#and they're not supposed to be the same character

[livrelady]

#svsss#love this idea#i think airplane's affair especially would be fascinating#like he transmigrates into a character who was always going to be one of bingge's wives and he knows it#but he's also in the demon realms and there's mobei jun no.1 favorite guy surviving his scheming uncle and etc#and so naturally while airplane awaits his not-too-anticipated wifing he starts helping mobei jun#which eventually graduates him from random demon in mbj's father's court to being an actual official and advisor and etc#mbj is also of course wildly in love with him#but airplane can't even begin to entertain that because he knows what happens to the male love rivals of the protagonist#mobei jun's much safer in the loyal minion slot he's meant to occupy#so even if airplane notices (50/50) he will just not let himself notice it or acknowledge it at all#then bingge sweeps in the plot happens and airplane's like okay well maybe he'll give me a token opening to decline to marry him#and I'll just take it#no luck he gets snapped up in the general consolidation of power#mobei jun is safe though! so that's good!#(mobei jun has moved from 'loyal lieutenant who is probably gonna get killed off in a dramatic battle to up the stakes one day'--)#(--'to scheming reluctant underling who is looking for any opportunity to increase his strength and kill his liege' but shh)#and then... not much happens for a while#bingge goes off on further wife plots and fresh conquests and airplane gets shuffled to the corner of the harem for the unmemorable wives#he is IN the harem so he's not really supposed to do his job anymore and theoretically he could just live comfortably#but the harem is treacherous and having zero attention makes him an easy target for wives with more clout#plus he's just not accustomed to having this lack of motives or drives so after a while he just goes back to helping mbj#at first very cautiously like he's expecting the system or bingge to swoop in and object at any moment#but when nothing happens he gets more confident and eventually he just goes back to doing the same job he was doing before#and spending most of his days with mbj and only going back to his official lodgings when they're having a tiff or he needs a break#eventually though he and mbj do hook up and then afterwards airplane is panicking#the protagonist is going to kill them both he just knows it#anticlimactic outcome: luo binghe doesn't even remember that they were married and by the time he does he's already wifebeamed by sy#angsty dramatic outcome: airplane + mbj vs bingge no holds-barred showdown the author's knowledge and mbj's strength against the protag hal#could even be that they WIN and that's how shen yuan comes to bingge's attention (X)

svsss au where shen yuan and shang qinghua both transmigrate into luo binghe's harem as his wives, shen yuan wife beams luo binghe and shang qinghua has an affair with mobei jun and the best part is neither of them know the other is a transmigrator and wont figure it out for a while because the harem is huge and their respective romance plots take a long time for various reasons

[yumeka-sxf]

After what seemed like an eternity, we're finally having another Yor/Garden arc! And even though it's only been one chapter, so many major reveals have already happened...

First off, it's revealed that the SSS has been working with Garden, seemingly giving them undercover jobs on behalf of the prime minister. I always thought that Garden could potentially be one of the SSS's targets, similar to WISE, since both Garden and WISE are doing their own form of shady dealings without government authority. But this reveal completely changes that...now we know that the already corrupt SSS and government have a working relationship with Garden to do their secret dirty work.

This makes my previous thoughts from chapter 114 about a potential Briar sibling reveal even more intense, since now we know that the two organizations work together and intermingle on a somewhat regular basis. It doesn't seem like Wilker knows that Yor is part of Garden, since the assassins' identities are kept a secret, but a chance encounter with Yuri definitely seems more likely now! I wonder if lower ranking SSS members like Yuri know about the boss's dealings with Garden.

We also learn a lot more about Shopkeeper in this chapter. He appears to be someone who treasures the "old ways" of the country. He speaks fondly about the 16th century mansion that Garden has their meetings in and seems exasperated by all the East-West friction happening in the current times. He makes it clear to Wilker that Garden's main purpose is to protect the nation, not do whatever petty job a politician gives them. He rejects a job to interfere with a soccer match against the West, but eagerly takes on Wilker's other job that involves what Shopkeeper calls "imperial lands," and the deer they're told to protect "divine beings." So yeah, it's pretty clear he values tradition and the past culture of the nation, which is a good thing to know about a character who's been shrouded in mystery for so long.

Another thing we learn is that Belle, the seal from chapter 103, also has a connection with the SSS and prime minister. The way Wilker talks about her to Shopkeeper gave me the impression that they had spoke about the topic before, so maybe Garden was involved too? When does the corruption end, lol.

And the other big reveal in this chapter is...new Garden members!

There's Gympie (who appears to be an actual child and my first thought upon seeing him was "I don't remember this kid from among Naruto's classmates" 👀) and Hemlock, who has some kind of antagonism with Yor. Another member, Thistle, is mentioned though doesn't actually appear. It's interesting how all the Garden members' names are related to plants somehow. Guess it makes sense for an organization called "Garden" 😅

By the way, in case anyone is wondering, Hemlock is a man. I wasn't sure at first, but he uses the male pronoun "ore" in the Japanese version.

Also undefeated assassin Yor being afraid of bugs but not a ladybug...guess we all have things we're weak to even if it doesn't always match our skills 😂

Good call here from jules about Mitera being the same place where Damian and friends did their treasure hunting in chapter 104. Could Yor's mission somehow lead to more Anya backstory on top of everything else?!

But out of everything that happened in this chapter, Hemlock intrigues me the most - I wonder why he has such a thing against Yor, and why Shopkeeper had to specifically remind him that they're supposed to protect the deer and not harm them. I look forward to learning what his deal is in the coming chapters. Perhaps some backstory about him and Yor in their early days at Garden? And of course, having Yor do a job with a male coworker who seems to be close to her age, even one who doesn't like her, opens up the potential for jealous Loid maybe? Not likely since I doubt Yor or Hemlock would allow themselves to be seen by anyone on their job...but it's nice to dream 😅 Regardless, I haven't been this excited for the next new chapter in a long time! Cruise Arc 2025, let's go!!!

[chubsonthemoon]

Another jayvik book!!! This is the incredible divine alchemy of the self, by r0sie_p0sies.

