#and the thing is: it doesn't matter what he does or who he fights or how many people he saves

[rosyhoneydew]

9-1-1 8a Coda

Buck shows up to the little soiree that Eddie is hosting the night before he leaves for Texas. The 118 (et. al) is there along with some other familiar faces. Eddie's old coworkers from dispatch are there, Josh and Linda, and Carla are there. Tommy's there.

It's a good night, it's bittersweet, but everyone seems to be focused on remembering the good, the funny, the sweet times, rather than thinking about the goodbye to come. There are a few hijinks that come with Buck begging everyone there to not let him be alone in a room with Tommy. I don't know what I'll say to him if we're left alone. He's not mad, it's the opposite more than anything. Left alone, Buck's worried he'll beg, plead, bargain, for the chance to get back what they'd had. He's not sure he'll survive it with dignity intact.

It works, for the most part. Hen and Chimney take on the brunt of the work, keeping the two of them separately occupied enough that there are only a couple of close calls, once in the hallway by the bathroom, and once when Buck goes to grab more champagne from the fridge. It's at the end of the night that there's no helping it. Buck and Tommy both stay. They take down streamers and collect stray glasses strewn around the living room. They turn down the music and stuff trash in a bag.

It's nearing 2 AM when the three of them drop down onto Eddie's sofa. There's a moving company coming tomorrow to pack it all away. It's the last time they'll do this. They're quiet for a long minute. Eddie doesn't have to ask, but he does anyway, Am I doing the right thing?

It's not a question Buck or Tommy can answer, it's hardly a question another parent could answer. Buck tries anyway, I think you've gotta find that out. I don't know if this'll fix things with Chris or not, but, he chances a glance at Tommy, you've gotta know when something's worth fighting for. What could be more worth it than Chris?

What if he doesn't want me there?

Tommy speaks this time, Then you know you've always got a home here, he meets Buck's gaze, You know that you have people who will be here no matter what. Shit may happen but, we're not going anywhere.

They pack up not long after that, Buck promises to be back early to help the movers and see him off. Tommy tells Eddie to Keep working on your knee strikes, then puts a hand on his shoulder, Gonna miss you, man, don't be a stranger.

Eddie smiles and thanks the both of them before turning back into his house, the house. The moon is glowing bright, a half-crescent, and the walk that Buck and Tommy take to their cars is silent but for their footfalls.

Buck feels the slightest brush of a pinky against his own as they walk.

[murdrdocs]

a slow life with lucius; fluffy smut; mating press; lowk breeding kink MDNI 18+

thinking about living a life with lucius, or hanno as you know him.

spending your days living a mundane life. tending to the farm, living amongst chickens and goats, making a simple living for yourselves while keeping food on the table. there's not much excitement here, but this beats what else the two of you could be doing. when you see the marred skin of his and remember the feeling of aches that will likely never truly subside, you know what else you could be doing.

you pray to your god that when that day comes—because you both know the day will come, rome is ambitious and she will not be stopped before reaching your home—may the victory be swift or may the death be merciful.

but you don't have to think of these things when you're scolding hanno for being too rough with the crops. he'll tell you it is impossible to be too rough with crops, their deaths rarely come at the hand of the farmer and are usually caused by neglect. and while he is right in his own regard, you'll still send him a pointed look that makes him smile.

there is much time in your day for basking in the glory of the other. under the roof of your home, behind closed doors to keep your neighbors away, you stand in the center of the room, his arms over your shoulders and your arms around his waist. you've been together for some time now, you've done this with each other often, but it truly never gets old. you never get tired of hanno taking his time with you, cherishing every single patch of your skin as they all come together to make the person he loves most.

he doesn't tell you much about his past, but he tells you that you're all he has. it's the two of you, and hopefully eventually a few little others who can live in a humane world, god willing. but for now, it's just the two of you.

yet, the things hanno does to you makes it seem like he wants to increase the population of your home sooner rather than later. the way he bends you body with the weight of his own, pushing your thighs to your chest and hooking your calves over the corded muscle of his shoulders. the way he stares deep into your eyes as he gives you even deeper strokes, pushing his cock further into you time and time again until you're so sure you're going to have to start breathing for him, even when he's taking your breath away from you with each draw back.

"you're okay, yeah?" he always asks you, although in different variations. your favorite will always be the confident way he asks you, when the corner of his lip pulls up and he says, "you like this? do you enjoy what i do to you?". it's simply the way he says it, deep timber of his voice twisting the tone of the syllables until it sounds like he already knows the answer.

you cannot see how he wouldn't—with your cunt leaking around him and your moans filling up the room.

still, you always make an effort to answer him, no matter the strength of the spell he has put you under that time.

he's always so pretty above you, whether it be when the sun slips through the window and illuminates a blue iris, painting the replica color of a sea you know so well, or when the white light of the moon slips through and highlights the evidence that the sun has made on his skin.

big hands touching you everywhere, lips doing the same, but sometimes, you'll only let him get so far. at times when his hands slip down your body, heading towards a spot he has not left alone after the initial discovery, you'll have to swat them away. he's grown to expect it now, rolling his eyes half heartedly and fighting off a grin as he raises his eyebrows in an expression of insincere frustration.

"covered in dirt," you'll explain, knowing what will come next.

the way he bends down, tip of his nose brushing against yours as he tells you, "as is the rest of me ... and yet."

and he's always right. there seems to be a certain amount of the earth that both you and hanno will forever carry with you. a mark of the life you're so privileged to currently live, therefore more of a beautiful reminder than a nuisance.

so, as you let his fingers slip down to the most delicate parts of you, happily settling into the feeling of multiplied pleasure, you grin at him and echo his words.

"and yet."

