#Not to mention their current and or future children won't have a world in which to grow old

[sparkly-butthole-on-ao3]

"Unexpected" my ass. We've been screaming for over a decade now about how we're approaching an existential risk to humankind. When are people, including scientists, going to acknowledge how little we actually know? Why are we leaving this to chance instead of demanding better?

[deathxfawn]

Two arguments that I often see coming from the same people are as follows:

"SJM was referring to Helion and The Lady of Autumn in her interview! It's implied that they were mates and it had to be rejected due to the scandal it would bring! She must be wanting to explore that story in a future book!"

and also

"L/ucien and Elain won't reject the bond because it's permanent. Elain would always feel it and L/ucien would go insane. It's right there on page. That's why they'll end up together."

These two arguments cannot coexist. You can't say that Helion and LOA have a rejected mating bond, and in the next breath say L/ucien and Elain can't have the same.

Do you know what two arguments can coexist?

That Helion and LOA had a mating bond, were aware of it, and rejected it. This is heavily implied in WaR.

The stakes for these two were enormous, and the implications of a High Lord's wife who has had 6 of his children running off with another High Lord would likely cause a war (this is not the case with L/ucien and Elain) . Also note the heavy theme of choice in this passage. The female choosing to reject the bond, if that's what happened.

Also note that if they have a rejected mating bond, they seem to be living separately just fine. Are they sad? Maybe. LOA specifically mostly due to Beron. Do they still feel a tug? Perhaps, we don't know, it's all speculation. But they were able to attend the High Lord's meeting together without issue. Has Helion gone mad and feral, which is what everyone says will happen to L/ucien? Absolutely not.

2. That Elain and L/ucien can reject their mating bond, whether it's mutual or not.

I find it very interesting that SJM gave L/ucien - with an ill-fitting mating bond - parents who potentially have a rejected mating bond. Not to mention a father with spell cleaving powers and all the knowledge in the world at his fingertips in the Day Court libraries. But that's a different post for a different day.

Either one or the other can be true. If SJM was referring to Helion and LOA rejecting a mating bond, that implies that L/ucien and Elain also have that option. Especially fitting how close to home it hits with L/ucien. I'm not going to bring up the passage with Rhys saying that mating bonds can be rejected, because we all know it at this point.

If SJM was not referring to Helion and LOA, who was she referring to? Perhaps the only mating bond currently in the series that doesn't seem to be wanted by either party? I wonder.

[lol-jackles]

Walker episode 3 review

Making space. For past lost love, for current love, for children’s independence.

The episode starts with Liam foreshadowing the state of Cordell and Geri relationship when he explains the Japanese art of kintsugi, putting broken pottery pieces back together by using gold as glue, a metaphor for embracing flaws and imperfections and creating another piece of art.  Cordell and Geri’s relationship is complicated by the tragic deaths of their respective partners within 2 years of each other and the four of them were friends since high school.  

Trey and Liam tease Cordell for not telling Geri that he loves her, and Trey advises the classic “give her a drawer” at his place to show commitment. Liam talks about Stella to Cordell, but he rather trusts Stella to come to him as he's giving his adult child space. Then Cordell follows Trey's advice on giving Geri space in his wardrobe in an awkward but sweet scene.  Cordell and Geri were monogamous with their respective late partners for 20 years, so they're inexperienced when it comes to new relationships. 

Like father like daughter, the Rawlings are bad influences on the fiery member of the Walker clan.  Sadie Rawlings had convinced Stella to pretend not to have met Witt before the break-in because Stella is about to go to college and Sadie has a record.  In a panic, Stella went along.  I think ever since she spent a night in jail for something she didn’t do but because she hadn’t earned her father's trust due to her lack of credibility weighs on Stella's fear.  

Like father and daughter, Stella investigates off-the-books (i.e. not telling adults) on who is targeting her with threatening messages and leaving her car smelling like gasoline, a matchbook, and Witt’s picture.  Wait, I didn’t know Witt’s body was burned in a fiery car crash.  Was this the first time they said this or was it mentioned in an earlier episode?   

Liam's default state is to help people, but Stella shuts him out and Cordell isn't biting, so he's helping Cassie clear out her storage unit of sentimental items.  Meanwhile, Cordell looks for a shirt that Emily gave him, which Geri had accidentally donated when she made room for her things.  This upsets Cordell who assumed because Geri was present when Emily gave him the shirt 20 years ago, that she would know how much it means to him.  Half of Cassie’s sentimental collections aren’t even stuff she partook in but will once she slows down in some unscheduled point in the future.  Cordell looks to the past while Cassie looks to the future, neither are in the present. 

Alan Alda once said, “Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.” Liam and Abilene respectively encourage Cassie and Cordell to start anew by not making assumptions and being active in the present. Liam gives Cassie tickets to a robot fight event and she in turns gives him a personalized key chain that he wanted all his life but never purchased for himself because Cordell couldn't have one due to how unusual his name is.

Side note: I really need a backstory on why Bonham and Abeline saddled their first born with such an unusual name.

Side note 2: Cassie couldn't have a personalized key chain either because there isn't enough Cassandras in the world. The Greek myth origin of Cassandra was a priestess who could see the future but was never believed. Hence Cassie living up to her namesake ever since she arrived in the scene.

Turns out Geri hadn't been so great with communicating to Cordell either when he had accidentally broke Hoyt’s mug but Geri didn’t mention it.  They promised to try to communicate better and they finally said their “I love you” for the first time after 3 years of slow burn and misfires.  These two don’t have a traditional “getting together” as they are widower and widow, even though Geri and Hoyt were never married their on-off-again relationship did last 20 years.  While Cordell couldn’t get his Emily-gave-me-shirt back, he glued Hoyt’s mug back together, a callback to Liam's kintsugi talk at the start of the episode.

August first day at preparation boot camp led him to make the same mistakes that many young soldiers make ahead of their first deployment, they sell all their belongings but then they have nothing to come back to upon their return home. They made too much space but fortunately Trey mentors August towards a more balanced head space and he decides to keep his vinyl collection just like Cassie keeping her dvd collections. 

While on night duty at the Ranger HQ, Cassie asks Cordell and Trey to catch her up while she was gone for 5 months; jokingly including hackers and serial killers.  Seeing Trey's and Cordell's silent facial communication, Cassie turns on her inner Sam Winchester excitement over a real serial killer on the loose and offers up her FBI connections to help with the off-the-book investigation.

The episode ends Stella and Sadie are coming up with dead ends in their off-the-book investigation when a very much alive and not-burned Witt forces Stella to drive him to an undisclosed location.

Speculation  #3!  After hearing that Stella had visited his memorial, Witt decided Stella is the one whom he can trust to get him out of whatever predicament he's in.

Score: 8.9 out of 10.  A good bottle episode focusing on character studies and development before next week's episode's deeper dive into case of the serial killer Jackal.

[zelda-cooper]

My version of Loonatics Unleashed

This is just my interpretation of this universe of "Loonatics Unleashed", don't take it as a summary of the series or as absolute truth to interpret your version. NO! It's just MY view and you have every right to disagree. Furthermore, there will be low-level words (even though I censor some) and there may be sensitive topics for certain people. Besides, this refers to the universe of Loonatics Unleashed, so for those who don't care, you can skip this blog, but for those who are a fan or if this interests you, you can continue reading.

So... I was researching hashtags for animated series that I like in general, whether it's the ones I've already mentioned like Steven Universe and The Owl House, or series that a lot of people don't know about, which is the case with the series "Loonatics Unleashed", which (giving a really bad summary-) is one of several Looney Tunes reinventions, but here it's about them in a superhero version. Yeah... The 2000s had that- Jokes aside, I really think it's a good series and I like it, even though the series has its flaws and I recognize that. And, interestingly, @drakepad-luv-2000 made a blog talking about her version of Loonatics Unleashed, with her Headcanons and ideas. So I'm making this blog copying his idea - Just kidding... I asked if I could do it with the same theme and she gave me permission. I'm not that dishonest. So, having given that introduction... Let's move on to my version of Loonatics Unleashed! AH- And if you want to share your opinion, leave it in the comments, but if you want to make a blog with the same theme, give credit to me and @drakepad-luv-2000, ok? Excellent! ^^

I'm going to end up dividing this blog into topics, the first will just be to reformulate the backstory and the second part will talk more about the characters themselves. I won't be able to talk about all the topics, in fact, these three are JUST to start talking about Loonatics Unleashed, there are also the conflicts and evolutions of the characters, their relationships, the villains themselves and even my OCs from this universe (you They thought I wouldn't put my character in, right? Obviously I would...-w-). So, if you feel like it, I can do a part two. But let's get down to business.

Series Plot (Reinvented)

Speaking of the series' plot, Drakepad, when talking about Headcanons, said that she wanted to change the plot a little to the year 2017 because it was more relatable for us, because the series, even though it takes place in the future, for some reason had the technologies of the years 2000 which are currently old... And, honestly, I agree with her point... But I still wanted to get this more futuristic theme for the series, as that's what gives the series a certain charm. So I'm going to mix some ideas... The series will take place in a year that is not exactly specified, but it will be both close to the years 2017 to 2024 (which is the current year that the blog is being published) and also having elements of Cyberpunk with Advanced Technology from science fiction films, also taking some things from hero stories.

The meteor part... It will be discarded because, honestly... How the HELL did the meteor only affect Acmetropolis, but not the whole world?! If it's something like the dinosaur meteor, there would be people with powers ALL OVER THE WORLD. Ok, I think I'm demanding too much logic for a children's series, but still... They could have elaborated more. Back... So, if the meteor was discarded... What caused the characters' powers? And here I get the idea of a classic Anime... Akira!