This fic was recommended to me by dear friend @ilgaksu and holyyyyy shit. It was written pre-s2 and yet somehow ends up in the exact same emotional place as the finale; the similarities range from larger scene beats all the way down to certain dialogue choices. Rosie just gets these characters, through and through!

As usual, process chatter under the cut!

It's fitting for a jayvik book that this first attempt was chock-full of experiments and new techniques! This is my first hardcover quarto Legal size, which I really loved doing. I also finally have a proper finishing press, so I was able to properly round and back a book for the first time! The shoulders are a little weak, so I'm hoping to improve when I make Rosie's author copy. I also used my foil pen for the first time and handwrote the little blurb on the back.

Most exciting, this was the first time I tried an inset! I used some of my favorite blue Momi marbled paper; rectangle placement is heavily inspired by one of @pleasantboatpress's gorgeous binds. Loveee me a good rectangle, heh. I thought an inset was fitting for this story; as you can probably tell from the title, the fic is all about transforming oneself--through grief, through illness, through love. I wanted this to be a book of contrasts--stark white for a kind of blank canvas (also a nod to Viktor's hexcorized dolls in s2), blue and gold for magic/hextech. Here's an abridged version of what I sent Rosie while chatting about design (please picture me as that It's Always Sunny conspiracy meme, but in DMs):

The framework of the fic being alchemy, creation, a literal step-by-step guide for how to create something divine, is something I really want to explore! I really like the idea of this kind of blank canvas casing + swirling paper inset. All the love and life and messy tendrils of illness surrounded by this...blank divinity. That divinity as a medium, a container, for the complicated human experience. But also the inverse--the blankness of the canvas drawing attention to the brilliant blue/gold of the inset. The bright light shining through the windows of their living room in the ending scene juxtaposed with the moment of their (possible? wonderfully ambiguous?) deaths; those two moments being, in many ways, the same. A window into their lives loving each other, seen from both the outside and within. *insert lots of keyboard smashing*

Interiority and vulnerability were also two themes I wanted to convey. So with that theme in mind, I tried something very, very new to me, and thought, fuck it, let's try to use paper vellum for the endpapers:

You're not really supposed to use paper vellum for endpapers because 1) it wrinkles and curls like all hell and 2) since it's translucent, it means you can see the inside of the boards and the tapes. But for this bind, I decided to lean into that effect--I scribbled the four stages of the alchemical process (the framework of the fic's chapters) onto the boards so you could see them when you opened the book (I wanted to evoke jayvik's "mad scientists" vibe lol); I cut the supporting linen tapes into points (a nod to the rune Viktor carves into his leg brace) and painted them gold so they'd stand out more (they reminded me of Vik's spine brace; I mean hell, they're literally sewn into the spine of the book for extra support. It felt criminal to not incorporate them in some way!); I tried to be more intentional with the glue brushstrokes while casing in to give the paste-down a more painted effect; and finally, probably the thing that was hardest to let go (and which I'm still a little unsure about, to be honest), I let the damn endpapers wrinkle, for more ~texture.~

The overall effect is something I'm still mulling over, even as I write this--it kind of goes against everything I've learned as a bookbinder, and almost makes me feel (or rather, the book feel lol) naked. These are the parts of the book you aren't normally supposed to see, put on display the moment you open it. But! I think that even if it's not the strongest from a design perspective, I think thematically, it works. Reading this fic made me feel like I was being carved open, so I wanted the experience of reading the book to be a little vulnerable, too. Also: beauty in imperfections, right? :3

Aaand that's all for today! A million thanks again to Rosie for letting me bind her wonderful work <3

And once more for the road: you can read divine alchemy of the self on ao3!

[000yul]

fun things about the IS6 trailer for "Jie Garden"

near the tail end of yesterday's 6th anniversary stream arknights dropped an IS6 promo trailer in the form of a retro promo ad for some place called the "jie garden" that turns out to be analog horror. it's pretty cool

watch it here (bilibili)

there's a number of funky (creepy) things that happen that are easy to miss - and i missed a bunch myself, so I decided to watch it again now and write down all the things i spotted/the bilibili comments pointed out

(first things first: the 'jie' in 'jie garden' isn't the same 'jie' as the dead sui sibling, but it's definitely punning on it. there is literally no way they're not referencing her.)

the video subtitle: "A thousand years ago a tianshi sought to live in seclusion, and therefore built this garden as a place to retreat from society."

however, the audio says 'coffin chamber' (mu4shi4 - 墓室) instead of retreat from society (bi4shi4 - 避世)

much more under the cut, bc this is a LONG post:

the sign in the pond is probably supposed to be something like "this pond is dangerous, please keep away" but with the censored text it reads "pond please come close" :)

"About three hundred years ago, after consultation with the tianshi's descendants, a section of Jie Garden was opened to the public, and over time, it has become a good place for the residents of Baizao to visit on their days off."

after the text gets censored, the last section becomes, simply: "a place for the residents of Baizao."

white (bunny?) silhouette appears here after a flash of white. hello!

this text - "do not touch" is mirrored. in other words, it's you, the viewer, behind the glass!

the chinese comments here remark on how the tickets to the garden (pictured) look awfully like the kind of paper money you burn as offerings to the dead

(also, when they read out that phone number, the text briefly changes to 80808-88808. no idea what this is supposed to imply though)

the video then changes to talking about 8 "do not do this" warnings that guests to the garden should avoid

spot the difference! on the sign on the bottom right, the text changes from "Deep water, keep a safe distance" to "Water, keep a safe distance" as a character vanishes

by "do not" number 3, the news byron on the bottom now just says "Today's weather " without talking about the weather at all (at the beginning of the video, it said "Today's weather: cloudy") people of baizao, you good?

6: "do not make a racket". screen goes black, and then it comes back weird

7: "don't damage the articles" (articles as in items/objects etc. - 器物) . except the character 器 is briefly replaced by 祭 before disappearing:

note that 祭物 means sacrifices. rip to this guy and his now mysteriously blacked out face

8: "do not trespass into restricted areas". only, some freak shit starts happening with the video - there's a quick blink-and-you-miss-it frame of a cemetery:

and, among other things, "do not trespass into restricted areas" transforms into " want town":

and then rapidly becomes "sui area":

love whatever's going on in the background here.

then a bunch of "sui" characters appears on screen:

and finally. jie. as in jie's name. it's her.

jie garden is jie's grave.

the end :)

[ekjohnston]

The Book Club Conundrum

One thing really love about reading fanfic for videogames (Veilguard in particular), is seeing all the other in-game mini-story options that wouldn't have occurred to me in a million years. In Veilguard, for example, there is a large component of the fandom that writes Rook as isolated within the team, someone who is always helping but never gets helped in return. It's fascinating because you can do a lot with it, and also because it never would have crossed my mind otherwise.

