#I can get along with other people and have similar interests and stuff

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

So I absolutely despise the Senti-Rich kids plot, and I get the feeling you dont like it much either

Can you think of any way to make a plotline like that actually work in ML?

You would be correct in your assumption! There are a lot of ways to make that plot work. I'll list a few going in rough order from least changes to canon to most extreme changes to canon:

Never use the peacock for canon fodder sentimonsters or mention that sentimonsters have a remote control and the ethical issues become a lot less complicated, letting you treat the peacock like a wacky fertility drug. This path is kinda boring and still makes the Agrestes look bad, but it would remove all my main issues.

Modify the peacock so that there's something to make it clear that the senti kids are different from a normal sentimonster. I think I've seen someone mention the idea that, to make a living senti, you have to give up part of yourself and that's an interesting idea, though I think that sort of nuanced commentary on infertility is too complex for a kids show. Still, the general concept could work, especially if you added a way for a living sentimonster to break free of their amok.

Lean into the secret society stuff the show hinted at with things like the Diamond Dance and whatever the weird mask party was back in season four. Have some sort of rich people conspiracy to have perfect children that the heroes have to stop.

Along similar lines to the previous or in addition to the previous: actually acknowledge that you've introduced a slavery plot to your show and let there be a free the slaves plot. And I mean really free them. None of this, "well, you're technically still a slave, but we've given you the remote control, so it's fine! Just never ever let that ring out of your sight, okay? And be careful about giving yourself orders by accident!"

My favorite path: change the peacock's power to be something else, but keep the general plot line of that power being used in relation to Adrien (and the other two, if you want). I'll admit that this one is somewhat similar to the first idea, but the reason I like this and not that is that I just generally hate the idea of magical designer babies, but I like the idea that Emilie used the peacock for Adrien's sake. It's nice dramatic tension. I actually assumed this was going to be the big reveal up until we learned the peacock's power. Post reveal, I assumed that I was wrong because the sentimonster stuff seemed like too stupid of a move for anyone to make. I also find the peacock both overpowered and too similar to the butterfly, so I've wanted it to be something else ever since it was first introduced. The sentibaby plot line just further fueled my dislike.

[beescake]

i am in love with your sollux i think

sollux love party :]

if you’re interested heres some of my personal fondness thoughts on him.. big warning for the mega long read ahead aye

as we alr know sollux's rejection of participation somewhat mirrors dave's rejection of heroism, but even without getting cooked to completion i still find sollux's character v compelling beyond the fourth wall

as someone who doesnt get a pinch of that Protagonist Sparkle to begin with, he can openly say he wants to leave anytime…. and unlike dave, he actually Can leave the scene anytime. but he can never be truly Free from the story via permanent character death like the other trolls.

his irrelevancy is indeed relevant - he’s there so u can point him out.

while his image is intended to be a relic of past internet subculture, his role is not only about hehehaha being a Chad or a 2000s cyberforum 2²chan haxxor ragequit gamebro.

his continued existence also happens to add a Bit to the overarching themes of homestuck! a Bit that gives him longer-lasting thematic relevance compared to the trolls who could’ve had more character potential but didnt get to survive beyond the main story.

the Bit in question:

his defiance contributes to the illusion of agency (treating characters = people with autonomy). he’s “aware” of it, and that recognition is worth noting enough to forcibly keep him alive as both reward and punishment.

considering how his personality & classpect is designed its definitely a very haha thing for hussie to do LOL. he’s made to be op asf so he's resigned to doing dirty work, gradually deteriorating along the way but never truly dying. as fans have mentioned before, him openly rejecting involvement after a while of grim tolerance is like if the sim u were controlling suddenly stopped, looked up and gave u the finger while u were step six into the walkthrough for Every Possible Sim Death Animation.

but since he’s just a sim… the more he hates it, the more you keep him around. if ur sim started complaining abt your whimsical household storyline you’d definitely keep that little fuck.

but yeah i like that sollux is just idling. the significance of his presence being that one dude who's always reliably Somewhere, root core Unchanged, no individual ambitions (possibly due to fear of consequence?), and design-wise: a staple representative product of his time.

compared to dirk's character, who has aged phenomenally well into the present (themes of control + AR + artificial intelligence, clearer exploration around navigating relationships/sexuality, infinite possibilities of self-splinterhood and trait inheritance), sollux's potential is really... contained. bitter. defeatist. limiting and frustrating in the way old tech is.

the world continues moving on to shinier, brighter, more advanced automated things - minimalist and metaverse or whatever but sollux is still here 🧍‍♂️ going woohoo redblue 3d. (tho personally i imagine his vibe similar to what the kids call cassette futurism on pinterest mixed w more grimy grunge insectoid influences eheh)

conceptually-speaking,

at the foundation of it all, the rapid pace of modern development was built off the understanding of ppl like sollux in the past, who were There actively at work while the dough was still beginning to rise

thats one of the cool things abt the idea of trolls preceding humans! the idea that trolls like sollux excelled back when lots of basic shit still needed to be discovered, building structures like networks and codes from scratch, and humans will eventually inherit and reinvent that knowledge in ways that become so optimized it makes the old manual effort seem archaic, slow, and labour-intensive.

but despite information/resources/shortcuts being more accessible now, much of the new highly-anticipated stuff released on trend still end up unfinished, inefficient, or expiring quickly due to cutting corners under severe capitalistic pressures

meanwhile, some of the old stuff frm past generations of thorough, exploratory and perfectionistic development still remains working, complete, and ever so sturdy.

those things continue to exist, just outside our periphery with either:

zero purpose left for modern needs (outdated/obsolete)

or

far too important to replace or destroy, bcs of its surprisingly essential and circumstantial usefulness in one niche specific area.

which are honestly? both points that sum up sollux pree well.

dramatic ending sorry. anw are u still on the fence or are u Sick abt him like me </3

[aropride]

fascinated and distressed by chase's disordered relationship with sexuality + his emotions abt his own trauma & abuse

thru the beginning of the show he doesn't even realize he's hot despite being objectively attractive. when he finds out he's hot he then realizes people pretend to be interested in him as a person in order to have sex with him and gets super upset about it

he starts having a bunch of meaningless sex as a coping mechanism when cameron leaves him. and also a lot of other times. whenever something bad happens, basically, he starts going out with a bunch of women, just to feel something, presumably

^to the extent where hes known within the hospital as a slut. and has had sex with an insane amount of nurses. as well as presumably women who are not at his place of work.

he says doing this made him hate himself so he stopped. it's the b-plot for an episode and then he's back having meaningless sex again by the end of the episode

even his coworkers know this about him. and have called it out, masters even says she thinks he doesn't respect women bc, in her words, he's with a different one every few days or maybe he finds comfort in meaningless relationships

goes back to having meaningless sex within weeks of getting stabbed. which is really bad for wound healing reasons too. genuinely it seems like such compulsive behavior for him considering he keeps doing it even when its objectively not only a bad idea but actively dangerous

house even directly says he's "a serial slut" because he's "terrified of intimacy." incredibly accurate assessment

his relationship with his sexuality reads so heavily as someone who thinks they're not good for anything else

see also: dissociation & avoidance

we know he has a lot of trauma especially in childhood- he never really gets into it let alone into how he Feels about it but what we know is already bad & that's just the stuff he's okay with sharing with his coworkers or patients

in general he's very avoidant of his own trauma- when he gets stabbed he says he "can't change what happened, can only make better choices from here" as if it was his own fault, and refuses thru the whole episode to acknowledge that being traumatized by this would be a really normal reaction that he is definitely having. instead he just blames himself

also, he dissociates from traumatic things that happen to him - says "there was a stabbing" rather than "i was stabbed" for instance

when he's talking abt his childhood trauma he does it in a very similar way - he talks about it very bluntly and doesn't ever get into how he actually feels about it.

see also: dr. fawn response

general passive willingness to go along with anything- when cameron says they should have sex in s3 he's surprised and then he just kinda goes along with it. not bc he didn't want to bc he obviously did, but he's just generally very much someone who does whatever other people want him to do. i feel like he and cameron both tend to seek validation thru sex in an unhealthy way that i'm still gnawing on like a dog with a bone i have to go rewatch s3 to really articulate it though

he has a sort of desperation for praise and approval especially from anyone he views as an authority figure. he does whatever authority figures tell him out of this idea that it'll bring him approval and therefore safety

like no matter what house does or says to him he doesn't argue or retaliate or anything. even when house punches him he collapses on the ground in pain and then just keeps talking about the patient like nothing happened.

the scene in 3.10 after house punches him where he's in the ddx room and house walks in and throws the file at him and chase is startled and tries to pretend he's not. and he looks up with this huge fuck ass bruise on his jaw swallows heavily and pretends not to be upset. and house asks if he got that looked at as if he wasn't the one to give it to him and chase just swallows and says he's fine. dr fawn response :(

[steviewashere]

Late night fic idea that I'm definitely going to try and write at some point!!

Definitely very angsty. Steve's got bad parents. A few arguments. And Steve basically restarting his adult life. But it would definitely have a happy ending! Walk with me here.

In early 1987, Steve gets into a nasty argument with his parents. About how much of a disappointment he is, how he can't hold a good enough job, that he's just not who they wanted him to be. They tell him, pretty loudly, that if he can't grow up, then he needs to get out.

He, of course, is very upset by the result of this argument. Because he's trying his damn hardest at this whole adult thing. He's trying his damn hardest to be the person everybody wants him to be; the older brother, the best friend, the boyfriend—the good guy. Yet, even though he's completely emotionally devastated, he still goes to Eddie's because they have a date.

