisdom when the girls are in a pinch. She’s good.

But if that’s all she is, then she’s also painfully dull.

She has nothing to contribute to the discussion of health or nature, despite being created through an element of the Earth so you’d think she’d have an opinion of her own. At least worry about the planet that gave life to her as much as she frets over Latte all the time. But nope.

She shares the exact same face as Teatine’s past Precure partner so you’d think we’d explore that connection to see if it would influence or affect her in any way. But nope.

90% of the time, her role was just being Latte’s constant, fawning satellite.

Not only did that irritate the hell out of me but it just reinforced my stance that this type of character is one of the worst you can ever insert into any narrative.

Because if someone keeps reiterating how much they’re obsessed with this one thing and seldom talks about anything else without bringing their obsession into it... then what’s so special about them on their own?

You’ve practically surrendered the different qualities you could have had for worship of something else. That’s not a fair trade-in.

Asumi’s character is so packed with Latte-related stuff that there’s not much space left for anything that can be considered uniquely Asumi.

I mean, maybe it’s because I can never see myself or any normal person comfortable with living like that.

Living for the sake of being together with the one you love? Okay. But living with your whole universe revolving around that one thing? Making most if not all decisions based on this one thing?

No. That’s absolutely crazy, alright? Nobody with a healthy amount of awareness and self-worth would live like that.

And you can counter that Asumi’s just born like that. That she can’t help her origins because Teatine’s wish to protect her daughter is essentially what brought Asumi into existence so of course, her biggest concern would be Latte. At least, she wasn’t forced into it, right? As long as Asumi chose of her own will to follow Latte, it should be fine, right?

You can even use the fact that Asumi isn’t human. That she’s a spirit and we shouldn’t apply our human standards too strictly to her.

Yea, but those are feeble defenses in the face of her being a good main character, a good main heroine. 

There are many ways to make a decent MC. The way Asumi was written proves she certainly does not possess traits that can classify her as true protagonist material. A protagonist has to be more than one amplified feature, which Asumi is not.

For the record, I don’t hate Asumi (she’s not interesting enough to generate a feeling that intense). I'm just severely let down because even if I don’t end up loving the midseason Cure for whatever reason, I can usually count on them to bring something intriguing to the table to dissect and analyze. At least I should find something to care about them.

Didn’t happen with her. :(

Oh god, I’ve been working on this post for days now and I’ve got a headache and with the baton pass happening in less than a few hours as I type this, I just really need to get it done and over with so please forgive me for speeding up through the rest, I’ll try to keep it as coherent as possible. NYARGH! (@_@ ;;)

Mascots.

Would you be surprised to hear that I’m not surprised that they were actually written very well?

Like I said early on, I suspected the return of fairy partnerships were going to improve the mascots’ significance in the story and, well, I was right. 

This time, they didn’t just fill in the usual expectations of relaying exposition, serving as the Cures’ transformation devices and looking cute for the merchandise. The Healing Animals had to make progress on their own training to become doctors as well.

And they did through their relationships with their human partners.

It was a refreshing take on the mascot aspect of the series because the friendships felt really symbiotic. When the trainees arrived on Earth, they relied on the girls to help them perform their jobs as well as provide them with shelter, food, the occasional peptalk about their trainee status, etc.

Then as the story continued and they got to know each other better, the mascots were able to return the favor by giving support when the Cures needed it. Rabirin when Nodoka was frightened and confused about how to deal with Daruizen, Pegitan when Chiyu was having trouble choosing between two dreams and Nyatoran who made sure to always lift Hinata’s spirits up when she got upset at herself.

In short, they achieved their objectives of learning what it means to be good doctors by being there for their friends! How wonderful! :D

My memory for Latte is hazy, unfortunately, since she’s coddled by everyone all the time (can’t blame them, she’s friggin’ adorable! <3) but I’ll never forget how she stood firm on the battlefield to see things through, to fight for the Earth like she promised her mother. She started out so babie but showed us all there was enormous bravery behind her cute face and ugh, we should all be very proud of her! <3

The only major issues I had about the mascots were these:

1) Too many irrelevant fillers went to them. They only needed a maximum of two for their entire mascot group.

2) Latte kept getting sick even after she acquired a Precure partner of her own. I was hoping it wouldn’t hurt her as much as it did before Asumi arrived or that she would build up a stronger immunity but noooo, they insisted on torturing the poor pupper! T_T

Villains + Finale Battle

Not a lot needs to be said for the first part. We’ve had mediocre antagonists before. HealPre’s just happened to be extra annoying as they were despicable. 

