#They're not Super Interesting or anything since they're Not a Main Character but they're an English Teacher!

[wayfinderships]

Missing U.kai hours! Kiss kiss kiss for him! <3 He's so handsome methinks!

[commonmexicanname]

Good Omens and the Miracle Chimes

Don't say anything... Just... Watch this please? It's a compilation of some miracle sounds throughout the show. For EVERY Miracle Chime, come this way...

This has been my Roman Empire since my first viewing.

What I'm hearing is...

Aziraphale's miracle chime is distinctly different from other angel's miracle chime. Makes sense, main character, and all. His has this "singing" to it.

Crowley's miracle chime is just a hissing sound. However, I have no other demons to compare it to.

When they perform their half miracle, it starts with Az's chime and ends with Crowley's. They overlap ever so slightly, but you can clearly hear them both.

As for the last miracle sound(s?) of the show, I first hear Az's miracle sound, and after a few seconds, Crowley's. But, they're both distorted.

I just... Can't stop thinking about that last miracle sound(s?). What does it mean? I mean, I have theories as to what it could mean, and maybe I'll make a long post about it one day. I'm not a writer though, so it would take me a long while to write down all those thoughts of mine. For now, I'm just glad to have finally made this madness into a thing I can share.

Inspired to make this video thanks to this post by @noneorother.

And here's hoping @embracing-the-ineffable also finds it interesting enough for their post.

P.S. I'm on the fence about making a super cut of every miracle sound in season 2. If anyone is interested, please let me know. I'll just need help making a list of timestamps of all miracle sounds as I know I'll miss one otherwise. Update: Supercut is in the works! Update 2: If you missed it, the supercut is done and pinned on my blog!

[popfizzles]

What started as a joke with @kittyacelia about making FNAF animatronics ACTUALLY kid-friendly, ended up snowballing into an exercise in character design and world-building.

We call them Nanny Animatronics (since "Toy" and "Plush" have already been taken). They're far softer with pastel palettes, rubber teeth with plush exteriors to avoid accidentally hurting children! They're all housed under a pizzaplex type building that functions Entirely as a daycare.

I'll add extra notes about them individually under a readmore!

Nanny Freddy is the one kids go to for advice and generic help. He's super comforting, makes his rounds across the daycare saying hello to everyone. He gives GREAT bearhugs and specializes in calming down tantrums or panic attacks.

Nanny Chica loves playing house with children! She teaches general safety, like how to properly interact with stoves or electrical outlets. She's also equipped with a database of every kid's food allergies, and makes sure nobody eats anything they're not supposed to! Her cupcake (unpictured) is named Sugar and is basically just a fully sentient stress ball toy that loves to be thrown and fidgeted with.

Nanny Bonnie is the music teacher, and loves to help kids stay in touch with their louder and excitable sides. He loves to listen to kids talk about whatever they may be interested in, and has a learning database equipped with trivia to hold conversations with kids about any topic. He's the one children infodump to!

Nanny Foxy is the smallest of the bunch, and he loves to run around with the kids! He will play pretend with children, and is even equipped with the ability to detect injury and proper First Aid knowledge to help if a kid trips and hurts themselves while playing.

Nanny Monty is the art teacher, and teaches kids to use their hands for good (like creating art!) instead of bad (hitting, pulling, or smacking). He's very good at breaking up fights and helping kids deal with anger in a reasonable way.

Nanny Roxy loves to play dress-up with kids, but her main objective is to be there for kids, and recognize self-esteem issues. She's ready to pep-talk children at a moment's notice. Everyone is a winner in Roxanne's eyes, after all!

The Mediocre Melody animatronics are all localized on a stage in the daycare, and take turns putting on different types of shows for the kids. Nanny Mr. Hippo loves telling stories for kids, even stepping in to tell naptime stories for the younger kids. Whereas Nanny Orville does small magic shows, along with his assistants Bonbon and Bonnet! The other Mediocre Melodies (Happy Frog, Nedbear, and Pigpatch) are present, but undesigned. When they aren't doing their shows, they act as an extra set of hands for the others.

Nanny Springtrap (modeled ONLY in design after a horror show attraction) is activated during October for Halloween events, and teaches kids that there's no reason to be afraid of monsters. He also advocates for safety around strangers, and that it's okay to always tell an adult if you see something scary. He (along with a currently undesigned Nanny Dreadbear) come every Halloween to give goodie bags to the kids.

[irishmammonagenda]

hii , do you mind doing diavolo x m!court jester reader?

i saw a post with a king x jester trope and i could not get it out of my head 😭 it can be headcanons or a short drabble, wtv you want!!

hihi! this is such an interesting thingy to write and i apologise for taking a while to write it, writing male characters is fun but lowkey kind of hard for me😔✊

i also dont know what jesters do and my knowledge is watching horrible histories when i was younger so this is widely inaccurate heehee

no but fr i think in another universe diavolo would be a jester tbh

dividers by @/ioveartfilm

grma for requesting <3!!!!

Funny Funny (I'm in love with you.) Diavolo X M!Court Jester Reader

He laughs at your jokes like a man on crack

You're his favourite employee in the castle and your room is right beside his chambers (he made sure of it)

You sneak into his room for sleepovers sometimes. Barbatos has given up on propriety.

The Little Ds help you with your super cool jester preformances. They're surprisingly good at dancing and balancing plates.

You use the Little Ds as juggling balls sometimes.

Diavolo has promoted you as much as possible, bro atp people think you're a consort instead of court jester.

like they will full on go up to you to pitch ideas or put in a good word for Diavolo since he'll listen to you.

Barbatos also forces you to tell Diavolo news that'll make him angry or upset since he takes it a lot better coming from you.

Unrelated but you'd 100% be friends with Solomon and Thirteen. Which is awkward when theyre in the same room together.

Apart from Barbatos and Lucifer occassionally disciplining you, you are untouchable.

"Your Heighness...." A noble bows in front of Diavolo's throne. Why that scumbag had requested an audience with the Demon Prince, you had no idea. Technically you weren't even supposed to be listening in, but no one had noticed you on the chandelier yet so that was their problem.

And your problem when Barbatos eventually found out. Said Demon standing beside Diavolo's throne.

You watch as Diavolo nods along, uncharacteristically serious. "What do you need?"

"Well...I believe if we stopped trading pickles to the humans it would be a lot less daunting to create them-"

You blink. What the fuck. Bro requested an audience for this? Damn, this was so unserious it was good material for your next stand up routine.

You watch from overhead as Diavolo blinks, his wings stiffening ever so slightly, the crimson-haired prince raises an eyebrow. "You want to stop trading pickles to the Human Realm?"

"Yes, My Lord." The noble responds earnestly.

"No."

The demon blinks, astounded.

"Excuse me, may I ask you repeat that, my Lord?"

"No. Human's love pickles. They're our main traders. It'd sour relations even more." Diavolo says, you watch as Barbatos takes a deep breath, and as the Demon Prince begins to get annoyed.

You stiffle a laugh at the noble squandering, which leads to your downfall as you move your hands over your mouth, taking them off of your jester hat.

Which falls.

All the way down to the ground.

The bells on the hat jingle.

Barbatos' eyes are trained on you like a hawk. So are Diavolo's, but his eyes are more of an excited child on christmas than anything else.

The noble's eyes widen.

"Sup?" You grin awkwardly. The noble, sensing a way out of this pickle debate uses this as an excuse to say his goodbyes and leave.

Diavolo doesn't even notice. Barbatos just shakes his head ever so slightly.

"That guy was in a real pickle...!...Haha...right guys?" You laugh awkwardly, and despite the fact you're not funny at all, the Prince cackles like it was the best stand up routine he'd ever heard in his life.

You were currently at a banquet talking to the Little D's about your next juggling stunt when a demon approached you.

"Hello." She smiles, her red lips glossy.

"Sup."

"Well, I was wondering if I could ask a favour or two....." She looks hesitant but composed.

You nods your head, the bells on your hat jingling. You're convinced Diavolo put them on there to serve as some sort of cat bell.

"Well....I had an idea for expanding our trades of magical herbs to human world Alaska...since a few witches have been living on quote on quote 'lesbian cottages' there."

You whistle. "Damn. Do they have huskies?"

"A lot of them, from what I hear." She nods, her tail wrapping around her leg absentmindedly. "Could you put in good word for Lord Diavolo for me?"

"Sure?" You tilt your head, the bells jingle slightly.

The demon grins, "Thanks he'll listen to you more thoroughly!"

Little D No.2 pops out from your breast pocket. "That's because everyone thinks you two are gay for eachother."

You yank him out of there. "Go annoy Mammon."

"Sir yes sir!"

At this point you should be the Avatar of Pride.

"Sire. I'm telling you. He just stabbed several upper class demons with a rusty spoon!" The demon knight urges Diavolo, who isn't even looking at him.