He's not very attentive during the date. Ignoring Eddie's comments sometimes. Giving half answers. And Eddie takes it the opposite of something wrong with Steve—no, he thinks there's something wrong with him. They end up having their own nasty, explosive argument. One that ends with Eddie muttering something along the lines of, "God, I hate you so much right now." He doesn't mean it, knows he doesn't mean it because it's too easy to just say a bullshit claim than talk it all out, hash it out as it is, figure out the root of the problem. However, Steve doesn't know this. Steve thinks Eddie means it.

Thinks that Eddie's just been putting on this interested facade to save Steve's lonely, battered heart. That maybe the novelty of their relationship ran out a long time ago. Eddie's just now telling it as it is; the same way Nancy had. A bullshit relationship, one that never meant anything. (And similar to Nancy, they don't really mean it. It's all just moment of passion stuff).

Steve leaves Eddie's. Leaves with his heart dropped out of him, wet and dead on Eddie's carpet. He leaves with bile in the back of his throat, eyes that ache, a head that's too messy to sort through. And then, the only idea that becomes clear to him: he has to get out.

Get out of Hawkins.

Because if Eddie was thinking something like that all along, who else has been thinking the same thing? Dustin? Max? Robin?

He goes to work. Submits a letter of resignation. Gives the courtesy of two more weeks. And then...

He packs all that he thinks he needs in a couple bags: a backpack and a duffel bag. He sells his car, the only money he now has to his name, plus whatever his last Family Video paycheck is. Steve gets on the closest bus, one that'll take him to a shuttle, and he takes a train out of Indiana.

Goes west. Goes to a shitty neighborhood in Sacramento, as far as he can get. He got the transfer request sent over to a Family Video here, he'll start there soon. He stays in a hotel for a couple nights, a couple nights before he finds a last minute lease for a shitty apartment.

And he just stays there. Stays in Sacramento.

He calls Robin's house once on a payphone, that way he can't be tracked. Robin's not home when he calls. He gives a message to her mom: "Tell Robin that I'm sorry. And...and that I love"—he'd sigh—"Yeah. Yeah, just tell her that I'm sorry, please. I did what I had to." He hangs up, doesn't give another way for him to be contacted and he moves on.

Some years pass. He hasn't been taking care of himself all that well, it's noticeable in how he looks. Scraggly facial hair, heavy eyes, lanky and skinny body, he's mowed down most of his hair. Just looks like an imposter in his own skin. He's working a different dead-end retail job—some supermarket, one that's owned by a corporation, he's one in thousands; somebody not cared for. His social life is nothing. He's weird around other people, weird in general; trauma that's been left unsolved, nightmares that keep him awake (so his neighbors now have a vendetta against him), stares too hard, doesn't like to talk anymore. He's hollow. A man who nobody knows, no connotations, no stupid hierarchies or nicknames attached to him. He's just Steve Harrington, some guy.

Yet, in the time he's been there, he takes up a few hobbies. Ones that work well with his secluded lifestyle. He picks up painting and photography. Things he never thought he'd be interested in. But...but he gets too bored, so he tries.

Finds out that he's good. Finds out that he's good enough for his own small studio space. For a small exhibit in the local art museum. And there, on the floor of his exhibit, idling between people who want to know more about the guy that keeps showing up in his paintings: brown eyes and pink mouth and smiles that are too big for his face; and the woman: a bob with bangs, crystal blue eyes, and a kindness that shows in her soft smiles; it's there that he sees an all too familiar face.

Eddie meets his eyes. Older, grown into his body, same brown eyes, same long curly hair. And there's a sheen of tears in his stare. A recognition he never thought he'd receive.

And there's silence. People passing them by.

Until, when the exhibit is empty except for them, Steve can only muster a simple, "Hey." And a smile, something thin that doesn't feel very real. Didn't want to be found, not yet. But in the paintings, he's been dreaming; he's been searching.

From the entryway of another exhibit, one that connects to Steve's, Robin appears. She's got that '90s pixie. And cherry stained lips. Grunge eyeshadow and an ill fitting, hole-riddled t-shirt that Steve slowly realizes is one he wore; those red Converse from Scoops, faded black Sharpie, but the only text that's still dark (as if it's been written over and over) is one he put there: "Dingus was here". She doesn't even speak. Only knows. Tripping over her own feet, dashing across the waxed floor, sliding across it with clumsy limbs. Crashing straight into Steve, hefting him up in her arms, squeezing him so tight he can't breathe.

When she places him back down on the ground, standing side by side with Eddie, the two of them simply staring at him in awe and relief, Eddie finally speaks for the two of them.

He fucking speaks. His voice is dripping with relief, yearning rich and honey-sweet in the vowels. Words full of love that's been stirring slow like a stew in his heart, thick and clogging.

"There you are, sweetheart. There you are."

[unteriors]

Since you're Australian, why are so many of the posts from the US? Did you start with Australia and then move onto other countries once you'd felt like you exhausted it? Or is the US particularly interesting for your purposes?

A big part of the reason is the enormous difference in scale. Australia has about 25 million people, versus 300 or so million in the US. Each of the 50 states has at least one or two major cities, most have many more than that. In addition to the volume of real estate imagery produced by this market, there are a few things about the US in this context which draw me in from an Australian perspective. One is how real estate listings weirdly embody how much more visually apparent the harmful economic forces of the past 50 years are in American society than they are here or elsewhere. Australia's welfare state was developed roughly during the same time as in the US, and has similarly been cut back since the 1970s. But it was always much weaker in the US than in Australia or Western Europe, and correspondingly the effects of its deterioration - along with other economic trends - have been much more visible than they are here. The way this is played out in terms of localised funding for public services means that many American cities have pockets (of varying sizes) where poverty and other forms of systemic oppression are concentrated and left open to the elements. The sort of stuff Jacob Holdt documented in his photos in the 70s, or that you see in a lot crime films and thrillers with location shooting. Gentrification and other forces since then have pushed these pockets into other areas and made some places seem less grim, but from what I've heard it seems like it would be hard for the average person in the US to ignore that these large, systemic problems exist. Conversely, in Australia, this kind of intense poverty has been pushed into the margins of society during the same time period - to remote communities (where people suffer from chronic diseases that have been eradicated in most other wealthy countries), country towns with shrinking economies, or to the fringes of larger cities (where people sleep in their cars in parking lots, or multiple families form sharehouses to afford $400-500+ pw rents). Though as things have gotten worse, particularly since COVID, it's getting harder to ignore. But still there's a substantial part of the population here who have grown up in ignorance of any of the larger, percolating structural problems in Australian society, and who proactively retain that ignorance into adulthood.

I think you can see these different perspectives play in out in real estate listings. In most American states, even in most of the towns I've looked at, you can see a broad spectrum of living conditions (and commercial interpretations of ideal living conditions) - from burnt out trailers, to overpriced renovated shitty older houses with cheap grey vinyl flooring and white walls, to clearly lived-in time capsules to McMansions to actual mansions. Some photographs are clearly shot by owners, others by real estate agents with a great variety of care and attention to detail (from elaborate staging to crime scenes). Rightly or wrongly, I feel like I get a broader, more honest (or at least more direct) feel for the housing crisis. It's a more honest horror film.

Australian listings, I think in part due to concentrations in corporate power in the real estate industry (similar to other monopolies that have formed in our economy), tend to more heavily adhere to the visual language of advertising and are more heavily regulated by agencies. The problems still exist, the housing market here is among the worst in the world and little effort is being made to address the underlying structural issues, but you can see the lack of will to acknowledge these issues in the level of gloss that's applied. You can look at a listing of an older house in Western Australia, for instance, and know for a fact that it's riddled with asbestos and probably has several other structural issues, but most likely enough time and effort will have been spent on staging and lighting and maybe surface-level renovations that it will seem otherwise fine. Lots of turds that have been polished successfully enough that you need insider knowledge to properly identify them as dogshit. Incidentally, I spent part of my childhood in a house built in the 1960s that had asbestos in the walls and ceiling.

I'm still interested in images from Australian listings (and other sources) though, I just look for other things that are interesting. Anything that runs contrary to the artificially positive, limited world view that advertising promotes. Even if its a poorly-lit time capsule that is directly aesthetically opposite to the ideal of house-beauty at the moment, or an obviously run-down house that has had every realtor photography trick in the playbook thrown at it until it becomes deeply uncanny. And it's always interesting to see what other people find interesting; I genuinely think the housing crisis underwrites every other political issue we have to contend with, its tendrils extend in many different directions, and I think this also means imagery like this can reach people in a diversity of ways. Aesthetically, nostalgically, inspiring fear and self-loathing and horror. All good sources of inspiration for creativity.

[lucysarah-c]

Let’s say Levi has a crush on reader but someone else also is pursuing reader. This someone else could be on a similar level to Levi but not necessarily his friend. I just more like to see what people think Levi would act like if he finally talks himself into pursuing reader but turns out he has “competition” in a way

Thank you if you answer this 🫶

Gasp Ah…. I LOVE THIS.

How are you?! Sorry for the late reply! Don't thank me for answering! Thank you for coming to my blog and asking.

Mh, LOVE IT. You know… have you listened to the song "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift? Haha, well, that's Levi LMAO.

I feel, with a hand on my heart, y'all know I love this man, but he simply cannot compete with someone in any field related to social implications. Has Levi finally talked himself into pursuing someone and trying to get his feelings across? Great, he thinks—I'll clarify—HE THINKS that he's being rather OBVIOUS. Maybe for those who know him, they would also notice Levi is interested in this person because he's not behaving like his regular self. But for the poor reader he's trying to court? … he's simply being nice HAHA.

