#I just...don't have a lot of ambition I'll be honest

[cultivating-wildflowers]

💭

[a-student-out-of-time]

An Important Reminder In Trying Times

Hey everyone, Mod Bubbles here.

I know that I've said over and over that I don't like talking about politics on here, but I really feel the need to say this:

This Is Not The End.

I understand things probably seem really bleak right now. A lot of people are going to be hurt by this, and the sheer amount of fearmongering and worst case scenarios are inescapable. But the country and the world are not going to change overnight. To be honest, it may not change very much at all in the next four years. I'm not a political scientist, so I can't tell you that for sure. There's a lot to be concerned about.

What I can tell you, as a student of history, is this: not only have we survived this once, we have survived this every time.

Think about it this way: every single tyrant, every single right-wing representative, every single emperor and colonial power, every corporate scumbag and power-hungry lunatic. No matter how many of them have ever come to power, held onto power, and tried to make themselves seem invincible, not a single one has ever held back humanity's progress and not a single one has proven to be invincible.

There were countries throughout history, especially in the 20th century, that fell under brutal dictatorships and saw countless lives lost. Did the people just give up and accept it? Fuck no they didn't. They fought back. Many of them lived to see democracy restored to their lands in their lifetimes, or fought to see it restored in their children's.

From Europe to Latin America, while many countries still have their issues, they endured and their people have survived. Their governments were not invincible, just as none ever have been.

Regardless of the outcome of this election, the world will go on. People will not just roll over and accept whatever horrible things happen, the fight will continue and we will do everything in our power to carry on as we always have. We'll carry on to achieve bigger and better things.

Let me also be clear: if you feel the need to cry, please cry. If you're afraid, don't pretend you're not. If you're angry, allow yourself to feel that anger. But if you're seriously contemplating giving up or hurting yourself, please don't.

You may hear all this news and ask yourself, "Bubbles, what's the point? What can I do about all this?" I've felt that way too, I have for a long time. I understand completely. It's scary and overwhelming, but I'll tell you exactly what you can do to fight against that: you can be kind.

Do you want to know where the most tangible change in the world begins? It's never at the top. It begins with people like us on a communal level, where we reach out to help others. Whether that means we help our neighbors, our friends, or any strangers we can.

Going out of your way to start fights, looking for someone to blame based on the flimsiest justifications, and just being cruel because you're angry, those aren't how you change anything. Those just add to the problem.

Here's just some ideas on what you can do instead:

Get away from the news, stop doomscrolling, mute doomers, and turn the TV and news apps off. This will get you out of a negative feedback loop that'll make you feel worse and more powerless, which is what they're designed to do in order to maximize traffic.

Remember to eat, sleep, brush your teeth, take a shower, take your meds, and do everything else you need to do to stay healthy.

If you or someone else really feel like leaving the country for your own safety is best, you can still work do so. But please don't convince yourself that if you can't, it's over.

Give back to people as much as you can. Show the people in your life who support you that you care, and that all that they do for you matters.

Donate to good causes you believe in.

Stand up to bullshit whenever you see it.

Do not give up on your dreams and ambitions. One bad leader does not mean your future automatically ends. Stop worrying about any potential apocalypse in the future, because you can do that even on the best days, and instead work toward a future that you CAN achieve.

There's this pervasive and very inaccurate idea that it's only the president who gets to enforce policies on the country. This ignores governors, the House of Representatives, Congress, mayors, and the countless other leaders involved. And it ignores you.

You do not have to spend the next 3 years and 364 days doing nothing but feeling miserable. In fact, that's the last thing you should do. Fear and despair are the weapons they wield, and they only have as much power as you allow them to have over you.

If your view of politics is that you just have to vote for the "right one" and then everything will be utopian, or that if people vote for the wrong one" then we're headed for a terrible dystopian nightmare, I have to tell you that that is incredibly reductionist and also very dumb. I can also tell you from personal experience that it's not them who make the real changes where it's needed.

A friend sent me a video that really opened my eyes on this situation: Adam Conover, the guy behind Adam Ruins Everything, said he's not worried about all this. Why? Because he and some friends were able, through their own power, to make real positive changes in their community. They were able to bring homelessness down in their district by over 38% through their own efforts.

And he's right that, as a silver lining to all this, it made more Americans than ever take a stand against all the horrible shit they were seeing and get involved with solutions.

Speaking from my own experiences as well, when Hurricane Helene devastated my area, it wasn't the politicians who came and repaired roads and power lines, it wasn't them who brought in food and supplies to everyone, and it wasn't them who worked tirelessly to save people still in need. It was everyone in our local communities.

The people at the top have never really cared about anything more than your money and your vote, but the people around you care more than you may believe they would. Hell, even strangers on the internet care more than you'd believe.

Now, even if you've made it this far, you may be wondering "What about when he starts outlawing and banning things?" To that, I say look at Prohibition and see how well that went. Politicians have only ever operated under the idea that banning something will make it go away, and it always does the exact opposite. And if you're still worried, you can get involved with organizations that fight to support these things being available and regulated.

But by now, you may also be wondering "What if I can't get involved? What if I'm too young or I don't have the money, or my parents won't let me?"

Then just be kind.

Stop looking for enemies to blame. Don't martyr yourself for some nebulous cause or the idea that your suffering increasing means the rest of the suffering in the world will go down. Don't torture yourself by telling yourself that you didn't do enough.

Show compassion, show support, show love and genuine care toward people who need it, including yourself.

"But there's so many shitty people in this country and the world, why should I-" Stop thinking that way. This isn't about them, this is about you and how you can make a difference. There will probably always be shitheads and power-hungry morons, but that does not negate the fact that you can choose to be different. You can choose to be kind.

Kindness is a sword that you have to learn how to wield. Wield it responsibly and use it to help others. No matter how small or insignificant it may be, YOU DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

I say all this as a 29-year-old who spent most of his life feeling scared and miserable about so many current events, convincing myself I'm useless and selfish because I was worried about so much and I hated myself for all of it. And I've decide I'm not going to do that anymore.

During the last right-wing era, I managed to help build a whole community out of my love for Danganronpa. I created friendships, relationships, and there are people alive right now because I chose to do so. Because I chose to use that community for kindness. I want to keep building from there by going into streaming and reaching out to more people.

I won't lie to you and say that I'm not scared, because I am. But I'm also not going to let fear change who I am. I want us all to be better to ourselves and others, because that is how you defeat hate. It starts with you.

And if you're still concerned, let me share with you a quote from The Great Dictator, a movie made in 1940, when World War II wasn't even at its height yet:

To those who can hear me, I say - do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed - the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish…

Please take care of yourselves out there, everyone. We'll get through this, just as we always have.

[duchezss]

I recently finished reading all the Lockwood & Co books, and my god they were good, but it got me thinking. If the show continued, like it deserved too, would Holly and Kipps have gotten a signature color the same way the trio did? If so what would they be? Well I was looking at twitter and I saw that most people agree that Holly's color would be yellow, and Kipps' would be white, and I'll be honest I disagree so badly I'm about to write an essay. It's funny because I distinctly remember finishing the books and thinking, "ah watch everyone put their colors as yellow and white cause it's easy". LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER. Y'all just don't get color theory OR the characters the way I do so listen up.

Holly is many things. She's positive, and compassionate, and kind, but she is so much more than that. She's not just a "yellow", yes maybe she is the sunshine of the group, but honestly? Not really, and that's ok. She's fierce and sometimes she has a short temper, she pretends to let everything slide off her shoulder, when really she's just keeping it inside. That's why her and Lucy are constantly budding heads in the beginning of their friendship, they are so similar. I think her color should be red. She's constantly described as wearing it, and I think it really fits her. Red represents passion, energy, confidence, and excitement to name a few. Holly is always described as having a presence, and her energy and enthusiasm comes off her in waves. Red is usually described as the color of love, and I still think that fits. She has such love for the entire crew, and it's so clear she would go to the ends of the earth for them. I also think this would blend in with the others very well. Despite it not actually being blue's real opposite, blue and red are often seen as polar opposites, which really fits for Lucy and Holly's dynamic. It also works because red and orange are both warm colors and George and Holly have always gotten along. They are similar in their methodical and sometimes odd ways of life. I also think it's fun cause Skully's color is green, and green are red are direct color wheel opposites. I'm pretty sure he hates her the most, but Kipps is also competing hard for that title. And lastly black is kinda the color in between, now more on that in a second.

