#bc i go really in-depth with them and a lot of it you'd never even see without asks

[druidberries]

📩 Simblr question of the day: Pick ✨ONE✨sim of yours and describe their overall aesthetic/vibe using five descriptive words or things

my first simblr question of the day 🥹😭

I'm gonna use Sebastian from my tjol legacy so y'all can get to know him a bit more !!

geeky, spooky, skater-boy, cozy, scooby-doo

I feel like all of that is self-explanatory besides scooby-doo so let me explain lmfao: he's a pretty childish guy but not in a bad way necessarily? more like he still loves a lot of the things he did as a kid and doesn't particularly wanna grow up. (ME) scooby-doo was one of his all-time favorite things as a kid and he would always say he would totally fit in with the gang (he still feels that way). the whole vibe of the show being spooky not scary is exactly how he is - he hates scary stuff - and watching it so much has kinda shaped part of his vibe!

[kentopedia]

RYLIE OMG you’re nanamis classmate and you guys are just like friends or whatever and then he leaves right??? but you stay because jujutsu is all you have. but you guys stay “friends” but hardly ever see each other. then he becomes a sorcerer again yippee!! and you guys are seeing each other a lot more.

he has feelings for you but things you have a thing for gojo so he doesn’t go for it. tension ensues.

anyways!!! i hope your thursday was great rylie!! xxxx

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ AND I AM DONE, DEAR — nanami kento

contents. angst (we’re going back to my roots!), maybe unrequited love, fem!reader, 800ish words

notes. this is so painful bc he wouldn't go for it either :( and then satoru pursues you because you've gotten close over the past couple of years, and kento's been gone </3 there are years worth of memories and jokes between the two of you, and kento spent those years miserable & alone. sometimes, he wonders what would've happened if he'd just had the strength to remain a sorcerer, instead of running from everything he hated

"kento," you snap him out of his stream of endless memories, the ones that always seem to gnaw at him when he was around you.

he glances up, and a culmination of flashbacks spin before his eyes.

he sees you at fourteen, a first year student who was still so scared of her technique.

he sees you at sixteen, smiling from ear to ear at another one of gojo and geto's ridiculous antics.

he sees you at seventeen, sobbing over the corpse that had once belonged to the kindest student in your year.

he sees you at eighteen, your empty, hollow expression when he told you he was leaving, and he wasn't coming back.

"yes?" kento asks, forcing the memories away, because you're there in front of him, more beautiful than he remembers... and though you aren't a stranger in his life anymore, his mind still doesn't do justice to the depth of your angelic features.

"is everything okay?" you ask, blinking up at him with concern. your voice turns into something gentle when you're around him, almost like he's something fragile. the kindness in your heart is endless, extending, even, to the man that once broke it.

kento clears his throat, wondering how much emotion he'd let filter onto his expression. he'd gotten worse at hiding it ever since you'd stumbled back into his life, the woman he hadn't realized he'd loved until it was too late.

"yes," he repeats, flat, calm. though he can't muster a smile, he raises an eyebrow, crossing his arms. "why do you ask?"

for a moment, you chew your lip, thoughtful. kento wants to kiss you. he wonders what you'd say if you knew.

"you've just been..." you shake your head, rubbing your arm awkwardly. "ever since..." the sentences are broken, uncomfortable, and though you'd once been best friends, there is a sense of professionalism between you now. a wall that he doesn't think he can break down anymore.

kento parts his lips, considers interrupting, but someone beats him to it. gojo satoru, the constant pain in kento's ass, saunters into the room with a sparkly white grin, gleefulness bounding off of him in a way that's obnoxious.

"there you are! megumi told me i might find you here," satoru says, and he's to you in just three long strides, attaching to you like a magnet. "ready, baby?"

gojo kisses the top of your head, throws an arm over your shoulder and smiles at kento, like he knows what's running through his mind.

you're still studying kento, and he pretends not to notice you scrutinizing him, the way your lips are flushed from chewing on them. "yeah," you say to satoru, squeezing his hand, the sparkly bracelet with gojo's initials dangling from two charms shimmering.

a subtle reminder that kento may have loved you longer, but you'll never really be his.

you start to walk out the door, and kento watches with what he hopes appears as impassivity, his lips drawn into a thin line. though, just as satoru is beginning to pull you across the threshold, you meet kento's dark brown eyes, the ones that turn so tender the moment they land on you.

"kento?" you ask once more

his name sounds so sweet on your lips, but he wishes he didn't want to know what it sounded like on the edge of a moan.

"ijichi is waiting." kento doesn't let you ask whatever you were thinking of asking, because being pinned by your beautiful, caring eyes is almost too much for him to bear.

you blink, surprised by his harshness as you curl into satoru, almost imperceptibly. "right. have a good evening, then. see you tomorrow."

kento nods, pushing his glasses back onto his face. his heart cracks a bit at the emotion tinged in your words, and though his severity has never hurt you before, he's beginning to wonder if it's hurting you now.

"bye, nanamin!" satoru waves cheerfully, and the two of you are gone, leaving nanami in the room alone, the silence almost deafeaning.

he's used to it by now: the solitude of his life. he's used to being strong when he's needed, and even when he's not. everyone sees him that way: the man who's steadfast, unwavering, a little too serious for his own good.

if only they knew he was a weak man when it came to you.

[raining-tulips]

hi! i just found your blog :) love your commonplace book scans! if you don’t mind me asking, could you give a more in-depth explanation of what commonplacing is exactly and what your process is? i’m intrigued and considering getting into it but i wouldn’t even know where to start! thanks a lot xx

Absolutely! So my commonplace is specifically all movies, qoutes, articles, tumblr/Instagram posts, book excerpts, etc. that either resonated with me or I think I'll want to reference later. That is the heart of what common placing is - saving things for later physically rather than digitally.

Some of these just pop up in my feed, and I'll hit the like or save button. If it's an article, it usually first pops up as a preview on my Instagram and I'll open the full article on my desktop than bookmark it in a specific folder for common placing.

Sometimes, when I want to actively find something out (say, about if perfume is really bad for the environment, or I want to look at author interviews because I just loved a book) I will go out and search for that information.

Then, usually once a week I compile everything I'd like to print - i print the sources bc my handwriting is messy - into a word document formatted for two columns. I try and hold off printing until i have a full page worth, or two full page worth.

For images, I have another word document (these are printed in color, and i usually have to jigsaw to fit as many images on the page as possible, so different word document). Same thing, I try and wait until I have a full page to print. Usually x2 a month. I sometimes will print with an HP sprocket but the quality is really bad and the pictures are thick so, it's for when I'm out of printer ink or I think a photo will look okay with a sorta...uneven look.

I use just a Staples brand journal, TruRed. Cheap and easy. I draw a line at the top so I can write the date, and in the future if I want to tag it with a colored sticker or something, I can. My layouts usually include divided space on either the left or right of a page. The article goes in the bigger open space, and then the source (always write your source!!) and any commentary goes in the smaller margins.

Commentary is usually why I wanted to print it, what it reminds me of or makes me think about, etc. What I think the argument was missing, etc. Can be as little or as much as you like. As emotional and deep or as plain-jane as you like. There are no rules!

I trim printed text and images with a 12 inch trimmer bc I've got wobbly hands, but some people just use a little (blanking on the name) exacto knife? Any 12 inch trimmer will do mine is expensive but I also scrapbook so I use it all the time.

I paste things in using a tape runner (again, because I scrapbook and found a tape runner and my mom sells scrapbook supplies they're very accessible to me). Some people use tape, washi tape, glue sticks (liquid glue I've never seen).

And yeah, then I just decorate and play around. It doesn't have to be pretty. It can be really pretty if you want - I'm motivated by aesthetics, so, I like mine to be a little pretty.

If you'd like to see how I actually put it together and why I print certain things, my YouTube channel is the place to go.

Some people tape in movie tickets, receipts from where they shopped or ate, pictures from daily life. Some people mix common-placing and journaling, so including diary entries about their day or about a topic they love, or their thoughts and feelings (I keep mine in a separate journal, explained in this video). Some people mix common-placing with bullet journal or planning. Some combine all three!

At the end I just use a printer scanner (HP Envy 5500, cheap) and post them online that way bc I love the look.

People who have other styles you might try and look at are @petite-gloom (an OG who inspired me and many others) @fakelavender , @teddybearsticker .

