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radioactiverats · 4 months ago

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Mentor Starscream x seeker!reader (5/?)

Inspired by @xarology amazing art - just my own wild thoughts on nose scar because HALAS;DFJL;AFJD

Thank you @jackalackqwq and @swiftyangx12 for lovely art and always following my random thoughts with comments ily guys <3 Literally bringing this story to life with the amazing visualisations! And ty everyone for the reblogs, likes and comments they keep me going!!

Nose scar: You crash due to someone's incompetence and totally crack your faceplate open. Cue Starscream screeching

The war had totally upended your previous way of life, but one thing that remained constant through it all was the nonstop training. That was fine with you for the most part, as it provided a mote of familiarity amidst all the uncertainty. But aside from improving your ability in the air, there was another practical reason for it.

Group attacks.

Common, of course, but there was an issue.

Back in the academy, group maneuvers were only introduced towards the end of the program. Not only did seekers need competence in solo flight, but friendship, for the lack of a better word, was a significant contributory factor to success. As it turned out, closeness was most important in determining the harmony of a group flight, so you were ordinarily given a few years to form bonds with one another before actually being allowed anywhere near group maneuvers.

However, the war affords you no such luxury, and you find yourself lumped in with bots you've never met before in preparation to attempt a group drill. As usual, Starscream had been in command with a few other lieutenants to provide air support, but as soon as the session started, he'd been abruptly called away to attend to matters on the bridge.

Scores collected from individual drills means that you've been assigned the lead, and you stiffen as soon as you hear this. Part of you swells with pride to see proof of your hard work - even though you're contented yourself with being a follower, you've always wanted to be like Starscream. Having your capabilities acknowledged to be of leadership quality pleased you immensely, but at the same time... Starscream would never have risked your helm by putting you in such a high-profile position. However, a lieutenant seeker was now temporarily in charge, and had no such qualms about putting you straight in the firing line. He’d glanced at the score when was your turn and promptly waved you to the front.

“But-”

“You telling me that someone with your abilities should be wasted in the back?”

You promptly shut your intake.

You glance at the two other bots you're with - older than you, and probably more experienced, too. But they hadn't said anything when you timidly stepped to the front of the formation. You hope they're not the sort to take offense.

Lifting off without issue, it’s smooth sailing for the most part. The extent of your communications remained blessedly limited to curt reports on flight conditions as you soared straight ahead, and you're hopeful for an equally peaceful descent before you go your separate ways.

Unfortunately, no such luck.

Just as you think you’ll be able to make it safely back, your sensors pick up on a strange wind pattern up ahead. The collision point of a Ferrell cell and a Hadley cell - this planet had its own unique system of atmospheric circulation, which led to the collision of strong, opposing winds at certain latitudes. Starscream had taught you how to recognise them before, with an ominous warning that flying into them could disable even the most experienced of seekers.

You activate your comms. "In eight hundred metres, bank right.”

There’s a momentary silence before your comms crackle back online. “What did you say?”

“There’s really strong winds up ahead. We can’t just fly through it,” You say. You’re getting a bad feeling about this. Now would be a horrible time for your partners to misunderstand your urgent instructions as a show of power, rather than an increasingly frantic attempt to save your sparks.

“Strong winds, my aft,” The other jet’s derisive laughter crackles mockingly through your comms. “My sensors didn’t detect anything. Maybe you’re just a weakling.”

“No! Just look!”

The worst thing was that this formation required you to fly together at incredibly close quarters - meaning that you weren’t able to stop, because the others would crash right into your wings.

Five hundred meters.

“Come on, don’t you guys want to impress the lieutenant?”

“He’s a fragging slaghead,” Was the immediate response you got.

Just as you truly begin to panic - “Wait,” The other jet suddenly says. “I think they’re right.” As you fly closer, the clouds almost seem to be distorting before your optics, warped by fierce columns of wind.

“A likely story,” The first one snorts. “How long have you been flying? Longer than our squad leader -" his voice takes on a derisive tone - “has been alive.”

“Two hundred meters,” You warn.

A tense silence falls over your comms.

“I’m following what they said,” Crackles decisively through. “You’ll have to send me to the scrapheap before I fly through that just to make a point.”

“Frag you,” Growls the other voice, outraged static marring his words.

One hundred meters.

“Come on,” You say again, frantic, on the cusp of pleading.

The other jet says nothing, but you can feel the spike of his EM field when the column of wind begins to make itself known against the plates of your altmodes.

Fifty meters. Surely he wouldn’t be that stubborn. It was hard enough to stay alive in a war - would a mech really risk his spark over something as inconsequential as this?

You decide to take a gamble. If he banks with you at the last minute, no harm, no foul. If he doesn’t…

Surely, surely he would.

Twenty meters.

Ten.

The screaming of engines overtakes your audials as you and the jet to your left swerve sharply to the right - and your optics widen in fear as you realize what the defiant jet to your right has decided to do.

He’d wisely decided not to challenge the whipping column of wind, but in order to defy you, he’d decided to maneuver upwards instead. You’ve been told that losing position is one of the worst things that can happen, and you’re about to find out precisely why that is. The jet’s altmode clips your wing. Being of a heftier build, he wobbles in the air before managing to right himself. However, you are not so lucky. The momentum of your turn sends you careening straight for the wind column. Burning pain radiating outwards from the dent in your wing, you find yourself buffeted by the winds and unable to regain control of your spiralling frame.

You hurtle through cloud layer after cloud layer in a wild tailspin, mist obscuring your vision as you’re tossed around like a ragdoll by the roaring winds. Next to the Terrans, you may be a giant. But at the mercy of the natural world, you may as well be an ant. Through the panic that fizzles your processor, you suddenly latch onto something Starscream had drilled into your processor before.

You were done for the day - you’d done everything exactly as he instructed and by all standards, the session should have ended on a high. But as Starscream had quietly turns round, ready to return to base, an oddly somber mood had settled over you both. It took only two steps before he was glancing back at you, seemingly torn over whether or not to share what was bothering him.

“Sir?”

“…If you ever find yourself without control over your frame in the air, and nothing you do is working,” Starscream says, “transform into bot mode. Less resistance on the wings.” His voice has an edge to it, but you can’t quite discern what the emotion tingeing his words is. “Understand?”

“…Yes?” To you, this felt completely out of the blue - advice, while you were certain of its value, had nothing to do with the maneuvers you practiced today.

Starscream pivots to face you head on, optics feverishly bright. “Repeat it.”

Your confusion lasts for a few nanokliks too long for his liking, because he bares his denta in a frustrated snarl. “Are your audials working? Repeat what I just said!”

“Uh,” You fumble, trying to gather your thoughts. “If I don’t have control over my frame in the air, I should transform into bot mode?”

“Because there’s less resistance on the wings,” Starscream repeats. He sniffs, even if his plating isn’t drawn so tight now that he knows you’ve listened to what he said. “I hope I don’t have to spell out the necessity of transforming back into your altmode as soon as you regain control of the situation.”

“No, sir.”

“Good.”

The mood when you walk back to base is considerably lighter, but what prompted that sudden piece of emergency spark-saving advice had always been a mystery to you.

Well, now in the air and reduced to a chew toy flung around by the screaming forces of nature, it clicks into place. With all your strength, you activate transformation protocols, and feel the acute resistance against your plates and gears even as you transform. The sudden shift in mass and surface area throws you off-kilter for a nanoklik, but it’s in your favour. You’re abruptly thrown from the column of wind and into open air before your frame continues its downward plummet, gathering speed as the lush colours of the Terran earth once more bleed into your vision.

The Earth is green, you realise. Oh so green. Blurs of Decepticon paint zip into view. You send a silent apology to Starscream, already having calculated your odds. You’re sorry for not obeying his orders well enough. You’re sorry for being an embarrassment. You’re sorry for making him worry.

You grit your denta and focus the last ounce of strength you have into transforming into your alt mode, thrusters screaming as you try to pull up - however, you simply don’t have enough airspace to pull it off successfully. It’s enough to save your spark, you think, as you make agonising contact with the unforgiving earth. You just don’t know how permanent the damage will be.

For a nanoklik, your sensors are so overwhelmed with sensation that the pain doesn’t kick in right away. Everything happens at once - a billion warnings leap up on your HUD, the agony flares across the entirety of your plating, arcing through your wires like electricity. Through the ringing in your audials, you hear shouts approaching - echoing, warping through your rattled processor. Vaguely, you could make out the lieutenant, your partners - and… was that… Starscream…?

Scrap.

Half of you didn’t want him to see you like this. The other half of you wept and screamed for him to comfort you.

It seemed you had no choice, though. When you tried to move, or at least transform back into bot mode, you realised that you were as good as frozen - systems locked as your frame desperately tried to minimise further damage.

“CADET!”

You only manage a horrific crackle of static in response. But through the pain, you can still feel Starscream’s warm servo on the nose of your altmode. You focus with everything you have on that source of warmth, of kindness. “Listen to me,” Starscream says, next to your shattered cockpit. He’s forcing himself to sound calm, neutral - but the underlying tension in his voice threatens to bleed through, stringing his words tight. “I know it’ll use up the rest of your reserves, but you need to transform now so I can take you to med bay.”

You want to obey, but you’re so tired, the fuzziness of pain and exhaustion weighing your frame down. You try to tell your commander this, through another slurred buzz of static and frag, that hurt. Didn’t even know you could hurt there.

Distantly, you feel the panicked fluctuations of Starscream's EM field. “For the love of Primus, TRANSFORM!” Starscream roars, panic rearing its head as he abandons all pretence of neutrality. They can’t fix you like this. Maybe on Vos, once upon a time. But Knockout, for all that he can do, is not a seeker - and there are limits to what can be done with the seeker altmode without specialised knowledge. Besides, you wouldn’t fit into his med bay, and all of these become urgent problems when Starscream can feel your EM field growing fainter by the nanoklik.

Blearily, you register the frantic spikes of his EM field against your plating. Was he upset? You didn’t want Starscream to be upset. You could fix it. What was that he was yelling at you to do?

Transforming hurts. Every inch of your frame screams as loose screws and fractured plates twist and warp themselves into bot mode. Two warm servos clamp down on either side of your helm, and Starscream’s panicked expression swims into view. “Good,” He murmurs, and you hear his vocaliser reset as he forces the tremor from his voice. “Now, was that so hard?”

No, you want to say, because it was you who asked it of me. But all that comes out is another garbled mess of incoherent static and this time, you’re more aware that there’s something wrong with your intake, beyond your vocaliser. Without thinking, you shakily raise a servo to touch, to find out exactly what’s wrong. But Starscream sees your servo move and promptly scolds you back into submission, even if his frantic worry steals the bite from his words. Slowly, you take in the warnings on your HUD and realise it’s way more than just your intake. Another wave of pain sweeps through your misfiring sensors, cracking through your helm and splintering across your faceplate. Oh, scrap. Was Starscream… holding you together? That would explain the look on his faceplate.

There’s so many things you want to tell him, but only manage to place your bloodied servo over his - a firework show of popups on your HUD are all the warning you get before you’re out like a light. It's a shame that the all warnings have to obscure Starscream's faceplate before that.

---

The screech of a welder is what you awaken to. Knockout abruptly switches it off as soon as he notices you're awake - you can't help but think that it's uncharacteristically gentle of him, but you're thankful enough not to question it.

"Nasty tumble you took there," He remarks, as you groan. The pain has lessened, but your frame feels like lead and the warnings on your HUD are relentless despite your continuous attempts to close them.

Knockout regards you for a nanoklik more before shaking his helm, tutting disapprovingly. "Such a nice paintjob, too. Now hold still, I'm nearly done."