I have started to call it The Book Club Conundrum, because you twice find book club notes in the Lighthouse where everyone gives their thoughts on a book they've read together. Rook does not give them, which I assumed meant we were supposed to fill that part in ourself (since Rook is the self-insert character, the game writers try to leave as many of their opinions open as possible), but it's very common in fic to read that Rook wasn't invited, and holds at least a bit of resentment for that, and for the way the team bonds around them in general.

As I said: a lot of mileage, which is great for fanfic, because conflict has to come from somewhere.

HOWEVER

Since I imagined Rook at the book club meetings and adding their thoughts, I did it with other examples of team bonding as well. This is particularly important to the "always helping, never helped" component of the argument, because: the team does try. They try so hard.

Most of them take you to a funeral/memorial at some point (Lucanis does it in a Blighted Treviso; if Minrathous is Bighted, you get it twice: once from Neve and once from The Viper. Davrin takes you out to play with a griffon, over and over, which is just as therapeutic). They take you through their grieving process, for new pains and old. They share their traditions. Their grief. Their anger. They wait for Rook to break.

And they never do.

Solas does a lot of heinous things, on all manner of scale, but something I find EXTREMELY fascinating is that he almost fucked up Rook's relationship with their entire team. Rook's seeming denial of their grief is the one thing that no one can break through. It makes them seem cold and a bit uncaring, like they're willing to push through almost everything to get the job done. And of course they are! Willing, I mean. It's a very Dread Wolf sort of lie: just enough truth to destroy everything.

(If you save "Words of Fire" as long as possible, Taash finally just yelling at you is SUPER affecting, lmty.)

In fanfic, I've seen everything from "it's weird that Rook is talking to an empty room again" to "Rook is grieving in their own way" to "Rook hears a weird humming noise every time they think too much about Varric, but can't do anything about it". Sometimes Rook yells at the team for not noticing (Neve notices IMMEDIATELY, fwiw, the same as Solas tells you immediately what he's done. You just keep going anyway), and sometimes the resolution is more quiet.

It's fascinating to me, both as a writer and a reader/player, that the same common start point (Solas being a manipulative jackass "for the greater good"), can have so many divergent paths. It's not just "Rook ignores the team and they all die" or "Rook moves heaven and earth for her team and they all live". There's a lot of space in that second one, and fanfic lets us wallow in what the game sets up.

Veilguard is a game of mirrors, obviously, but it's also a game where all of your companions could have been the protagonist, except all of the good guys are DESPERATELY trying not to be the main character. The villains are all like that too (especially Johanna, who is barely aware the risen gods are there), only they WANT to be the main characters. And that's usually what leads to their downfall.

Varric wrote pulp fiction. The kind reviews denigrate as trashy while millions of people have fun reading them. He wants a main character, a hero he can pin a tragedy on. He made one, and propped up another. Rook was going to be his third, and Solas (accidentally) almost made sure it happened. But Rook gets free of that, wins themself out by sheer friendship and the willingness to move forwards.

And no matter what kind of angst you want to put into your fanfic (and please, continue to do so; I am having fun!) that is pretty great.

[mirai-e-jump]

TV Life, 4/25/2025 Issue ft. Kanda Masakazu & Chinen Hidekazu (translations below)

Publication: April 9, 2025

OneLog! Vol.3 (Kanda Masakazu)

-When I'm assigned to carry a weapon during filming, I feel that I've actually become a hero-

Nice to meet you! I'm GozyuTyranno and Bakugami Ryugi's Kanda Masakazu. When I was little, I watched Super Sentai's like "Seiju Sentai Gingaman," had a variety of the toys purchased for me, and even made some myself out of paper. When I'm assigned to carry a weapon during filming, I feel that I've actually become a hero. This production will feature previous Reds, so I'm able to touch their weapons, and since Fire Candle's Bon-san is from the same generation as me, we'll both freak out while saying, "It's the real thing!" (laughs).

Bakugami is a devout follower of Tega Sword-sama. I play the role while trying to make his character stand out as much as possible, and to be conscious of bringing out his cuteness. The first time I transformed, I was anxious as I thought, "I wonder if it'll turn out cool…" (laughs). When I was shown the footage without CG and sound effects, I was surprised at how bland it was. However, when I saw the completed video, it looked super cool. Now, I'm doing it with confidence and determination.

My favorite scene is when Bakugami appears while carrying the piano (episode 2). In fact, when I received the script, I was suddenly told, "You're going to carry a piano and sing." I knew I was bad at singing, but like, I had never carried a piano before? (laughs). It was surprising, but the comedic factor was strong enough to make it enjoyable.

From episode 8 onwards, there'll also be episodes focusing on Bakugami. What happened in the past, and why did he start worshipping Tega Sword-sama?…the foreshadowing that's been placed so far will be brought to light, so make sure you pay attention! And then, since Gozyuger is a story where each member strives to become Number One, I hope that you'll enjoy picking out your favorite character!

Q: In relation to Number One Sentai, what are you most into these days?

A: I've watched tons of films up to now, but recently, my desire to appreciate foreign films in particular has increased. A senior staff member in their 60s who was on set gave me dozens of film recommendations. I'm currently addicted to watching them in sequential order!