"You expect me to believe that?" Diavolo tilts his head. You nod vigorously from where you're covered in entrails and holding a rusty spoon in your hands. "MC wouldn't hurt a fly."

The knight looks from you to him with a lax jaw.

What.

The.

Fuck.

That knight's putting his two weeks in now icl.

^^ idea from that one person on tiktok (sirleoninsunglasses) i cant get it out of my head.

can you tell im a merlin fan.

gang idk what noble people talk about i made these discussions up as i went along but i can assure you that pickle trading and lesbian witches in alaska are actually the only thing nobles talked about in history i pinky promise

[southangel]

Hi! How's it going?

Can I get some headcanons about the main four with a twin sibling!reader? How would the dynamic between them and people around them look.

You can choose if they're identical or fraternal twins. 

Main 4 Being their Twin Sibling

Warnings: none

Notes: Platonic, gender-neutral as well! Will be fraternal twins, since identical twins are typically the same gender. A little rushed, wrote most of this late at night.

Stan Marsh

Being Stan’s twin would be fun, I think.

You’ll obviously look similar, but not so similar to the point where people bombard you guys with questions.

You would be the older one, by about a minute, and you would definitely tell all his friends about it.

He hates you for it.

Since you’re related to Stan, you’re also related to Shelley, meaning you both get attacked by her.

Luckily she’s a bit nicer on you, only because you’re friends aren’t as annoying as Stan’s.

You don’t really hangout with Stan and his friends unless they need you as a backround character for a game, otherwise you would be with your own friend group.

Your personalities are very similar, people could probably tell that you’re related by just that.

I feel like Stan would be the type to scam you out of favors, but quickly feel bad then do something in return for you.

You used to both walk into school together, but after moving onto the farm and having to wear those Hemp shirts, it was embarrassing.

You both agreed that two people with Hemp shirts walking together was more embarrassing than one, so you split up.

You would be friends with Wendy, since gossiping about Stan is so fun for you both.

Imagine you and Stan both doing homework together, staring at the worksheet before eventually giving up.

You guys played Terrance and Philip on the TV afterwards, so it was okay.

“Tell me if Wendy says anything bad about me, please?”

Kyle Broflovski

Being Kyle’s twin sibling would be interesting.

Kyle would be the older one by about 3 minutes, but he isn’t obnoxious about it and doesn’t care.

Kyle tends to be the smarter one, so he wouldn’t mind tutoring or explaining every bit of work to you, you steal his answers when he isn’t looking.

You used to hang out with Kyle and his friends, then Cartman started going after you as well even though he hasn’t before.

If you ever get a partner with a stable relationship, Kyle would be happy for you, but I feel like he would be a little jealous since his romantic luck is absolute shit.

You guys are the types of twins where everyone can tell that you’re siblings, and it’s super annoying getting asked the same questions everyday.

Sheila would probably make you guys share a room, and you both hate it.

I know she would be the type of mom to dress you guys up in matching outfits when you guys were younger as well.

You and Kyle would be the type of twins that talk at the same time, doesn’t matter if you say the same things or not.

It’s so bad that some people swear you can mind communicate, you wish.

The only bad apart about being Kyle’s twin is that you’re practically engaged in everything he does, which is really annoying.

“Mom, do we really have to be matching?”

Kenny Mccormick

I think having Kenny as your twin sibling would be really nice.

Although your household and environment at home really isn’t great, you both still make the most of it.

You guys might share clothes, not often though.

Kenny is older than you by 5 minutes, bigger gap than the rest, but he genuinely doesn’t care.

You guys don’t really look alike that much, so it’s only when they realize the last names are the same that they notice you guys are siblings.

It’s a good thing nobody notices though, or else the questions would be a hassle.

You and Kenny would definitely each take turns taking care of Karen, hanging out with her or getting her small things from time to time.

I feel like Kenny sees you as the other half of him in some way, not because you’re his twin, it’s because you’re his twin.

He would take you down to work at City Wok, so that you guys could make some extra money.

You and Kenny both payed half and half for that Sony PSP, using your saved money from City Wok.

You guys fight over the PSP daily, not bothering to make some actual working time distribution on the device.

You would definitely find Kenny cheesing all the time, in the act.

All you do is walk away because you don’t really care, you just hope he doesn’t get into too much trouble.

“Do you like it, Karen? Me and Y/N saved up for it.”

Eric Cartman

Cartman definitely hates you, partially.

You’re his twin, and he sees that as a terrible thing because of how he exaggerates having to be stuck to you all the time.

You DEFINITELY don’t look like Cartman, at all.

Maybe there’s only some similar features, but you should be glad to not look the slightest similar to him:

Cartman would make fun of you for being to nice, than start screaming at you once you become annoying like him.

He can’t make up his mind over anything, and it only makes him angrier when he thinks about how you’re older, only by a minute.

You’re embarrassed about being related to him, but at least you kind of secret information to blackmail him with if he ever gets too annoying.

Liane let’s you guys do whatever you want, as long as you and Cartman are together most of the time.

You guys are forced to become partners all the time in projects and school assignments, and you almost always are the loudest ones in the room because of your arguments.

You genuinely feel that living with Cartman is like hell on earth, and you can only assume he feels the same but with amplified hatred.

Sometimes it seems like he likes you though, it’s weird.

One time you were coming back from a sleepover and he came to hug you, talking about how he missed you sooo much, he made you do his homework in return for being affectionate.

If you ever get a love interest or partner, Cartman is already on his way to asking everything about them.

It’s not like he cares, he does, he just wants to know who you’re really talking with.

He’ll probably be really weird about it for the first week, then get over it and start being annoying once more.

“You took a really long time at that sleepover, now go do my homework.”

[sissytobitch10seconds]

I think it's kind of interesting that Viktor is overshadowed by his siblings both in the canon and fanon.

In season one I could understand it. Despite Viktor being the main character that literally drives the entire plot, everyone focuses on the other characters. People make fun of Luther for talking about the moon all the time. Everyone is almost creepily obsessed with Klaus and the Vietnam fling that he had. No one really talks about Allison, but her story is primarily linked with Viktor's since she's trying to heal their relationship (fandom misogyny too). I think that there's a decent amount of talk around Five since he's such a fascinating character. There's quite a lot of talking about Diego too, since he loses Eudora and spends a lot of time trying to take care of Klaus. But no one really talks about Viktor and the amount of shit that he goes through in s1. All the siblings other than Allison completely abandon him too, and Allison only wants the idea of a 'sister' that she's built up in her head since she lost her husband and daughter.

In season two, it makes even less sense to not talk about what Viktor has done. He has a queer love story with Sissy and we get to see way more development and chemistry for, Klaus and Dave had a montage and some sad lines from Klaus as opposed to an entire arc through ten episodes, but no one really does anything with it. Allison gets basically no attention for the same fandom misogyny issues as before. Five gets some attention because of the fact that he's exhausted and still dealing with the Commission (his fight scenes are amazing). Diego gets the same treatment as Luther did but a little more deserving because the plan to save JFK was stupid. Luther gets totally sidelined and ignored too, but people really hated him in S1 so I'm not surprised. Klaus gets all the attention again even though his plot outside of Ben possessing him is honestly really boring and makes me so uncomfortable.

Season three is where Viktor should have gotten the most attention. If we're considering the fact that the TUA fandom has a very queer audience, then they should be super excited and celebrating the fact that Viktor is trans. Not only that, but he's also working his ass off so that he can fix things for Allison and get her back to a timeline where her daughter exists or back to the sixties. I think a lot of people ignore that, giving Five more credit than he deserves for trying to fix the world when Viktor was doing that until Harlan showed up and he wanted to handle that first. A lot of attention during the debut went again to Klaus, which was actually warranted this time since he was plot relevant by showing us things about Reggie and discovering his powers. Diego got more attention since he was parenting Stan and fighting with Lila, which was nice. Five got some meme attention but nothing serious and Luther got a little bit of genuine love. But mostly people just posted the conversation where Viktor comes out to his family and continued to ignore him.

Now Season four is out and no one cares about Viktor. He stands up to Reginald and says all of the things that he needs to say, he fights like Hell to try and save Ben from the Durango and get him someplace stable, he owns a bar and got fucking KIDNAPPED. No one is talking about him, all people are doing is complaining about fivela and the ending.

Viktor moved to Nova Scotia probably to get better trans healthcare, but also because none of his siblings care about him. My man is a tiny trans man that got kidnapped and ransomed off the street and they couldn't care less about him when they show up, Five is taking notes about the room they're in instead of checking to make sure that his childhood best friend is okay. Luther may have made him best man at his wedding, but it was just because Viktor had only just come out and all the other siblings were non options (never been close with Five, butted heads with Diego who didn't even want the wedding to happen, not their Ben, and Klaus was officiating) which was the same reason Lila was Sloane's maid of honor. Diego and Viktor barely spare two words at each other despite their closeness in the comics. Lila and Allison say something briefly to him before they also fuck off further into the plot.