This man would think that stopping by that person's job (if they have a bakery, tea shop, etc., for example) regularly, buying, and having a very small chit-chat is "flirting." He thinks that, if this person is a scout, asking them if they need anything from downtown or if they want a tea is CLEAR that he wants something with them. No.

So if someone else is pursuing the person he loves and has more social skills than him (which is not something hard to have), there's a high chance that person would take the lead in the "race for the reader's heart." Maybe they are more outgoing, charismatic, extroverted, etc., and they take the lead. Levi would be jealous, 100%. He would get grumpy, angry, etc., but always at himself.

I can picture him muttering and cursing at himself under his breath while working, "I'm an idiot, I'm stupid. YoUr HaIR DoESn't lOOk ThAt ShITTy toDAY," mocking his own voice, and then groaning in frustration. "… my mom must have dropped me as a baby or Kenny's kicks really damaged my brain. I can't be this stupid," realizing that this other person says "smooth shit," as he would call it, and he simply can't.

Especially because Levi's love language is acts of service… mixed with degradation lmao. "Give that, you're going to drop it," and he will carry stuff for them. "You look like shit, tch, just sit down, I'll do it," and he brews them a tea and brings them something to eat.

Levi is a grower in people. I can 100% see him having feelings for this person for months, years perhaps. Maybe they even consider and go for a relationship with Levi's competitor, and it doesn't work out, etc., and they have grown close to Levi. Something he says or does makes the reader snap and say, "… are you flirting with me, Captain?"

Levi would look stoic as ever but slightly defeated mixed with embarrassment and say, "Yeah, for the past year. Thank you for finally noticing."

(extra scene)

Levi alone in his office: "Can't you see that I'm the one who understands you? Been here all along. So, why can't you see? You belong with me."

I'll tag people on this one because I had a blast writing it. Thank you so much, you made my birthday lmao.

Link to my masterlist and my other works if you feel like checking them out. Tags!: @nube55 @justkon @notgoodforlife @nmlkys @humanitys-strongest-bamf @quillinhand @thoreeo @darkstarlight82 @angelofthor @aomi04 @levisbrat25 @l3visthighs @hum4n-wr3ckag3 @hannieslovebot @starrylevi @rithty @mariaace @ackrmntea @emilyyyy-08 @levisfavoriteteashop @katestrophes @levistealeaf @an-ever-angry-bi @youre-ackermine @fxnnyackerman @secretmoneybearvoid @trashblackrainbow @flxrartsstuff @katharinasdiaryy @kikarouflames @levisecretgfblog @searriously @blackdxggr @ackermanswifee @abiatackerman @braunsbabe @moonchild-12345 @levicansteponme Wanna join my tag list? Here!

[tinydefector]

Hey Tiny!I dont know if youve been asked this before but how do you think cybertronians feel about humans,a fleshy organic species, on earth that is lightyears away from their home planet looking and acting suspiciosly(if i dont spell something right sorry) alot like them?

Since in some of the continuitys the allspark ends up on earth, do you thinks some transformers might think we were made by primus to?

Another thing im interested in, is that since we're so interested in technology, is that humans eventually become a techno-organic species then become a transformers like species from there.Like transformers can help out with that and eventually we all evolve into one metal transforming species?

Sorry it took me so long to get around to this one.

Personally I love the idea of both humans and Cybertronians getting the Uncanny valley reaction to each other, for Cybertronians its more of a 'why do I feel sudden dread near these little creatures, have my people done something to them, does it have something to do with the Quintasons.

For humans it's more of the freeze up, don't look don't acknowledge, treat it like your in the Appalachians reaction to them the first time they ever see a Cybertronian becuase the closest thing outmind and body can relate something so similar and different is fear.

____

Cybertronians are very fascinated by our body structure, like out of all the different species in space some little backwater planet has a species so similar to them. Some believe it Primus' doing others believe it's just the way the planet evolved over time.

I happen to very much like the earth is Unicron in some aspects and love the idea of Unicron being such a petty little bitch who made humans becuase he wanted to one up Primus with his creation. (Gets even funnier with human x Rung stuff) cause now Unicron has to suffer knowing that primus is interfacing a human or the fact that humans and Cybertronians are getting it on that much all becuase he was a petty bitch.

______

I don't think humans would ever become a fully techno organic race but I do very much love the idea of how our technology advances for those with disabilities, its much more small stuff then us having advances weapons under our skin. I happen to really love the idea of having cybernetic prosthetics, and other advanced technologies along that line. Cybertronians being a lead into helping humans develop was to help re make or structure joint with much safe surgery then the metal pins we use.

So I don't think it would go full cyberpunk style but I do like the idea of us going the more cyborg route than the techno organic.

___________

But also along that line there are always going to be those who fear things they don't understand both on the human and Cybertronian side. If you guys have ever played Detroit become human it's a great aspect of how I think people would very Cybertronians outside of the fact of the fear of them being aliens.

But i also love the idea of Cybertronians fearing the shit out of humans over the experience they have had with other organic races, (quintasons). Seeing what we do with old cars, how we pull them apart when somethings wrong, I feel like alot of bots would fear being undercover on earth due to just what humans can do to cars.

So honestly I think k the cybertronians fear us more than them due to just watching what we do with the stuff around us, while our fear of them stems from uncanny Valley and the fear of aliens. But once we get to know then it's all a down wards spiral to freak intercourse.

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

Is shattering permanent in the comic (especially with the force fusions and cluster) or can it be fixed down the line like future did? Asking for your opinion on this too bc I found out about it in Future and it makes me feel weird (bc now it feels like any SU stuff and shattering has no consequence or tension, so haven’t been able to read or write stories). Maybe I’m seeing this wrong? Would love your thoughts

Hmm...

So to answer your first question: The comic for WDAU works on the same rules as canon does. I have no intention to over-write anything canon clearly stated to be true.

The ability to put back together shattered gems is definitely a part of that.

So yes, theoretically, even in WDAU, gems being shattered is not 'the end' because they can be eventually re-instated through the work of the diamonds, IF they someday decide to Change Their Minds like they did in the original series.

That being said...

I want to talk a little bit about something you said, because it tickles my brain in an interesting way:

"now it feels like any SU stuff and shattering has no consequence or tension"

And the best way to talk about stuff, I've found, is to ask questions about our underlying assumptions. So my questions for you (all) today are:

For us humans, death certainly IS a constant that remains ever-permanent, and thus it's easy to compare it to shattering and draw that parallel... but is that a fair comparison?

In fiction, death is often circumvented and there still remains reasonable tension in things like magic-heavy worlds, vampire novels, sci-fi where almost any sickness is eradicated, etc. Is this not quite similar to what shattering is for gems?

Is the perceived permanency of shattering the only reason it feels like a heavy consequence?

Are there OTHER consequences of being shattered that make it just as interesting, if not more than, to be explored as a plot device?

Must there be an ever-looming threat of something horrible and permanent happening to make a story good?

There isn't a right or wrong answer to these questions, necessarily. I'm not posing these in order to lead you to a singular, 'absolutely correct' conclusion or way of writing.

For some stories, death DOES need to be permanent in order not to make light of what the characters go through! In some forms of writing, there IS no other way around that consequence.

But I daresay SU is not one of those stories.

Let me put it this way - 100 years ago, medicine had only BEGUN to develop into the thing we know it as today. Sure, there were therapies and treatments for diseases, broken limbs, poisonings, etc. Some of them were quite good, even! But overall, the death tolls back then from basic illness were MUCH higher than they were today.

Pnumonia, Malaria, Syphillis, Smallpox, Bubonic Plague, AIDS.

These were things that people died from, with near CERTAINTY, for the LONGEST time. They were considered the road to a permanent black screen.

And today? Even though they are still, without proper intervention, JUST as deadly, we now have new tools and vaccines to combat them. Hell, if you get vaccinated fast enough you can get bit by a rabid dog and live to tell the tale, unscathed! Rabies used to be a one-stop-shop to the afterlife.

Despite this, we still view these diseases with appropriate fear. They are still dangerous - in the right conditions.

In the right conditions, the consequences for a LOT of things can be permanent. If permanency is what you're looking for.

So alright, the Diamonds can heal shattered gems now. Booooring. How easy it is to fix any shattered gem! What a simple solution to anything tragic.

But................... will they ALWAYS do so?

In fact...will the Diamonds ALWAYS be around?

Will the gems who got shattered always be picked up, piece by piece, and be brought back to them, perfectly preserved? Or will they lose pieces of themselves along the way - literally?

And what NEW consequences can we think of, when we stop thinking of the permanency of death, and start thinking of the Impermanence of those tools that keep us here longer and longer?

Just food for thought. 👀

[the-anime-enthusiast]

MHA CHARACTERS TYPES IN WOMEN

#1 Katsuki Bakugou

KATSUKI BAKUGOU - PHYSICAL

He likes his women tall and strong (with a scary similar demeanor to his mother 😭). I'm talking 5'6 and up, might feel weird about dating someone taller than him, but the more the merrier⁉️ (I also bc he gets to be around 5'10 to 6ft whenever he finally finishes growing) 🙏

He FOR SURE fw chubby girls, like a lifter kind of chubby... Someone strong and with muscle but something on their bones other than skin yk?

