#and got some non forced characterization

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Absolutely love it when scenes work out better than expected.

[kerink]

one thing i've noticed since being in the gf fandom is there seems to be some kind of implied line separating fiddleford/ford as a "good" ship and all other ford ships as being "bad" ships. by this of course i mean some implication that the "bad" ships are abusive or problematic in some way, while fiddleford/ford is the more wholesome alternative.

in terms of tension and drama, i've seen mostly things like how bill messed with them, the fallout from fiddleford's trip through the portal, fiddleford's affair, the ending of their partnership, their reunion after ford comes home and sees what fiddleford has done to himself.

but what i've seen scant of is fallout from fiddleford using the memory gun on ford.

in TBOB, bill focuses most of his energies on using physical abuse, manipulation, humiliation, and fear to torment ford. but at the end of it, his great big show of force, his biggest threat, is to delete ford's memories:

what does this imply about either the rules of the show or of ford's own feelings? is the messaging we're meant to get from this that, compared to physical and emotional abuse, the rules of the GF universe state that losing your memories, your identity, yourself is worse? or did bill make this the ace up his sleeve because ford thinks it's worse?

and why would ford think it's worse?

and what's so striking to me about this is that, despite all the bad bill does to ford, despite the fact bill invented an entirely new form of domestic violence specifically to get ford to listen to him, bill did not follow through on the threat. but fiddleford did.

so much of ford's life has been characterized by loss of autonomy and loss of choice: stan kept him from WCT, filbrick got rid of stan, bill chose the direction of his research, stan pushed him through the portal, bill created the environment for ford and stan to reunite. and needless to say, of course, all of bill's non-consensual possession of him for countless weeks, to the point ford had to begin to self-harm just to keep him at bay.

and now ford has to contend with knowing that his life, his story, his personhood aren't his either? his vision of the world and himself has been molded by what bill and fiddleford needed him to be in order to serve their goals.

i'm not trying to say fiddleford is as bad as bill, not even close. but i do want to (heh) muse on how i've noticed fiddleford/ford gets this rose tint placed over it.

it can be argued that fiddleford erased ford's mind because fiddleford thought it was for the best, that he truly had good intentions. just look at how the society of the blind eye talk about their work in the show!

but bill also had "good intentions." he and the henchmaniacs were all going to not only die but be wiped out of existence. it can be argued the abuse he inflicted on ford was self-defense!

intention over outcome, i suppose.

the central theme is the same: both of them were another in a long line of people violating ford's autonomy, making decisions for him, taking away pieces of his life.

and, well, bill only threatened it, didn't he?

[oltammefru]

I've been thinking recently about Theresa and the end of Ep14 and her creating Civilight Eterna, and the question of like: Was she aware of the consequences of her actions? That doing so would extremely fuck up her loved ones, Kal'tsit most of all? The more I think about it the more I come to think that the answer is "yes, but she did it anyway."

Her behavior at the end of EP14 is kind of insane because like, despite how willing she is personally to sacrifice herself for the good of the future and how she tells Kal'tsit "My dear Kal'tsit, since we're all clear about our respective endings, why should we go through sorrow yet again?", at the same time she's like not really willing to let go either. (Think about how the moment she is out of sight, she goes on a mad scramble throughout time itself because she needs so, so, so desperately to know, if she can't have anything else, that her loved ones are ok. She says one thing, but then does another.)

Despite the path that she had chosen and her determination and willingness to see it through, at the end of it all she still doesn't want to go, she is still the person who listened in wonder to Kal'tsit as she told her stories about Terra, the world outside of Kazdel that she wanted to but never got to see, she is still the one who wanted to be able to hold Amiya and read her bedtime stories and assuage her of her nightmares, she is still the one who wanted to be there for her loved ones, in whatever form she can.

And despite all her willingness to sacrifice, and the selflessness of almost all her deeds, she is still in many ways a selfish person (which she acknowledges herself). This is one of the central contradictions of her character, that despite her selflessness, she is characterized majorly by a few specific, extremely, extremely selfish choices of such enormity that they arguably outweigh all of her selflessness. She passed on the crown to a 10 year old child (and Theresa knew Amiya would accept, since she is like that, even though it's not a question that Amiya could given an actual, non-coerced answer to) because so believed she could carry on her ideals, she erased the Doctor's memories both to free them from the shackles of their past, but also to shape them into the person she wanted them to be to best carry out her ideals.

There is such a delightful hypocrisy to this. She, in some sense, wanted desperately, in that selfish core of hers, more than anything else, was to live a life where she was free from the burdens of the past and the shackles of fate, but she still forced that onto Amiya. At the end of Babel, she is walking toward her literal death, but she is still vaguely aware of how death works for the Sarkaz, that she will return to the Originium but still exist in some form, and so she is still hopeful about this: "it's time to say goodbye… we'll meet again in the future won't we… Kal'tsit… Amiya… Doctor." But this time, it really is the end for her, after this there will be nothing left of her, it is a total and complete annihilation of the self. (Which, the thing about this is that like, she deleted the Doctor's identity and subjected them to this, but is unwilling and scared to go through it herself). Despite her virtues and her selflessness, despite what she tells Kal'tsit about partings and endings, she is scared.

The thing about Theresa is that she is a hypocrite, but she is a hypocrite in a highly specific and interesting way. If you pay attention to depictions of Theresa throughout the story, she is someone who believes that fate can be overcome, that the cycle of violence can be broken, except when it comes to specifically herself, for which she is incredibly, incredibly pessimistic, and believes that she's a failure and was unable to break free from her fate. ("To change a man is to make them believe, to make them believe is to destroy their faith, nothing can save such a lost soul.", "But yet, there is no antidote to loneliness, there is no end to nomadic wandering, there is no cure to a terminal illness..." etc.) This is why she's willing to do what she does in Ep14, intentionally choosing to perpetuate the cycle of violence and inflict suffering on other people for the ends of her (and her people) and this something that she fully acknowledges and is perfectly ok with doing in Ep14 even though she could have just like, not. She chooses to act against her ideals because she is a failure, a victim of fate, the sacrifice on top of which the future will be built, an obstacle that the true idealists must and will overcome. She is a hypocrite because she believes that Amiya/the Doctor/Kal'tsit are better people than her, that they are capable of doing what she isn't, and so she is willing to subject them to standards that she doesn't apply to herself.

She can't bear the idea that this is it, that there will be no more of her left, and is willing to do anything to assuage this, and so she makes CE, so she can linger and be there for her loved ones in whatever form possible. I think in this there is a conscious understanding that doing this will hurt her loved ones, and especially Kal'tsit most of all. It's not something she wants to do, but she thinks of Amiya/the Doctor/Kal'tsit as better people than her. She is deliberately doing something that will hurt them yes, but they are strong, and will get through this, like they always have. But herself? She is scared, she has nothing left and soon she will be nothing at all. And so (like she always has), she chooses to go out with one last moment of selfishness.

[local-diavolo-anon]

i'm back!

ok so 2/3 days ago i found this youtube video where op turned Springtrap (or well, William Afton) into a fully build DnD character, and if i say so myself: things got out of hand fast

so here is my take on DnD Springtrap and specifically on that build (adding more infos under the cut for who is interested, i suggest to watch the video first)

starting with saying that unless you're playing in a scifi setting, this build is either not for you or to be modified, since in later levels spells are heavily centered around technomagic and electronic devices; personally when i will play him i will probably tinker around with the chosen spells and cantrips to make him less violently niche and/or more versatile

which kinda saddens me because it takes away not little of the characterization but, given most dnd stories take place in a medieval fantasy or high fantasy setting, a cantrip like On/Off or a spell like Remote Access are NOT particularly useful; so i will go for more psychic damage or necromancy oriented abilities, maybe i might take more than just 4 levels in artificier as well (especially given that again, all of those warlock spells at later levels are all technology oriented) but i need to see what those offer

however it is a kinda tank-y build given that with a shield on you can get up to a 27 of Ac, so even with low damage and not much hp you would not struggle too much to stay alive, and i like that!

as for the character himself, i put too much effort into my interpretation not to share it, so if anyone wants to play this guy as well, i fabricated a possible backstory that might come useful:

The character goes by the name "Dave Miller" (or whatever variant you want to use), and was originally a human artificier who created constructs for a living, mainly with the goal of offering aid to who needed it for whatever reason.

There however he ran into an issue, that being that a robot need a power source, and his own heart and lungs could not sustain a whole robot by themselves.

After losing part of his family to some kind of accident he became terrified of death, so with age he started replacing his own body parts with machinery to delay his last days (which made him a cyborg), until the point where he was very very close to become just a robot.

(This part may or may not involve a pact with a deity of death, this entirely depends on how you want to play him but it would make sense since the build is an artificier/warlock hybrid)

Through particular and very much not illegal experiments tied to necromancy he discovered that the life force of a living being could be shared, and used as a form of fuel. (possibly: age lived of the creature used= amount of extra months you get)

Here comes the second problem: this only worked with intelligent creatures, and more specifically, it worked best with creatures of your own race, which meant that he either went around murdering people or he found another solution. Non same-race creatures worked as well but not as good and there were not easy to find in the middle of a city and with a shop tied to your name.

And here is where and WHY he'd join a party of adventurers: after some time, his reserves or fuel were running VERY thin, and running into a group of adventurers was a god sent because by joining their party he essentially got a free pass to kill whoever he wanted, and reduce them to a dried raisin after sucking some life force out of them. Doing so you learn that the mowe powerful the creature is, the more energy it produces as well.

Your goal, that you as the player are following, when role-ing your character? essentially slay whatever powerful BBEG your Dm throws at you and suck all of that juicy fuel out of them, so that you can return to your little shop in the middle of the capital and return to create and sell whatever weird construct, doll, or robot comes to your mind for another few decades undisturbed.

And this is it. I think this might be a good backstory that could fit pretty much any setting you want to play this guy into, be it classic dnd or some scifi futuristic thing.

of course you don't NEED to use this one line per line, make up your own without looking back if you don't like it lol, dnd is the "make up shit and have fun" game after all!