Which is worse because jerks you can just leave in the trash but assholes won’t stop harassing you unless you pummel them into their graves, set fire to their corpses and leave no trace of them behind! >:(

Y’all know who I’m talking about. Opinions on him continue to vary depending on who you talk to and if they’re avid fans of his face or not but whatever. The son of a bitch served his purpose and is dead now. That’s all that matters to me.

Anyway, the King was flat like his two lesser generals. He was neither intimidating nor distinguished enough in the brand of evil to really make us think of him as a serious threat and because of that, it ended up making the boss fight look like any run of the mill boss fight.

I know, they tried so hard with all that shiny animation but it just didn’t have that glorious sense of vindication that previous seasons (or ep 42) gave and I blame it all on this Rumiko Takahashi reject.

Also, this strategy was pretty useless?

They built it up like Earth was gonna sacrifice herself and die or something (she wouldn’t and even if she came close, deus ex machina would’ve kicked in to prevent that and COVID-induced caution too I guess). 

But there were no signs of pain (well, that’s a relief) after absorbing Shindoi-ne and they really pissed King Byogen off more than they did any damage with the absorbed byo-gen power.

...so yea, this tactic was just to kill some time and budget, nothing more. Meh.

By the way, did Asumi eject Shindoi-ne’s pathogen out of her body yet or did they just leave it in there to bounce around until it eventually dissolves on its own?

Because that’s eww. I mean, it’s obviously not gonna hurt Asumi they can both relate on hyperfocusing their affection for someone so maybe the compatibility helps :P but still, ewwwww.

Fillers + Underused Motifs

In hindsight, perhaps HealPre didn’t exactly promise the content we I wanted about “health” and “nature” if their objective was to teach that any manner of “fighting” can count towards “living”.

......but fuck you Toei, you’re still cowards! >:/

Fillers will be fillers but it’s always better to try and make some of them as meaningful as possible. And they wasted the opportunity to inform an impressionable audience (during a very crucial period of our time, I must add) on a lot of things related to the HealPre’s motifs. Especially about the environment which for some ridiculous reason, they chose not to touch on for the main stretch of the overall story.

Proper hygiene, good diet plan and sleeping habits, regular exercise (already done by the girls a few times but could use another example), meditation, counseling/therapy (especially for mental health!), etc.

Real life pollution, climate change/global warming (IMPORTANT!!), deforestation, preservation vs conservation, endangered species, recycling, volunteering to clean up your community, etc.

These just came off the top of my head but yes, there’s more and no, I’m not saying that the writers need to cover all of them in extreme detail or replace the slice-of-life episodes.

But they should be able to mesh both serious and light-hearted together in harmony somehow. Like those fillers where the mascots saw people cleaning up littering at the park or that interaction with that arborist who taught them about wild animals and trees when the group went to visit a lake.

For health, maybe let the girls visit patients with chronic illness in the hospital or have them converse with a medical professional on some matter. Particularly if it’s got something to do with mental illness because stigma in Japan on those who are afflicted with such conditions is still prevalent and has caused a number of sad and shocking tragedies that could have otherwise been avoided if people didn’t have such outdated, judgmental mindsets.

That last part might be too dark for a children’s anime but there’s a lot more out there that is doable.

Do that without reducing it into a footnote, Toei. It is so necessary for your target audience to be aware of these issues at the age they are now. You have an almost 20-year old franchise to serve as a very effective platform. Make better use of it if you truly care about the message you’re conveying through your show!

Also, what the fuck.

The last episode was a mess. Why are you only mentioning this now when the season is already over?

This should’ve been brought up months ago!

All the things we could’ve seen the Cures done to protect the Earth without magic.

The excuse of “I didn’t know humans were so horrible!” is a shit one because everybody knows humans are deplorable trash when it comes to abusing the Earth. All the more reason why you have to persistently drill it into people’s heads that they should not be like those who don’t care or choose not to care.

One crack episode isn’t going to cut that.

God, I so want to unsee this ep just so I don’t have to end HealPre on a more sour note than it already was. *big aggrieved sigh*

Lastly (and this really is the end of my long ranting, I promise), the missing undisclosed lore.

There are few Precure seasons without a past lore of its own in the recent years. Is it a wonder, though?