I see what twitter was going for, Lucy and George are blue and orange, direct color wheel opposites, because they are quite literally direct opposites. So it makes sense for Kipps to be white since he's the direct opposite of Lockwood? LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER AGAIN. Tell me y'all didn't understand their dynamic without telling me. Lockwood and Kipps didn't get along cause they were so different, they butted heads so hard because of how similar they are. It's exactly what happened with Lucy and Holly. Plus white represents a lot of things that are definitely not Kipps. My proposed color for him is purple, I know that's a little odd, but walk with me. Although it's never explicitly stated, one can assume that Kipps was an absolute prodigy when he had his talents. I only bring this up, because purple often represents royalty and luxury, and he practically became a fallen king when he lost the only thing he was ever good at it. But purple is much more than that, it also represents bravery, uniqueness. ambition, and justice. I think Kipps' original color is grey, and not just because of the uniform. Grey represents seriousness, sadness, and boredom. That's how Kipps was before, but when he remeets the crew during book 3 and 4, we begin to see the shift. The group helps him gain his ambition back, and with all of their love and support we even begin to see how brave he really is. He has a unique way of going through life, and even when all the odds are stacked against them, he still seeks justice. Purple fits with the general color scheme as well. It's very close to black, which represents how similar him and Lockwood are, and it's also a cooler color like blue. Kipps and Lucy certainly got along the easiest out of the crew.

Overall it just makes sense. George and Holly are the warmer colors, Lucy and Kipps the cooler, and Lockwood as the mediator between them. I feel like red might be a little hard to incorporate without being overpowering, and I know that purple isn't a super masculine color, but hell if those costume designer made full orange outfits look good they can literally do anything. Anyways I know this isn't that important, but ugh I love color theory so much, and I love how much thought the costume designers put in the first time. I feel like having Holly and Kipps color being yellow and white is just a cheap easy shot, and doesn't take into account the characters and their growth enough. I rest my case.

[newbiespud]

I'm sure it's been said before but I'll say it myself because why not

The game In Stars and Time makes for a revealing contrast to the movie Groundhog Day in how they treat their final time loop and how that reflects on the main character. (Even though, if I remember right, the dev largely wasn't aware of Groundhog Day when they came up with ISAT.)

Spoilers for both after the break, I guess.

In Groundhog Day, Phil starts out narcissistic and self-centered, has the realization that he can live life without consequences, gets depressed after having tried and done everything that he's got everyone and everything memorized so that nothing can delight and surprise him anymore, and finally escapes when he performs a loop that proves that a better, happier world is within his grasp to make, not something owed to him, and that he is happy with the life he has today, not always pining for his ambitions for the future.

In... In Stars and Time, Siffrin starts out deflecting and aloof, has the realization that they can do this perfectly - 'this' being not only the impossible challenge of defeating the King but navigating their relationships with their party - gets depressed after hitting wall after wall and repeatedly fumbling into faux pas after faux pas with their party, and finally escapes when they perform a loop where their true feelings come out, no matter how ugly, and they're honest about their own desires and wishes rather than trying to keep up an ideal façade.

Plenty of people have pointed out that In Stars and Time subverts the 'escaping on the perfect loop' time-loop trope that Groundhog Day largely codifies. Not only does the 'perfect' loop completely fail, Siffrin escapes on arguably the 'worst' loop, the one where they rightfully worry that they've hurt and alienated their loves ones forever and cannot escape those consequences anymore.

But I don't think this contrast is as direct as it seems, even though one could say that Phil got away scot-free compared to Siffrin and that In Stars and Time is the superior story for portraying a harsher outcome. (I do think that exploration and advancement of tropes is just inevitable and even healthy over time, and Groundhog Day came out in 1993 so of course it and the tropes it spawned deserve modern critique, but I digress.) I actually think that it reflects how both stories and the mechanics of their time loops are built around their main characters. (There's also something to be said about how genre shapes narrative since GD is an existential comedy and ISAT is an action-adventure focusing on interpersonal drama, but that's another digression.)

ISAT makes an impact on the whole time loop genre with its clever subversion, but like all the best subversive stories, it's couched in strong characters that embody its themes.

And to take a broader perspective, the best time loop stories are allegories for the real-life situation of making the same mistakes over and over again caused by your own deep-seated personality flaws, and being forced to finally confront your inner demons and overcome them and become a better, healthier person. (Relatable, much?)

Phil is a man who's never happy with his lot in life, so he needs to learn to find the eternal richness and beauty of what he has within his grasp, and that a better, happier life is something he can make for himself. Thus, he escapes on the 'best' loop.

Siffrin is a person who refuses to share their true feelings and problems with others to the point of self-destruction (and complete reinvention in one aspect), so they need to learn that no matter how ugly and twisted they think they are, being open and honest doesn't mean their loved ones will care about them any less, even when Siffrin is seen at their lowest point possible. Thus, they escape on the 'worst' loop.

It's not just clever subversion, it's holistic circular story structure!

...Though maybe I'm just drawn to these stories because I, too, would like some extra time to Figure Some Shit Out and have that time come with some superpowers along the way, even if it nearly destroys me in the process.

[maochira]

Ways of being a father. (Kengan dads & child!reader)

I wrote this almost a year ago, originally with Blue Lock characters assigned. But I thought a lot about assigning Kengan characters so here we go! The quotes are all translated from Alligatoah's song Nicht adoptiert. Also! The song may originally be about being born into a family and not being adopted, but reader can very much be seen as an adopted child in this if that's what you prefer!

gn!child!reader (reader is implied to be different ages in different parts)

If you're listening to this, you're alive, congratulations / I always knew you'd become more than a broken condom

Let's be honest, you weren't planned. Being a father initially wasn't part of his life plan, but then you happened. But he wouldn't replace you for anything in this world.

-Adam, Raian, Lihito, Kanoh, Ohma

Cause I don't believe in marriage you were born a bastard

-Ohma, Raian, Adam, Hatsumi

Sure, we love you, but there's a reason for that, kid / Nature arranges it like this so we won't kill you

Sometimes being a father can be frustrating and exhausting. But no matter how annoying you might get, his fatherly instinct always wins. In no way would he ever intentionally do harm to you.

-Ohma, Kanoh, Kazuo

It looks like you're family / Looks like it's just us now / We've got to get through it now, blood's thicker than beer / [Sorry, you ain't adopted]

-Adam, Kanoh, Hatsumi

I have no idea how to take care of children / But don't worry, I'll find a tutorial

He went into fatherhood completely without knowing what to expect. It all came a bit out of sudden for him, and he was too anxious to prepare himself properly. But when he held you in his arms for the first time, he knew he'd figure it out just fine.

-Lihito, Inaba

The good thing is, I don't even have to share any knowledge with you / You can just read the wiki entry

-Saw Paing, Lihito, Kanoh

I won't always be there for you, I have to party hard too / Did I say "party"? I mean "work"

Being a father doesn't mean that's the only part of his life now. He'll try to be there for you whenever possible, but there will be moments when he gets lost in other things.

-Saw Paing, Lihito, Sekibayashi

Joking aside, the ego-pig in me is happy that you are coming / Cause then I can play with Lego blocks

A part of him is still a child as well. And hey, being a father means he gets to play with toys again - that's something he can look forward to.

-Cosmo, Saw Paing, Inaba

Cause even though I'm putting effort and thinking about how / I can take the pressure off and still get you into bookstores / Something I do will lead to trauma, c'est la vie / I'll be the star of your psychotherapy, have fun

As careful as he is with you, he knows at some point he'll do something wrong. He's perfectly aware of how he won't always be the perfect father, but he's still trying his best.

-Raian, Kazuo, Wakatsuki, Suekichi

You're programmed for me, I'm programmed for you / Now we're sittin' here, I say now we're sittin' here / Sorry, you ain't adopted

He didn't choose to have you as his child, and you didn't choose him to have as your father. But still, you're perfectly made to be this role for each other.

-all of them.

You may not become president or student representative / Reality will throw your dreams in the chick shredder / I know what I'm talkin' about, life ain't no show

You won't achieve the greatest things in the world, and that's okay. You don't have to do that to make your father proud. He knows exactly what it's like to fail, and that's why he will always encourage you to reach your dreams, no matter how big or small they may be.