Gritting your denta as the welder screams to life again, you wish you had just stayed unconscious because by Solus, getting soldered back into one piece fragging hurt. You note with surprise and pleasure, however, that you've regained your sensory systems in your faceplate. Gently touching a servo to your cheek, you gratefully realise Knockout has chosen to work in order of most to least pain - as he'd knocked out (you bite your glossa to keep the inappropriate laughter back) the most painful aspects of your repair while you were still unconscious. The crack across your faceplate from chin to optic has been welded and buffed to perfection, save for... you frown as your fingers find a sizeable dent in your nose. Knowing Knockout's perfectionist streak, you wonder why something so obvious would have been left out, but hesitate to ask since he's already done such a good job on the rest of your frame and you feel guilty asking for more. However, you fail to quell the disquieting sense of unease that bubbles up in your chassis, which tells you that Knockout wouldn't have left your nose out without a very good reason.

You're panting by the time he finishes, plates drawn tight against your frame as you work through the residual pain. The dull grey of your metal shines through in patches, having ungracefully smeared the Terran grass with your paint - but your once-fractured plates are perfectly smooth and polished thanks to Knockout's handiwork.

It's relatively smooth sailing up until that point, because the final part of your frame requiring repair is your wings. Tender, not to mention the pain that arcs through your leading edges, spoilers, ailerons whenever you move... Primus. You decide not to think too hard about it. You have no idea how Starscream managed to stay still under your trembling servos that time you had to patch him up - every touch of the welder to your wings has you seizing in pain, writhing under Knockout's servos no matter how he tries to soothe you. Finally, he clicks the welder offline, with your wings still largely in disrepair.

Your ragged in-vents are all that fill the med bay. "Primus," Knockout mutters. "This isn't working."

For some reason, you get the feeling that his disgusted snarls of frustration aren't directed at you.

You watch quietly as he paces the length of his med bay, before finally whirling around to face you. "No matter what you're about to say, kid, I'm paging Starscream," He informs you. "Primus knows how many times he's had his wings repaired."

Knockout tilts his helm towards the ceiling, optics shuttered and his intake set in a grim line. "After all that effort to keep him out of my med bay, too."

The mental image of Starscream attempting to force his way into med bay just to make sure you're alright is almost too mind-boggling to entertain. Still, now is not the time. Your wings droop as Knockout sends the message out, angry at yourself for causing so much trouble. The pain that radiates from your wing joints at such a movement is deserved, you tell yourself. Is this how you repay Starscream for all that he's done for you? However, your downward spiral is promptly cut short by aggressive hammering at the door of med bay - Knockout emits a long-suffering sigh before going to open it. Starscream all but hurtles into the room, but you'd sensed his EM field even before that - spiking in waves as he attempts to suppress the panic before it gets the better of him.

"Well?" He demands, having taken in your prone form, patches of paint missing and the bridge of your nose chipped.

"Calm yourself," Knockout sniffs. "This is some of my best work to date."

"Best?" Starscream hisses. "Look at their nose! What do you call that?"

"Ah." Knockout looks oddly solemn at that. "One of the reasons I called you here. Filling in a part of one's anatomy requires high quality metal - and as you know, our glorious leader has deemed it un-utilitarian to allow soldiers access to such materials."

"Then put it under my designation," Starscream snarls, but Knockout shakes his helm, almost looking regretful.

"Even if you could, we're simply too short on materials to conduct such an operation. Abundant on Cybertron, sure. On the Terrans' planet, however? In a word: lacking."

By now, you're sure the anger pulsing off Starscream's EM field could power a small spaceship. Unfortunately, Knockout isn't done yet.

"The more pressing matter, however," he continues, "is the repair of their wings. I'm sure you understand."

At that, Starscream freezes. His optics zero in on you with intense precision and in the next nanoklik he's striding over to you, no-nonsense. "Show me."

You shuffle your frame upright, baring your wings to him. Judging by Starscream's sharp in-vent, it's not looking good. A few tense nanokliks pass, and you swivel back round to see Starscream nod curtly at Knockout. "I'll take it from here."

Turning back to you, he jerks his helm in the direction of the door. "Come on."

Before you can protest, Starscream loops a servo round your waist to support you, mindful of your wings. You strain to stay upright in front of the wandering eyes of other Decepticons, thankful that Starscream is more or less holding you up. You won't disgrace him any further. You won't - but finally, in the privacy of Starscream's habsuite, you can't hold back the ragged gasp of pain as the door slides shut behind you.

"On the berth, wings up," Starscream says shortly. He's already dug the welder out. But in spite of your best efforts, you can't stop trembling, already anticipating the pain.

However, instead of the unforgiving heat of the welder, Starscream's warm servo lands comfortingly on an unblemished area of your wings. "Brave," he murmurs, in Vosian, and it nearly makes coolant spring to your optics all over again.

There's a few instances in which you thrash so hard under the welder that Starscream has to hold you down, but you understand why Knockout decided to call Starscream in for wing repairs. Starscream murmuring to you in Vosian takes the raw edge of pain off, gently stroking the broad sections of your wings in between welds.

You're exhausted by the time he's finished, tremors jolting your frame even as the pain subsides. "All done," Starscream says, even if his vocaliser clips out for a nanoklik. "Now, was that so hard?"

Another garbled mess of static is all you can manage, but you determinedly extend your EM field to brush against his. Starscream stiffens before ex-venting deeply and allowing your fields to merge. "Recharge," He commands gently, tucking your frame against his, mindful of fresh welds. Exhaustion sweeping over you like a tidal wave, you're distantly aware of Starscream lightly stroking a thumb over the jagged scar on your nose. "'m sorry," You mumble into his chassis. "Hush," Starscream scolds. "What are you even sorry for?"

"Didn't do your lessons justice," You slur. "'m a waste of time." Starscream's arms tighten around you at that.

"Don't you dare call yourself a waste of time," He growls. "It's not your fault that some slagheads can't deal with their own incompetence. You're under my watch. That's all you, and the others, need to know."

"Mm," You mutter, burrowing closer to his warmth. "Yesssir."

Starscream ex-vents, but it's fond. He gently strokes his servo over your wings, soothing you enough to fall into recharge.

"Patience," He murmurs, more to himself than to you. "One day, they'll pay for what they've done."

Previous / Next

Edit: Now with more art!!!!!

#transformers #maccadam #starscream x reader #transformers x reader #starscream #Cadet AU

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ninupi · 6 months ago

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Hello I have a request! Could you write a scenario where either Kakucho or Draken (you can write for both or do one or the other I don't mind) have a crush on reader(they're friends though but they haven't confessed) however there's someone else who also likes reader and asks them to help them get together with reader🥸How would they react? And what would they do? I hope that makes sense 😅

Thank you 😊

Jealous | k. draken & kakucho (separately)

₊˚⊹♡ tags; fem!reader, both of these are in a good timeline where everyone look gets along, mention of reader looking up at draken, everyone lowk making fun of sanzu in drakens lol, ran being canonically blind but refusing to wear glasses is so funny to me LMFAOO, kakucho being a liar boy

₊˚⊹♡ wc; 830 (draken) 331 (kakucho)

₊˚⊹♡ a/n; ahh im so happy I finally found time to write this, I literally couldn't stop thinking about it when I first saw it lol

k. draken

Draken was intensely watching the TV from the couch while Mikey and Mitsuya were competing in mortal combat on the TV. Most of the guys were over at Mikey's house right now taking turns playing the new game.

"I'm going to kick your ass Mitsuya..." Mikey warned after receiving a combo almost ending his character's life "You said that the last two rounds, maybe you should focus on fighting!" Mitsuya laughed nudging Mikey with his elbow trying to distract him.

"You seriously suck at this Mikey!" Smiley laughs angering the blonde even more "Next round, you and me asshole!" Mikey yells pointing at Smiley after Mitsuya's character brutally rips Mikey's apart. "Ok let's go, this is gonna be a piece of cake" he smiles while switching places with mitsuya to sit on the floor.

While the two of them argued about who they wanted to play Draken heard the front door open "I'm home! And I brought y/n so don't be weird!" Draken perked up once he heard Emma mention your name, you two had become friends earlier this year at school and Emma's been bringing you around a lot more.

"Ok, so no one cares that I'm home?" Emma asks walking into the living room while y/n is behind her "No, not really" Mikey answers locking his character in "Oh screw you Mikey, I hope you lose!" she yells throwing a couch pillow at the back of his head.

"Hi y/n! How are you?" Draken can't help the way his face contorts in disgust at Sanzu's tone of voice "Hi Haru, I'm fine. Are you playing too?" Haru? Draken didn't know that the two of you were so close "Yeah, I played against Baji earlier and won" he bragged causing Baji to yell at him.

"Are you not going to say hi to me Draken?" you question softly kicking his leg, he can feel the back of his neck getwarm. "Hey" He knows he probably seems like an asshole he just gets so nervous every time he talks to you. But when he sees you smile at him he knows you don't mind his cold demeanor.

"Come on y/n, let's go!" Emma grumbles grabbing your hand and leading you toward her room "Bye y/n!" Sanzu calls out waving to you "Bye Haru! Bye Draken!" you smile waving at the two of them. Draken gives Sanzu a certain look when he hears Baji speak up.

"You're so embarrassing man..." he sighs and Draken looks at Baji who's nodding towards Sanzu "Huh? What do you mean?" Sanzu questions offended "When are you going to tell her you like her? I'm sure she knows but it's best to get rejected now" Smiley laughs starting up his round with Mikey.

"What are you guys talking about? I don't like y/n..." Draken turns to give Sanzu giving him an unimpressed look while everyone else turns to look at him including Smiley who paused the game to do so, much to Mikey's dismay. "NO!" he screamed out at the paused screen displaying how he was about to hit a combo on Smiley's character.

"Do you think we're dumb?" Mitsuya genuinely questions fully turning to face Sanzu "Hi y/n! I love you y/n! Can I lick your shoes y/n!" smiley mocks Sanzu causing the guys to all laugh except Sanzu who starts protesting in embarrassment "I don't sound like that, and be quiet what if she hears you!" he hisses looking in the direction of Emma's room where the two of you were.

"Her room is on the other side of the house, they can't hear anything" Mikey explains while fidgeting with the controller in his hands "Whatever man just ask her out already she might say yes, who knows" Smiley shrugs turning back to the tvand unpausing the game.

"Can you help me ask her out?" Draken can't even hide the way his face contorts in disgust before facing Sanzu "What?" he asks even though he heard him the first time "Can you help me ask y/n out?" Sanzu asks again a bit more harshly this time "No, do it yourself" Draken snaps feeling a bit annoyed about Sanzu's presence now.

He feels Sanzu slump into the couch next to him when he gets up saying he needs a drink when the others ask him where he's going "Get me a soda!" Mikey calls out before losing to Smiley, again. When Draken walks into the kitchen he sees you sitting there almost like you were waiting for him.

"Hey..." he mutters walking to the fridge "I heard you guys," you say without much emotion "Oh" Draken just continues to stare at the inside of the fridge not really caring about a drink anymore "I don't really like Haru like that you know..." you sigh leaning against the counter next to the fridge.

Draken can feel a weight lift off of his shoulders "Oh really?" he questions standing up a bit straighter while closing the fridge, without grabbing a drink. "Yeah I kinda like someone else...someone a bit taller." you smile looking up at him. "That's nice to know" he smiles giving you his full attention now.

kakucho

Kakucho really liked ran haitani, but right now he really wanted to punch his teeth in. "I'm real sorry about that sweetheart, are you alright?" Kakucho watched ran held your arm softly with a clenched jaw as he approached the two of you "Yeah I'm fine, don't worry about it" you smiled up at him.

"Hey, what happened?" Kakucho questioned walking up behind you softly pulling you out of rans hold. "Oh nothing, we just bumped into each other" you explain with a soft laugh while ran moved a bit closer to Kakucho squinting at him.

"You should wear your glasses, then you'd see where you're going" Kakucho muttered pushing Ran's face away roughly "Come on my eyesight ain't that bad" he laughed standing straight realizing it was Kakucho who joined the conversation.

"It actually really is, you need glasses" Kakucho sighs wondering how Ran's gotten this far in life being so blind "Oh yeah you should probably get glasses if it's that bad! But I have to go, I'll see you later kakucho?" you question looking at him with hopeful eyes.

"Yeah, I'll come pick you up" he smiles nudging you with his elbow "Ok great, I'll see you later, bye guys!" you call out, running towards your class "You gotta set me up with her Kakucho" ran immediately says once you're out of earshot, nudging him with his elbow.