Number One Shot!!: Here's an off shot photo from episode 6! Playing house and playing the role of a mother for the first time in my life left a very strong impression on me! All of the other members were trying to be considerate when they told me that it "suits me," but I definitely don't think that's true! Everyone, what are your thoughts? _

GavvPare! Vol.16 (Chinen Hidekazu)

-The scene in episode 28 was an unscripted direction-

If we could go back abit, I'd like to give you some backstory for the scene in episode 28, where Hanto confronts Suga when he's Kamen Rider Bake. To be honest, we did countless takes for that scene, but Yusuke-kun never once lost his concentration, as he continuously put his whole heart into it. As Shouma, I wasn't supposed to shed tears, but I was so moved by Yusuke-kun's passion and energy, that I myself cried uncontrollably. I have no doubt that it must've been very difficult for him, but I think this scene symbolizes the awakening of Hanto and Valen. As Shouma also puts his life on the line to protect Hanto, I hope that you were able to feel the connection between their hearts, where they're able to understand each other without having to say many words.

Also, for the scene after the fight where Hanto says "I like you," I knew that they both liked each other as friends, but I was so happy to hear Hanto, who's usually a tsundere, express his mutual love along with his gratitude, that I couldn't help but grin (laughs). To be honest, the script didn't include the piggyback or the feeding of gummies like it did in the broadcast. However, Director Sugihara decided to include that direction on the spot. It was slightly embarrassing, but I think it helped turn that scene into a heartwarming one.

And then, starting from episode 29, we entered a new chapter and a new phase. Up to this point, the plot has been about Stomach Inc and the Granutes versus Shouma and his friends, but the story completely changed when Jiip brought Lizel along with him. When Lizel made her entrance, her storm like momentum stirred up the story, and it made me think, "An intense character has appeared…!" (laughs). I'm sure that even after episode 30, Lizel will continue to go on a rampage, and the plot will exceed everyone's expectations more than it did before. Be sure to keep an eye on Lizel, as well as Jiip's movements!

Q: When you hear "Spring," What comes to mind?

A: It's the film "Kimi ni Todoke." It's a love story that carefully depicts the feelings of falling in love with someone, so It's a film that I love. In the film, the main character and heroine meet during the Spring season. There are also depictions of cherry blossoms falling, so I can feel Spring just by watching it. There are many things I admire about it that make me think, "I wish I could've lived a school life like this," and it makes me want to take on a production like "Kimi ni Todoke" someday!

Off Shot: These two are basketball novices compared to Lakian, who's an experienced player. Within the script read the words, "A heated basketball game." Once on site, they immediately started practicing intensely in order to highlight their cool shooting skills! However, filming ended without either making even a single "decent" shot. The highlight of their intense practice will have to wait for the time being.

[bnhaobservation]

@eclecticfurywhispers said:

The authorities were planning on giving AFO a trail. However, AFO broke out of prison before they could. I know they could've given AFO his hearing prior to his breakout, but law-enforcement thought they'd have more time. They didn't anticipate the jailbreak.

Honestly...

while it's never said the authorities were planning to give AFO a trial, it's entirely possible they did, and maybe AFO already had his trial before he escaped. Even though it's pretty safe to say he would get the death sentence, Japan is famous for being slow to carry them out, so it' might be AFO had his trial and is waiting for death... especially since he was arrested at the beginning of August and the jailbreak takes place at the end of March. 7 months are more than enough to put him on trial as lawyers can be sure he's guilty since not only he was caught red handed but he is confessing easily.

Muscular is also there, so, since he's a lot less dangerous than AFO, this means he had his trial and AFO might have had too.

This doesn't change the fact that AFO was put in Tartarus without a trial, instead than in detention, which not only is against Japanese law but is a severe violation of his human rights... but I didn't focus on it much in my post because, once in Tartarus, his human rights are violated even harder and in a way that's worse than what would happen if he were to end up in a real life Japanese prison.

But let's put this aside and let's focus on the trial for a moment.

Are we sure authorities want to put him through a trial?

Because putting him to trail would mean letting him talk with a lawyer, who might inform him about what's going on in the outside world, info they're currently denying him. Also in Japan, the defendant has the right and duty to be present to his own trial... but they clearly wouldn't want to move AFO.

So authorities have no gain by putting him through a trial. Yes, the trial could ensure they could execute him... but considering they can shoot at him if he does so much as scratch his back, I'm sure they can just say he moved and ops, he died if they want him dead.

Tartarus is a place in which people is stuck to be forgotten as they're never meant to come out of it alive.

We see how Lady Nagant was stuck there to be forgotten for a crime she didn't commit.

Did she have a trial? Trials in Japan are held only if you're sure you can win them, so either they forced Lady Nagant to admit a sin she didn't commit, they fabricated so many fake proofs the prosecutor was sure to win even if she weren't to confess, or they didn't put her under trial but just stuck her there same as they did with AFO.

So authorities, in order not to move AFO (so that he won't have any chance to escape), might have decided not to put him through trial but just keep him jailed in Tartarus and toss away his cell's key.

Or, as said before, they can claim he tried to use his Quirk and shoot him down.

So yes, maybe authorities want to put AFO on trial, maybe they have already done it, maybe they just don't want to, we'll never know.

What doesn't change is that AFO's human rights are being openly violated in such a way that goes against real Japanese laws and that, if BNHA were to be medically accurate, would seriously impact AFO's health and no one bats an eyelash.

AFO is not the sort of character for whom I expect people would feel sympathy, but still the complete disregard from the supposed upstanding, moralistic model Hero and police citizens of how all they put him through in Tartarus is illegal and cruel, don't impress me positively. It gives out a message that, if one is evil enough, we can do everything to him back without batting an eyelash.

Still, thanks for your observation!

Heroes and human rights

There are days I honestly don't know which sort of message Horikoshi was aiming to deliver.

I'll rephraise.

I do not really expect BNHA to have laws which are diametrically different from real life Japan.

If Japan is okay with a policeman shooting an escaping criminal in the back, provided said criminal is considered dangerous enough, I don't really expect Horikoshi to make a big deal of how Hawks killed Twice.

It doesn't mean I agree, just that I think Horikoshi might not have been raised in an environment in which this is considered wrong... or that he just wants to show the downside of it, raise discussion over the topic.

However, when he deliberately worsen things and none of the supposed good and noble characters express concern I... don't know if he realizes which is the message he ends up passing.

I'll clarify.

Japanese prisons are known for violating human rights.

BNHA prisons violate human rights EVEN HARDER.

I'm not just talking of how AFO is sent in Tartarus without a trial, or of how Tartarus is a prison that hosts males and females.

