#but also just in general think what if they would've meet prior

[depvotee]

I don't post much abt cyberpunk anymore but I do constantly think abt So Mi and Marid.

[wannaeatramyeon]

DG x Reader: Bodyguard

G/N. Cracky. You, the bodyguard. DG, the 'helpless' idol. Masterlists

When the rest of DG's senior team insisted he get a bodyguard, he thought it was a joke.

What sort of idiot would attack James Lee.

Then he remembered he's not James Lee, at least not to the general public. He's Diego Kang, CEO of PTJ Entertainment, an idol with amazing moves and an ass that won't quit but no fighting experience.

Right. Right. 

He supposes that makes sense. It would've been suspicious to say no, especially with his legions of stans and stalker, and his prior history.

.

.

You're not exactly who he would have picked.

Bodyguards are usually monstrous, huge, intimidating men. You're not really any of the above.

In fact, you're kinda cute. And apparently your resume is also impressive enough too.

"Perfect candidate." 

"Extensive training." 

"Unmatched awareness." 

-were chirped into his ear before he gave you his nod of approval.

Besides, DG thinks it might work to his advantage to employ someone so unassuming.

.

.

"No upskirt pictures!" You yell at the paparazzi, parting them to make way for the pink-haired idol, and pointing accusingly.

DG, in a moment of complete confusion, peers down to his own legs in case he really did wear a skirt.

No. He's in his pants, of course he is. His clothing is supplied as part of his sponsorship deal. Why would he be wearing a skirt?

"What was that?" He asks, when you're piled into his minivan. Brows knitted together instead of his usual cold, impassive expression.

You give him a shrug, "Just in case."

"In case of?"

"Just in case," you repeat, tapping your nose and nodding knowingly at him.

.

.

Now, he remembers.

During one of his many many boring meetings, when you were officially under his employment and before you started, he had been warned you might be like this.

.

.

“No pictures today!” you holler and the paparazzi groan.

Someone brave enough shouts back why.

“DG lost all five MAMA noms and he’s in a terrible mood. He might ask me to kill you if you take any pictures,” you say back solemnly and without humour.

DG feels bitter but not that bitter. Upon hearing your words, he stifles a laugh into his sleeve and disguises it as a cough.

.

. 

To sum it up, you're an oddball. 

Still, DG tolerates you because of your flashes of brilliance and your brutal honesty.

"Here, sir." You offer up a steaming hot drink and DG raises an eyebrow. "Honey and lemon. For your throat."

When DG doesn't take it, you finally explain. "Your singing sounded awful, sir. Thought you might need it."

Ah.

He did think he sounded off but the yes-men at the studio told him otherwise. He should have trusted his own instincts and makes a mental note to replace them.

DG chuckles to himself before taking the first sip.

.

.

"No touching please," you jump in just as a fan is starting to get handsy.

"Excuse me?!"

You turn away from them, letting their indignant outrage slide off you and usher DG on to the next group to interact with.

DG gives you a nod of thanks and you give him a subtle wink back.

.

.

"You best not be zooming in on his tits," you snarl at another paparazzi. "No under boob, side boobs, any boobs!"

DG glances down at his chest. Fully concealed in a mock neck jumper. There's no bare skin on show at all.

"Can you explain?" He asks, once you climb in the minivan after him and slide the door close.

"You know." You say, handing over another honey and lemon drink.

"I don't, actually."

"You know," you repeat, eyes signalling towards his chest area and hand gesticulating at your own. "And, y'know." 

You nod at his hot drink and pull a face, indicating that he was pitchy as hell in the last rehearsal.

DG shakes his head at your antics but takes a sip regardless.

.

.

"For you, sir." You hold out a brand new baseball cap with both hands and head bowed respectfully.

"I don't want this."

"Yes but you need it."

"..."

"For your bad hair day."

"What?"

"Trust me, sir."

DG narrows his eyes at you. You're rude as hell, no tact at all. He’s not sure if you even have a filter, or you just say whatever thought pops into your mind. 

However.

Somewhere along the way, he finds that you're the only person that tells him the truth.

He takes the cap and thrusts it on his head.

"Much better!" You pipe up with an oblivious grin, adding insult to injury.

.

.

"What are you doing?" DG pulls a face as you wrap your arm around his waist and hurry him on.