-Gaolang, Kazuo, Suekichi, Setsuna

You'll see my burdens, I've given them to you / If you think your genes are bad, they're Papa's genes / But you're my update, you can fix the bugs

You may not be a carbon copy of your father, but the similarities are undeniable - both the good and the bad.

-Ohma, Setsuna, Kanoh, Raian

In the beginning it's ambition like in a chess duel / You will emulate me until you outshine me / The balance of power is on my side - currently / But your chance is good, because Papa's withering parallel like a leaf

Being his child also means being his rival - in a fun way. If there's something to compete in, there will be playful competition. Board games, soccer in the backyard and running random races when you're just walking somewhere together - things like that.

-Raian, Koga, Saw Paing, Lihito

This has to come out now 'cause later I won't be the same / When you're around I'm sure I'll write some corny shit / No more tasteless jokes, no more Hitler comparisons

He was more of an immature person before, but he knows after your birth he has to become more serious as a father - at least that's what society expects from him.

-Lihito, Raian, Naoya

I stand in front of the mirror and see a caricature / But I train every day for my father figure / I practice "La-Le-Lu" on the keyboard / And I subject myself to a motherfucking radio censorship / And I learn all the movie clichés, after birth / You'll get a wristwatch with your name engraved on it

At first, knowing he'll be a father soon felt so unreal to him. But the closer the day gets, the more the realization sets in. But that realization makes him nervous, so he's putting extra effort into learning how to be the best father he can be. And even though he doesn't want to be "like the other dads", he finds himself following every cliché possible.

-Kazuo, Sekibayashi, Adam, Suekichi

Even though being strict clashes with my liberal nature / I'll pretend I'm interested in your Spanish exam

He doesn't care how much of a good or bad student you are, but he knows you'll have to pass school somehow. As much as he doesn't care about your grades, he pretends as if he does to keep you encouraged. But of course you'll get praise for your hard work when you get good grades.

-Ohma, Kazuo, Lihito

I'll be mad at you for every adolescent booze story / But don't be afraid of me just because I fuck your mother

-Raian, Lihito, Adam

I'm just an old cynic who writes frustration poems / But I swear I'll give it all to you till the end of my chapter

He'd do anything and everything for you. He will always make sure you feel safe and loved, no matter what age you're at. Even when you become an adult, he will always be your father and protect you as good as he can.

-all of them.

If you enjoyed this, please remember to reblog with tags! That's the best and easiest way to support me and my writing!

[lynnsenpai]

Artist Goals 2025

I make these lists of artist goals every year. Unfortunately, if I'm being honest with myself, I rarely achieve the goals I set. Maybe I'm asking too much of myself. Maybe life stuff is sidetracking me more than I intend or expect. Maybe I just don't know how to set goals.

When I look at the lists I've whipped up for past years, I see incredibly productive years. It's like all the best case scenarios - what I wanted those years to be. But if I can be completely transparent for a moment, I've been having a rough time behind the scenes a lot lately. Family stuff. Money stuff. Health stuff. Political stuff. I have no lack of ambition and interest to work on the things I love, but I can't deny I struggle to keep up more than I'd like.

I've tried to keep all this in mind this year. It still sounds like a lot, but I want very much to believe this is reasonable. I guess we'll know for sure in about 365 days. But to tell the truth, as long as I get to draw Chiaki and Rain and their friends (and maybe some rat doodles along the way), I'll be happy. I just want to keep drawing all my kids and telling their stories and sharing them with you, so it's what I'm going to keep trying to do.

I promise to do my best, so wish me luck! ^_^

And I hope the best for you all in your own endeavors in the coming year. Stay safe, stay happy, stay healthy.

[bad-as-me]

Love without Compassion, Compassion without Love

Ok so I wanted to unpack this for a while, but it would be a whole thing to explain and, I'll be honest, the constant hostility from both camps towards the other made me hesitant to make a whole thing about this. But it's been over half a year since sote's release, and the heat has died down enough where I feel comfortable enough to dissect my thoughts as a fan of both of these guys.

tldr: I believe Mohg and Miquella's actions towards one another are meant to mirror each other, because they are inversions of each other's goals.

Full disclosure, this is a culmination of all my general headcanons and interpretations of these characters and their actions. Elden Ring is deliberately vague because it wants you to make up your own mind on what really happened, what matters most to you, things like that. I am not claiming I know the mind of Martin, Miyazaki, and Fromsoft, nor do I think that it would entirely matter if I did.

However, they are still trying to communicate a story with themes at the end of the day, and I find that there is a super common thread in this story around karmic retribution and characters mirroring the actions of another. Mohg and Morgott are an obvious one, as are Miquella and Marika.

But I feel that the intense scrutiny around who the "true victim" was between Mohg and Miquella is completely ignoring the fact that they kind of do unto each other more or less exactly what the other did to them. And I really don't believe that is a coincidence!

We knew in the base game that Mohg stole a sleeping Miquella from his cocoon in the Haligtree. We know he has a penchant for kidnapping people for his service, and that he intended to use Miquella's godhood as an offering to the Formless Mother in his pursuit of Lordship.

We also know the Mohgwyn dynasty is heavily coded in gothic romantic sensibilities. That as Varre tells us, Mohg intends to bless his followers with Love, even if that entails pain and suffering on their part. Mohg is in a lot of ways, a forever open wound: forsaken by his mother for his curse, he only seemed to find respite in the embrace of the outer god known as the Mother of Truth. I think, to Mohg, this idea of love as a painful endeavor is something he operates his entire situation around. He craves love, he craves it especially in maternal figures and people who are in so many aspects, a perfect reincarnation of his own mother. And the painful truth, to him, is that love can only be seized for yourself, and damned be what everyone else thinks of you.

But love is not a kind thing to him. It is a painful, bottomless hole that he is trying to fill for himself. This isn't his fault obviously, it's the result of centuries of abuse and neglect, but that is the fatal flaw of his design that makes him an enemy in our game. He wants a dynasty founded in Love, but without Compassion.

Then we have Miquella, a child of Marika who was surrounded by people who were suffering, but not particularly experiencing that suffering firsthand. He was cursed with eternal childhood, but he was incredibly gifted, and destined to succeed his mother in ascension to godhood. This is his fate, and he knows it's coming no matter what, but either out of a deep sense of care for his sister or just an innocent desire to make everything right, he sets out to make this happen in a way that will somehow fix everything, for everyone.

It's a bold ambition, to be sure. One might say it's a utopian ideal, an impossible ask in a world mired in war and conflict. But Miquella holds this with a deep conviction that could only be manifested in one with a childlike heart, who can't understand just how impossible his own desire really is. He knows of everything his mother accomplished, and in his mind, the only thing that really needs fixing is to just do it right this time.

I'll be honest and say, I don't think Mohg's kidnapping was initially a part of Miquella's plan. I think the track record he already has in seizing people for his own purposes (the albinaurics, the white masks, etc) is enough to believe that he would do it again, and I think it tracks with his general understanding that acceptance is not something that is given to someone like him- it is taken.

Plus, given the understanding that he was bewitched, I just don't like the idea of taking a choice of his that is so central to the events of the game that it is a part of the opening cutscene, and rendering it effectively powerless on Mohg's behalf. I can believe that Mohg's need for an Empyrean body for his goals, meshed with an unhealthy, obsessive need for love from his mother, would translate into jumping the gun and stealing Miquella when everyone is away at the wheel. Love, again, does not come to him out of Compassion, only through force. Unfortunately for him, Miquella is used to failed plans, and knows well how to shift gears and improvise.

Miquella's vow to Radahn happened when they were both fairly young, likely well before Mohg had ever set eye on the vision of a Dynasty in his name. Miquella, forever trapped in the same stage of his life, not only keeps this promise long after it's ever relevant, he incorporates it into his ultimate desire to make everything okay in his new Age.

For the sake of keeping this about only two major characters, I'll keep the Radahn custody situation brief, but in short, Miquella is put in a situation where his promised Lord needs a physical body. And as it so happens, there is a fresh one right in his hands. Someone who also desired for his hand, and the glory of Lordship, but was much too late to be considered for the part.

Miquella's age is one of Compassion. It is so devoted to the idea of endless Compassion, that all other parts of him are shed and made irrelevant. In this endless ambition, powered by centuries of failed plan after failed plan, he starts to forsake so much of himself that the line between "Person" and "Concept" start to blur. He abandons things that should never be forgotten for the sake of a dream. He abandons his Love.