Edit: also no his outfit makes no sense, i just went with vibes and decided a tanktop dress shirt, a twin tailed gilet and suspenders OVER said gilet was a good choice.

[judesmoonbeauty]

A Day With Jude Jazza: Chapter Two "13:00 Working at Raven & Lunch"

TW: Weight discussion. Idk if this really needs it or not, but I added it just in case.

Please expect grammatical errors and translation inaccuracies. This is a full translation. Creative liberties are taken for characterization and smoother translation process. Cybird owns everything. Re-blogs are appreciated, but please do not post my translation elsewhere. Thank you for your support! ☾.

I’m working hard at Raven today too —

(I’ve been working non-stop, but I wonder if I’ll be able to finish this���.)

The moment I gulped at the mountain of documents in front of me…..

Jude: Do ‘em perfectly.

He showed up and said that, so I stopped what I was doing and puffed my cheeks.

Kate: Isn’t there some kind of reward for your girlfriend who works so hard?

Jude: What kinda reward?

Kate: Hmm, like taking me out for lunch…?

Jude: ….Tch.

Then his finger came up to my forehead,

Kate: Ouch!

I reflexively squeezed my eyes shut because of the force of the forehead flick —

(…..It doesn’t hurt as much as I thought it would.)

Opening my eyes, he let out an annoyed sigh and turned around.

Jude: Let’s make tracks.

Kate: What?

Jude: Lunch, let’s go.

Kate: Coming!!

Kate: It’s my first time coming to this restaurant, but it’s super delicious.

Ellis: Good, I’m glad you’re happy Kate.

While eating a tasty meat-dish and chatting with Ellis,

Jude: ……

I heard the sound of a fork being put down next to me, and when I looked over he had stopped eating, leaving the fatty part untouched.

Kate: That’s such a waste.

The plate was silently brought to me, as if telling me to eat, so I ate the fatty portion.

After that, Jude made an exasperated look.

Jude: You’ll gain weight if ya eat like that each ‘n every time.

(Actually, I have been a bit worried about that recently….)

Kate: Isn’t it because you’re handing your plates over to me, Jude?

Jude: Didn’t say t’eat it.

Jude: Yer the one sayin’ it’s a waste not t’eat it.

(I can’t deny that…..)

Jude: ‘N ya eat more sweets than me’, innit?

Ever since we started dating, I felt like it was a waste to leave any of the fat and sweets on the plate,

So when I look over, the plate gets closer to me, and before I know it, I end up eating it.

Ellis: But I think it’s nice to see Kate eating it deliciously.

Kate: Ellis……

Ellis was sitting across from me and kindly smiles.

Feeling a bit happy, I brought the dessert to my lips without hesitation.

That’s when Jude’s fingers stroke my thigh under the table —

Kate: Urk!

Jude: Ya really have put on weight, haven’tcha?

His warped smile irritated me, so I lightly pinched his hand.

Kate: This is what I do to people who say such things.

Jude: Ha, don’t hurt none.

His hand let go of my thigh, and he took a bite of the dessert,

Jude: Ya can work back the weight gain.

This sentence translation has been updated. Previously, I rendered it as, “Work back the weight gain.” However, い is used at the end of the sentence (which can soften what’s said), so I updated it to the line above because the other sentence sounded too blunt imo. Sorry, I’m still learning.

He didn’t seem to like the sugary taste, and immediately put down his fork.

Jude: Got the perfect job for ya.

Kate: What is it?

Jude: Deliver all o’ the finished documents to the department heads in the company.

Kate: That much?!

Thinking back to all the documents left on my desk, I felt overwhelmed.

Jude: Kate.

Kate: Yes, [MUMPH]

Bite by bite, he feeds me his dessert.

Kate: Wai-, Jude, Ju-

As soon as I gulped down the last mouthful, he flashed a wicked smile.

Jude: Ya ate desserts for two, so ya can work fer that much, yeah?

Kate: —You DEMON!

Jude: Ha!

As we glared at each other, I heard Ellis’ heartwarming voice,

Ellis: Hehe, Jude and Kate, you both look like you’re having fun today too.

Jude & Kate: Ain’t havin’ fun. • I’m not having fun.

And so, the lunch break ends.

[Event Master list] [Next - ⏱♡ 16:00 - Negotiations at Twilight]

I want to be spoiled and fed by Jude too.......

Dividers: @.adornedwithlight

If you wish to be added to my translations tag list, and are +18 YO, then please comment below! If you wish to be removed, please do the same.

Tag list: @sh0jun @theimaginativelyreticent @sapphire-323 @velisle @nateko @greatwitchsongsinger @injudescoat @aeyumicore @complexivelovely @cosmowgyral @lunaaka @rosalyne08 @8the-perfect-lie8 @voydsoul @goustmilk @kraiyne

[cuephrase]

as someone who loves comics, hell as someone who got into this fandom because of comics, the comics-reading fandom commentary i keep running into that seems set on villainizing non-comics reading and fanon-enjoying members of fandom by complaining about the fic that gets published is seriously exhausting at best and deeply frustrating at its worst.

and let me preface this by saying, if you actually want to try and analyze perceived trends in good faith, by all means, do your fandom meta, so long as you are not treating other people like problems that require solutions. the solution starts with you. focus on changing your mindset from that of entitlement to appreciation. you are not owed quality fic- whatever that looks like to you. a fic not being to your preference doesn’t make it any less a labor of love, a creation that someone spent their free time putting together and sharing.

also i do scroll/block. i am not being “forced” to engage with this rhetoric. still, the prevalence disheartens me because this attitude runs in direct contradiction to what my understanding of fandom/ao3 is.

is fandom not the space to have fun with our blorbos? to share headcanons and art and analysis and connect with those who share our love and vision? do you forget that the A in AO3 stands for Archive? that the T in OTW stands for Transformative? why is it so offensive for someone to write and post a fic, to an archive, that is OOC to you that you have to complain about it in a public tumblr post? why does seeing someone enjoy and/or create something you dislike warrant you going to the town square and bitching? what gives you the authority to tell someone whether or not they deserve to exist in the fandom? are we not all guests?

just because we’re all in one fandom doesn’t mean you are the target audience for every creation. especially in big fandoms, where the breadth of interpretations is vast. like. you do know that even if every person who posted a batman fic read the comics, you still wouldn’t like every fic? something not being canon to you, while perfectly valid, doesn’t change the fact that it is or was canon and therefore may very well be canon to someone else. and vice versa! not to mention that someone can read the exact same comics and reach an entirely different conclusion. they can love the same character and see them totally differently.

y’all stroll up to a sprawling potluck, see some dishes you dislike, and start crashing out like. pause for a second. damn. you don’t have to eat any of that!! i don’t really care if you have a hard time finding fic you like, because, what? you think that makes you special? do you want a medal or consolation prize for doing what literally everyone who uses ao3 has to do to find fic they like if they’re picky? should i marvel at your commitment to only consuming that which has the finest of characterization, the most artful prose, the deepest, most esoteric insights? give me a break. what a first world problem.

“but they’re not even really fans of-” shut up. just shut up. keep that stuff in dms or the appropriate discord servers. private places where someone can’t accidentally stumble across them and get hurt. people come to fandom for so many reasons, why risk ruining something that is bringing someone comfort and community just because you dislike seeing blorbo written that way?

yes, it is up to individuals to curate the experience they have in fandom. it is their prerogative to block/scroll/not click on that fic that is clearly tagged with something they dislike. but it is not up to you to try and curate the Fandom itself. do you see the difference? you can make your own discord server and decide the rules, you can make your own archive and decide the TOS, you can and should make your space a space you enjoy being in. but the Fandom as a whole? that’s not yours.

like tagging is a very important part of good etiquette on ao3 imo, but the discourse over what fic can/should be has gotten so out of hand that my friend, who loves superboy and reads his comics, worries about what fandom tag to use for their fics that aren't canon compliant. hell, i tag all my fics that do not directly deal with a comics canon incident as "Batman - All Media Types" and not "[Character] Comics", even though i've read tons of comics and they are solely what i base my characterization off of because i'm paranoid about someone coming into my comments and giving me grief about it not being canon accurate enough, or being the inspiration of a vaguepost. what a sad environment that has been built. why should there be any stress over whether a transformative work belongs under the applicable fandom tags? what a bastardization of fandom etiquette to push for people to only tag with X fandom if they've "earned" it, if the fic is something that a Real fan would want to read. dgmw, i'm grateful that the Batman - AMT tag still exists, i think it's an extremely useful catchall, but the way that people weaponize the fandom tags is just so disappointing. and also? honestly? a little chronically online. because it presumes that ao3 authors will also be present on other fandom spaces to know the "rules", which is absurd. someone should not need to be involved on tumblr, or any other site, to know how to tag on ao3. following the rules as outlined on ao3 itself should be sufficient.

“well i enjoy venting-” yes, okay, i’m sorry that you lack the empathy to understand why your actions are discourteous. and like, to be crystal clear, i am strictly opposing vent posts/vagueblogging that calls out/complains about fic specificially. stuff like “i’m so sick of seeing people write X fic” or “saw this fic, why would anyone write a fic like this?” it’s not a legitimate question. it’s not a legitimate question, because the answer is simple even if you dislike it. they wrote it because they wanted to. that’s the only reason anyone needs to write a fic. and guess what, the great thing is that there’s an equally simple answer for why someone may not want to read a fic- because they don’t want to!

not that it matters, but i’m not saying this because i just love every single part of fanon and every fic is right up my alley- no. not only am i incredibly picky, but my tastes have shifted over time. past me adored some fics that i would scroll right past now- and those fics aren’t bad, i can re-read the ones i remembered to bookmark and see why i liked them. and i read fics now that past me would/did scroll past. i just don’t think my personal enjoyment of a fic should have any bearing on whether or not that fic should be allowed to exist- unless ofc, it’s my own fic. and even then, i, personally, orphan stuff, i don’t delete akdhfkdhf.

we are all guests. we are all playing with IP we don’t own. we do a disservice to ourselves and others when we forget that.