AFO is denied any information from outside, when in Japan inmates must be provided with access to information on principal current affairs through media such as newspapers kept at the penal institution and news report broadcasts and also be allowed to read books. Yes, it's a right that can be revocated but it's much better than nothing at all.

We see him, Moonfish, Stain (for a period) and Muscular, wear strait-jackets and being tied to a chair, a chair, not a bed, when Japanese inmates wear leather and/or metal handcuffs which are secured tightly to a metal-strengthened leather belt so that the prisoner’s hands are fixed securely at either the front or the back of the body solely when they're being punished (which yeah, it's still a violation of human rights but it's BETTER than what Tartarus does).

Apparently everyone is in solitary confiment, when in theory in Japan you can keep inmates in solitary confinement for three months (the period can be extended) if they had violate the prison’s rules (which yes, it's more than human right recommend but it's BETTER than what Tartarus does).

Chisaki isn't given prosthesis for his arms and while Japanese prisons theoretically should allow prisoners to keep glasses but can still deny them such right, denying him prosthesis is a lot more damning for him.

In Tartarus no convict seems to have shoes, in Japanese prisons they've sandals and they can wear socks, never mentioning the cells have tatami floors where this doesn't seem to be the case in Tartarus.

And we've people like Tsukauchi, Gran Torino, All Might, Eraser Head, Present Mic go there, witness all this and... shrug it off.

It's not that Horikoshi doesn't know human rights are being violated and thinks that's the norm. The guards at Tartarus CLAIM they got plenty of accusations of human right violations, the leacks coming from an unknown source... meaning it's not just a defamation campain, it's the truth.

One would think that in a story about offering a helping hand this would be addressed but no, La Brava praises Gentle's time in prison, Nagant wants to stay in prison, Shishikura talks of his father, a prison guard who might have been the one who defined inmates as animals, as the one who inspired him to protect and not to search for revenge... and no one talks about reforming prisons.

Plenty of convicts escaped prison worse than before because prison didn't reform them at all, didn't correct them at all and society is fien with prison this way because, as said with Tartarus, they just want to forget those people exists... which is worse than in Japanese prisons as they're, at least verbally, meant to make an effort to reform convicts.

Sure, maybe Horikoshi's idea is that I shouldn't think too hard at this but... then why showing a worse world if it's meant to be dismissed?

The fandom made up whose wonderful Quirk erasing bracialets and Quirk erasing drugs and Quirk erasing whatever that would have allowed him to depict prisons as they are in real life, no need to make them WORSE... and he could have still freed the convicts by causing the Quirk erasing bracialets to malfunction or something, same as he opened their jails.

Honestly, it's something that never fails to upset me because at a first glance it seems he wants to criticize all this and then... he just embraces and handwaves this as if it was okay.

Let's focus on stopping kids from becoming Villains, who care if we're making pre-existent Villains worse, who care if we're abusing their human rights? They don't deserve a helping hand.

[kalinara]

So I was thinking about early X-Factor (volume 1) for my previous post, and it got me thinking.

I certainly understand and sympathize with the folks who don't like the storyline, especially for what it does to Scott and Maddie. But I don't really see it the same way.

I've seen the storyline called "sexist" or "misogynist", and I do get where that comes from. But in my opinion, those flaws actually predate X-Factor, and they go all the way back to Maddie's origin and how she and Scott got together in the first place.

Here's the thing. Maddie under Claremont really isn't a CHARACTER. She's a set of traits compiled into a plot device designed to facilitate Scott Summers's eventual retirement from the X-Men. And there seems to be very little thought put into any of it.

She looks like Jean Grey, because the original plan was to have Scott and Jean retire together but Jean got killed off instead. But it's not like this means anything for Madelyne.

There's no narrative reason for Madelyne to look so much like Jean. They're not related. No one ELSE seems to have any opinion about Madelyne looking like Jean. Scott reacts to the resemblance, of course, but no one else really seems to care or find this notable beyond some initial surprise. Certainly no one seems inclined to say "dude, are you sure you should date someone who could be your dead girlfriend's identical twin?" (Though, please correct me if that actually DID happen.)

Maybe she wasn't supposed to look SO MUCH like Jean - maybe it's meant to be Scott projecting a resemblance onto her because he's not over Jean. But no one calls him out for this. Moreover, we get a storyline where Mastermind basically makes Madelyne think/act like the Dark Phoenix.

And it doesn't help that Maddie never gets to react to this situation like a real person would. Okay, she gets a moment to freak out about Lockheed in a bag. But what woman, with any kind of self-respect, would hear her fiance ask her TO HER FACE if she's his ex-girlfriend reborn and not run screaming for the hills?!

But Maddie doesn't get to react like a real person here. Later, she'll get to be the neglected wife and mother, a plot device to call Scott out on the having-his-cake-and-eating-it-too aspect of leading the X-Men and being a father. In this storyline, Maddie's very sympathetic, of course. Scott's fucking up royally, he eventually gets a clue and they actually, finally retire.

I'm not saying it's not well-written. I'm not saying that Maddie isn't likable. But she's the creation of a very skilled writer to bring about the outcome that he wants.

But let's look at Maddie outside of that.

Aside from looking exactly like Jean, Maddie's other traits are pretty much there just for Scott. She's a pilot. She works for his long-lost grandparents. Does she have parents? Does she have family? Compare for a moment, Maddie and Scott's wedding to Jean and Scott's wedding later on.

Maddie's got better fashion taste, I admit. It's very classy. Jean's wedding is very 90s. Alas. But Jean gets scenes with Rachel, with her parents, with Charles. She (and Scott) get a letter from Logan. Because Jean has a past and relationships beyond what she has with Scott.

Why doesn't Maddie have ANY of that? Because she's not supposed to. Because the wedding isn't about Maddie and Scott. It's about giving Scott a happy ending. Maddie is the prize. A version of Jean, tailored to Scott's tastes and interests, that can drift with him off into the sunset.

THAT's the part that reads as sexist to me.