I believe that, in an ill-guided attempt to solve every loose end and satisfy everyone involved, Miquella chose Mohg's body as a vessel out of a "compromise" for Mohg's desires. Radahn may be his destined consort, and Mohg's death may have been made inevitable. However, the wish to be loved and worshipped as Miquella's Lord would still be made his - in body, but not in soul.

Ansbach remarks on the grotesque ritual by saying that "I'm afraid Tender Miquella fails to grasp the humiliation implied by this act." And I am inclined to take him at his word here. Miquella can't understand how this "solution" is an abomination, because the part of him that could have known better is long gone. It is a choice made in Compassion, but not Love.

I hope all of this expresses how much I don't believe anyone in this story deserved their outcome. Rather, their choices are deliberately made to call back to one another. I really do enjoy both Mohg and Miquella as characters at the end of the day, because in so many ways they are mirrors of each other's flaws. Both of them had the intention of using the other's body as a vessel for their own ascension. Neither was right for doing so, but they also had their own reasons for deciding that was what had to be done.

You can't have Love without Compassion, nor Compassion without Love, and that is why they were both doomed to make the same cruel mistakes in their grasp for power.

[wildflowerwoodsworld]

A guide on writing Charlotte Roselei (or, how I do it at least)

Okay. So. This is another one where I've written this over and over, trying to put into words how I write her and, honestly, the best advice I've got is to remember that she has goals and ambitions and personality outside of a romantic relationship.

(I have already done a bit of a meta on her and how her curse affects her here if you want to check that out)

The first thing I do when writing Charlotte is to ignore 90% of what goes on with her in canon. If it involves romance, ignore it for now. We're going to focus on the other facts.

So. What do we know about Charlotte Roselei and how do those facts effect her personality?

1) she was cursed as a little girl.

There is no arguing with this point. Yami straight up says it. The actual age is debatable, but the curse itself is not.

2) she seems to have a strained relationship with her parents.

This point comes from the flashback in Volume 12 (Chapter 104 if you want to check it out yourself), where she is the one reassuring her parents about her curse. Her parents never come up again.

3) she takes everything onto her own shoulders and sees a lot of things as personal failings when they're not.

Again, this point comes from the flashback in Volume 12, while we see several other people calling it "the curse on House Roselei" (the person laying the curse says "a curse on you, House Roselei), Charlotte always says "my curse". And when she can't hold it back, she calls herself pathetic.

4) she gets told something is impossible and tries to do it anyway.

For the final time, we're looking at the flashback in volume 12. Charlotte herself says that the only way to break the curse is for her to have her heart stolen by a man. And yet. The very first thing she says after being cursed is "I'll get stronger! Stronger than anyone! I'll overcome this curse!"

5) despite her calm and collected facade, she's actually a fairly dramatic person.

We see this literally every time we get to see her internal monologue. She wails and pulls faces and overall is just a bit of a mess. Also. Her go-to reaction when annoyed by someone is to attack them with briars, generally throwing the person in question up into the air. Sure, this general comes with a verbal smack down, but most of the time there was no need for her to react that, well, dramatically.

And the star festival (Chapter 103). When that guy tries to use her as arm candy and he goes "Don't you know who I am?" Her response? "Who you are? Don't you know who I am?" followed by her pulling noble rank on him, complete with wrapping the guy up in briars.

6) she has a problem with men.

I don't think this one really needs explaining. Personally, I prefer to interpret this as her having a problem with the trend of men objectifying her rather than a problem with men as a whole, but there is no denying she has a problem with men. And I can't really blame her, to be honest. If I had men I didn't really know randomly proposing to me in the streets, I'd have a problem too.

7) she is given multiple chances to drop out of the fighting during Spade and choses not to. (in other words, she doesn't know when to quit)

I don't think this point really needs any explanation. Every time she gets knocked down, she gets right back up again. To the point that, without Mimosa's intervention, she would have died.

Other fun facts about her that come with the volume extras (@/thoughfullyrainynightmare has compiled some of the volume extras here and here).

She's the most beautiful woman (as long as she doesn't have her helmet on)

She's the third smartest Captain

She's the worst (in the entire kingdom) at handling her alcohol

She's got the third biggest fan club out of the magic knights

She's got the second worst talent/taste in art

Her character profile (volume 7) tells us that she's 171 cm tall, her birthday September 18th, she's a virgo, her blood type is A and that she likes relaxing moments in the garden at her private residence. (it also specifies that she likes Yami while disliking most other men, but we're ignoring that for now).

Her stats in the data book look like this (though these numbers are sourced from the wiki as the data book has yet to be translated into English, so take them with a pinch of salt)

Physical Strength: 4/5 Magic Amount: 5/5 Magic Control: 5/5 Magic Sensing: 3/5 Cleverness: 4/5 And her extra stat is Honesty, with a score of 0/5 (interestingly enough, as far as I know, she's the only person to have 0/5 for her extra stat instead of 5/5).

The wiki also has stats for a card that came with volume 12, but, again, I'd take these numbers with a pinch of salt as I've never seen the card myself.

Magic Attribute: Briar Magic Magic: 1400 Affiliation: Blue Rose Type: Attack Leaves: 3 Power: 3/5 Magical: 4/5 Wisdom: 5/5 Stamina: 3/5 Vitality: 4/5

I also want to point out the anime-only Heart Training Arc. When Charlotte first arrives, she says "So this is what mages are capable of in the Heart kingdom" with a look on her face that, to me, screams "filing that away in case we ever have to face you". Because Charlotte is the eldest of the mages they send to Heart. By a significant margin. There's six years between her and the next oldest, Finral. She also struggles with understanding Sarado's initial explanation, but when her time in Heart is recapped in the manga (volume 28), we get Potrof calling her a genius, implying she picked up Heart's mana method very quickly one she understood what she was supposed to be doing.

Putting all of this information together, we have a character who is very smart and very powerful (and knows it). She holds herself to a very high standard and appears to hold others to those same standards. If something goes wrong and she's involved, it's her fault, so nothing can ever go wrong, which likely leads to her double and triple checking everything and not delegating tasks as much as she should. She is someone who has been placed on a pedestal and is constantly trying to live up to the expectations that come with it. People are enamoured with the idea of Charlotte Roselei, but don't know who she actually is.

And, taking a break to look at the romance for a moment here, one of the key parts of her personality is that she doesn't know how to ask for help. We see this time and time again with her trying to ask Yami out.

So, how do I write Charlotte?

My interpretation of her is a woman who knows what she wants and goes for it. Who doesn't understand the phrases "reasonable human limits" or "it's impossible". If she wants something doing, she does it herself. I also tend to characterise her as petty and prone to jealousy. She's a skilled liar with a brilliant poker face (providing she isn't drunk). She keeps all her cards very close to her chest and doesn't volunteer information easily. She was isolated during a key point in her development (thanks to her curse) so she struggles with interacting with people, especially her peers. She's overly formal and doesn't understand a lot of slang. She's a little (or a lot) touch starved.

I interpret her trying to break her curse as her doing a lot of research into curses and as many different ways of using mana as she could get her hands on (which, as a noble, would be a lot) as well as doing plenty of training to work on her control. 5/5 for control has to be earnt. She pushes herself until she's exhausted and then gets up and does the exact same thing the next day. And the next. And the next. Because there is a clock ticking down above her head and every second could be the difference between her breaking the curse and her failing to control it.

I see her as a little- not suicidal, but reckless with her own life in her time in the magic knights between joining and her curse being broken/lifted/deactivated/whatever. She's going to suffer a fate worse than death when she turns eighteen anyway, and if she's going to die, she might as well die doing something useful. After the curse is broken, she is very aware that she's living on borrowed time, that every breath could be her last.

And, underneath it all, she's a little bit feral. She's not sadistic, but there's a clear line between Us and Them and there are times when she's almost begging Them to give her an excuse to let loose.

[yanderelmk]

Question for redson, nezha, azure, wukong and peng and macaque if youd like

1. If we wanted to have children, how would you react?

2. How would you help your darling with period stuff?

3 . If I asked you to make me immortal so we could love each other forever would you?