For some this is unfortunate, be he would NEVER date a blonde 😭 He thinks it's creepy cuz he feels weird about dating someone blonde considering his mom's blonde too 😭 He wouldn't mind a darker, more honey blonde than anything, though 😌

He LOVES freckles and moles 😈 He questioned his sanity given Izuku has freckles whenever he found out he liked them, but always tries to keep it out of his mind cuz he'll get the heebie-jeebies again ���� despite the intrusive thoughts, he loves to kiss them and point out how pretty they are everytime he gets the chance 🤗

He def has a thing for strong legs and a nice ass 🌚 BROS FS AN ASS MAN 😭 Loves just hugging you from behind and grabbing it, not even to be a perv it's just comforting in a weird way 😭🙏

He fw hips to 🙏😌 something to squeeze and kiss on when he's yk 😶‍🌫️ "downtown" 😶‍🌫️ following this he likes stretch marks too, rubbing them feeling the difference in texture on your skin 🤧

Going back to the strong legs 🙏 (and a lil on the chubby stuff) HE FW HEAVY ON THICK ANKLES it's so strange to him and makes him question whether he's sane or not, but he loves it. FS the weirdest thing he find attractive 🫡

He also appreciates some skull crushers 😈 Doesn't even have to be all muscles, just something squishy that's too big for his hand to wrap all the way around 😌

LOVES A BROWN EYED BADDIE ‼️ He loves the look of doe eyes staring up at him but the second your face relaxes and you look like a cold stone bitch he twitches a lil 🤭 (if yk what I mean) He can't get the gojo meme out of his head and gets the heebie-jeebies when looking into someone's blue eyes 😭😭 (monoma freaks him out))

KATSUKI BAKUGOU - MENTAL

You know how he didn't hold back on Uraraka? 😈 Yeah, he likes women who can hold their own against him and honestly that's all he asks for. Ofc he has other standards but something about a strong woman who's just as hard headed as him, really gets him going 🌚

Given he's had to calm down since the war, he appreciates a little bit of feist in his partner, but also a side of them that can be sweet and just as doting as he is 🤭

One of the main points of the people he takes interest in, are that they feel safe around him. 🫶He wants someone who will just fall in his arms at the end of a long day ranting on about work into his neck as he just sits there and listens 🌹 (occasionally chiming in on your coworkers you don't like 😈 )...

KATSUKI BAKUGOU - RANDOMS

He fucks with MUSICIANS HEAVVYYYYY 🎸🎶 You gonna bust out the guitar and strum along to his crazy good beats? HELL YEAH‼️ Maybe some bass to back him up? FUCK YEAH‼️ Gonna pull out your own sticks and out drum him?? DOUBLE FUCK YEAH ‼️Maybe even the clarinet to impress his dad? Hell. Motherfucking. Yeah. Any instrument and he's automatically impressed, he's learned from playing the drums just how much dedication and hard work goes into learning so he truly appreciates it 😈

LOVES FOODIES ‼️ "Hey babe I was thinking of trying that new katsu-" "You don't even have to ask" he replied dragging you to the car. He loves when people eat his food and compliment him on it (although he'll never admit it) so a GF WHO DOES THAT? SIGN HIM UP. 🎂

Low-key fucks with shy girls 😉 He loves outgoingness, don't get me wrong, but whenever they're behind closed doors and his gf gets all shy and scared to look into his eyes he practically melts (the thought of knowing that his gf feels the EXACT same way as him makes him puddy in your hands) 😈

PHYSICAL TOUCH ‼️GIFT GIVING ‼️ QUALITY TIME ‼️ HIS WEAKNESSES ‼️‼️When he can't find the words to tell you how he feels he'll use these to his advantage, hugging you from behind kissing your neck, bringing a lil Stuffie home for you when he knows your down, or just sitting in silence with your favorite TV show on 😌🙏 All that matters is that hes close to you or in your arms making you feel good when you otherwise cant 🫶

THAT'S IT THANKYOU BYYEE 🫶🫶

these are some head cannons for da best boi bakugou bc he's been my fav character for 6 years and what better way to celebrate than curate a list of my fav head cannons for him 🫶

(lemme know who I should do next 😉)

OKAY NOW ACTUALLY BYE BYEEE 😍😍

[fuckyeahisawthat]

Said I was not gonna make Dune Messiah predictions but here I am making Dune Messiah predictions. Because I've been thinking about how smartly Part Two used all the characters around Paul to embody the different forces pulling on him, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see a similar thing in Dune Messiah.

I think Irulan's role will be more or less the same as in the book--she'll be plotting against him. She represents the interests of the Bene Gesserit and the other Great Houses--all the various other imperialist powers that Paul pissed off by upending their carefully laid plans.

Chani will definitely be there but she will not have spent the intervening years with Paul. It's much more of a punch in the feels for her to pop up as a plot twist partway through the story and for us to see their reunion happen in real time. I've seen some predictions that try to like...bend Paul and Chani's relationship back into a shape approximating what's in the book and I am saying now that that ain't gonna happen. Spending years hanging around the imperial palace trying to get pregnant and soothing your dictator bf's existential angst makes no fucking sense for movie Chani. She will be organizing against him. If she "forgives" him and spends any amount of time with him it'll be a ruse in order to spy on him or something like that. I think it would be a great source of internal conflict for her to discover along the way that she still harbors some compassion for Paul as a person, but there is no way she will compromise her political principles; that is the bedrock of her character. She will serve much the same role as she did in Part Two: she gives voice to Paul's conscience, his better instincts, and the interests of the Fremen independent of what various imperial powers want from them.

The twins will still be born, because that is central to why Paul does what he does at the end of the story, and that is part of "leaving the door open" for any fool who might take a crack at directing Children of Dune. (I think Children of Dune can work just fine as a movie but anyone who does it will be Not Denis and therefore setting themselves a formidable task.) But like...Paul and Chani only have to have sex once for that to happen.

The role that Chani plays for a large chunk of the book, of being Paul's loyal confidante and the person he allows himself to be most human around? That role is gonna be filled by Alia.

Alia...doesn't really have a lot to do, plot-wise, in the book of Dune Messiah, and this is the perfect place to put her. She is the only person in the Known Universe who maybe sort of a little bit understands what Paul's experience of reality is like now. She's the perfect conduit to voice all the philosophical stuff about prescience that's in the book but hard to work into casual dialogue. The book is full of people saying stuff about how Paul and Alia are so close they seem like two halves of the same person but we don't really see it that much on the page, and this is the perfect chance to add that stuff in. (I could very much see them borrowing not necessarily the actual plot points but some of the weird incesty vibes from the Children of Dune era.) I wouldn't be so surprised if some of the moments that happen between Paul and Chani in the book get handed off to Alia (blind ornithopter ride maybe??) and Chani gets a whole new storyline, independent of Paul, that's not in the book at all.

It kinda fits with the rhythm of the films, too. In Part One Paul's most important interpersonal relationship is with Jessica. In Part Two, he's in conflict with Jessica and his most important relationship is with Chani. In Messiah, I think he'll be in conflict with Chani and his most central relationship will be with Alia. (And ghola!Duncan probably, but I think that will be another surprise reveal that happens later in the story.) And at the end of Messiah, he won't end up in conflict with Alia exactly. But he will leave her behind.

[kyoshitargaryen]

experiences shifting to Hogwarts

I've shifted multiple times — rarely to my scripted DRs, but I've shifted dozens of times to realities similar to them or within the potterverse. here's some of my experiences! a lot of them vary since a majority of the time, I'm not shifting to scripted places. @elegantcath; @butterycroissant; @etheriaaly

hopefully this all makes sense bc I wrote this on no sleep lol

background

I'm a slytherin, so this is very much based around my experience in that house along with the perceptions regarding it. it definitely does impact my relationships with people and the professors. my DRs are also University DRs. remember, I most often shift to random realities and not to places I scripted, so there can be some variation in how things work.

about hogwarts

the first week of lessons of first year are quality-of-life lessons. think warming charms, the summoning charm, locking and unlocking (especially important for the students who share dorms), reparo, stuff you would need on a daily basis or for basic survival.

I scripted that we use Floo Flames within Hogwarts to get to different floors and corridors and our common rooms efficiently. you basically just have to put your hand in and name a corridor you wish to go to, and you floo there instantly. the best part? no mess! since you're just putting your hand in, it's easily brushed off. no soot or floo powder sticking on you all day. problem? you still have to walk to Hogsmeade, unless you're physically disabled. if you are, you get to floo through Headmaster Dumbledore's office — but you have to be escorted with your head of house.

the uniforms and robes are spelled to be extremely long-lasting. they don't fray or degrade where regular clothing might. they're also magically tailored, so they grow or shrink based on your size. there's no need to replace them, but many opt to as a show of wealth.

I scripted that I have my own dorm room since I'm autistic and need alone time. some students can pay a higher tuition to be alone or pay a lower one to share a dorm. there are also accomodations for disabled students.

there are hampers in the dorm rooms! I'm not sure if there's one per bed in the shared rooms, but there's definitely one in my solo room. they're spelled to be "bottomless" so you can shove all of your clothes, your sheets, your comforter in without problem. at midnight every night whatever's in there is sent to be washed by house elves and delivered back in the morning. I think there might be an option for "housekeeping" where the house elves change your sheets, but I prefer to keep others out of my room as much as possible lol so they just put my sheets on top of my trunk and my clothes in my wardrobe.