"There's someone tailing you," you murmur, "I've been watching them for the last five minutes."

There is? How on earth did this person get past his radar?

As if answering his thoughts, you tell him, "They look like a normal ajumma. No-one would have suspected her if I wasn't watching."

You pick up the pace and DG matches you stride for stride.

"Your manager is waiting just up ahead with the car. I'll take care of them." You give DG a salute and a toothy smile as he looks at you in alarm.

In all honesty, you look a bit helpless. Yes, your resume looks great and yes, your recommendations are glowing but DG hasn't actually seen you in action yet. He can't help the way his stomach lurches thinking about you in danger.

And what if this isn’t an untrained, rabid stan, but someone who knows about his other life and is after James Lee?

"I'll be fine, sir!" You turn quickly and sprint off in the opposite direction at breakneck speed.

.

.

A couple hours later, after DG has paced endlessly back and forth, you show up at his office.

Your hair is a little out of place, and your regulation suit is a little dusty but you're otherwise untouched.

"Are you ok?" his eyes snap to yours.

"Of course, sir!" Your beam is as bright as ever.

DG exhales deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose, relief overwhelming him and he desperately wills his pulse to return to normal.

"Call me James," he sighs when he realises it's not working and his heart seems to beat quicker and louder now you're in sight.

You don't ask any questions like why James, why not Diego. You accept it at face value, no doubt having some secrets of your own.

Your smile is unfaltering as you respond, "Sure thing, James, sir!"

[galedekarios]

Can I ask where the dialogue about gale previously being a professor pre game events is

hello, anon! thank you for the question. the short answer is: there is none!

the longer answer is that as far as we know, he wasn't a professor before the events of the game, but only becomes one in one of his epilogue endings.

we do know gale is a wizard of acclaim and scholar of exceptional accomplishment:

Gale: Let's see. I hail from Waterdeep, the City of Splendours. I'm a wizard of considerable acclaim, and scholar of exceptional accomplishment. I have a cat, a library, and a weakness for a good glass of wine. And if the mood takes me, I'm known to try my hand at poetry. There.

it could mean a number of things of course, we don't exactly know because gale doesn't say what that entails for him, but he likely published works on his research subjects and it's also likely he's worked on spells with tara together since we do know that she invented the 'cat flap of displacement'.

we do also know that gale had pupils prior to the game, but not as a professor:

Player: Do you have much experience being a teacher of magic? I suspect so. Gale: I've had a pupil or two, but never for very long. Their ineptitudes tend to... irk me. Gale: You do seem to be a precocious talent though. I can always tell when I meet with a keen mind receptive to Mystra. Gale: Keep it up and she might just take a personal interest in you one of these days.

again, we know he wasn't a professor or he would've certainly mentioned it in his introduction, as well as it not being such a big part of his epilogue ending, showing his growth and making peace with himself. the way his files frame him becoming a professor also speak against him being so before the game:

This dialogue covers instances where Gale attends the Withers party in a human (non-god) form. His default state is that he returned to Waterdeep and became a professor of Illusory magic at his former school, Blackstaff Academy. General vibe here is that this is a Gale who's found peace with himself - he's a great teacher, one his students are mostly in awe of.

i think it's more likely he either tutored - as that is a very common practise in waterdeep, and even available to the lower classes:

or gale took on a wizard apprentice independently, which... i can sort of see happening. although, it seems he wasn't ready at that point. we can only speculate as to why. perhaps these pupils couldn't keep up with gale, who we do know has a brilliant mind that's always moving, perhaps he wasn't ready yet to take on such a great responsibility while romanticising the idea itself.

what we do know is that he likes sharing knowledge, he wants to impart wisdoms and teachings. not only do we notice that along the journey with gale as a companion, but it's also explicitly a wish revealed by the love test with zethino the dryad:

Zethino: Gale: the learned wizard. The charming gentleman. The walking apocalypse. Zethino: Listen. Think. If the wizard were given the choice, what food would he be? Player: A shiny red apple - wholesome as can be. Gale: Ah, the fruit of scholars. How I long to have a troop of loyal students grace me with apples by the orchard-full in exchange for wisdoms imparted... devnote: Pleased, briefly daydreaming

and that he does grow into his own in the epilogue, through his travels and experiences.

he becomes a great professor, whose students hold him in high regard and whose passion for the position is evident in everything he says during the epilogue.

anyhow, i hope that was helpful! 🖤

[lookingforhappy]

TUA: Young Blood Review??

yeah idk what to call this but I wanna talk about this book so bad so here's my thoughts

General (Spoiler Free) Review

It's pretty good! solidly between Okay and Good on my rankings which is honestly a really good outcome for me as I was worried it was going to be much worse.