[shizunitis]

How do you think Shen Qingqiu would be affected if he had Xin Mo?

holy fuck i've been thinking about this for months and now that i've been asked i'm kind of lost. anon i love you prepare for a whole lotta yapping

the question is vague enough to both give me room to fuck around and to not know what to focus on. so i'll go with trying to figure out what the chain of events would be, mostly. i'm very sleepy though. that should be taken into consideration.

xin mo uses its masters' trauma and psychological issues against them. which means we just have to take shen qingqiu's issues and ramp them up enough to see what that would do to him. how that change would present itself is highly dependent on how he comes upon xin mo, as well.

first off, what does he want? shen qingqiu wants, in no particular order: to survive, to have luo binghe by his side and safe, and to protect his sect from a wrathful luo binghe.

he dislikes violence but doesn't shy away from it when it's expected of him to be unmoved by it. he's a deeply curious person and likes theorising, cultivation, and feeling powerful and respected. he thinks of himself as a "faker" but is proud of his moral stances, especially when they differ from the original goods'.

his biggest frustration throughout the novel is the fact that he cannot protect luo binghe from the plot and all the suffering that would bring him, and that he is under the control of something so opposed to his own goals as the system.

let's say shen qingqiu were to fall into the abyss and find xin mo himself, and therefore the system's control of him would be weakened, as it was when binghe was down there. this would mean he didn't betray binghe, maybe even took his place. this has to happen because he figures out the system is his biggest obstacle, before he gets to xin mo, or else my whole thing falls apart. maybe shang qinghua plays a part in this, maybe not.

it doesn't matter much how, but if he doesn't come to this realisation at some point, he would not place his target on the system, nor would he get the courage to try to change things according to his own wishes.

so. abyss -> revenge on the system -> find xin mo -> cultivate with it -> get out of the abyss.

first off, the sect wouldn't stand for him using a clearly harmful (to both himself and the world around him) demonic sword, or any sort of demonic cultivation at all, so he'd have to hide it if he were to make his way back. paranoia and fear would probably change him into an overprotective person, someone who slowly becomes less careful about what he has to do in order to protect his people, especially when we factor in how he'd had to, for years, live under the control and supervision of the system.

there is also the problem of getting close to the protagonist again. if he were to make contact, the system would re-activate, and his attempt to kill it would be useless.

he'd draw himself away from the people he cares about so he could watch over them. he would study and try to use the sword to change things in his favour, with the right incentive. the harm brought to his cultivation by the sword would probably force him to become more secretive so he isn't discovered.

he would probably seclude himself away from cang qiong, binghe and most of the world. whether he goes into the demon realm or not doesn't matter. he would rely on only himself, unless he can get shang qinghua involved in his plans. i imagine shang qinghua would be opposed to it, not only because the system would be against it, but because shen qingqiu's death or pain would spell his own destruction (by luo binghe's hand) if he didn't try to stop it.

the threat of huan hua palace and people discovering binghe's true nature would probably allow for the sword to take advantage of him more and more as he uses it to fight against them. i don't think the opm would not go after luo binghe, especially with shen qingqiu out of the picture, so i'm imagining the old fuck would offer luo binghe some sort of help just to get him close. shen qingqiu wouldn't stand for it, and we know that as he gets more desperate, shen qingqiu tends toward pragmatism. he would do what needs to get done, i guess.

"stuck between a rock and a hard place" pretty much describes shen qingqiu in svsss. having that not be the system's fault, for once, would probably push him to the edge enough that he does something extremely stupid and turns the entire cultivation world against him in an attempt to protect binghe from the opm's influence.

i don't think he would go too far, outwardly. he would probably bring more harm unto himself with xin mo than binghe had, and would probably suffer more than anyone else involved. him being so tight-lipped about his own motivations would get him scorned and named a traitor to the human realm. he'd have shen jiu's reputation post-trial, maybe. he would become colder, lifeless, honed-in on his goals.

this was an extremely long-winded way of saying that shen yuan, corrupted by xin mo, would become a husk of his former self. i imagine a moment where he tries to be warm again, that whole fond teacher shtick, and would find himself horrified at how much of an act that is now, rather than acting cold and heartless. i think he'd have turned his caring into caring too much to the point of leaving himself behind.

i had a wip of shen yuan transmigrating into luo binghe and having to lean into xin mo's influence so that he could get luo binghe reinstated into his own body that i put on the shelf at some point. he ended up baiting people into trying to assassinate him, and used their sacrifice as a way to power some sort of revival technique.

shen yuan needs plausible deniability for every action he does, especially ones he sees as morally reprehensible. so. add that to the whole thing above and that's the bulk of it, i think. maybe. god please tell me i make sense i need a shizun headpat

[purpleheartskies]

I don't know what to think about all this and if the SA or anything else in Robby's story will be addressed.

Take Billy's interview. They act like Robby's side of the story doesn't matter. He is inconsequential. It's about Johnny and Miguel. In canon, Robby is framed as wrong and at fault for how Johnny treats him and for having trauma, even though Johnny is the parent and his behavior is immensely traumatic for Robby. Johnny has done nothing to make things right with/for Robby, while Robby is the one who was abused by Johnny while he prioritized his new family and Robby had to put all of his trauma aside to be a part of Johnny's new family, that narratively Robby's still not treated as completely part of.

Take the SA ig reel. They act like Robby's side of the story doesn't matter. He is inconsequential. It's about Tory and Zara. In canon, Robby is framed as the cheating boyfriend who got drunk and "made a mistake" because he "got played", although he was drunk and can't remember what happened while Zara intentionally targeted him, can remember, and doesn't care that he can't. Robby should be focused on as the one who can't catch a break, but he's not.

Take the apartment fight marketing posts calling it a "therapy session". They act like Robby's side of the story doesn't matter. In canon, they only show Miguel's flashbacks and have Robby take all fault too. The marketing was for Miguel's side of the story. (Tanner wasn't there for interviews for s5, but still no one brought up Robby's side.) They act like Robby's side of the story doesn't matter. He is inconsequential. It's about Miguel only, although the school fight was traumatic for Robby too. Robby does admit this in canon, but it was still in service of the apology to Miguel. Not to mention, the apartment fight itself was plain abuse on Robby by Johnny to force him to be friends with Miguel. This was abuse, not therapy.

Even the school fight was framed as if Miguel didn't do anything wrong, his "I'm sorry" instantly made him innocent, and Robby's the one at fault for it all because of the kick and accidental injury. Miguel had done so much to Robby in that fight, but Robby's side is inconsequential. It's all about Miguel. Robby was and is still scapegoated, that is still shown and hinted at (like in the college essay) but it remains unaddressed. I don't have any of the post s2 or post s3 marketing on hand, but no doubt the marketing would not have shown Robby's side of the story.

There's more to address in Robby's story, but you see...