If you don't know the plot of the exquisite film, it's basically a Japan (or just Tokyo, I don't remember-) in the Cyberpunk future caused after a nuclear explosion (or not, that's a story spoiler-) that made the city become a technological place, however, underneath all the neon and wealth, the poor part of the city ends up suffering a lot from marginality and crime, mainly affecting the young people of this generation who do not respect their elders and do not know the history, they were just born in a country already destroyed. And, in the middle of the story, children with paranormal powers are revealed... I know the story is crazy, but the film is good... It's just a bit violent in many ways-

Returning to the story of Loonatics... I adapted the story of the series a little with some content that she herself showed, like the fact that there are aliens and such... And taking some conspiracies from real life, because it might help... (or not, you know- ). It's also good to get a little of Zadavia's story and her brother's story itself, it's still similar to the original. The main difference is the context of everything... In the beginning, the brothers actually worked together to achieve union with certain planets with the High Council, however they both took care of different things. Zadavia was the more diplomatic person, while Optimatus was the one who took care of the military troops and this made them have different views, but to a certain extent they got along well. However, the day came that the High Council found out about the Milky Way and, consequently, about the planet Earth, so Optimatus and some soldiers went to the planet to try to keep a close eye on the place. But, well... Being human is a complicated being, and if he is already bad with his own species, who will say with Aliens? It didn't happen otherwise, Optimatus and his soldiers were captured and taken to Area 51, where they were tortured and many died in experiments, which is why Optimatus' burns and scars appeared here. He managed to escape, however... He was completely changed and, when he returned, he wanted to annihilate planet Earth and the entire human race for the savagery he went through.

Even hearing the experiences he went through, the High Council denied the proposal for mass annihilation, largely due to Zadavia, who believed that not all humans were bad. Then follows the same idea of Optimatus having kidnapped (in this case, REALLY KILLED) the rest of the council and only being left with Zadavia, who took refuge on Earth because she was one of the few races physically similar to his own, while Optimatus, also trying annihilating the human race, caused an explosion in one of the cities, which was where he was captured, which killed many people, others were left with irreversible damage to their DNA and there were also places still affected by radiation. There were survivors who, in the future, would end up developing mutations in the future that would give them powers, who are our protagonists and also some villains in the series.

In the future, the city managed to rebuild itself, becoming the Acmetropolis that we see today, which on the one hand, became a city full of technology and neon, but on the other, in the poorest and dirtiest regions, it became a place full of crime and both adults and young people traumatized by the "atomic" explosion. The media, at the time, said that it was an explosion caused by an enemy country, but in fact, it was one of Optimatus' attempts to take revenge on humans. While Zadavia? She tried to start life again on Earth, however her alien appearance made her hide her real appearance with a hologram device, making her pass as a mere normal human, both to really start over and to hide from her brother. But, of course... One time or another... He would come back... And until then, she would have to prepare herself too.

And that's kind of the plot of this version, at least, the story of the reason for the technologies and the powers of the protagonists and villains. I don't know if it's too crazy or if it's a bit "cliché", but either way... I feel like I managed to create a good initial plot, in a way, but now, having already mentioned them... Let's talk about the characters.

Main Characters (Reinvented)

I'm going to say right away in this topic that, basically, I'm going to take some ideas from Drakepad, but just as inspiration. Like the fact that Ace and Lexi are brothers here (because considering they are descendants of Bugs Bunny and Lola Bunny, it's really weird for them to ship...), but I want to make it clear that I'm not going to change the gender of the characters. There are also things like the characters being adults in this version and having already gained their powers before the explosion, but certain events were triggers for them to awaken them. I only change gender or sexuality when it really suits and makes sense, but I honestly like to maintain a certain Canon of the series, and in this case it will be the gender of the protagonists (sexuality is another story...7w7). And another thing... Among the protagonists, there will be NO ships, but there may be some implicit insinuations of a certain relationship between the characters, however very subtle. So let's start with Ace and Lexi...

• Ace and Lexi Bunny

The two are twin brothers who were born in Acmetropolis and, when they were little, they were one of several people who survived the explosion event with their parents by pure luck, however, their mother ended up passing away after medical complications caused by the event, which made Lexi become the "woman" of the family, having to take care of the house, while Ace started working with his father and younger brothers to earn a living. Ace and Lexi, prematurely, ended up having to mature very early to be able to help their family members, with the boy being more affected, even more so with his father also being distant from him, making Ace learn to fight to defend his brothers and having to leave many of the dreams and goals aside sometimes, but I always had a fascination for these heroes from old films. Lexi, in turn, learned several household chores, but still managed to discover her passion for music and dance, dreaming of being a songwriter or singer, to try to bring hope to everyone. As adults, while Lexi managed to enter a more musical career, as a music teacher, Ace also tried to follow his dream of being an actor, but he was unable to pursue the career, as they always judged him as someone incapable, making him give up on that altogether. and starting to work as a handyman. Their powers awakened together, on a day at work, Lexi was going to pick up her brother from one of his jobs, when she was approached by some bad-intentioned boys, with Ace trying to defend her, but both being incapacitated. However, when they were going to harm both of them, that was a trigger for their powers to awaken, which scared the guys and made them run away, calling them monsters and freaks. An event that would mark them forever... And that, in the future, would make them approached by Zadavia and make them meet the rest of the team.

• Danger Duck

The duck is one of several orphans left over from the Acmetropolis explosion, having been trapped in the rubble of their home for many days, scared. When he was found, he was sent to an orphanage along with several other children, where he met his best friend and "brother" Pinkster, who was the only person he could really call a friend, as they were both excluded by the other children. for being "animals" among thousands of human children. Until the day came when the last couple arrived at the orphanage, where Duck used the two-sided coin to be adopted by the couple, a fact that he would regret for the rest of his life... After being adopted, his new parents They gave him all the love they could, but Duck still didn't feel like he belonged to that family, after all they were human and he was a duck. This made him very insecure, but he always tried to hide it in some way. As an adult, he left home and tried to find a job so he could support himself and be able to do well in some way, whether it was being rich or having some form of power, but he was always put down and ridiculed. The trigger that made him awaken his powers was in another one of the many horrible jobs he had, in which he was stressed to such a level that he wanted to disappear from there, which made him teleport to another place, which scared everyone and they made they run away. And, just like the Bunny brothers, he found Zadavia and joined the team.

• Slam Tasmanian

There is not much information about his family, but it is known that he was born in Australia into a huge family. In Slam's case, he just went to Acmetropolis to have a better life, but he was affected by the post-explosion radiation that still resided in certain places. He worked as an underground fighter to earn money, which is where his powers awakened and he used them to his advantage. And when they asked about it, the organizers said "Ah, it's a special effect". He was discovered and found by Loonatics and Zadavia, who offered him to join the team.

• Tech E. Coyote

Again, he is another person affected by the explosion, but in Tech's case, the problems would have started a little earlier. He had been diagnosed with autism since he was little, which made him have some problems communicating with people and had restricted interests, which made him suffer a lot of bullying. However, it was with his parents that he developed a passion for technology, building several things with them. When he went to college, he met Mallory, who became her friend (and possible crush...?), but when he found out about her plan, he soon stopped her and reported it to the teachers, leaving him alone again. His powers were slowly awakening, starting with his molecular regeneration, where some injuries and burns were suddenly healed, until he was able to manipulate metal, which was very useful later in his work. He was found by Zadavia and the others who, as he deduced, also gained their powers from the explosion, joining the team as well.

• Rev Runner

Finally, we come to my favorite. Rev has always been a hyperactive child who didn't pay attention to things, mainly because he has ADHD, however his father didn't want to believe that, just saying that "He's just an overly agitated Roadrunner" or "He's just throwing a tantrum" . Rev then continued with this mental condition, without knowing he had it, always pressured by his family to continue their business, especially after the explosion, where they were trying to get back on their feet. Soon Rev gained a younger sister, "Riley", however the little one didn't like acting like a girl and wore much more of Rev's old clothes, with the older brother always calling her by the pronouns "He/His". Soon, "Riley" came out as a trans man and became "Rip", but his father never accepted this and always said that "his daughter" was contradicting him, making the situation at home even worse. When Rev turned 18, he immediately wanted to take his brother with him, but again was stopped by his parents, unfortunately having to go alone. This small event made him, little by little, unlock the powers that, like Tech, were gradually unlocked, and which he used in his work as a delivery man. He was soon found by Loonatics and Zadavia, also joining the team.

Conclusion

And that's it, folks! There are still A LOT of things I still want to cover in my version of Loonatics, but the blog is already getting huge... So I'll leave it for a probable part two. Thank you for reading this blog! BYEEEEE!!!

[some-teeth-in-a-trench-coat]

Ok so I was gonna go more in-depth about the timeline and try to figure some things out, but I got a little sidetracked and time got away from me so I might continue this later but for now I need to go to bed. Please enjoy this infodump about the apocalypse in Moth Wizard (my post-apocalyptic fantasy setting) and the origin of magic.

(Content warning: war, religion, death, extinction)

When exactly canon diverges from our timeline is not determined yet since I've currently placed the apocalypse really taking off "sometime in the near future" and I don't know how much of the bad stuff may or may not happen in real life. We live in scary times. Ideally I'd keep it "in the near future" for a while though, like I don't know when (if ever) I'll actually Make The Show, but I'd like for it to still be in the future when I do. It would make the "this could happen to our world" part of the "this could happen to our world and while you individually cannot save us from it, it is entirely in the hands of humans to stop it and turn things around before then" message of the apocalypse, y'know, still apply.