"Yeah, not happening man," Kakucho says walking away from the taller boy "What? Why not? C'mon, help me out man" Ran sighed throwing an arm over the younger boy's shoulder "I'm not gonna help you ask out my girlfriend."

Kakucho is forced to stop when ran stops walking looking at him slightly shocked "Oh man I'm sorry, I didn't know you two were dating…that's my bad" Kakucho refused to look at ran knowing he was lying straight to his face. Ran didn't need to know that right now though, "It's fine, but yeah I'm not setting you up with her."

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inchidentally · 1 year ago

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can't believe we live in an economy where I'm backlogged with landoscar content to do my stupid reactions to but gonna enjoy it !!

ok the fact that Lando is given the camera and film automatically makes sense but the way he chews his lip and his eyes dart nervously between the film and the camera itself bc he's choosing which is his and which is Oscar's ??? and his little division of responsibilities makes sense where Oscar takes primary control of the actual (breakable) machinery and Lando tears into the (not as breakable) film BUT Oscar makes sure to let Lando lead rather than help him out bc photography is Lando's Thing and he knows Lando will want to be in charge this time

the way Lando gets SO close into Oscar's space and they're both so comfortable, their stupid little heads tilted together as if their problem-solving ability is heightened by proximity of their little brains. and then when they close the camera up and both their little hands work together

and Lando's feet just sort of slot right in around Oscar's ??

bc one of the first signs of them getting friendlier and closer last season was them easing into each other's space. casual touching is still iffy! they're not "bros" or brotherly in the way Lando is with other driver friends or how Oscar was with the F2 and F3 boys. they maysn't perhaps ever be broey enough with each other to bosh each other around or friendly punching or gay chicken. but The Fondness has progressed to comfortably invading each other's space <3<3 similar to how they watch each other closely while they talk and Oscar starts his predictive text thing for Lando.

Lando "teaching" Oscar about the camera while speaking over Henrik (who actually knows how to use it) bc Lando wanting to be competent but failing while being adorable is His Thing With Oscar - just like Oscar being competent/a very quick learner but always helping Lando's brain to fill in gaps and figure out solutions is His Thing With Lando. they're both genuinely equally competent albeit they go about things in completely different ways, but Lando would rather be loved than thought clever and Oscar would rather have Lando nearby than crow too loud about being a step ahead.

Oscar's high helpless giggle !!!

the way this illustrates the height difference as Oscar's grown and Lando looks soooo teensy tiny

the difference between being in front of the camera where Lando is immediately jumping around and smiling vs Oscar staring stoically into the lens ;__;

AND OK BUT THE SHARING - Oscar goes first bc realistically he and everyone else knows that Lando is absolutely dying to have a go with it and will probably monopolize it the most and they all love him and let it happen

Oscar's genuine "that is perfect!" while watching Lando - Lando's "that was beautiful!" and their thoughts overlapping again

butttt also Oscar saying that so genuinely and looking at Lando Like That bc Lando is busy w the camera and won't see the look on Oscar's face gonna kms over them

#landoscar #inchidentallyanessay #landoscar meta #super 8 #senna livery #the yearning #hearteyes #holy palmer's kiss

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maedhrus · 20 days ago

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“you are now running the risk about me yapping about how edward little is good at and well suited to command” BESTIE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I NEED THIS

i mean i shouldn't really OK OK YOU'VE TWISTED MY ARM i suppose i have to!! (also this got Soooo insanely long my apologies. my ranting and raving continues under the read more)

so the predominant fanon interpretation of edward little, from what i've seen in fic, posts, etc., is that he's a wet paper towel of a man who fumbles his way from mishap to mishap. now, i definitely agree that there's an element of truth there. he strikes me as a man who's had a number of battles with something like depression/anxiety throughout his life, and costuming does a great job making matthew mcnulty look woebegone and wretched and insanely fuckable

however! i think a lot of these takes focus too much on how edward fucks up his command/power without examining the Why and, when you properly look at the circumstances in which his big Fuck Ups happen, it's not exactly illustrative of a man who's shit at his job. actually, to me at least, it speaks of a man who's actually very competent but is being repeatedly shot in the leg by factors outside of his control. he succeeds in command pretty much as often as he fails and these successes are very hidden and threaded into the background that it's really easy to miss them if they're not what you're looking for

when we first see edward properly, he's eating dinner with the rest of the expedition's command and is happy and relaxed. at this stage of the expedition, they've met and even exceeded expectations by covering a good bit of distance, making it through one winter with only 3 deaths (and the deaths are not officers, which probably says a lot about class and rank and how the officers aren't particularly grieved by this loss but that's another essay methinks), and have no reason (thus far) to suspect that the rest of the passage won't be as easy. then, franklin mentions old ice to which crozier's alarm bells start ringing and - importantly - he immediately looks to edward, who meets his gaze and seems to be equally concerned. this suggests to me that, even though edward has had no prior experience in polar service, he's either learned or been taught enough to discuss the conditions and environment with his commanding officer. and crozier clearly trusts him enough with these logical concerns. it suggests to me that they've previously discussed the ice conditions and are aware of warning signs of a colder winter, and that edward has learned enough to respond to these conditions. despite his lack of experience, he has adapted and learned and is working well enough that crozier (who is already pretty grumpy and self-pitying atp but also one of the most capable polar explorers of the navy) looks to him, only him, and seems to communicate "we'll have to consider this. it's a bigger deal than franklin makes it out to be". this whole episode is just edward confident and capable and succeeding in his station

we next see edward in ep 3 talking to crozier about silna. in the book, he leads the north party in search of leads and is snowblinded by this but i view that as only quasi-canonical to the show. now, the manner in which edward is speaking about silna and the netsilik is indisputably racist and countless other people smarter than me have dissected silna's treatment by the expedition men and provided incredible commentary on their inherent imperialism and its harms. but for the purposes of ned little, i think it's important to consider what he's arguing. we can assume edward knows next to nothing about the netsilik aside from what has been reproduced to him by victorian author etc., reproducing an inherently racist worldview. this informs his concerns and is why he's worried about the possibility of a retaliatory attack. he expresses what are (to his mind) valid concerns about (crucially) the survival and well-being of the crew. crozier, who knows more about the netsilik, dismisses these concerns in a sarcastic manner. edward is a considerate and empathetic man, but still one who is subject to the biases of the time he lives in. when crozier asks if they should have put her down the hole as well, edward's expression is one of "yeah fucking of course not but are we not even going to talk about what might happen" and the exchange both serves as a demonstration of the expedition's racism and imperialism, but also shows the first signs of the relationship between edward and crozier beginning to unravel. crozier isn't explaining his previous interactions with the netsilik to edward, he's dismissing his concerns entirely. you could make a point that crozier ay have previously mentioned his dealings with the netsilik but still, to dismiss his second's concerns easily and in the manner in which he did is a failure of crozier's leadership, not edward's. blanky is the one who check edward for his biases while also reminding him logically why the don't need to fear the netsilik retaliating. franklin also dies in this episode, and we see edward on deck with hodgson and irving where he's attempting to keep an eye on the hunting blind. crozier comes up and he immediately passes his spyglass to crozier, at which point crozier spots the trouble, issues a command that edward immediately follows, and terror responds. effective captain and lieutenant command allowing a trickle-down of efficiency. edward is next seen with a mourning jfj, looking sad in the face of his commande's grief. this doesn't have anything to do with command, per se, but does again show edward's empathy. nothing about edward in this episode suggests poor leadership. if anything, he's considering the men when crozier isn't (though hidden beneath period-typical racism)

what happens next is ep 4, and crozier's alcoholism in the face of a worsening expedition and more dire circumstances is in turn effecting his ability to command. as a result, his lieutenants (and steward) are having to work overtime to compensate for this and it's starting to wear. when jopson comes in to tell crozier that edward wants to know if he wants the command meeting rescheduled, crozier is shocked that the meeting "is tonight". i've already yapped here on why this is very telling and Not! edward pushing responsibility onto jopson but the tldr is that he knows crozier likes jopson and trusts him with a good deal, but also, more importantly, edward is Pissed that he needs to do this, and crozier is so consistently drunk that he just Cannot be approached. tuunbaq then comes onto the ship and kills strong and evans, and edward is seen on deck with crozier who tells him that "[the creature's] come onto the ship, edward." because even here! they haven't lost trust in each other entirely! edward is relying on crozier's expertise and crozier is sharing his concerns with his second, who he then gives orders to (open up the armory etc.), which edward sees carried out (calling peglar, who is a petty officer and is considered trustworthy by command). he then informs crozier of the lack of tracks found and crozier takes this information on board. irving suggests silna's knowledge of the creature and crozier agrees that they'll question her at some point. effective leadership between the three of them! at this point, silna is kidnapped and hickey, manson, and hartnell are brought before command to answer for this. crozier, jfj, and edward all become fed up with hickey's manipulation of the situation and both jfj and edward attempt to make him shut up (unsuccessful. he's never even been on a ship before). when crozier deals out punishments for the three, edward is the one to vocalise his protest. (iirc there's a post somewhere that talks about lashing in this period and i THINK anything over 10 was deemed excessive but do NOT quote me on that and if anyone has the post in question PLEASE send it to me) edward protests because he's very firmly entrenched in naval regulations but also, imo, because he recognises that the amount of lashes is excessive (this also possibly harkens back to his distrust of the netsilik and him knowing that crozier did, ultimately, want silna questioned so a degree of bias is undoubtedly at work here). he uses the argument of a court martial being necessary because that's the element of due process they should be following but crozier immediately shuts him down with a technicality. they aren't, entirely "lost", but the situation is such that the admiralty would probably want a court martial in this situation). hickey continues to aggravate crozier (successful. he has no idea of command hierarchy and thinks the captain's his BFF) at which point crozier reaches his limit and order hickey be punished as a boy, an excessive punishment made to humiliate and done in part due to crozier's own pride being challenged ("disrepect to the girl. and to me"). because crozier is now incensed (and because he has given edward a direct order) edward has no choice but to obey at risk of he himself being arrested for mutiny. he assembles the crew for punishment and then, again pissed at crozier's attitude (ultimately, in a drunken stuptor, he had three men lashed to excess, violating due process and seeking to humiliate one because of personal insult) he sends irving in to tell crozier the necessary information about the poll, not because edward's scared, but because he is infuriated and wishes to protest crozier's command in the only way he can; avoidance. edward is trying to lead effectively, but crozier's own failings are offsetting this

ep 5! ned rage time! he is angry. angry, angry, angry. most of the men have left, they're running a ship with 10 crew, and even as a decorated lieutenant, he is reduced to an errand boy, used to further his captain's addiction, being made to lie to his commanding officer, and is made to go out - with other men - in conditions that could easily kill any of them. i think it could be argued that, at this point, crozier is aware that edward's upset with him and is sending him out intentionally, not only because as first lieutenant it's on edward to mediate between crozier and fitzjames, but because he wants edward out of sight, out of mind. on erebus, edward communicates with jfj and is made to escort silna back to terror (a fact he protests because of bias but, more significantly, because he's aware that the men on terror are the men who kidnapped her initially and so is concerned over her safety). he then permits goodsir to accompany them. hornby dies before they reach terror and, whenhe edward goes to inform crozier of this, crozier is upset, but more so at the fact that they've run out of whiskey. when jopson comes in, edward can't cope with the fact that hornby's death is being mentioned alongside the liquor situation. as if the two are of equal weight. edward is now facing a captain whose concern for his men is taking a second place to his concern for his drink. and yet, he cannot protest this. not with a captain who has demonstrated himself to be wholly unreasonable. not when to question his order could rightfully be called mutiny. he accompanies silna to the meeting, treats her courteously, is rightfully confused/terrified when she tells them it's not a bear, but a funky Spirit Bear, is shut down by crozier who again dismisses his fear (not necessarily incorrectly). when crozier's patience again runs out and he orders edward remove her from terror, edward vocally protests which is actually kind of huge! he's supposed to follow crozier's orders and knows that crozier's temper is on a knife's edge but he also knows that to kick silna out - especially when she's so clearly scared - is the wrong thing to do. blanky is the one who protests the most vocally (and the look he and edward exchange suggests that they share a certain confidence and have perhaps discussed the extend of crozier's command abuses) before jfj enters and, when crozier becomes physically violent, edward (along with blanky and jopson) immediately leaps to respond, helping to pull crozier away to protect fitzjames and stop a captain who has clearly exceeded his directive and is now dictatorial in command. when the tuunbaq comes onto the ship, we see edward helping to distribute guns (foreshadowing) and he both comes onto deck to help out, and also is the first off the ship to see if tuunbaq is lying dead, ascertaining the direction it ran off to which is no mean feat, especially because he's now one of the few who knows the bear is, to some degree, spiritual and a rogue element. he is seen sitting in silence with crozier before fitzjames, mcdonald, and jopson enter, and when crozier leaves, he put the gun down not necessarily because he's being a bad leader, but because the reality's hit him that he's in command of terror, second in command of the expedition (he started off as fifth), and that crozier and his experience and knowledge is absent, and may leave altogether. he's once again leading to the best extend that crozier in his self-destruction will let him