There's some continuity errors with the lore the show has established (I will go over this later), but they're not glaring, just vaguely annoying because there's some pretty easy ways to fix them (I'll also explain later). But there's also some more fun additions to the lore that's in keeping with the show and the characters.

(there were also quite a few typos that were missed but it wasn't overwhelming, just noticeable enough that they probably should have caught them before they were published - at least one sentence is missing a word and several words are spelt wrong including in one instance the name of one of the OCs)

I could list all the aspects of it that are "okay" but I think u get the picture. in all honesty it's fairly unobtrusive which again, for me, is glowing praise lmao.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book despite all of the issues (that I will pull apart beneath the read more). In fanfiction terms I think it's best described as "fluff" as not much really happens but it's an interesting exploration of the Umbrella's, their powers, and their attitudes in the months before Ben's death.

major spoilers review under the cut ↓

and now, we shall tear this bitch apart lol

Continuity Errors

There's only one big issue that I have and that is the Umbrella's knowing that there were other children born on 1st October 1989. which they repeatedly refer to as october 1st children in the book.

The Hargreeves don't know that there's others, outside of the 7 of them, born with powers to mothers who weren't pregnant. They believe, and were likely told or manipulated by Reginald into believing, that he adopted all of the special children.

as is said in 2x10:

Lila is the first of the other 43 (+?) kids that they meet and is the one to reveal that there were others born with powers like them.

In the book, the Hargreeves' all know that there were other children born with powers (ch23 pg 164). and it's not a throw away line as a big part of the plot is that they meet Ryan, another of the 43.

which... kind of annoying and easily fixable. here's how I would've worked around this issue while still preserving the plot:

Ryan's powers are the ability to determine and gift powers to others. He is unable to gift himself powers and unable to gift new powers, change powers, or remove the powers of the 43. His powers also require a fair amount of effort on his part, as well as his physical touch to bestow them. When he uses his powers, and when those he's gifted with powers use them, earthquakes occur in that persons vicinity and toxic (flammable) dust appears in the air.

note the dust, the dust is the crux of my fix:

Instead of the Umbrella's realising that Ryan is one of the 43 due to prior knowledge, have them blame the powers on the dust making them hallucinate. Once the firefighters arrive and begin evacuating and putting out the fires after Ryan is dealt with, have them blame the hallucinations vanishing on the dissipating of the dust.

Or, have Reginald pose this to the Umbrella's and manipulate them into believing his story rather than their own eyes.

To prevent the universally disliked "it was all a dream" trope have Ryan's existence as a member of the 43 be confirmed to the reader through another POV, such as a third party, Reginald, Pogo or Grace.

Other/Minor Continuity Errors

The siblings consistently refer to Reginald as "Hargreeves" when in the show they almost always call him "Dad"

Diego says he painted his room black because he likes the colour black, but in the show his room is white/greenish with blue and brown wooden accents

Diego also says he hates the Umbrella Academy uniform and that he thinks it's too "cute" and that they should wear black uniforms instead... but in the show, the uniform changed styles between 2002 and 2006 to be a black spandex/leather thing

and Luther continues to wear a version of this outfit into his young adulthood

Since this book is set in 2006, the year that Ben dies, that doesn't give the Umbrella's much time to change (and for this to be one of the outfits that Allison remembers well enough to recall with Claire).

Ben is also a strange case in this book as his powers are more readily described, yet his powerset/style is more consistent with Sparrow Ben or with the new trailer than the actual Umbrella Ben.