[wof-reworked]

12, 13, 15 and 28 for the ask game

hiiiii :} . Thank you for the ask my dear, and for fueling my addiction to saying my opinions loudly.

| 12. One thing you'd add to an arc/ book?

I mean the obvious is having Darkstalker actually take the strawberry, but I'd also just wildly rework the second arc to not have Qibli be the final POV character, or at least not split the book between his backstory plot/resolving the contrived prophecy and the larger, more interesting story of Darkstalker. There's a LOT of tiny things I would add to every fuckign book if we're being honest- if I had the freedom, I'd make the overarching plot a lot less direct and a bit more subtler (less of the dragons thinking the same thoughts over n over again abt the prophecy or war) and more focus on character moments and dialogue. Similarly for worldbuilding I'd like subtler bits of storytelling abt what dragon society looks like, so we can get a better look at the characters as a result (it not only helps the DoD feel more isolated from their homes, but then gives the resulting arc 2 characters more depth by having them be from the cultures we only learned abt superficially before).

| 13. One thing you'd take from an arc/ book?

NO MORE JERBOA ANIMUS REMOVAL. YOU KEEP YOUR DUMB DECISIONS IN OR I'LL FIGHT. That said, I'd also remove the "it doesn't steal your soul at all" plot twist of arc 2- I think I'd change it somewhat still to not be directly abt souls, but about livelihood/life potential- the more you use animus magic, the less you feel like you can live your own life/the more you take from your own life (which also gives Stonemover much more justification in how he acts and explains Anemone feeling "wooden" after using animus magic). It keeps the Darkstalker soul twist too- he is obsessed w not dying and w staying powerful, but fails to realize he is still removing his own livelihood- starting with his alienation from his friends and his pursuit of power over them, like a self fulfilling prophecy inherent to animus magic. Plus the scroll is a cool twist. Tbh, removing the soul removing aspect of animus magic makes that element of Darkstalker even weaker: he didn't need to do that, and it's more interesting if he did, but it didn't save him. Animus magic being a powerful but ultimately self destructive tool would still make Darkstalkers attempt to subvert it good, and even add an extra juicy twist to the hourglass- it's true, he's never going to die or lose himself in it, but it's because he would stay asleep for 20 thousand years, like a monkey paw type wish where it's technically true but not really. I can't tell if I'm cooking or not, but I like it >:).

| 15. Any design headcanons?

I have a big soft spot for Clay with tusks :}. I just think Mudwings should have tusks. Also Tsunami with a beard/barbels like a beard, bc my girl deserves it. A lot of my design HCs are from fanart- so like, when I see Sunny with Nightwing elements in her design, I cheer and holler, but I never thought of that stuff myself. A design element I don't see in drawings tho is I always HC Qibli as having a scar from Winter frostbreathing his leg- that should've honestly had more consequences than it did, it's weird that they just brushed it off bc it could've been some juicy character drama.

| 18. Favorite tribe?

I'm kind of inclined to steal @pidgetyy's answer of Skywings, bc other ppl caring abt tribes is what makes me like them more than my own strong preferences (bc I like whatever tribe inspires me the most, and pidget comes up w some really cool Skywings) (you should follow them) (go do it now). Buuuuut,,,,,, I also really like Sandwings :}. I think they're silly and cute and their little tails are funny

Link to the original Ask Game

[ucannotkillmeinawaythatmatters]

im rewatching Moon Knight while I embroider, so I figured why not post about it!! I still haven't unlocked the gif ability everyone on here seems to have, so I'm just gonna have to describe everything without proof. this is gonna be an in depth, long, and rambly post, so you can read the rest after the cut if you'd like!!

episode 1: the goldfish problem

so a lot of this episode is establishing Steven and the situation that he's in. it's kinda sad cuz on the surface level, he has a nice life. he's got a job, a big flat, he calls his mom pretty often. but when you look deeper it gets sadder. the main thing that sticks out is how lonely Steven is

JB doesn't know his name, the only person he can talk to is a statue person that doesn't respond back, his boss is mean. he's so lonely in fact that he accepts a date with a person he doesn't really know to a STEAK HOUSE.

(I have my own theory about how that was Jake who was trying to be nice and get a date for Steven?? maybe?? bc it's highly unlikely that marc, who has a wife, would do that. and even if you tried to argue that marc did it for Steven, why would he then go and make him miss it?? plus, I'm certain he knows that Steven is a vegan. which also makes you wonder why Jake didn't notice that detail, but I digress)

(side note number two, Steven is good with kids and I'll die on that hill. the scene where he's explaining things about mummification to that little girl?? answering her questions patiently and excitedly?? yeah, he's a hit with them, I promise you. and not just when he's talking about his Special Interest. also the foreshadowing of that girl asking him if it sucked to get rejected from the field of reeds?? I'm sickkkk)

and ofc, there's the main issue of steven falling asleep in his bed and waking up in the middle of nowhere without a clue as to how he got there. I'd like to take a second to commend Stevens intelligence here!! anke restraints, sand around the bed, tape on the door?? I would never even think of these things.

either way, none of it works and he wakes up in the middle of goddamn nowhere, injured and hurting at that!! (even if khonshu fixed it, he still sounded like he was in pain for a while there). people are shooting at him, he's so so desperately trying to give this strange man (who he just witnessed kill a woman mind you) the beetle but he can't, and all the while a strange voice is berating him every two seconds. again kudos to Steven bc I could never. I would have been crying the moment I heard the gunshots.

(Jake theory again. I'm so certain that a lot, if not all of the car stuff was Jake. I love marc, but I refuse to believe he could manage those car skills, while shooting at ppl, while on the a narrow road of a fucking mountain. nahhhh that was all my boy Jake)

(also note that when Steven first woke up in the grass after Marc?? jumped and fell fourish stories?? khonshu called him a worm. and then further specified and called him "the idiot." I firmly believe that khonshu calls Steven AND Jake worms/parasites, it's just that Stevens the idiot and Jakes the competent one ig)

and waking up after all of that like nothing happened must have been so frustrating. I know Marc was just trying to protect him, but instead Stevens just being gaslighted and facing psychological warfare. so everywhere he goes he's faced with signs that he might be crazy or he might not be. ex: gus suddenly having one fin, the time being wrong, Marc appearing in the mirror and talking to him completely unhelpfully, khonshu FUCKING TORMENTING HIM FOR NO REASON, but also the burner phone he found, harrow being real, and the dog creature I can't remember the name of!!

so much of this episode was Steven being scared and unhappy and overwhelmed and it makes me sad!! he's so precious and sweet, he doesn't deserve to be going thru any of that.

(also I'm never ever gonna get over the cinematography and thematics of the mirrors in the museum bathroom. first of all mirrors cool. second, the hints at his multiplicity thru the infinite images of the bathroom, but with Marc in only one of the reflections. I'm gonna be fucking sick)

so yeah!! those are most of my thoughts. I know that pictures and gifs are a huge part of making a post Not Boring and I'm gonna use them as soon as I learn how istg

[spiritsncrystals]

GX FAIRY TAIL/GUILD AU REVAMP POST

since my ass was bad at properly compiling this stuff and I'm interested in doing something with this au again sooo this post just serves as a reintroduction to the concept and with a list of the assigned Magic, there are a few characters i never really settled on their magic even now so if there are any exclusions that'll be why some also have a combination which I'd chalk up to it's an au I can mess around if I want. Anyways! THE CONCEPT/GENERAL OUTLINE: While i call it a fairy tail au it doesn't really follow the plot of fairy tail mostly just borrowing it's magic systems and world-building (not to bash on the plot it's more just a personal decision) hence the alternative name for this au just being the guild au instead of a school Duel Academia is a guild, instead of duellists they're magic wizards and so on and so forth the plot's similarities lean toward certain important gx events but play out a little differently. like you'd still have stuff like SOL and Haou but the way they happen changes. if anyone wants further clarification feel free to ask and i'll go in-depth in a separate post. with that ot of the way let's get to the magic assignments and with a small explanation to why if applicable