Lore is mysterious and fascinating. If it involves a past Precure, even more so.

Sometimes fans might just hang onto a show because they’re curious about what happened before the main story. We’d never get the full tale of those adventures but at least, it’s fun to imagine the “prequel”.

Also, past Precure are just badass. Fact.

Strangely enough, we didn’t get that for Heal. All we know is that she was called “Fuu” and was very close to Teatine. 

Hmm. Probably one of those changes caused by COVID interference cuz I can’t imagine the writers choosing not to tell her past in the original draft.

With all that finally off my chest, I’m ready to part ways with you girls until the next All Stars (Nodoka, I’m gonna miss you so much! T_T)

HealPre wasn’t the worst and it was nowhere near the best that it had the potential to be. But it’s passable. At least for those who loved it even with its flaws, I’m genuinely glad it was good for you.

For those who are thinking about picking it up (although why you would read this spoilery post before watching, I have no idea), if you’re looking for a standard magical girl anime to enjoy casually, then this is a safe pick. If you really want to invest your attention and heart into it, though? Then perhaps it would be in your interest to ask someone who saw it already to help you filter out the episodes that are worth watching. You don’t need to worry about the rest, they’re inconsequential. :P

Ok then! Thanks for reading as always, brave souls who have reached this point. 

Stay healthy and safe out there and I’ll see you at the beach next week! Tropic underwater paradise here we coooooommmmmeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!! xDDD

[brithestarseed]

LEO SEASON INNERGY READINGS:

Fire signs 🔥

Leos

You’re aligning with things that serve your interests, but are hiding intentions/feelings of inadequacy, still believing you don’t deserve successful outcomes unless it’s some grand representation of your effort. This internal battle could end with a decision to change direction. Shine in your authenticity, when you lie or hide, it’s self- betrayal.

Sagittarius

I’m hearing more boundaries for you. There’s something you want to grow or build, but you’re attached to patterns you’ve outgrown. Someone close to you is preventing your expansion. Unblock your third eye and next steps will be revealed.

Aries

Leo season has you feeling yourself and tapping into your inner needs. For once you’re thinking about performing for you and rewarding yourself for all the work you put in. You’re growing tired of ignoring your personal needs. Gone head and indulge because why not?

Earth Signs 🌎

Virgo

You’re facing your issues with confidence this season. You don’t always have to be the support, people can invest in you too.There’s something inside of you that wants to emerge, some healing work you want to do. Spirit wants to know if you believe in you? And will you trust the process?

Capricorn

You’re learning that being serious has a time and place. Lately, it feels better to open up and allow yourself to be vulnerable. You see how not being the strong friend all the time has it’s perks. You get to be human and allow people to support you. This is cranking up new ideals for you. You’re allowing yourself to start fresh on new goals with a new attitude. You’re learning that perfection is an illusion & accepting that showing your mess is making you more likeable. I love this for you!

Taurus

Slow and steady wins the race. The more you trust in what Divinely guides you, there will be rewards. Tighten up the loose ends, get the plan together, and know that you are Divinely supported. You’re patient and generous but don’t let people throw you off your game. Stick to the plan, set goals, and follow through. You’re already where you want to be if you don’t sabotage.

Air Signs 🌬

Libra

Identity crisis and self indulgence can look the same. The more you avoid doing the work, the more confused you’ll be. Find a healthy balance in your relationships to figure out who you are and what you want in the higher timelines. Stop blinding yourself under the guise of indecision.

Aquarius

Let’s get straight to it. Your resistance to rejection is making you reject yourself. Uniqueness and individuality is a gift, and honestly not as lonely as you think. The more you allow yourself to shine, the more people will be drawn to you. Use this Leo energy to empower you to be different, be bold, and watch everything fall into place. If you lose people, they weren’t meant to join you on this next level. Don’t hold yourself back worrying about bringing everybody. The right ones will always be there.

Gemini

You’re realizing that all that glitters isn’t gold. This whole time you had the keys to happiness within you. The Divine has opened you up to see what life is really about. You don’t have to overcompensate for the things you didn’t have in the past. You have everything you need. Feeling deep peace and emotional healing, you’ve broken away from thinking you need approval or validation. Now you can live, create, and dream the life you want with no restraint.