[iron-strangers]

Dream a Little Dream of Me

Description: It's all true, Jedi can read minds. You've been trained to keep people's thoughts about you for so long. It went well until the day you caught Din's fantasy involving you.

Pairing: The Mandalorian (Din Djarin) x Female Jedi!Reader

Series: Expanding Clan Mudhorn

Tags: Established Relationships, Mand’alor Din Djarin, A Sprinkle of Family Fluff, Sexual Fantasy, Vaginal Sex, Oral Sex (f receiving), Unprotected p-in-v, Creampie, Breeding Kink, Lactation Kink

CW: Reader has AFAB characterization, uses she/her pronouns, is able-bodied, has depicted body changes related to pregnancy and breastfeeding, and hair that can be pulled during sex. No Use of Y/N. Consent Issues: Reader peaks into Din's fantasy. NSFW MINORS DNI

Length: 2.7k

-

According to urban legends, jedi can read minds. That's true, well, to an extent.

Jedi can read unshielded minds. A Jedi’s mental shield helps to prevent their minds so they’re not easily read, but also to prevent them from accidentally reading a non-force sensitive’s mind. This knowledge helped you survive being chased around the galaxy during the Empire’s reign. Imps are weak-minded and you could easily get any information you needed by reading their mind.

As you grew older, some thoughts people had about you turned sexual. Some got you blushing, like the one from a spacer who fantasized about sweet-talking you into having a quickie in the back of the cantina, some others were just plain disturbing and had you slamming a mental shield as quick as you can before fleeing the parameter with your blaster clutched in your hand.

During the old Jedi-Mandalorian war era, Mando'ade have found a way to keep the jetiise out of their head. Beskar helmets are effective for as long as you can remember, but apparently, there's a loophole. Beskar can't block a jedi who's already soul-bonded to a Mandalorian. There might not be any data about this, but let's be real, there's barely any noted soul bonds between a jedi and Mandalorian throughout history.

This explains the weird sync you and Din have. People have mentioned how you complete each other, that you have almost the same opinions on things, how you two always make the same decisions, both politically and on the battlefield. Some might even suggest that you and him finish each other's sentences. It's a cliché, written in teenager’s holonovels. So you're used to laughing it off, deflecting that you probably just spent too much time together, that between leading and parenting, agreeing on the same thing is just what spouses do. The Armorer called you ‘two halves of one warrior’ at your wedding ceremony. It should’ve ring an alarm in your mind, but in your defense, you were too busy getting swooned off your feet.

It became apparent one day when you met him in a small bakery, just a few minutes away from the Keldabe Palace, when he wasn’t supposed to be done until much later in the day. You’ve been craving Keshian Spice Rolls all day and you figured it was a great day to take the kids out, enjoy the sun and a little sweet treats, then surprise your hard-working riduur with a box of pastries back in the palace. Imagine your surprise when you stepped into a bakery and saw him already queuing.

“Rid’ika!” He called, waving to you from the line. You skipped over the lines, smiling and nodding to everyone as you made your way to your riduur. Din took Grogu from you so you can lift Aranar, who’s busy charming everyone off with his toothy grin, up.

“What are you doing here?” You asked, holding his offered hand. “You have to meet the Prince of Bespin in half an hour.”

“I know, but I heard they are baking Keshian Spice Rolls. So I went to buy you some.” Din shrugged, not once caring about the Prince having to wait for him to get back from spoiling his riduur. “And what about you? I thought you have a bes'kad class for the verd’ike this afternoon.”

“The class won’t start for another two hours and I really want a spice roll.”

You heard people behind you aww-ing and you buried your face into his shoulder, humming when you feel cool beskar against your blushing cheek. Din smiled behind his helmet, paying for three spice rolls to go, never once he let your hand go. You got back to the palace with twenty minutes to spare and herded the ad’ike to the Mand’alor’s office.

“Knock when you need him and don’t come in before I answer.” You rushed into the room when you spotted Kryze marching to stop you.

“You two better not be having se-”

“Young ears, Kryze! Manda, we’re just gonna eat Spice Rolls!” You held the pastry packages up for her to see, holding your laughter when you saw her scowling.

“Spice rolls better not be a code for something else, Djarin! You have a meeting in twenty minutes!”

Din closed the door on her face and you locked it with the force for good measure before dissolving into giggles. Din lifted his helmet up and immediately pressed a longing kiss to your lips. The kiss was uncoordinated since the two of you couldn’t stop grinning. The kiss, and the pastries were heavenly, Grogu and Aranar shared a piece, for your peace of mind. After all, it was you who had to wrangle two sugar-high toddlers in the training yard as you teach advanced sword techniques to a group of heavily armed teenagers who happened to be Mandalore's newly sworn warriors.

The impending knock finally came and you shared another sugary sweet kisses with your riduur before you put his helmet back on and sent him away to his duty. The door was barely closed when you were hit with realization.

Fuck, you thought. We’re soul-bonded.

**

Overall, there are worse people to be soul-bonded with. Having one with your own riduur is not a bad thing at all. Having one with your riduur without any source to soul-bond knowledge, however, is another piece of work. Putting a mental shield up against your own riduur feels wrong but you do it anyway, respecting his privacy to his own mind.

Until today.

Today, you feel a gentle nudge at your brick wall of a mental shield, laced with Din's warm force presence. You could've brushed him off and shielded yourself better, but you thought to yourself that a small peak wouldn't be bad.

You're wrong. Oh, you're so wrong because it's bad. Your hand directly flies towards your mouth and you try to stifle a moan as a yawn.

In his fantasy, Din had you bent over the meeting table and he's pounding into you. He has his hand on the small of your back, pressing you down to the table. You're completely naked against the table, pinned beneath the beskar of his armor. You can hear the filthy sound of his cock ramming into your sopping cunt. Din grabs a fistful of your hair, making you cry his name out loud, losing yourself to the stretch and the hard thrusts of Din's cock.

“Oh fuck-” you grit your teeth, clenching your fist on your thigh. You sit there, stunned, breathless, unable to stop watching.

“Can you feel how good this pussy stretches around me, rid’ika?” Din grunts, holding you so close to his hips while his fingers reach down, rubbing your swollen clit. “Such a good girl, do you wanna cum, mesh'la? Wanna soak my cock and make me give you another ik’aad?”

Maker, yes! You thought, trying your damn hardest not to whine while the version of you in his mind is whimpering and begging him to make you cum. Din leans to your ear, telling you to come. You’re shuddering in his arm, moaning his name in a punched out noise with a telltale sign of orgasm, and you snap yourself out of his imagination.

You put your strongest mental shield up and you lean to the plush seat, blinking and looking around the room as you settle yourself back to reality. Din is sitting on the head of the table, looking over his own datapad as he watches a member of his council talk about Mandalore’s quarterly budget report. If you didn’t know better, you’d think your riduur is actively listening to the report instead of daydreaming about fucking you over this very table.

You tread carefully when you're back home. You put Aranar and Grogu to sleep late, making sure they are a little bit more tired than usual so they sleep soundly later tonight. Once the kids are out like lights, you take the baby monitor with you and change into one of Din’s loose shirts.

You find him still seated on the dining table, tapping things into his datapad. You smirk to yourself, walking towards him and leaning over the dining table to take your own datapad that you could easily reach if you make an extra trip to the end of the table. Din can't stop staring, making no move to help you, instead he stands up from the chair and moves to cup the swell of your ass, just like how he imagined before.

“Careful, rid’ika, you don't know what kinda game you're playing here.”

You whine when his hand moves underneath the shirt, trailing up your thigh, sending shivers up your spine. He whispers praises to your ear, biting down your jaw and your neck.

“Fuck, look at you, mesh'la, you're expecting this, huh?” He lifts the shirt up, revealing nothing underneath other than your glistening cunt. “I haven't even done anything, rid'ika, and this pretty pussy's already all wet for me.”

You moan softly when his fingers find your clit, rubbing on it as you shudder in his arms. Din sinks two fingers into your wet heat and he groans when he feels how wet you are. He thumbs on your clit as he keeps pumping in and out of your cunt, spreading your arousal all over his fingers and your inner thighs until you shake beneath him, then he pulls off of you.

“No, cyare please, I'm so close- Ah!” You cry as his fingers leave you, only to moan loudly when he kneels behind you and he slaps your soaked pussy.

“Needy girl,” he teases, slapping your clit again, ignoring your cries. He parts your folds with his tongue until his smart mouth finds your clit and he starts sucking on the sensitive nub. You grip the edge of the table tightly as you grind against his face, smearing your arousal all over his lower face. Din tuts, holding your hips in place, chuckling when he sees your hole clenches around nothing.

“You know what you get for being such a good girl, cyar’ika?” Din asks, his fingers are back on your clit, rubbing the bundle of nerve in a tight circle as you buck violently against his fingers. “Good girl gets to come on my face.”

His lips are back on you, kissing, lapping, and sucking until you're a whimpering mess. You let out a high pitched whine and you come on his mouth, flooding him with your arousal as he keeps on sucking on your lips as you ride your orgasm.

Din grabs your chin towards him and he kisses you hard, his lips are glistening with the mixture of your cum and his spit and you can taste yourself on the tip of his tongue. Din pulls off of you and he turns you around, lifting you up to the edge of the table. He lays you down and he parts your legs with a steady hand on your inner thigh, keeping them apart so he can admire his hard work, your drenched cunt glistening with your sweet come. Din groans then he spits on your cunt, adding to the mess before smearing everything around with the thick head of his cock. He's painfully hard, his foreskin is pulled all the way back, revealing the flared tip, steadily leaking precum all over you. He lines himself up with your entrance and fucks all the way into you in one push. You watch as his thick cock stretches your hole, feeling yourself clinging to his girth, fluttering around him as you struggle to take his size. Both of you moan when he finally buries himself deep inside you, still holding tight to each other.

“Maker, been thinking about this sweet pussy all day.”

Oh, I know. You thought. “Yeah? Did you think about fucking me, ner riduur? Thought about how my pussy clenches around your cock? Did you think about filling me up with your cum until I'm swollen with your adi'ka?” You taunt him, circling your legs on his hips to keep him buried deep inside of you.