REQUIP MAGIC - JUDAI (and Haou too) - I Figured this was the best parallel for the Elemental HEROs what with the many combinations and whatnot considering there are SEVERAL different requip armours it felt right. I say Haou too for the obvious reasons as there's not really much reason to change it other than the sorts of armour used. DRAGON SLAYER MAGIC - MANJOUME (Lightning) RYO (METAL) FUBUKI (FIRE) - Manjoume might seem like a little bit of a weird decision but cmon he's Manjoume Thunder it'd be fun (also in the time between this new post and the old post we now have armoured thunder dragon lvl 10 so that's pretty cool incentive) Ryo seems the most self-explanatory what with the cybers. and foobs getting fire bc of red eyes ICE MAKER MAGIC - ASUKA - This takes more from her manga deck n all but there's also just the fun dynamic of Fubuki being fire and her being ice MEMORY MAKER MAGIC - MISAWA - you could argue about something else being more fitting but idk i kinda enjoy this for him SATAN SOUL - EDO - mostly because some of the Destiny HEROs have that demonic kind of appearance (Dogma, Bloo D, ect) and idk there's something fun to it as a ploy to E HEROs being the requips CELESTIAL GATE MAGIC - JOHAN - this just makes sense. 7 keys for each of the CB an extra special one for RD and you can even throw in Crystal Protector and Vanguard too for some fun dynamics

YUBEL: i had a lot of different ones down for yubel due to plot reasons for the original but mostly crash and black magic i'm still hoping for it to be an amalgamation of stuff but what hasn't been really landed on yet just like the kind of magic where they're powerful enough to decimate someone but yet still have some sort of believable innocence (since part of their plans in the au does involve them infiltrating the guild at some point) PEOPLE I HAVE IDEAS FOR BUT NOTHING SOLID YET: SAIOU - I would imagine it to be something similar to Kana's cards but with Tarot cards instead not exactly sure of the ins and outs yet KENZAN - something of a mix between beast soul and animal soul take overs?? just with a more reptilian focus bc gotta keep the Dino DNA in tact O'BRIEN - gun requip might be an option but just a hard maybe atm I'll write more on bits later down in separate posts but that's basically it for now again feel free to ask for more if there is anything od interest

[masonscig]

what didnt you like about m’s route? to me this book’s plot was weaker than the other ones but i still really enjoyed a and m’s romances

so, disclaimer, please! do not take any of my opinions are yours being wrong! if i say i don't like something, you're not wrong for finding personal enjoyment in it! i'm being so genuine when i say i hope you had a great experience playing b3 <3

these are fresh out the oven of my mushy fucking brain bc i spent a long time reading it yesterday and passed out for 11 hrs after pushing end book

another disclaimer, i didn't read all the routes (still haven't)! it'll take me a while to get through it, so this is solely m opinions + opinions on the general plot

so, some of it is personal opinions because i have an idea for how i want my oc's relationship with mason to go, and some of it is how i feel about the route and how some parts don't quite fit m's route that well (imo). i've discussed this in depth with a few m-loving friends of mine and we agreed on some aspects that i'll lay out below:

firstly, i think that some of the romantic moments don't flow with the story – they feel out of place because the plot is so heavy (kidnapping! trafficking! it's a fucking lot)! the options to have sex are so jarring because isn't the mc traumatized? from both book 1 and 2, and the current situation they're in with kidnappings that have terrorized the community? the mc still hasn't had time to unpack a lot of their feelings and resolve issues that have just Been There For Multiple Books Now.

the romance should've taken a backseat overall imo, because both mc and m are dealing with so many heavy feelings. and the romance is there! like, a big theme with m is physicality without emotionality and the mc being the first time they've thought about more. both mc and m should've been afforded the time and the opportunity to work it out on their own AND together! there's so much they could've worked through and discussed! like... having discussions and healing is romantic relationship development yk?

a huge issue too for me is the very very very very VERY jarring and out of left field moment from m a the auction where m makes a very out of place sex joke. m would absolutely never ever ever respond that way. you're telling me m has spent the entire book internally battling feelings they don't understand, and freaking out over the mere idea of the mc being taken away from them, and their worst fear is coming true, bc the mc is literally trapped – and? they're going to make a crude sex joke? this is the ro that was quite literally, chapters before, freaking out when the ceiling fell on the mc and no questions asked, sensory nightmare be damed, stood inside the shower and platonically held onto the mc so that they could wash off? and you're telling me he's going to make a joke? it's so out of character it hurts.

i'm a huge fan of hurt/comfort, but the sex scene at the end is so misplaced – you'd think that this would've been the book where mc just. doesn't get the chance to sleep with m because they're having so many complicated feelings – and they're terrified of losing mc! it would've been so much more true to m's character that way i think. i really truly feel like this book, m has grown so much already that even if they can't recognize what their feelings exactly are, they can recognize that stepping back is a good choice for both m and the detective.

tonally, a lot of the romance is just off – i know that romance can be lighthearted (we've seen it in canon), but book 3 is just not! so many things are happening, and lots of those things are difficult for mc to process emotionally – especially the guilt that mc can feel over "being the reason kids are being kidnapped". i feel like a lot of what m-lovers enjoy about their route is the non-forced romantic aspects. there's so much that m does that makes my heart flutter without them being intentional about it – and i feel like in some places this book was lacking a lot of that unintentional stuff i've loved. and the intentional stuff... at times felt very out of place.

and also, i think that a lot of what i envision for sofía and mason just doesn't quite mesh as well as i'd want it to! i thought i had a few more points here, but honestly my brain is still mush and this is a long response and i think my brain is forcing me to tap out LMAO (these aren't all my thoughts, just a few i've been mulling over and discussing w friends today) maybe if you ask me again later i'll flesh that out more

it's less about what m does tbh for me it's more about the developmental moments feeling more forced, and way less organic than the ones in book 1 and 2 – and early book 3! for the record, there's so much i love about m's route – i just think some of it could've been better.

[georgieluz]

what's your favorite part about each hbo war show?

the homoseggsuality?

ok lemme be serious for like three whole seconds, my initial answer to this was the characters. i'm someone who can't enjoy media if i don't like how characters are written. i don't mean i can't enjoy something if i don't specifically like the characters as people, but if i don't vibe with how they're written within the world as characters, then i generally struggle to stay invested in their stories. i love characters with actual personality and the one thing these shows give us is characters with personality! and we can point to the characters being based off of real people as being the reason for that, but i don't necessarily think that's the biggest reason. i mean, there are MAJOR things that were different about these characters in most of the shows, so i do think it was about characterisation, not just depiction of the real men, that made the characters who they were in the shows. so, yeah i think overall, my favourite thing in each of the shows would be the range of characterisations and stories being told. i think it's why the hbo war shows appeal to anyone in the fandom, because there's something for everyone? take the pacific, for example, i love to see which thread of narrative fans favour most out of the three. all are valid choices, but it's just very personal which ones we gravitate toward.

so yeah, so far we have gay and characters.

and gay characters

but let me focus properly on each show individually:

for band of brothers, i think it's the storytelling structure. the focus on an individual character in specific episodes to not just tell a story, but to start a dialogue with the viewer about certain themes. and we don't always get to follow those people that we're focused on after their contribution is done, they're snatched away from us, much like people are snatched away from us in life. but for that hour or so, we are consumed by them. we see them, we feel their struggles and their inner conflicts, and pain, and we see and feel their light too. they focus us on something specific and they go deep with it. and even though they may not get the most attention in every other episode, we become completely attached to them. but not just them, but everything they're telling us as well. their stories didn't die. they live on in every post we write about them. yes, even the silly "he's my babygirl" ones. especially them, in fact! i think this is just something that band of brothers did really well. yes, i would like more of a lot of the side characters. i, of course, irrationally want 37 more hours of chuck grant sitting there looking pretty, or alton more and speirs staring each other down for a good hour or so, or more george because he's my GUY and i want 50 hours of just his face, okaY!? but i'm aware that i was never going to get any of that and what i did get was something pretty special in itself. so yeah. i guess, the method of storytelling and use of characters would be my specific favourite for band of brothers. the structure of the show and the format also, bc let's be real, it was the ding ding ding winning formula that started the whole thing and is one of the main reasons limited series are such high standard these days too!