Water Signs 💦

Scorpio

New beginnings won’t start without closing old doors and dated mindsets. Why keep allowing the same people and situations to hurt you? WHY For some it seems like clinging to the past is more comfortable then letting go. It’s controlling you while you’re under the illusion that you’re controlling it. There’s beauty in surrender, accountability, and moving on. Don’t you want a fresh start? Aren’t you tired of running around in circles?

Pisces

Be intentional about setting boundaries with yourself and others. Take your cape off sometimes, dang. This was super clear in the reading. Do you ever ask yourself why you feel so drained and need to escape? It’s not all bad, but are you aware of your habits and patterns while you’re trying save everybody? Is your need to please and be available all the time another escape for you to avoid self-responsibility? It’s okay to be a little selfish, use this Leo and Virgo energy to refine your dreams and plans. Spiritual grounding is needed, you deserve what you dream about if you fight for it.

Cancer

Keeping embracing change, as it’s inevitable and beautiful. Leaving old ways of believing and thinking is a part of growth and expansion. It’s painful to face things that were scary to acknowledge, but this is how we get to our higher self. The Divine is guiding and supporting you always, prayerfully you’re not choosing delusion anymore. You see through smoke in mirrors, nothing can penetrate your clear vision if you don’t allow it.

[thequietmanno1]

Thelreads, Vigilantes 33, Replies Part 2

1) “Alright Monika, you got the answers, you know how they are doing it, now just try to get away from there without murdering or being murdered, alright? Find some excuse to get rid of this box and back away without raising suspicion.”- Scary part is, if he really wanted to, he could have easily done so here and now before literally anybody, including Monika herself, could stop him. Good thing he’s more concerned with making a scene than he is committing wanton slaughter, given he was aware the drug route was already a bust by this point, though he’s certainly not adverse to causing it second-hand, from what we’ve seen thus far.

2) “GODDAMMIT MONIKA THAT KIND OF RAISES SUSPICION, YOU KNOW?”-Only because he raised her suspicions first….

3) “OH SHIT NEVER MIND, SHE NOTICED THAT THIS IS THE PERSON THAT IS THE MOLE, THE ONE THAT IS USING THE COMPANY TO SMUGGLE THE DRUGS”- Yeah, I dunno if this a rival drug-smuggling operation or not- never really considered the possibility until you brought I up honestly- but I think this is just one of the many offshoots of the complicated web the Villain Factory is weaving in its attempts to refine trigger, and for some reason (eyes police presence in the raid) Scarface got wind of their operations and snuck in to terminate the drug route and the investigators in one fell swoop, before they discovered anything important.

4) “WHAT ARE THE FUCKING ODDS, THAT DUDE TOOK A HUGE RISK GOING THERE TO TALK TO HER, AND NOW HE’LL NEED TO KILL HER.”- It’s not a risk to him-it’s a game. And whilst the pieces on a game board might get hurt, the player is always unharmed in the end, win or lose. Honestly, the fact he’s so un-serious about handling the police is arguably the only reason any of them are still alive by this point- he’s fast enough that they’ve got no chance of catching him when he’s in motion. A man with super-speed doesn’t need a lot of force to kill you, just enough pressure in the right spot with the right timing and you’ve suddenly got a puncture wound in your trachea. Look what Reverse Flash can do with a Scalpel-sized blade when basically running on empty….

5) “Oh, a flashback to that night? Alright then, we- Oh jesus fuck, I saw that ponytail there and I immediately thought that the speedy beemaster was involved with her death

Christ I froze in fear for a moment there, not gonna lie”-Not a bad reaction, given this guy seems to have uncommon stealth abilities to sneak in and out of whatever location he wants to, often having accomplished his objectives before people realise he’s not supposed to be there and all hell breaks loose.

6) “OH WHAT THE FUCK

ITS THE SPPEDY McBEE SPEEDSTER

MOTHERFUCKER I DIDN’T EVEN NOTICED HIM ON THE BACKGROUND IN THE PREVIOUS PANEL”- That’s twice now he’s able to calmly appear in the background without raising so much as a suspicious aside glance from anybody. You’d think a guy with a big scar on his face would stand out a little bit more, but apparently, he has mastered the art of the nondescript.