“Fuck!” Din swears, hissing while he steadily leaks precum all over your wet heat, leaning his head to yours and rutting deep against your sweet spot. “You're playing with fire, rid'ika. Can't just say things like that.”

“But I want you to,” you beg, moaning wantonly when he starts pumping in and out of you. “Want you to keep fucking me until I'm so full and swollen with your baby.”

Din growls, pounding deep into you with punishing pace. He's watching you, watching your cunt swallowing his cock, watching your face grow slack with pleasure. You slip your hands under the shirt, covering your breast and squeezing them, making your milk leak until there's a wet patch over the shirt.

“Filthy girl,” Din grunts, pawing on the piece of clothing. “Lift it up baby, let me see.”

You lift the shirt up, revealing your breasts for him, shiny from both milk and sweat. Beads of your milk trickling from your nipples, leaking steadily as he fucks into you. He slips one engorged nipple to his mouth, sucking until he can taste you on his tongue while his fingers play with the abandoned one, rubbing and squeezing, spraying him with milk.

“Everything about you is just so sweet, rid'ika, my perfect girl.” He praises. He licks your nipple clean before switching to the other side, pressing open mouthed kisses before bringing the sensitive buds to his mouth and sucking on it, drinking you until he's full while his hand loves on the other one. His cock never stops pounding into you, bringing you closer and closer with each snaps of his hips.

He folds your legs into a mating press, tucking your knees against your chest and his cock is so deep inside you. So deep he reaches your cervix, kissing your womb with his tip. You clench hard around his length, your wall seizes violently around him, milking him irresistibly as he keeps hitting the spot that makes you see stars, begging him to please, never stop. You're wailing as your whole body shakes, tipping your head back and moaning Din's name so loud he has to cover your mouth with his palm, worried the filthy noises of the snap of his balls slapping your ass, your loud moans, and the squelching sound of your wet pussy might wake the sleeping kids up.

With a shaky shudder, you come down from your high, whining as Din keeps fucking you, chasing his own orgasm. After a few brutal thrust, your riduur groans loudly, shouting punched out moans as he peaks. His cock twitches in your soaked, messy cunt, filling you with his hot cum, flooding your insides and claiming you his. He kisses your lips, muffling both your moans, only parting to plant another kiss to your temple while he pumps you full of his cum, murmuring sweet, loving praises and filthy promises to you.

“That's a good girl, rid'ika. Take it, baby, gonna get you all round and pregnant. That's what you want, right? Want to give me another? Want to be bred all over again?”

Din keeps rutting with you until you both shake from overstimulation and he gently pulls out of you. He admires your blissed, fucked out face, trailing soft kisses down your jaw and your neck, sucking his marks all over your body. You tip his jaw up and catch his lips in another kiss, laced with a content smile, before breaking away to whisper sweet I love yous to each other.

Din gathers you in his arms, carrying you to the bedroom and lowering you gently into your shared bed. He leaves for the fresher, fetching a damp rag to clean you up before slipping into his side of bed beside you. He pulls you close, kissing your lips lovingly and rearranges the covers, tucking you into his arms.

“You're my dream girl, you know that right?”

“I tried,” you smile contently, caressing the scruff of his jaw softly.

“You don't have to,” Din mutters, humming when you snuggle closer to him, pressing your heartbeat over his. “You're perfect just the way you are.”

You exchange more kisses, lazily making out in bed until sleep takes over, safely nestled in each other's arms.

About a few weeks later, you start to feel the tiniest flutter in the force.

[philosophicalparadox]

Interesting Kisame Notes:

Some of these I think are common knowledge in the fandom at this point, but in case they haven’t reached some ears yet I’ll list them anyway.

His characterization is totally different in Japanese vs English dub, partly because his English VA typically voices utter meat-heads and given that Kisame looks like he would be, I guess it fits…buuuuuut it really doesn’t lol. In English, Kisame is very blunt and sounds pretty aggressive; but in Japanese he’s almost the total opposite:

The register of Japanese that Kisame speaks is called Keigo, which is very old and integral to the dialect spoken predominantly in Kyoto. It’s extremely formal — the nearest English equivalent dialect/register I can think of would be an amalgam of 1860’s Victorian High London English. Which is about the right time period, actually, that keigo sorta “belongs” to. (Meiji Era). I could go on trying to explain it, but the gyst is that Kisame is very formal and sometimes a little rude — there is, in fact, a register in Keigo that allows you to be both simultaneously— but he’s also meek. He’s non-committal and generally soft-spoken, even though he’s got an impressive and commanding presence. He doesn’t exactly minimise himself in a physical space or manner, but he definitely comes across like he’s trying not to “be the big baddie”, contrary to his English VA. He also refers to Itachi as -san even though by all rights he ought to use -kun, given that Itachi is 11 years his junior, which is a much loftier raise in respectful position than it would seem (all the moreso because Itachi is a little shit to him at first lol).

Kisame likes to fight, BUT he likes to fight fair. I have many disagreements with the Wiki, but this is probably my biggest gripe about Kisame on there. He’s demonstrably an honorable person, when he can afford to be. Kisame does taunt his opponents occasionally, but it’s never really anything more, and it’s clearly more for fun than for goading. He never outright insults them, though, not even when they’re very clearly outmatched, and he is curiously fond of complimenting his opponents, again even when outmatched. He’s also quite patient, albeit not as much as Itachi, but that I think comes down to their fighting styles more than anything. Itachi prefers a defensive approach, aiming to disarm, whereas Kisame has a much more smash-n-grab approach, wearing his opponent down in a contest of stamina and brute force. (Truly, these two are terrifying when you consider what they’re capable of when coordinating together.) either way, Kisame reminds me of an old Samurai in some ways, in that he follows a code, although maybe it’s one only he knows, and he sticks to it.

Kisame is very probably based on a Youkai called either the Koujin or more often Samebito. Or at the very least the Hoshigaki clan is likely inspired by the myth. Samebito are shark merfolk, essentially, and look pretty terrifying, but they’re actually quite benevolent to benign towards humans. In their mythology they specialize in making textiles of a special silk that’s entirely waterproof and very tough. They’re also, being water Youkai, very sensitive and often emotional creatures, which like some other youkai, cry tears that can crystallize into precious stones. (Water is the element of emotion). There’s a particularly famous story about one, which I won’t get into here — but the ways in which the myth reflects the man are such: Samebito are incredibly loyal to people that help them, and will literally hurt themselves or even kill themselves to help a friend or ally. They also have an honor system, one which prioritizes hospitality and fairness. They may not necessarily go out of their way to help a random human, but they’ll save people from drowning and if you do right by them, they’ll be sure to return the favor.

Kisame and Jiraiya are almost the same height. (Kisame 195cm or 6’4 3/4”, usually rounded up to 6’5” in the data books, Jiraiya is 191cm, about 6’3”) . They both are some of the tallest characters in manga canon, followed by Gai at 184cm, 6’0”.

Something that frequently goes unmentioned is that being one of the 7 swordsmen is more than just a title in Kiri, it awards you a special government role. What exactly that role is, is a bit up in the air, but we know that the swordsmen commanded units, and could command ANBU if they saw fit to. It’s also implied that there’s desk work and other managerial responsibilities associated with the position, which makes sense if we’re going the military commander route. Now obviously some of them were total whack jobs, but the fact nobody except arguably Mangetsu really liked Kisame, (we don’t know about Zabuza, but Kisame’s reaction implies they minded their own business when it came to the other) it’s interesting to think about how exactly that came to be. Cause Mr. Lightning Boy (I do not remember his name) that turns up in part 1 anime is not the sort I envision doing diligent paperwork or anything like proper commanding lol. I know I’m solidly in HC territory here, but I can envision Kisame actually trying to do his job as it says on the tin and every other swordsman looking at him like he’s nuts for sticking to his principles instead of buying into the corruption lol.

In other HC territory that is sort of canon-ish but I guess got retconned for plot or something: Kisame has a PHENOMENAL sense of smell. He’s a very good tracking nin. He’s a sensing type, with added sharky benefits. (Sharks can sense electrical activity in the muscles of prey, so I imagine Kisame is Extra perceptive.) Ergo, it has not ever once made sense to me that he’d of been genuinely surprised by the Tobi/Madara reveal. Unfortunately the tone he uses in Japanese is extremely neutral, so it’s (possibly deliberately) hard to read into. Is he being sarcastic? I’d like to think so, given what canon presents us with, but this is Kishimoto we are talking about lol. In case it’s not clear, I find it Highly doubtful that Obito could have completely changed his scent AND chakra signature beyond recognition, and the fact Itachi knows he’s playing pretend sort of leans into Kisame being aware of it, because I doubt Itachi could really keep his own skepticism under that tight of lock and key. Not around Kisame.

Alrighty, it’s 5am and I need to sleep 🤣 so take this as ye will for now

[stillness-in-green]

The thing that doesn't make sense to me if Izuku resolved to kill is how it doesn't let them prove AFO wrong? AFO did his big reveal which only makes it clearer how deep the grooming went and it should've been time for Izuku to understand Tenko and Tenko to understand the abuse then reject the mindset forced onto him. But Izuku killing Tenko doesn't do that. Tenko just dies. It feels very wrong.

I guess Izuku just wasn't very interested in proving AFO wrong! Honestly, the only thing I immediately remember Izuku disputing the guy on was the same thing he disputed Shigaraki on: that he was anything more than a human being. AFO isn't a Demon King, but just a lonely man. Shigaraki hasn't transcended humanity; there's still a human somewhere deep inside of him. Izuku won't correct his allies' use of dehumanizing language for Villains, of course, but he's quick to push back when the Villains themselves self-aggrandize.

Sorry, I really only have withering disdain for Deku at this point. And I guess I don't really see any evidence that Deku was ever particularly driven by "proving AFO wrong." He wants to stop AFO, certainly, but that's because AFO is a monster who takes advantage of vulnerable people to maneuver them into doing Bad Things that advance AFO's Bad Plans and sets them onto Bad Paths that are difficult to walk back, not because he expressly opposes AFO on this or that ideological point about the nature of humanity and society.