ok, next up, the pacific! anyone who knows me is probably waiting for me to say eddie jones! or hoosier! or ack ack! and you'd be right!! except if i'm being serious (and i know it's been more than three seconds, so by right, i don't have to be serious anymore) then i'd have to say that my favourite thing was sledge's individual character arc and journey. the effect of trauma on one single individual. seeing how it seeps into him and infects him from the inside out. how it changes your very dna (metaphorically, don't come at me PLEASE). these are stories that need to be talked about. i think it's a really important thing they needed to show in depth, and i didn't think they'd be able to do it in an ensemble show, but i think they did it about as well as they could. it was subtle, but not in a way where it was overshadowed or pushed under the rug. it was the main element of his thread of the narrative and actually treated with depth. the show could have easily have used the usual war media excuse of "they didn't care about that then so we're not gonna dive into it too deeply now" or gone the usual predictable and garish route that those that do depict it often follow. so i would say that his arc was my favourite thing about the series. but on a lighter note, my other favourite thing was h-company's friendship. i probably don't talk about them as much as i talk about eddie and ack ack, but i really do love them as characters and a group. i know i whine about leckie being annoying all the time, AND HE IS, but i genuinely enjoy him as a character and his role alongside them. i think the thing i was most disappointed about was not getting to spend that much time with them as a group. i would have loved more episodes of them together. they were such an endearing group of guys and brought an element that i think was needed amongst everything else going on. i'm still not over the show taking hoosier away from me after 5 episodes. that shit was Not cool and i personally don't think i'll ever forgive them. no i won't accept it happening in real life as a valid reason for him leaving. they could have LIED okay?! they could have pretended! IN THIS HOUSE WE SUPPORT CREATIVE LICENSE. WE SUPPORT LYING. WE SUPPORT THE BENDING OF THE TRUTH. ACK ACK IS ALIVE. EDDIE JONES IS ALIVE. HOOSIER DIDN'T GET INJURED. HE WAS FINE. I GOT 5 MORE EPISODES WHERE EVERYONE WAS FINE AND THERE WAS NO WAR AND THEY JUST HUNG OUT ON THE BEACH TOGETHER. LIFE WAS SO GRAND. ok, i told you i was about to get unserious again, so if you're still reading this is on you actually. i did nothing wrong. ever.

also, let me just formally apologise to anyone who just wanted to read about my gen kill opinions and had to scroll all the way down here through that mess. i'll just put my Serious Hat back on, and i'll be right with you, one moment!

okay, i'm here! i'm rocking the Serious Hat once more, so let's talk about my favourite thing about generation kill! this one may be less clear because i've not had as much time to find an eloquent way of expressing my own thoughts about the show as much as the other two, as i watched them earlier, but i do have a lot of things that i love about gen kill, so maybe i'll just throw all of those at you instead. nate fick is obviously one of those things. i'm sorry. i know i said characters already, but i don't think you understand... that man has me in the biggest chokehold ever. i am simply a dog waiting at his feet for instruction. i am the blood running through his veins. i am picking him apart under a microscope. i am thoroughly Obsessed. and it's unhealthy. it's unhealthy and it's all-consuming. i personally need someone to snap me the fuck out of it because what the fuck is this?!?!?! stark sands what have you done????? is this how brad feels? is it? IT IS. it must be. fuck, man. sucks to be us, i guess. ANYWAY. serious hat slipped a bit for a second, but i actually stand by it. nate fick is legit one of my favourite things about the show. so yeah, nate. but i also appreciated that the show was critical about the war, and the military and us government's involvement. it didn't handhold us through that either, it just presented us with what it was saying and left us with "how do your learned experiences and beliefs affect your reaction to this? what does this make you feel and think?". every one of those men was fucked up and flawed, and it's not an easy ride to have your protags without the sugar coating, but that's what makes it the show it is. it can be uncomfortable and you have to be critical with your viewing experience, you don't get to sit back and just enjoy the jokes or the stressed gays staring into each other's eyes. i've discussed that before, so i won't go into it again, but i think it's the one of the most vital things about the show. but it doesn't shy away from letting us in on these men either. you still get attached to some, you still have your favourites. they're the fucked up bad marines, but all the same, you collect them in your palms. it takes good writing, and performance and portrayal, to do that. i think it was very well made as a whole as well. the dialogue was pretty great. the use of very realistic background dialogue, messy and overlapping, was something i really enjoyed about it. having subtitles switched on brought so much more to the show, it's always fun hearing all the guys bickering in the background of shots. and i would die on the hill arguing that they contributed to the narrative bc they did! nothing in film or tv production is ever just There, everything is a construction with a purpose and all of those throw away lines had a little bit of impact on the narrative each episode, but yeah, just the writing in general. the screenplay to be specific. in fact, i'd love to read it, so if anyone knows where it can be found please send it my way, so i can be lazy and not have to search for it. i always love to read the screenplays of shows that have good dialogue and writing and this is very much one of my favourites in that regard!

so to sum it all up (serious hat off, ofc)

the gay. the characters. the gay characters. and nate fick.

and good dialogue and writing and narrative structure!

(ok, i put my serious hat back on for a second there)

ultimately, i just fucking love stories. i can be cynical, in fact, many people who know me might say it's one of my defining personality traits, but fuck, humanity is fickle and fragile and messy and chaotic and i just wanna hear about it all!!! and maybe that's what attracts me to hbo war shows, what i love about all of them the most.

[oodlyenough]

Maybe it's tad early since you're still in the 5th game but whats your opinion with the new characters for the 2nd triology?

HMM. I'm going to assume you just mean the major ones and not the one-off victim/defendant types.

Honestly I think my overall impression so far (mid-AA5) is that they're varying degrees of interesting but underbaked. Some of this I expect to change as I finish 5 and 6, and some I expect... won't.

This got really long so here's a cut. Spoilers for AA4 and a bit of 5.

Trucy

I like Trucy a lot, probably my favourite of the lot, although in no small part because she's so tied to Phoenix, whom I am still more invested in than any of these other people lol. They hinted at Trucy having more complicated feelings under her very cheery, performative persona -- Phoenix comments he's the only one who knows how she "really" feels -- but it doesn't seem like we the player are ever going to get to know more about that, so :P.

It's weird that she's basically dropped into a cameo role in AA5 and been more-or-less replaced by Athena -- like -- objectively that's just a jarring transition. But for Trucy lmao I guess she's probably having a better time now, going to school and doing magic and not having to partake in case stuff anymore.

Klavier

I love Klavier, in that I am always having a good time when he's around, I find him hilarious. But as a character I think he's really underwritten. They haven't really spent any time giving him much in the way of motivation or depth or emotional response to any of the insane things that happen to him, he's just there to flirt and have a laugh. Like Trucy, he's pretty personally involved in all the events in AA4 but you'd never know it bc he very rarely reacts to them. I don't understand why the conclusion of 4 was that he quits music instead of law. He loves music. Aside from "horny", music is his entire personality. We aren't given a reason he's passionate about or interested in law nor does it seem to be tainted by Kristoph at all even though rationally it should be. So that's just... weird imo.

But I like him, he's prob my fave prosecutor after Franziska and Edgeworth. He's the kind of character I can see fandom having a lot of fun elaborating on. In AA5 he comes across like a depressed burnout, and I like that even though I think it was totally unintentional from Capcom lol. It's like when you see a celeb on tv and think "huh are they ok?" and then six months later you hear they've checked into rehab. Hang in there buddy.

Apollo

Apollo is very likable but so far has not much going on in the way of character. In AA4 I thought he felt more like Phoenix's courtroom avatar than a participant in the story, because even when he is personally implicated like with Kristoph or Thalassa, he either doesn't know or doesn't react. (Are you seeing a pattern...? lol) Unlike Trucy and Klavier, I believe Apollo will actually get more material in DD and SOJ, for better or worse, so we'll see how that changes things. I like him, but don't currently feel invested in him. If they had started DD with just Athena and Phoenix I'm not honestly sure I'd be upset about it. Sorry, Apollo.

Ema

Ema's not a "new" character although adult Ema feels pretty different to kid Ema, in a good way. Kid Ema was fun but forgettable to me -- adult Ema fucking rules lmao my favourite detective for sure, I wish we got to keep her. Cranky and competent and disillusioned. I loved her.

Kristoph

Kristoph was fun but overhyped by fandom imo. I liked him and his weird gay frienemyship with Phoenix, and in the pantheon of AA villains I see why he's pretty memorable, the 7 year gap is very rich material. But his motivations were silly and I anticipated so many better ones that didn't materialize at all lmao. I thought he was going to be some criminal mastermind building his defense empire on falsified evidence ... he just did it once and then panicked for 7 years?? Kristoph wants what Dahlia Hawthorne has.

Athena

Athena still feels like I've only just met her, so I don't have a solid opinion. I like her though. There are not enough women practicing law in this stupid franchise so I was predisoposed to like her, and I like her overzealous energy and stuff. I don't love mood matrix as a minigame, and I don't know what her tragic backstory is yet btu I know one exists, so the jury's out on that. I wish DD would just let me play her more often.