The first issue is that Umbrella Ben's powers are only seen 2 - 3 times, but he uses them in a specific way each time:

he lifts/opens his shirt

the horror only comes out through his stomach

he seems to have little or no control over the tentacles themselves

he seems to be in pain or to be struggling each time

he doesn't seem able to move once he summons the tentacles

so it seems that this is the most effective way that Ben is able to use his powers,

however, Sparrow Ben's powers are a lot more controlled:

he is able to control indivdual tentacles with finesse

he doesn't need to lift his shirt but instead summons the portal over the top of his clothes

is not in visible pain or discomfort while summoning them

he is not stuck to one position while using his powers but instead uses them to traverse his environment

and in the s4 trailer his powers seem to have changed even more:

his tentacles are now emerging from his back, not his stomach

he is fully suspended in the air, his weight only supported by the tentacles

now, the Ben in this book has:

tentacles that emerge from his back

is suspended mid air by said tentacles at least twice

has the finesse to use his tentacles to pull a fighting Luther and Diego apart with injuring them.

He also rips his shirt everytime he summons the tentacles and has openings sewn into his uniform by mom to allow them to exit.

obviously this is a strange merging of all three Bens so far which ends in the continuity issue of Umbrella Ben's powers being more refined in this book, set months or weeks before his death, than they ever were while he was that bit older, and dead.

The book also makes a big deal about them not being able to wear anything other than the uniform, but Allison has a lot of clothes in her room as a kid and is seen wearing casual clothes in multiple magazines and posters

aside from Five, it's implied that all the others have casual clothes and are allowed to wear what they want during their free time.

Other Gripes

these aren't particularly big issues but they are choices that I don't personally agree with. If you enjoy/ed these choices then fair play.

I'm not personally fond of the use of the name Viktor and he/him pronouns in a prequel setting, as I'd prefer realism rather than pretending he's always been Viktor. plus I feel like we all know that he's Viktor. But he doesn't yet, and neither does anyone else. So to have Viktor consider why he dislikes the name "Viktor" and wants to change it is a little strange and not very well articulated when the name they're talking about is "Vanya".

I respect that Elliott Page prefers this attitude towards his identity pre-transition but in the context of fiction, and of Viktor specifically, I find it a little unneccesary and overly complicated.

Ben also "dies" temporarily on this mission and the medical inaccuracy continues to bug me.

s1 was so good at showing that they're still human and prone to injury. Diego ends up in a sling because of a bullet nick and Five is caught in an explosion he set off. But in the book Ben falls maybe 4 stories and is unresponsive, so Allison begins CPR without checking for a pulse or breathing. Ben is resuscitated almost immediately and has almost no complications from literally being dead after falling from that height.

It's not only completely disregarding the themes season 1 set, but also a really quite tacky fake-out.

The kids also drive to the party but forget the car and walk back in less time than it took to drive, and without shoes in Allison's case.

Grace is treated as though she is non-sentient. after all of the work and love and care that season 1 poured into showing that Grace did develop sentience, and the ability to love, to see her treated by every member of the academy (Diego isn't innocent either, though he is the nicest) as a machine is saddening.

in s1 she is trapped behind programming and unable to voice her opinions because of that. not because she wasn't sentient. her sentience and love for her children does peek through until she is eventually set free by Diego and Pogo.

her hint to Luther and Allison that she dissapproved of Reginald

her expressing her feelings of longing and loneliness through the painting she imitates

and then her immediately escaping the house with Diego to get out from under Pogo's watch and to confess her part in Reginald's plan

she is so much more than a robot that doesn't understand jokes, movie references, glitches when asked a question she doesn't know the answer to, and throws away clothes that her kids might want.

Ryan himself felt very underdeveloped. We know his powers, and that he's a very good manipulater/public speaker. We also know that he likes Bach and beer, but not modern music. He's lonely and trying to surround himself with friends and those loyal to him by gifting everyone powers.

but all we know of his origins is that he's from a small town called Dobbsville just upstate from the Academy. He dislikes his "friends" from there as they treated him like the only one without powers, and has a bad enough relationship with his family/guardians that he ran away to the City and gifted enough people powers that they let him live in their college dorm (probably illegally and) for free.

We don't know his last name, his family situation, the reason he ran away from home and towards the Academy when he feels fightened and threatened by them. etc etc.

He feels so open and undefined... it's so strange.

Good Things

because I did actually enjoy this book and maybe let's end on some compliments instead

Diego discovered his powers aged 2 & a half by throwing a knife and perfectly shattering a glass - and Reginald being pleased about it

Reginald told Viktor when he was 12 to take a pill anytime he felt uncomfortable - explaining why Viktor takes his pills after emotional upset rather than at a specific time in s1

The scene where they got dressed for the party was fun, I loved the rationale for their outfits and that Allison and Luther were dressed according to the old movies they'd watched rather than anything people would usually wear to parties.