🏮💜❤️‍🩹

🔥RED SON🔥: Red Son's face went red and his jaw dropped open. "Ch-children?? You want children?! Do you know how difficult those are to raise? But..." He fidgets, pressing the tips of his index fingers together. "Just how many would you wish to have?" "As for the menstrual predicament, I do not fear the monthly blood ritual. It is just simple biology, only smooth-brained peasants fear the shedding of the uterus." "I have already begun thinking of ways to gift it to you. I presume our marriage would not be enough on its own, though it would grant you demonic nobility status...either I will have to break into Heaven or I will have to find one of the ancient Sages to force the secret from them." 🪷NEZHA🪷:

"I would love children, but I would not be able to care for them as much as I would be able to. I am the protective deity of all children, I would rather not run the risk of favoritism towards my own. But...I do admit the idea appeals to me of having children with the one I love."

"Ah, yes, the process in which a mortal reaches developmental maturity. Fear not, I am experienced in dealing with this sort of thing. In advance I prepared many snacks, especially chocolates, and heating devices. All you need to do is rest up." "Immortality is only gained by Heaven's permission. To do otherwise...well...those who become immortal without Heaven's consent face miserable lives as punishment. Chang'e is the kindest example of what happens when greed for immortality overtakes reason. I will do my best to beg for your appointment as an immortal by my side, but it might take some time. I only ask for your patience." ☀️WUKONG☀️:

"Kids? Like...more than one? Look, I'm gonna be honest with you, I take care of my Flower-Fruit Mountain children okay, but I don't know how good I'd do with a one-on-one infant. I'm willing to try, but I think we should prooobably wait until I've taken some parenting classes first." "Oh! Periods! That's the monthly feminine thing, right? Uhh..." Wukong digs around a bit and tosses a blanket on you. "There you go!" Wukong sighs. "Look, I know I might have become immortal a good few times over, but it's really not that easy. Heaven's not gonna let you become an immortal that easily. I'll do what I can, all you have to do is eat the food of Heaven to become immortal, but it's going to be a really rough process. I'll only do it if you're absolutely certain." 🦅PENG🦅:

"I would be overjoyed to raise fledglings with you! How many are you thinking? I believe six is an appropriate number." "Ah, the matters of the femmes. I remember when I had to deal with that...tell you what, you sit here, I will go and procure the necessary supplies. Then I'll snuggle up with you until you fall asleep." "Immortality? That is easily done! Once we achieve our ambition to overtake Heaven, I will make you my Immortal Consort. No weapon, Celestial, Infernal, or Mortal, will be able to strike you down."

🌑MACAQUE🌑:

"Why would you want kids? Don't those make a lot of noise and stuff? I'll compromise: How about we get a puppy or something, start off small?"

"Periods? Um...I don't really know how those...work. What do you need for that, a bandage? I got plenty of those." He sighs. "Look Y/N, I'll be honest with you, immortality's not all it's cracked up to be. Forever is a long time. If you're adamant and absolutely 100% certain, I'll try to do what I can, but you're gonna have to accept that being immortal means living for a really long time. You'll lose your friends and family, everything will change while you never do. It can be a painful existence."

[austinslounge]

There is a lot of talk about how bad the age difference between Austin and Kaia looks, but for some reason no one talks about how 31-year-old Vanessa publicly dated two 24-year-old athletes during the first two months after breaking up with Austin, one of whom became her husband and is literally the one who what was Austin in his early 20s (a young man with career problems). The only difference is that Austin had prospects, but Cole no longer has a chance. Girl absolutely has her own pattern of ideal relationships, where she is a "star", and he does everything she wants. It stopped working with Zach when the HSM ended and he tried his best to erase the Disney image, and she earned it, it stopped working with Austin when he wanted a professional breakthrough and made it a top priority. Cole doesn't have Zach's great start and Austin's ambitions. He will always be with her, because apart from her, he has nothing special.

No, I totally agree with you girl. Everyone seems to have an issue with Austin dating Kaia who's 10 years younger than him, but nobody seems to mention the fact that Vanessa herself is with a man nearly 10 years her Jr as well, and is also dating a man much younger than even her ex (Austin). At least Austin dated a woman several years older than him for years (Vanessa). But Vanessa went from dating Zac (who was older than her), to Austin (who was a few years younger than her), to now Cole (who's almost 10 years younger than her).

If you're going to have an issue with the age gap of Austin and Kaia, then you should be looking at Vanessa and Cole as well, especially when it's a known fact that women usually tend to mature faster than men. 👀

Anyway, I'm not going to go with this black & white thinking in the rest of your msg. Idk Vanessa personally. Maybe she just likes sweet guys? Don't most women? 🥴 Plus, I'm sorry, but Zac Efron was pretty huge back in his HSM days. That guy was everywhere lol. 😅 When Vanessa and Zac were dating, HE was the bigger star. She didn't just date guys with so-called struggling careers. And let's be honest, Vanessa was over the moon happy and excited for Austin when he snagged the Elvis role. She wanted to help him. She was cheering him on, always in his corner with every project he had, and especially when he got "Elvis". It's not like she lost interest in him as soon as he got a good gig. 🙄 Let's be ffr -- Vanessa would have still been with Austin at this level of fame of his had they not broken up. There's no way she would have dumped him just because he got more famous. 😒

Lastly -- All I'll say is, consenting adults can choose to date or marry whoever they want. While I am not a fan of the Kaustin age gap (mainly because Kaia had just turned 20 when they first started dating each other), she is still technically an adult capable of making her own decisions. I also strongly get the impression that she probably went after Austin anyway (that seems pretty fairly obvious given her behavior), so it is what it is.

I feel the same way about Vanessa. Maybe she just happens to like (or click better?) with younger men? There's nothing wrong with that. Cole isn't a child. He's a grown man.

So, I don't look down upon her or Austin tbh. I just find it interesting that they both dated people younger than them after their breakup, but yet Austin seems to get the most backlash. 🥴

[blackjackkent]

Rakha waits until they're back at camp to talk to Wyll about Ansur.

(This conversation actually turned out quite interesting for Rakha imo, although for reasons quite liberally seasoned with headcanon.)

She has been trying to sort out her own thoughts about it. Her attention has been so much on her own problems - on Orin, on Gortash, on the most direct route to the brain and the problems in her own mind - but she is aware that this mission was deeply important to Wyll. It was his father's wish that he seek out Ansur and bring him back to protect the city, and even though it was no fault of Wyll's, they could not do that.

Rakha... is really pretty familiar with the idea of disappointing her father, after the last few days, but her father is, to put it mildly, very different from Wyll's. This is not a situation she has a lot of relevant experience with.

Luckily, Wyll speaks before she has to figure out how to open the conversation.

"Ansur is dead."

(A/N: The game bugged and hung the dialogue on this line until I hit space, and it was very amusing that it seemed like Wyll said that and then just fell silent and looked depressed. Valid, my dude.)

"There will be no great tempest roaring through the skies, no dragon redeemer to save us. What hope, then, for Baldur's Gate? Without the great wyrm's aid... is the city doomed to fall?"

Rakha can hear the anxiety in his voice. The strain and despair is unlike him; he has always been a steady presence at her side, guiding her along a path of hope even when she's felt the world shaking apart around her. But not here, not now. He has focused all his hope on finally making his father proud, doing his duty by the city he was thrown out of, bringing back an unstoppable weapon to fight the evil that threatened it.

And now none of that will happen. Rakha swallows, fumbling for some words that might soothe his fear and anger and grief as he has so often soothed hers... but though her mind is quieter now, she is no more facile with comfort and soft words than she was before.

And someone else speaks up before she can find the right thing to say.

"You braved the wyrm's lair seeking a savior," the Emperor rumbles through their minds out of the Prism. "Yet it was you - all of you - who vanquished the undead abomination which Ansur became. You are more powerful than you understand. It is you who are the tempest. It is you who are the Heart of the Gate."

(A/N: Fascinating.

So... I'll be honest - I really don't like this set of two post-Ansur conversations for Wyll. The particular circumstances of Rakha's run, however, do make this really interesting.

It's an open point of discussion in the fandom that a lot of Wyll's quest, particularly in Act 3, feels haphazardly done and unsatisfying; these days I am somewhat intrigued by the theory that he was originally supposed to have story opportunities in the Upper City which then got scrapped. It would certainly explain a lot, because the business with Ansur does not really feel like a thematic conclusion to his arc.

But imo these two conversations are by far the weakest part. As you can see if you look at just the dialogue in this post without my context and descriptions, he bounces ALL over the place from depression to ambition to valor to a weird sort of manic celebratory air, all pretty much without the player's input at all (or regardless of it). Left to its own devices it's a pretty lackluster set of dialogue and in my opinion serves to make the ending of this quest feel even weirder than it already does.