we see edward in ep 6, exhausted from having to assume captaincy while also maintaining the illusion that crozier's unwell. he gets the men gathered for dundy to yap to and shares a Meaningful Look with jopson as they both gear up for more of the work that is frankly beyond their pay grades. hickey tries to ask him for juicy juicy info and edward ignores him. not the worst advice for dealing with the rat king. he discusses their ration situation with jfj and worries about having enough supplies for walking out which jfj shuts down and they do both ultimately have a point here. they need enough food they can effectively carry. but, again, this is just edward being a good leader and considering the best survival prospects for his crew! at carnival, he accompanies crozier through his bad trip and we can see, when crozier orders men out of the bath, it's edward whose command they follow when he nods at them to scurry. the last bit we really see of edward leader-ing in this ep is when he helps the other officers clear a way for the men to escape when stanley flambés and is there in the background assisting clean-up

ep 7 shows that edward has successfully led the advance party to establish land camp and i think that this fact alone can dispute any arguments that doubt his capabilities but! regardless! what is notable is his discussion with crozier, where they seem to rekindle some of their earlier repertoire. edward speaks bluntly where crozier doesn't ("if you're referring to the bear...") and then, when tozer approaches them, even though he primarily shows respect and adherence to edward, edward still yields the final call to crozier and while, he is vocal on his disagreement, he still buttresses crozier's command. and this is what is required when leading a lot of people! preserve an illusion of consistency in command! (and as a quick aside, he's rightfully stressed to har the news about their rotting supplies but still goes to reassure irving who is spacing tf out and is then the happiest in the room to have jopson promoted because he Cares) crozier then, to the extent of our knowledge, voices that some of tozer's names aren't "sound" without telling edward just what names he doubts, namely hickey's, which is important considering that crozier is aware of hickey's risk, doesn't love tozer's plan, and also hears the name alongside armitage's who - at this point - he still trusts. when hartnell corrects him on this, we again don't see crozier communicate this to edward and this is so so relevant to ep 8!! edward doesn't know armitage is in the Hickey Squad and, because he has worked with tozer and seems to respect him, has little reason to not trust them with the guns, especially when, at that point, crozier's mandate has changed (the fog has rolled in) and, to take the guns back at that stage would very likely result in a riot. the men are scared. they are uninformed. edward is alone in command because fitzjames and hodgson aren't there. he only knows that irving (his friend) is dead. he doesn't have the authority to shut it down because the situation is quickly evolving beyond one where any authority can! for more on this see the tags here. then, when crozier and co returns, fitzjames seems to immediately throw edward under the bus and crozier (who, at this point, has to deal with the fact that they've burned away any potential of help from the netsilik so is incredibly stressed) speaks to him in a manner where you'd be forgiven thinking that edward is a lieutenant, non an ab. yes, he is subordinate to crozier, but he also followed the order crozier gave him (again, the fog had rolled in) and is being corrected for being the only one in authority there who took Any charge of the situation. when crozier mentions hickey, edward queries the evidence against him because the last time crozier punished hickey, it was to excess and designed to humiliate him. edward thus far has no reason to think that crozier isn't victimizing whiskey and scapegoating him for irving's death. when edward ultimately learns that his biases were wrong, irving was killed by his countrymen, this kind of visibly destroys him and he immediately course-corrects, admitting fault and ensuring that crozier knows the marines under tozer aren't to be trusted. a service that crozier never paid him. he freezes when tuunbaq attacks the camp because, again, he's very aware that it's an Evil Spirit Bear and once crozier jolts him to awareness, he immediately follows and goes off on his own to re-arrest tozer. even when tozer informs him of all the ways crozier has let them all down, edward remains loyal to his captain before armitage scrambles his brains like alphabet spaghetti. worth noting that in this episode he also has george "i do say" hodgson in his ear looking for reassurance that his murder of the netsilik family was justified, a reassurance that edward doesn't quite give him, instead evading and trying to comfort hodgson as best he can because, again, as a leader he needs to ensure that hodgson (his own second) maintains a working relationship with him and is capable enough to do the job, something he's not going to get Unless he reassures him.

he fucks up in terror camp because crozier failed to disclose his suspicions fully, he was essentially abandoned by his commanders, he's scared of the spirit bear eating them, and he's trying to do right by his dead friend and the men he's leading. men who are looking to him for leadership

in ep 9, he's seen scouting ahead to keep a visual on tuunbaq and the mutineers then takes his own turn hauling alongside the men. he's seen patting men on the back and helping peglar when he falls because, again, edward cares so! fucking! much! about these men and he's naturally inclined towards physical comfort. we get to the command meeting and, from the glances shared between edward and dundy, i get the sense that dundy was the one to approach edward with the idea of abandoning the sick and edward felt honour-bound to raise this point, both because dundy brought it to him and out of concern for the men. because it's harsh, but it's also true that they don't have the supplies necessary to care for the sick and the healthy atp. pulling the sick significantly raises the chances that they'll die alongside them and edward knows this but it Kills him to raise this point. he can't fully meet jopson's eyes because he's ashamed of having raised this point, and it might be one he doesn't even fully agree with but he has to raise it. because it's not just about what he wants. he has around 60 men who are looking to them for deliverence home and if they don't get there, it will be edward who carries that guilt. it's not cowardly; it took courage to voice it and he hated himself doing so. most importantly, he did it because command needed to consider the option at the very least. when golding comes with news of leads, edward's entire face lights up because he's a way for them to save the sick as well. here is deliverance. but it's a lie and there's so much anger bubbling inside edward, disappointment to see hodgson there, grief when hartnell's shot that he can't bring himself to lower his gun. crozier has to make him and of course he does. crozier was the one to arm him. he lays the burden of command on edward's shoulder. he lays the lives of the men on edward's shoulders and edward carries it. vows that they will live

we finally get to ep 10 where edward, having been abandoned by crozier, still fights his corner, echoes his points, reminds the crew how much they need him. he fights for the sick and he fights for the men and he's essentially mutineed against by dundy who called a vote knowing edward was still asleep (and yeah it's funny how ned came back and immediately went for Nap Time but also! he's just kind of doing what crozier did in ep 4. "i'm not sending men out into a squall. not tonight.). dundy is supposed to be edward's second. he's supposed to support his command decisions, not undermine them by stoking the fears of the men who don't want to waste more effort and time rescuing a captain who has, for so much of this expedition, been absent to them. he's in that tent, alone, his only support lying nearly dead, and his only choices are to follow the men or go alone. he can't go alone. he would be outnumbered, outgunned. he cannot rally the men because, at this point, they cannot be rallied. not these men. not to save crozier. but edward leads them forward because he has to. because he was ordered to. because he still hopes that the sacrifice and loss will be worth it and even one man can get home. but his hope fails him. his circumstances fail him. all he ever gets is close. he tried to lead and did his very best. they were in an impossible situation and no one could have given more. it just wasn't enough

what makes edward a good leader is his empathy, steadfastness, and earnestness. he considers the men beneath him and advocates on their behalf (hickey's punishment). he mitigates the poor leadership of his captain to the best of his ability and as far as the hierarchy allows him (intercedes on silna's behalf). he is cautious and measured, aiming to do right by the greatest number of people, for good of the whole (wants to leave the sick in the hopes than more men will live because of this). he is forward-thinking and seeks to address problems before they arise (marines wanting to form a perimeter). his empathy is taken advantage of, his command is undermined by those who should buttress it, and he is left to die at the side of the man who (debatably) condemned him to it

i acknowledge that this monster of a post that was only supposed to talk about edward's leadership diverged into a play-by-play of his every appearance but! his character is inexorably tied to his rank. he lives and breathes naval hierarchy and, ultimately, dies still in uniform

tldr; edward fulfiled his role as first lieutenant and one of the expedition commanders as well as he was able in the face of a captain who didn't trust him, crew who he trusted too much, and circumstances that none of the crew could survive (they've been dead since the beginning). his character traits including his caution and earnestness make him suited to command and he displayed an aptitude at doing so. portraying edward as incapable and snivelling is entirely in the perogative of the individual creator and has its uses! however, it is also an uncharitable reading that neglects the evidence we've been shown and the circumstances surrounding it

#the ned little meta i've long threatened #realised in its most monstrous form #this is SO fucking long i'm SO SO SORRY!!#i could talk a little more on how he's written as a bottom in fic a lot and how i think that reflects broader fanon #but all i would ultimately say is who cares! he can be a great effective leader and still bottom and he can top with the best of them!#we run into issues when we conflate bottoming with an indication that he's a poor commander/bad at his job #asks #the terror #edward little #crolittle fatherson fail dynamic #all i want is for him to retire to the countryside with tom jopson their 2.5 children; their collection of horses; and 3 dogs

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demdems · 20 days ago

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Son boy acquired

did Not mean to accidentally put off reading the manga and come back and have this mini? arc finished and wrapped up, my bad

Already anticipating to have more thoughts than i plan despite it only being, 4 chapters, oops

gonna overview first my thoughts, i think it's a bit of a crime to make this stay in a different school so short, shame bc i did want more world building but I'm holding out that getting our foot in the door here means we can come back when needed, especially since the ominous send off at the end is a gun waiting to fire off in the future

Ok now gonna break down the beats i really liked and my thoughts

Minor thing probably but i think ultimately very important in regards to what mairuma says about education, it says a lot when urara speaks up against an unfair teacher, society tends to tell children to listen to the adults no matter how wrong something may be so it says a lot when a kid speaks up against a transgression, kids are a lot smarter than u think

Bc yes as genzel [the teacher] says, while education is the matter of concern for the adults teaching, its unfair to leave students out of the discussion just cuz in these scenarios they're not the ones with the knowledge needed, education and learning is for both the student and the teacher as a good learning environment leaves space for both to grow, a close minded teacher will not turn out well educated students especially in the cases of not engaging student learning in exams the same way they engage in the classroom or not taking into consideration how to approach a student who doesn't understand the material, it is important to teach students the right way and to also encourage students to speak for themselves

Ok so enough about education, this arc is a very good showcase of leiji as a candidate for demon king which is very important bc i think it adds substance to the competition as only propping up iruma would make it feel like a less satisfying pay off in the end, there's potential for drama if all three of the grandsons have been proven to be worthwhile competent candidates for the demon king role vs just saying the other two will be good but ultimately giving it to iruma w no fanfare

Leiji does seem like he doesnt take his role seriously or at the least seems to be brazen in how he establishes himself in the school but he does show that he's worth his salt quite well, he intervenes when genzel is about to get physical in disciplining urara while citing his reasons for it, and he picks up what genzels been running pretty easily despite his more limited knowledge of what could be going on, and despite how reckless it may seem to just shoot out the octopus with no plan he has a pretty insane mastery of his bloodline ability and handles the situation with ease, so overall very nice to get more of this guy and to cement his credibility as a demon king candidate

urara is my son boy, ok, he's so cute, he's a smart kid and wants to do what's right, like you need some info ok cool lemme pull out a librarys worth of solo research from my pocket dimension, and he gets to show off a little by creating the plan that gets them genzel but omg have a little more self preservation instincts next time little man, now that he's shown up in the manga and is working under leiji i hope we get to see him now