Reginald manipulating them into going to the party just to neutralise Ryan. despite the continuity errors I loved that Reginald knew all along. I was about to be disappointed that they'd gone the route of making him oblivious but I loved this twist.

The Academy becoming unpopular due to Five's disappearance - he seems to be thought of as dead by the public which made them realise that they're not a "cute" organisation and then the support waned considerably until there's barelyanyone left who cares.

[ghostsbimbo]

the boys & hearing a song from your phone on shuffle a/n: nsfw songs ahead <3 ur welcome. tw: some songs contain heavy subjects such as rape.

simon "ghost" riley - good lookin' by dixon dallas

He's bouncing off my booty cheeks, I love the way he rides I can hardly breathe when he's pumping deep inside I kiss him on his neck and then he kisses on my bussy Call him "Daddy" while I holler Man, that boy so damn good looking (looking, looking)

He has a thousand yard stare as you try to contain your laughter at the song. you love this song, and the artist in general. You originally found him when he was just doing rap, his name being iamjakehill. you completely embraced both the pop punk (ur pretty) project & the country project of his. and now, you're showing your lieutenant one of his very gay masterpieces, despite the artist being a very straight man.

könig - dana dan by bloodywood

Not all men, yes, all men Need all men for what we're solvin' Can't be what it's been but we're evolvin' You see for yourself now get involved in Talking all in, do more, boy, it's a war Chainsaw to the dead weight, leave it raw Bloody galore as we clean out the core Yeah, we do it for her, so we kick in the door

he definitely looked up the lyrics, meaning behind the song, and translation as soon as it was over, and with that he found a new band to listen to. listen, the dude may basically be a war criminal [ they all fuckin are, lets admit it ] but he sure as hell would fucking destroy a rapist as soon as he had the opportunity. all of them would.

john price - i threw glass at my friend's eyes and now I'm on probation by destroy boys

But fuck you! You're so old, dude! Like seriously, what do you think you're doing? Your hands are so big and you're so tall, wow! You know, I kinda wish I had let you do that one thing that one time But in retrospect, it would've been a bad idea 'cause You don't care about me like I care about you so I feel bad

man, this dude felt this song was a personal attack on him. yes, y'all had an age gap, but you needed to assure him he was perfectly fine, and you just liked the song because of trauma prior to meeting him. being a kid/teenager with unmonitered internet access really fucked you up, buddy.

keegan p. russ - chokehold by sleep token [ cover by will ramos ]

So show me that which I cannot see Even if it hurts me Even if I can't sleep Oh, and though we act out of our holy duty to be constantly awake

to say he loved the dudes voice would be an understatement, and then to figure out it was a cover of a song and he heard the original? the man was offended you kept will ramos, his band lorna shore, and the band sleep token from him. his phone would end up being filled with both bands discography.

kyle "gaz" garrick - to the hellfire by lorna shore

Accept this descent into the night Releasing your grasp to induce separation Plunged into the shadows Lost in sensation, we're free falling down into the everblack Can you feel it? These pins and needles

He got scared. He also wondered how you could understand what the guy was saying the whole time. He got VERY confused when the pig squeals started - confused enough to ask if they had a pig in studio. You laughed and explained that no, the vocalist that was screaming - Will - did it all himself. It then lead to you info dumping on the genre of music as a whole.

johnny "soap" mactavish - pisces by JINJER

No promises I ever give Don't rely on me and I won't deceive The beginning or the end you can't tell When I wave my fin and shake my tail I grew in different normality With unblamable morality Hooks and nets are there for me But I'm skittish

The soft voice is what got to him, his eyes going wide when he heard the screaming. He didn't believe you at first when you told him the woman singing was also the one screaming, too. - "No fuckin' way is that a bonnie doin' that." - so you pulled up the song on youtube, and then also pulled up a few live videos of the band, too. He believed you after a few videos, and may have gotten a little jealous when you said she causes you to have a MAJOR gay panic. You also state you wish you had the same amount of talent as her, especially with the screaming.