In a way, how they handled the SA isn't isolated because they literally handle Robby's whole story this way. I mean, child abandonment and replacement are even more recognizable as traumas for the child, but people still are taking the parent's side and are happy he replaced his son, and the show has marketing material promoting it.

[leexsa]

after watching lloyd be so repulsive towards garmadon in the later seasons really got me thinking of how complicated it must be to be around him

your father died like what two times and the latest resurrection doesn't even bring back the part of him that loves you (of course this is still to be debated about as seen in his Journey To Be Compassionate in season 15)

and that just reminded me of the fact that lloyd never wanted to fight his father in the first place. we've seen lloyd and garmadon hug many times on-screen, but the hugs that were most vivid in my head was:

lloyd trapped in the volcano and garmadon freed him and swung him right into his arms

the hug on the destiny's bounty, with lloyd explicity saying that he doesn't want to fight garmadon and keeps asking if he's sure he needs to go because he wants to keep seeing garmadon

and so many things happen after he defeated garmadon/overlord in season 2. lloyd misses garmadon so much, but garmadon irl has morphed into something borderline unrecognisable to lloyd, especially with the only-oni-side-resurrected schtick.

and to makes matters worse only-oni-side garmadon says that harumi was like a daughter to him. to lloyd's face. and i'm pretty sure i'm delusional but i could almost see lloyd snap into reality and it sucks because why the hell would you say that to your blood son? who got betrayed by the very person you were talking about??

so it's fully justified to me as to why lloyd acts that way around garmadon now. i definitely think his movie counterpart took this to another level and definitely influenced his character in the show, but i feel like lloyd is misunderstanding why he doesn't like garmadon now

it's because this version of garmadon is nothing like the father he used to know and love, and neither does only-oni-side garmadon think that he loves lloyd. of course, that is still to be debated as we see certain moments between the two that could tell us otherwise, but nonetheless lloyd hates this version of his father because he has shown capability of loving-ish (harumi case in point) but still doesn't love his own blood son

these two need family therapy stat

[20001541]

Can't stop thinking about this from chapter 59. We see this panel when Toshi is telling Izuku all about the OFA vs AFO conflict.

What catches my attention is that last part: "we still don't know whether that was out of kindness or if it was to force his brother to submit." Because the tale of AFO giving his brother a quirk was passed down from previous OFA holders and the only reason why they know that is because of Yoichi assumingly who told Kudou and Bruce. So that means that this question that Toshi raises here, if it was out of kindness or a way to force submission, might've been first raised by Yoichi. Who until he died wasn't sure about his own brothers intentions when forcing a quirk upon him.

The kindness possibly being Yoichi thinking AFO just wants to help make him a little stronger when he's so weak physically and the submission is him just trying to force Yoichi to join his cause. We never get a true answer to this question, but I feel like you can come to your own conclusion through the content we're provided with. But ahhh the fact that Yoichi might've even raise this question says so much about how he views his own brother.

Truthfully, I think it's a bit of both based off of AFO's own dialogue from 193. He saw it as doing something good for his weak brother and it's a great gesture of benevolence in his eyes. As usually he doesn't give out quirks without a price and the only thing he's asking for here is brother to join him. Which is more than what he offers anyone else. He probably thinks Yoichi benefits more from this exchange than him as he's giving him a chance to be more than what he is currently.

But also it's a way to force him to submit as it's done in a "you have no choice but to give in and join me manner." He doesn't care how much Yoichi fights him he's operating under the assumption that Yoichi will eventually give into him. The forcing of the quirk on him is to show it doesn't matter what Yoichi says or does, he's going to get what he wants in the end and there's nothing Yoichi can do about it.

That's what I think at least anyways. Could write more but I'll stop here for now. This whole post is going off the assumption that Yoichi did raise that question first of kindness or submission and I could be wrong in assuming that, but it makes things far more interesting if you think about it from that angle. As I doubt Kudou and Bruce would consider any type of kindness from AFO.

[girlwithwolftatoo]

What is chained -Chapter 1

Summary: There was a dream named Rome, and saving it doesn't always mean to chop heads off.

Words: 1677

Characters: Marcus Acacius, emperor Geta, emperor Caracalla and others.

Chapter 1: Taraxia -Disturbance

Any man who has been to sea knows that, when a storm approaches, it is preceded by a shivering calm where silence and stillness are only the desperate cry of an inevitable terror. The air becomes salty, suffocating, the sails hang lifeless, the oars are stowed. And so Acacius thought of his own ship as the slaves loaded their belongings into a wide cart, pulled by a beautiful Gaul steed with its shaggy ankles and curly mane. Lucilla watched, paralyzed with anger from the porch, her hands wringing a sprig of lavender as she struggled not to cry. Her father said that what a free man earns should not be taken from him without cause, but her brother would have sadly agreed with his successors, those two little red-haired devils. Acacius turned away, once he had signaled to the servants that they could retire, and approached the woman with what he considered a reassuring face, which he well knew was not going to do much good. It broke his heart to provoke her to so much distress, but he knew, for that is only learned through years of iron and blood, that refusal would have been worse. “I'll be fine,” he told her, reaching out a hand to stroke her face. Lucilla closed her eyes, bowing her head over the powerful hand that tried to comfort her “Listen, give me a week, two maybe, I'll send messages in the meantime and then… I'll negotiate with the senate. They'll be reasonable, once they see results.”

Lucilla sighed, looking at him defeated. “I never wished this for you, and look at you…you're being sent into the jaws of wolves.” “I'll be able to handle them, you trust, don't you trust me?” he said it lightly, smiling, but his wife didn't play along. “When you raise your sword I do not fear for you, but these… enemies… how will you defend yourself if…?” “With the senate. One word from me and they will regret it. Please…” he added in desperation, giving her a kiss on the cheek, "trust, I know what I'm doing, or at least Gracchus does.’ It was all part of a defensive plan, Acacius said to himself after saying goodbye to Lucilla, riding with his things in the wagon that was taking him to his destiny, was that destiny? he wondered as he left his villa back to the scandal of the city. No celebrations, no making the matter public, that was the decision of the good Gracchus, a great and loyal friend of his wife and her father, so as to avoid angering the demons. It was true that in any case, the demons were already angry. Thraex was still trying in vain to reassure them when the cart stopped at the palace stables, so that Acacius barely set foot when he had clear duties to perform.