Blackquill

Blackquill is doing nothing for me lmao which, tbh, is what I expected. I find him tedious and his design is ludicrous to me I hate it lfhadhflkhfl he looks like he belongs in a different franchise. I know he's a fan fave and he's going to have some big sad backstory too, so maybe he'll win me over, but right now he's a big eye roll. I think his prison gimmick would at least be more fun if every time he cited his friends from jail they were easter eggs from previous culprits or something. Feels like a missed opportunity for gags.

Fulbright

Fulbright is... fine. Probably my least fave detective. He gets a laugh out of me once in a while. Maybe my opinion will improve as the game goes on since I fucking hated 5-2 and it's all I've really seen him in so far lol.

Misc

I think that's all the big characters I've met so far? For the one-offs, I liked Valant a lot he cracked me up. Zak was nasty and I'm not entirely sure if the game realized it or not. Thalassa continued the noble Ace Attorney tradition of hands-off motherhood. I don't have much to say about Junie as a character but I do love Athena's unfortunately-one-sided gay pining.

[septemberrie]

About It was just red and Battle lines: would you tell us a little bit about each characters' (fashion) styles? I usually don't care much about these things but your stories, especially the characters, are so real and dear to me that i feel like there's still more things i want to know about them 😊. If you could tell us or use pictures to show how the golden trio & co used to dress as teens or in later years (when they weren't in their uniforms lol), or Farah and Bloom in Battle lines (i don't think saul ever wore anything but his uniform 😁). Or if you'd like to talk about other stuff, little bits of trivia like what kind of music saul likes or what class farah or ben failed at when they were at alfea or Andreas' guilty pleasure... i'm all ears 😉

omg 😍 what a fun question, anon!! I love thinking about this and I'm so flattered you're also not ready to let go of either of these fics bc that's the bestest compliment from a reader, and also same here lol you can pry my beloved characters from my cold dead hands!!

I would also love to hear your opinions on all these things!! What am I missing? what am i not thinking of, besides that Andreas absolutely had ...Baby One More Time on repeat?

Anyway, lots of clothes and excellent fashion beneath the cut. Also apologies these are shitty screenshots from Pinterest lol.

Battle Lines

I was about to post and reread your message and realized you asked about Farah and Bloom, not Farah and Saul, but I already wrote about Saul so I'm keeping it in 😅

Alright so as you already mentioned, Saul pretty much only ever wears his uniform. I'm also an evil capitalist and never gave him a day off the entire time he worked for Domino lmao. But when he does get days off, he rocks Roy Kent, black slim-fit t-shirt look, maybe throws a black leather jacket if it's cool (I'm really threading the "vow of poverty" needle here lmao).

The two times I call out his outfits as something besides his Alfea uniform (which I visualize as very similar to the show, black long-sleeve shirt and black pants) were after he gets shot and he gets to slouch around in a comfy hoodie for a change.

And of course... the masquerade tailcoat. Seen here before it gets covered in blood 😌

Farah I visualized as, basically, "classy girlboss (affectionate)." Lots of form-fitting but otherwise unrevealing cuts; bold colors but very few patterns; quite similar to her S1 look but a little more dressed up. I don't see her as eschewing function for form--both dresses and dressy trousers are fair game.

Bloom is much more of a free spirit than Farah. I see her in also-form-fitting but unstructured cuts, and much more casual than Farah. Jeans, but otherwise neutral colors to counter her hair and personality.

It was just red.

In the depths of my blog I actually talked about the fashion of the adults when they were in Alfea, which falls squarely in the mid-to-late 90s if you ascribe to the tenuous timeline we're told. But to recap/keep going:

I actually have a really hard time pinning Farah down fashion-wise in this. I love her in casual stuff that's practical for living under Rosalind's first regime. But I also see her having hand-me-downs that are actually quite fashionable although she doesn't really realize it.

Saul has the Joey Tribbiani "comfort + practicality" going for him, lots of plaids/sweaters/jumpers and always with an undershirt; based on some hairy men in my life who are insecure of their chest hair (even though I think they should slut it up, please) I hc Saul as self-conscious that he's not a hairless mole rat. Hey you asked for trivia anon, you're getting it 😅

I love Andreas being extremely tryhard although he tries to play it off like he isn't. He actually has done this exact pose in front of Ella in hopes she'd take his picture so it could make it into the Alfea yearbook under "We'll Remember These Days" or "Our Seniors Take Wing."

[emoticonheart]

Do you have any burping headcanons for your original characters? Like, what their belches sound or smell like, and also how frequently each person burps, and what their own reactions to their belches are?

OH ABSOLUTELY I DO

you, my friend, have opened a very large can of worms. but, before i get started, i'll just say that for me personally, i'm not big on the way belches smell. that's just not something i'm really into personally, but i can totally understand why other people like it!! but bc of that, i'm not gonna really focus on that, but feel more than free to use your imagination as i explain everything else!!

and so with that being said, out of respect for everyone's tls, if you'd like to know the burping habits of all my ocs, then feel free to keep reading

ashley (flexsteel): she was born with this odd medical condition that just makes her gassier than usual. when she was a kid, her parents took her to doctor after doctor to try to get the issue fixed, but there was nothing they could do. and so, she just had to live with these huge belches. she is always burpy after a meal, but she also is very skilled at burping on command. either way, like i said, these belches are huge. not hyper belch huge, but for a normal person? yeah she's pretty much untouchable when it comes to volume, length, and power. in fact, idk how i would fit this into the actual story so i'll just tell y'all here: since all her burps on stream are recorded, ppl have gone back and seen that with a lot of them, she has gotten super close to breaking some world records. super close, and she wasn't even trying. imagine what she could do if she was. she was super embarrassed about this skill of hers growing up, mostly because her parents and family made her feel like a freak for it, but she starts breaking out of her shell a little after meeting lily. but what really helps her accept herself is becoming flexsteel. it's through streaming and her followers that truly helps her learn to love herself. she still gets embarrassed from time to time, especially when she accidentally lets one go somewhere inappropriate, but overall she's a lot more comfortable with her condition.

sierra (burp soulmates): she is a very skilled burper when it's on command. that's because her bio dad taught her how to burp on command when she was a child, and she has spent years mastering her technique. she can control the length, volume, depth, and intensity of her belches with pinpoint accuracy. in fact, a lot of people at school will play this game with her where they give her a random aspect of a burp (22 seconds, extra bass, airy and quiet, etc.), and she'll do just perfectly. it never ceases to amaze people. however, she's nowhere near as skilled when it comes to belching naturally. in fact, her natural burps are just plain average, which is a stark contrast to her ability to burp on command. she wishes she were better at the natural stuff, but she's super proud of her abilities. she'll flex it any opportunity she can get.

addison (wyfatw): she's a royal princess, so she shouldn't enjoy belching as much as she does, but she can't help the way it feels when she lets one go. like ashley, she's naturally burpier than most, but it's nowhere near on the same scale as ashley. the thing about addison is that her burps aren't very long. the longest burps she can produce are five seconds long, but that's only if she really concentrates. but, what she lacks in length, she makes up for tenfold in volume. even if it only lasts a second, her burps are loud enough to make you flinch and clamp your hands over your ears, as if ten whips going off at the same time. before running away, one of her favorite things to do while eating dinner was wait until a servant or something was walking through the dining hall with a large platter of food or drinks and then release a quick, shotgun-like burp that echoed throughout the entire hall and shocked the servant so much that it sent their tray crashing to the ground. she got a kick out of it, and then got an even bigger kick out of her parent's disappointment. except the servants eventually learned to expect her little trick and didn't react the same because of it, and that was when it became no fun.

thalia (first impressions): with her mom being full ogre and her dad being half giant, her digestive system was bound to be messed up. like i mentioned in the story itself, her giant lineage means she's always hungry, and her ogre lineage means she's always gassy. and thalia is living proof that that combination is a recipe for disaster. she is constantly releasing earth quaking hyper belches, and when i say constantly, i mean constantly. they interrupt her when she talks because she literally can't go five seconds without one escaping her. at first, when she was a child, she was pretty proud of it, especially when she pushed the daycare bully off of the seesaw by releasing a particularly powerful belch and made herself the queen of the playground for a day. but the glamor quickly faded, especially when she couldn't leave the house for months, attending class online and even finding a job that she could do from home. these days, she feels pure indifference about her unique talents. she lets one go and just carries on as if nothing happened. she can hardly feel it coming up anymore, anyway, so why bother making a big deal of it?