(Tangentially, I'm not sure how this really works as a happy ending for Scott either. He marries a woman who is the identical duplicate of the dead love of his life, while still having confused feelings about that aspect, blames himself when she is physically violent with him BEFORE realizing that it wasn't her choice, gets manipulated into a retirement that he's not temperamentally suited for, and at no point gets any kind of reasonable psychological help. At best, Maddie's a bandaid for this situation.)

--

But that's why I really like X-Factor. Because I feel like the folks behind X-Factor, particularly Louise Simonson, actually looked at Claremont's mess and went "Okay, let's make this actually make sense."

Madelyne looks EXACTLY like Jean.

Madelyne has traits designed to appeal specifically to Scott.

Madelyne doesn't seem to have a history or family worth talking about.

Madelyne does not run screaming away from her trainwreck of a relationship when any person with self respect would do so.

So there are a lot of ways that they could have gone, but I think it's fascinating that they basically just went with the idea of making the Doylistic explanation of Madelyne into a Watsonian one.

Why does Madelyne look like Jean? Because she's meant to be a version of Jean. (Specifically a clone, meant to fill the role that Jean can't fill now that she's dead._

Why does Madelyne have traits designed to appeal to Scott? Because someone created her with the intention of pairing her off with Scott Summers.

Why does Madelyne not have a history or family worth talking about? Because she basically didn't exist before getting paired with Scott Summers.

Why doesn't Madelyne run screaming away when Scott asks her if she's Jean reincarnated on THE NIGHT BEFORE THEIR WEDDING the way any REAL woman would?

Because she's not a real person. Or at least, she hasn't been allowed to be.

And THAT's when Madelyne gets to be a character. Because say what you will about Inferno-era Madelyne, at least she gets to want things. She gets to be angry. She gets to plan and pursue her goals.

Did they necessarily have to go the full demon summoning supervillainess route? Maybe not. But it's comics. And it's more fun this way.

And honestly, there's something very satisfying about a woman who was created, both in universe and out of universe, to have a baby try to then sacrifice the baby to demons for power.

I'll take the Goblin Queen over the retirement prize any day.

[faejilly]

@sarasa-cat replied to your [post]:

Ever since I played SDV for the first time just a little over a year ago (why it took me that long, i do not know), I have been itching to write fanfic for farmer/Sebastian. All I have right now is a lot of scattered headcanon and maybe a few scenes here and there because I don't know what time is anymore. Where did 2024 go?

Sebastian finding comfort and quiet joy sitting by the window in the farmer's house is just <3 <3 <3. What are your thoughts on the whole mess in his family and the reasons why he feels ignored? (as for me, my mind tends to go for the darkest ideas b/c DRAMA)

The other thing I really like about Sebastian being very quietly happier is that he doesn't change either, like, he's still got insomnia, he still needs days away from people (even you), but he explicitly tells you when he's got days like that so you know that's why he's not there, or whatever.

IT'S JUST SO GOOD

But anyways. Rambling!

The first fic thing with Sebastian is obviously you're meeting him when he's feeling exactly like you did at your terrible corporate job (and he also hates terrible corporate jobs, go us) in that he doesn't know where he wants to go but he needs to not be here

so there's this connection in that you get it, but then also this immediate disconnection, because how can you get involved with someone and make it harder for him to get out when he so desperately needs it?

As to why he needs out?

There are a lot of possibles there. I find it interesting that it's pretty clear no one (even his friends) respect his boundaries: everyone feels free to just walk into his room, they interrupt him when he's actually working, which means it's gotta be even worse when he just needs solitude to help balance himself (no wonder he hides away so often, he's just trying to carve out any space at all)

There's a recurring theme with the LI characters who grew up in Pelican Town regarding still living at home with their parents, and respect that may or may not be owed in both directions in that situation, but it's also really clear that, in this specific time and place, none of them have anywhere else to go, and I'm not sure any of their parents take that at all seriously.

Sebastian is the only one of that group who seems to be trying to work and save up enough to change that! And yet his mother doesn't treat him any more like an adult than any of the rest of them get.

Also, for all that the game is very hand-wavey in regards time and ages and etc. it's clear he's not supposed to be all that much older than Maru, which means he and Demetrius have known each other for most of his life.

And yet, Demetrius never once mentions Sebastian in dialogue but talks about Maru quite a bit. (There's even a note on the wiki to that effect in his trivia section.) They clearly have no connection, which is unfortunate enough as adults and pretty close to tragic for whatever age Sebastian was when Robin and Demetrius got married.

As part and parcel of the same thing, he and Maru never hang out together in any of either of their schedules, and only stand near each other at holidays when it's clearly a family holiday, and they're with Robin & Demetrius too. They both have a line or two referencing each other, and they do specify half-sister/half-brother, which as someone with only half siblings that is uh, not how that normally works for most of us.

Maru's got a line about wishing they were closer and that she wanted to have a brother but Sebastian never acted like one.

If you get married, Sebastian's got a line where he assumes she's happy he's gone, and if you have kids he's got one hoping they get along better than he and Maru did.

They have very different views of their relationship, is what I'm saying here.

And for all Sebastian is willing to assume he was the difficult one, they were both children, it's not up to them to treat each other equally, it's up to their parents to treat them equally, and it seems really obvious they didn't.

(Was there something there with Sebastian's father, beyond just a simple previous relationship that didn't work out? Tragic or abusive or just low-grade general shittiness? Because it seems like everyone swung too hard in the other direction, avoiding thinking about or mentioning him For Reasons™️ that are now completely opaque and just help Sebastian clearly be othered.)

Which gets me to my next question, which is: how long has he lived in the basement without windows which he clearly hates? Why didn't his carpenter mother just build another room above ground? She expands your house in ludicrous directions, and even if we ignore that as video game mechanics, she's clearly capable of full sized construction not just furniture or repair or whatever.

And yet.

He's still in the basement without windows while Demetrius gets a lab (does a lab really need to be above ground with windows more than a bedroom? do you know legally most places you can't list a basement room as a spare bedroom unless it has windows?)

And Maru gets a room with its own little yard for her experiments so she's got both more fresh air and potential privacy than anyone else in the family.

And all I can really come to as a conclusion there is that Demetrius has never seen Sebastian as his step-son, and that influenced how he and Maru grew up, and Robin didn't do anything about it; whether she ever tried or not, she's not even trying anymore by the time we meet them.