“General, I thank the gods you made it” whined the man, exiting through a double door from which could be heard shouts of two men fighting loudly. Acacius looked with exasperation at the door.

“They didn't take kindly to the news, I'm afraid.”

“No way, they're a wild beast, when I told them I thought they were going to kill me.”

Acacius was already used to Thraex hypersensitivity, so he didn't take it so seriously either, and walked through the double doors as if he had just entered an enemy barracks.

On one side, there was Geta, using one of those platters for exotic meats as a shield, and at the other end, his face so reddened that it showed under the heavy makeup, Caracalla, whose raging voice had become so high-pitched that Acacius thought he was going to summon bats.

“You can't tell me what to do!” he shrieked, waving a narrow-mouthed vase varnished in gold.

“I know, I know, I just want you to listen to me, if you keep going on like that...!”

“Do you think I care, I've never been insulted... like that...!”

Geta turned his head and met Acacius, his expression soured but he did nothing but clench his jaw, Caracalla instead dropped the vase - which shattered - and went running towards him, his brother unable to stop him; the older one clenched his muscles in case he rammed him, but the little twin was reduced to stopping a good few feet away, pointing a finger at him as he groaned:

“Et tu, Justus?”

“Calm down, you're embarrassing yourself,” Geta warned him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Acacius relaxed, he detested them both in equal parts, but ruefully admitted that the older twin was a bit more reasonable. “Your Majesties… I see the patrician Thraex has already informed you of the news in the senate.” “News? You call that news?” shrieked Caracalla, wincing ”They have mocked us, that's what they did, and you participated!” “If it wasn't me, it would have been someone else, my lord, and perhaps someone less sympathetic and more… interested in the privileges to be obtained than in the good of you and Rome” continued the general. “I don't know if you haven't noticed but we are no longer children, general” Geta rebuked him, still holding his brother ”We have ruled this empire for years, since we were very young, back then no one cared about our decisions and suddenly…” “You must understand, your majesties, that the people of Rome are no longer as they were in the time of Marcus Aurelius” at the old emperor's mention, Caracalla grimaced and Geta rolled her eyes, ”when the common people were… easily satisfied because they had all they could ask for. The empire is larger, yes, but not stronger or more prosperous.” "How are they not satisfied? We give them parties, shows, military victories, what more do they want?” hinted Geta, supported by his twin who nodded vigorously. Acacius made an effort not to change his expression, that was worse than talking to an infant.

“Yes, but none of it brings food to their tables or fire to their homes. Not all of them are nobles, or wealthy dynastic providers. That's why... that's why the senate has decided...”

“Yes, yes, we know! A curator...” The tone of contempt was not lost on the general.

“See this better as a... advisor in the face of the people” he tried. Acacius regretted not knowing how to speak with the astute finesse of politicians, just now a little lip service would do him good. “If I am always at their majesties' side and... advise them on matters of the people, nothing more, then the people will perceive you as... more... approachable.”

His brain was struggling to find the right words, and he wished he had Lucilla with him, she would surely know how to explain them better. Meanwhile, on the twins' faces there was an identical internal struggle. It was Caracalla who spoke first:

“Who was the idiot who suggested this plan? It couldn't have been you” He said it as if the very idea mortified him.

“No, I certainly don't know, the senate communicated to me only the decision... and that they voted for me as your... advisor.”

“And well, will you be glued to us at all hours? Will you follow us everywhere to tell us how to do our work, general?” asked Geta.

“Their majesties know that I don't know about politics. Of war, on the other hand...”

Yes, he thought suddenly, now that he could explain.

“Come, please, I want to show their majesties something” he requested as politely as he was able, approaching one of the exquisitely narrow windows. The twins followed him, wary. “See out there? Beyond those marble statues and those white steps…that's Rome, your subjects. Tell me, if you were down there, like them, arguing in the marketplace over the prices of a bit of garum and taking your boots to be darned for the third time in the year, how would you feel?” None answered, it seemed too existential a question for their brains. “The enemy can become an ally, if conquered…and it must not always be through violence. You want those people at your feet? You will have to win them back. That's what I'm here for.” The thought brought a strange smile to the twins' faces. Geta, the sharpest, nodded. “Ah, I understand… you'll make them love us, won't you? They adore you, how they get when they see you marching in your chariot! They almost deafen us, don't they?” he asked, turning to Caracalla. “Oh yes, good General Justus, they would make you emperor if they could…” he added with venom.

"Well then, if your majesties would offer your help, I could… well, I would take this matter very seriously. My duty…” he felt a shudder as he said it, "is for Rome to love you once more." That seemed to be enough for Geta, at least he was calmer. Caracalla however continued to insist. “What's in it for you, general? You already have a beautiful house, a noble wife, a superb horse… what more could you want?” Acacius thought it was amusing that the boy spoke to him as if he could bargain. “I do it for Rome, the people I swore to protect and glorify. Nothing more.” “Well… they certainly haven't announced the matter with fanfare” Geta commented, thoughtfully ”We would have expected you to arrive with full honors, a little party for your appointment…”

“No way, I'm not doing it for my own benefit and besides, it would be improper for me to have a party for such a thing. Too many parties would anger the people.”

“Especially since they are not invited” reasoned Caracalla with a silly chuckle ”Yes, yes, that's all very well, I think we can survive this. Don't overdo it, General, and I don't see why we shouldn't get along.”

“Excellent.”

Acacius took his leave, in order to go to his assigned quarters. Part of being curatormeant that he had to live in the palace, the one thing he abhorred most about that job; if Lucilla wasn't so friendly with Gracchus he would punch him in the face for getting him into that mess, but he would have time to ruminate on his frustration, perhaps later in the bath when he could relax as well. For now he had to go back to being the general, and come up with a strategy for this unequal war.