Viktor isn't liked by his family despite them trying to include him in it when it's convenient for them, and he's also disliked by the fandom. I went into the TUA tag and about half of the top twenty posts were about someone else with him tacked on as an afterthought.

[kimbap-r0ll]

Twist ch competing against their rivals for the male lead role for a play the reader stars as the other lead role because in the play the other lead role and male lead kiss at the end, and they're damn sure that they aren't going to miss the opportunity to sneak a kiss from the prefect a.k.a their crush. Can you do headcanons of different rivalries and different plays, like riddle vs. azul, do anything please!

Hi, thank you for the ask! This is a really funny idea, I think I'm going to go with two pairs for this one, who knows there might be a sequel. Hope you enjoy!

Leona, Malleus, Vil, Neige rivaling each other to be the male lead of a play

Leona vs Malleus

Leona wasn't interested in being part of a play and Malleus just wanted to do it for fun. The two only started to actually pay attention when they saw your name as the already chosen main character. Turns out, this is a love story, and whoever the male lead is gets to kiss the main character

That's when things really start. Like Leona first thought "yeah yeah there's all these other people, I won't have to try hard—IS THAT MALLEUS"

Then Malleus was also like "Hi ^-^" and didn't think much of the rivalry between the two. If anything, if it's another thing he can use to tease the lion prince, then might as well (probably thinks the two of them are good friends but in reality it's a one-sided friendship haha)

You've never seen such dramatic acting from the two of them. Leona's actually trying, it's scaring Ruggie. You don't know why you got signed up as the main character, you really just wanted a good role but not this where two of the scariest people on campus were fighting for the spot

If Malleus wins, he'll be suave about it. He won't really rub it in Leona's face (though Sebek will) and he will be delighted about being able to be closer to his crush. Not only that, but the more time he gets with you the merrier! When he does have to kiss you, he's super gentle about it, probably a very soft kiss

If Leona wins, you bet he will rub it in Malleus's face. He will be like "yeah it wasn't hard" but he really didn't think he would make it. If you congratulate him, he'll be flustered but will try to hide it. I feel like when the time comes for him to kiss you (his crush), he'll be super nervous and end up almost pecking your lips (that's it). Ruggie will tease him lightly about it

Vil vs Neige

The fight of the century? Who would've thought! If you thought being already a popular actor/actress meant a lot of drama magazine articles about you, you're wrong because that number will just double with this new fight.

Vil originally wanted the main character role but he now feels like he NEEDS it because...well...his crush is literally the male lead's true love! If Neige gets it, not only will Vil have to see you kiss that bastard actor but Vil won't get to spend as much time with you.

Neige probably didn't think much of it, but he did want to be closer to his crush so he just tries to be optimistic about it. All of his friends hype him up, his fans hype him up (though some are jealous of you), and the paparazzis and news anchors won't shut up about this love triangle. Are there fandoms about Vil x you vs Neige x you? Yes.

The two of them have stunning auditions, honestly the judges might have to turn to favoritism or flipping a coin because the two are just SO GOOD. You decide not to watch since you think it might help them focus, but if you were there expect yourself to have been a flustered mess because omg they were wayyyy too good at acting as a love interest

If Vil wins, not only will his already high ego shoot through the roof, but he'll have something to one-up Neige in and get more time with you. He won't confess his feelings quite yet, but expect him to be a lot more gentle than you see him around other students. His kiss, when the time comes, is very soft and will make your heart skip a beat. Fans will be raving about you and expect a lot of fan edits haha

If Neige wins, he'll be humble and tell Vil that this is just a play or a movie, nothing related to real life. However, he's just so hyped to have a role with you two as the main characters. He congratulates you on your role and the two of you are just so sweet to each other throughout the whole production. The kiss he gives you is warm and heartfelt, you almost think he's not acting (he's not, but he won't tell you he has a crush on you because he's a bit shy with that). Fans of Neige x y/n will go ham too, expect a lot of fan edits as well

[dhrubajjj]

pomefiore pirates/seven au!

pomefiore had a super vague theme in my mind compared to the other 2 dorms i've done, regal and fancy, which doesn't give me much to work with. surprisingly so far they're my favorite of the bunch i've designed and feel pretty coordinated which was what i wanted.

more under cut (i figured out how to do it + got a lil rambly)

vil -> he took me the longest to design and is the one i'm least pleased with out of the three of them, if i changed anything it'd be his top, that is the main thing that bothers me. but putting that aside i wanted to keep his regal 'i'm better than you' vibe hes kinda got, his dress (cape?) thing drags behind him and is made of raven feathers which is a reference to the evil queen's pet raven. his design was pulled heavily from his dorm uniform which is one of the things that bothers me but overall he looks cute.

he's more of a singer than an actor in this au since i don't think as a sea fairing pirate theres gonna be too many people wanting you to act in their plays. vil tends to work at the mostro lounge at times, either to repay a favor or for his own benefit, singing songs and sometimes when the mostro lounge puts on a performance he'll play a part in it too.

ortho has taken an interest in vil and the two chat whenever they're both there, mainly when idia just meets up with azul to play their games, but the two of em have become friendly. vil teaches ortho how to sing or act and ortho pays attention (drama club canon wow)

rook -> his design was based on his masquerade outfit which made my job super easy. the leather armor, or protection, on his left arm is the protect his arm from the drawstring of his bow whenever he shoots which was a fun bit to add. his collection of vials and the bottle on his belt i took from his science clubwear, then there's his hat, the black feather on his hat is actually a raven feather from vil's outfit.

i can imagine rook showing up to every one of vils performances at the mostro lounge cuz that's just how he is. floyd hates him, whenever rook shows up at the lounge its hard to find floyd which only spurs rook to harass floyd further even if his actions are motivated by curiosity.

i think how rook went from being apart of savannaclaw crew to pomefiore probably went like a couple of fights, vil threatens to kill him and then rook is just like "wow!!!!!! beaute!!" then he joins them or smth ill figure it out

epel -> another easy one since he has a masquerade outfit, his scarf and socks were made by his grandma before he joined vils crew. his design is pretty simple compared to the rest of them but i like it, the tassel on his belt is from his dorm uniform and the gloves were taken from his masquerade outfit. i pulled his hair into a half ponytail hairstyle(?) which just clicked w/ me.

epel does a lot of the heavy work around the ship despite being oh so small and while he doesn't mind going to the mostro lounge it isn't his favorite place. i can see it being too fancy for his taste.

anyways 3/7 dorms done! i might do ramshackle for funsies but characters like the staff and other students/family depends on my mood.

[fablefrogg]

Why Having Will Byers Standing Up for El From Her Bullies Doesn't Make Sense (From a Character/Narrative Standpoint)

First off, I truly think that if Will had stood up for her, he would have also been targeted and bullied. Look at what happened when the teacher jumped in to help El. That didn't solve anything; it only made the bullies more infuriated to the point that they came up with an elaborate plan to humiliate El at a public place (and with a lot of people that went along with this plan like the DJ).

I'm not saying that standing up to your bullies is ultimately pointless and that you should keep your head down in the hopes of them stopping because they very likely won't.

But we have to take into account Will's character. He has dealt with bullying for most of his life (and for his sexuality which could end in the very real possibility of him being hate-crimed since this was the 80s). On top of that, he has trauma from having to survive in the Upside Down and from being possessed one of its creatures, resulting in him indirectly killing the military soldiers in S2 when he is used as a spy. It's understandable why he wants to keep his head down.

El also seems to be in denial about the situation, considering that she lied to Mike about Angela being her friend, denied Will's claims when he points this out, and then tells Angela (even after the milkshake debacle) to tell Mike that they're actually friends.

Will isn't a fighter like Mike. He helps El in his own way by consoling her even though she pushes him away, knowing that she needs verbal reassurance (a possible parallel to El needing Mike to verbally say that he loves her), and offers to help her put her project back together. We must also remember that the one time he tried standing up for himself was to the Mind Flayer in S2 and he ended up getting possessed (while it was inevitable, it shows that standing up for oneself = negative results in Will's mind).

I've seen people saying that he doesn't stand up for her because he has some hidden resentment against El because she's with the person he loves so he's subtly carrying it out by not jumping in. It's clear to me that he does NOT harbor resentment towards her. He lies to the police that what El did was an accident, he paces back and forth while ranting to Mike that Hawkins wouldn't be standing without her, forcefully tells the receptionist at the juvenile center that they're her family ergo let them see her, and even gets noticeably angry at Mike, the person he's in love with, for his distasteful comment at El at the dinner table.

Him being a secret saboteur wouldn't be true to his character. I acknowledge that it would be super interesting to see a darker side to Will, but I don't think this is it. In S2, when he encounters the baby Demogorgon in the bathroom, he has good reason to kill it considering his trauma from the Upside Down. Instead, he reassures the Demogorgon, saying that he won't hurt it. If Will can offer empathy to a literal monster that comes from a source of trauma, there is no way in hell that he would hurt El, even if he did harbor feelings of resentment.