robin (stolen crown): she was cursed with magical belches, so of course her burps are just gnarly. unlike thalia, though, she doesn't burp nearly as much, so she hasn't found herself getting sick of it yet. in fact, she actually loves burping. the feeling of all that air coming out of you as the ground shakes underneath you, and knowing that shaking is because of you? yeah, robin can think of almost nothing better. like thalia, though, her condition meant she was forced to hide away at home for a lot of her life, but for very different reasons. she could've let this get to her, blame her burpiness for the fact that she couldn't go out and make friends, but she actually didn't mind. as long as she could let loose freely, she didn't mind staying away from people. besides, she had her monthly visits to the tavern to look forward to. when she went on her quest with arrach and runt, she was a little more careful about it, but overall she's always been shameless.

arrach (stolen crown): he's a troll with three stomachs, so he's a naturally gassy guy. while his burps are nowhere near as powerful, they're definitely not something to scoff at either. he can still make branches bristle and animals run for their lives. he's been conditioned to feel ashamed about his abilities, so he acts that way at first. but you may quickly discover that he has a competitive side buried deep within him. and if you know him well enough, you'll know how to pull that side out of him. when that competitive side is out, he'll get into a burping contest with anyone and everyone, and only feel embarrassed about it later.

overall, when it comes to my normal burpers, sierra wins in technique, addison wins in volume, but ashely wins overall best burper. truly no one can compete with her natural talent. she can take on anyone and everyone and come out on top.

when it comes to my hyper belchers, thalia comes out on top. the intensity of both her and robin's belches are pretty similar, but what sets thalia apart is just how often she burps. the difference between robin and thalia's condition is that robin always has gas sitting inside her, waiting to be released, whereas thalia is always producing gas, so there's no room in her to keep it, which is why she is constantly belching.

i hope this answers your question well enough!! if you have any other questions or if there's anything i missed, feel free to send an ask!!

[roobylavender]

i was going thru old posts & found where you said you only like zootara in the specific context of like... zuko dissolving the monarchy + devoting himself to reparations & it's an unrequited love think and lost my mind bc it was exactly what i felt but had never seen anyone say! i HATE any kind of firelady katara content but still find zootara’s dynamic fascinating. anyways from this i was wondering on if you had wider thoughts on katara, on both how she exists in canon and anything you'd change

i think re-watching avatar when they dropped it on netflix a few years ago was eye-opening for me in a lot of ways like sooo many of my opinions radically changed and not even necessarily in a way where it was an outright polarized switch but more like.. added depth to how i felt. which makes sense bc i mean i was seven years old when i watched the show and i'm twenty five now lmao. but with katara i kind of found myself on the fence between the two camps that were so vehement about justifying why katara worked better with either boy that i think they more or less forgot about her. like i don't entirely disagree with zootara shippers that katara's role being so diminished in post-canon was irritating but at the same time that's not something it makes sense to blame kataang being canon on. kataang is probably one of the most obv ships ever in retrospect like the buildup was so palpably there and katara was never going to choose anyone else but aang. but i also think it can be admitted that her post-canon storylines were just.. super boring? and that it had to do a lot with bryke being resistant to radicalism in their material in general. keeping the gaang together or taking them on group adventures for marketability purposes was obv impt but i feel like katara was one of the members who like really needed to do her own thing after the war was over. like there were so many times in the series where it seemed like she was having her moment to shine and there would always be some caveat or wedge to throw so she could move on with the gaang and for central narrative purposes i get that but why did that have to apply to whatever she did after (also this doesn't even get into the fact that bryke's liberal politics affected her individual storylines so much like the jet and hama stuff. very bad vibes). like i already said i think kataang was pretty much inevitable and the build up in seasons one and two and even the confusion of feelings between them at the start of season three were great but i also don't think they needed to be in a relationship by the end of the series personally like it felt so rushed and honestly very corny. like they're thirteen and fourteen years old they have so much time. i like the gaang a lot as a concept but the overwhelming feeling i was left with when the series was over was that the fallout of the war would be so significant it wouldn't realistically make sense to have them all in one place like there are so many things each of them would need or want to do. and ig bryke kinda acknowledged that like the gaang did have some individual gigs. but it all felt so tame. katara was potentially the most radical member of the gaang i really do not think she would have ended the war being in some honeymoon phase she would have been ready to get working on uprooting all of the bad and where they'd found it and aggressively reconstructing the society she worked so hard to try to save. but also on the most simplest note i could leave here i genuinely think every avatar character needed therapy / soul searching more than they did romance by the end of the series so ig this is my very roundabout way of saying that..

[solomonish]

Dork Solomon Agenda

You say sexy shady sorcerer I say nerd and love of my life

Solomon is a sad lonely little man why just wants a genuine connection us that so much to ask???

No but seriously like. It's totally fine if you hc Solomon as this man-turned-lowkey-sex-god with a million succubi and more at his whim whenever he wants and would be a tough one to put the ol' ball and chain on like to each their own for sure! But that's not MY hc

(Thats not to say my hc means he doesn't ever engage in casual sex like that and wanting a genuine long term relationship at some point [or finding out thats what you want when you meet someone] are not mutually exclusive yknow)

So like Solomon isn't the type to be short with you or keep you at an arm's length (i mean...u get what I mean. Once you're close enough and all that jazz) or get annoyed by you wanting to be affectionate?? Hello??

He LOVES the little things you do (some on accident tbh). You feeling affectionate today and give him a kiss or three on his face before you leave to go to your separate classes? Adorable, he's fallen in love again. You do that thing where you like.. forget how to walk straight and just accidentally bump into him? No come back he likes being close to you :( He doesn't SAY these things but there's a light, airy laugh he has that gives him away.

If you're ever facetiming he will say "boo!" when you connect instead of just. Greeting you like a normal person.

His fuckin. His devilgram name is monSOLO. My mans is a star wars fan!!! I dont know any of The Discourse bc I'm not super into star wars myself but he has IN DEPTH opinions about the movies. Seriously rivals Levi in this aspect. Please make time for movie nights where you watch the movies together 🥺 especially if you haven't seen them before he'd love to convert you 🥺

Didn't Solomon also have a thing for TSL??? Or am I just imagining it??

I feel like his ideal date would be exploring something new, whether its this new spooky forest or "hey have we been down this alley before? Let's check it out!" but ideal date number TWO is movie night. Even if it isn't Star Wars. He likes to sit on opposite ends of the couch throwing popcorn into each other's mouths (and big candies like peanut m&ms where you both have almost choked before) and maybe a footsie war if he's feeling real devious. Then at some point you grab a blanket and snuggle up to him and you both fall asleep on the couch

Simeon yells at him when you leave because there's popcorn EVERYWHERE

LOVES when you laugh super loud. Idk man he just thinks its great when you have such unbridled joy and then he laughs too 😊 not as loud though he's more of a quiet chuckle kind of guy (most of the time).

Is friends with Asmo so is extremely great at slumber party gossip. Catch him in his pajamas, cross-legged on the floor while clutching a pillow to his chest and listening intently to you rant about the brothers.

"Come here I have a secret to tell you" (blows air in your ear) "okay okay I'm sorry but come here again" (blows air on your neck) "okay okay last time! I actually have something to tell you. Please? Its important...." (kisses ur cheek) "like u a lil bit xo"

Never the type to send "good morning beautiful" or "good night 💞" texts. Instead he'll send you something at 4 am like "the infinite cosmos will eventually swallow whole all familiarity and life as it is now presently known and despite the adaptations humans or demons or angels could make i will still have to adapt and face the world as an alien in the realm I love so dearly. Funny how the strongest of beings bow to the whim of space and time. But sometimes my eternal journey doesn't seem so daunting when I realize that with my everlasting life will be the memory of you no matter how distant and the survival of the vessel you loved...."

And then at lunch that day when the brothers pull you away he'll send you a picture of the lasagna they're serving with "this kinda looks like you? Don't worry I'd still hit it" and then two minutes later "you not the pasta"

Is the type to think randomly "oh damn I love you so much" but has an impressive filter about it. Or he thinks he does until Luke grumbles "ugh get a room thats the fifth time you've seen that since monday" ok, sometimes he has a good filter about it

He can't help it! Sometimes you just say something really smart (or something SPECTACULARLY dumb) or you do something cute like lean on him or smile a specific way or-

Sir.....you're head over heels sir :/

The type who would go to a playground at night with you and just swing on the swings talking about life

Wants to have a secret handshake with you!!