I've shifted to multiple realities where they have different dorm and common room configurations. in my DR, it's simply long corridors of dorms connected to the larger common room. the hive configuration: there's a main common room, which acts as the heart of the House. it's very large and spacious, with plenty of ways to entertain oneself. it's almost like a large ballroom. then there are smaller common rooms that are connected to dorms, laid out like honeycombs. there were 5 individual dorms connected to the smaller common room, where there was a kitchen and shared bathroom. this was the "living room" of the hive for the people whose dorms were attached to it. it's kinda like there were little houses within a larger house. the winding configuration: like how the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw towers go up, this configuration for Slytherins winds down. it's like a spiral staircase of rooms. the maze configuration: I hated this one with my whole soul. if I ever shift there again I will be shifting back immediately. I won't bother exploring. I don't think it can get worse than this. the maze configuration is some awful mix between the maze in the triwizard tournament and the moving staircases. it's awful and so easy to get lost. it's interesting in that there are false walls so if you accidentally make a wrong turn, you can find your way back, but you're probably not going to figure out the floorplan of that until you're in your 7th year. I think it's a way to enclose a large amount of rooms within a small space. I'm not sure if the different floorplans of the maze correspond to different years, but I....there's no words for it. the only benefit of it was there was a large spa-like room if you could find the heart of it. it was like the prefect's bathroom but better. almost like a hot spring.

there's two ways that the dorm rooms change by year that I've encountered; a longer explanation; the first years are always closest to the common room. as you reach different years in your education, your dorm room will move down (or slide down if it's the winding configuration, or move out if you're in the hive configuration) to make room for the first years. there's no structural change to your room or even the area surrounding it. it looks no different than it did before, there's just a new number of doors you have to pass before you reach yours. there's only been a couple of times where there was an elevator for the dorm rooms, with each year on a different level, but generally it seems it's just a walking game. simple explanation; the dorms spread out from the common room like dendrites do a nerve (or the fingers do a palm), so the students in a house are spread evenly through the "fingers", so the walk isn't that long. the first way the years are separated are through flooring. there's a staircase where the different landings correspond to different years. the second way I've seen is they simply move down in a line, meaning a longer walk.

I'm like 90% sure there's an amplification spell cast on the podium where Dumbledore gives his speech and the frog choir performs.

the benches in the great hall have warming charms on them in the winter. I'm not sure if this is a natural feature of Hogwarts or if someone who came before me charmed the bench. they are still definitely uncomfortable.

the robes are not insulated; instead, we use warming charms! I love putting warming charms on ear muffs.

hogsmeade and the hogwarts express

I've only managed to get to Hogsmeade once. it was a completely accidental shift to a reality where I hadn't even considered shifting to at that time — Hogwarts Legacy. Sebastian, Ominus, and myself were sitting in a corner booth at the Three Broomsticks. the most I can share from that experience was that Sebastian sprayed whipped cream on my butterbeer, so I guess you're meant to put it on by yourself? I'd order it without whipped cream anyway so I'm not sure if it would come with or if you're meant to put it on yourself.

the glass in the hogwarts express frosts over when someone is getting dressed. people don't usually go to a bathroom to change, they just change in the compartment. people of different sexes usually wait out in the hallway. tbh this is what I always pictured when reading the books so this may be subconsciously scripted.

the hogwarts express magically accommodates the people on board. there's always just enough compartments and just enough train carts for everyone — though it won't go out of its way to make a new compartment just so you don't have to share.

general wizarding world facts

each wizarding school has a magical tome that lists out the students who are able to enroll at the school. there are multiple different ways to qualify for enrollment; location-based, where you're within the country or countries the school represents; legacy-based, where one of your ancestors within a certain number of generations attended the university or if you're a descendant of someone notable like Merlin or a Founder; sponsor-based, where someone of recognition has recommended your enrollment to the school

places where there's a lot of muggle-traffic like King's Cross have limited repello muggletum cast within a certain range of places of high wizarding-traffic, like the entrance to Platform 9¾. since it's so limited, it doesn't keep muggles from walking near the area, it instead forces their attention away from it. this is how there are wizarding entrances in muggle places while still maintaining the statute of secrecy. as soon as the entrance is within eyeshot, something happens or something catches the attention of the muggle. it's basically just a blindspot.

I scripted that there are multiple schools throughout the wizarding world to make up for the lack of foresight in canon, but interestingly, there's the same amount of "main" universities like Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, and Hogwarts, but there are smaller ones that I would relate to community colleges in America. this could be subconscious scripting based on my college experiences in this reality though.

the bathrooms are always charmed to be clean, at least in Hogwarts. there's still a need for maintenance, but there shouldn't be any terrible smells or grime.

I scripted that the fashion in the wizarding world are more aligned with Game of Thrones and general medieval wardrobe. I just really adore the look and tbh I like it more than just plain robes. there are a lot of what I assume are preservation spells on the clothing, so many are passed down through generations for special events. they're not nearly as strong as whatever preservation spells are put on school uniforms, but that's probably to keep low-income families in mind re: schooling where it wouldn't really be thought of in fashion since that's where the rich flaunt themselves.

this is really niche and I'm not sure if it applies to every reality, but if you put the tip of the broom to your mouth and blow, special features can appear. sometimes there are hidden foot pedals or even handlebars!

there are different forms of magic based on culture and ethnicity. indigenous magic is very different to the magic you'd see in Harry Potter. e.g. runic magic. the magic in Harry Potter is kinda the "standard" set globally. this is probably because of colonization. I view it as being like a common tongue for the wizarding world.

spell experiences

using the duplication spell wandlessly feels so cool. it's kinda like you're pulling the edges of whatever you're multiplying in two different directions, and a second item magically forms in the middle! kinda like pulling something out of a mirror.

lumos solaris is a variant of lumos solem. if solem is the beam of light, then solaris is the star itself. it's completely heatless so there's no danger other than possibly blinding yourself. you can "throw" the star up into the sky and it'll shine down as though it were daytime. I dunno if it's a canon spell or one just in my realities.

aguamenti can go wrong very quickly. try to think of the pressure you're trying to conjure when you cast it.

accio is not instantaneous. you can feel like a fool sometimes while you wait for whatever you're summoning makes its way to you.

lumos has different levels to it depending on what you ask for, and I'm not talking about maxima. if you think of the amount of light you're meaning to conjure, it can be as soft as a reading light or candle.

scourgify and tergeo are going to be your best friends. they are the clumsy's greatest tool. they're both cleaning spells, but you can use scourgify more generally and tergeo to collect or remove. so if you spill something expensive like ink, you can use tergeo to collect the spill and deposit it back to the inkwell or pen. you have to be careful though, because if you're not intentional about wanting it to return to where it was spilled from, you can accidentally vanish it entirely.

sonorus sometimes sounds like talking over a loudspeaker lol. it can be kinda difficult for me to keep my train of thought when using it because the difference is so drastic.

a lot of parents use arresto momentum. like more than you realize. instead of "parent reflexes" where you catch the kid, you spell them into safety. I've had to use it entirely too many times (I trust my cat's ability to land on her feet far less than she does).

incarcerous doesn't have a definite way of binding something or someone. I can't tell if it adapts based on the caster's intention or if it depends on the environment. I have seen people use it to make macrame pot hanger. there are probably better spells for artistic things like that? but in a pinch, I suppose...

you can control the size of the object you're casting diminuendo on. I like to use it on stuff I'm not supposed to have lol or I don't want people to see. I had to cast it on my journal quite a few times.

I can personally do spells without incantations, just intention. I'm not sure if this is common? but it's something I can do. I didn't even bother looking up the incantation for the warming charm, I did it as soon as I shifted because ITS FUCKING COLD IN SCOTLAND and I don't handle the cold well

[yanderes-galore]

IDK if this really makes sense for the character but I had a thought. What about Stain from MHA as a platonic yandere with a Darling who he wants to train to be his successor/help kill heroes with him? Since the series is so big on successor stuff, I thought it would be interesting to see xD He just spares Darling's life and sort of adopts them(Darling is an adult btw). Darling isn't so wild about this but also they don't want to die, so?? I guess this could be a one-shot but if you prefer to do a concept/summary that's ok too!

The idea seems very interesting but I'll probably stick with a concept just to make sure I get my thoughts down and have to focus a bit less on plot ^^; But in the future I could do a follow up short for this!

Yandere! Platonic! Stain with Successor! Darling

Pairing: Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Manipulation, Threats, Violence, Blood, Murder, Stalking, Brainwashing/Implied mind break, Overprotective/Possessive behavior, Dark themes, Delusional behavior, Forced companionship.

The idea of Stain/Chizome taking in a successor is an odd concept that doesn't seem like it would be a thought in his mind.

However... I feel like it's possible.

I especially like the idea if his obsession is a lesser known vigilante who genuinely likes to help people and has conviction.

You don't want fame or money, you just want to help people.

Essentially, if you appeal to Stain's beliefs, he'd consider deeming his obsession worthy.

Stain's one of the more intimidating yanderes, both aura and Quirk-wise.

So him sparing you is a surprise to you.

Granted, he's spared others he deems are worthy before.

But you're different... as he finds you worthy enough to spread his message.

I imagine he'd think this if he observed you enough to see you had similar ideals.

Even something as simple as acknowledging modern heroes as corrupt could set Stain's sights on you.

You have potential and he wants to sharpen it.

Your first proper meeting could be brutal if you think about it.

Perhaps you have a friend who's a hero that Stain doesn't see as pure, just to make things dark.

His intention is to kill your friend, but notices you.

Stain probably will kill your "false hero" friend, but finds your attitude and drive intriguing.

He doesn't feel bad about killing your friend, paralyzing you both with his Quirk before casting his judgment on them.

Yet his eyes lock on you when he sees you.

That passion in your eyes... you feel similar to him, don't you?

You may hate being compared to him, but don't you hate it when heroes are corrupt?