So Sebastian legit needed to get out of there, and I feel bad when I'm playing different farmers that I don't get to help him do that, more so than I do with the rest of them when they're not romanced. (Probably why I keep coming back to his? Also the frogs and general fondness for odd little critters is SO ADORABLE I am eternally smitten.)

[poppetsisters]

Everything We Know About The LEGO Fantastic Four Set + Thoughts & Theories

The set is called Galactus vs The Fantastic Four. It is set number 76316 and it'll release in June 2025, one month before the MCU film the set is based on. It comes with 427 pieces and will retail for $59.99 in the USA.

The set will include Galactus as a construction figure, similar to Iromman, Arishem, and Green Goblin.

Each of the Fantastic Four will comes with something to make them stand out. Reed Richards will have 1x1x5 Bricks to simulate his legs stretching.

Susan Storm will have trans clear discs

Johnny Storm will have fire blast pieces and flames coming out of his feet

And Ben Grimm will have the gorilla hand pieces

All minifigs will have plain legs. Ben, Sue, and Johnny share the same torso design. The only image that has leaked is from the instructions booklet, revealing the head for The Thing, a brand new mold for the Thing's brow, and the design for Sue, Ben, and Johnny's Torso

The Objective part of the stim is over, time for Thoughts and Theories.

I'm saddened that Galactus is a construction figure rather than the Microfigures pioneered by the likes of Giant Man and Ares. I was really hoping for it, but this is how LEGO makes big characters these days, so I'll just have to accept it...

The 1x1x5 brick being Reed's stretched out legs is, in my opinion, a good compromise. It means we aren't locked to Reed being in stretch mode all the time. This is also why I'm not upset that he doesn't have noodle arms (if he had them, wouldn't the leak mention it?) I was gonna snip those anyway and replace them with regular arms. Unfortunately kids will lose out on the best way to convey Reed's powers through LEGO. Sorry kids.

The idea that none of the Four are permalocked to their powered on states is also why I'm not mad that Johnny isn't printed with "Flame On" details, or Sue having trans clear legs. Kids have good imagination and can pretend Johnny is Flamed On or Sue is invisible (because honestly, those action figures where she's just 100% clear never sold well for obvious reasons). Thing is always powered on so he doesn't count for this paragraph

The fact that Ben, Johnny, and Sue share the same Torso is interesting, because if you look at the suits in the trailers, then you could make the case they they all have essentially the same design, even though the granular details of the linework are different. Even though they share the same torso, I'm positive Johnny and Ben are going to have white arms. This appears to be a cost-saving measure, and I'm positive that a Multiverse Saga line down the road would remake these figures to better represent how they look in the movie.

I mentioned this in a previous post, but I've been an advocate for The Thing being minifig sized even before the sets were rumoured, and I'm very happy that they're going with exactly what I pitched they should do (molded cap and gorilla hands). Sadly I'm gonna miss that The Thing isn't depicted shirtless, but the Thing is such a popular character that I believe a comic-inspired mech of the Thing is a virtual guarantee.

Unfortunately, I'm very disappointed that the legs are going to be plain. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. My friend assured me that if the minifig suits are medium azure or blue, then all I have to do is Bricklink four of Benny's LEGO Movie 2 Legs or Frozone's Legs

But... are they gonna be those colors? Thankfully, we have the leaked photo of the instruction manual, but there's a pinkish tint to the image based on the hue of the white printing. Using my super photoshop powers, I was able to create a white balanced image

That's more like it. Now, using Chris Clarke's Unofficial LEGO Color Palette, I will be able to match the torso with the swatch.

Tough luck... it looks like the suits are without a doubt Medium Blue, which is not among the collection of legs with white dual molded boots. This is immensely disappointing, but how did this happen? Clearly the suits in the movie are closest to the standard LEGO Blue, so what happened?

Well, the answer is actually pretty simple. Medium Blue matches the color used in the Valentine's Day art perfectly. I feel it's worth noting that even I used this particular shade of blue for my fanart.

So there you have it. LEGO had as much access to the film's style as we did. That does call into question the design of Galactus, whose only pre-shoot reference material is from the Comic-Con teaser. The best image we have to Galactus as of this writing is this pixelated promotional art from Japan

So now I'm going to talk about what other elements we might see in the build, taking into account the piece count and price:

At 427 pieces, this set is competitive with Arishem's Shadow, a similar set in concept with this one: A large construction figure with four minifigs that totals 493 pieces. Arishem was even able to fit in a small deviant build. They also share the same price at $60 USD.

Using the process of elimination, I can determine that the Fantastic Four and their accessories will take up 35 pieces.

Four Heads, Torsos, Legs, Hair/Brow pieces = 16 pieces

Two trans clear discs, 1x1x5 Bricks, Gorilla hands = 6 pieces

Johnny is likely using the power bursts, of which there are 10, plus he'll need a Round 1 x 2 plate with Open Studs to connect fire to his legs so let's call that 11 pieces.

and let's also include two trans clear round 1 x 1 plates with bar handle for Sue to use her forcefields ala Doctor Strange

16 + 6 + 11 + 2 = 35

That leave the rest of the set with only 392 pieces. This number coincides with the Ironman construction figure which is 381. This represents a worst case scenario since the Wolverine, Captain America, Spider-Man, Ant-Man, and Batman construction figures are 327, 310, 303, 288, and 275 pieces respectively.

This is where Galactus being a Macrofigure would've been preferable. Giant Man was ONLY 142 pieces, and Ares was 168. This would left us in the 224-250 piece remainder range, which would've given us either a much cheaper set or an opportunity to introduce a side build such as a Fantasticar, small building, you name it.

Galactus is at worst 381 pieces, leaving the remaining piece count at 11, or he's 275 at best leaving the remaining piece count at 117.

So our remainder, based on this metric is between 11 and 117 pieces. This makes any possibility of a Fantasticar seem grim. The only way we could fit a Fantasticar in here is through intense compromise. With a piece count that low, there's no way we'd be able to create a car comparable to another Marvel sports car, let alone one that could seat four minifigs like the Ecto-1. It may as well be its own LEGO set, but sadly this is the ONLY Fantastic Four set rumoured.