If you're ever on a road trip with just the two of you, you can get him to join in on the terrible singing but he'll be a lot quieter than you

Also will only join in if he isn't driving. If he is and you aren't talking, he's just humming underneath his breath. Will drum on the steering wheel though

Cooking

(Yes, it gets its own section because MAYBE I'm obsessed with the idea of MC teaching Solomon to cook and the food still turning out terrible but at least it isn't a void when MC is helping)

The type to flick water at you every time he washes his hands. Will chase you down just to do it.

"Hey, tilt your head back and open your mouth MC" (proceeds to dump too big a handful of shredded cheese in your mouth)

100% the type to lean over you just to hinder your cooking abilities. Who cares if the sauce splashes he's tiiiired.... you'd let belphie do it :(

Puts a hand on your lower back when he passes behind you. Hopes you'll lean into it/step back and offer him a kiss 🥺

Believes in always having a proper table setting. Prepare for whatever juice they have (or water) in wine glasses if you're having a nice-er meal

Under the assumption that a spell ruined his sense of taste (and not that he's just bad at cooking) he hates spicy food. He can feel the burn but he gets none of the flavor??? Wack. Don't hurt him like that MC. If you do because its hilarious to watch him try to be cool about it he will pout

Gets cheesy aprons. He just likes them.

Will hit you on the top of your head with a whisk to hear the noise it makes

Will buy every kitchen hack tool there is. A ketchup dispenser that looks like a gun? He's got it. A fish that helps you squeeze out the egg yolks? Yes! A dinosaur soup ladle? You bet! Pizza scissors? A tool that makes hard boiled eggs into cubes? Something that's gotta be like 200 years old and no discernable purpose? Absolutely! He wants a hot dog toaster. Do they even have hot dogs in the devildom?

Will sneak bites just because it bothers you

Overall

Look at him. He hasn't had friends in centuries. He's playful!

Look at his DEVILGRAM NAME

His funky little WAND

This is a man who is a huge nerd, thrives off of cliches and just wants to have a good time. So let him! Its mentally exhausting having those pretenses up all the time.

[roxannarambles]

hi!!! I’m the same anon who was raving about ur penstagram fic before it was even out lol(speaking of which is very good and I love it so much THIS is the content I want; luz confusing hunter out with her human lingo/ways. as always, thank u for the food it was delicious. you’ve also given me inspiration to potentially start a fic of my own for goldenlight! I’m not going to promise anything, but the idea has been growing more and more in my head by the day, and I wanted to thank you for always posting such lovely fics about them, bc who knows if I would’ve even considered writing for goldenlight otherwise?!!!)

but concerning the finale, am I the only one that felt it was strangely… underwhelming? i truly can’t pinpoint exactly what it was, maybe my expectations were just set too high, maybe the effects of the show being gutted prematurely by the mouse are really starting to show through for me personally, I don’t know. but it’s been making me feel insane since, online, I haven’t seen much of anyone feeling the same? I’m truly not sure why I feel this way because it’s not like things didn’t happen, because they obviously did!! but there was just something strangely unsatisfying about it that I can’t shake.

i have been trying to be aware that the owl house was always probably going to feel rushed at least somewhat because of everything, and I hate feeling like I’m kicking the toh crew while they’re already down. the LAST thing I want to do is be a hater of the show, or be the person who meticulously picks at media until I’m suddenly convinced my opinion is completely right and that said media is suddenly completely terrible and has always been. I’ve tried talking to my friend about it, and while they actually agreed a lot with what I had to say, they’re not the type who like to in-depth discuss about this type of stuff lol.

i guess my question is, what did you think of the s2 finale? did it hit all the emotional beats to you, or even just mis of them? (pls don’t feel pressured to agree with anything I said lol. i just wanted to get it out of my system. I’m truly curious about your input! trust me, I would be more than happy to be told why I’m wrong actually and have my eyes opened. seriously, no pressure lol.

to end on a more positive note, I can’t wait to read the rest of the penstagram fic! i truly love how you characterize them and how you portray their relationship! there’s something so soft about the way you write them that makes me soft sknewknrrkiksn)

Hi! :D I'm so glad you're enjoying the Penstagram shenanigans, I feel like there's a lot of room there for some silly fun. Also, I'm thrilled you're considering doing a fic yourself! I know I never would have bothered writing for the pairing if I hadn't stumbled across the Goldenlight community first and realized I wasn't alone. If you ever do write and post something I'd love to read it. <3

You are not alone in your feelings about the finale. While there are parts of the finale I really enjoyed, other parts were very disappointing to me. I enjoyed King's role in the episode (and King's interactions with Luz) and I felt that the Collector was really interesting and engaging. But the other stuff . . . ooof. I've been doing some thinking and I think I've pinpointed one of the major problems with S2B and the finale. This may sound strange at first, but I think a major issue is that it focused too much on the romances to the detriment of everything else.

Hear me out. (Rant incoming!! If somebody wants to skip I will mark where my rant ends.)

With Luz, after the events of 'Hollow Mind,' you'd think she and Eda would be very worried about Hunter running away into the woods, alone, traumatized, and in extreme danger of being hunted down by Belos. And yet in the show, they never even mention him again. What's more, Luz does not worry about any of her other friends, either. In 'Clouds on the Horizon', she is single-mindedly focused on finding and helping Amity, nobody else. This is presumably because they wanted to feature L*mity in the episode, but it means that Luz has been acting wildly out of character, because she should be worried about her friends too! When her friends do appear, she is relieved, but she still barely even interacts with them, and the whole thing feels super weird and ooc. (We saw signs of this even earlier in S2B during 'Follies At the Coven Day Parade.' She is real stressed about telling Amity about her promise to stay in the human realm . . . but doesn't give a crap about telling Willow or Gus!) Throughout S2B, the over-focus on L*mity means Luz stops having meaningful plot time with any of her other friends. Including a really interesting friendship with Hunter that was just entirely discarded.

With Hunter, whooo boy it's a mess. Hunter had a beautiful character arc all set up for him. And yet, in King's Tide, he is robbed of that arc entirely. Instead of Hunter confronting Belos, standing up to him, and addressing his identity crisis, proving he is a REAL person with his own will and his own fate, NOT a tool of Belos, Hunter's involvement with the story is removed almost entirely. He doesn't have lines, he's made utterly pathetic during fights so that Willow keeps saving him-- in order for the show to force more 'romantic moments' in-- or he spends the time just assisting the other witches, not actually fighting for himself. This is out of character and ridiculous. Hunter is facing something terrifying, yes, but he is more then a capable witch and fighter. He's the head of the Emperor's Coven, for pete's sake, he's had tons of training. He can stand his own ground and he deserved to have a chance at his actual character progression plot. Instead it's discarded for more 'Huntl*w moments.' Which is absurd. It's far, far too late into the show for Hunter to have a canon romance. He deserved to have his identity crisis and other issues addressed in the story, not have some rushed last-minute romance shoved in there, something that feels completely out of place, forced, and not organic at all because clearly there was no time and space to develop a romance properly. It's just insulting.

(EDITED TO ADD: Amity suffered a lot from too much focus on romance too. Her character had so much interesting potential, but she became little more then “Luz’s girlfriend” and Amity’s plotlines with her parents and siblings were shoved to the backburner. Her reconcilation with Willow likewise was shoved aside and it made it super uncomfortable because it made it seem like she only cared about Luz. Amtiy never truly apologized to Willow for all the years she tormented her, nor did she take full responsibility for her choices and actions, and I don’t believe that’s because Amity is a bad person. I believe it’s simply because the writers did not priorotize that story. So it never got told. This sucks, because we ended up with an Amity whose character was never properly explored or developed.)

With Eda, even she didn't escape the downsides of too much focus on romance. Eda's story throughout this show has been one of my favorite things. Her curse was really relatable for a person who suffers from long-term mental health issues. (Many people with chronic health issues also relate to her a lot.) Her story has been about how she has battled with and eventually come to terms with her curse and how it's impacted her life and her relationships. But in the last few episodes leading up to the finale, the focus has been mostly on Raeda angst. I would argue the focus has been a little too much on Raeda, because I always find it more fulfilling and enjoyable when we use her screentime for how she's learned to open her heart again to the people in her life (everyone.... her sister, mom, dad, Luz, King, not just Raine).

Let me assure folks: I don't hate romance. I'm a shipper and this is a shipping acount, for pete's sake, of course I don't hate it. Nor do I hate L*mity or Huntl*w (they're just not my cuppa tea). I just think the writers ended up focusing too much on the romances and when they did, it took something very important away from the show. This show is about found family and friendships and deeper life lessons, too, not just romances. Or at least, it used to be.