Balam my king, >shows up >looks ominous >doesn't elaborate >leaves, king behavior, but i do theorize this is a symbolic showing of sort of how the new generation of demons will step up and lead in their own way, as balam was more of a fallback while leiji and urara handled most of the situation, it's a pretty good balance between "kids should not suffer the burdens of adults" and "let kids handle themselves when they can" bc the second one is a learning scenario where it can be appropriate to step back to let them grow, while the problems caused by adults should be handled by adults, stunting students chances to learn and grow doesnt let them prepare for when they have to take off their training wheels to be adults, it's important to work to achieve a balance, rip my hope for evil cycle balam tho join me in the prayer circle for it to happen soon

So, good arc, maybe a bit short but a gun is loaded [plus one more in the next chapter] so I'm holding out for when it fires

#mairimashita! iruma kun #mairuma spoilers #could probably have more thoughts but i am Sleepy #what mairuma says about education gets my brain going i won't lie. curse of working to be in the education field #guy who is normal but also really tired while writing these tags lol #demdems.txt

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eff-plays · 3 months ago

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That's what I found funny about those comments about Rook not being the 'super special protagonist'. Hawke started off as a nobody,and yet people on here generally seemed to like them,but the kicker was that Hawke was still extremely competent working as a mercenary and all that,despite the surrounding messiness of Kirkwall. With Rook its like the devs were more concerned with making them oh so quirky,funny and #relatable and I've never wanted to dropkick a protagonist in a Bioware game more than I did them which caught me off guard!😅

It's not even about competence, because Rook is perfectly competent. But that's about all they are. Competent. In fact, they're just as if not less competent than the companions. There's no real reason for why they're the leader, despite leadership supposedly being sooooo central to their story. A good game will give you a reason as to why you're the leader of your ragtag group, even if mechanically, it's a given.

Like. The Warden is recruited why? They did some insane shit and Duncan went "oh fuck I need someone like this ASAP" and/or "this compentent person's about to be murdered and I gotta grab them before that." There's myriad reasons, but you, as the player, are there to see it, and it makes sense to you. After Ostagar, why are you the leader? Because Alistair doesn't want to be. That's his big character trait, he doesn't want to lead, he's not comfortable making decisions. But somebody has to, or else Ferelden is fucked! This trait of his creates consequences for him and for the player, which builds both their characters. So the Warden is a leader out of necessity, and it adds to the desperation of the story but also the characterization of the Warden: no matter the reason why, this is a person who will step up when shit hits the fan, and get shit done.

Hawke. Why is Hawke the leader? Well, initially they lead the family because of family dynamics. They're the eldest sibling, and Malcom left them in charge, not Leandra. Again, this builds character for both Hawke and Leandra. They defer to her out of respect and because she's their mother, but it's made obvious in the prologue that she's not the one leading the party out of Lothering. Why won't Bethany lead? She's too timid, too used to hiding in the shadows. Why won't Carver lead? He's brash and has something to prove, his ego will get in the way of getting shit done. Also, both of them are like, 18. So yeah. Aveline? She's busy taking care of her husband, who is very much too dying to throw his dick around, as seen by Hawke standing up to him when he threatens Bethany. So? That leaves Hawke.

Why does Hawke keep leading the Kirkwall gang, then? Varric is comfortable close to the action but not the one leading it, he's a little freak who likes to watch and take notes. When he's made Kirkwall's Viscount, he fucking hates it. Anders? No. Fenris? He'd behead Anders the first chance he got, who's the only healer around, and Fenris needs to keep a low profile on account of being hunted. So he's deader than dead after a few months at best. Merrill? No. Aveline? She's in a position of authority, but as the game shows us, she's not very good at that, either. Isabella? She's probably the closest to a competent leader out of the guys left, and she's a former ship captain, so that makes sense, but without Hawke's influence, she's too selfish to stick around for long, so she'd just use the gang for her ends and then fuck off. She'd also have a hard time getting Aveline to behave.

So. It has to be Hawke. They're the only one who can utilize the companions in a productive way while keeping their most destructive tendencies in check, consciously or not. Mind you, being a GOOD leader isn't a priority in a game. You can be a huge asshole, but still there needs to be an in-universe reason for why it's the player character and nobody else. More on this later.

Inquisitor? They're the easiest to explain, because they have the Anchor, but even with that narrative gimme, the writers show them becoming The Inquisitor after a while. After they work for the Inquisition as an agent first, proving themselves very capable out of necessity or a genuine desire, after Haven, where we see they have what it takes to lead a large amount of people while also putting those people above themselves (potentially out of optics/necessity). Even there, the narrative goes out of its way to show how and why the player character is in charge, the progression of events that leads there. Notably also, the Inquisitor isn't shown to be good at everything nor handle everything personally, they have advisors and agents, so even there it's not "everything is your job personally and only you can fix it" but "you're the main guy, both figurehead and the only one with the literal means to fix this, but you're just one person so you need help". It makes sense from a narrative standpoint.

Rook? Oh boy. First of all let's see why they're in the story in the first place. Varric recruited them. Off-screen. Where they did a thing that saved people instead of a powerful person's investment. Cool. We don't see this happening, or how Rook went about doing this. We're meant to be swayed by just the concept of somebody not being down to sacrifice people for the profit of some guy, we're meant to think this is what makes Rook a good leader. But it doesn't? It just makes them a vaguely good person, yet we're meant to think Varric, who's seen so much shit, thought this quaint little action was enough to mark Rook as special. Need I remind you that he recruited Hawke because they were a very competent mercenary. And yeah, the man has done a lot of growth in the years since, but you get what I'm saying, right? If anything, he'd think this was a naive little rookie (ha) who hadn't yet been hardened by the world.

But sure, okay. Varric recruited this do-gooder go-getter, and then he croaks, leaving them in charge. Why? No really, why are they in charge? Why do Harding and Neve defer to them? Harding was an Inquisition scout and worked to stop Solas before Rook was even recruited, so she'd have seniority over them in this regard. Neve is a hardened seasoned Batman detective or what the fuck ever. She's not even getting paid at this point, so she sticks around out of morality than anything else. Why doesn't she take charge to lead the investigation? Esp since Rook and Harding are more used to following orders than she is. As the later companions join, it gets even more ridonk that Rook is in charge. Davrin is explicitly a superior to a Warden Rook, and he does give them the order that he'll be the one to kill the Archdemon instead of them. Emmrich is explicitly always senior to a Mourn Watch Rook, and he's a professor, and older than everyone else. This guy knows how to lead. Rook is always outclassed by whoever shares their faction. And yet, they're in charge.

"Well they have Solas in their head" sure. But Rook could just as easily have been an advisor type who relayed the information to whoever else led the Veilguard. Solas' manipulation is a Doylist justification for their leadership, but provides no real reason for why everyone else is down to listen to the guy who has the enemy whispering secrets in their brain. Solas needs a foil, yeah, so he creates his own foil. But "Solas needs a foil" can't be the justification you give the rest of the characters in-fiction. If Davrin asked "hey why am I listening to the orders of a junior member" Rook shouldn't answer "well it's because one of the guys we're fighting who caused all this tells me what to do :)" Good thing everyone's so nice and never asks questions, I guess.

The one thing Rook has going for them is that they're so nice and can talk people through their problems. But that's a therapist, not a leader. And we don't really get the sense that being nice and a good listener is unique to them in any way. Because everyone is always nice to each other, we don't get the sense that any of them have a connection to Rook they don't have to anyone else. In fact, we can't talk to anyone outside of when they want to talk to us, with our only option being that we have to eavesdrop on them talking in private, and they stop as soon as they notice us. That makes Rook feel uniquely isolated from the others, not like they have a special connection to each of them. It's more like we truly are the therapist, somebody who has to be nice and understanding out of obligation rather than any genuine connection.

One thing that stuck with me is that Iron Bull line from Inquisition, where he says that being a leader isn't about being the best or strongest or most powerful, but being willing to make tough decisions when nobody else is. And this, this could have worked wonders in Veilguard. If everybody else remained as nice as they were, but Rook was pragmatic and ruthless and didn't shy away from hard choices? That would have made sense, especially with the angle the game tries to go for of "uwu the burdens of leadership uwu." Rook never has to consciously make hard decisions, they never have to weigh the pros and cons and consider the consequences, because they can never know those before they make a choice. The main ones being Treviso vs Minrathous and Harding vs Davrin.

In Treviso vs Minrathous it's pretty ridiculous how the companion from the city you don't save gets mad at Rook. The same amount of people went to each city, and people didn't know they needed the dagger to kill the dragon. As far as Rook knew, both cities had the same chances of survival, and it was unfortunate luck that this wasn't the case. And while it makes some sense for the companion to have this irrational blame for Rook for a bit, the game can't really frame this as "Rook's choice", because it wasn't. It's not their failure. The consequences of that choice are not fully theirs to claim, and thus that burden of leadership doesn't apply to them quite as much as the game pretends to.

The Harding vs Davrin choice is even dumber in that regard. Rook sends one of them to hold off a second hostile force. Which they successfully do, regardless of who you pick. Davrin/Harding then chooses to launch themselves at Gil. That is 100% out of Rook's control. Rook didn't send either of them to their deaths, and it's only a consequence of the player's actions in a gameplay sense, NOT Rook's. Which is why the whole Regret prison sequence feels so weird. The game conflates the player as an actor with Rook as a character.

Actually, let's talk about the Regret prison. The game's whole "oh woe the burdens of leadership, Rook vs. Solas as leaders, oh these parallels!!" Except when it comes to actually hold Rook accountable for anything they do, it chickens out. The game bombards you with The Walking Dead style popups like you have the object permanence of a toddler, "THIS ACTION WILL HAVE CONSEQUENCES", but then when it's time to face those consequences in the Regret prison, Rook gets outta there lickety-split because, well, they have no regrets! And the ones they do have aren't theirs to claim! Davrin/Harding chose to launch themselves at Gil! Bellara/Neve volunteered to deal with the barriers! All of Rook's allies are grown adults who know what they're doing!! Rook has to rely on their friends who are also fighting to save the world!! :))))

So the game spends its entire self trying to convince you that your choices matter and that they will have consequences, but in the end it goes "um actually. any leader must rely on their pals :) and their pals will willingly die for the cause (: so it's not your fault!!"

Honestly, it would've been brilliant commentary on agency in narratives like this if it was only a little bit more intentional. And the one thing that could've saved this would've been Rook going "actually, I have no regrets. Yeah it sucks my companions died but like. I succeeded in what I set out to do. Yeah Treviso burned but that's because Minrathous didn't. Yeah Harding died but that's because somebody had to keep the darkspawn away. Yeah Bellara got taken but that's because the barriers had to come down." If Rook's lack of regret wasn't because their companions are soooo competent and sooo responsible for their own fates, but because Rook WAS responsible, and they knew it, and they OWNED it, that would have been baller. But Rook's regrets aren't theirs to claim. And they're not allowed to have those they try to claim, in the end.

Instead, Rook is sad because of things that are blamed on them despite not being their fault but the game presents them as their fault, but then they're absolved not because it wasn't their fault from the start, but because the companions apparently had all the agency to begin with and simply take Rook's regrets away. So Rook feels bad about being a bad leader after experiencing the consequences they could never have predicted or owned, but are then absolved of having to feel bad because those actions were never theirs, and they actually did super great!! So, in the end, did Rook actually do ... anything? Anything at all? Can they claim to have done a single thing, if they're not even allowed to take the blame for their own choices? Can they take ownership of consequences they could never predict? Are they even a leader, or simply the most replacable therapist in all of Thedas whose only job was to tie up someone else's loose ends and enable them to save the world? And if that was the point, why yap about leadership and Solas parallells and the inane popups?

Am I making sense? If not, it's because I'm trying to untangle some bullshit that never made sense in the first place. I'm a lot like Rook in this scenario. No agency in sight.