As I mentioned recently in a very excited tag ramble, the apocalypse has several components. I think the main ones are war, climate change, and similar corporate greed consequences like pollution, unsustainable hunting, and destruction of habitats. All of it is human in origin. This is important to me, because if it weren't humans, then it would be Hashem (G-d), and He promised never to do that again after Noah and his family survived the flood. What Hashem did was give humanity the magic that allowed them to survive (and which now fills their world with wizards).

I like to think of this as kind of an inverse of the story of Noah. Hashem did not raise the tides, it was man, and man did not create the means by which life was able to live on, it was Hashem. Are we even now? Probably not, I wouldn't claim to know whether "being even" is even an applicable concept, but I do think that this event thousands of years later changed something forever. A circle has been closed. Life on Earth will never be the same.

I'll uh, definitely consult a rabbi about this at some point though, because I'm mostly making stuff up that sounds right and fits what I have in mind for their world. I'd like to make sure it's at least not actively contradicting anything.

Anyway, so we have the nearish future timeline deviation, I hope, where everything gets worse, billions of people die in world war III and countless species go extinct. Every single country on the planet is either at war or caught in the crossfire. If not for the gift of magic, it would have been the END end of life. How long after this does the story take place? I haven't decided. It's hard to put an accurate number to things.

Let's say hypothetically, magic is introduced in the year 5800, nice round number in the nearish future (a bit over 15 years).

As I've mentioned before, the first people to discover magic were kids probably aged 12-17, because of how the magic system works. To use magic, you need to try and truly believe in it, recklessly, and I don't think anyone is better at recklessly believing in undiscovered magic than teens, speaking as a former teen myself. Too young and the line between make-believe and reality won't be the right shape, too old and they'll have lost faith in undiscovered mysteries. Teens inhabit the sweet spot where the world seems just strange enough that maybe if you really really tried, you could fly.

And suddenly one day, the teens were right.

Sidenote but what I really love about this part of the magic system is that it comes with built-in explanations for why small children are not blowing up cars on accident (it has to be fully intentional and separate from playing pretend), and why not everyone uses it enough to call themselves a wizard (it's hard to believe recklessly and intentionally enough), AND gives good excuse for why anyone desperate enough could do it in a burst of emotion (recklessness is easy if you have nothing left to lose, the exact boundaries of possibility don't seem so important anymore). It's great.

It takes a while for people to believe the kids who discover magic. Obviously this footage going viral on TikTok is faked, and now there's a whole trend about pretending magic is real. And anyone who tries while under the impression that it's fake will of course fail, they don't believe at all. But the news don't have to spread via social media, it's much easier to show people in person. And do you believe it when you see a flying car on the news? You thought this was a reliable source, why would they buy into this obviously fake nonsense? And then you meet your 11-year-old cousin who claims she can make animals talk. You don't believe her, of course, until she points to a squirrel and the squirrel addresses you by name. The world is already in chaos, and now this?

Within a year, I think, it is generally understood that magic does exist. The exact mechanics are still unclear and everyone has their own interpretation, but the fact that some people are genuinely able to do things that until a year ago were definitely impossible is hard to deny now.

Somehow, magic seems to favor saving lives over taking them. This is not actually because magic itself has morals, but because it favors vulnerability and cannot be controlled the way guns can be controlled. Governments try and inevitably fail to create magical armies. You simply can't command someone to use magic. They would need to raise such soldiers from children surrounded by cultish propaganda in order to control their faith to such an extent, which of course they do to all their citizens, that's how they ever got anyone to kill another human on command, but they didn't have the foresight to include "you will be a wizard" in their programming starting 10 years ago. And now they won't get the chance. Their time is about to come to an end.

Oceans rise. Nations fall. The world we know dies screaming.

[koskela-knights]

Huotari Sad Hours

Elaborating on the HCs and stuff @zephyrone01 and I talked about last night regarding the Huotari brothers.

CW: suicide mention in red!

Either the brothers were born in the US or they moved over there (be it as children or already as (young) adults)

Maybe their mother wanted a better life for them overseas and asked Ilmari to create a better place in the New World for him, his brother and the community. This mirrors what Ilmo's currently trying to do with reviving Watery and bringing the metaphorical Sampo to the town.

Back in the 1900-1920s the DP was already a thing and it began influencing Ilmari too

Ilmari's depiction in the Yötön Yö movie is a twisted version (ofc also a role he played) and filmmaker Zane is rly an unreliable narrator anyways

Ilmari being influenced and possessed by the DP leaves memory gaps in his brain (similar to what happened to Stucky and Rose in AW1)

The DP maybe preyed on the Puukkojunkkari phenomenon (historical Finnish, violent troublemakers in a certain region in Finland according to Wikipedia) which helped twist Ilmari into such "knife-fighter" and gave him a bad reputation

Jaakoppi knowing Ilmari to be good, wants and helps cover up the murders

With limited knowledge, maybe they hope that Sauna can help cleanse the "evil" from Ilmari (Ilmo mentions in his mail to the Kalevala Knights that Sauna is good for the soul, thnx Zephyrone01 for pointing that out)

Ilmari might really thought he was possessed by the mythical Näkki becos that might've been his only point of reference

The Huotaris were left to their own devices and Jaakoppi might've feared that they'd take Ilmari away from him, to place him into an asylum for his "weird behaviour". The language barrier must've also played a role in the miscommunication and eventually the evil depiction of the Huotaris. Maybe their history has been revisioned/rewritten or even destroyed by xenophobic historians.

We like to think their bond was strong too, so Jaakkoppi can get through to Ilmari, even when possessed.

However, the DP wears Ilmari down over the years and the townspeople and American outsiders are suspicious of him.

In the DP and the echoes, we see that after Initiation - Draft 3 the cultist/Ilmo jumps off the roof. What if Zane drew inspiration from what happened to the historical figure Ilmari. Maybe Ilmari committed suicide after he killed his brother. Like he couldn't bear living without his brother anymore. I really hope that won't be the case for Ilmo in the future, or Ilmo becoming possessed 😭

Thanks to @mashkara45 recent posts detailing about the townsfolk in Bright Falls, we also see that their (twisted/changed) perception of Watery and the Koskelas isn't really good, which might've mimicked the attitudes people in Bright Falls used to have (if it already existed) toward the Finnish town.

[haru-chi]

-might have a little spoiler-

I won't call this a solid theory more than "what if" kind of scenario or some thoughts going on in my mind a bit ..

it's about Matoba Seiji ...

don't remember what actually triggered this idea but I wonder ..

was the Matoba leader before Seiji his father ? it's mostly yes but I don't remember this actually said outright anywhere before, was it mentioned it was his father ?

anyway, do you remember that one phrase that Seiji love to keep saying alot either to Natsume or Natori ??

I know Seiji hated mostly because of this line of thought and how he can be messed up when it comes to that ...

this whole scene got me thinking alot that I felt him saying this here followed by this ..

don't know about you but this whole scene and dialogues felt to me it holds more weight than it looks like .. it felt it has some deep personal meaning to him than it seems which is why that led Natori to ask that question, if he ever wanted to stop being an exorcist ...

now, what does that mean exactly ?? I thought alot and tried to understand the hidden meaning and unsaid words, but it never clicked, nothing did which led me losing my mind for a long time ><

not until we learned more about him and Shinobu in the current storyline and something clicked

Seiji is the younger while Shinobu the older right ? she should've been the future leader of the Matoba ... do you remember why she wasn't picked or favored as the next leader ??

it was because Seiji was more powerful than her, he has such a talent that she can never have that even though some believed she's better overall because Seiji is hard to control but for the future of the clan Seiji is the best choice in the end.

also, it might've been clear who's the leader fav child is if we hadn't heard about Shinobu till now and that little Seiji was talking about the leader taught him this and that sometimes.

"use the tools available. the capable get things done and those who can't should stay out of the way"

this line might actually be about him and his sister, something the Matoba leader before him taught him (his father mostly) which he followed through himself with his children.

he used them as mere tools for the future of the clan, at that time the clan was pretty weak and about to lose their position in the exorcist world. between the two only Seiji hold the key to give them the glory they sought again so no matter how good Shinobu was, no matter how hard she might've worked, all of that will never amount to anything. just because Seiji was far more powerful than her. Seiji having bad manner and attitude than her ? hard to control ? simple just fix it by teaching him. right ~

back then I couldn't fully grasp the meaning of his expression here, but now I feel I get it better. I mean if all his father taught him is using people as tool or how to be cruel and never care what other think (he used his own children as tools and Seiji experience it firsthand yaay) .. having a teacher who teach the true valuable things ?? such an option was never there for Seiji and never will at the time.

"How long is he going to continue to pretend to be normal ?"

Seiji was never normal because of his power and natural talent, he was bound by duty and have invisible chains on his life and true desire just because he was this powerful that he got used as a tool and by none other than his father and on top of all his sister hated him for it too.

on the other hand Natsume has the same power as him or far greater than him yet he's free and not shackles be this power of his unlike him.

this is a "what if" kind of random thought and ideas and we don't even have any kind of direct/indirect info so all of this is pure assumptions on my part. it refused to leave me ever since it clicked so why suffer alone, just thinking about Seiji and Shinobu is just yeaah -heavy sigh-

[violsva]

June Reading

So I'd just got back into writing after nearly four months and then Family Stuff happened. Which of course hasn't been great for reading either, but it's nice having a habit of doing book posts.

Recent: So I finished most of what was Current on the last post and tried but didn't continue a bunch of others. Apart from that it was mostly a month of skimming through craft books and other things that won't count for my tracking purposes.

I did want to mention that Isabel Cooper's Nightborn gave me a bunch of feelings about vocations.

That said, I went to like five used book sales this month, and am again out of shelf space.