From a narrative standpoint, I'd say El being bullied is necessary to her arc and that Will stepping in would reduce the impact of that arc and her development. Her being bullied is a trigger event to her physical assault on Angela, confronting her with the one of the conflicts she's been internally fighting: she believes that she's a monster even without her abilities. It also serves as a catalyst and a parallel when she remembers the similar bullying she's experienced in the lab. Because Will didn't interfere, it makes El's development from coming out the other side the more powerful.

I'd also say that Will supporting El in other ways other than standing up to the main source of her bullying makes sense with his own arc. Since the Duffers have said he will be vital in S5, that tells me that he needs to learn to stand up to fight, especially when they're faced against the Big Bad. He has to learn to stop hiding (even though that's what he does best) and learn to stand up not just for other people, but for himself, and once he accomplishes this, he'll come out confident and wiser.

[lufyuu]

I have a doubt about how your oc would react to an asexual reader (doesn't like physical contact) or demisexual, who is cold and somewhat proud, but when he gets affection he is a sweet little ball of affection, type: Do you want to eat something?, he cooks it for you, it's something like: a reader not so accustomed to contact, but who is so affectionate when he gains affection, of course, respecting personal space.

Thank you for taking the time to read💖 I don't speak English very well, I hope I'm not wrong💖

Asexual or not they'll still love reader! I show a lot more sexual content when it comes to my ocs as most of the time I'm feeling freaky/hj

Eun Hyunwoo

He's generally the kind of guy to go along with anything the reader initiates or wants. Hyunwoo adapts fast and would absolutely love just spending time with you without anything sexual in your relationship! One of the main reasons why he does enjoy sex is because that's what he thinks pleases reader. If you are asexual and want a non sexual relationship, he would be absolutely down for it! Though, he isn't the one to initiate anything so reader would have to make the first move as he's too shy to romance reader. Your cold personality will be a bit intimidating to him at first but overtime as he sees how affectionate you are, he'd start to warm up and adore you. If you let him, he'll cuddle you to sleep everynight. Little spoon or big spoon? He'll let you decide. You can be vulnerable around Hyunwoo, he has that affect on people around him. His calm and shy demeanor makes you feel the same way around him. His positivity spreads like a virus. If you are still unwilling to speak what's on your mind, he'll ask what's wrong. Sometimes his words are just so compelling that you can't help but tell him what's bothering you.

River Sterling

River sees your cold personality as a challenge. He's interested in why you aren't head over heels for him. On the contrary, you're avoiding him. He overexaggerates it and makes it seem as if you're glaring at him even when you're not. He would purposely take your classes just so he could get closer to you. Not to mention stealing your seatmate's seat. The teachers and students don't bat an eye since, he's the protagonist! He can do no wrong in their eyes. When he and you finally get together after his many attempts, he finally realizes you're actually very affectionate. Oh boy does he blush everytime you make something for him just because he's your boyfriend and not because he's the protagonist. It makes him feel like an actual person standing next to you and not a puppet standing infront. He's very aware of your feelings and expressions, if you are in an uncomfortable position but don't want to let him know, trust, he will know and help you with a little protagonist dust. Man doesn't care if you're asexual or not either, he's so smitten with you now. River adores you and your affection<3

Liu Zihao

To him, it's not a big deal. While he does want kids, the two of you could adopt or even find another way to have a biological kid other than having intercourse. He's a dragon afterall, what can't he do with magic? Zihao was super amused when you were cold towards him, nobody had ever dared to act even the least amount of cold towards Judge Liu. Even criminals were polite and terrified of him when being questioned. Even the most heinous criminals told the absolute truth. When Zihao has you in his grasp, he'd notice that day after day, you showed more and more affection towards him. Yes staying home all day is boring but on the other hand, it's a manor! You can do anything you want. It's not as if Zihao and his employees are treating you bad either. Heck, they're bending to your will so long as you stay inside. When you pick up a new hobby and make him something, Zihao would be over the moon and place it next to his other treasures! He knows that's how you show your love. Being a judge, he can judge someone's character and how they're feeling just by looking at them. Or maybe that's his dragon self? Nevertheless, you won't be able to ask for help even if you wanted as he'd already be running to help you.

Han Minho

I say this often about Minho but he genuinely doesn't care about what's your sexuality or what's in your pants, he's way past that age. He just wants to settle down with you. Maybe become spouses? Wink wink. While he thought you would be a troublesome student at first, he realized your true nature down the road. Your affectionate self made him realize how much he needed you in his life. He's the type to overwork and accidentally or intentionally not ignore his health. With you in the picture taking care of him, he feels at home. You're his home in a way! The thing is, Minho is also a proud person, he does understand your mindset but I fear he doesn't know how to help either. That's something the two of you would have to communicate about.

Xu RenFeng

While he would have a hard time grasping the concept at first, ultimately he would understand and accept you for who you are. He loves you and that's all that matters to him. He loves your personality, especially when you're only affectionate to him. Renfeng would show it off. His significant other loves him and shows him affection despite his cold front! He's the type to bite you after you give him something, it's just the way he shows affection, it means he loves you dearly. He may seem fierce and intimidating but he genuinely wants to help, he can't bear seeing you feel helpless and unwilling to ask for help. He wants to help and hopes that one day you'll be able to open up freely about your problems to him.

[the-eeveekins]

The Witch From Mercury: Tying Up Loose Ends

A look at the state of different characters, organizations and plot points after the epilogue of The Witch From Mercury.

Earth vs. Space, and Earthian Inequality

The crux of this conflict was the growing inequality between Earthians and Spacians, and that Spacians were exploiting Earthian labour and resources for their gain, while also pitting them in proxy wars. When Miorine dissolved the Benerit Group, all their assets were placed into Earthian hands, including all the resources the plundered from Earth and presumably a number of weapons. With this, the main driving force of the conflict is resolved, although tensions very likely still linger, especially among those who lost family and friends to the Benerit Group.

While it may not be a perfect long-term solution, it has definitely helped in the short-term. Gund-Arm Inc. has survived the transfer and we see Miorine working with Earthian protesters to solve lingering issues. And we even see that Sedo is now getting an education. Clearly, Miorine’s actions havehad a positive affect on Earthian lives. Suletta & Miorine changed the status quo in a far greater way for the better than many Gundam main characters manage to do in their own worlds.

The Benerit Group

The Benerit Group was dissolved, and all of the political and military might it wielded as an entity was destroyed. Obviously many members of the group found ways to continue working, and many will have had some assets stashed away not attached to the group, but they would lack the combined strength that the group wielding before.

We see that Delling and Sarius are under investigation in the epilogue, so even if they're still free as of the epilogue, they may not be so for very long. And for Delling, who formed the Benerit Group as a means to enforce a tyrannical "peace" upon the world, his life's work was destroyed by his daughter, and all the power that came with it.

We do see the Peil Ladies, who seem to have slinked away to some sort of retirement home in the aftermath of events. While some see this as a good ending for them, keep in mind they had just double crossed the BG in a play to be the next major power in the business world after the SAL wiped them out. Instead, they were left with nothing. No power, no super company. You can see how miserable they look in the epilogue.

The children of the Benerit Group all seem to have found a future, one way or another. Gund-Arm Incorporated is still around, with all it's Earthian and Spacian employees. Elan, Secelia and Guel are still kicking and running their own businesses, though it's unclear if they found positions with the new owners of their old companies or started over.

GUND Technology

The Prologue started with showing GUND as a means for humanity to travel into space, as well as conquering various other physical disabilities. The work of the Vanadis Institute is now continued by GUND-Arm Incorporated, which we see in the epilogue is producing medical technology to aid those with disabilities, like Petra and Ericht.

Shaddiq

I have talked about this a lot in the past, but Shaddiq doesn't have a bad ending. His goal was to dissolve the Benerit Group and transfer their assests to Earth to balance the powers, and Miorine successfully achieved his goal for him. Sabina and company came away from everything with their freedom and now work to better Earth. And as a cherry on top, since Shaddiq was already under arrest for Plant Quetta and Asticassia, he also took the fall for Quiet Zero as well, to protect Miorine’s new family.

Mercury & The School

We don't actually see Mercury in the series itself (except in a flashback of the Lfrith hanger), but we don't really need to. The planet itself doesn't have any relevance to events, and Cradle Planet (which does take place on Mercury) makes it pretty clear there isn't anything of interest out there anyway. And while Suletta is from there and wants to build a school there, she never once expressed a desire to return. We can pretty safely say that Suletta built her school there, based on the line "You're going to build another school here?"