[yumeurl]

harry, draco, and sectumsempra

this is just to write my own interpretation about the scene and what it meant for me before i start another 596765 thread on my twitter gmemgfdg

i know sectumsempra is like, The Drarry Fodder in the book that's already drarry fodder overall; it is to me as well, though taking off my fudan glasses halfway i see it as a symbolism more than anything else

harry and draco have a funny dynamic throughout books 1-5. they regard each other as 'archenemies' according to harry, yet their fights mostly consist of taunts, quidditch or normal wizard duelling. it's rare to see them actually physically harming each other, and in the rare instances that they do, it's ron and hermione who did it (the first year fight and hermione's slap), or if it's harry, it's because draco went too far with his goading and he was at the angriest point of his life.

only one of these did draco actually try to fight back, and it was with ron. throughout the books he has shown to be aversive of physical fights and pain in general, even neville(who was regarded as a loser for so long) trying to attack him he cowers behind his bodyguards.

i think this is one of the few things that enabled him to regret being a DE tbh. while crabbe and goyle never became a fullfledged death eaters, they support voldemort and have this naivety that makes them think casting killing spells or torturing people is just like playing with a toy. draco does not, atleast when reaching this point.

anyways, so draco is typically aversive to fights that truly harm a wizard, and harry does the same thing, atleast to draco. both of them don't really harm each other. all of their spells are fixable, no matter if the reader finds them mean or too much. and in the instances where they go too far (this is mostly draco tbf), they back off and go back to the status quo.

this is schoolyard fighting to them, even in ootp, when voldemort has came back, draco's taunts and motivation doesn't stem from serving him, it's from getting back at Potter. it's their thing, it's constant. both of them know that subconsciously

but sectumsempra is symbolism of this dynamic ending, end of an era if you will. they Can't return to schoolyard fighting, try as they might. draco has to follow voldemort or risk him or his family killed, while harry has to follow dumbledore and kill vodemort.

harry, in his 'finding out what malfoy is up to' thing, operates as if it's a little mystery to solve. it's not That serious at this point. while he had suspicions that whatever draco is doing is DE related, i don't think he knows the true severity of it. why would he? malfoy is a constant, they've duelled many times before and they don't truly hurt each other. alot of the DE damage is outside of hogwarts as well, hogwarts is safe and untouchable.

sectumsempra marks the end of that. not only draco attacks first in a hostile manner, but their spells escalate as it goes on:

Levicorpus -Harry Blocking spell for Levicorpus -Draco unnamed spell that caused the bin behind harry to explode -Draco Leg-Locker Curse -Harry Crucio (incomplete) -Draco Sectumsempra -Harry

(i still think it's highly unlikely that harry heard crucio and retaliates with sectumsempra like what people believe. he didn't even know that the spell would do to fight back with it... but that's for another post)

in just one fight, draco tried to torture harry (regardless if it would've worked or not), harry harmed draco with an unknown dark spell that he doesn't know the counter to, and harry basically finds out that whatever draco's doing where he gloated all about it at the beginning of the year is something that's giving him distress. enough to cry and talk to moaning myrtle of all people

it's different from their constant. malfoy shouldn't cry and he should retain his same spoiled brat personality. harry shouldn't dabble in the dark arts especially when he doesn't really know what it does. it rattled him so much (plus losing all the things he was fixated on this school year all at once, not just finding out what draco's up to) it's enough to make harry stop with his investigation and start a love life gmrgmfdgf

i'm also interested at how harry thinks about draco at the end of the book

He despised Malfoy still for his infatuation with the Dark Arts, but now the tiniest drop of pity mingled with his dislike.

you dislike draco for his 'infatuation with the dark arts'?? not calling your friends insults and slurs?? gmeogmfdg and the word dislike too... but you can tell when he truly hates a person, like snape or even mclaggen. for draco it's just constant to butt heads with him, maybe even fun. voldemort's insistence of killing harry makes harry's childhood and innocence slowly get taken away, even the presumed constant of fighting draco malfoy won't remain constant forever

[arcane-ish]

You sound like you should be writing some Timebomb, if you feel like you've already written everything there's to say about Vander and Silco ;)

That said, I didn't see it as rabid dog. For one I read the ending as open, but as Jinx finally saying goodbye to Vi. And it seemed to me like the universe around Jinx (in the form of the main characters) was already indifferent to her doing "bad deeds". Vi was coming around and even gave her the official invitation to use her violence for good. Vanwick doesn't know or care. Isha did not care. Sevika does not care. Cait gave her the "yeah, whatever, we all do bad shit".

And Ekko, one of the people who criticized her, was given a whole episode to see a good version of her and IMO alt universe Jinx's line about how he never gives up on her to me implies that he would feel positively about main!universe Jinx as well.

I mean that whole scene is basically Ekko apologizing about being too judgemental of Jinx. That his mind got clouded by negativity and he should have kept being optimistic about her.

So in a narrative sense, all the main characters who had an axe to grin with her, grave her a free pass. That's why I don't read it as the narrative punishing her for doing violence.

The only thing that is remaining is Jinx's guilt, her conviction that she's a Jinx, that she hurts the people who come close to her.

IMO I choose to read the ending as Jinx running off and being free, because we have Silco telling her about cycles of violence, Jinx proclaiming she wants to break the cycle, attempting to achieve that with her own death, but is stopped.

I read the scene with Vi as being clearly about Jinx being worried that she will hurt Vi. The mind!Silco seems to say that the cycles of violence mean that Jinx and Vi will keep hurting each other.

But that you should break the cycle. So Jinx before running off to her suicide gives Vi her blessing and essentially talks about being a burden to Vi.

That's what she tries to do with her suicide. Jinx herself is convinced that she is bad, but the other characters think differently. Jinx is worried that she isn't good, but Ekko likely assures her that in another universe she is.

So she joins the fight. To me the message of her falling down with Vander is more about her letting Vi go, but while also assuring us that it doesn't matter if the sisters are apart.

That's why Jinx leaving, just works.

Her suicide is about trying to protect Vi. Because she is the last person left Jinx cares about and she feels like she has killed all the family she's had (that's what she said to Isha). Killed Mylo, Clag and Vander, killed Silco, got Isha killed and Vander a second time.

But she already tried suiciding. So her to just suicide again, though in a slightly more heroic context, just feels kind of redundant, I guess? So to me her leaving Vi behind by traveling to other continents for example (or even other universes) just feels like a more novel iteration.

And it's certainly a better message than "Jinx still can't get over her own guilt even though everybody else has already forgiven her" (remember, Zaundads already set the scene of "naw, it's good actually to forgive the person who tried to kill you" and it's continued with Jayce and Viktor). If we get all of these other examples of characters forgiving each other scary shit, why should Jinx's sins of all be narrative punishment, when for all the others the narrative doesn't just accidentally but fully deliberately and statedly not care?