(Hit the jump for the rest of a somewhat rambly reply.)

If anything, current evidence is that neither Deku nor the manga itself really do disagree with AFO about the frailty of humans, as expressed by Tsukauchi answering Deku's question about how to prevent future tragedies by shrugging and saying, "You don't, because life fucking sucks sometimes and that's just how it is. Our hands are completely tied on improving the system as we have it, so all we can do is punch out the Villains that appear in front of us to stop them from causing more harm."

That's also me being a bit harsh, of course. The fact that Deku is even still asking that question in the epilogue suggests that the manga hasn't reached its final answer yet, and maybe it will yet come up with something better! It doesn't have much time left, but it's still possible!

All the same, Deku is still having to ask that question in the epilogue because he never truly faced it over the course of the story. Never thinking about what Shigaraki as a person said in favor of fetishizing the Crying Child, never coming up with any kind of non-violent plan of attack or conversational approach, I have to ask what exactly about Shigaraki did Deku ever disagree with AFO on?

AFO, in the end, characterized Shigaraki as a puppet he molded exactly as he desired, a doll who he sculpted and programmed to act as he wished, a feeble child who has never made a single decision that AFO didn't cultivate him to make. So far as I can tell, Deku never really contested that framing. He didn't know the extent of it until the full reveal, of course, but Deku, like AFO, insisted on approaching Shigaraki solely through that "Crying Child" lens. He seemed to believe that nothing Shigaraki said or did on the surface really mattered (save as a reason that Shigaraki had to be stopped and potentially killed), that the "truth" of Shigaraki was that feeble little weeping boy who never grew up.

How could Deku possibly "prove AFO wrong" in that context? He doesn't even disagree with him! I mean, he's got some nice talk about how people deserve a second chance, sure; he says that people doing wrong doesn't make them Villains for the rest of their lives. What does do that, however - insofar as I can tell from how opaque the series keeps Deku throughout the final war - is refusing the hand out of the darkness. You stop being a victim and become a Villain for the rest of your life by choosing to remain a Villain even when offered an alternative (no matter how patently awful that alternative is).

Shigaraki chooses to remain a Villain and Deku doesn't have a counter for that because Deku never really got past the false binary represented by Villains and Victims to begin with. And I think the same goes for people who expected Shigaraki to just fold when he realized the extent of the grooming he'd undergone. Disallowing Shigaraki any agency in who he is and what he's done is defining him the same way AFO and Deku both did; when Shigaraki refuses to accept that framing, refuses to be a passive victim, the only thing left for him to be is a Villain. And when a Villain refuses to stop...

Well, Hawks already told us what the Heroes' answer to that is. "Someone has to die." As no one ever stepped up to prove him wrong, as far as the story is concerned, he isn't.

AFO always knew that victims can be turned into Villains with the right nudges; that's the whole reason for him cultivating "warped seeds" whenever and wherever he found them. Hero Society is - and always has been - much too rigid in its enforcement of the Hero/Villain/Victim narrative to effectively combat him. Crucially, Deku - the boy who wants to bring everything back just the way it was - doesn't disagree with him. He thinks AFO is an asshole for setting people up to fail, but he doesn't disagree about what failure means. So if AFO, Deku, and the story itself are all in agreement, what's even there for Deku to disprove?

Now, there is something that would prove AFO wrong, but it isn't something you can do while insisting on drawing lines to separate sad manipulated woobie victims who just need to be saved from awful unrepentant villains who just need to rot. It isn't something you can do while infantilizing Shigaraki Tomura.

The way to prove AFO wrong is to make room in society to help all Villains. Even if they aren't asking for it, even if they never ask for it, and even if they're jolly bastards who don't really deserve it! As long as there's a point at which it becomes okay to give up on trying to save Villains, Shigaraki will remain unsavable. He will insist on being unsavable. He could no more let that go than All Might could step aside and let AFO's attack kill an innocent at Kamino.

That's what it means to be a Hero for Villains.

Ultimately, what makes AFO right is that he knows that Hero Society makes it difficult if not impossible to uncross the victim-to-Villain bridge, and so anyone who does cross that bridge (with or without his influence) is that much more susceptible to him. Deku, in turn, thinks the only Villains he can save are those who drop everything and come sprinting as fast as they can back to the Hero side, so anyone who won't do that is someone he can't help.

Shigaraki refused to stop trying to create a better world for Villains. Toga refused to live in a world that would imprison her. Twice refused to give up on the friends no Hero would help. It's the same with every other Villain who refused to quietly endure their status quo: in a society that refuses to change how it treats Villains, anyone who won't submit to suffering in silence cannot be saved.

That's the paradigm AFO exploits, and Deku will never prove him wrong without resolving to change the paradigm first. We'll see if the last two chapters get him there.

[neet-red]

My saja boys headcanons that I accept as truths

we all know the movie kinda didn't have enough time to properly give each of the saja boys a proper personality except for some minor moments, and that's a shame cause I really Fuck with them being satires of the k-pop industry and fandoms dehumanization of k-pop idols; often forcing these idols into stereotypes rather then letting them be themselves. soooooo these are my personal headcanons For their personalities based on the little characterization that we got and the fact that they're meant to be satires of their respective stereotypes.

Abby is well educated and prefers reading books about vampires/demons/ ghouls from different cultural mythos like for example Irish vampires are his favorite folklore cause they're actually attracted to the power of music instead of being sealed by it like gwi-ma. Whenever he gets the opportunity to breach the surface world he always makes sure to steal new books to add to his collection, he's always looking for new cultures to understand. He is also a feminist

Romance is a cynic to the core and he doesn't believe in love, passion or friendship but he will definitely be the first to die for his co-stars if it means saving them. He also NEVER stops laughing and making fun of jinu for having a crush on rumi. He likes watching melodramatic romance movies where one of the main characters die just cause he finds it funny. he'll audibly laugh everytime those sad scenes play especially in theaters.

Baby is a deadbeat, good for nothing father that went to buy milk, cigarettes, groceries AND news paper. He has 3 wives that JUST discovered each other existed and he has a total of 12 kids between them with twins on the way. The only time that he pays child support is if he accidentally Venmos the wrong ‘Jessica’ while drunk at karaoke... and even then he demands exact change.

mystery is non-verbal as hell, he definitely uses those Talking tablets to communicate with others. Like, everybody really just chills with him. He's also constantly wearing noise canceling earphones that's playing "under the sea" on repeat for hours. He contributes the most in choreographing the dances, set pieces design and publicity. He also like anything with peanut butter on it.

[ghostflowerdreams]

When Fatima tried to enter the Colony House, it seemed like the door was locked. She got distracted by the smell of rotten vegetables, but the other woman entered without any trouble. Looking back, it’s almost always Ellis or someone else opening the doors for her. Could this mean she’s turning into a monster, or that her baby is one? That feels like the obvious route to take with her story, but it could just be a regular pregnancy, like Marielle suggested. Maybe they're trying a bit of misdirection with the audience, eh?

What did Marielle say, that it's hyperemesis gravidarum? Apparently, it's a severe form of morning sickness characterized by extreme nausea, persistent vomiting, which can lead to significant weight loss, dehydration, and electrolyte imbalances. Repeated vomiting can wear down tooth enamel and increase the risk of decay—not exactly tooth loss, but her condition is likely worse than others due to the lack of access to a dentist and basic oral hygiene products like toothpaste, floss, and mouthwash.

The next question is: why is she eating rotten vegetables? This could be explained by pica, an eating disorder that can occur when the body is low on essential minerals and nutrients like iron and zinc. Pica can happen at any time, to anyone, and women can develop pica during pregnancy. Some people might eat substances like dirt, clay, cornstarch, or even other non-food items like stones, mothballs, and paint chips. Given that she hasn’t eaten anything in three days, it’s quite possible that she has developed pica.

Some people have suggested the food was intentionally rotted to provide her with something to eat. This could hint at her having a monster baby, but it may also be unrelated.

Whatever force controls the monsters and the town clearly operates under its own set of rules, which are always rigged in its favor. It takes something away while offering something in return.

A lot of people in the Colony House died, but then a bus full of people show up. Interestingly, I can't recall who it was, but someone expressed concern about not having enough food to feed everyone. Shortly after, we see that the crops they were growing have all rotted away. Now, they really don't have enough food to feed everyone.

Tian Chen remained hopeful, suggesting they could grow the food by planting the crops in different locations to find suitable soil. Then, Jim and Kenny discover a patch of cabbages growing amid the remnants of an old village. That location wasn't there before, but now they have enough food again and a new place for their crops to grow.

It feels as though something is listening; it knows what’s on their mind, and offers them hope (or makes their fear a reality), only to crush it later. The townspeople aren’t just a source of entertainment for it, they’re likely the very means by which it sustains itself. It's their fears and hopes that make their despair (or soul) all the sweeter to consume.

Why else would the radio in the dinner turn on when Kenny was grieving? It taunted him, but at the same time, that radio was the same one that gave Boyd a sign to explore the forest.

It's clear that some kind of overseer entity is listening and watching them all. I wonder how long it will take for them to realize they need to be more careful about what they say aloud, as their words seem to manifest into existence.

[hoodedjelly]

Hi, you were looking for people to send you asks reguarding the show, so here I go. Well I unfortunately don't have any questions about Inanimate Insanity as I havent seen it, but I have questions about hfjONE, as I havent found anyone to talk to about the show with.

What is your favourite character in ONE?

Favourite moment in the show?

What did you think about Airy's death, did you think it felt natural for the show, or do you think it should of gone in a different direction?

What do you think about the investigation mini-series that followed after? Also your doodles of the characters including the ones from Inanimate Insanity are adorable.

OH JOY TIME TO YAP!!!