However, it may just be possible to squeeze in a heavily compromised one-seat car, such as this 2025 Sports car from the LEGO City line, coming in at 105 pieces (only 97 excluding minifig parts and accessories) but I wouldn't get your hopes up.

So what else does this leave us with? A classic of the low price superhero sets is to include a street corner, such as these

If you're thinking "What about a 5th Minifig?" I'm sorry to say that something like that would've likely been mentioned in the leaks if it were true. As much as I want a Silver Surver, it just doesn't seem likely. That being said, there is potential for one other character to exist who isn't a minifig, but a minibuild:

I see a HERBIE minibuild being possible, but it also feels like something the leak would've mentioned.

To wrap things up, my excitement for how much I've waited for the Fantastic Four in LEGO form is tempered by how underwhelming the details surrounding these leaks are. No dual molded legs and no way to swap in alternatives, a limited piece count and overinflated price, shared assets among minifigs, a non-macrofig Galactus, and an overall sense of lack of material to work with.

With all this in mind, I really hope this first Fantastic Four set is just that.

Only the First.

[tonguetiedraven]

How do you feel about people accusing you that you’ve been “mean” or “harsh” because of your analysis of Rin’s academic intelligence or attention span?

I've gotten like ten of these kind of asks, so I'm going to answer this one since it's newest. There are a few things going on here.

1) I don't know if you intended it this way, anon, but you are allowed to just say that you think I'm mean and harsh. It's okay to have opinions. That doesn't mean all opinions are correct, but it's okay to have them and own that you have them.

Having said that, I haven't seen any accusing. All the direct interactions with my post have been fairly positive even when people disagreed with a point I made. If someone is accusing me of something then it's a post I haven't seen or they've blocked me and if that's the case, more power to them for using tumblr's features like they should ദ്ദി ( ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ )

2) Rin is not intelligent academically. Rin himself says this repeatedly. Most of the people around him point this out. Rin's scores point this out. Rin being that way is a part of his character and an important part of the plot in more than just making him a relatable character. Rin doesn't do things he doesn't see a point in, and Rin also actively avoids studying/learning about a lot of things because he does not like being confronted with being a demon. He starts the manga off with having specific opinions about his own abilities while also ignoring/trying to avoid his own hand in that. (Skipping school, not pursuing friends, letting his temper get the best of him, etc.) He doesn't think he's capable in school so we see him not really pursue that. It isn't until later in the story that we see him put some effort in, and that's usually because his friends are studying and he's with them. We still see him scoring poorly on his other subjects. If they make it out of this war and return to school, I believe we'll start to see some of that change.

3) Rin's attention span being short isn't an insult (nor is his academic intelligence) and something that I feel is a trait of his and a feeling I think the manga backs up. He quickly loses focus on tasks he deems uninteresting and seldom listen through instructions. Outside of cooking at least. He struggles to listen through plans and prefers winging it which is why, at least in the first half of the story, he indulges his wandering attention. If it isn't wandering attention it leans far more towards him just being rude and dismissive, which fits him pre forest camp arc, maybe, but doesn't really fit him post.

[egophiliac]

YOU MANIFESTED THE TWEEL CARDS CONGRATS

YOU'RE WELCOME EVERYBODY!

seriously though I was probably like. 60-80% thinking we'd get at least one tweel for chapter 10. but I was NOT expecting it so soon! both of 'em! in August! a shame we're not getting a Coral Sea event after all...but I guess I can be resigned to that and ALSO excited for getting shiny sparkly glowing(!!!!) mertwins along with Azul fighting his inner demons and going right for the eyes! AHHHH I CAN'T WAIT

(also heeeey I recognize that rowboat... 👀)

[charlesemersonwinchesteriii]

blondie boutta pounce dot jpg

[crimsonrainwatersmycrops]

Yeah this mindset that if you ship a particular ship it must be because you hate one of the characters is ridiculous and frankly only pushed by anti propaganda. I never saw an acotar fan that defended this opinion that wasn't an elriel, so there's that.

In my experience I do like ships with characters that I believe did horrible things but that's not the same as hating them. For example, I'm really critical of the behaviour of the Marauders in their Hogwarts era and I think it wasn't much better than what the Death Eaters did, and yet I ship James Potter and Sirius Black both with Severus Snape, who is like, my HP blorbo, because I think the enemies to lovers dynamics and the potential for emotional growth are delicious. More similarly to what I've seen in elriel circles, some people in a certain group of shippers in the Scum Villain fandom can't seem to be content to enjoy their very popular fanon ship without making it seem more relevant to the story than it actually was or even outright shitting on the canon ship, and that has made me develop a deep antipathy for it. Same thing for elriel, really. Their arguments are even similar.

However I never "hated" on the characters. Sometimes I see takes about Elain that piss me off but that's because they're so obviously done with the intent to make her a more suitable love interest for Azriel than she actually is in canon. "You hate Elain" Well, if you're talking about your version of Elain that kills in cold blood and would keep a relationship secret from her family for no objective good reason rather than reject Lucien and is supposed to be a perfect spy because she minds her business... Then yes, I don't like that Elain. If we're talking about canon Elain then, I do love her.

Slight Rant Incoming

"iF yOu ShIp ElAiN wItH (insert MMC love interest) tHeN yOu DoNt CaRe AbOuT eLaIn YoU jUsT cArE aBoUt (insert MMC)" "yOu HaTe ElAiN"

OH MY GODDDDDDD IM SO SICK OF THIS ARGUMENT. I'm gonna go ahead and make a generalization here, but I promise you, anyone who is a big fan of one of the ships Elain is a part of - whether that is with Azriel, Lucien, or another character - definitely cares about Elain, is a fan of Elain, and is likely more interested in her story and growth than a lot of the other characters in the series. That doesn't sound like hatred to me! Personally, I don't think I've ever shipped a fictional couple where I hated one of the characters in the ship because wtf is the point in that (and if you have please let me know in the comments which ship i am actually curious).

Thats all bye

[kismetconstellations]

"Please! We come from a peaceful planet! We mean you no harm. We're unarmed!"

[team-chaotix-week]