So I read this ending more as Jinx freeing the sisters from their co-dependence, of freeing Vi of the responsibility guilt she's been feeling. Vi has been feeling guilty over Powder since years (probably even longer than the monkey bomb incident) and this is basically the big "no seriously, fuck off and bang your girlfriend". Even if it takes Jinx to fake her own death to make it happen.

Yes it can also be read as "Jinx accepts her fate as daddy killer number 1, by getting Vander killed a third time and that is her official, I kill so many family members, so I should die", but the scene just didn't feel emotional enough to me.

So I read it just, Jinx is killing Vander as big fat hero moment (again, hopefully sparing Vi some grief, who she witnesses sobbing) and then she runs off into the world. Like in the end, she was the stronger sister.

ETA: Ekko's line about leaping forward and leaving something behind could also be foreshadowing. Jinx is leaping forward, but she's leaving Vi/Ekko/Zaun behind.

A true off my chest bit about Jinx

It's a little critical of the show, but not hate posting. Just my feelings regarding the handling of Jinx.

I just feel like Jinx's death shows the writers hand in a bad way.

To me act 1 sucks because it felt the most rushed and like it needed to pad and set some things in motions, and most importantly they needed to delay Jinx's suicidality.

By all accounts Jinx should have broken after Silco's death. She should have buried him in the Pilt, walked home, set the place on fire and killed herself.

Instead she needs to be delayed, and she needs to have a reason to be in Stillwater with a lot of Zaunites, so that Singed can do his hiring bid demo with Warwick and score a new employer in Embessa.

It's convoluted, but basically Jinx needs two things :

temporary sanity

a reason to completely blow up later on

And they do both via Isha, the worst character in the whole show as far as I'm concerned.

She's introduced in a bad music video that does a weird job of introducing "sane Jinx". Then she seems to immediately be part of the team, and her attachment to Jinx, with zero set up, made it super out of left field.

It was blatant that she was being set up as a mini Powder to calm Jinx down, and when she blows herself up it's not gratifying if you know she's just a crank/lever being used to flip Jinx into dark and depressed mode.

IMO this could have been handled better (and I'd change a lot of the Zaun situation in Act 1 alongside), but then could have still led to Jinx being "saved" by Ekko.

Instead, I feel like the writers, maybe pressed for time, maybe unwilling to keep the "loose canon" as she was in the new state of the world, chose to kill her off.

Her death is Vi's fault, and I can't help but feel it's manufactured.

I feel like the writers broke Jinx an extra time just to tilt her over the edge and have that emotional scene with Ekko, but then couldn't see how to "excuse her".

Like what she's done is too fucked up, too dark (even if Cait served the city to Noxus on a silver platter, gased zaun, and faced no consequences lol) and she can't be made to move on from the horrors of it all.

It feels like they didn't have the time or will to break the cycle for Jinx. But it feels bad. It feels like it was an "attempt at redemption" death.

WW was an arcane creature by then and they all fucked off with Viktor and Jayce. They could have chosen to keep him innactive. They could have had Vi going with Ekko and relying on him.

The one person who can truly believe in the good in her, because he's literally experienced it in another version of herself. The one guy who could tell her again and again that it's not HER, it's the way the world made things, and that this can change.

I don't see why shy away from that, even implied, especially after Ekko managed to pull her from the brink.

It feels like Jinx is a "too far gone" rabid dog better put down than left loose in their setting.

And I don't really vibe with that. I thought true redemption would be her living. Leading. Her and Ekko could work to better Zaun while Sevika safeguards their interests in the Council.

And Vi could have still cried over WW's body.

[butwhatifidothis]

What gets me about GW defenders saying that "Claude siding with Edelgard shows how far he's willing to go to get what he wants, he'll use anyone to further his goals" is that, even if that were accurate to his character... that's not what he does in GW. At all.

Which one of Claude's goals are ever progressed once he sides with Edelgard? And how does siding with Edelgard, specifically, accomplish said goal?

Maybe... killing Rhea? But all of the reasons he says he wants her gone in this game are either completely unproven or blatantly incorrect - there's no proof of the Church forcing arranged marriages, Crests do not force obligations onto those that have them (which Claude himself literally proves), and the Church is helping Dimitri restore Duscur - a foreign nation - meaning they are actively willing to help fulfill Claude's main goal that he came to the officer's academy to achieve.

And... that's it! That is the only possible thing that even POTENTIALLY helps Claude's dreams, and taking a five-second look at it shows that it actually does nothing at all to help anything. But in the meantime? Claude weakens Faerghus through agitating Sreng and invading it himself, forcing Dimitri to fight a three front war; he actively helps Edelgard get herself out of a messy situation, even though not helping her and letting her die would have actually helped him and would have actually been him using her like people keep saying he's trying to do; he and Holst even admit that by the end of the war Edelgard is going to make a vassal state of Leicester after taking the lion's share of Faerghus' territory for themselves, which Leicester can't do anything about because of Adrestia's far stronger military. He is the one saying that! He is the one pointing out that that is going to happen! And yet he just keeps going anyway!

He is the one getting used. Very blatantly, and very extensively. Claude walked himself into a trap and lied to himself into thinking he's the one with the upper hand, which somehow managed to convince a large portion of the fanbase too. There's no gray morality here, there's no cunning being showcased, Claude is just an evil stupid tool

[hauntingblue]

WATER SEVEN BABYYYYY

Look at robin reacting when luffy says he wont give her up.... 🥺🥺

This is a joke right now but its actually a one piece tenet aldjsisjka

Usopp aksbaksjakqk the foreshadow is foreshadowing... Also Robin being happy with the crew after the Aokiji incident... Fuck!!!!

Sanji thinking robin just vanished or flew away and suddenly usopp is soaring thru the skies... imagine

AAAAARGGGGHHHH YOU CAN SEE THE GEARS TURNING

Zoro talking to merry..... only while he is alone of course

Why are nami and sanji matching ajdhakjsk look at the citrus sisters

Carpenter: maybe it was the government

Gov agent: I don't think so, also don't say that they are everywhere

LUFFY SUPPORTS WOMEN'S WRONGS!!!

Don't scream att chopper like that!!! Look at him... So small....

Imu tease???? (No) (Also I've changed websites again bc the translation is kinda off , I can't find a good quality b&w spanish translation and the colors scare me (i want the real manga experience))

GET HIM ICEBURG!!!!