I know I'm being very critical here, but it's only because it saddened me to see a show that started off so strong, slowly derail into this. I have no doubt a major factor in all this was the crunch time/cancellation, of course. It's just a shame that when the writers chose what parts to sacrifice . . . welp. If you weren't a romance you didn't get priority. 🥲 I still hold out hope the S3 specials might give a little more room for Hunter's character arc and other plot points, but we'll see. Let's just say I'm not holding my breath, heh.

(RANT END)

Anyway, that was probably way too many words in answer to your question, haha. Thanks again for your support. As long as these two nerds continue to give me joy I'll continue to write about them.

[diamondcitydarlin]

Your post about queer relationships only existing safely for a lot of things inside fandom is so true tho. I remember when Loki was still airing and me and friends were sitting around wistfully going 'ohhh wouldn't it be nice of Lokius was canon.' making our silly little posts, only to be ransacked by Sy/ki shippers about how they'd win the ship war.

I had to look at that like :| of course you are you dumb fucks, Loki and Sylvie's actors are a man and a woman them 'winning the ship war' was a forgone conclusion. It can't even be called a canon ship 'war' more like a canon ship 'steamroll.'

It was the fact to me they couldn't stand even some people having a smidgen of hope for something that everyone knew was never going to happen.

loool I wasn't gonna name names buuuuut...yeah a little subblogging about that attitude within said fandom, though it's something I've seen to a certain degree in fandom spaces since I started interacting with them (around 98 or 99?). the compulsion to ridicule/invalidate queer pairings and the people that support them used to mostly be rooted in garden variety open, normalized homophobia (they were called 'slash' ships back then and were generally regarded as niche/'crack' pairings/sexually deviant etc even if neither character was ever sexualized in a fanfic/fanart whathaveyou).

In most mainstream fandoms of the time there really was a zero chance queer pairings would 'go canon' , aka 'win' at the 'shipping wars', something that is both normal to want and possible to achieve (/s) and no one on either side regarded any of these pairings with the pretense that they might actually be worthy competitors against a het ship- in the sense of 'winning' here being 'approved by capitalist overlords' and not necessarily in quality of writing or time spent developing it or depth or anything like that. Just if they kissed on screen or not, that was the bar lmao, and we all just assumed from the outset it would absolutely not ever happen that way and just kept to ourselves. But as our ships were still kind of considered 'weird' / 'kinky' / 'immoral' and so on people often felt comfortable trying to tear our interpretations, fanfics, etc into shreds (the only substance we actually had) either because it gave them a sense of superiority for a moment, just general homophobia, or because the ship in question had started gaining a lot of momentum and they were threatened by the implications of that. As if...there's some kinda rule that if one ship gets popular enough everyone has to adapt it and abandon all others, no questions asked lol.

Nowadays ofc being openly homophobic isn't as normalized as it was back then so you don't usually see the kind of uh...'saying the quiet part out loud' kinda stuff you'd see on yahoo groups and livejournal or whatever, but you definitely still see people feeling the need to explain why queer fans shouldn't try to adapt a source material around their own life experiences. And usually, these days, when there is much more of a chance of 'slash' being depicted openly, there's more skin in the game for them to feel intimidated and take petty action.

In the particular context we're talking about...and I'm not saying this is every person that ships it, just the ones exhibiting the behavior I'm talking about here, I think they are/were genuinely intimidated whether they were conscious of it or not bc Lokius is definitely depicted some type of way - they have a song named after them from the soundtrack, a reunion scene ripped straight from a romantic comedy, etc, and I mean...ultimately....Loki kinda chooses Mobius in the end. In a way lol. So did they really win, if indeed shipping needs to be seen as some kind of stupid competition?

And to be clear I'm not talking about having an opinion/criticisms of a ship and voicing them in places where people just trying to enjoy themselves are generally protected from see it, I'm talking about the clownery that is showing up in a ship's tag (either accidentally or otherwise) and doing the whole 'nyah nyah boo boo' stuff or in the attempt to be innocent 'am i the only one who doesn't ship this? DONT GET MAD AT MEEE' or the more direct 'if you ship this you are literally satan'

Because...why do that if your pairing choice is SO amazing and 100% the winner of the 'ship war' (that yall sometimes claim doesn't exist in the first place bc there is NOTHING romantic!! between loki and mobius!! FATHER SON RELATIONSHIP B/W TWO MIDDLE AGED MEN WE LOVE TO SEE IT)? why not just enjoy your amazing pairing and the fact that it's actually being represented on screen? why also tear down the people that lost and are just trying to cobble together a crumb of something for themselves? like imagine being that miserable of a person??

[starxscream]

1, 7, 10 for OCs!

1. Oldest OC

Scratches chin. Hm. Well there's a difference between Oldest OC still in use and Oldest OC in General

Tho actually wait I forgot I brought back Ven who fulfills both of these so NVM LOL it's Ven. Yea.

I made him like. a decade ago LMAO he used to be cis and straight and now I trans'd his gender like HE DESERVED. Lmao he's where my love for GNC men stemmed from as a kid esp the bastard kind bc that's what he is <3 little smartass.

He's a furret originally and in this pic but I'll likely be giving him a redesign to use him in Mirakae as well! His pkmn vers is just in a cool RP group I'm in w/some pals GKHNGKH

He's very sentimental to me bc he's what got me into character creation and world-building even if I didn't do anything w/his original world bc I just didn't have the tools or experience to do it back then. The og fav <3

As a fun fact! My first name I picked for myself was based on his! Tho a more "feminine" version bc I was still convinced I wasn't trans- I wanted HIS name but I was like "but I'm a girl..." so... I called it an online name but let's be honest that was baby's first transgender egg moment lol

Kind of ironic the name I use the most NOW is one letter away from his, I think it's kinda a full circle moment :) It makes me happy haha esp now that I have the capabilities and knowledge so that I can portray Ven how I want him to be and how he was always meant to be, similar to my own gender presentation.

7. Do you ship your OCs w/someone else's?

LMAO YEA IF U COULDN'T GUESS BY THE AMOUNT OF SHIP ART THAT GETS DRAWN OF THEM- but yea I mostly ship with my boyfriend! 9/10 if you point out an OC they're shipped w/one of his

There's a few outliers like Ciro, my RP group characters, the MLP ocs I post, and Opal/Saffron BUT FOR THE MOST PART I usually ship with him! We have a lot of fun with it :]

10. Villain OCs?

Oh boy we got PLENTY 'a those. But it really depends on what you'd call a "villain" bc I tend to redeem most of my antagonists and "villains" bc I'm a sucker for Tropes. GKHNGKHNGH BUT AS FOR LIKE. PURE IRREDEEMABLE VILLAIN I DO HAVE SOME. Actor is there but I talked abt Actor already

SO INSTEAD WE HAVE...

Jam and Kazi! I have so many cat ocs. I know. You get used to it.

Jam is a back-alley doctor who presents herself has a helpful sort and willing to do shit usually for free/cheap as long as you agree to her terms. Tho like, 90% of the time she's testing smth experimental she created and most likely ur gonna walk away worse than when u came in. She doesn't rly have any remorse for this cuz she's obsessed with the studies of medicine- she wants to create the perfect medicine and is willing to do anything to reach that goal !

Plus she's kind of an ass and does things on a whim and literally broke up with her bf who treated her SO WELL bc she was bored of him. she was only with him for an extended period bc he was interesting and she was essentially studying him but once that was exhausted she just dipped. He deserves better </3

Aaaand then there's Kazi.

Kazi is. Well he sure is. GKHNGKHKGNHG

I won't go in depth into what he does but he's a serial killer who masks as a famous artist who travels around. I'm not gonna get into it but if you've played "The Evil Within" his M/O is eerily similar to Stefano LOL So you can Imagine how fucked up this guy is.

Very Morbid but a very good artist. In both respects. Tho one takes a "certain kind" to appreciate and sure isn't the majority. Do not condone murder here but making villains is fun GKNHGKHGH my whole thing with him is like, the person next to u could b a killer and you'd never know bc he presents himself in such a way that's very misleading! He's actually quite soft-spoken, kind, and generous but. Well.

I'm not gonna get into him cuz his mentality is very warped and could b triggering but yea. He's one of my favorites I'm sorry I'm s

(Art by Rob but design is sexily done by me ages ago)