HOWEVER. This really is fascinating in the context of Rakha's run specifically and considering the events that have directly led up to this.

Rakha has been for most of the game loyal to the Emperor and thus able to be manipulated by it.

Ever since meeting Minsc and particularly since their argument in the Astral, that partnership has broken; Rakha now sees through the Emperor's manipulation and has 180'd to pretty much hating it.

Rakha has now also been stripped of her Bhaalspawn heritage - meaning that another thing binding her to the Emperor (the mental peace offered in the Astral) is now also no longer relevant.

The Emperor and Rakha just had ANOTHER fight in the aftermath of battling Ansur, in which they both made it super clear that one of them is probably going to kill the other eventually.

And now... Wyll is in a state of clear despair. (Well, clear-ish. Poor Theo Solomon does his best but this dialogue is, again, so weirdly written that he clearly had trouble figuring out what emotion he was supposed to be going for - but for our story purposes, that first line is definitely despair.) And of all people, the Emperor chimes in out of nowhere and starts talking him up about how cool he is and how it doesn't matter that Ansur is dead because actually Wyll is the Heart of the Gate.

And look how that plays out.)

Rakha's eyes narrow, hearing the Emperor's strange and unexpected words of encouragement - but she sees how they work on Wyll. His head lifts, and some of the bleak despair goes out of his eyes. His lips curl up at the corners in a cautious smile. "You're right," he says, squaring his shoulders. "We are the warriors who'll slay the Absolute. We are the guardians who'll defend this fair city."

Nod along silently.

"The brain will fall." Wyll is warming to the discussion now, his eyes going brighter with eager energy. "And the people will hail us as champions." His eyes widen and his breath catches. "I could even claim my father's own ducal title and carry his banner after this! 'Grand Duke Wyll Ravengard.' Marshal of the Flaming Fist, the city's truest defender!"

(A/N: You see what I mean, maybe, about how fast the tone flips in this conversation. I am very much aware of what they're going for here but the execution just ends up feeling extremely weird.

But... specifically in this story's context, this really ends up reading like the Emperor (who heretofore has shown zero interest in buttering up Wyll) realizing that its goose is cooked as far as Rakha is concerned and instead fixing on this new target at a moment of extreme emotional vulnerability.

And for a moment here, Wyll comes very close to buying it, hook, line, and sinker. Because Blade of Frontiers or not, there is a part of him that does desperately want to return to the city, his city, and take up his father's mantle. The Emperor has played on that subtle aspiration and for just a moment it almost takes over.

I am glad, though, that unlike the business with his pact, we actually do have the option to let Wyll make his own decision here.)

Rakha listens to this speech in silence. She can hear the desperate hope in his voice, the need for her to say yes, yes, you will return to the city and they will love you, they will cheer you for what you did for them, after so long away. But... she doesn't understand it. In all the time she's known Wyll, he has never shown the slightest bit of aspiration for a seat among the patriars. In fact, he's spoken disparagingly of the city's emphasis on the nobility over the less fortunate. He has sacrificed everything of himself for others (including her) on more than one occasion.

But now he pictures a world where he is not only a noble but a Duke, the leader of the Flaming Fist, standing in his father's shoes. Is that what he wants? Does he believe it is required of him? Or is there some other element of this that she does not understand?

Perhaps it is simply that he wants peace, just as she does. Perhaps he is tired of adventuring and wants to return to the city for good. She has no right whatsoever to judge him for that - and yet she wonders. What is the place for me, in such a future?

She feels conscious of the Emperor watching them both. Watching Wyll. She can just barely see the outline of how it is pulling the strings of this conversation, just as it has pulled hers.

But Wyll has never listened to the Emperor. He even warned Rakha away from it. Surely... surely he is stronger than that... And she loves him. She will follow him down whatever path he chooses, as he has followed her.

"Follow your heart, Wyll," she says quietly. After a moment's pause, she reaches out cautiously and grips his hand tightly in hers. "I trust you to make the right decision."

Wyll frowns, looking down at her hand on his. A muscle works in his jaw. Then, after a long moment, he shakes his head. "I fought to right the wrongs of the Coast. To slay the monsters that hunt the helpless," he murmurs. "What good is a champion who puts himself above the people? What good am I as a politician, just out of reach?"

He lifts his head and squares his shoulders firmly. "There will be no Grand Duke Wyll Ravengard. And there will be no Blade of Frontiers. I am now the Blade of Avernus. For as long as demons and devils imperil the Sword Coast, they will be my prey."

(A/N: And now we've whiplashed back the other direction. XD Honestly I think this part of the conversation would be LOADS improved by an actual pause before I fought to right the wrongs of the coast; I described one here but there isn't actually one in game and it just sounds like he changed his mind INSTANTLY. The Blade of Avernus thing also seems to come out of nowhere since he hadn't mentioned any dissatisfaction with being the Blade of Frontiers at any point previously.

It's just odd. But - GO WYLL! IGNORE THE EMPEROR'S MANIPULATION! \o/)

Rakha relaxes. Good. That sounds more like Wyll, like the man she knows, the man who helped guide the broken pieces of her towards something better. She nods again soberly, her hand tightening around his.

Narrator: A calm settles over you. The elder brain is a menace - but with the Blade of Avernus at your side, you know you will triumph.

-----

(A/N: Glad the narrator is so confident about it. :D The other followup conversation is much shorter; it's also tonally weird, but only in the context of everything happening around it. As it stands alone, it is very cute. :3 )

"The Blade of Avernus. A new name for a changed man. The four pillars finally rise within me - Courage, Insight, Strategy, Justice. I'm not to abide them, but to become them. Ah, but enough reflection for today. I'm of a mind to celebrate. A hearty meal would do the trick. A few hunks fresh venison, a round of brown ale - what do you say?"

"Sounds heavenly."

"Wonderful. You hunt the deer, I'll scrounge up the ale. Prepare your belly for roast a la Blade! Let's hope Gale doesn't take offense if I assume cooking duties, just the once."

(A/N: Hector definitely got extra dialogue here about how Wyll has an ulterior motive for wanting to go to Avernus - hunting down Mizora. I'm not sure why it's not popping for Rakha. But we will leave it with this cuteness because this whole conversation has been weird. :P )

[martianmeerkat]

"Would you mind if I asked you the questions I ask all my favorite tumblr folks? (1) Where ya from? (2) what’s your occupation? (3) when did you first read the books? (4) what’s your favorite thing about asoiaf? Thanks!"

@stargareed

Sure! Yeah.

1) I'm from the US, specifically Midwestern

2) I'm a seamstress! I've worked all sorts of jobs, but that's my current occupation and I'm quite fond of it!

3) Imma be completely honest here, I truly don't know. I've been a part of the fandom for years, but my cousin got me into it. He lent me the books for me to read until I ended up buying a set of my own. I think it was around the time the show ended? Yeah, that sounds about right, lol

4) My favorite thing is gonna be hard to narrow down. So I guess I'll just say that I love learning new things. To me there's always something more to learn about the asoiaf universe, and by extension there's something more to learn about life as a whole. Taking a second look at the characters, who they are, what makes them who they are. Where they're from and how that effects their interactions with the world. Why they do what they do, their morals and goals. Their ambitions, their wants and needs. Who they care about and why. Who they loathe and why. What's most important to them? What things do they take note of and what deeper meaning could be drawn from this? What is this character meant to represent? What tropes would this character typically fill and how does this character break down the trope? Things like that and more.

It's these questions I find most fascinating. I'm a huge psychology and sociology nerd, and it's always been incredible to me just how much you can learn about a person in just a few moments. The asoiaf world is filled to the absolute brim with characters that while very well fleshed out, are also purposefully vague. There's a lot of show more than tell and it leaves people like me a breadcrumbs trail to follow! GRRM has specifically mentioned how he leaves some parts vague in case he needs to use something for the story later on, so there are aspects that have been developed enough to glean a story from, but not detailed enough to determine it's impact in overarching main plot of the story.

Learning about each of these aspects and using that context to further deepen an already deeply complex story with some of the most complex characters I've come across in fiction is extremely compelling. Add to that how the fandom interacts with the story and the push and pull based on people's own perspectives, it adds yet another layer. At the end of the day, I'm only one person with one perspective, so getting to interact with other members of the fandom (those who I both agree with and disagree with) enhances my own experience and adds to my collection. Even in situations where I find people calling out particular characters actions, I find myself appreciating the depth of world building to the point that people in real life respond to the actions of fictional characters as if the character themselves was real. Because the characters feel human, and that in it of itself is a feat to be appreciated.