Lingering Questions

The Space Assembly League

Quiet Zero not only shook up things in space due to the dissolution of the Benerit Group, but also the revelation that the SAL was directly supporting Earthian resistance groups and helping them carry out attacks against their own citizens, not to mention very publicly trying to wipe out millions of it's own citizens with a giant space laser. Presumably this caused a massive shake-up within the SAL, and between that and the Benerit Group dissolution, the entire political structure of space very likely changed significantly, but the epilogue doesn't really give much of a hint about what that looks like.

The Lfrith AI

A plot thread in the Prologue that completely disappeared afterwards. While I'm not personally convinced it was ever meant to be a plot point beyond the Prologue, I was convinced it was worth bringing up. It was meant to overcome the Gundam Curse and allow people to pilot Gundams without negative permet damage. However, by all accounts, it never succeeded. The show very heavily implies that Ericht's unique ability to coexist with the Data Storm is what allows her to connect to the AI and pilot a Gundam without harm, and it's never brought up again. Not to mention the Darilbalde used a new advanced AI that could pilot a mobile suit with pilot input at all, but not even that was seen as a solution to the Curse for the Schwarzette.

Elnora and the Covern

We know Suletta was the key. It was necessary for someone to pilot Aerial because Ericht couldn't. Whether it was Ericht's permet resistance that Elnore needed, or maybe just a close bond family bond to push permet scores, the solution she found was to clone her own daughter. Through context we might assume this isn't exactly unheard of in Ad Stella, given the lack of surprise about her origins from Suletta’s friends. But what about the Coven? We see that by the time Ericht "dies" and she is uploaded to the Aerial, Suletta was already born. Were they made before or after Suletta. Before implies they were clones that tragically could not survive and Elnora desperately uploaded them to the Lfrith to save them, unable to bear more loss. Afterwards implies that they were necessary for control of the Gundbits. Where they more repli-children uploaded, or did Ericht simply copy her data into clones to handle the bits more easily? There are so many questions about what Elnora did to make the coven.

Notrette

The woman of mystery. We never even see her face. Depending on who you ask, the mystery is a good thing and any more information would ruin it. We know she's from Earth, that she wanted to apply the evolutionary mechanics of plants to humans, and that Quiet Zero was the key to her plans. And that, for whatever reason, she left a backdoor into it for her daughter based on the genetic code of her tomatoes. Why did she marry Delling? What was her original goal with Quiet Zero and what did she intend with it? How exactly did she die? Did she have a love affair with Prospera that saw her help Elnora create a clone of her daughter?

The Future of Gundams

Perhaps the ultimate sequel hook: we do not know what the future holds for Gundams after Quiet Zero. The Ur is presumably still around, and even if it remains a forbidden technology, we've seen that there are those willing to sacrifice lives to use that power. On the other hand, is the original goal of GUND-Arm Inc. a possibly? Can GUND Format equipped Mobile Suits be operated safely and for the good of humanity, instead of as a tool for war?

Asticassia

With help from Guel, Elan and Secelia, Asticassia survives 3 years later. But what is it's purpose? Is it still a training ground for the spacian elite to train the next generation of oppressors, or has it found new life as a technical school that takes in students from anywhere, without prejudice.

The Three Kids

In the epilogue, we see Suletta playing with three children in the wheat field. Are these children that Suletta & Miorine adopted? Or simply some local kids who Suletta likes to play with? Due to the fact that they seemingly disappear for the rest of the scene, I'm inclined to believe the latter.

[murasaki-cha]

So I read Serena.... wow. I'm gonna make a long post expressing my opinions because THERE ARE A LOT!! (there's pictures too!)

These are going to be just my thoughts and how I understood the story + characters so if anyone disagrees, sorry but our vibes don't match, please don't come at me.

Now first of all can they adopt me??

Ok going to be serious here (not for long) this manhwa is so good!! I have read another manhwa of Ina-nim, the author/artist, called "Black Winter" (it's amazing go check it out) so I knew this was going to have layers upon layers as a story. AND IT DID!!

The story is so complex, everyone is scheming something, no one says the full truth and you never know when you might get stabbed in the back.

I'm going to be honest, I've known about Serena since it came out and I didn't want to read it. Not because I thought the story was bad or anything, since I knew how great this author is already thanks to their previous story, but because I knew it was going to be messy. Super messy. And it is, it is a hot dumpster fire mess. And I didn't really want to deal with it since it would have been exhausting and I would have dropped it or put it on hold. But by now (chapter 72 as of the latest update) I think that it has become more "stable" to say and I found it easier to enjoy the story since I read it in one go.

I particularly loved that none of the characters were good. No one. But no one is exactly bad either. Everyone here is just gray, they're flawed, they do bad stuff, they hurt each other. No one is right or wrong. We see things form their perspective and we see their reasoning but whether we sympathise with them is up to us because, let's be real, even their thought process can be fucked up at times.

Besides Victor. Victor is pure evil. If we throw holy water at Victor he will start melting. Victor should be burned.

Now moving along let's talk about the main characters.

Starting with Serena. First of all MOTHER!!🛐-

Now Serena is the type of fl I expected to get lots of hate(and she did). She had a lover while she was married, she was way too stubborn, she thinks she's better than everyone, etc. And yeah she did all those things. She's also a very traumatised little girl who had her entire world shattered at the age of 17, had to marry a stranger and feel her worth slip through her fingers. Serena is constantly paranoid due to her past experiences and the way she's been treated. She's desperately grasping for whatever little power she can have in the begining.

Now that is not to say she's never done anything wrong. Her using Fredrick as merely a way to destress and a shield, her prejudice against Eiser simply because of his family, her thinking she deserves to be in charge even if she is unexperienced simply because she is a Serenity, her refusing to see anything from anyone's perspective but hers. She's too prideful, too stubborn, too guarded.

But she's a great businesswoman, she takes her tasks seriously and she's super intelligent. The moment she started working on the hotel she changed because she was finally in her element. That spoiled, angry Serena in the beginning was simply what the isolation had done to her, the way it had fundamentally changed her. She started seeing everything in a new light when she started learning how to manage the hotel and being more open minded while still being guarded. Serena is a perfect morally gray main character, she's flawed, she's human.

Next we have Eiser. DADDY-

I swear I'm not being biased when I say I loved Eiser SO MUCH! First things first, he is an asshole. Not gonna sugar coat it. In fact that is the sugar coating. He is quite possibly the most secretive man alive, we know exactly 3 things about his past in the last 72 chapters and I'm not even being sarcastic, that's the total amount. And that is probably what makes him so interesting as a character to me at least.

One of my favorite things about Eiser was that he didn't have any feelings about Serena in the beginning. Yeah he mostly saw her as a means to an end and felt a smidge of responsibility because of her brother, but that was it. He honestly did not care about what Serena did or thought. Eiser's only objective is to save Serenity hotel, probably fuck up his family along the way because screw them and the rest is an enigma. He doesn't do feelings, not anymore at least.

We learn from the beginning that he's not a "good guy", he's not Male Lead™ that's mean to fl to protect her or to not get close to her and his whole world revolves around her etc. He's not just this guy meant to be a love interest, he's a whole other well constructed character. He has his own goals (which we never know what they are because his thought's are more secretive and guarded than the Vatican Apostolic Archives), he follows the most efficient way to achieve those goals and that's all that matters to him. He recognized Serena's skills all along yet still thought of her as a spoiled little princess because he didn't care about knowing her, didn't need to, that wasn't going to help him.

There really isn't much development about Eiser aside his relationship with Serena (but that's a talk about further below), but that's kind of on point for him. Unlike Serena, Eiser has been doing business for years now, he knows how to run things, he knows how to work with people, he has experience and skill and friends (surprisingly). Eiser's role is more of a mentor for Serena than as someone who also needs to learn.

And last Frederick (gonna hide behind a chair real quick)

Don't come at me for this but to be 100% honest, Frederick was as interesting to me as a white sheet of paper. Most of the time he was just there. That's it. Look the man is mysterious I agree and his character would have been so so interesting but he literally gave me nothing. I swear I'm being unbiased, even if Eiser didn't exist this man would have done nothing to impact me as a reader. But I think that shows how important or how much impact he made to Serena's story.

Frederick is interesting in the fact that we don't know his role in the story. He says he's doing everything to help Serena yet will that make him an antagonist or not is yet to be revealed. Also Frederick isn't even his name??? so there's that. Unlike the first two, he appears too few times and we don't really know what's up with him. So far he has made it his main objective and like basically his personality to protect Serena from his employers.

I liked that it showed he came here with impure intentions and his own goals but ultimately he just made his entire world revolve around keeping Serena safe and that kind of bumped me. The most interesting thing about him so far right now is the mystery of his past (who he killed, what's his true identity) and whether he'll be an antagonist by the end or not.

And now we move to the most dreaded thing. The romance.

I'm gonna say it straight up, Serena x Eiser for the win. Enemies to lovers has gone and done it again and by god did I EAT IT UP!! They were mother and father fr!!

Now let me express my opinions on both couples here with actual words.