But yeah um. I'm totally pissed because I'm not the main character. Totally just malding that I don't get to self-insert as the Mary Sue protagonist. Sure. Whatever dude.

EDIT: I just realized that a game I finished recently, Wandersong, does the whole "infinitely good therapist type fixes the world through being nice and they're NOT the main character" shtick so much better lmao.

#answered #dragon age #datv critical #veilguard critical #long post

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lilacmo-on · 6 months ago

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The Emperor Incarnated | SVT Destiny Matrix | Jeonghan

hello, this is lilacmoon ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

welcome to the first installment of my seventeen destiny matrix readings!

since this is a special time, i'd like to start by reading into the destiny matrix chart of my ult bias: jeonghan ⋆˚｡⋆୨୧˚

in particular, i'd like to explore his central arcana.

for those who aren't familiar, the central arcana is basically the energy that lives in your core. similar to your sun sign in astrology, this is the energy that sort of...summarizes all the other aspects & energies you can find in your chart. this is who you are in your most comfortable state.

jeonghan's central arcana is symbolized by the number 4. this is the energy of the emperor.

often associated with "authority, leadership, control, and structure", the emperor is regarded as one of the most powerful energies in all of tarot and numerology. having this in any aspect of your destiny matrix chart calls you to take lead, be dutiful, be in control, and/or be organized. in addition, this also signifies that you have a natural talent for resolving problems, guiding people, making salient decisions, and establishing solid foundations.

and we've seen evidences of these in jeonghan's life and his relationship with seventeen.

one that sticks out to me is, in the first episode of game caterers x seventeen, it was revealed that jeonghan had a very vital role in the group. he was the boys' main confidant and counselor.

he claims that he does this because he doesn't do much in the team (which i absolutely 100% disagree with), and so he took the role of listening and guiding them through their woes.

anyone who has been in this position had once or has constantly wondered why people come to them with the trust that they have the right answers for their problems. and more often than not, they fail to recognize that it is because of their natural gift of wisdom that draws people in.

although i don't know how their exchanges go in particular, as someone with the empress at their core, i could infer that the themes and language of the wisdom they seek from jeonghan is more objective and structural (unlike that of the empress' affective and spiritual approach). despite na pd characterizing jeonghan's role as "motherly", i'd like to argue that jeonghan's approach might be more of a "dad's way" of looking at the world. i am in no way claiming that this approach is unemotional. rather, it's probably more focused on "what are you gonna do about it?" than "how are you feeling about it?"

people with the emperor at the center are generally caring people. they make taking care of the things they love their duty and responsibility. you can expect them to be committed to giving love and affection.

and we could see jeonghan embody this trait through his most recent series called haniwajjong, a special spin to i-goya (his svt rec series) consisting of all the vlogs he filmed starting from september of 2023. according to him, he did this so that carats could have something to watch while he's in the period of military service.

i would be lying if i say i don't find this so touching, that it almost brings me to tears. as a jjongjjongiefan, i couldn't help but miss him a heck ton, even though i used to say that i won't be emotional about it. but alas, and behold! my ult bias is dedicated to caring about his fans. he didn't have to do this. no one asked for it. but he did it out of his own volition.

he found a way to resolve the dilemma between his civic duties and his deemed responsibility as an idol. this, to me, is how he embodies the energy of the emperor the most. im trying not to cry.

people like jeonghan who hold the emperor at their center are also blessed with wit, strategy, and competency to the point of victory. you know that they're in their best state when they win or they're in a situation where they can exercise these qualities.

this explains why jeonghan is just unbelievably good at every game and every sport he participates in. remember when they dedicated a whole going seventeen series (one million won) just so seventeen can have a chance to beat him?

jeonghan shines best in gose series that make use of strategy and brain power (one million won, liar liar, catch stock, don't lie, good offer).

not to mention, he's also athletic as fuck. any carat who's watched at least half of the entirety of going seventeen knows how the members are always drawn to him during physical team games. this moment from game caterers x seventeen is one of my favorites.

because it's in this same show that he's opened up about his energy "deficiency" (he's so my bias here because me too), and yet we see him still play so well, proving that his athleticism stems from a natural gift of it.

jeonghan's smarts go beyond his entertainment career, though, as he's currently pursuing his mba in anyang university. prior to this, he graduated with a degree in practical music (major in k-pop) from hanyang university's institute for future talents. which makes sense, though, as education is important to seventeen as a group themselves!

oh, and another thing!

something one must remember about the emperor is that this card/number has the energy of the divine masculine. in pop culture (on tiktok, specifically, ugh), the divine masculine is often associated with a man who's strong, well-built, powerful, and is a provider. think a hunky ceo with slicked back hair, a clean beard, with his head always in the game. he's always quiet and observant, always watching like an omnipotent being. however, i'd like everyone to understand that while this could be a result of having the emperor in your chart if you're a man, this isn't the one true image of it.

i mentioned this because i know people might be curious about this aspect, too. but quite honestly, i don't want to elaborate on this much as someone's sexuality is even more personal than the aspects i mentioned above.

all i can say is that to me, jeonghan deserves to be the face of divine masculinity more than the average man. because apart from looking godly (taking the literal meaning of divine here just for the giggles), jeonghan expresses his masculinity to us in such a comfortable way. i can't help but appreciate the complexity of his character. to me, jeonghan is what masculinity looks like if it had evolutions, and he's the final form.

besides, didn't seungcheol mention somewhere that jeonghan is the manliest out of all of them? like...look at him....im....weak

if you think i have a preference for long, black-haired jeonghan no i don't i swear i-

in conclusion, it's not surprising that a lot of people love and rely on jeonghan. he has such an admirable and inspiring core that naturally draws people to him. he inspires action within other people, whether it by simply breathing or by using his cutieful antics. to me, he's the perfect caricature of what a man should be.

a true reflection of the emperor at the core.

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notes: as i've mentioned in this post, i'll be using seventeen's destiny matrix charts as a way to hone my skills as a reader. i'd also like to note the readings i do may contain inaccuracies as there are a lot of factors that prevent me from reading accurately. though i'm familiar with divination, i'm still at the starting point of my journey in practicing it. plus, i don't know seventeen personally, so i'm basing my readings based off of the things they show us. ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

i'll also be taking it slow for now, only sharing bits and pieces of information as it takes a lot of energy to read and find supporting materials. so forgive me if the information you might be looking for isn't in any of my readings today and in the future! joesorryhamnida 人´∀｀)

if you have additional input, corrections, and/or questions, please don't hesitate to share them! i'd love to learn with & from my fellow carats ✧ദ്ദി( ˶^ᗜ^˶ ) so let's yap about this together!

anyway, if you've made it this far, thank you so much for having the patience to read through! i know it's a lot of ramble & reflection, but i appreciate your attention! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

see ya in the next post, caratdeul ദ്ദി(｡•̀ ,<)~✩‧₊

p.s. i love you and i miss you so much jeonghan ૮(˶ㅠ︿ㅠ)ა please take care always my love (ෆ˙ᵕ˙ෆ)♡

#seventeen #svt #jeonghan #yoon jeonghan #seventeen destiny matrix #seventeen numerology #seventeen tarot #seventeen astrology #kpop #matrix of destiny #destiny matrix #numerology #divination

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brooklyn-house · 10 days ago

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here's my take on pirate!riordanverse (mainly ta) au

thank you TA server for giving me ideas <3 mwah :nicoautism:

alabaster is captain of his ship.

ethan is a guy who became a pirate out of necessity, and just sort of works for whoever offers him most. that, in our story, is al.

luke is a captain of his own ship, with such bangers in his crew as kelli, a bunch of monsters, piper and leo, blanche, reyna

(piper and leo are a comedic duo in this. they're kinda lost and tbh not important to the plot at all)

chris is a guy who luke kinda kidnapped from one of the ports, but he's just there. he cooks for them c:

during a confrontation, al steals chris away from luke's ship, and he cooks for them from then on (he's prospering a bit more there)

luke became a pirate after spending his young years with annabeth and thalia as a trio of orphans, hearing tales of the high seas.

while "amazon queen" hylla leads her own battleship with a crew, after her and reyna fell out, reyna's gotten the short end of the stick, ending up on luke's crew (very unsatisifed by where her life is going)

jason is somewhat local royalty. he's from a rich family and probably the heir to one of the islands. reyna probably served him for some time, either as a servant or a bodyguard or something

his barbie-esque gay evil royal advisor is octavian, whos always whispering evil things in his ear while rubbing his grubby little hands together, and jason might as well be listening to music while he's doing this. he's just actively ignoring it

hylla's crew are the type of pirates who get paid by rulers to do things for them (like trash ships of business competitors or hunt other pirates who are wanted atm)

silena is a part of al's crew. she's kinda like the elizabeth swan character of this

she's the sort of character to use her "feminine charms" on people and then reveal she has a knife hidden under her tights, you know what i mean

lou ellen is kinda like a potc calypso in this, in that she has her witchy hut that the different crews sometimes visit to ask for favors. she's straight chillin in there

ethan is, the entire time, kinda resigned to his fate of being a pirate, and makes a point of not caring about the people he's working with, rather just getting the job done

but over his tenure as a part of alabaster's crew, al sees him as competent and he becomes de facto his second in command (and they become rly close teehee)

alabaster's crew and luke's crew are in this very love-hate stance towards each other, where they're either allied or in conflict, depending on the circumstances

al's crew are also kinda the underdogs in this situation. like they may or may not have splintered off of luke's crew when him and al had a disagreement

and i mean look at them. there's clovis, who's always up on the crow's nest "on watch", they're all just pretty sure he's sleebin up there. ethan, who doesn't want to be here, but if it pays, it pays. silena, who's actually pretty competent. but also like bad luck or whatever. chris who's just happy to be there grillin his meat or whatever. and there's like chiara benvenuti and maybe like butch walker, and chiara just complains half the time while butch is hardly ever heard speaking and just serves as muscle. they're a comedic duo guys trust

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15-lizards · 5 months ago

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if you’re after dune asks 👉👈 how do you imagine the signature differences in great house clothings?? do they have different embroidery or accessories or colours etc?? what styles do you think they favour??

(sorry, i just started reading dune and i love your asoiaf fashion posts)

Haiii I’m thinking ab dune costumes constantly bc im always trying to imagine what sci fi feudalism clothing would b like

Firstly, I think the Atreides are trying to keep a balance between “militarily competent” and “welcoming and humanistic” in order to be perceived as the ideal nobles. The family dresses in lots of blues and greens as a symbol of their house pride, and the falcon sigil is probably prominent too. I love the inspiration the movie takes from the early 20th century Russian military for the men’s formal dress. Which leads me to my idea that the Atredies are toeing a very odd line of utilitarian military looks and comfortable gowns for Letos propaganda reasons

The Harkonnens are interesting bc they have a lot more color than what's shown in the movies. Their clothes and planet have lots of blues and oranges, like their sigil. Which makes me think Herbert wanted them to be imagined as gaudy and over the top. A sign that they're trying too hard to be perceived as worthy of being noble. This is probably a radically different perception than what most ppl have, but I still hold black leather BDSM Harkonnens close to my heart dw.

The Corrinos would have a similar sense of extreme affluence, but unlike the Harkonnens, they never seem gaudy. Being the rulers of the known universe, they would favor long fabric, heavy ornamentation, very intricate patterns and painstakingly detailed embroidery. The word excess is probably best used to describe the styles of the imperial family. However I do like the more minimalist take in the recent movies as well, it gives off a more stoic and serious vibe, which is fitting.