Current: Two rereads: Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon, because if there's any time I deserve to reread a cute children's fantasy novel about being a wicked witch it's in the bus on the way to the hospital*, and Spectred Isle by K. J. Charles in audiobook in the evenings.

Also the latest Comfortable Courtesan tie-in novella, and Patchwork: A World Tour by Catherine LeGrand. And today I read another section of Unmarriages while I was at the library. It's much less crowded there now that exam season's over.

Future: I'd like to pick up One Night in Hartswood again. Oh, and K. J. Charles has a book coming out on the 18th.

*Not the worst possible reason to be spending a lot of time in the hospital, but obviously that leaves a lot of space for things being Not Great.

[bopinion]

2023 / 46

Aperçu of the Week:

"How do you get revenge for killing a child? By killing other people's children? Certainly not."

(Palestinian Bassam Aramin and Israeli Rami Elhanan. Both have lost a daughter in the Middle East conflict. And still strive for reconciliation).

Bad News of the Week:

I won't be alive in the year 2100. Maybe my children will. If they have children, they certainly will. And they will look back on their grandparents' generation. And probably curse them. Because they will have us to thank for the world they (have to) live in. It will be in a miserable state. And that is our fault.

My grandparents and parents created the German "economic miracle". Primarily with sweat, coal and steel. An industrialized nation like all developed (if you can call it that way) western countries. The environment was a resource and not a living habitat worth protecting. But these generations didn't know any better. At least not in society as a whole. That no longer applies to people my age. We know better. So we have no excuse for doing nothing.

In 2100, it will be almost 3 degrees warmer than it is today. That is the result of the so-called Emissions Gap Report presented by the UN Environment Program (UNEP). The world will look fundamentally different. Apart from a remnant of continental ice in the Antarctic, there can no longer be any glaciers at these temperatures. Ocean currents will be completely different due to the warming of the upper water layers. Or won't be at all. But with significantly less oxygen, i.e. with fewer sea creatures. Which will then not only be missing from the species balance, but also from the food chain. Etcetera.

The current German government with green participation has suffered a severe setback in its already modest plan to convert the economy to sustainability. This is because the Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that 60 billion from the "Transformation Fund" may not be used for this purpose. Because it is a reallocated budget that was actually intended to deal with the effects of the pandemic. Let's not misunderstand each other: the money is there, not some nebulous air booking in the future. It just unfortunately has the wrong label.

This frustrates me in many ways. Not that I want to question our supreme jurisdiction. But I do want to question the standards by which it is measured. Just as electric cars are given preference over petrol cars when it comes to parking spaces in the city, priority should be given to ecological and sustainable measures in budget planning. Quite simply because it must undoubtedly be the top priority. It is bad enough that the urgently needed reorientation of our society is being held back by laziness, convenience and ignorance. Then please don't add bureaucracy to the mix.

Good News of the Week:

The EU is finally getting serious about prosecuting environmental offenders. In future, serious crimes against the environment will be punishable by heavy prison sentences and fines. Representatives of the governments of the member states and the European Parliament agreed in Brussels on new rules to improve the prosecution of environmental crimes.

This includes a wide range of offenses, from illegal timber trading to violations of chemicals regulations. Environmental crime is one of the world's most profitable organized crime activities and has a considerable impact on the environment and human health, the Council of Member States said in response to the planned new directive.

The proposed penalties are severe. Individuals face up to 10 years in prison, companies at least 5% of their global turnover. Equally worth mentioning: offenders will be obliged to restore the environment to its previous state or provide compensation. A clear victory for the environment. Which ultimately belongs to all of us. Or actually to no one, because it is a greater good.

Personal happy moment of the week:

My work-life balance is currently very uneven. Because I'm extremely busy at work: several problematic and time-consuming projects are stupidly overlapping at the same time. That's why I'm almost exclusively in the office at the moment and not with my family. They are kind enough to understand that daddy and hubby have very little time - and are in a bad mood. Thank you very much for your understanding and patience!

I couldn't care less...

...that Vladimir Putin wants to take part in a virtual G20 summit. Sure, he can't be arrested there either - the International Criminal Court had issued an arrest warrant for war crimes against Ukraine. The worst joke, however, is his topic. According to Moscow's announcement, he wants to present "his view of a deeply unstable world situation". Suggestion: resign. That would make the world much more stable in one fell swoop.

As I write this...

...I discover the work of Karl Jenkins. The Welsh composer is responsible for countless contemporary hits in classical music, such as Adiamus and Palladio. I know his music - from advertising and from movies and television. But I never knew that it was one and the same mastermind who created it.

Post Scriptum

Anarchy reigns in Argentina. At least Javier Milei, the winner of Sunday's presidential election, calls himself an "anarcho-capitalist". The people's longing for change was extremely strong. After all, the record of the center-left alliances that have been in power for decades is anything but brilliant: over a third of the population officially falls below the poverty line, inflation recently reached 147% and any innovation is suffocating in an over-regulating state.

Many of Milei's plans sound very radical - at least by European standards: the introduction of the US dollar as the official national currency, the closure of public institutions such as the national broadcaster or the privatization of state-owned companies. However, the political novice has neither a majority in parliament, nor a functioning party apparatus or a solid network in the regions of his country. What he can actually implement is therefore more than questionable. But he is challenging the status quo and at least bringing a breath of fresh air. And that has never done any harm.

[erzsebetrosztoczy]

Hey there :) are you currently accepting writing requests and if you are, can we request any Valhalla character 💙

Hello there! Yes I am open for requests - tho my writing speed won't be super fast in the upcoming two month (in december but mostly in january).

Pairing: Ivarr × f!reader

Words: ~ 1400

Genre: angst, fluff

Wanrings: an itty-bitty tiny smut, mention of violence, angst mostly? Idk what i did here honestly

Summary: You and Ivarr are preparing for an upcoming battle.

Notes: it's a bit short, I only had time to write this between my exams sorry⚰️✌️

Your heart sank deeper, pulling it tighter and tighter with the cold strings of the uncertain future, as the more horrific images floated before your eyes every time you dared to close them.

The camp around you was preparing unusually quietly, nowhere to be found the previous night's amusement, drinking and singing, which made the forest roar with life.

The army of thousands of troops that the Ragnarssons had was preparing for the upcoming battle in deathly silence. Grim men were putting their helmets on, sharpening their blades - sparks flaring up now and then, lighting up their dread faces. Staring in front of themselves - they did their work rotely — that either saved them on the battlefield, or betrayed them, finally being able to rest in the halls of Valhalla at the end of their long journey.

You weren’t much different from the men around you. You had the same flesh, the same warm blood flowed in your veins as your fellow warriors. Your bone breaks the same way and your blood spills when the blade strikes. The light in your eyes can die out just as for the other person beside you.

Maybe this will be the last morning you see. The last breath of fresh air you have taken into your lungs, the last birdsong that has accompanied you in preparation until now.

Placing your sword on your knees, you stopped for a moment to gaze at the silver gleam of iron once more, the runes carved along its sheet.

“Courage. Luck. Protection.” Ivarr’s familiar voice came from behind.Taking a deep breath, you staightened in your seat, looking over your shoulder into his eyes.

His gaze was distant, dark orbs flashing from behind his black face paint. Ivarr was already flaunting his full armor, axes neatly tucked into the belt on his hips.

“Do you really believe your runes will help?” He raised an eyebrow, one hand gesturing to the steel in your lap, holding a clay bowl in his right palm.

You answered with a half smile, turning back in front of you, continuing your work. Without further critical notes Ivarr the Boneless circled you, sitting down into the green before you, firmly grabbing your knee.

“Come closer Little Lamb.” With a sigh he waved to you, like an old man, preparing to recite long sagas to the children by the gentle warmth of the fireplace on a cold winter night.

Gently caressing your thighs, Ivarr withdrew his warm touch too soon only to your knees, tracing small circles into your skin with his thumb over the harsh fabric of your breeches.

Your hand stopped in the monotonous movements, you looked up at him curiously.

Inteas of the usual edge, determination and darkness, Ivarr’s deep brown eyes softly fixated on your form. The corner of his eyes relaxed, a warming tenderness emanating from his gaze as he looked up at you.

It was rare when you got to see Ivarr’s softer side; when he showed you his vulnerable side in public. These looks were meant just for you, only for the two of you — when the whole world ceased to exist, and only he mattered to you, and only you to Ivarr.

The dreaded Ivarr the Boneless, leader of grand armies, the demise of kings, the boldest berzerker who ever lived — yet his touch was tender, his gaze full of devotion. love and care as he embraced you, pulled you into his lap and sought your favors.

Your heart stirred, as you looked down at the man in front of you.

Maybe it will be the last time you can see the love in his eyes, the softness of his face — that he can be just as caring as anyone else contrary to the tales.

Your mouth trembled, lips bent into a sour smile, fearful tears will fall at any moment. With a sniff you leant down to him; Ivarr’s strong scent of iron, furr and smoke hitting your nose.

Not long ago you felt his scent just as strongly- it went into your head as you could taste it on your lips, smoother it into your own skin.

It was a dangerous occupation of yours, berzerkers and Jomsvikings life. Placing your very own soul on an unknown stake, against a foreign opponent, in the unpredictable maelstrom of fates.

You had to live in the present for your future has not yet been set in stone, the weavers of fate have not woven the next part of your song.

“There is no tomorrow. Only today what matters. What you do, what you say, what you think.” Ivarr whispered in your ear last night as he guided you onto his bed, spreading your thighs apart with his knees.

“If we want to enter the Gates of the Forever Halls without regret, we must act upon what our heart dictates.” He murmured sweetly, bowing down; soft lips smoothing over your warm skin, teeth nipping into the flesh.