7) “FUCKING SPEEDY McBEE IS HERE

WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT, NOT ONLY DID THAT SCAR SHOWED UP OUT OF NOWHERE BUT THE FACE SHAPE SEEMS TO HAVE CHANGED. I WENT BACK TO CHECK AND IT LOOKED LESS OVAL AND THE CHIN WAS A BIT SHORTER

IS THIS FUCKER USING FACIAL SHIFTING NOW? OH MY GOD WE’RE GONNA RETURN TO THE QUIRK-TRANSFERRING TALK AGAIN…”-The art of the nondescript allows one to appear as any number of background individuals until they feel the need to reveal themselves. Take a gander at any of the background people in this chapter, or even when CC and Tensei were shoot that commercial- odds are he showed up in one of them, looking just like an ordinary individual- hell, without that scar it’d be hard to tell who he’s supposed to be, he blends in so well. 

But yeah, between this and his speed, he has no fear of being caught by the police, or even them getting his ‘face’ on camera- he’s too fast for them to physically hold him down and all he needs to do is move out of sight and change his looks to a completely different person to walk away Scott free. They can’t tie him down, nor track him down- why on earth would he be scared of people who’re powerless to stop him even when they’re pointing loaded weapons right in his face?

8) “DID- DID HE JUST FUCKED OFF FROM THERE INSTEAD?

WHAT

LIKE THAT? LEAVING A WITNESS THAT STATED THAT SHE WOULD REMEMBER HIS FACE SINCE SHE HAD GOOD MEMORY FOR FACES?”-Why worry about that when he can just change his face on the fly? As for killing her- he just proved he could in an instant if he wanted to by showing her the gun he just yanked out of her hands- it wouldn’t have taken him but a few moments to blast her in the back of the skull if he wanted to, but to him, it’s not about the killing- it’s about proving who plays the game better, and he just won against her effortlessly

9) “IT WILL BE RIGHT THAT, THE MOMENT THEY GET HERE HE’LL BE GONE ALREADY, HE JUST HANGED AROUND TO TAUNT YOU.

AND I DON’T SEE ANY WOUNDS, SO APPARENTLY HE REALLY LEFT HER ALIVE FOR SOME FUCKING REASON.”- He likes proving he’s better, faster, smarter- though not necessarily stronger, given how he was all ‘robot uprising’ on everybody, rather than handling them himself- than anyone who tries to challenge him in any capacity, and it’s extremely satisfying to him to leave them alive and knowing they survived only because he was in the mood for it.

10) “THANK YOU FATGUM FOR CHANNELING THE POWERFUL SPIRIT OF THE KOOL-AID MAN, BUT I FEAR THAT DUDE IS LONG GONE. “- Honestly, I think Scarface would have been content to wait around for 5 solid minutes zipping away from Monika’s ineffectual pursuit until Fat and the rest of the police line-up assembled, just so he could taunt them all directly to their faces.

11) “YOU GUYS COULD’VE COME THROUGH THE WALL AS WELL, YOU KNOW? IT’S NOT LIKE Y’ALL WEREN’T IN THE SAME PLACE ANYWAY”-Heroes have licences to bust through brick walls and make dynamic entrances, but when the police do it, it’s more paperwork and budget cuts for ‘unnecessary damages’ to property, so they have to take the designated entry points when moving through buildings, whereas Heroes can take the direct route, which means they’re usually the first on scene, hence the need for tight teamwork between two different groups of people for maximum efficiency

12) “DUDE

WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU EVEN DOING HERE

WHY DIDN’T YOU RUN AWAY? DO YOU LIKE BEING A LITTLE SHIT AND TAUNT YOUR OPPONENTS OR SOMETHING?”-Pretty much. I mean, what are they gonna do- stop him? He’s way too fast and smart for something these ‘pedestrian’ cops can pull off to work on him, and whilst it might have been more efficient for him to leave the building, then activate the secret kill-code in the machines, it wouldn’t have been nearly as satisfying for him, depriving him of the opportunity to witness the looks on their faces as they realise what he’s just done

13) “OH WHAT THE FUCK, SO THAT’S WHY YOU WERE HERE? YOU WEREN’T INVOLVED WITH THIS OPERATION, YOU WERE JSUT TRYING TO STOP IT?

WHAT

THE FUCK

THEY ARE TRYING TO GET RID OF THE BAD TRIGGER AS WELL APPARENTLY. AFO DOESN’T WANT PEOPLE SELLING ON HIS TURF.”-Nah, I’m pretty sure he ‘was’ somewhat involved- this was a branch of the Villian Factory’s operations, but now the police have gotten wind of it, he’s here to terminate the evidence before they find anything useful that points to his superior’s grander plans. The villain Factory is the one producing the ‘bad trigger’ and whilst I’m not ruling out that there might be rival drug dealers selling their own brands in larger amounts than the Hota brothers, the VF doesn’t really care about that- they just care about keeping their anonymity until their testing of trigger is done, and if other people want to mess around with trigger, they can feel free to- it’s not like they’re giving their latest test subjects a choice in taking their new-generation brand of trigger anyway, so why would they care about other people dabbling in experimenting with the older trigger model? 