I truly forgor if this is just a lie about her wanting to find the rio poneglyphs or genuine because she wants to die and will do it for them... because in skypiea she says she is not interested in the weapons so maybe if the gov pardons her but considering what she wants is illegal then idk abdjabjs this is such a dumb thing to forget... like thats important girl where did it go (reading this after remembering and it's kinda funny... i will make any sacrifice to kill myself (and keep you safe)... she goes HARD)

Little paulie and mozu and kiwi.... omg hello (the SBS says the twins wanted to be shipwrights too omg)

Franky's backstory is small but it does so much for me like it is so central to the themes... boats and people...

DID SOMEBODY ORDER MORE TRAGIC BROTHERS?

The fact that franky needs to learn this lesson to pass it on to robin.... do you understand how big this is.... also Tom does exactly as he says and takes responsibility for franky and what he has done... because he has done nothing wrong AND THAT'S HIS SON and he just punched spandam bc he wanta him to feel the pain franky feels... Tom is such a man..... proud of having built eater 7 up with the sea train.... goes out with a boom.... should we all kill ourselves....

I am crying again................... franky my god.... and the fucking frog!!! And of course franky can't stop Tom's hope for his island... of course he can't.... he hasnt learnt the lesson yet but this guy isn't over yet!! He has a life of being a pervert cyborg ahead!!! Iceburg following Tom's footsteps but franky not being able to do that bc of his guilt....

This is one of the coolest things chopper has done btw...

NAMII 😭😭😭

Robin damning the world for her crew when all she has ever done is damn her companions for her own sake.... how big is this...

I can't take this...... it's always nami in these positions... it happens AGAIN in Zou with Sanji... there is no way

The love letter gag is too good like damn that's so funny

AND IT'S NAMI GOING THROUGH IT AGAIN!!!! SHE LOVES ROBIN SO MUCH!!!!

[blood-orange-juice]

I've seen an idea that Childe is riding the whale, in a sense that he has something positive to say about it, but like... Childe constantly talks about fishing and hunting large sea creatures and his specialty dish is described as "a bloodbath battle against a cracken".

He wants to fucking murder that thing. He wants to feast on the flesh of an eldritch God.

And you know what? You know why?

Because that's what bravery is or rather lifeshattering ptsd . Because he witnessed a threat, a monster that could destroy the entire world like it destroyed his. Because he is a hero, a protector of innocence. Because he has a family back on the surface. He has an entire nation, hell, the entire world! He has comrades, some weaker then himself at 14, some with the same eyes of the warrior as him.

So what's a hero to do? Defeat the monster, of course! Alone, of course, because who if not him? Lunging into the depth, drowning in magic and blood and conflicts far older than anything he can imagine. Destroying the beast completely for what if not his ("his") power can defeat it. Biting into its flesh full of rage as old as the word itself...

Finding yourself breathing that salty water...

I actually looked at the trailer yet again and before he does that last attack (which looks like riding the whale) he slashes the whale's tail leaving a wound. That's definitely not a friendly gesture.

So I think he's probably still riding it but with the intention to follow it into the rift and kill, yeah...

And also yes! Absolutely. That's 100% Childe's thought process.

But also real bravery is so much more than rushing into danger and the world is always more complicated than that (what if the whale's only fault is being mad from betrayal and grief), and nobody defeats an apocalyptic beast alone.

I hope he gets to learn it.

[katerinaaqu]

I have again to repeat is all a matter of organization. And a musical 3 hours long is not THAT unusual. And I will say it again if someone wanted accuracy they would do it. Accuracy doesn't necessarily mean he would show every single stop or with the same length either. Like I said he basically changed THE most iconic parts and that was conscious choice. He could have the same amount of songs as he has now and be lore accurate.

"It is impossible within the realm or modern musidals and their structures" and who said you need to have the same structure forever? Also again you absolutely CAN be accurate. Phantom of the Opera is not different than the book to THIS level. Again he absolutely COULD be lore-accurate like he was in the first two sagas. What he did has nothing to do with whether the musical would be not "modern musical style" he clearly does things because he can. And from my years of music and such plays have last longer and shorter as well. Again I am not comparing movies to stage BUT you can still have the plot as it is. What he changed could be avoided or are you telling me ye made Odysseus kill the sirens was more "musical possible" than have him tied up on a mast and singing verses with an invisible performer!?

Actually yes it does because HE DOESN'T FOLLOW the Odyssey like not at all. EPIC absolutely ISN'T an adaptation of the Odyssey at this point. Again you can read it if you want and many people read it and disagree with me but still I am standing up at my position. If you follow nothing of the plot you ellegwdly adapt but you keep the names you just make an original story with characters that wear the costume of a popular character. You are NOT making adaptation. You reading it and disagreeing with me doesn't disprove me. Like scientists fight for decades over one passage of books and all read the same passage. You having reading it and seeing EPIC as adaptation little does it disprove me. It only shows that your ideas of adaptation and mine are different

I never said they are unfair. They just insist that I am supposed to like them because they did. The same way you insist now on your opinion on how I absolutely must believe that is impossible to be lore accurate (it is not. Never said it is needed to be word for word accurate but it absolutely CAN be lore accurate) and that it is adaptation (it is not imo). The way you insist now they did then because that was their opinion. And they express it like you do like I do. I just mean that it has become so standard that something popular being loved that seems incomprehensible that someone cannot like it or if someone likes both this and the original material alike they wonder how come and someone else doesn't.

And I am not attacking you. I am explaining how many times people like me who love the originals have been belittled by fans of these so-called adaptations and that the OG material often receive much more backlash for their opinion. No they are not like I said I believe it is the original material supporters that are treated unfairly. Not the fans especially here on the internet.

Allow me to disagree one more time. Like I said above I am not saying one can make a musical or an opera or something with ALL the moments of the Odyssey but what he did there has nothing to do with length or modern musical construction it has to do with the plot he decided upon. I refuse to believe that as I said before him making charibdis happen AFTER the island of Ogygia had anything to do with that. He could place it accurately in the story. He could not include the final 600 strikes atrocity of a plot which never happened in the first place an add a scene accurate etc. He would have the exact same amount of lyrics the same amount of scenes. But he would respect more on the plot and again the first two sagas proved that he can. The first two were perfect. The changes he made didn't need to exist there and he could still have the same amount of songs.