You may not believe it, yet your friend didn't have the best intentions as a "hero".

Stain intimidates you in your first encounter.

Your first encounter starts as a battle and ends with you covered in blood.

You're staring at the corpse of your friend, terrified as Stain stares you down.

However, instead of killing you, he offers you an alternative...

You become his successor.

Like you said in the request, you don't want to die.

So you take the offer and allow Stain to guide you through his beliefs.

That's a way I feel you two could meet that follows how the request is asked.

You start only going along with it because you're terrified.

But over time I can see Stain brainwashing his new successor into believing him.

Think about it...

Stain convinces you that your friend really was corrupt.

He tells you he doesn't like pointless bloodshed, that the only ones who deserve to die are the ones against his creed.

So... obviously your friend was corrupt, right?

Stain shows his successor the corruption of the world, feeding you new beliefs since you're so scared of him.

He does wish you'd stop being so scared, though... not like he's going to hurt you.

I can see his obsession being very hesitant at first.

You hate the idea of murder, Stain finds this purity of yours... oblivious.

That's okay, he'll fix things as your mentor.

Stain would tell you all about a target he's been keeping an eye on.

He'll manipulate you, telling you all the terrible things they've supposedly done.

They're corrupt... just like your friend... a stain on this world.

Stain would mess with his successor's beliefs and mind to mold them into who he wants.

Sooner or later you'll see you're just cleaning up scum.

Despite the brutal lifestyle Stain thrusts upon you, he cares about you.

It's really weird to say that... considering Stain is usually cruel and merciless as the Hero Killer.

Yet he does have respect for fellow vigilantes, he's even attached to his successor.

Granted... the way he obtained you was brutal... but he'd do just about anything to keep you in his care.

Spilling blood for you becomes the norm since he's so fixated on keeping you safe.

You seem to be the only thing he cares about other than his creed.

Your new job naturally comes with enemies and no one gets near you without Stain nearby.

Hero, villain, doesn't matter to him.

Nothing touches his successor.

When he cuts someone down, he immediately checks on you.

Perhaps he even pulls you into a possessive yet oddly protective embrace.

He teaches you an "Us vs Them" mentality.

You shouldn't rely on anyone else, you can't.

It's just you and him cleaning up a corrupt society.

You'd probably go through a mental mind break under him as he forces you into a role against your will.

You're scared to speak against him, especially when he manages to convince you to kill your fair share of "heroes".

However, at some point you'll accept the role Stain gave you.

You have no other choice... yet he's also brought up some valid points.

He's right... The world is corrupt.

Stain makes it seem like you both are the only ones who can correct it.

You start to believe him... it scares you at first but you feel what he says is true.

Repeating the beliefs he's indoctrinated you with in your head makes things easier.

It makes it easier to ignore the fact you're taking lives...

It's easier to think of it as just culling impurities.

Stain praises you every time.

You do well, the blood on your clothes a reminder of your work.

After your encounter with Stain, you never came out the same.

He took you under his wing and taught you everything you need to know.

While you know this feels wrong... it also feels right...

There's no turning back now, you should finish the job as your mentor says... all to make the world a better place... it's just you and him against the world, right?

[bengiyo]

Love Sea: Tongrak is Kind of an Asshole, and I Like It

I watched this yesterday with some friends, so my Stray Thoughts were a little scattered because we were talking about BL conventions, Thailand's tourism goals, and who MAME was. Now, with some time to think, I wanna talk about my favorite thing: Tongrak is a rich asshole. I love this for Fort and Peat.

He Looks Down on People Poorer Than Him

We open with Tongrak dressed inappropriately for his trip and the weather, whining on his phone, just to show his disdain for even being sent on this vacation.

Then when he first arrives on the island, he looks around at people enjoying themselves and a sign they dedicated to their home reading "Heaven on Earth" and immediately called it hell. This is these people's home! He is a guest! I deal with this show in my home city all the time. Be respectful!

Next, the first thing he does is start shouting at Mahasamut about the motorcycle and his luggage. He doesn't slow down to ask if Mut can speak the central dialect, or if there are alternative modes of transport. Instead he just screams at the man and then starts talking shit in front of him like he can't understand what is being said. I give Americans shit for doing this in other countries, and I give northerners shit for acting like they can't understand our accents down here along the Gulf.

He was rude about that bar, too. He went there for attention, and got pissed at the idea that people there might be into Mut more.tjsn him. He then stormed off without paying for his drink!

This man is so stubborn and petty that he literally just starts sending him thousands of baht instead of just asking him to speak in the same dialect as him. I'm totally with Mut on not speaking to him nicely until Tongrak did it first. What's so wild about this scene is that it's text that Rak is mad that his condescension is having no effect.

Mahasamut is Responding to Tongrak's Energy

Mut is just responding to what Rak is giving him, and is doing everyone a favor by bearing the brunt of this spoiled man's fits. He was even kind enough to let this man know right away that he could understand him.

The big thing for me is he can see when Rak is trying to get one over on him and turns that around. Rak tried to play like he had the upper hand sexually and felt played. He tried to play about being full and got played.

We see that the people of the island admire Tongrak, and he's involved in their lives. He's clearly playing a role here that Rak's friends hired him to play to help their cranky friend relax and finish his book.

I also like that Mut has made it clearly he is down to fuck with Rak whether he pays for it or not, because Rak is trying to hook up with someone for inspiration for his novel. I like that he removed the wealth component there, because it's clear Rak is used to throwing money at all of his problems.

Finally, Mut stopped immediately when he realized he'd actually scared and upset Rak. He doesn't actually want to hurt this man.

Why This Rocks for Peat and Fort

These two found a good rhythm in Love in the Air. They're good at this form of asymmetric bickering and flirtation. However, this time Peat gets to play the older, richer character. It's fun for me, because I think there's going to be a bunch of transference from LITA that covers how much of a jerk Rak is being to others.

I am glad that these two aren't reprising the same characters, and are being given a reasonable way to take advantage of their existing dynamic and tools. It's interesting that these guys can tap into similar beats without it feeling like the same characters.

On the Colorism

I see it, and it's there. However, I don't think MAME is an outlier in using it in her shows. There's a really rough sequence in Fish Upon The Sky (with Neo no less) that comes to mind immediately. I also just think that the skin tone stuff seems built in to a lot of the works we encounter (especially considering that some of these guys are literally brand ambassadors for skin lightening products or clinics). I think there's something to say about the way Mut is teasing Rak with a country bumpkin bit that could almost be read as race play, and there's maybe something to unpack there with far more nuance than I think we normally bring to BL.

But hey, while I have you here, now's a good time to say that if we want to tackle how race affects the queer experience, For The Boys is right there!

[gamorahww]

Analyzing Glinda Upland Through MBTI - Why She Doesn't Go With Elphaba, Why Ableism is Just Part of Her Worldview and Why She’s Upset, Fiyero Started “Thinking” -

Hello, this is a Glinda analysis no one asked for. It doesn’t contain any spoilers for Wicked: Part 2.

Glinda is one of the most interesting characters with one of the most interesting story arcs I have ever seen in any media. I love the deconstructed “good” of her character and all the layers that the music, the actresses playing her, even the choreography, and in the movie, the editing gave her. Which is why I am slightly annoyed that a portion of the fandom refuses to see her as anything but Pink Fairy Princess With a Girl Crush™. This analysis is meant to look at how Glinda functions, and why she clashes with the two other important characters of the story, Elphaba and Fiyero, based on their personality types.

Yes, I am biased. I ship Fiyeraba, and I even wrote a similar essay on why they work so well, also through the MBTI lense. This is one of the reasons why I will not look at Gelphie only, I would like this to be as broad as possible. I don’t mean to attack anyone’s shipping preferences, this is just a character study. If you are here for that, welcome! Grab a snack, this won’t be short.

Disclaimer Regarding MBTI

I know many people think MBTI is bullshit and even a bit limiting, when we talk about real life, and the people inhabiting it, but in the case of well-written, consistent fictional characters (which applies to Glinda, Elphaba and Fiyero) I think MBTI can be used without worrying about negative effects.

I.) Context, If You Are Not Familiar with MBTI

When it comes to MBTI, there are two angles of looking at the types. One you are probably familiar with is the four-letter abbreviation (ENFP, INTJ, ESTJ, etc), but there is a deeper layer, where looking at those cognitive functions that each type uses. There are 16 variations of the four-letter types, but only 8 functions, that vary in order, and preference in each type. 

We identify four main cognitive functions in each type. Introverted types (their four-letter type stars with an I) are most comfortable using their introverted functions, and extroverted types (their four letters start with an E) are most comfortable with their extroverted functions. However as a person grows up, goes through life and evolves, they learn to harness their initially weaker functions better, and this gives them a more well-rounded personality, and a more healthier way of living in the world and be their authentic selves.

The order of the functions is also important, so whatever is in first place is their strongest function, and whatever is their last is their weakest.

You may be looking at this thinking “I didn’t ask for this”. And you are right, you didn’t, but bear with me.

So, lets sum it up: Each four-letter type has four main functions, and the extroverts are good at extrovert stuff, while introverts are good at introvert stuff. Got it!

II.) Glinda and her MBTI Type and Cognitive Functions

Glinda is an ESFJ personality type. ESFJs are also known as “caregivers”, because they are deeply social people, and they use their skills of being able to read people to influence the lives of those around them. Usually they thrive on giving to others, and they genuinely don’t want anything in return. ESFJ is the most common personality type among women, with their introverted counterpart (the ISFJ) they are considered the “mother” stereotype. They enjoy hosting parties, making sure everyone around them has a great time. They hate conflict, and in an ideal world for them, everyone would just get along, while upholding their own ideal of the world.