Heck, they might even learn something from their amateur experimentation and seeing what effects occur, so they don’t really care enough to make any great attempts to stop other people working with trigger- they’re the ones with the cutting-edge trigger strain, they don’t really care about the older version at this point.

14) “ALSO, I KNOW THEY ARE IMPLYING THAT HE’S PRESSING A LOT OF BUTTONS HERE, BUT I DON’T CARE HOW FAST YOU ARE, THERE’S NO WAY A TABLET WILL BE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH IT, YOU CAN’T GO FASTER THAN THE INTERFACE YOU’RE USING”-  Well this is MHA future tech- given that there’s tons of varieties of quirks, and they have even have high-tech robots working at forklifts, maybe they’ve also updated technology to be faster and more responsive? Super-speed/enhanced reflexes isn’t exactly uncommon- Edge Shot can reach supersonic speeds with his folding techniques, so maybe the technology of the time can move faster than ours, or at least process information faster to nearly keep up with Scarface’s speed.

15) “WELL, SOMEHOW THAT DUDE REPROGRAMMED THE CRABS, HE PROBABLY PRESSED THE “DIVERSION TACTICS” BUTTON BECAUSE HE WANTED TO BE DRAMATIC AT HIS ESCAPE.”- I dunno if its ‘reprogrammed’ so much as ‘activated the hidden sub-routines my shadowy bosses snuck into the mech’s software to turn them into killer machines’. If the VF were the ones involved with this drug route, it makes sense they’d include some kind of safety net to use in case of an emergency situation like this, where the police are getting a little too close for comfort towards their more valuable/irreplaceable operations that the drug route might lead to.

16) “NO DON’T WORRY FAT, HELL IS ABOUT TO BEGIN, BECAUSE I STILL HAVE A LOT MORE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT POORLY PLANNED MACHINERY NOT TO SAY UNNECESSARY SPENDING IN THE LOGISTIC SECTOR.”- You know, I wonder if these Crabs might actually have a natural advantage against Fatgum’s defences? His fat absorption powers seem to work best against blunt objects or sharp impacts, but these mechs are too big for him to absorb, lack oxygen for him to suffocate them unconscious with, and they attack mainly by pinching the target very, very hard, which causes a hell of a lot of pain whilst not actually causing much of a sharp impact for him to absorb and reflect back here. 

Plus, fat might be useful as a shield against blunt force, but it’s also extremely sensitive to pinches and the like, meaning fatgum’s defences won’t be very effective at blocking out the pain the crabs deal him Fatgum could be facing death by a thousand pinches here.

17) “WELL, YOU WERE THE ONE THAT WANTED TO STAY POP, AND NOW YOU’RE ABOUT TO GO FOR A RIDE. TIME TO SEE THE WHOLE VENUE, CRAB STYLE.”- ‘giving someone the side-eye’ is not mean t to be taken literally, but nobody told the crabs that. Pop’s going to see the whole venue at a zooming sideways speed now, as her new suit takes her on a walkabout.

18) “Oh- Let me guess, she’ll try to get away on one of those by the end of the arc and Koichi will stick to it with his sucky-hands, giving him an opportunity to disable it, right?”- well, not her- Pop’s damsel in distress condition flared up again and she ended up being threatened by the villain’s evil plan, even though she’s technically not even a part of it.

19) “Oh boy, the speedy bastards is back, but, in a surprising twist he was kind of in the “good” side, since he was trying to dismantle that operation. Sure, it was because they want monopoly over the trigger business, but that’s just details, ignore it.”- Not really- he’s just there to make sure that, when they’re cleaning up these poor saps in the aftermath of this sting operation, there’s nothing that can be used to track down the VF’s own ongoing plans. These guys were just disposable tools for them, so they only thing that concerns him is that their fall doesn’t cause problems for the VF in the aftermath. It’s a cold-bloodied move, tossing aside their allies once they’ve ceased to be useful, but at least Scarface got to have some fun whilst he’s doing his job

@thelreads