Fav ONE character: for like "serious" favs Liam, Bryce and Airy. Love Amelia too, but I'll explain my thought process with why i picked those 3. First i fear i constantly fall in love with the main characters of shows, but to me Liam is different. It can be so easy for him to be characterized as the always caring wants to help everyone main character. But he just isn't that, he gets mad, he gets frustrated, he argues back with Bryce. And i really love that??? He has a heart of gold but he will beat the fuck outta airy if he gotta, and he did. With all of that and him being our main character he's still mysterious, like I'm going to be thinking till the day i die about why he didn't see anyone in The Waiting Room. For Bryce, if I'm being honest I'm not always a fan of asshole characters but he has so much depth in my eyes it makes me not well. He can, like Liam, could easily just be "always the asshole one that hates everything" character but he really isn't like that at all, he's immediately caring to Bryce and Amelia, he just puts his foot down to the obvious upsetting situation he was forced in. he left ONE like it was a bad dream and tried to move on like it was one, he found purpose and he moved on, he wouldn't have known that they were still in there after a month or so. he didn't see stone write those notes, after he finally has stability (if it is just running a fast food place) then more then half a year later some random fucking "dream" guy knocks at his door telling him to do things. And omg don't get me wrong Bryce is still an asshole, just a understandable asshole, and only one cause of the situation he was forced in. For the themes of the show, i love that he is a little selfish, people aren't perfect, people can and will be selfish sometimes (that also goes back to airy's character but i look away). his development out of any character was amazing, the "I'm not in the suburbs anymore" line makes me scream and cry every ONE rewatch. Airy is just the perfect villain for a show like this, i can go on about how the writing of the "people" characters are so rich and have several layers of depth that my little autistic brain wants to pick. But this is already long and i have 4 more questions. for a show that has a concept theme of life and emotion, the villain being one that lacks emotions is just SO good it makes me want to claw on the walls. Still with that he still has SOMETHING, he helps Liam, but he also was the one that trapped him. Is he good? is he bad? well for a show that actively tries to NOT put characters in a box of "the nice one and the mean one" those types of questions are very shallow. did airy deserve what he got? was there a better way? well there's always a better way when you're looking from the outside, but inside, airy was just broken (literally haha). there's no forgiving, why would you, what airy did was awful. but you can understand, if only a little. the last line in the whole show being "when you got nothing better to do you'll find anything to occupy yourself" was so good i can keep writing paragraphs about airy but I NEED TO MOVE ON OMG. (fav non-serious characters are atom, subway seat and whippy creamy)

Favorite moment of ONE: For s1, it has to be the end of episode 4, but not the part of stone leaving, Amelia snapping at Airy. First time watching ONE i actually started tearing up at that scene, and it made me realize "oh shit this show is something different". All i wish is that the show explored Amelia more, even though i know that's the whole thing with the show, leaving things up for the audience to figure out. but i feel she got a little TOO much for us to figure out and basically nothing on her. For s2, it has to be the intro on ep 18. Every single time i watch that scene i tear up a little, Bryce's voice actor did AMAZING during that scene (and that says a lot cause the voice acting is amazing through out the whole show). The dread of already knowing what's gonna happen, the music, Bryce basically yelling at airy like he's an angry god. like OUGH it makes me freak out every single time i watch it.

Thoughts on airys death: When i first watched it i was definitely shocked, but i trusted the writing enough to know that it wasn't just "oh random shock value" moment. I love how bitter sweet it is, i love that he went back to the Waiting Room and now it looks like the exact place he trapped other people. He got his karma for what he did, now he has to sit and basically start over, fine another place or sit there and rot like toothpaste had to do. i like to think about if it was an accident or on purpose a lot, obviously it was an accident (at least to me), but was he thinking about it? why did he make the bridge so unstable? he's been there for 10 years, he made a whole house, but not a safe bridge? was he actively being careless? my friend pointed out to me that he does have a very new injury, that might have messed up his brain (even more), or his vision. I just love bitter sweet endings, i love thinking about "what next", and getting to see it, lets my brain start running.

Thoughts on investigation mini-series: OH I LOVED IT, it's more story building but it leaves the ending the same. more stuff about Taylor (the mini-series made me love her more), and background characters. it's just more of cheesyHFJ flexing his character writing and i'm here for it i will EAT IT UP!!!

Thank you so much for the questions! my GOD this was longer then i wanted, call me the yap master (im not)

heres a doodle of my fav ONE characters just for fun ^__^

[yanderenightmare]

Saw you post about being in a rut a little while ago, but it seems like you’ve bounced back. So, question for the helpdesk, how do you fight off writer's block?

On Writer's Block!

This is a timeless question! And sort of one without any good answers, because each battle with writer’s block is different. Still, I’ll walk you through my process this time around and hope it can be of use!

I got writer’s block shortly after I finished and published my book, College Years. For a long time during this period, I’d been solely working on these twenty stories, and in the final month, I was mainly only reading, rendering, and doing very minimal actual creative writing. And so, after publishing, I was kind of stumped by needing to start everything over again and write stuff from scratch.

It was rough! That blank page is really tough, especially when the ideas just aren’t coming or the interest in whatever ideas that do come just isn’t there.

So, how did I bounce back? Well, first and foremost, I took a break. I rested my creativity and let it simmer so that it could grow restless and itchy to get back into writing. But even then, it was almost as if I’d forgotten how to write, and everything I was writing just felt forced, like I was writing something all for the sake of not feeling utterly useless.

It didn’t feel good.

I needed to identify the problem, and the problem I found was that I wasn’t really enjoying writing, even though I desperately wanted to. And why was that? Plenty of reasons. I’d been working on a really big thing, my book, and now that I was going back to smaller things again, that sense that stuff needed to be on the same level was all but stifling. In short, it was pressure.

And pressure comes in many forms. It wasn’t that I felt pressured by my followers or anything like that. It was simply that starting anew with fresh blank pages suddenly felt really daunting and, in a way, boring—and it all sort of just sapped me of energy before I’d even barely begun.

So, what did I end up doing? Well, if writing is feeling daunting, all you need to do is remind yourself that it’s anything but—at which point I decided to reintroduce myself to the art of writing from scratch.

And what does that mean? Well, it simply means going back to basics—giving yourself easy and non-risky writing exercises that allow you to play and have fun, where you reteach your imagination to do more work than the actual typing, so that it stops feeling like a chore and becomes your favorite thing to do again.

Now, there are a lot of these exercises—just search for short creative writing exercises in your search engine or on YouTube, and you’ll find tons of fun little prompts and games you can test. It’ll sort of feel like you’re back in school, but that’s the point.

You can use those standard exercises that come with time limits and prompts, or you can choose some simple ones that fit your genre better.

Here’s some I did to get into the groove again:

♡ Apex predators

The clientele of hybrid bunny reader.

This is something easy-going and fun I’ve done a lot throughout the years, which is simply to use the existing traits and characteristics of any given animal in order to characterize. 

When doing this, I like to just sit with the original animal for a while and think of all the things that are associated with them. For example, take dogs—I think hunters, pack, carnivores, police—and then boom, wouldn’t it be fun if dog hybrids were police? 

On top of that, I’m also a guilty fan of puns and idioms, so I tend to search for those types of things as well. And so, inspired by the simple idiom of dirty dog, I immediately figured hybrid dog police were all dirty cops, which in turn set the premise for the rest of the clientele… lion senators, leopard stockbrokers, vulture mobsters, reptile lawyers, etc…

♡ Yandere Days of the Week

Here, you incarnate the seven days, using things tied to each day to create a personification of that day. For example, Sundays are holy, and given their religious connotation, I made Sunday act as a missionary worker.

♡ Yandere Seven Deadly Sins.

Here, again, you incarnate the seven sins. This one might be a little easier, as they’re all already based on a core emotion or act that you can use as a focal point. 

Another similar exercise that I did years ago is assigning each character within BNHA a deadly sin. This is a bit more challenging as it really forces you to dive deep into each character and find an angle that works with the sin they’ve landed with. I remember that giving Bakugou the sin of pride wasn’t hard, but as I ran out of sins for the other characters, it steadily became harder, and I had to get really creative when I was left with no other option but to give Hawks the sin of sloth. But that was the good thing about that exercise! It really forced me to play with different angles and perspectives in order to make it work.

But anyway, summing things up. The core idea is that animals, weekdays, and deadly sins all have associations you can play with, making it fun for you to really bring forth the essence in each one.

There are plenty of other similar categorical tropes you can utilize to do this. 

I'll make it its own Prompt list for those interested!

♡ NIGHTMARE'S HELPDESK

[swallowerofdharma]

So let’s talk about… (h)ornithology…

Saezuru tori wa habatakanai (English title: Twittering Birds Never Fly) by Kou Yoneda is an ongoing manga, published in ihr HertZ magazine and currently available in nine volumes. Publication began in 2011.

Shangri-La no Tori (English title: Birds of Shangri-La) by Ranmaru Zariya is an ongoing manga, published in Canna magazine and currently available in three volumes. Publication began in 2017.

I recently had a interesting conversation about possible similarities and differences between these two titles and I thought that it could be interesting to write down some thoughts. I also caught up with Shangri-La, since I had read it in the past when the third volume wasn’t available - well I reread it entirely because, like many other bl manga I got recommended, this one didn’t hold my attention or capture my interest in the way Saezuru did and I didn’t remember most of it. I want to underline that this is my personal experience and a matter of preferences, that I am sharing my personal opinion and I am not trying to make a comparison in terms of good manga vs bad manga. I want to talk about my reasoning and observations, and I’ll attempt to illustrate my points so that it is hopefully clear the terms of the comparison I am making.

I won’t deny that in writing this post I will reiterate previous comments I made about Saezuru as a bl manga that seems to me quite exceptional and therefore much more interesting because of its realistic approach to the world and characters being portrayed. And because from a very superficial perspective, Shangri-La and Saezuru seem to treat very similar themes and dynamics, it is useful to pick up where and how they differ. This post doesn’t want to say anything about reading for entertainment or escapism, rather it’s more about understanding how you write a story in a manga format and how that relates to how the story works overall. So if you’re bored with this topic, you can skip this one.