It was rare when he dared to show such vulnerability to you, acting upon his better self; heart wanting nothing more but gentleness and love. It was rare when Ivarr the Boneless wanted to savor his moments with you rather than devouring you whole like a starved beast - now wanting to memorize every curve, every inch of your body, how it moved beneath him, how it felt against his feverish skin, how it tasted in his mouth.

He wanted his last image to be your moans, whispering his name, your mindless pants; cunt wrapped around his aching cock so perfectly, so deliciously for him, only to him.

“Only today is ipmortant.''You repeated. recalling his words to you with a nod. “Just focus on what’s in front of you.” It sounded like you were bagging, as if you tried to warn him.

Your finger slid up on his neck, grazing over his nervously twitching tendons. Running your fingers over his profile under his chin, palms finally came to rest on his stubbled cheeks, cradling his face.

Eyes darting between his chestnut orbs, the well-known mischief glinting in his ireses; liveliness and clarity reflected back at you.

He smiled slyly, sending you a wink; his own hand grabbing your wrist holding his face.

“I always focus on that.” He replied- tone deep and mysterious as he dropped your hands from his face. “And now you are who’s in front of me.” Ivarr stated, bringing up the bowl into your vision, that he held until now.

A dark juice swirled in the small bowl, gray as mud, but the smell reminded you of strong spices and herbs. Ivarr gestured with his chin for you to lift your face, pulling you closer and pressing his waist between your spreaded knees.

Ivarr pressed his index and middle finger into the paint, and holding up your chin with his thumb he placed his painted, cold fingers under your eyes, slowly drawing them down until your jawline, attentive eyes never leaving your own the whole time. You barely took any breath while he repeated the motion on the other side, then making a half circle on your chin. The tip of his nails pressed gently into your nose as he moved his fingers over your lips, as if to silence you for a moment. He connected the lines with the semicircle, turning his attention to your forehead now, beginning to draw more symbols on you.

Not a single word was spoken between you two; yet thousands of feelings raced through your eyes, as you watched silently Ivarr. You wanted to capture his features in your memory as throughly as it was possible — one last time to etch every single wrinkle, scard, and line that dotted his handsome face.

When he was done, Ivarr wiped the remaining paint onto his breeches, leaning back to you, sneaking his palm over your nape.

For a moment your gaze fluttered;the movements sending a chill down your spine, and at the same time filling you with immense calmness. Ivarr was there, by your side, breathing and fighting until he had breathed the last shed of his soul. And that was all that mattered to you. Knowing that your love will be there, by your side. That you will both be there for each other, doing everything in your power to fight and survive.

“Do not leave me.” You wrapped your fingers around Ivarrs wrist, gently tracing his battle scars as you searched for his gaze.

Love, devotion, longing and the thrill of the battle burned in Ivarr.

“Never, my Little Lamb.” He gave a crooked smile. “Not even the Gods can keep me away from you.” He promised.

[green5quirrel]

Star Trek SNW Headcannons

This is some of my Star Trek Strange New Worlds bullshit. Feel free to scroll, followers. Scroll like the wind!

So far Star Trek: SNW has been the most Heterosexual Star Trek in YEARS. Granted, we're just a bit past halfway through the first season. There's been queer shit mentioned-ish. But compared to DISCO, this series has embraced being the gayest straight show since TOS.

I like it. Don't me wrong. The nostalgia is ON FIRE with this show. I'm just eating it up like a turtle and a strawberry. (Om...nom...fucking nom...)

But my thirst to see my queer fam represented (as well as myself) on screen has lead my brain to turn into a neon rainbow cloud of electricity with one mission: gay everyone. Gay as verb, mind you. I want to gay EVERYONE.

Now, I won't. In my headcannons I'm sure they'll be a token straight character, so don't you worry my little allies.

But I need more queer.

Get ready your hate comments, my sweet lampreys, because I'm about to RUIN some stuff.

Pike: I'm about to start ruining right now. Pike is our token hetero. He's a tried and true ally, but he has a thing for powerful feminine energy. He wants to be RULED. (But what about Spock?? You leave Kirk's bitch out of this!)

Una: Bi. Lusting over La'an. Knowing the chain of command, tho, so not wanting to do anything about it. Probably has had a previous romantic life. Perhaps has a child/children.

La'an: Lusting over Una. Follows the damn rules so same as Una. Repressed emotionally enough to have only had unsuccessful flings. Is too intimidating for most, even the butchest among them. Loves women but doesn't need your fucking labels because she's so out of touch with her romantic side that she doesn't even think about it.

Ortegas: Ace/Demi (that's right, AT ME). She is passionate as hell. She is friend. She is queer platonic with Chapel. She is loving some garlic bread and cake. She is tired of your bullshit.

Spock: Pan. I mean, if he's gonna be bi (which he totally is) it would be just as logical to be pan because there are so many expressions of gender and spectrums of anatomical and genetic sexual characteristics...why limit? Fascinating. He also has a crush on everyone all the time. Polyam as well because ¿Por qué no dos?

Chapel: Thinks she needs a man but really she just needs a family. She's in so many queer platonics she has trading cards. She likes sex. If anything she is pan. But she thinks she wants to settle down. Pines for one person while not realizing she actually wants everyone. Also has a kink for aliens. Would never tell anyone she's sweet on Hemmer. But who wouldn't be?

M'Benga: Complicated. His love is focused on his daughter currently. His energy is taken by figuring out how to save her. No time for relationships other than the platonic family ones he's making with the crew or professional specialists he's working with to treat her. He's a sweet cinnamon roll and I hope they give him happiness. I'd want him on my side. Fierce love, that one.

Hemmer: My love! Hemmer! Hello, dear! He's super gay. Has an Andorian low-key partner he connects with daily on another starship (Shran story influence). They joke about how Starfleet tries to spread the aliens out to every ship and that's why they've never been assigned together. They're casual because neither have the emotional resources to dedicate to each other in a committed way. But neither one are too invested in seeking out other partners either. Both have traumatic backstories where they are rejected by their family units. I even have his partner's name. Etnar. Also, Etnar's a botanist.

Uhura: Super into other cultures, she is super pan. Everything is open to her. She wants to know. She has compassion. Her relationships have been strong and passionate. But she is still wandering before settling down. She is focused on what's in front of her, not the future. Crushes? Oh yeah. Like Christine she can't help but find everyone so attractive but also so interesting. She doesn't know if she'll ever feel like she truly belongs but she wants to make the MOST of her time! I just can't wait to see where they take her. And unlike the other characters, I really don't need to see her in a relationship. She is a such a full character already. I just want to see what she accomplishes!

Kirk: You think I'd pass up Sammy? Nah. He's curious. He'll try anything once. He defies labels. He just does things for the sake of doing them. He gets hurt. He gets up. He tries someone else. Ends up in a surprisingly stable relationship. Probably with an androgynous alien without the definitions of sex and gender that we have. They're very happy together.

[soclonely]

Sun, mars, Neptune, Pluto, IC, descendant, MC, Taurus, Gemini, cancer, Leo, Sagittarius, Pisces, 5H, 10H, 11H, 12H 💙💙💙

sun ⇢ name 5 things you like about yourself?

1. my curly hair. its gotten so healthy over the last year I am very proud of the work I have put into it

2. my sense of style. comfort meets professional. it took me a very long time to be comfortable with my body and learning to style it has been an adventure.

3. my humor. i will go do stand up comedy at local places for fun, and I might look into doing that again soon.

4. my creativity. i have been typing away nonstop for 2 days ya'll. its not ending any time soon.

5. my motivation to try new things. I throw myself out there a lot, and it has lead to many fun adventures!

mars ⇢ are you the type to approach others first or do you like others to do that instead?

I sort of read the situation and go from there. I am more than willing to approach first, but if someone seems nervous or out of place/not wanting to be there I sort of wait.

neptune ⇢ are you a rational or intuitive person?

Intuitive, without a doubt.

pluto ⇢ tell something supernatural that happened to you

TW TRAGEDY DEATH MENTIONED AHEAD: So when my mom came to America, she and my grandmother moved to my grandpas hometown of Calumet Michigan. We go up there almost every year, have family homes there, and I consider it my second home. SO senior year of high school I spent the entire summer up there with family. WELL there was a major historical event called The Italian Hall Disaster and (I won't go into detail, but connected a link for anyone reading who is curious) that resulted in the deaths of 73 people (most of which were children, including my great, great uncle) on Christmas Eve. They had to use the local theater as a morgue. BACK TO THE STORY. So I was in the ballroom of the theater, helping my cousin decorate for her wedding reception, and got physically ill out of no where. I had never set foot into the theater before that and it was terrible. As soon as I stepped out of the building, I was fine. I would go back in and same thing would happen. I was in the wedding party so had to be there next night, but spent most of that time outside on the fire escape and away from the building. A lot of my cousins wedding pictures turned out really strange and there were many other stories from that night but I won't forget feeling suffocated and nauseous the way I did. I always return every year to catch a show in the theater because it is so beautiful, but you will NEVER catch me in that ballroom again.

IC ⇢ do you think you had a good childhood?

I had an amazing childhood. My parents were great. We were a military and lived overseas a lot so it was filled with travel and great memories that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

descendant ⇢ what kind of people do you usually attract?

Very good eggs! Usually the nerdy quiet ones who don't mind me going on my tangent. Also, people who need some positivity.

MC ⇢ what kind of reputation do you think you have?

offline? I have a very busy life! my friends think I am always on the go... which is true! I am a bit of a goody-goody.

online? A dweeb who spends too much time on tumblr, loves jarjar too much, and probably needs shot with a tranquilizer to catch up on sleep.

taurus ⇢ what's your favorite food?

currently, bbq chicken wraps

gemini ⇢ do you have a good relationship with your siblings? if you're an only child, would you like to have siblings? how many?