I could go on and on about asoiaf, I'll probably get around to making posts about it eventually. But I'll probably stop for now, lol.

Thank you for asking!

[alexdelray1]

Miles 42 x Fem Reader.

Warnings: Bad words and mentions of death.

Type: Fluff.

One and last time people. I am Reader Corrow.

I come from Earth 42 and at the age of 15 I was infected with spider DNA through an accident in my aunt's lab. Better not to go into details. I've been the only Spider-Woman for several months now. I saved a lot of people, arrested some bad guys and killed one guy in self-defense, but it's not the best memory. I'm not the best student or genius so my aunt made my costume understanding my situation. It is beautiful. I just don't know what else to say about it.

I've been going to 'Visions' school for two years and I'm studying there to become a scientist. Great ambition, great power and great responsibility. It's true that it's terrible pressure, but it works. I also have my friend Miles. He's kind of how to say...weird. He wasn't always like this, but after his dad died, he started to get darker and more mysterious. At first I thought it was normal after losing a loved one that he goes somewhere at night and don't want to talk as much as he used to. I went through it myself, but it's been going on for a year. So is Prowler's presence on the streets of New York.

-Miles, do you have time today?- I asked him on the way home from school. Miles looked the other way, still serious.

-Not really.- he replied, sighing.

-What are you doing today, mister mystery?- I joked and chuckled.

-None of your business.- he replied still seriously.

-Ok I understand. Don't be so tense. - I didn't want to delve into the topic anymore because I knew that he would sulk soon.

-Sorry. I just don't have time lately. Do you understand?- He stopped and asked me.

-Yeah. I see. We have exams soon anyway and you're top of the class. You can't take a geek's nose out of a book.- I laughed and started walking towards his house again because it was closer.

-Yeah. Sometimes I wonder if I'm smart or you're a bunch of idiots. Eh, I'm betting on both.- Miles finally joked and we started laughing.

-Maybe you're right. Okay, we're at your place. - I said and we stood in front of his tenement house.

-Bye Reader. See you tomorrow.- He replied and started walking up the stairs to the door.

-Bye Miles.- I said goodbye and walked the other way. I hope he doesn't fall asleep at his desk again.

TIME SKIP.

This costume is not only very comfortable, but also metal. I normally have Tony Stark-like technology. And it's fucking awesome with that costume. Now all I have to do is wait for some motherfucker to come and destroy it by ripping my stomach open. But that's not until I get a kid and Marvel thinks my life is a little too happy.

-This view gets prettier every night.- I sighed while sitting on the roof of the skyscraper. It's night time and the criminals get up to get kicked in the ass by me. My spider sense warned me. I caught the knife that was thrown at me.

-And you keep getting uglier and smaller every night.- Prowler commented behind me.

-I can say the same about your dick Prowler.- I retaliated and he let out a disgruntled grunt.

-Hahaha funny now let's get serious.- He said sarcastically and aimed a blow at me.

-You know there's always time to switch sides.- I said blocking his attack.

-No thanks, I like my old good side.- He replied trying to throw me off balance.

-It's funny, because you're not on the good side at all.- I laughed, kicking him in the face and he fell a few meters away.

-You're probably always like this.- He commented and got to his feet, preparing to attack.

-Oh, you are very nice. I'll be honest.- I said and he laughed.

-What can I say. I'm always nice to some level.- He replied and attacked me.

-This level is probably in the negative.- I jumped and landed behind him.

-As always, painfully honest. And don't wait. It means that you lie to most of the people around you with some excuses. Tell me. How many people know you're Spider-Woman?- he asked, trying to evoke my sadness.

-Do you count the dead people?- I asked, placing my hands on my hips.

-You can't discriminate against the dead.- he replied, raising his arms.

-Two. And don't try this tactic. I bet you do that yourself. Lie to everyone. Except for one person. I don't believe you're alone in this shit.- I said.

-Maybe you're right. May not. You're an interesting person. I'm curious what faces you are making under this mask now. - He confided and started to approach me.

- You sound like a psychologist. And under my mask I make faces that are meant only for me, my mirror and nice people. And you don't look like a mirror or a nice person.- my 'watch' started to pip.

- Shit.- I cursed and started to fight the Prowler.

-Spider-Woman from Earth 42 is being called to the main hall on Earth 2099. Immediately.- My 'watch' started chirping.

-What?- asked the confused Prowler, trying to grab my hand on which I had a 'watch'.

-Fuck. Lyla. Can't you see I'm busy?- I asked my "watch" and kicked the Prowler in the face.

-It is very important. We have a 'rebel' and you have to help the others stop him.- Lyla said without showing up.

-It's so stupid. Let the boy or girl do whatever they want on his or her earth.- I sighed, ignoring the fact that the Prowler got up from the ground.

-But he's an anomaly on his own earth...- Lyla said and I froze.

-Oh shit. I'll be there in a moment. Sorry handsome, but I have work to do. - I said and stood on the edge of the building.

-Wait! What's the deal with Earth 42 and what was it?!- Prowler tried to run up to me, but I jumped off the roof.

-Bye bye!- I said and opened the portal. I flew into it, leaving my villain behind. What a pity I couldn't kick his ass longer.

END. Do you guys like Beyoncé?

[bthump]

I think I have diagnosed Griffith with 2 things after reading the manga, but am curious to know what you think

1. ⁠Narcissism. His entire worldview revolves around him. He thinks he is the protagonist. When he states that he can only respect another person who has their own dream and would do anything to make that dream a reality, he is putting a tremendous amount of weight on his "respect". And when someone actually does what the fuck he claims will earn his respect, he doesn't give it, because in the end it breaks his ego. In the eclipse, it's unearthed that deep inside, all along, he believes that all of the individuals in his army exist, living or dead, to serve him. That they died purely for him, not even considering that they yearend a life that was better then what they had, and surviving the front could have granted that. He never felt for a second that he actually owed anything else to anyone else.

2. ⁠Sociopathic tendencies: Griffith lacks true empathy. He views the world, and it's moral balance as a ledger, that he can add and subtract pros and cons to equal the karmic balance in his own eyes, and as such he "Greater goods" a ton of stuff that the fandom excuse or don't even consider prior to the eclipse, like burning the queen to shreds and sending guts on an assassination mission. He sells himself off to Gennon for the "good of his army", but this is just Griffith making ends meet to continue his ambitions of conquest, all of which are for his purpose. He excuses great amounts of evil because he is a narcissist and a sociopath. Other people's genuine state of being are not within his comprehension, and their situation is meaningless to him.

I gotta be honest, I'm pretty surprised you don't already know my opinion on this, since like my whole Fandom Brand is being a Griffith stan who thinks he's a genuinely good, empathetic person as a human lol, and I feel like I discuss that all the time. If you're very new around here and haven't really read many of my posts yet, then yeah, fyi we have deeply differing takes on Griffith.

And just as a warning, around this corner of fandom you're pretty much just going to see exasperated disagreement with this opinion, because it's what the majority of (English speaking) fandom tends to think about Griffith and the people who follow my blog tend to be pretty tired of it.

If you're genuinely interested in my own thoughts though, I'll link a few posts that explore my take on Griffith's personality in some depth:

Do I think Griffith is cruel

How Guts is not a better person than Griffith

Quick take on the Eclipse sacrifice

Griffith and power/control

The meaning of the Promrose Hall speech

Why Griffith lost his shit during the second duel

How Griffith both parallels and contrasts Gambino

Griffith's feelings for Guts are positive

Griffith's entire internal conflict throughout the Golden Age examined at great length

And just as an additional note, I generally don't engage with media through a psychiatry lens. Diagnosing fictional characters with personality disorders isn't my kinda thing unless the text is heavily implying it, because I view characters as tools that exist to help construct the meaning of a story, not as real people. If the narrative isn't interested in clinical psychology, then neither am I, basically.

But needless to say if Griffith was real I don't think either of those diagnoses would fit him, based on my layman's understanding of sociopathy and narcissism, for reasons I've discussed a lot in those linked posts, among others.

[typingatlightspeed]

Extras - The Extreme Path Omake

Omake, meaning bonus! Some translation notes, name meanings, references, and stuff for The Extreme Path. If there's anything I haven't covered you're curious about, lemme know and I'll add it onto this baby! :D

NAME MEANINGS:

Morimoto (森本) - mori (森) means "forest", while moto (本) means "origin", making the surname loosely mean "from the forest". Perfect for a family of woodland critters!