For the Fenring's I'm sticking by my previous assertion that their name is Chinese, and using mostly the Tang and Ming dynasties to inspire my outfit ideas. I think they prefer a slim, relatively simple silhouette and clean, unbroken lines. I think this better communicates the unassuming, but observant nature that Lord Fenring and Margot give off in the books. Light colors as well, to appear non-threatening. And I didn't have enough space but everyone should go look at my other post ab the Fenrings in my Dune tag so you can all see the beauty of Weimaos and Milis as a fashion choice for them :]

#dune fashion my beautiful mystery that often eludes me #I can never tack down exactly what I want but I also think that's beautiful #we can come up with dune fashion headcanons forever and ever #dune

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yarrayora · 11 months ago

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On Adulthood in Dungeon Meshi Universe

i've seen multiple people use math to convert the ages of fantasy races in dunmeshi into a Normal Human Age, or in this case, a tallman's, as a metric of adulthood

i feel like that's obviously an unreliable way to go about it, especially since a half-elf like marcille exists, her growth is far too slow compared to the short-lived races, and we still don't know how that compares to an actual elf. and that's when you only consider the physical aspects of it.

we have chilchuck who became a dad at age 13, a year before he could be considered of age in half-foot community. maybe with that we could assume 14 in half-foot is like 18 in tallman and do the math from there? except 16 is considered the age of maturity for tallmen in-universe. and we also have to consider whether the concept of legal age exists in dunmeshi universe, because the term of "age of maturity" used in adventurer's bible could very well refers to puberty and not what the society at large consider to be adulthood.

hell, do we even know if different cultures in different continents agree on what age is considered 'adult' even when they're of the same race? probably not! the cultures in dunmeshi universe are pretty clearly insular

for example, back in the touden siblings' hometown, being a gravekeeper is considered an ill-omen, but marcille talked about it as a respectable job falin could have taken if she didn't run off to go dungeon diving with laios

people at the island don't know that rice is a staple food in the eastern continent. and so on and so forth.

so how do we figure out whether someone is an adult or not in dungeon meshi? by figuring out their role in society

let's go back to chilchuck

it could be because adventuring is really dangerous that he retires early, but considering the reasoning provided was "in terms of age" it's more likely 26 is middle-aged or older for half-foots. although since we already find out that he's already a father of three grown adults, nobody would argue against this.

the most controversial topic regarding this whole subject seems to be marcille. was she a child when she was in magic school? was she an adult? surely because she's more of an elf than a human she's actually still a child at the age of 50! especially when an elf's age of maturity is at 80 years old!

we don't really see a lot of children getting their own roles in dungeon meshi universe, but what little we see in canon paints a picture of how children are treated there. let's focus on the orcs

orc is considered an adult at 14, Leed is 14 and she leads her own hunts. and despite their pride as a warrior race, just like every other community they don't make their young hunt for their own food.

so what we got from here is that despite only reaching adulthood recently, Zon considers his sister competent enough to be in charge.

if we use that as a metric of adulthood, then Marcille who was a teaching assistant at the magic school, has reached adulthood for quite a while now. especially when her main job involved researching illnesses, a responsibility you wouldn't hand over to a child

don't forget that a lot of those who came from long-lived races are biased against short-lived ones and dismissing their metric of adulthood

southern continent where the magic school is situated is mostly populated by gnomes and dwarves, so clearly even to them marcille is already considered an adult

even in the real world the concept of adulthood changes depending on the eras and the culture. there were times in history when it was common for 14 years old children to shoulder the responsibility of a working adult in 21st century, and that includes marriage. in japan the legal age used to be 20, and only recently changed to 18 during 2016. but that's not their age of consent either, that's their legal age for being eligible to vote

maybe centuries later when comfort and leisure become much more common in the dungeon meshi universe people will balk at the idea of a 14 years old orc being considered a full-pledged adult, but as of the standard of the year 514, marcille is an adult, and her role in society proves that

#dungeon meshi #marcille donato #dunmeshi analysis #also like. listen. using biological function as proof of adulthood is also part of ableism #but we are not talking about real world issues right now we are talking about fantasy world issues #so i'm leaving that for another post

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diariesofthelost · 3 days ago

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The Escape

{Sexual content, TW: Death, Blood, Betrayal}

{A special thank you to @raiser013 for the story line idea.}

Great. Today is the day. Negotiations between your family and the Qin family. You don't see that going well. You don't know much just that yours and theirs have been competing for the title of most powerful. A struggle you had no interest in. Your mother mentioned something about playing nice with their son. Right. He's probably some spoiled little kid. You're in your 20's. What business would you have entertaining a kid?

You arrive at the Qin home. It's big and beautiful. You're actually impressed. Qin the home of the Dragon and your family the home of the Tiger. The two always hated each other and now today they're supposed to have peace talks.

You and your parents are led down a long hall and into a lavish conference room. As you walk in you notice the elegant looking couple seated, but who was that sitting in the corner and where is the little brat you were supposed to look after?

The man stands up. The current head of the family.

"This is my son Sylus." he gestures to the full-grown man sitting in the corner. Wait, that's Sylus Qin? He's no little kid. The brat part is still debatable.

Sylus stands up and offers a hand to shake. He greets your parents but stops when he sees you. He takes your hand and brings it to his lips. Maybe he's a gentleman after all.

He takes his seat and you take yours and both sets of parents start talking. This is going to be a long day.

You and Sylus keep stealing glances at each other. His crimson eyes are captivating. Over the course of the negotiations, you discovered Sylus is 28, older than you though not by much and his father wants him to take the seat at the head someday. Although you get the feeling Sylus is as uninterested as you are in the politics that come with that seat.

As the talks continue, Sylus gets a pen and paper writing something down. He holds it up to you 'Do you want to get out of here?' the sign says. You smile and nod. You both stand up and he leads you out. You both make your way down a long hall and out into a big garden.

He leads you over to a bench overlooking a beautiful pond. He turns and looks at you. There is just something about him that you're drawn too.

"Man, I hate this. Why is it so hard for our families to get along?" he asks mainly to himself.

You shrug your shoulders and sigh. "I don't know." you say softly. What is it about him that brings this feeling of peace? Before you can continue, he speaks up again.

"I'm glad I came though and that your parents brought you." he says rubbing the back of his neck.

You smile, turning to him but he speaks up before you again.

"Would you like to get to know each other more? I'm sure our parents will figure this out." he asks his eyes piercing right through you. Your gaze drifts down to his parted lips curled up in a half smile. Wait why are you staring? Do you actually want to kiss him? You just met this man are you crazy? you think to yourself.

You finally snap out of it and answer. "Yea, I think I'd like that."

You and Sylus continue to talk, you have no idea how much time has passed but when your parents come storming out the doors yelling for you to come here, you know something went wrong.

"Daughter. Come here. We're leaving right now." your father says sternly grabbing your arm and pulling you away from Sylus.

The good news is you and Sylus exchanged numbers, so this doesn't have to be the end of you two. As time passes you discover that your two families have decided to go to war with each other. Your family and his have both forbade you from seeing each other. That hasn't stopped you though.

You and Sylus have continued to talk and meet up. Only growing closer with each other. Your feelings have grown stronger and so has his. Your secret dates have become more romantic, and passion filled.

"Sylus, we can't keep this from them forever..." you say softly.

He smiles and nods "I know beautiful." he replies sighing.

He pulls you into a tight hug. You both know the danger coming out to your families poses. A while ago Sylus had asked you to be his wife, and you gladly accepted. It's been 8 months now. Your two families fighting, the death and destruction all around. You wish they'd just stop. That you and Sylus could just be happy, free.

You look up at Sylus and smile. You trust him to lead you right. You lean up on your tip toes and press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. He smirks. His parents aren't home today so he decided to sneak you in since the past 3 weeks you haven't been able to see each other. You have been craving him and he you.

He cups your face and leans down to kiss you deeply. He wastes no time, walking you backwards to the bed. He looks you in your eyes.

"Say it, Kitten." he started calling you that because of the house you're from. A cute endearment.

"I need this, Sylus. I want you." he makes you give him permission every time he touches you. You don't mind. It's one of his ways of showing he respects and cares for you. You have also taken up asking for consent out of respect for this man that you've fallen so hard for.

With your consent he lifts you up and lays you down on the bed, pulling at your clothes. You eagerly let him strip you as you do the same to him. He reaches down between your legs running his finger over your inner thighs avoiding where you want him most. You moan protesting his avoidance.

He finally makes his way to your core, his fingers circling your clit. You moan out. That's it. He slides two fingers inside you moving them slowly, methodically. It's not long before you come undone. Over the time since you and Sylus have started being physical, he has taken the time to get to know your body, so it's no surprise that he can make you cum that fast.

He brings his finger to his mouth and sucks them clean.

"You always taste so good Kitten." he groans. He reaches down and positions himself between your legs. He looks you in your eyes and slowly pushes himself inside you.

He begins to move slowly rocking his hips. So. Damn. Perfect. He holds onto you, your bodies moving in rhythm together. You can feel every hard inch of him, and you love it.

After an intense session of lovemaking and Sylus pushing you over the edge more than once you lay in bed cuddling knowing you have to go soon before his parents get home. As you stand you dress, he puts on a pair of boxers and cups your face again, kissing you deeply.

You pull away biting your bottom lip. "If you keep kissing me like that we'll get caught." you giggle. Oh, how right you were, and wish you weren't. Before you can sneak out his door busts open, the head butler walking in.

"Young Master your parent's-" the butler stops as he sees you together.

Sylus' eyes widen as he ushers you out and tries to talk to the butler demanding him not to say a word of what he saw. To play it safe you and Sylus don't meet up for a while. After what feels like forever you and him finally set up a date and place to meet. Little to your knowledge this wouldn't be like all the others. As you arrive at the place you see more than just Sylus standing there. His parents and some of their guards are there with him.

He looks at you with pure sorrow and regret. He mouths the words 'I'm sorry' to you as he stands there helplessly watching them put you in cuffs. Days spent in a jail of his families making. Kept away from Sylus. You have something to tell him. You need to tell him.

Finally, your parents arrive the day of your and his reckoning. As you and Sylus stand before your two families, your mother is too ashamed to look at you and your father scowls. Sylus' mother and father look him in the eyes, as if to show they don't care what happens. He broke the rules and will be punished for it.

"For the transgression of disobeying we have decided to make Sylus watch as his so-called beloved be put to death. He will then be disowned and cast out." his father booms. Your mother screams in horror but you knew a long time ago the Qin family had won this war even if your parents never admitted it. They had no say. Not anymore.

"NO FATHER!" Sylus yells. "It was all me. If someone must die, let it be me." He pleas. Turns out the butler had lied. At first, he agreed to keep quiet but betrayed Sylus the moment he had the chance.

"She did nothing wrong. It was all me. I made all the calls." he glares at you signaling you to keep quiet. You trust him. He will never lead you wrong. You remind yourself.

No, no, no, this can't be happening. You need to tell him.

After an intense battle with words against his father. You snap back to your senses.

"Alright. If you wish to bear this on your own. You shall have it. You are still disowned. No longer my son." his father, no, the head of all clans, rips the necklace bearing the Qin family crest off Sylus' neck. "Get out of my sight. You are banned from using the Qin family name and are to never set foot back on this property or any other owned by us." his father booms. Sylus is then released and escorted out of the place he once called home.

No. This is all your fault. You whisper to yourself.

You're released back into the care of your family and allowed to keep your status all thanks to Sylus. Weeks pass and you haven't heard from him, you've been keeping a terrible secret that is getting harder to keep by the day. Finally, you receive a letter. It's from him. He tells you about how he's been quiet because he's been trying to find work and a place to settle. He's finally worked it all out and would love to see you. But your parents have kept you under lock and key.

For a couple days more you and Sylus exchange letters. Then one night as your personal maid helps you dress for bed she gasps.

"Young Miss-" she stops. Theres no hiding it now. She'll tell them.

You look at her with understanding, but she looks back at you with sympathy. "My lips are sealed. You really love him, don't you?" she asks. You silently nod. Before you know it, she's handing you a pen and paper. "Write it down." she says calmly. You know what she means and so you write.

That night she helps you escape the house, packing you a bag of food and sending you on your way to him. To Sylus.

The next morning your parents find the letter they fall to their knees reading.

'Dear Mother and Father, I will forever be grateful for the life you've given me, but I cannot stay living a life of lies, pretending I do not love him, when I crave him more than any food. When I would give up the very air in my lungs to be with him. I am renouncing my title as heir. I am sorry, I hope one day you will forgive me.'