My siblings and I are close, its not even funny. This coming weekend will be the first time all 7 of us will be together since covid started and I am so ready to cry about this. I haven't hugged my best friend in over two years(my older brother next to me in age)

cancer ⇢ do you want to start a family in the future? how many children would you like to have?

ALL THE CHILDREN. I WANT THEM ALL

leo ⇢ do you like being the center of attention or do you prefer to go unnoticed?

I like sharing the attention. if its all on me it makes me anxious

pisces ⇢ what kind of art are you good at? (painting, dancing, singing, etc.)

Figure skating (that counts!)

5H ⇢ do you have a hobby? which one(s)?

Hockey, skating, refurbing furniture, writing, cooking, organizing!

10H ⇢ how do you want people to remember you?

Just as a good friend and a happy person!

11H ⇢ describe your friends in 3 words

Fruitloops, dependable, funny

12H ⇢ which is/are your biggest fear(s)?

losing my sense of purpose, losing myself, and cats

[hpowellsmith]

FAQs

General

Do you have a Patreon / ko-fi?

I do indeed! On my Patreon you can subscribe for early access games, bonus content, behind the scenes and more. I also have a ko-fi if you want to pass me a tip; I'd also greatly appreciate if you donated to a mutual aid fund or charity if you have the cash spare. Or post a review for Royal Affairs, Noblesse Oblige, Crème de la Crème or Blood Money!

Can I cosplay as one of your characters?

Please don't cosplay as someone with darker skin than yours - otherwise please do, that would be incredible!

Can I make fanworks based on your work?

Please do, as long as you're not making money from it! While I welcome fanworks, I don't read fanfiction based on my work - please don't tag me with it. If you would like to tag me in art that you post I would be full of delight.

Will you answer NSFW asks?

Depending on the context, I'm generally happy to answer things about kissing or general/nonspecific NSFW questions for Creme de la Creme and Royal Affairs, but not anything more intense than that. I am more comfortable answering more specific NSFW questions about Noblesse Oblige and Honor Bound.

It's there anything else you won't answer questions about?

I don't answer questions about pregnancy, non-consensual sexual activity, or medical content in general. This isn't exhaustive; something else may come up that I'm not comfortable with.

I have a question about moderation on the Choice of Games forums.

I don't answer moderation questions here, please drop me a PM me on the forums, send a PM to the moderation inbox, tag moderators in a post or email support (at) choiceofgames (dot) com.

Can you give me feedback on my idea/game?

I'm always incredibly flattered when people ask this and I very much wish you all the best with your projects! Unfortunately I don't have a lot of time to spare and it's very unlikely that I'll be able to give you meaningful feedback. If you're working in ChoiceScript I advise posting about your idea on the interest check thread on the forum, or if you have a demo ready, making a WIP thread. Or if you're using a different tool, post on Tumblr or on the intfiction forums. You'll get a wider breadth of feedback that way.

I have an idea for you to put into your current or future games.

Please don't share this with me as it's not something I can engage with for legal reasons. I am sure that anyone who says this means well, but I do not want to end up in a situation where anyone accuses me of stealing their ideas.

Crème de la Crème series in general

Is there an ask index?

There is one for Creme de la Creme and one for Royal Affairs.

Do you have a particular gender in mind when writing gender-selectable characters?

No, I don’t think of selectable characters with any one gender over another.

Can you tell me how to do something in the game?

I will usually do my best to give guides for players having trouble succeeding at something. If it's particularly complicated, this may end up being too much for me to be able to do. On the forum thread, there are a lot of sharp-eyed players who may be able to help you.

Do you plan to do a sequel about one of the MCs you've written?

Not at the moment.

What time period is the Crème de la Crème series set in?

As it’s a fantasy setting, it doesn’t correspond exactly with a real world time or place - which is delightful for me, because it means I can play fast and loose with science and tech. I used 1930s Europe as a very rough, very general upper limit for technological advancement but am happy to include exceptions when I feel like it. In general in Royal Affairs, most ordinary people don’t have cars or telephones, but modern or wealthy farmers have trucks and tractors, and aristocrats will tend to have at least one car. When phones are mentioned, they’re candlestick telephones.

In this setting, do children have to be biologically related to their parents to inherit property or titles?

No, in this setting there’s a lot of institutional classism but it’s based on lineage records and generational wealth and influence rather than concerns about whose genetics are involved.

What characters appear on the cover art?

I see a lot of aspects of characters in the Creme de la Creme and Royal Affairs cover art but I don’t always find it easy to visualise them myself with exact details, so my answer to this is that I’m not totally sure either way - but please feel free to imagine what feels right to you! In Noblesse Oblige, the character standing by the fire is Rys, the one by the window is Danelak, the one sitting on the floor is Pascha, and the one on the couch is Countess Iravan.

How does the setting treat queer and/or trans people?

Queerness is baked into the setting and is not discriminated against. There are some more details over here on this topic.

Honor Bound

How was my character injured?

You can choose the circumstances of your injury, what part of your body was injured, and what went wrong on your last assignment. In total there are 18 unique situations in which your injury happened!

What are the age brackets I can play?

The youngest bracket is 25-29 inclusive. The middle is 30-39 inclusive. The oldest is 40-49 inclusive. Befriendable and romanceable characters, as well as other characters in the game, will have variations in behaviour and dialogue based on your age bracket.

Are the romances restricted by age?

No, you can romance characters regardless of your and their ages. The biggest age gaps are between the youngest MC and Matia (widest possible gap 19 years) and the oldest MC and Raffi (widest possible gap 24 years).

What characters from previous games in the series will appear?

I have made plans for some character appearances and have already written some references to the characters and events in previous games. While the game is in progress I'm remaining cagey about exactly who will show up because it's a delicate juggling act between feeling natural (especially since it's a different country) and giving players exciting moments of seeing characters they like onscreen or discussed.

[makeste]

There's been a lot of talk about Mina's optimistic line about how they'll all be fine and back to class is a death flag, but if anything I think it's a desth flag for U.A. They'll be fine, but they won't be back to class as normal, because there won't BE a class to attend(RIP Shinsou)

seems like everyone in the fandom is talking about death flags and kids dying and society falling to pieces these days lol. fwiw, as I’m sure most people have seen by now, Viz’s translation showed that Mina was actually talking about Midnight, so if this really is a “famous last words” situation, it would apply to her rather than the kids.

but it seems like the speculation hasn’t really died down despite that! so since the whole “kids dying” thing keeps coming up, I’m gonna go ahead and weigh in on it again here and say that I don’t think it’s going to happen. so far I’ve mostly been trying to keep my reasoning short and sweet and leaving it at “it would be too dark”, but in truth, the real reason why I don’t see it happening is because I don’t think it would serve any purpose.

here’s the thing about character deaths: assuming that the writing is any good (which I would argue that it is, in BnHA’s case, although you are free to disagree!), they should always serve a purpose. and in most cases, that’s going to mean one of four things:

it serves as a way to write the character out of the story for whatever reason (for instance if the character is getting in the way of letting a plot be resolved, or if the actor is leaving, which of course doesn’t apply to BnHA but is a huge factor in a lot of other media). an example here would be Twice, who was written out of the story because his quirk would have prevented the heroes from having any chance at all of winning.

it sets the stakes and takes away the audience’s sense of security by establishing that No One Is Safe, and that People Can And Will Die. this is important in that it builds suspense and makes the audience more invested than they might otherwise be, because they can’t be 100% certain that their fave is going to make it out alive. a good example of this would be the recent massacre at Jakku, which showed in no uncertain terms how powerful Tomura has become, and also demonstrated that Horikoshi has no qualms whatsoever about killing off any number of pro hero characters in this arc.

it completes that character’s arc and serves as a fitting (if depressing) end to their story. this is probably the most controversial as far as “reasons for killing someone off” go, because it’s so easy to fuck up, and because someone will almost always argue that there were other, better ways for a character’s story to end. most “redemption” deaths fall under this category, as do the “character makes the ultimate sacrifice to protect their loved one” deaths. if Endeavor ends up dying there’s a good chance it will fall under this category. so far though, BnHA has been pretty light on these types of deaths, which tbh suits me just fine. ideally this sort of death is supposed to provide some sort of closure, but in practice it doesn’t always work out that way.

lastly, the death furthers the story in some way. it galvanizes another character into action, or serves as a motivation for them. or maybe the death shifts the political landscape of the story and sets new plots into motion. most tragic backstory deaths fall under this category; for example, pretty much the entire Shimura family (r.i.p.). this is another potentially controversial area though on account of there being many other ways to move the plot forward without resorting to killing someone off. not to mention that “fridging” deaths also fall under this category -- deaths where one character is used as a plot device to move another character’s development forward. Nana, unfortunately, is an example of this, but that’s another rant for another day.

anyway, so these are the four biggest reasons to kill off a character in a story. there are others as well, including simply adding some more tragedy and emotion to the story, but IMO that doesn’t really apply to this particular genre. BnHA isn’t a tragedy, nor is it the kind of bleak, grimdark narrative where killing off characters more frequently would make sense. this isn’t the kind of series where gratuitous character deaths are necessary to add shock value or realism. making the shift into that kind of writing this late in the game wouldn’t make much sense, and IMO would do a lot more harm than good.

so as far as I’m concerned, this means that if Horikoshi is going to kill someone off in this arc, that death needs to come under one of these four categories. oh, and something I forgot to mention before -- it should be necessary, as well. in other words, it accomplishes one of these four things, and is the only way that said thing can be accomplished. those are basically my criteria for a “good” character death.