Shigeru (茂) - means "lush" or "luxuriant", which seems right for a fancy bon vivant like Spy. I'll be honest though I didn't even occur to me until the day of writing (9/11/24) that Morimoto Shigeru sounds kinda like Miyamoto Shigeru (yanno the Mario guy) and I promise you that was an accident.

Yoko (洋子) - yo (洋) means "ocean" and ko (子) means "child".

Kenji (堅志) - ken (堅) means "firm, tough, or strict", and ji (志) means "purpose or ambition".

Yamabane (山羽) - yama (山) means "mountain" and hane (羽) means "feather". (Hane is pronounced bane when it's added onto a compound word, going from an unvoiced to a voiced syllable.)

Kazuhiro (一浩) - kazu (一) means "one", or in this case "a certain person", and hiro (浩) means "prosperous"

Yamamori (山森) - means "mountain forest", which also combines the first characters of Yoko and Kazhuro's surnames!

Henrik Koopman - Henrik means "home ruler", and wasn't picked for its meaning so much as I liked the sound of it. Koopman however means "merchant". Career-appropriate nomenclature!

Umino Himeko - (海野 姫子) - Umi (海) means "ocean", no (野) means "field, or area", hime (姫) means "princess", and ko (子) means "child". So when Henrik calls Himeko "princess" he's not just being a sweetie, he's also using a pet name based on her actual name.

Henri Renard - Henri, Spy took in honour of his late husband, as Henri is the Francophile form of Henrik. Renard is French for "fox".

Makai (魔界) - means "evil world" or "demon world", and comes from Buddhism. Per Wikipedia: "...it is the opposite of the Buddha world, and can refer to the four heavens above desire. The synonym Makyo (魔境, 魔境) is sometimes used to mean a mysterious and frightening place or a place that tempts people, such as a red-light district. ... As a metaphor, the Makai is sometimes used to refer to a place where legends about vengeful spirits, monsters, sorcery, etc. remain. ... In fantasy and legend-based fiction, it is often depicted as another world inhabited by demons, monsters, etc." Traditionally Yakuza families are named for their founding patriarch, so who knows if this family breaks the trend, or if a youkai who took the surname Makai was its founder way back when?

Yakuza (ヤクザ) - literally means "eight, nine, three", which is the worst hand one can get in the card game Oicho-Kabu, which works a lot like Baccarat. (I love it it's a lot of fun.) Much of the yakuza originally started as illegal gambling dens, hence a losing hand like that might end up with you oweing the crime family who runs the joint a LOT of money.

The Extreme Path - Yakuza typically don't call themselves "yakuza". They refer to themselves and what they do as "gokudo" (極道), meaning "the extreme path". If you note, Spy, being an ex-yakuza (though never banished nor actually expelled from the family so technically he still is one as far as the family's concerned) calls it that when he's speaking Japanese.

Aniki (兄貴) - means "older brother". The yakuza use familiar terms for one another. For the sake of the reader this and kyodai were the only ones I didn't translate, since the vibe is very different between how yakuza use those words and how civilians use them. Typically a yakuza will refer to a member of their family who is senior to them as Aniki as a title of respect, assuming they don't have a title within the family. You wouldn't call the captain Aniki, you'd call him captain (Kashira), for example.

Kyodai (兄弟) - means "brother" or "sibling", and typically is not used to address a person directly. Unless you're yakuza and they're your sworn brother. Also used to refer as a group to the upper level yakuza in a family. The "made men" to put it in mafia terms.

Patriarch - Localized from Oyabun (親分) meaning "adoptive father" and Oyaji (親父) meaning "father (informal, masculine)", used to refer to the head of a yakuza family.

Captain - Localized from waka-gashira (若頭), literally meaning "junior head". The second-in-command of a yakuza family, tasked with carrying out the oyabun's wishes. When addressed, it's usually as Kashira or [Name]-gashira.

Lieutenant - Localized from shatei-gashira (舎弟頭) literally meaning "younger brother head", the guy in charge of the boys directly, basically.

-han - In Kansai-ben, the dialect of Japanese spoken in the Kansai region, which is where Osaka is, the suffix -san is often said as -han instead. If you notice, while the Morimoto triplets and the yakuza speak Kansai-ben, which I wrote with a rougher tone (true to its cultural perception as being super informal and almost a lil rude), Kazuhiro and Sniper speak standard Japanese, hence they both use -san when appending that suffix onto people's names.

NAME REFERENCES:

Nagoshi - Named for Nagoshi Toshihiro, who is the creator of the Ryu Ga Gotoku game series, known in the west as Yakuza and Like A Dragon (they've been rebranding recently, "Ryu Ga Gotoku" means "Like A Dragon" so they're just kinda making the names uniform), which I am obsessed with, and actively inspired SO MUCH of this story, particularly the entry set in the lead-up to the Boshin War, "Ryu Ga Gotoku: Ishin! Kiwami", the remake of which finally came to English and sparked the brainworms that became this story, lol. So you can blame him for all of this, basically. I've wanted to set a story with Spy in Japan for literal years, but Ishin! made me pull the trigger.

Ugaki Goro - Ugaki comes from Ugaki Hidenari, the voice actor of Majima Goro, from the Ryu Ga Gotoku series. Majima's absolutely my blorbo so I had to make the reference. Also, honestly, the way I describe Ugaki Goro ended up looking a little teeny bit like Ugaki Hidenari by accident. Wonder if he's a voice-acting kawauso!

Daito Shigeki - Daito comes from Daito Shunsuke, voice actor of Baba Shigeki from RGG 5, a character with conflicting loyalties! Daito Shigeki's weren't so conflicted, turns out.

Sawamura Kazuma - Sawamura comes from Sawamura Haruka, precious adoptive daughter of Kiryu Kazuma, the main character of the RGG series and good good boy who I love so much.

Kanda - Named for one of the skeeziest motherfuckers in the RGG series, Kanda Tsuyoshi.

Ugaki Rie - Rie comes from Kugimiya Rie, voice actor of Sawamura Haruka.

Kasuga Akira - Kasuga comes from Kasuga Ichiban, main character of RGG 7 and 8 and good good boy, and Akira comes from Nishikiyama Akira, villain of RGG 1 and sworn brother of Kiryu Kazuma, and fallen good boy. Ichiban and Nishiki are voiced by the same actor, Nakaya Kazuhiro.

Kuroda Akio - Kuroda comes from Kuroda Takaya, voice actor of Kiryu Kazuma. Akio comes from Outsuka Akio, voice actor of Adachi Kouichi from RGG 7 and 8, one of my favourite characters, as well as Isami Kondo in RGG Ishin! Kiwami.

FLOWER MEANINGS:

Asters - Rememberance, I won't forget you

Spider Lilies - Death, never seeing someone again, abandonment

Lavender - Faithfulness, loyalty

[iluminaughter]

friends?

Friends....wow, that's a good think to talk...! The truth is that I see myself as shy and everything, but I usually socialize, I have my own circle that I appreciate a lot!

And that…made me doubt a lot about what I did…was it really worth making that deal? Risking so much for nothing and now having my soul belong to a megalomaniac Dorito? I think I should have been less ambit-

WOAAAHHH!!

WHOA! IT'S BEEN A WHILE! MY REALLY SORRYS FOR BEING AFK OR SOMETHING, WE'RE HELPING WITH A BRO IN HIS PROJECT! AND AS IT SEEMS LIKE THIS ARTIST SPIT WAS SOOOO DEPRESSED *static*

(off rp: don’t worry I was just doing doodles and other stuff asdjk)

*static end* THAT HE ONLY WENT AROUND ELSEWHERE, POSTING SOME MUSIC AND REBLOGGED MY ARTWORK!

BUT DON'T WORRY, I'LL NEVER LEAVE HORNED BOI'S HEAD! I THINK I'LL STAY WITH THIS IDIOT FOR AT LEAST ONE MORE MONTH! UNTIL THIS PLACE GETS MORE NEEDY AND CHEESY AND I'LL BE HONEST, I DON'T WANT THAT "MARIAH CAREY" TO REACH MY TIANGULAR BEING EITHER!

Zo eoi rusy jvy uqnlohyqypj U qczy jo eoil alcxj? Uj'k nlyjje, ukp'j uj?