ESFJs have a deep sense of community, but they are also deeply traditionalists. They have a hard time letting go of the idea of “how things should be” according to them. Their ideals however don’t come from personal beliefs, they come from learned and social input that they interacted with throughout their lives. "How it should be" for them, always stems from what they are used to, and they usually struggle with thinking out of that box.

Glinda - ESFJ - Cognitive Functions: Fe-Si-Ne-Ti

(Fe) Extraverted Feeling: Focuses on creating harmony and meeting others’ emotional needs, making decisions based on group values and relationships. Glinda goes with the flow of the groups she inhabits. Whatever environment she is in, she wants to ensure the people around her are in harmony. When people around her have differing emotional needs, then she hits a wall, because she has to decide which one she prioritizes over the other.

(Si) Introverted Sensing: Draws on past experiences and traditions to create stability and provide a reliable sense of order. She relies on what she knows, and what she has experienced before. If she has to chose between what is new and what is familiar and therefore reliable, she will always chose the latter.

(Ne) Extraverted Intuition: Explores possibilities and connections, generating new ideas and perspectives for problem-solving. This function is used by ESFJs to explore creative ideas on how to improve the lives of the people around her. "Popular" is a great example of her trying a bunch of versions out to see how she can improve Elphaba’s life - mainly in ways that Galinda herself finds useful.

(Ti) Introverted Thinking: Analyzes information internally to find logical consistency, supporting nuanced and precise understanding. Glinda has this internal sense of logic, where she sees how in her mind, things hang together. This is an internal system, that is rather rigid, and to change one aspect of it would mean to change everything else around it as well. She uses this to decide what is actually possible, and what’s not - according to her.

III.) Clashing Values and Peronalities

Elphaba and Fiyero are obviously the two main characters Glinda interacts with the most throughout the story, but her relationship with either of them mostly works on a superficial level only, and the main reason for that lies in the cognitive functions each character uses. Let’s take a look below. To see how two characters are similar in their personalities, what we are looking for is the same functions in their function stack.

Fe-Si-Ne-Ti > Glinda

vs

Ni-Te-Fi-Se > Elphaba

Se-Fi-Te-Ni > Fiyero

As you can see, Glinda doesn’t share a single one of the functions of the other two. On the surface this would not be a huge issue. Different people find beauty in their differences all the time, and can greatly benefit from those differences. If this was a story, where personal values are of no significance, if there wasn’t you know, an authoritarian regime on the horizon, they all could be friends, as they are. But that is not the case, and in the context of the story, this situation first makes, but then also breaks both of these two relationships she has. And the main culprit in their personality for that is…

Elphaba and Fiyero's Introverted Feeling clashing with Glinda's Extroverted Feeling and Introverted Sensing.

You see, Introverted Feeling (Fi) is what Fiyero and Elphaba bond over. (Fi) is the part of a person that holds their values and integrity. It’s what they hold dear, it’s their sense of what is right, and how things should be. People with introverted feeling are more driven by what they perceive as just, vs what people around them see as just acceptable and normal. You can read more about my exploration of (Fi) in Elphaba and Fiyero here.

Glinda doesn’t have (Fi). This is very obvious in how she reacts to injustice around her, and how she doesn’t really care about Dr. Dillamond’s fate, even when she saw him getting dragged out of the classroom with her own eyes. 

In the deleted scenes, Glinda tells Elphaba that she would have helped, if Elphaba asked her to do that. Glinda is telling the truth. She would have helped, but not because she thought it was the right thing to do, but because Elphaba asked. Her motivations stem from what the outside world wants her to do, and if she loves the person asking her to do the thing, and it doesn't clash with her how others view her or what she thinks others expect from her, then she will do the thing. But had Elphaba put a spell on everyone, except for herself and Glinda, Glinda wouldn’t have done what Fiyero did. She wouldn’t have jumped out of her seat immediately to pick up the cub, on her own accord, and if it was the two girls in that situation, they probably would have stood there for a while, not really knowing what to do.

Neither of them are the taking action type of people, that's Fiyero.

See, Glinda's love for Elphaba can take her as far as helping her save one lion cub when everyone else is asleep, and there are little to no consequences for doing this. She is absolutely right, she would have helped. But this is the limitation of her helpfulness, and essentially, her love for Elphaba as well.

Glinda can’t help who and what she is. “Popular” is not her “I want” song in the musical, but it is a declaration of her values, and how she thinks the world works. I feel many people write "Popular" off as a comic relief moment, but it actually spells out exactly what she is, and what is important for her. She sees social standing as the most important thing in the world, so far that she even would teach Elphaba whom she cares for at that point, how to get a more appropriate status, so she can get by. She truly believes that “networking” with anyone, and maintaining good relationship and a beneficial personal brand is the best way to get what you want. She is not wrong, in many cases, her way of diplomacy are useful, impactful, and may also lead to some level of change.

Glinda is very manipulative, in bigger and smaller ways, but she is usually able to manipulate people in a way that they don't get angry with her for it. (see her directing Boq's attention towards Nessa, something that Glinda thinks kind, but it actually also a self serving act.)

However... Elphaba’s integrity does not let her to compromise in the face of what she percieves as injustice. Her morals don't allow her to network with people, who are so willing to do… well, fascism.

IV.) Satisfying the System

I won’t go into details of how far Glinda goes to be the part of the established system, as that is spoilers territory for part 2, and maybe not everyone is here for that. Nor do we know, how this will play out in the movies. But…

Glinda has no interest in questioning the system and how it works. She understands how it functions, and she uses it to her advantage whenever she can. She uses her social standing and the image she cultivated to get what she wants, and this takes her as far as she can go, like she said in "Popular", without “brains or knowledge”, but she hits a wall with Madame Morrible, and the sorcery class. Magic is so rare in Oz, and Glinda wants to be able to do magic so bad. There is an almost throwaway joke that, when we examine it closer, I think explains why she wants to be a sorceress.

In her conversation with Morrible, Glinda mentions she submited and essay titled “Magic Wands: Need They Have a Point?” which is a pun on the shape of wands (and Glinda eventually not having a wand that has a point at the end of her transformation into Glinda, the Good, but one with a sphere and crystals at the end) but also, if we break it down a bit, she is saying “does magic need to have a point?”. I believe this means she wants to do magic for the sake of it. Not to change the system, or improve it, no. Of course, she also wants to help others with her magic, but, importantly, to help them in a way she sees fit, and to help others meet the standards of the system and the society they live in, so they fit in nicely into Glinda's world.

Not everyone is able to fit in like that however. I would like to briefly touch on the ableism she exhibits by manipulating societal perceptions of Nessa as “tragically beautiful” and giving her a suitor Glinda herself doesn’t want. Glinda exploits the pity she knows people feel for Nessa to manipulate Boq, using the ableist system to her benefit while perpetuating it. She views herself as superior to both Boq and Nessa, which is why she feels justified in orchestrating this situation.

Another example of her ableism is when she criticizes Dr. Dillamond for his inability to pronounce her name. The professor explains that his lack of upper front teeth, a physical difference that impacts his ability to articulate certain sounds in human language, prevents him from doing so. However, Glinda dismisses this explanation, insisting that “every other professor” can manage. She fails to recognize that a skill she considers basic might not be universally achievable, and she unfairly holds him to a standard he cannot meet.

Glinda’s actions perpetuate an ableist system by upholding and exploiting societal biases against those with disabilities or physical differences. By manipulating perceptions of Nessa and disregarding Dr. Dillamond’s explanation, she reinforces the idea that people must conform to arbitrary standards of “normalcy” to be valued. This behavior not only marginalizes individuals with unique challenges but also normalizes the expectation that their worth is contingent upon overcoming or compensating for those differences.

V.) It’s Safer inside the Bubble

To ignore the fact that Glinda comes from great privilege in a story that has this much politics in it would be a silly thing to do, but I will kinda do that anyway. The only level of privilege I would like to touch on is the fact that her and Fiyero come from similar backgrounds, royalty and power. They both had a presumably an easy and sheltered life before meeting Elphaba. Elphaba also comes from wealth, but society and her family made life a lot more difficult for her.

Glinda sees this similarity with her and Fiyero, and feels like she found her match. In the state Fiyero is in, when they initially meet, he seems like the perfect fit for her. But the thing about Fiyero is that he is in a very-very emotionally unhealthy state when they meet. (You can read about his looping in my Fiyero and Elphaba analysis) 

Isn’t it interesting, that Glinda sings about popularity not needing “brains or knowledge” and Fiyero claims to dance through life “painless” and “brainless”?

Fiyero lives superficially and carelessly, literally shutting his brain off, and not engaging his inner world. This inner world is where his Introverted Feeling lives, so him not using that keeps him from clashing with Glinda on the points mentioned in III.) above.

But that is not Fiyero’s natural state, and he shouldn’t behave like that. However the fact that they can only connect when one of them is not entirely themselves is something Glinda clocks, when she says he is being “distant” and that he “has been thinking”. After his encounter with Elphaba, Fiyero starts engaging his (Fi) - again, more about that in the other analysis - and Glinda has no idea, what to do with that. He presumably even told him that it had to do with the day Dr. Dillamond was taken, but Glinda cannot connect to this on an emotional level, and she calls him “an old goat”, which is pretty insensitive of her. She can’t really cope with the fact that Elphaba and Fiyero were both affected by this thing that seems almost trivial to her, just another day at school, and she didn’t like Dillamond anyway.