"Nothing you say is new to me" wow... 😆😆😆like okay you know what I am going to say. It is good that you add your opinions and we discuss them but do not expect me to change my mind on this one. I did watch musicals before myself. True I am a musician but not a play writer. But again he wouldn't need to make the changes he did. He said so himself that he writes "video game plot" so many of the songs could have been different. He chose not to. Also he constantly deflected more and more from the material. That too wasn't "modern musical writing" it was his personal choice. So again I am also explaining myself here. It would be "modern musical writing" if he chose to change one or two things to fit his narrative. He was deflecting MORE AND MORE from the material which is again a choice. Hamilton is not historically accurate 100% either but what Jorge did let's say with Circe is the equivalent of someone not have Hamilton sleep with Mariah like it was written in history. Having him have that ridiculous jet pack at the 600 strikes is the equivalent of someone have Hamilton survive his final duel. It is THAT iconic and important to the plot and changing it has nothing to do with modern writing but rather his personal choice.

I am not going to disagree with you on the way of writing or the general pace and all. You are the expert on that matter. But plot-wise again there are a million things that could have been done imo that didn't even need drastic change of the songs (like I said Other Ways could easily be kept the same and just be a song for their intercourse. No drastic change there but that). Like I said one or two changes let's say Polyphemus were not only expected but as you said could be seen as necessary but one or two. What he did is clearly a personal choice. As I said what he did to the Odyssey plot would be Hamilton changing MOST KEY PARTS of history let's say his affair and Raynolds Panflect and keep going derailing and derailing till Hamilton survives his final duel and "he becomes the monster". This is literally THAT iconic moments he changed. But is indeed very good that you add your insight on the matter in writing method for instance

You realize that a fandom has gone off the rails or that it has REALLY taken over when you see "Epic the Musical" tagged under images of Achilles and Patroclus! Like...how are two characters who were both dead by the taking of Troy, yet alone by Odyssey who do not appear not even as a mention for the Underworld as they were in the Odyssey, relatable to this?!

Sorry! XD

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

Funny how that's actually true about how the characters/story would treat Dimitri, but when Edelgard does it it's "for a just cause" and it's always totally acceptable. This game really does love its waifu double standards.

[gayjaytodd]

the tragedy of bruce wayne is that no matter how much time passes, he is still a child in an alleyway, standing over his dead parents

[4thegadiesandlentlemen]

BANGER POST AGAIN !!!

I both hate and love the ambiguity. Because I'm tryna think back to Bjorn (who lived an incredibly short life omg) but the difference is he was brain dead and couldn't fight back. The retired characters aren't. So he must've found a way to keep them steady??

And omg??? How he'd feel WHEN he dies??? I didn't even think of that. But that is honestly such a good point.

Now everything past this point I'm just assuming things again

Wayne loves life and I believe it's because of the free will he gets. Death would mean the end to all that possibility and fun shit to do. He seems like the kinda person to make his own meaning to life than find one (to me, at least). I don't think he'd think about his mortality too much cause he just lives in the moment. He doesn't think about the future or past, he just goes through time as it is. Wanna add on more to this but my brain's overheating.

First death was blunt. No torture, no build up, no nothing. He was led out and just bled??? He also said help me even though he was in THAT state.

I'm spewing shit here but maybe he was begging cam to save him. (And I think he might've asked Robin to help? I forgot so I won't talk about it until I reset☹️) I believe Wayne knows Cameron is Wayne is a pussy when it comes to confrontation so when Cam dies from an allergic reaction he caused, I doubt Wayne called for help with the possibility of Cam snitching. Then Cameron just comes back lol and they're back to pranks. Clearly he wants to live. He has a little hope that Cam would bring him back. And he does?? In short, the death was just that so Wayne had faith he'd be resurrected.

Second death, he does an oopsie and talks to justin. Then we see him help captive looking half dead and talking about how there's more people. Hear me out, what if Justin saw the retired cast get made into clones? I mean not literally. I don't think the captives would be kept in the same room as the one Justin would be experimenting in. He might've either seen how they struggled or possibly heard something (which also feels unlikely yk Justin might get soundproof walls or like uhh tranquilized them? (Sedated? Chloroform? Put them under anesthesia?What's the word?) idk I have too many thoughts on this).

The way Wayne looks is awful I can't even lie. No one can tell me he wasn't stressed out of his mind. But he's just been kept there? He either died by a bullet or by becoming Justin. But those deaths wouldn't just be quick. They had build up. And he might've lost hope and it didn't matter which way he got out of the situation, he just wanted to get out. So when he dies, he'd feel relief. But I'm still clinging onto the idea he doesn't want to lose his life so I'd think he'd so conflicted.

Then he's just brought back by the guy who saved him the first time. The same guy who killed him. Just brought back to suffer. Bitchy husk as a man I hope you don't come back. ( If he does I'm actually gonna be so pissed even though I love him mwah. Let him rest! )

I hate that I'm so invested in this.

AAAAAAAAA JUSTIN CASE UPDATE??? WHAT THE FUCK WHY DID HE JUST POST RHE SPOILERS TO THE NEXT INSTALLEMENT OF THE STROY RIGHT THERE INSREA DOF BEING LIKE YEAH IM DOING IT IM KILLING CAM RN FUCK ME (ron intended)

anywayssssss

nathaniel is dead, not very skibidi sigma of him at all but i’m not too surprised, cam’s been trying to get rid of ol’ nathan for a WHILE (besides, look at his last name. it was inevitable)

cam added a mary sue self insert oc that’s basically a god into the cgcu who’s summoned by racism and sexual jokes. damn.

i get the ending and it’s alright, but also seems anticlimactic. like cam shows up and tells justin “dude you’re a fictional made up character on the internet you’re already immortal 💀” and justin’s like “oh fr then ig i’ll stop” which isn’t that satisfying at all. i don’t like that ending the discord’s ending (ask me for an invite link if ur interested in the server, we’re all very cool) is much better since yk. it has actual character development.

personally? i don’t like this ending much and i am unsatisfied. it might be better if he actually posts it but i still don’t like it much. if only…….i finished the goddamn animation……..ughhh

also……….max? whipping it out? right there? cam you better film this part or else /hj