and as far as I can see, none of the kids’ deaths would currently fall into that “necessary” category, or meet any of those other four criteria. none of the kids are so powerful that they need to be written out of the story (and even if they were, there are other ways to do that with AFO and the quirk-be-gone bullets now in play). they don’t need to be killed off in order to raise the stakes; clearly, fandom is already very convinced on that front already, or people wouldn’t constantly be freaking out over death flags and such in the first place. and none of the kids is anywhere near the completion of their respective story arcs. maybe if one or more of them had been featured more often recently, and there was some actual buildup, like we saw with Mirio right before he lost his quirk, or with Nighteye before he was killed. but we haven’t seen anything like that recently for any of the kids, with the possible exception of Bakugou (hence why I’m still pretty certain that he’s currently heading towards what Aizawa would call a “death”, with quotation marks, i.e. the loss of his quirk).

so that just leaves us with “their death would further the narrative in some way”, which is probably the most open to interpretation of the four. but for the life of me I just can’t think of any way that the death of a kid would advance the plot in a way that couldn’t be achieved by other means. want society to freak out about children being involved in a war? just injure a bunch of them, or have one of them lose their quirk on live TV with the world watching. want to traumatize the other child soldier characters for some reason? kill off one of the teachers, then. or, again, take away one of their friends’ quirks, and have them feel some misplaced guilt over not being able to stop it. this was the winning formula for the Basement arc, so I don’t see why it wouldn’t work here as well.

tbh a lot of this does depend on what exactly Horikoshi’s goals for this arc are, which still aren’t 100% clear even this late in the game. I’m not sure right now what he’s planning for the aftermath of this thing. will it be like Kamino and Fukuoka, where society is shaken up but still rallying behind the heroes and giving them their support? or are we instead building up towards a scenario where society’s faith in heroes finally crumbles and people are left totally demoralized in the wake of yet another brutal attack, and the total decimation of the Billboard Top 10? the latter outcome is seeming more and more likely to me, but an awful lot of it depends on how the next few chapters play out.

my best guess is that we end up with a scenario where the heroes succeed in staving off total disaster, but at a heavy cost. a lot of the pros are either dead or out of commission, Tomura and the League are still at large, and everyone is basically just sitting around trying to process what just happened and figure out what to do next while they wait for the other shoe to drop. word gets out that the kids were pretty much the only reason the battle didn’t end in even greater disaster, and as a result they get swept up in the ensuing political drama. the HPSC tries to parade them around as the next big thing; humanity’s hope for the future. but meanwhile a growing faction of the general public is furious at the government getting children involved in a war, and start arguing that the hero program should be shut down and U.A. should close its doors. and in the midst of all this, the kids try to lick their wounds and deal with the aftermath, and enter their second year very much unsure of what the future will hold.

anyway, so this all got very long-winded and out of hand as usual, but to sum up, I don’t think any of the kids is going to die here, and I think there will still be a year two of U.A., but that it’s going to feel very different from the U.A. we’ve known up to this point. if the threat of Tomura is still looming over everyone’s heads I very much doubt the kids will be able to focus much on their studies. but it may also be a case of them trying to cling to what little semblance of normalcy they have left. the teachers might decide to press on simply because it’s the only thing they can do. basically I’m anticipating something very similar to the aftermath of Kamino, but with the tension ramped up to 11, and with the adults fighting a losing battle to keep the kids from getting caught up in the middle of it all.

in other words, I don't think it’s an actual death-death we need to worry about here. rather, it’s going to be a much slower and much more subtle death by a thousand cuts. but it’ll be the kind of angst the characters can still work under; the kind that, rather than suffocating them, instead makes them grit their teeth and find a way to push forward. so yeah! anyways though, now that I’ve said all this, watch as Horikoshi goes and fucking decapitates Aoyama next week or some shit. lol maybe I should knock on wood just in case.

[skulledstars]

oh heavens, is that ALONZO FIGUEROA from SYCAMORE WAY i see roaming around mapleview? minnie may’s always calling them -RESTLESS & -TACITURN. i happen to think they’re not that bad! they’re a pretty cool ARCHITECT and every time i’ve seen them, they’ve always been +ALLOCENTRIC & +GREGARIOUS. i hope i see them around again!

PINTEREST  •  PLAYLIST  •  STATISTICS

          hello,  y’all  !  i’m  frankie,  am  24  years  old  and  my  pronouns  are  she/her,  coming  to  you  live  from  the  cst  ——  &  it’s  been  nearly  seven  months  since  i  last  rped  tbh,  so  please  bear  with  me.  i  honestly  don’t  know  what  else  to  say  but  if  you  could  give  this  post  a  like  &  i’ll  come  with  desserts  into  your  dm’s  so  that  we  can  plot  or  something  ?  if  anyone  prefers  D!$C0RD,  feel  free  to  add  me:  FRANKIE ♡#7928  ——  but  it’s  up  to  y’all  of  course...  ANYWAYS,  MEET  ALONZO.

trigger  warnings:  brief  mention  of  a  parental  death  due  to  cancer.

          »     𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒     ;

full  name,          alonzo  ismael  figueroa  castillo.

meaning  of  name,          ❛  noble,  ready  for  battle.  ❜

pronunciation,          uh - lon - zoh.

aliases,          lonz,  lonny,  lonzo,  zo.

age,          forty-four      [  44  ].

date  of  birth,          december  10th,  1975.

place  of  birth,          santiago,  chile.

hometown,          mapleview,  north  carolina.

zodiac  sign,          sagittarius.

race,          hispanic  ╱  latinx.

nationality,          chilean  &  american.

gender  &  pronouns,          cis  man     +     he  ╱  him.

profession,          architect.

current  location,          mapleview,  north  carolina.

face  claim,          josé  pedro  balmaceda  pascal.

          »     𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏𝐒     ;

parents,          enrique  ismael  figueroa  &  esmeralda  lucía  castillo.

siblings,          n ╱ a  —  only  child.

martial status,          divorced,  single.

children,          elena  [  11  ]     &     mateo  [  4  ].

pets,          one  dog  &  two  cats,  (  names,  breeds,  et  cetera,  tbd.  )

          »     𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘     ;

alonzo  was  born  in  a  south  american  country:  chile.  his  parents  &  a  9-month  old  baby  boy  moved  to  the  united  states  —  and  had  grown  fond  of  the  small  town  by  the  name  of  𝒎𝒂𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘  &  stayed  ever  since.  mom  and  dad  never  had  another  child;  it  was  the  three  of  them  against  the  world,  or  that’s  what  it  felt  like  for  the  first  couple  of  years.  they  did  everything  they  could  to  raise  him  in  a  land with  better  opportunities.

growing  up,  he  was  a  decent  student  with  passing  grades:  mostly  b’s,  c’s  and  the  occasional  a’s  (  which  called  for  small  victories  with  chilean  desserts  and  a  milkshake  ).  alonzo  improved  the  more  he  attended  tutoring  sessions.  they  expected  more  from  him...  obviously.  as  one  parent  does.  his  strongest  subject  was  mathematics.  long  story  short,  he  tried  his  best  with  everything  he  did.

during  his  senior  year,  his  parents  noticed  that  since  math  was  his  strong  suit  so  they  suggested  he  should  get  into  an  architecture  degree—this  was  one  of  the  few  times  where  he  actually  agreed  with  his parents.  he  applied  to  several  universities  and  one  of  them  was:  usc  school  of  architecture.  let’s  just  say  he  couldn’t  let  this  opportunity  pass.  so  long,  mapleview;  hello  california  !  off  he  went.

several  years  had  passed,  alonzo  graduated  from  USC  with  a  bachelor’s  degree  in  architectural  design.  after  that,  he  spent  some  of  his  years   away  from  his  hometown,  living  in  california,  earning  himself  an  internship  with  a  top  tier  design  studio.  he  never  saw  it  coming.  he’d  worked  too  hard  to  be  where  he  was  and  he  wanted  more;  accomplish  more  than  he  sought  out  for.

of  course,  he’d  visit  his  parents  for  some  time  in  the  holidays  or  surprising  them  with  a  visit—  helping  them  with  anything  and  everything  they  needed.  he  felt  like  he  owed  it  to  them.

alonzo  met  his  future  ex-wife  while  she  was  an  intern.  they  got  on  very  well—  started  off  as  friends  until  they  eventually  fell  in  love  with  each  other.  it  was  bliss  and  married  only  a  year  and  a  half  after  dating.  they  decided  to  move  to  mapleview  after  he  found  out  his  mom  fell  ill.

alonzo  was  a  small  town  boy,  then  a  big  city  guy...  and  back  to  a  small  town  dude  a  little  over  a  decade  ago.  however,  the  circumstances  were  that  of  his  mother  and  his  responsibility  was  to  care  for  her,  look  after  her.  alonzo  was  eternally  grateful  that  she  supported  him.  no  matter  the  amount  of  struggles  they  had,  looking  after  his  mom,  it  was  always  rough  for  him...  all  of  them.

alonzo  and  pia  eventually  had  a  daughter,  elena.  not  only  was  he  a  busy  man  but  as  soon  as  he  became  a  father,  he  made  every  fiber  of  his  being  to  be  as  hands-on  &  100%  present  as  possible.  sure,  there  were  obstacles  along  the  way,  but  alonzo  sure  made  the  effort.  thankfully,  his  parents  and  his  mother  was  still  alive  to  welcome  their  first  grandchild  into  the  world—  still  pushing  through.  unfortunately,  some  years  later,  she  had  lost  her  battle  with  cancer.

alonzo  and  pia’s  marriage  started  to  deteriorate  and  decided  to  divorce.  they  had  found  out  she  had  fallen  pregnant  with  their  second  child,  a  son  by  name  of  mateo.  before  he  was  born,  they  decided  to  stay  together.  shortly  after  his  birth,  they  couldn’t  stay  together  just  for  the  kids.  they  amicably  decided  to  split  and  co-parent  their  kids.  he  and  his  ex-wife  remain  friends  to  this  day,  four  years  after  their  divorce.

you  may  have  spotted  the  name  𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐙𝐎  𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐔𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐀  in  several  architectural  digest  magazines  (  including  others  ),  as  he  is  known  to  be  a  successful  and  renowned  architect  across  the  globe.   has  he  received  awards?  damn  well  he  has.  over  the  years,  he  expanded  his  design  firms  with  locations  across  the  nation.  despite  living  in  a  small  town,  he  still  works  and  occasionally  travels  for  work.  however,  he  also  works  from  home  and  has  a  work-life  balance.  it  wasn’t  easy  at  first  but  he’s  there  and  pleased.