I don’t have direct knowledge of the composition of the magazines these two manga are published in, but I can say that they are more on the explicit side of bl manga (erotica). Which means that they cater to a readership that expects to see explicit sexual scenes as soon as possible, mostly don’t want or expect female nudity, and will stay with the story if they are enamored with the characters and engaged in the anticipation of a sentimental outcome and emotional growth between a couple that is usually at the center of the narrative. To come up with a premise that is immediately satisfying is a hard task. In Saezuru, we have the exploitation of an already established couple from another short story: Kageyama and Kuga for sex to be teased in the very first pages, and maintaining a level of “spice” by exploiting the main character Yashiro’s hyper sexuality as a prominent part of his characterization. Shangri-La makes the whole setting works in favor of that immediate explicit action: a brothel in a non-specified island, one of the two main characters being a sex worker. Yashiro and Phi are the first to be introduced as the most pro-active and easy-going in terms of sexual freedom; Doumeki and Apollo are introduced next, in the first chapter as well, and they both don’t express sexual desire representing instead a restraining, reassuring force: one is a “straight” employee, the other has been impotent for some time.

But let’s talk about how these two scenarios differ, because they have less things in common than they are alike, once you pay attention to few details. We meet Yashiro in a pretty nondescript office, we don’t get a first name, and the family name Yashiro is not rare; as we get introduced to other characters, Doumeki is the only name that stands out a little, but they are all Japanese family names. Whereas a Phi or an Apollo are already exotic names that fit the distinctive characteristics of the rather fantastical environment they inhabit. Reading the entirety of Saezuru we find ourselves not having to travel much outside of the Tokyo metropolitan area, we get a sense of where certain events take place and of real districts and buildings in the city, so much so that people have drawn maps to visit some of them.

You can’t do quite the same thing with Shangri-La, not only because it’s undisclosed what either the island nor the mainland and country are called, but because the whole scenario is barely plausible in terms of real world economics or circumstances. Apollo’s job doesn’t even make sense, unless you buy into the proprietor of the brothel’s business model. I had to suspend my disbelief very hard very quickly. It’s fantastical, and exotic and barely credible, except that sex work and sex tourism are a very sensitive and interconnected issue in many areas in Southeast Asia, making Shangri-La’s exoticism, orientalism and hyper-sexualization feel a-critically exploited. There are talks in the manga about underage prostitution and groups pushing for changes in the legislation around sex work, but the topic is yet to be explored and because this is an imaginary place, it doesn’t really seem that the matter is considered in more realistic or detailed terms. The discussion is just a device to create an ambience and a sense of precariousness, Phi’s whole existence can’t stay as it is much longer.

Saezuru portrays yakuza and police in terms that are relatable to the real world, including references to laws and how criminal activities or social interactions are handled. Using the real world as a setting, Yoneda can add details and layers to story and characters that feel very grounded. It adds credibility, and the possibility of exploration into the social background of different characters less as a plot device (tragic backstory) and instead in more rich terms, in relatable yet different mentalities and habits associated with certain experiences. Shangri-La’s setting is much more similar to romance novels, Phi is the ingénue prostitute that doesn’t know or understand many common things. He adapted to extraordinary environmental conditions as best as he could but never grew out of them, sheltered in this artificial paradise based upon fleeting pleasures. Apollo’s role is quite clear: the straight man, so serious he was married, he desired one exclusive person to love and was instead betrayed. There is not much about him in three whole volumes compared to how much we get to know about Doumeki in the first three chapters, and that will only get explored more. About Apollo, we received most of the information from his best friend, who is also conveniently his lawyer, another character who seems to be around only for help with the exposition.

The insistence upon Apollo’s sexual orientation is interesting as well because it serves more as a fantasy than anything else: he will resist the charms of everyone except The One. And True Love surpasses any limitations, including sexual orientation or preferences in that one instance. Is Doumeki the same? I would argue that this is exactly what Yashiro seems to say when he’s talking to Kamiya. Doumeki is straight, is attracted to women, it so just happened that he was attracted to Yashiro as a one time exception. But is Yashiro’s reasoning or what he says out loud the most reliable source of information about what things actually are meant to be understood in Saezuru? And this is the same for every character, every one is telling the story according to their partial knowledge and understanding. No one seems to ask Doumeki. Would Kuga say that Doumeki is straight? There is a level of complexity and multiplication of the points of view in Saezuru, brief conversations and moments that are hints, like we are witnessing the story more than we are told about it. And everyone is left wondering. Common tropes are brought down to earth, in my opinion. Doumeki said that he had no knowledge of the possibility of being attracted to men until he met Yashiro and he felt so strongly that he regained sexual desire. Yashiro now isn’t able to respond to other men in the same way as before, but Doumeki is the exception, he is The One, right? But these circumstances if analyzed deeply have deep emotional implications and can be also explained using common sense. Here is Misumi using the aforementioned common sense:

There are other stylistic choices too in how the narrative is constructed that I noticed. Zariya is a talented and expert artist and designed stunning, sexy and appealing panels since the very first pages. The inner dialogue of Phi helps getting the reader into the story and creating expectations for the storytelling as a whole: “Lips are made for lying. People learn how to lie just by living. And the eyes… They know when others are watching. The hands though… They’re terrible liars. If you pay close attention, you’ll find shadows of the person’s character, even hints of their past. All in all… They’re rather eloquent speakers”.

Now I was engaged: I was ready to look at how characters move and use their hands like Sherlock Holmes. I expected that the manga would follow through with that, but it’s for things like the imprint of the ring or the habit of biting your nails. It’s disappointing to me, because did you have to make it so explicit? So mundane even.

Many instances of Yashiro bringing his hands to his face to hide parts of it or the entirety of it, including this heartbreaking moment at the end of ch 25, when the act of bringing them back down almost suggests that he has put a mask back on before looking up directly at you, nowhere in the text there is an explicit declarations about hands or that gesture, but nevertheless the execution of these moments makes them very poignant. It’s two different ways of doing things that cement for me, according to my own preferences, the high level of subtle expression that Yoneda manages to achieve.

When the story of Shangri-La progresses and Apollo becomes more interested in Phi, he asks to borrow a psychology book that tells him how the habit of biting around one’s fingernails is a sign of stress or anxiety. In the same way, most conversations with other people are about getting to discuss and explicitly communicate the meaning behind a certain behavior, or pieces of information about someone else’s character. This kind of 1:1 exposition, plain observational analysis rendered explicit is a sign of either a mistrust toward the ability of the readers to understand things implicitly or just plain lack of anything else to fill the pages with between a sex scene and the next.

The amount of information that we have about secondary characters in Saezuru, about their motivations and personalities, in comparison is astounding. It’s clear that Yoneda knows even more about each character who speaks in any given scene than what has been portrayed. There is so much going on, so much past and lingering feelings, from resentment to personal grudges and grievances, to power dynamics and their consequences and external pressures and events happening at any time.

It would be interesting for example making a comparison of the relationships between the proprietor of the brothel and Phi on one hand and between Misumi and Yashiro on the other. What we came to learn about Misumi is so much more in terms of quantity and in terms of believability - it makes more believable Yashiro’s position as yakuza - that it is quite difficult to decide where the proprietor of Shangri-La stands in terms of overall intentions or values in having rescued and sheltered and kept Phi quite in the same position of dependency. It appears to me that the character is there just to set the stage: he is the owner of the theater.

It’s unreality and it’s just a stage after all to play a sexual fantasy. All the drama that surely will come will follow the same fictional rules of everything else. It’s not bad, it’s just another way to tell a story. The art is visually pleasing, but the paneling didn’t capture my attention or worked for me as well, in comparison to Yoneda’s more cinematic style and composition. It’s theatrical production vs shooting on location yet using multiple different camera angles for every dialogue. To try to explain the difference in another way: I imagine that the usual disclaimer "All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental" that needs to be used for movies or tv shows set in real environments and with fictional portrayals of real world events and scenarios could apply to a live action adaptation of Saezuru and be considered unnecessary to Shangri-La. Still, realism in fiction isn’t about making stories be like documentaries or having the same purpose exactly, but about exploring how we perceive the real world and about possibilities.

What do you think? There is more to say in terms of power dynamics and positions between each individual in the two main pairs and the role of others, and in terms of expectations and desirable outcomes readers might dream about in simple ways or taking instead a different approach. But I really don’t want this to be a too long of a reading and if you made it here, thank you so much. I hope this doesn’t come across as too harsh or anything about Shangri-La. If you want to add some other observations or give another perspective, please do. This was just an attempt to draw a comparison and reveal big differences in approach between manga that still can seem very similar at first glance.

[zutarasbuff]

I watched the Netflix adaptation of ATLA today and being a hardcore fan of the OG series who knows every nook and cranny of the ATLA world, here’s my unbiased and truly honest review (It contains both the negatives and positives of the series, so dear reader please enter to read at your own risk).

Firstly, let’s talk about the wonderful additions to the already magical world of ATLA.

1. The depth of the genocide

Well, I always wanted to know how the air nomads were suddenly wiped out and how it would have been for them? Why didn’t they resist? I got my answers in the first episode where we explore how the unhinged power of the comet was “actually” used to create a genocide on a massive level. Before that, I had only heard about it in the OG series. Those few scenes were so powerful that they had left me sobbing uncontrollably and Gyatso’s concern regarding Aang had me bawling.

2. Suki’s Characterization

In the OG series, we do find our Suki the fiercest warrior, but here in the live action, she’s an absolute goddess. She is perfect in every sense. She understands the responsibilities she has being a non-bender and is fearless. Her character is what I believe to be was the strongest one of all.

3. Graphics & Music

We never talk about a film by M.Night (that didn’t happen), but this one is really a visual treat for you can readily set yourself up for some mind-blowing bending scenes, plus the fight scenes are quite impressive. It seems that the VFX team had really done their homework this time. Plus, both Momo and Appa are so freaking cute. I loved the fluffy Appa. Good work over there. The revival of the OG theme is also a highlight plus the sun warriors’ chanting in the end is given a new but intriguing twist. The background music especially in scenes where Aang unravels his Avatar powers is mystical in every aspect.