First I want to talk about Serena and Frederick. From the beginning this story did not have a love triangle, at least for me. Serena and Frederick always looked like a relationship born out of necessity (which Serena later on confirms that that's what it might have been all along). Serena craved for whatever warmth and protection she could get and Frederick became kind of a safe place for her. She essentially used Frederick as a distraction, a means of relaxation and someone to just vent. She never properly saw him as his own person or equal but as a means of escape from her struggles.

Meanwhile Frederick himself didn't exactly love Serena in a pure way. He loves her yes, but he's also obsessed with her. He feels the need to make her need him so he can stay by her side. He wants to be the only one seeing her weak and vulnerable, caging her and himself in this relationship. And the only way he knows she will be by his side is if she uses him. And the more Serena takes charge of things as head of Serenity and builds herself up, the more Frederick notices that she's slipping away from him so he desperately clings to the mission of protecting her from his employer. He even admits these himself:

Perhaps they did have something beautiful in the beginning but it slowly developed into a relationship that caged them both.

Now sit down because I'm gonna be talking about mommy and daddy (I unironcally call them that no I'm not joking) and this talk is going to be a loooong one *cracks knuckles*

Serena and Eiser were never the picture perfect couple, furthest thing from it and they were not planning on trying to change that anytime soon. They were toxic, they hurt each other and they didn't care about each other. To Eiser, Serena was just the girl he was supposed to marry to save Serenity and to Serena, Eiser was the man that took Serenity and might kill her in the future. None of them saw each other in a good light and none of them bothered to understand the other. Eiser was completely indifferent towards Serena and Serena just wanted to hurt him. Off to a great start because they were already at rock bottom so the only way to go is up!

The way their relationship developed was really natural and well paced. Everyone knows that the beauty of a good enemies to lover is the slowburn AND THE SLOWBURN WAS SLOWBURNING HERE LEMME TELL YOU! They first needed to see each other in a new lighting as equal business partners to go any further into their relationship or start trusting each other. They're both very calculative people and Eiser did see that, has always seen that, so he resulted to manipulating Serena into "competing" with him to give her the chance to properly work in the hotel. And Serena took the bait but never played right into the palm of his hand and always took charge of things her own way.

It was important for them to recognize each other's full capabilities, not just with the veil of "Grayan" or "Spoiled little princess". Most importantly it was essential for Serena to see that Eiser is in fact truly helping her family without any ulterior motives (that are harmful to her family at least) and never had any plans of taking over and eliminating her. And while Eiser was always aware of Serena's abilities and respected her as an individual, he always too disinterested in her to see how fully capable she is. One of the funniest things in my opinion was how Eiser was showering Serena with praises in his head 24/7 yet verbally he would break out in hives before complimenting her. (Istg the communication in this household died back in that carriage with Serena's family)

And that was the biggest wall that blocked them from going further with their relationship, so as soon as that was gone, well would you look at that, they can actually get along just fine and decently! And the romance just came along to them naturally.

Eiser was always drawn to Serena since he first saw her, he was always intrigued by her actions even if that left him puzzled. He always read people for his benefit, but Serena simply caught his eye every time by pure curiosity. He enjoys seeing her expressions and reactions and her journey to rising to her rightful place. Plus, Eiser always felt a kind of kinship with Serena. He saw the loss, betrayal and devastation in her and recognized it as the same as his own. The fight Serena put all these years to try and keep her place and protect what's hers is what he wished he had done all those years back and what someone had done for him when he was at his lowest. It was only after he truly got to know Serena that all these feelings started to subconsciously transform into something else, something even he isn't truly aware of.

Serena surprised me by being the first one to recognize(?), in a way, she had fallen but I'm not complaining, it was beautiful. Serena's main problem with Eiser was that she couldn't trust him, for very obvious reasons, that mans true thoughts are locked in a safe inside a safe inside another safe that happens to be inside a warehouse in Antarctica. I think the most important thing for Serena was to get to realize that Eiser was trying to truly help her family and the hotel. To me there were 3 major moments where Serena's feelings for Eiser changed: When they went to visit President Harol's mansion and he took the peaches and also defended her, when he said he'll build another hotel by the seaside during their date and when he told her he didn't hate her. All these moment helped Serena see that she had made a wrong assumption about Eiser and even though that wasn't enough to dispel all her suspicions towards him, rightfully so because Serena isn't an idiot, it made her trust him a bit more and be more comfortable around him.

Also their backstory, with Eiser being Serena's "prince" was so freaking cute. And the way she always looked for him when she went to those masquerade parties as a way of comfort, sobbing on the floor. If you go back and reread, you'll see that Serena has always been conscious of Eiser from the very start, albeit subconsciously. She always described him touching her like "The spot where he touched burned even after he had let go", or how she was conscious of being dressed "thinly" in front of Eiser but never in front of anyone else, not even Frederick. In my opinion, she had recognised Eiser as the masked prince at the time or knew subconsciously, but because of the animosity between him and her prejudice against him because he was a Grayan, she didn't want to admit it because that would admit that Eiser was anything but a simple marriage and business partner to her.

And now with the release of chapter 72, I am dreading the road in which their relationship is heading and how far back it may devolve. Like I don't blame Eiser because 1) he doesn't know about Serena's trauma 2) he saw red after seeing the way that man was hurting his wife I support the Grayan in him taking over at that moment. But unfortunately for Serena he just proved her greatest fear when it came to him, that he's still very much a Grayan no matter how much he despises them. Her reliving her childhood trauma and seeing Victor in Eiser could revert her to earlier Serena where she was always paranoid and scared of Eiser, but now with proof that he is in fact just as dangerous as she thought him to be. Worse thing is, she can't even go to Fredrick for comfort because she's suspicious of him too so she's truly alone (she has Sui but Sui was there before too and we saw the state in which Serena was in back than). This is a very complicated and simply put shit situation for them, it could possibly be one of their roughest patches in their entire relationship and it's going to take understanding from both Eiser and Serena to get over it and possibly, hopefully, truly trust each other after this. Please Ina-nim please I'm putting my trust in you!! (Ina-nim played us all like a cheep kazoo with chapter 72 like I could not have been more wrong and thank fuck for that! Never have I been so happy to be so incredibly wrong about something! War is over people cheered everyone cried tears of joy!!)

And lastly, thank you for coming to my ted talk, this entire post was just a way for me to vent all the thoughts this webtoon gave me and If you read it, good for you, I love you. As a reward have this collage of chibi mommy and daddy being silly goofy because my chosen career path requires me to have adobe illustrator and I never use it responsibly

[scottfreed]

Orion & Scott should be friends if not awkward step brothers. The forced antagonism is lame.

I had an argument with two people about the way I characterized Orion and Scott in a fic a while back, and I wanted to make a big post to compile my canon basis for writing them as somewhat distant brothers who respect and defend each other. I particularly had one fan continuously say Tom King's characterization is gospel and completely consistent, and I was an "abuse apologist" for writing them in a positive way. I wanted to pay particular attention to the question of succession since that's the main source of conflict for them in MM '17.

Orion and Scott have had numerous character interactions that have predominantly ranged from generally amicable to warm and familiar with key exceptions. (Rough recount incoming)

MM '74

Their first interaction Orion literally saves Scott's life so he and Barda can get married.

Dude is actually the one who called for the wedding in the first place. And he was playing the Bouncer. And look at him on Barda's side of the alter. He's totally the Maid of Honor:

Super Powers '86

(This was the first comic I ever read with both characters just to disclose my bias.)

Short but fun lesser known title! But there's some interesting world building happening. And Orion and Scott paling around in their co-rulers era:

They're buddies and its great. Also look and Orion's drip.

Look at this! The bois are co-ruling Apokolips for a brief stint. The exact opposite of Orion trying to "steal the throne form scott", He literally called him up to help him manage his own!

This is such a great expression of both their characters. Scott's survivors guilt for being able to escape the Hell of his upbringing and Orion's driving fear of ending up a tyrant like his father.

And look at this "interview":

We need to bring back authors doing make-believe interviews with fictional characters. Simply outstanding. The idea that in the face of nature and nurture they both gravitated to the light is honestly fascinating.

"(still hushed) Thank you, thank you, my friend..."

^^^ like... there are hurt/comfort fics that aren't as tender as this action adventure comic from 1986 😭😭😭

The New Gods Vol 3

But whoa what's this?

Bickering? I guess they do just inherently have an antagonistic relationship... except look what's actually being said.

Orion and Lightray aren't pissed because they think Orion is so great that he should be in charge of everything and Scott's in the way Ala Tom King. (It's because this writer didn't want to write for Scott in this title and the crappy answer for this is to make Scott an annoying "80s era pacifist" which is pretty shameful in the context of world-ending stakes tbh.)

But again, Orion's not miffed because he wants Scott gone. If anything, He want's Scott to be more involved in the fight against evil. He wants him to remember his roots. He wants him to be a part of New genesis. He want's him to take on more power and responsibility.