          »     𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃  𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒     ;

design  firm  partner  [  0 / 2  ]  ——  description  to  be  added.  might  be  a  wc  sent  to  the  main.  idk.

best  friends  [  0  /  4  ]   ——  pretty  self-explanatory.  they  can  be  their  own  grown  up  squad.  age  shouldn’t  define  them;  they  are  often  times  up  to  no-good.

short-lived  fling  [  0  /  1  ]  ——  description  tba.  can  be  plotted  out.

will  they,  won't  they  [  0  /  1  ]  ——  description  tba.  can  be  plotted  out.

ride  or  die  ??

polar  opposite  friends  ??

cousin(s)  ???  y’all,  idk.

ANYTHING  &  EVERYTHING.  COME  TALK  TO  ME.  i  don’t  bite  :)   pinky  promise.

[megashadowdragon]

itsclydebitches

With respect, Ironwood brought an army to deal with a covert threat. In his FIRST appearance he'd had ozpin removed from the tournament staff with secret meetings. He was told many times his embargo was hurting the city, he kept a woman on life support prisoner and his treatment of Robyn convinced a technically legal protest into an outright criminal. Not to mention he abandons the best defense humanity has against the Grimm to keep some control. Shooting a dissenter seem very in character

sent by anonymous

“Ironwood brought an army to deal with a covert threat” - For which he was suitably chastised by Ozpin. It’s a whole conversation in “Welcome to Beacon” and, back when RWBY was doing a better job of handling these complex issues, that conversation gives weight to both sides. Ironwood isn’t trying to, idk, take over Beacon or something with his army. He wants to be prepared in order to help people. “I’m just being cautious.” Ozpin points out that scaring everyone won’t help, but notably the story acknowledges that Ozpin’s preferences are far from full-proof. “Do you really believe your children can win a war?” Can you prove to me that the kids we’re training will be enough when the shit hits the fan? Ozpin doesn’t have an answer. He dodges answering by saying only that he hopes his kids won’t have to fight, not that he has unwavering faith that they will win. Then Beacon falls. Ozpin dies. Ironwood is left alone with an entire kingdom to keep safe and I think it’s worth acknowledging that he did that. Mantle is far from perfect, there’s a lot there to fix, but the people are alive and that’s in part thanks to the soldiers that keep the grimm from eating them all. The rest? That’s due to Penny, a symbol of hope that Ironwood gave to the people. He learned that from this conversation with Ozpin.

“In his FIRST appearance he’d had ozpin removed from the tournament staff with secret meetings.” - It’s not Ironwood’s first appearance. He meets with the inner circle, has his talk with Ozpin, introduces his Atlesian knights to the public, attends the Beacon dance, discovers Ruby fighting Cinder, later compliments Ruby for her initiative in Ozpin’s office, confides in Glynda that night, and helps defend Vale against Roman’s attack. So your implication that as his “first” appearance this tells us he’s really an irredeemable person is not accurate.

Second, I’ve seen this claim a lot the last couple of months and I finally went back to find/watch the scene for myself (it’s in “Breach”). These were not secret meetings. Ironwood “reported” to the council which I assume is what he’s supposed to do. Given that he is a Headmaster. And this is the council overseeing the schools. Keeping updated is their entire deal. Were these reports fair to Ozpin? We don’t know. You might assume they’re full of lies and horrible misrepresentations, but that’s not what the text tells us. Ironwood told the council Ozpin’s plans, then the council said, ‘No way are you holding the Vytal festival with those precautions alone.’ Then the council asked Ironwood to provide troops for additional security. Did Ironwood manipulate the council and paint Ozpin as a villain to get what he wanted? Maybe. Did Ironwood objectively say precisely what’s going on - Ozpin thinks his huntsmen are enough to keep everyone safe in the event of an attack - and the council, independent of him, came to the conclusion that it wasn’t enough? Maybe. Again, we don’t know. What we do know is that Ironwood is doing all this because he honestly believes it will help others. He begs Ozpin to understand that: “This is the right move, Ozpin. I promise I will keep our people safe. You have to trust me.” And you know what? He wasn’t entirely wrong. No one could have predicted that Salem’s minions would take control of his army. Ironwood did, however, predict that there would be an attack too large for a bunch of students to handle… and he was right. Beacon fell because a those half-trained kids weren’t enough to hold off a major attack, but Ironwood did everything he could to try and prevent that. In a slightly better world where his army wasn’t unexpectedly taken advantage of, that could have easily been what turned the tide of battle and saved Beacon instead. The world where everyone views Ironwood as a hero for providing those extra forces is just a smidge away from the world where everyone views Ironwood as a villain for inadvertently providing the enemy with those extra forces… but the forces themselves are not a black and white bad thing to have. Not in a world where your festivities are interrupted by the giant bird trying to eat the audience.

“He was told many times his embargo was hurting the city” - Yes, the embargo hurts the city financially. Ironwood is attempting to keep it from being hurt in the ‘everyone is wiped out’ kind of way. Post the Fall of Beacon he’s unsure if the other Kingdoms will declare war against Atlas or not, so it’s not wise to continue giving them one of the easiest means of attack. That’s the official story, but Ironwood (and the audience) know that Salem has also been collecting dust for a while now… so how about we stop giving her any more? Was this the right move to make? Are short-term economic difficulties worth avoiding the risk of potentially supplying enemies with the means of destroying you? I can’t answer that, but it’s not a clear-cut bad decision like you’re making it out to be. Retroactively we can say that no one attacked Atlas and Salem seems to have stopped collecting dust because the writers forgot about it… but Ironwood doesn’t get to see into the future. He didn’t know things would turn out this way. Once again, he’s trying to prevent tragedies, not just survive them when they come along. The balance between short-term sacrifice and long-term protection is far from an easy thing to strike and a character’s failure to achieve perfection despite their best efforts says more about their luck than their morals. Ironwood is an incredibly flawed man, but those flaws have always shown throw via his attempts to help others.

“He kept a woman on life support prisoner” - Are we talking abut Amber of Fria here? Either way that’s a gross misrepresentation of what happened and, frankly, does little to make me receptive to your other arguments. Amber was attacked, Qrow brought her back to the inner circle, Ironwood kept her alive so that the rest of the power wouldn’t immediately pass to Cinder (and, I would think, because this group isn’t in the habit of just letting friends die if at all possible). Fria was the Winter Maiden, she got dementia, and Ironwood had her live out the rest of her days in a facility so that a) no one murdered her, b) a Maiden with dementia didn’t wreak havoc on the city (we saw her powers go wild during the fight), and c) the power passed to an ally when she finally died. How do you know Fria was a prisoner? Was there a scene I missed where she said as much or, just as likely, might she have agreed to these precautions once her memory started to fade? Amber, meanwhile, was in a coma and unable to consent to anything. Ironwood did not kidnap her for nefarious experimentation, nor do we have any evidence that he held Fria hostage. That sort of thinking only makes “sense” when we’re already inclined to paint a character’s every action as morally corrupt. Is a 80 year old who keeps wandering into the street held prisoner because they were put in a home where they could be taken care of? That’s this with the added complications of “The 80 year old could kill everyone with magic. Or reveal to the world that magic exists” and “A lot of people want to kill this 80 year old” and “If they succeed the world is #screwed.”

Nothing here proves that Ironwood would be willing to shoot an allied kid. “Ironwood did controversial things in the name of protecting others” does not equal “Ironwood is willing to murder an ally.” Rather, these things contradict because we’ve spent six volumes with Ironwood pushing every limit possible to help others, not attack them. Lists like these likewise ignore everything that Ironwood did which doesn’t support shooting Oscar: every conversation he’s ever had where he didn’t attack someone for disagreeing with him, every action he’s taken being in the service of helping others (even if there’s disagreement about how to best go about that), him flipping his gun around when Qrow (presumably) attacked him, reassuring the Vytal students that there’s no shame in running from the fight, confiding in Glynda, standing up for Weiss, sending Yang her arm, being overjoyed to (he thinks) see Ozpin again, willingly training Oscar, choosing to trust RWBYJNR with both his plan and the relic, listening to them later about Robyn and telling the council about Salem, destroying his arm to protect the people, choosing arrest rather than, I don’t know, just trying to straight up kill Team RWBY for daring to say no to him. Because isn’t that the Ironwood you’ve described above? Someone who won’t hesitate to do anything to get what he wants, even murder? It’s a compelling character, but I don’t think we’ve seen that character anywhere prior to Volume 7′s finale. That character is the opposite of who we had before. When things get tough, stressful, and traumatic the show has said, time and time again, that this is how Ironwood treats his allies

iron-and-ice I never thought I’d see people referring to Ironwood providing comfortable protected residence to an elderly woman in possession of magical WMD powers as ‘imprisonment’. Fria, unlike other ‘good guys’, understood what her duty was. Vol 7 MVP, undisputed.