She is very pereptive, and she can see the change in both of them. And change for a traditionalist like Glinda is devastatingly scary.

Little does she know that Fiyero from that point onward is no longer inside the same bubble as she is, and he is a lot less afraid of seeing it all in the rearview mirror, and never to return to it again. Well, if he could help it, that is.

So, taking Fiyero and the lion cub, and school, and all that away, Elphaba and Glinda go to see the Wizard. Once they realized (well, Elphaba does) that the Wizard has no magic, and he is also behind all the things happening to the animals, Glinda's bubble doesn't... pop. She aligns herself with the crowd, preserving the status quo.

She has to chose between what is right, and what feels right for her, and well... she stays behind. And she doesn't do the right thing. This time.

[goldfishontheceiling]

"Alastor is just using Rosie" NUH UH whips out the list

1. He is capable of making friends, as seen with Mimzy. So it's not that hard to believe that he can have another friend if one (cough cough MIMZY cough) just comes around when she needs something. Mimzy doesn't even benefit him in anyway, yet he doesn't cut her off, which shows he can make friends.

2. Aside from the cannibals in ep7, what else could he get from her? I mean she does recommend him deals sometimes, but anyone can do that. If his true goal was control over the cannibals then their bond would feel a lot more shallow, like ep1-ep5ish with Charlie.

3. If Alastor was using Rosie for deal recommendations (since she gives him "prime pickings for a deal to be made"), then why not just do so with a mutalistic relationship instead of having to form that bond?

4. He bleat like a fawn. If he was acting, he wouldn't let himself lose composure for an act.

5. They both kinda get close to eachother in a way they don't with anyone else. SHE PICKS HIM UP AND SPINS HIM AROUND AND HE DOESN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT IT. Sure, he hugged Mimzy, but if she ever did that? She would most likely be dead.

6. If anyone else openly/jokingly insulted Alastor, he would go all scary demon ahhhhhhhh. But Rosie? Perfectly fine.

7. The way he talks to Rosie is different to the way he talks to Charlie. With Charlie he's a little bitch sometimes (oh Charlie you look an absolute mess!) and he kinda takes every chance he can to be a little bitch while still being nice and showing he's important.

8. Rosie knows things about Alastor that he hasn't even figured out (I know your an ace in the hole!), and for Rosie to know these things, that would require Alastor to open up about himself, which he doesn't like doing because "must be mysterious radio deer man." Even to Charlie, who he does have a bond with, SHE STILL JUST THINKS OF HIM AS "MYSTERIOUS RADIO DEER MAN"

9. Hating someone together is one of the easiest ways to start a friendship, especially in hell, where people hating each other is really common (Susan? Susan)

10. If he truly was manipulating all of his friends, he's a sinner, he still has a humanish mind. Humans crave bonds with other people as part of their instincts. And you could just get fake ones, but if you're the manipulator in that situation you'll know it's all fake and it won't leave you fufilled. Which is why having one or two genuine friends (Rosie/Mimzy) would have to be a requirement.

11. He has manipulated other Overlords in the past, like Vox. But with Vox, they would realistically never get along. Same with Vaggie, Angel Dust, etc, he just wouldn't be able to form a true bond with/a very strong both with those people. So yes, he's manipulating/has manipulated them. Rosie on the other hand? They're both cannibals from similar time periods, with similar interests, and they hate the same people.

12. Rosie is smart. She easily reads Charlie, a stranger, like a book. And if she's known Alastor for years (which she most likely has), she knows how to read him past that stupid permanent smile. So even if he was manipulating her, she would know.

13. He HATES Susan, and Vox, and probably some other people I can't think of off the top of my head. He can't stand them. So if he hated Rosie? He wouldn't be able to fake a bond like the one they have.

14. His pupils dilate around Rosie, which is a sign that you like/love whatever it is that you are looking at

Look at these

COMPARED TO THESE

AND IT ONLY HAPPENS WHEN IT'S JUST THEM TWO

15. Rosie agrees with him when he says that Charlie is "filled with potential that I could guide," so she knows that he's using her for that kinda stuff. With that moment it shows that she understands that Alastor is helping Charlie with her dream in exchange. I swear I had more thoughts on this one but then I got distracted with finding screenshots for 14-

Bonus reason that's more silly then reason: THAT DANCE IN READY FOR THIS IS TOO COORDINATED THEY HAD TO HAVE PRACTICED IT

[noxiatoxia]

Just found out while replaying SDR2 that there's an oversight in the PSP version similar to the DR1 oversight, that later gets fixed in the Vita port.

These images I pointed out last post from the commercial, these beta ones? They're mistakenly used in the student handbook.

I just took a photo of Hajime and Nagito, but this goes true for everyone.

To compare, here's the vita version (aka the version resold for PS4, Steam, Xbox, iOS, etc...):

I know some people may have a hard time noticing the difference. For Hajime, the seam line on the shoulders of his shirt is not present in the PSP version. For Nagito, his smirk was changed to a smile, and you can see the neck lines were heavily reduced in line weight.

So, of course, I ripped them.

The PSP has very small image quality. And the sprites for the handbook were made with the purple color and tile already as a part of them. But, if we layer them...

The tile is actually just transparency. The only sacrifice to layering them is some thicker outside outlines...but we'll deal. And, with some color-layer magic...

It's kind of incredible, actually. It's almost like having these sprites for real!

So, of course, I did this for everyone...and made some comparison gifs while I'm at it. If you're interested, please click read more! (gif warning!!)

It's so weird "having" the beta Komaeda smiling sprite after talking about it so much...but here we are, I guess.

Okay, so to start with Hajime. The shoulder seams were added, but also his left shoulder was made bigger. Some minor hair details were changed, including adding a longer spike of hair next to his ahoge. Also his right ear was touched up.

Nagito's hair was thinned out a little in line weight, along with his neck lines. Eyebrows were thinned out, nose redone, and his smirk changed to a regular smile.

Fuyuhiko was changed quite a bit. Head reshaped in some areas, hair retextured, and they even moved his neck. The sizing is wonky because they obviously resized/moved some parts around, which I didn't want to mess with for the sake of comparison. One thing I love is his little pout. I'm so sad they got rid of it! It's so cute...

Kazuichi's is interesting for multiple reasons. 1, I genuinely did not see any differences until I recolored it, which leads to 2: his shirt was going to be grey?? Some of these sprites have minor color differences, but I chalk that up to recoloring a purple sprite. I think some minor differences in color here and there is going to happen. But this isn't a minor difference - it was clearly going to be grey originally. I wonder why that was changed? They easily could have left it as is, but I guess they cared enough to change it to white...

Otherwise, some minor changes to the face were made, as well as his jawline.

Gundham on the other hand is also one I didn't catch until I did the comparison. The right side of his head was entirely redrawn to have more volume, along with his ear. His jawline was puffed out a little, and his hair line cleaned up a bit.

Since looking at the original commercial and seeing the beta sprites, Mahiru's stuck out the most to me. Her eyes made her look a lot more disinterested than her final sprite, and I do maintain that. Her beta sprite had narrower eyes, a lower nose, smaller mouth, and overall thicker outlines. Her left sleeve also lacked its emblem.

Hiyoko, I can't find any big differences...the ones I do see may just be a result of two different photo resolutions making stuff seem off. Her smile may be different, but that's about it sadly.

Much like Fuyuhiko, I actually prefer the beta Mikan sprite. Her mouth was once more nervous, and her gaze was more upwards and slanted than forwards. I think it's super duper cute and I wish they kept it!! Otherwise, her hair outlines are thicker, including the hair in the back being a little bigger. Her neck was thinner, too.

Peko got minor changes. Her neck was slightly enlarged, her left ear was made smaller, and her eyelashes were reduced. A part of her bangs was modified as well.

Some of Ibuki's shirt folds around the chest area were erased, and her frown was changed to a neutral look. Her nose was also unsharpened a bit.

Chiaki's bangs were fiddled with in their line art. One line of hair in the back was reduced, and the curly hair under her chin was also modified at the tip. Looks like her nose was also softened and her eyes were made smaller.

Most of Nekomaru's changes are very small and in the face, making it hard to see at this resolution. Thankfully, V3 erroneously reuses his beta sprites, so we have an easy way to look at them in better quality (which I will touch upon in my UTDP post). Otherwise, his eye lightning is much brighter in the beta. As for Mechamaru, I could find no differences...

Imposter's is one I'm really happy to see, because we rarely ever see beta Imposter sprites. I theorize this is due to the fact he was one of the first characters ever finalized in SDR2, so likely not much beta content of him exists...but we have this thankfully!! Some changes were made to his eyes but the most noticeable difference is the resizing of the sprite. His head was made smaller and his body bigger.

Teruteru has minor changes. His necktie was made slightly bigger at the end of it, and the hair by his ear was erased a little. I can't tell if his eyebrows/mouth are slightly different or if that is again the result of the image quality.

Sonia's is super interesting because it throws my beta sprite workline theory into a doozy. See, it looks almost identical to this beta Sonia we see on the official SDR2 promotional wallpaper. But there's noticeable differences. Her eyebrows are lowered, her right eye has most than one difference in its eyelashes, and her nose/smile seem different. Again, these are the differences between this beta and the one on the wallpaper. I can't for the life of me tell if these are ACTUAL differences or, again, the product of photo quality pixelating everything...

As for Akane, hers are also very small. Some lines on her hair, her mouth, and her boobs were changed. A bit of shading around the collarbone, too.

And that's everyone!! Really amazing stuff...I might have to investigate DR1's student handbook to see if there's any differences there. Who knows, we may get super lucky again.