As the sun sets you arrive at the place Sylus has been living and knock on the door. "Yes, I'm coming." he bellows out "Who is-" he stops as he answers the door. "You... came..." his eyes fill with tears as he pulls you inside hugging you tight. His eyes widen as he steps back from you.

You look at him, finally, this is the man you love. The man you've missed. The man you need more than anything. After all, you've been through. His banishment, you running away. The time has come for you and Sylus to finally be happy. To be free.

You stare into his beautiful crimson eyes and nod.

"Sylus... I'm pregnant."

{I hope you all enjoy this spin on Sylus and his origins/myth}

#fanfic #writing #lads sylus #writers on tumblr #love and deepspace sylus #lnds sylus #sylus #angst with a happy ending #dragon sylus #qin che #sylus love and deepspace

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apas-95 · 10 months ago

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abt the 'exit strategy for capitalism' thing obviously the natural advantages of socialist states will lead to their uncontested military and economical dominance in the coming decades, at which point they'll have both means and motive to buy out bourgeois interests and their 'possessions' and transition the economical system while there's no easy way for imperial core states to outright end these trends, their policies obviously do affect the economical development of socialist states and there's probably enough variance to shift the timetable on all this happening by a couple years, so y'know exert whatever influence you have on the particular flavor of capitalism that's in vogue if done well (and what I'm seeing rn actually gives me hope for that) the capitalists at no point have an incentive to burn the whole thing down out of spite bc they keep earning right until they don't, you know how the saying abt ropes and hangings goes (and if done poorly and they cling to and suck dry the last scraps of the world's economy they control at least everywhere else should be out of reach by then) and my main concern with a revolution is actually that one will 100% get accused of having foreign backing, at which point you just needlessly raise the odds of some general deciding he (or she #imwithher) might as well let those nukes fly (even if they're losing, especially if they're losing) But it's all w/e, I could be convinced either way, this all just makes a lot more sense to me than a succesful imperial core revolution that doesn't end with the northern hemisphere irradiated

fundamentally the notion of a peaceful transition out of capitalism is simply not in agreement with reality. no class has ever abandoned the world stage without fighting to maintain itself, and the imperial core is already both undertaking massive violence and war against the sections of the global south it already has under its heel, and preparing for high-intensity conflict against the communists that have slipped its shackles. there is no point where the bourgeoisie would simply peacefully allow themselves to be stripped of power.

the point of nukes is exactly *why* there has to be revolution within the imperial core, rather than having the rest of the world do the job for them - there is precisely one place the US has no nuclear deterrent against, which is itself. if the thing we're supposed to fear is that both 'the US military's high command, likely facing severe mutiny, rather than ordering a negotiated surrender during civil war, decides to nuke themselves' as well as 'the US strategic missile forces, upon receiving the order to nuke themselves, carry it out', then so be it - such a fundamental strategic insanity would be just as likely to start a nuclear exchange even if there weren't a revolution - which brings us to the final point.

world war is on the horizon. the economic reasons for world war remain as they did a century and a half ago. the world has been fully carved up, and the profits are drying out. the imperialist blocks, principally the US and EU, are driven to compete against each other for their holdings, first peacefully, then through proxy war, and finally through direct conflict. as it was a hundred years ago, the buildup of war is accepted on all sides with the target of the socialist bloc and the potential for its pillaging, but (as has already started breaking out among larger and larger regional powers) any conflict of this sort would manifest as general war and looting, as desperate, recession-wracked imperialists take opportunity as it presents itself. in inter-imperialist war the most ruthless techniques are used, and a nuclear exchange would not be off the table -- and, fundamentally, the conditions that lead to world war are the same that lead to instability, insurrection, and revolution within individual countries.

war is, at this juncture, an inevitability. the only question is whether revolutionary war will win out over unjust war, will convert the war between nations to a war between classes. we are against war, but we are not afraid of it.

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thebroccolination · 2 months ago

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KAWI VS. ARTHIT: A COMPARISON

I'm back to writing one of my AU fics in which Kawi and Arthit are twins, so I've been skimming episodes of "Be My Favorite" and "SOTUS S" to examine all the little nuances that make them and their relationships with Pisaeng and Kongphob so different despite some surface similarities.

Arthit and Kawi are both overthinkers who lean into grumpiness when they're vulnerable, where Kongphob and Pisaeng are two wealthy, handsome boys who thrive off flirting and avidly compete for the throne of King Simp.

However!

It's the differences I love to look at.

Kawi and Arthit first.

Arthit was adopted in his freshman year by a bunch of extroverted peers who love him and remain deeply loyal to him into adulthood. He's probably middle class, and he doesn't seem to have any financial trauma in his background. He's just shy. Even when he loudly announces his relationship with Kongphob during a party, he still blushes immediately afterward.

Meanwhile, Kawi is poor and lonely. He's not afraid to speak his mind, he just doesn't know how to navigate most social situations without coming off as abrasive. As one of the staff of BMF put it, if Kawi had money, he'd be an extrovert. And we see a suggestion of who he is deep down in the first episode when he thinks he's in a dream:

Then we have Kongphob and Pisaeng, who are even less similar. Especially in how they're flawed.

Kongphob's biggest flaw is that he pushes too hard. His wealthy family dotes on him, he's studious and levelheaded, and when he goes into most situations with confidence and persuasion, he tends to get what he wants. So it makes sense that when Arthit throws down a defensive roadblock, Kongphob just pushes through it because that usually works for him.

But Pisaeng is avoidance incarnate. In the original timeline of "Be My Favorite," Pisaeng is about to marry his childhood friend Pear even though he's gay and has possibly even harbored very secret feelings for Kawi ever since their first year. Over and over in the series, he resists making choices and taking action, and that leads him to his most painful moments.

I have about six or seven WIPs in which Arthit and Kawi are twins (one of which is posted and I swear I'm working on it). It started out as a, "Teehee what if," kind of plot device, but I've really started to enjoy exploring it in depth.

Like, if Arthit and Kawi are siblings, that means Kawi is less lonely, but how much does a sibling really contribute to your social life once you're in university and studying different things? How responsible for Kawi does Arthit feel if he's the leader of what's basically a social gathering?

And of course, my favorite question: how would Pisaeng and Kongphob interact with the opposite brother?

I'm having a marvelous time. I should have been writing the fic instead of writing this, but consider it a prologue. :>

(Once "The Ex-Morning" airs I'm definitely making a triplet AU, don't you worry.)

#kiranokira fic #sotus the series #be my favorite #kawi x pisaeng #kongpob x arthit #i love all my children #i promise not to sneak winteam into it #maybe #lol #hahA haha

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toastytrusty · 1 month ago

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PLEASE give us more dundy headcanons of his relationships with people or anything really your mind is expansive and beautiful

omg ty. twirls hair. to preface i truly haven't thought about this That Much outside of specific au-dependent scenarios so tgis will probably be very disorganized but i'll do my best

i think he has like. really mild one sided beef with crozier. he respects him a lot and begrudges how much he comes to like him, but for a while, especially while they're still on the ships, he haaaates him. he gets really protective of his friends, and hates the way crozier frustrates james and burdens ned by isolating himself and leaving them to essentially run and lead the ship / expedition without his senior authority.

dundy's got some real fierce blind loyalty to all his friends, but Especially james. he hates crozier on james' behalf because he knows james can't fully hate him himself. he encourages james to yell at crozier and tell him off etc etc etc. he's the "aren't you tired of being nice all the time? don't you just wanna go apeshit?" voice in james' ear. he tells james that crozier isn't worth his time and doesn't deserve his respect etc etc etc. and Then. when they're out of the ships out hauling on the ice and james and crozier are becoming actual friends, dundy starts getting jeaaalous. but like he keeps it to himself because he knows it's a good thing that their captains are getting along even if he doesn't like it. regardless he probably gets really clingy with james and more affectionate and posessive and pathetic. i think he's the most pathetic about james. that's his #1 guy who he'd go to the ends of the earth with, not out of duty but out of love. fully committed to never leaving his side if only he has the power to do so. he tries to shoulder as much of james' burden as he can and support him in any way possible, bc he knows him better than anyone else. mostly

and for ned i think he gets a whole different kind of protective over. dundy is someone i see very much wanting everyone he considers in his group to feel included and seen and cared for (he probably would listen to hodgson yap and yap for hours and be genuinely engaged in the conversation where most others would be completely clocked out), and when ned starts visiting erebus more for command meetings without crozier or coming to steal james' alcohol and whatnot, he just. attatches to him and essentially assimilates him into the erebus family unit. constantly makes sure ned is taking careof himself and getting enough sleep often by seeing to it himself. he'd probably sleep on top of ned if it meant ensuring he rested for any prolonged duration of time, because he's just dramatic and unserious like that. i hate terms like mom friend or mother hen but he is kinda those things. he sees a sad neglected adult man and goes "is anyone gonna emotionally support and adore that?" and doesn't wait for an answer. he gets even More pissed at crozier for making ned deal with everything alone and burdening him with so much responsibility. he's kind of an eternal optimist "we always deserve better than these horrid circumstances" type guy. perfect support for ned's misery. i also think he really pitys ned, and i think he's someone unafraid of pitying people. he doesn't see it as like. condescending or belittling. he sees things in the cold harsh reality that they are and wants everyone to be able to be happier than they are. and i think that is fully epitomized in his relationship with ned

with gore it's a little more difficult because gore has like 8 seconds of screentime in the whole show (which is only slightly less than dundy's 12 seconds, alas). i think gore is incredibly competent and reliable and calm and reassuring and sweet and attentive and caring and dundy just adores him. i mesn i think dundy adores a lot of people he has a heart full of love but yk. they can depend on each other and relax in each other's presence and really trust each other to be Capable and Alert and feel very safe around each other. i think dundy flirts with gore more than anyone else (i don't think he really has to Flirt with james in the typical way it's more unspoken action or dramatic displays or direct love confessions) and gets really theatrical with it. something abt gore being generally quite calm and polite and dundy trying really hard to make him properly laugh. in an unrealistic scenario where gore didn't get merc'd immediately, he'd also rope gore into his ned little defense league and they're all veryvery close. dogpiling for warmth and such. they try and kidnap ned and not let him go back to terror because they can treat him better and keep him safer than anyone over there (smth smth dundy getting selfish and disregarding the greater good in favor of the well being of those he is closest with and prioritizes in his mind). in the realistic situation where gore Does get merc'd i think dundy loses a lot of trust in himself and his own ability because he bounced so much of his confidence off of gore. not to mention every person he loses would Majorlyyyy damage him emotionally. if he ever found out crozier used gore's eulogy on sir john i think he'd flip tf out

like i said earlier i think he very much thinks of himself as having a Group. he's very outgoing and loud and friendly and affectionate within his group and his people but Isn't Suuuper outgoing outside of it? like at a party or social event he'd rather talk to his two friends for three hours than go meet new people, not because he's shy or anything but because he just likes his own people so much, why should he go find someone else? that being said he's very accepting of new people within the Group and will gladly accept new people into his heart, if they deserve it. i think he's got some standards for that though. he thinks very very highly of his people. and Within his group he tries to make sure everybody is included and seen/heard etc. at full command dinners with all the lieutenants he's gonna be asking like irving questions and nudging shoulders and elbows to make sure no one feels left out

also he loves theater. he and james love doing theater together. he's just as much a fan of drama and theater as james is. awwww

i'm sure I'll think of more at some point but i've been writing this all day and it's really long now so i think i will cap it here...for now.......

#sorry for YAPPING #i definitely have more to say i just couldn't think of it rn #i'll probably explain my rescue au at some poin t too #james may be the king of isolation and self destruction but dundy never gives up on ANYONE!#i also think he'd queen out with jcr. like they'd just vibe. i think dundy would be very open in #expressing his extreme gratitude for saving them over snd over and over because he wears his heart on his sleeve #and alongside that they'd just bro out. laugh together a lot compliment each other's hair. you get it #1 million friends for mr dundas #asks #henry le vesconte #dundas le vesconte #the terror #terrorposting #james fitzjames #edward little #graham gore

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