[sepublic]

In response to some claims that Noxus is the true hero of Prime Hunters -and indeed, I did play with this belief a couple times in the past- I have to reconsider his character and how the writers actually intended for him to come across. Between being called a zealot, the Vhozon being described as a monastic race with a fanatical view of morality, and a 'Vhozon codex'. And I feel like this dude is meant to be more of a Holy Crusader, Knight Templar type character.

In other words, he's bad news; He seems more noble at a glance, but it becomes apparent from extended interaction that Noxus holds very dangerous views. It's worth noting that the specific sources describing his motives to seize the Ultimate Power, whilst not working with Samus, are "to prevent it from falling into the hands of lawbreakers or the unworthy."

Nothing is said about not using the Ultimate Power; They do have a criteria for those who can have it, and apparently the Federation isn't one of them. Another source also says, more condemningly:

"The Vhozon race makes its home in the icy outer rim of the galaxy, where it wages constant war on the forces of chaos and evil. Noxus follows his race's strict moral and spiritual code, and has become a bounty hunter to administer justice to felons and sinners throughout the galaxy. Though the Vhozon and the Galactic Federation share a strong belief in justice, they define the word very differently. The Vhozon are absolutely merciless to those who violate their strict rules of morality, and their methods have left them at odds with the galaxy's other civilized societies. When Noxus heard the telepathic communiqué, he did not hesitate to set a course for the Alimbic Cluster. He is determined not to allow the ultimate power to fall into the hands of a heretic."

So yeah, these guys actually sound like assholes. The "Tough on crime" sort, not much different than Evangelicals who like to push their beliefs on morality onto others and insist on making them law. I bet Noxus is a loser who hates pre-marital sex.

This reminds me of how in the Zero Mission manga, we actually had a brief sub-plot of the Federation being comprised of more reasonable politicians and views (represented by Keaton's tenure as Chairman), while others were much more fanatical and fascist about things (hence Vogl's term). Given Sakamoto's insistence on attributing the corruption in Other M and Fusion to a rogue faction of the Federation, and not the Feds as a whole, I think this makes sense; Plenty of governments aren't monoliths who all agree on the same thing.

My point being, I wonder if the Vhozon would've supported Vogl, if they share similar views. Or if they're too extremist for even that side of the Federation, which is representative of how a lot of right-wing groups can disagree with one another, and even accuse of others of not going far enough.

I bet the Vhozon believe suffering is purifying because they evolved on a freezing planet they had to fight to survive on; They kept warm by generating friction from spinning, hence their gyroscopic abilities. They had to fight to keep themselves alive, and this translates to a disciplined lifestyle due to resources being scarce.

The Judicator carries ice from Vho, a bit of home on its wielder at all times, that unleashes Vho onto the immoral galaxy; They believe Vho’s frozen crucible forged a just society out of the Vhozon, and spiritually believe the Judicator as a vessel to bring this deliverance off-world. The Judicator can apprehend and lead to a sentence to learn from; Or it can destroy. It is the wrath of Vho, which the Vhozon worship almost like a god in and of itself. You either adapt and survive, or be wiped out.

This leads to an idea I had for a story where Samus meets Noxus, on his own, for the first time prior to Hunters; Like in a Metroid TV series that adapts all of the major arcs, while having plenty of episodic adventures between and even during said arcs.

Based on what we know of the Vhozon, I can absolutely see them participating in the war against the Space Pirates (since Weavel is also a rival to Noxus) when they first used Metroids against the galaxy. Following Mother Brain's defeat, the Metroids could no longer be controlled and turned against their Space Pirate commanders; With no choice, many Space Pirates destroyed and/or abandoned the Metroids on the planets they occupied, knowing the Federation would be obligated to perform clean-up for them; It was a way to save their own skin and also take some Feds down in the process of aborting their Metroid program.

The task of exterminating Metroids from former Space Pirate bases was often commissioned to bounty hunters like Samus, the greatest Metroid slayer in the galaxy, as well as other ice-wielding mercenaries like Rundas. Noxus wasn't hired by the Federation, but he chose to lead his own crusade against the Metroids regardless, because from a Doylist and Watsonian standpoint, his freezing Judicator is exactly the kind of specific weapon needed to kill the Ultimate Warriors.

Samus and Noxus encounter one another, team up; He seems like someone with the same ideas and views, the same goals, just like Rundas before. Noxus has some antiquated and eccentric beliefs, but whatever… But then they come across some stray Space Pirates. Noxus' Judicator can be used to encase victims in ice, not freezing them solid, but still leaving them confined for Federation police or anyone else to arrest them later.