Plus, idk I'm projecting but it's almost giving: "hey the family misses you, please call/visit more" to me at least.

JLA/I ('90)

My heart is aching look at this! Called him his brother, gave a beautiful eulogy, joined the JLA in his memory. It's wild how the writing in this arc went wildly back and forth between quality and pure nonsense 😭

JLA ('98) - #24

This is how you do clunky exposition about who tf these characters even are showing up in this title all of a sudden.

Is it perfect? No.

But it's still a heart to heart desire to understand. Underline everyone's characters and central motivation. Boom. We're in and we're out. Back to the Justice League.

MM Vol 3 (1996)

Okay, so weirdly aggressive, right???

But, not quite, it was indicated that his reaction here was due to Darksied having just been resurrected and was influencing him.

But also take a closer look at what's being said! It wasn't a result of Orion being covetous of Scott's power or even wishing harm on him or anything.

Quite the opposite, in fact. He's telling him he needs to better protect his own life as future king, even if it means sacrificing others.

It's almost giving concern tbh.

Far be it from trying to kill Scott to steal NG from him, even in this ooc moment, he's chastising him to stay safe so he can come into his throne.

Jack Kirby's Fourth World (1997)

We get a fight and Scott gets over whelmed casue he's fucking around. Barda is lowkey laughing at him. But what does Orion do?

Dude Pops off. Pops off so hard everyone is concerned.

And then this happens:

Look! He struck Scott! Tom King is a genius! haters btfo.....

But wait. this was actually how it was revealed that Orion was possessed by DeSaad, because this was so wildly out of character for him!

Literally this action, that Orion-haters seem to think is like their mundane default character interaction, was so off-putting and out of character to all the other New Gods that they immediately knew something was very wrong. And it was. He was possessed!

lol gross...

But what about when he's back in his mind again? Well...

(idk who's serving more cunt in this tbh)

And here not for the last time we se Orion supporting the idea of Scott as the ruler of Apokolips.

Orion ('01)

(d...did scott do blackface in this cosplay??? lol)

This is the classic. We all know it. We all love it.

Look at Scott meddling in his life. You're fucking up pretty bad when the "god of freedom" has to step in to stop you.

Also the contrast between their actions when dealing with Sirius is better than any hackney fist fight or argument.

And how interesting is it that Scott's unwillingness to kill isn't treated as admirable and pure in contrast to Orion's evil-bad violence.

Nope. He was a kid. He wasn't strong enough yet to do what had to be done. And IIRC it was to do with what he'd just gone through with the emergence of the anti-life equation. But Orion was! And Orion was the one to finally put the poor soul out of him misery.

I like in particular the way they are portrayed as the "god of war" and the "god of freedom" and how the way this is explored isn't a black and white dichotomy. Scott recognizes Orion is absolutely needed to oppose Darkseid. And the way the two of them are working behind the scenes to protect and help each other repeatedly is so perfect.

And the way Orion decides not to kill Metron to protect scott not because it's wrong or whatever but because time travel could prevent anyone else from following the same bread crumbs and coming to the same conclusions is so funny.

But he was fully ready to kill Metron to save the weird little circus man.

But yeah I think its very telling that at the end of this character arc, Orion, in coming to terms with himself, must come to terms with Scott and their respective places in the world.

I just think it's cool that they each saved each other's life twice in this series. Scott prevented Orion form falling too far with his black racer gambit. And reminding him of his purpose. And Orion Saves Scott from the parademons and Metron.

I can only dream of the paradise we'd be living in if this characterization continued on into the future.

Cherish it. It's all down hill from here...

Death of the New Gods ('05)

Okay so this series isn't great, but at least it's consistent with how these two interreact with each other and kind of keeps to Simonson's continuity... kind of.

Orion aggressively defends Scott’s claim yet again. He looked like he was gonna deck Clark when he suggested Scott was not fit. I’m talking bolded, italicized and pt.18 font text when he first suggested it. "WHAT?" He "begrudgingly" admits Scott's not "currently" fit. But still declines that position for himself.

And the two of them discussing the fate of their people like this almost harkens back to '86 with the co-ruling.

This story is weird, with the worst interpretation of the Anti-Life Equation I've seen. And I'd argue both are ooc in general, but even in this slopy story there is no succession crisis. and they are working together:

(lol at his face here. The bois are trying to discuss their family business and clark is just standing there gobsmaked. rude tbh...)

And here is Orion saving his ass again for good measure:

I hit my picture limit, but Scott goes on to try to kill Orion and Clark later in this series.

Up to this point. Orion might have shoved Scott once or twice in weird circumstances but Scott was the only one who seemed to actually make an actual attempt on his life. Which is why the post reboot characterization is so freaking weird to me.

Tom Kings MM (2017)

(This is where it officially falls apart)

Cliché toxic masculinity abusive stepbrother who exists only to make Scott an even bigger victim. Steals the throne, is weirdly aggressive and abusive for no fucking reason. Tries to kill him in jealousy, etc, etc.

And unfortunately this has seemingly become Orion's standard characterization in the minds of most fans.

(Now, in those post-n52 reboot GL books (sorry tbh I don't feel like tracking them down rn) he's not AS bad as he was in the WW and Tom King MM, but he's still portrayed as being far less intelligent and articulate for some reason??? The idea that he's the dumb jock of the NG and not basically a warrior poet. It's better to go more himbo than violent monster I guess but it's still a far cry from his proper characterization.) I wonder if it had to do with his awful portrayal in that Wonder Woman run??? Idk.

... Jack Kirby didn't deserve this.

DCeased(?)

Ripping off Tom king directly. I'm not just saying that since I don't like the characterization. I'm saying this because they ripped this stupid fucking scene off beat-for-beat, Seriously, Tom King should sue this dude for plagiarism.

And like a game of telephone their characters keep getting mangled more and more. This is the writing equivalent of a bad photo copy of a bad photocopy.

I just gotta pray it stops here and we can get back to a normal dynamic for these two again. But this story's existence doesn't bode well.

MM (2021)

Orion and Shilo seem to be on good terms! He still doesn’t speak right but it’s still an improvement!

Buuuut, no relationship or character interaction with Scott and Barda's daughter at all??? Like that's the main antagonist (for some fucking reason) and they just say nothing to each other? ok sure why not at this point.

Like that's High Father's granddaughter!

Highfather is probably the cornerstone of Orion's identity. Even if you don't consider Scott and Orion to be brothers, she's still his family through HF.

Anyway, I just wanted to add at the end here that I find some of the fans (and writer's) continuous characterization of Scott as the loser wife guy and a massive victim all the time, and Orion the violent psycho, who is power-hungry and ambitious is lame and sucks.

And just to be a little biased. I think the dynamic from 50 years ago is better and more relevant to people today than the MM '17 version.

Think about it. There are more blended and mixed families than ever. Awkward and somewhat distant step-brother is so much more compelling and interesting than the chirst vs. anti-christ thing they keep doing.

“What Is It They’ve Sent Us?” “Hope.”

Barda '24

This book seems to be getting us back on track from what I've been able to see so far! I've been unable to get my hands on it yet but everything I've seen and heard about it is really exciting for me as a fan. I'm both excited and fearful to see what comes next!!!

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

How would you have handled the other miraculous holders?

I would have massively cut them down. The season two lineup was fantastic, though you could get away with two or three more. Eight really is about the max you can hit for a team before you start bloating the characters assuming that you're only dealing with one central group. If you're dealing with lots of side teams, then things get more complex.

There's a concept in writing called "Kill your darlings," which I'm only mentioning so that you have something to Google if you want to know more than what I'm about to tell you. The basic idea is this: to tell a good story, you need to be willing to cut things you like if they're detracting from your overall story.

As a personal example, I really like Juleka and Rose. I think they're cute and I like putting them together as a couple. But narratively speaking? They don't matter. You could cut them from the story and nothing would change because they're just casual friends to Marinette and Marinette really doesn't need more close friends for the stories I want to tell. Add in the fact that Purple Tigress and Pigella have awkward power sets that aren't all that interesting and, yeah, my love for these two does not override the fact that they have no place in the stories I want to tell. So I find ways to mention Juleka and Rose from time to time and I use them in a scene when I can, but most of the time? They're not in my stories because the goal of my stories is usually love square shenanigans and not showing off a cute healthy sapphic couple.

Similarly, the goal of Miraculous is the tales of Ladynette and Chatdrien, so the focus needs to be on them and these extra characters are really not needed. A fact that's super clear because of how underdeveloped the side heroes are. Most of them get a single recruitment episode and that's it. There's no build up to establish them as solid heroes, leading to them eventually being chosen. It's all shoehorned into 20 minutes and then largely ignored after that. I mean, Nino has been Carapace since season 2 and he's in a mere handful of episodes, none of which are all important character moments outside of his initial debut. The only temp heroes with anything interesting going on are Viperion, Queen Bee, and Rena Rouge/Furtive.