4. Life in motion

I don’t know about others, but I have always been a sucker for animation as well as live-action where characters are operating even in the direst of the circumstances. Life is there and even after they know what happened a hundred years ago, they are still trying to believe and regain their past confidence. This is beautifully portrayed and I was very much impressed by the way people are continuing their day-to-day activities even in the middle of a crisis.

Overall, the series serves the purpose of an adaptation carrying its unique colors (at least better than the previous live-action disaster that didn’t happen).

Now let’s move to the bad side, and when I say it’s honestly what I felt, you need to take my word on it being a hardcore Atla fan.

1. Weak writing & lots of exposition

ATLA remains at a 9.2 IMDB rating even after years because of its writing, strong plot, and very few plot holes. This time, the writers are the real amateur ones. Despite adding more to the already flourishing universe of ATLA, sadly, they killed the quest of the viewer to find answers. There is too much exposition. It seems that every character just wants to see the end of the war and keeps on revealing things after things. Plus, some of the OG moments that were the soul of the series are not even included. The way Aang finds Momo and then decides to keep it with him as a last remnant of their bygone air nomad civilization is nowhere to be found. In fact, the replacement of Roku with Kyoshi is the biggest disappointment. I love Kyoshi like no one else but that was unnecessary as per the cycle.

2. Bland acting

Even the worst writing shots can be digested only if the acting appears real good. Sadly, this is another issue that I found with the NETFLIXED version. No doubt the characters must have done a lot of hard work for this, yet, they lack the expressive power. Gordon as Aang is super cute but the goofiness is not even there. Katara seems a nerd who doesn’t like to talk much even when it’s necessary and Sokka’s jokes are forced. Meanwhile, Dallas seems to save the day at one point, but again his over-the-top angry young man attitude ruins it for me. Maybe the actors will learn from the criticism in the upcoming season (if Netflix plans to go with it).

3. Major changes

Yes, it’s okay to change the narrative while you are working on an adaptation, but targeting the loyal viewers who are OG fans of ATLA means that you have to be very careful when you are trying to implement your changes in scenes that are the real soul of the OG. You can’t change the Omashu myth as if it’s nothing when we actually see even the cute animated version of the folklore. You cannot portray Roku more as a perpetrator of the genocide and Bumi as the evil king when in truth he’s the mad king who’s known for his genius ways of teaching. I hated that. Plus, reducing Zhao’s authority and taking Uncle Iroh’s sarcastic attitude is just meh. Mai again doesn’t even seem perfect as a cast. Jet is good as far as the aesthetics are concerned but Jet being in Omashu doesn’t even sit right with me. The amalgamation of multiple storylines creates so much confusion and this persists till the end.

4. Bending at convenience

We all know how Katara’s bending progressed throughout the first season and it’s little effort each day. However, in series, one day she’s unable to bend even a droplet of water and the next day she is capable of producing ice crystals. This was unacceptable for me because I was anticipating her learning strategies. Besides, Aang doesn’t learn much water bending throughout this season and in the end, it’s him being the savior in Avatar state. Thoughtless bending sucks despite the great VFX and that’s one thing at which you can’t convince me otherwise.

5. Forced friendships

We all know how it took some time for Sokka to embrace Aang as a chum. However, here Sokka keeps on calling him “the kid” and remains mostly alienated from Aang. Talking to Katara, then she also seems more interested in helping Avatar fulfill his goal than being with a friend. I hated the scene where Aang comes into the Avatar state and instead of hugging him just like in the OG series, Katara runs along Sokka and keeps on calling his name. How is that going to build any organic friendship? I think the first mistake began right from the very moment when Aang was taken back to Wolf Cove on a boat in his unconscious state. Upon opening his eyes, the first person he finds near him is neither Katara nor Sokka but a tribesman who’s playing guessing games. Writers were really high when they wrote that.

6. Lack of the four nations’ biodiversity

Maybe in live action, it’s difficult to create all the marvels of the four nations when we talk about their natural biodiversity. In the OG series, it is indicated by Aang that even after 112 years, he has still not forgotten the animals that define different regions in the four kingdoms and that’s exactly why he wants to finish those “important tasks” alongside saving the world. His important tasks included keeping a check on the natural biodiversity of the lands and exploring whether the Hundred Years’ War had not damaged the majestic animals. Actually, his first dialogue right after regaining consciousness is to go for an otter penguin’s ride with Katara. When I thought about that I felt that somewhere in Aang’s mind he was always connected to nature and that’s why he wanted to regain that connection by being an avatar. Sadly we never see much of the biodiversity but I hoped that maybe they will.

Also, how come Aang had that silent whistle for one hundred years when in the series he only discovers that accidentally? I missed the OG Yip Yip for our Appa. There are lots and lots of problems with the Netflix version, and no I am not being a nitpicker. I appreciate how the current creators credited the original ones, but now I know why Bryan and Michael bade farewell to this project. On a scale of 10, it’s a 4 for me or 4.5 if I am being too generous.

If I am asked to review the live action in a single line, I would only say this:

“The Netflixed ATLA makes you go back to the OG series and you end up watching the animation to give your mind a much-needed respite from a carefully crafted artistic disaster aimed at the sensationalized generation.”

[fall0utmind]

I really liked the way you characterized bez and pecco in your fic, and it got me thinking about the relationship between marc and the academy. And since you opened your asks, you me yapping about It's so weird because he is closer to them in age than he is in Valentino but by the virtue of his achievement he seem kind of unattainable to them. And obviously because of the rivalry, they don't really interact with him (except to pick a fight but that doesn't count). But then, he becomes pecco's teammate and, unless they put a wall in the ducati garage and factory, he will have to get to know him. And he realizes maybe Marc is not that bad (batshit insane maybe but not evil), and while marc is initially guarded around him, they do eventually get closer (and probably ropes the whole academy into becoming friends with him). Valentino may advise him against it but pecco is a grown man he knows what he's getting into.

Now I hesitate, whether this should be abo or not, but i think the secondary gender dynamics are very interesting (the idea of pack as a family or the whole non verbal communication through scent etc ), also it forces people that are trying to ignore their feelings for each other into situations they don't really like. Or maybe an au where you share a soulbound with people close to you.

My point is, at some point, marcnaia end up share that bound (whether romantic or platonic), and that pisses Vale so much, cuz secretly he thinks "that is my rival with whom i had a disastrous and very divorce, go find your own" (and pecco probably can feel that since they share a bound ), especially if he never got to build that kind of bound with marc and regrets it because maybe it would've saved them . (honestly it would be funnier if they are just friends but Rossi is just there in the background eyes twitching because he thinks there is something more). And Marc is like "what exactly is your problem" (beside the obvious),and either things get so weird they HAVE to talk about it (unlikely) or some catastrophe happens and vale has to get his shit together and maybe realize he fucked up concerning marc, but i am not too sure about how it would play out.

Anyway, just wanted to share this with you, maybe it would give you ideas. Side note: I love your writing, it's amazing. You really know how to balance between hurt and confort.

Okay okay, I have SO MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT MARC X VR ACADEMY

So many!!!! So, thanks for giving me the opportunity to yap.

I defo think that for some of the academy, notably, Cele and Bez, there is still a very unattainable air to Marc. I mean, Marc is an 8-time world champion, after all. I think for luca, it is less of that due to his relationship with the brothers and being around when Marc and Vale were friends. Pecco is also a world champion, so Marc is a little less untouchable for him, but I defo think there's still that air around him because Marc really should be the God of the sport. Especially after Vale retired. But he's become a bit of a devil. Anyways so the academy defo see Marc as slightly apart, untouchable but dangerous etc etc

Now- pecco and marc!!!!!!! I want to write a fic about their friendship and vale being jealous! I actually have a draft on my laptop!

I defo think pecco is going to develop a bit of a soft spot for marc. Like, Marc is really just insane, especially about winning, lol. So they get close, and it kinda drags some of the academy into their friendship, too. Like bez begins to humanise him, luca already likes marc, but they get closer!! Cele is 100% hero worshipping which is hilarious and kinda sweet.

Okay, I really love abo and I think that could be so good, but I have a few other abo fics in the works, so maybe for this one, I wouldn't. But, that being said, I adore your ideas of both abo and soul bond au!!! I think there's so much that can be done with those AUs. I especially love the soul bond ideas or something similar. Keep an eye out for some abo AUs going forward though, there's a few coming!!!

In terms of jealousy- pecco and marc are definitely having a championship rivalry, but it's very professional and civil. They love battling each other on the track and being friendly off it. Vale is watching this like what the fuck and he keeps babbling to Pecco about mind games. Pecco has just reached the point where he roles his eyes and ignores it, humming every so often to make it seem like he's listening. Because he's an adult and Marc has been nothing but polite and civil. If they fuck up, they apologise to each other and move on.

Vale is watching all of the Ducati videos where Marc and Pecco are doing stupid things together and are laughing, and marc is looking at Pecco like he cares, and Pecco is clearly attracted to Marc (or Vale thinks so?) And excuse you, that's Valentino's rival and enemy. How dare Pecco be his friend, how dare he take marc away?

Pecco has no idea why Vale is suddenly acting so weird. Marc clicks on pretty quickly but thinks it's just that he hates the friendship him and pecco have formed, not that Valentino is jealous!

I'm not sure what would happen that would make them get their shit together. Probably alcohol involved, though, let's be real. Marc definitely gets his 9th title and Vale isn't as mad as he thought but he really needs Pecco to back off and oh? He's jealous???

I absolutely love the idea of marc hanging out with the academy without Valentino knowing too. Or maybe marc is invited to the ranch or something, and Vale just feels awkward and jealous watching his boys riding and joking with Marc fucking Marquez as if he's always been there and suddenly Vale can imagine marc always being there. Fitting in with their little family. And next thing he knows, he's imagining mornings with Marc, waking up and watching him in the early morning light because he's so beautiful and UGH. Anyways cue Valentino breakdown.

Love love love this whole idea!!

Thank you so much for asking and for your kind words!!!! 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

(I might make this into a drabble, if you'd like, let me know )