But due to his ranking within the Vhozon codex, Noxus has the authority to take liberties as he deems fit, to judge on an individual basis (hence his crowning weapon’s name, the “Judicator” that places heretics at such deciding mercy to begin with). And even though the Space Pirates are neutralized as a threat and even pleading for mercy, Noxus decides to just execute them right here and there, instead of waiting for the Federation to arrest them.

Cue a moral dilemma for Samus, who objects to this, begrudgingly. Noxus asks what's the difference between this and her massacre of an entire base on Zebes; That's different, Samus insists, she was in their territory and had to fight to survive and succeed. They gave her no choice, they had no intention of backing down or surrendering. Maybe this could be a moment of growth and reflection for Samus; Remember how you can find a Space Pirate hiding from you in Zero Mission, and kill them anyway? Yeah. It seems Samus has a tendency in canon to reconsider her actions, such as the Metroid genocide of SR388 later on…

Coldly, Noxus brings up rumors that Space Pirates murdered Samus' family on K-2L. Samus retorts that she decides how she feels about that incident, and especially how she chooses to live afterwards. And last she checked, all pirates involved in that massacre are dead, except one, but he's not here.

Yet as far as Noxus is concerned, it's proof of Space Pirate policy towards innocents; These pirates would do the same if given the same opportunity. Is that not proof of guilt, the dark intentions in their hearts?

But they haven't, we don't know that yet, Samus argues. There's a reason why the sentence is lesser for an attempted crime, VS one pulled off. Noxus scoffs and insists this is why the Federation is weak, and Keaton a disgrace for reversing Vogl's policies.

Noxus finally brings up this point; Even if she personally disagrees, he's not asking Samus to do it. She can still look the other way. At the very least, she's not going to fight Noxus for them, is she? He's an ally to her, she knows that; He just helped her exterminate all Metroids on this planet! Samus needs Noxus more than these Space Pirates, he is of more contribution to the galaxy than this scum; It's a simple choice, a calculus between a greater and lesser evil (not that Noxus considers himself evil, but this is Samus' semi-reasonable perspective).

Samus fights Noxus anyway, and beats him because it's Samus. She ends up freezing/trapping Noxus, in an ironic mimicry of how he apprehends 'sinners' with the Judicator, and lets the Federation arrive to arrest the Space Pirates, and deal with Noxus themselves. Noxus is left pissed off as hell when Samus leaves, hence their... disagreements over the Ultimate Power.

Makes it appropriate that Noxus is seen fighting Trace, who also hails from a fanatical race bent on imposing their will; Although the Kriken seem way less concerned about moral superiority, and much more upfront about wanting to rule through Might makes Right. Unlike the Vhozon, they just want to take over the galaxy, rather than "bringing about moral influence" which is just a roundabout means of conquest if you think about it.

Given Vho is on the outer rim, I wonder if that puts them close to Kriken territory; Given mentions of waging constant war, I bet the Vhozon have a tendency to agitate open conflict with the Kriken, unlike the Federation which prefers diplomacy and is desperately trying to keep it because you do not want a full-scale war against an empire that makes the Space Pirates look like chumps. So again, the Trace-Noxus rivalry is perfect.

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

Hey CJ, you mentioned that you disagree with a lot of your old TWDG opinions, any that stand out you wanna share? Also i agree with what you said about wanting to play the series for the first time again with no prior knowledge - i would love to meet louis character for the first time again.

Yeah, some opinions have changed with time and moving on from being a hardcore, active fan in the fandom. I'm pretty sure I've talked about some of them more recently, like how I used to not like Jane but now I've become something of a "Jane apologist," if you will.

I was also super vocal about hating the Clementine comics when the 12-page comic dropped, and I'm pretty sure I was shitty about Tillie Walden... which I look back on now and feel embarrassed. In fact, I specifically remember calling attention to the fact that Skybound turned off comments on the first book trailer and on their instagram, twitter, etc. and being like, "look at these COWARDS! they know we hate the comic and that Tillie's a bad artist, they're trying to shut us up!" ........but then I heard they turned them off because Tillie was getting threats, and it caused me to dig around and see the vile shit fans were saying.... It gave me pause to think things through and I feel very differently about it all now.