If I HAD to include the other holders? Then I would have massively cut back the love square content and come up with ways to power up the butterfly so that the extra heroes felt necessary. I might have even brought in additional forces of evil to battle. I also would have given the various team member clearer roles and given them their miraculous full time because you really do need to make massive changes for the team setup to work.

Team shows are wildly different from dynamic duo setups. Compare Kim Possible to Teen Titans and think about how different the focus is. Kim Possible has two very clear main characters while the supporting cast takes back seats. Teen Titans doesn't have a clear main character. All five Titans are given a chance to shine as the main character shifts from episode to episode and even season to season with each Titan getting a chance to be the center of an ongoing plot. If you want to have a team while keeping Chat Noir and Ladybug at the center of the story, then you need to build that team around them which you really can't do if you have a massive team of 18. A smaller team, though? You can make that work. For example, I still think Chloe's recruitment should have been a chance to give Adrien a character arc around boundaries and trust because it's really hard to jump into parent/child conflicts. Starting with a best friend one with the same vibe is a much easier path.

[skarloeyspa]

it's finally here! RWS-inspired uniforms for my SR main six! Also wanna thank @/glowynviator for the inspiration! Go check out their designs they're super lovely!!!!!

Design notes below as always!

1864 - 1910s

Taking heavy inspiration from the dude in the blue hat and purple/pink vest in all these illustrations

Their uniforms are fancier based on the initial reason for Skarloey and Rheneas' purchase - developing Skarloey as a tourist attraction, namely a spa (wonder where I've heard that before...)

1910s - 1960s

(goofy dudes in the first pic lmao)

So the tourism thing didn't last very long and the railway became more reliant on its original venture, which was its quarries

This was also the time when the railway's main income came from its quarries

Their uniforms became more quarry-appropriate. But since they still had the occasional passenger train, they still had finer clothing like a blazer and tie and hat

The gloves are cotton! Intended for outdoor work!

The pictures featured are Welsh slate workers and I have no idea where the overalls idea came from

1960s - Present

Revenue began increasing during this era with the newfound slate and Book of Sir Harald, which brought in more passenger traffic

With more passenger traffic the railway reintroduced more formal uniforms for their engines

I had a lot of fun doing Skarloey and Rheneas because this was basically the whole reason I took on these designs hehe

So obviously the colors! Bright red livery and blue lining! It wouldn't look too nice if I just made everything bright blood red so!

Buttons are buffers! Their painted names are golden embroidery! Ties are their TVS liveries (because I said so!)

Speaking of TVS, Sir Handel, Rusty, and Duncan are wearing their TVS boots! Having regained their footing, the SR introduced a more formal uniform but they still had some freedom in their uniform (as demonstrated by Duncan)

Sir Handel's blazer is a bit long...not because he's short or anything!

Peter Sam wears a knitted vest instead of the waistcoat that everyone else has because...it just suits him...Duncan isn't even wearing a vest so there you go!

Everyone's number is a badge on their hat. Since Rusty's hat is more functional than decoration, they wear their number as a little badge on their lapel! Their name is still embroidered tho :)

I promise the railway can afford whatever nice shirt Rusty is wearing BECAUSE I SAID SO I WILL IT TO BE I'M THE RAILWAY MASCOT I AM (miscellaneous rodent scritching)

Engines with longer hair are required to tie them up for tidiness! Big L for Sir Handel as always.

Skarloey is wearing a ring! Because of the brass ring on his funnel!! I will make you aware of this detail!!!

And that's it I think! Thank you as always for reading to the very end :] It means a lot to me that people find my designs interesting enough to want to read my rambles on them lmao

Anyway!! Since you're here...I'll tease a bit about my planned projects! I want to share some refs for other standard gauge characters I've designed! I also have some ideas for an animatic or two similar to the one I made for Ryan last year :]

[creampuffqueen]

Let’s see the college au!!! :3c

okay so for starters check out this post by comradekatara for the basics/inspiration. gotta give credit for the main inspo!!

this au is where the female avatars are roommates in college and just like. hang out and have shenanigans and whatever lol. their love interests are also included as 'main' characters

so for everyone's majors and sports and stuff:

korra: kinesiology major. she plays several intramural sports (for those who don't know, it's like a club team for colleges) such as soccer, wrestling, and various martial arts

kyoshi: literature major. attends the school on a basketball scholarship

yangchen: international relations major, ends up minoring in philosophy, psychology, and political science. she plays for the school's volleyball and track teams

asami: mechanical engineering, also part of a sorority

rangi: pre-law, aiming to specialize in criminal justice. part of the school's ROTC, army branch. plays intramural soccer

kavik: pre-med, aiming to specialize in emergency medicine. attends the school on a national merit scholarship he got for his math skills

and yeah the other avatars are also here as well (don't think too hard about the timeline or you'll go crazy) but the girls are my favs so here we are

some other random things about the au:

korra was homeschooled for her entire life. so when she goes to college she has ZERO social skills or street smarts

korra's freshman roommate was opal beifong. they met online and decided to room together. they're great friends, but since they were both super sheltered they don't know how to do anything. they dyed all their clothes pink the first time they did laundry and almost burned down the dorm kitchens like three times attempting to cook

this college (it's not any specific college that i picked out it's just like some random made up school. i do feel very strongly that it's in new england tho) was not korra's first choice. originally she was scouted to swim for a big important school. but at the beginning of her senior year of high school she got into an accident that left her paralyzed for six months and in rehab for another six. the school dropped her offer and she was forced to reconsider her options

she ended up going to this random college because tenzin, a long time family friend, is a professor here

kyoshi was in the foster system most of her life, but ended up being adopted by her foster dad, kelsang, when she was 14. they aren't very wealthy so the only way kyoshi is able to attend school is because of her basketball scholarship, even though she doesn't care about basketball that much

kyoshi's freshman year roommate was randomly assigned, and she roomed with kirima. they didn't get along at first due to very differing lifestyles but eventually kirima helped her loosen up a bit and they became good friends

how everyone met: korra and rangi play on the intramural soccer team together. rangi and kyoshi were already dating when they went to college, so kyoshi met korra through her. basketball practice is right after volleyball practice. perfectionist yangchen always stays after to rep things on her own, and chronically early kyoshi is always like twenty minutes early to every practice. they keep running into each other and eventually start chatting, and become fast friends. kyoshi brings rangi and korra with her to cheer yangchen on at a volleyball game, and after the game the four go out to eat where, once again, they become fast friends

when the time comes to find housing for their sophomore year, the three girls decide to get an apartment together, and they live together for the next three years

korra meets bolin on the wrestling team, and then meets mako through him. mako and asami are already dating. korra judges asami as 'just a typical sorority girl' but quickly realizes she was wrong. there is some love triangle drama with those three but it wraps up wayyyy quicker in this au. korra and asami start dating in the spring of their freshman year

funny enough, korra actually meets kavik before anyone else. kavik is on the wrestling team for a little while, but drops it after winter break. kavik and yangchen meet totally separately, and when yangchen introduces him to her friends korra and kavik share a laugh because they've already met before

yangchen and kavik don't start dating until their sophomore year. but it takes like a whole six months for anyone to figure it out because 1) they didn't make any kind of announcement about it and 2) they don't really act that different anyway. so there's a very funny moment where kyoshi and korra come home to find them making out on the couch and are like 'hello???? when did this start??' and yangvik are like 'what do you mean when did this start we've been dating for six months 😭'

naga is korra's great pyrenees and yangchen has two siamese cats, pik and pak. kelsang has a surprisingly sweet tibetan mastiff called pengpeng that kyoshi dogsits sometimes

basically the vibe of this au is 'five of the hottest women you've ever seen - and this one guy that they drag around everywhere'

yangchen, korra, and rangi like to play sand volleyball together at the rec center. yangchen always wins but the other two don't make it easy for her

even though their partners are over so often they basically live there, the three girls have a 'residents only' night once a week where they all hang out together and gossip

the flying opera company is a band that does small gigs on campus/around town. kyoshi does backup vocals for them

yangchen is still pushing herself to insane levels At All Time in this au. girl is playing two sports, triple minoring, and is a member of like half the clubs on campus (she joins any club with volunteering opportunities). one semester korra and kyoshi start 'yangchen's redbull wall' which is exactly what it sounds like. not that they're any better lmao

the other avatars are also here in this au. kuruk is part of a frat but should be on like. suicide watch or something. bro is Going Through It. but he's actually like best friends with all the girls in the apartment. idk what roku is doing. aang is a philosophy major, he and yangchen are study buddies for philosophy classes. and uh. idk about wan either lmao

anyway that's some of the basics + random fun facts! i have lots more but writing this out has made me realize i probably need like a timeline or something haha. feel free to send more asks about this au!