I've also changed my mind on Minerva. Like Jane, there was a loooong period of time where I didn't like her, but now? I think she's great. A real tragedy.

In fact, real talk, I think my perspective on most of the female characters in TWDG has shifted dramatically. I've done a lot of thinking on this just in general; I'm much harder on female characters than male characters. I can pretend like noooooo I was always soooo fair... but no, not always. I'm sure it's from some deep-rooted, internalized misogyny I have that I'm working on, but I also think the games sometimes neglect those characters, too. Which makes it easier to brush them off as just "poorly-written" and "bad characters" if I don't like them when that's not always the case.

Or let's be real, we all know how this goes; the games give us a flawed male character and fans are like "he's my blorbo, here's a 50k essay about why he deserved better and a list of my headcanons and the twenty AUs I've written for them-" but then a female character's just as flawed and fans are like "lol she's poorly written, here's an essay on why-"

Don't look at me like that. I know I'm guilty of this. I know y'all remember Mitch. Back in the day, Mitch was my boy and I used to write about him all the time but like... god forbid I put that much effort into writing about Violet or Minerva, right?

Or even look at Kate, for example. Past CJ would've talked about how much she doesn't like Kate and she hates the forced romance with Javi, she's just there as a way to make David and Javi fight, etc. But you ask me about Kate now and I'm like, "Girl, ANF did you so dirty, you didn't deserve this."

Or how about Bonnie in S2? We all love to hate on Bonnie, but like... she's such an interesting character?? She's a recovering drug addict so desperate for a place, and you can see Carver's manipulation at play in the way she talks about him to Clementine. It takes seeing him physically beat Kenny within an inch of his life before she's like "Yeah no, fuck this, we're leaving tonight." And we give her shit about Luke's death and being mean to Clementine but frankly? Yeah, she's mean to Clementine and that's fine.

What, it's okay for Kenny to lash out and call her a stupid kid when Sarita dies because he's your poor meow meow and it makes his character soooo morally gray and complex? But Bonnie lashes out about Luke's death and suddenly she's just a massive piece of shit? No complexities or anything? There's no grey morality? No underlying motive or emotions behind the choice to abandon the group with Mike and Arvo?? She's just a bitch??

And do I even need to talk about Sarah? Hmm? We all know how Sarah was received and how fans still talk about her. Again, Sarah has a complete meltdown over losing her father and people get hurt, and fans wish death upon her... but Kenny has a meltdown and brutally beats up Arvo or threatens to smack Clementine or a number of things.... "that's fine, he's just really upset, he lost his family, y'know? everyone keeps trying to GASLIGHT me that he's bad but if you really think about it, Arvo totally deserved to be abused and it's actually Clementine's fault Kenny hit her because she tried to stop him-"

I just... the lengths we go to justify and defend this violent, toxic character but then act like Jane is the worst, I can't-

It's so funny to me whenever I see someone in the fandom complain about wanting more morally grey, flawed female characters because like... y'all couldn't even handle Jane. Or Lilly. Or Sarah. Or Bonnie. Rebecca. Eleanor. Christa. Minerva and Violet, in a lot of cases. So like... what do you actually want?

Note that I'm guilty of this, too, and I've asked myself that question... haven't fully worked out the answer yet.

That's the major thing that comes to mind about opinions I had that I've changed my mind about. I think a big factor in that is letting twdg go and getting invested in other fandoms, doing a lot more reading, getting back into writing, etc. Obviously I've really gotten into the Dragon Age fandom and that's what triggered this "journey of self-reflection~" when it comes to how I perceive female characters. Like, you want flawed, morally-grey ladies? That's your series... assuming you can actually handle it.

But I also recently finished a playthrough of Fallout New Vegas and remembered my love for Veronica Santangelo, like... I don't care that the game doesn't technically have romance, that's my girlfriend, I love her. Then the other night I finished my first playthrough of Life is Strange True Colors [I know, where the fuck have I been, right?] and I spent 40% of the time looking at flowers, 10% being sad about Gabe, and the other 50% trying to figure out who I liked more, Steph or Ryan.

I've also been reading a lot of wlw novels which is just..... THAT'S a whole mess I won't get into because this is already long enough and you didn't ask. Just know that's also another factor in this reflection.

And to answer the other part of your ask: I miss Louis. I would love to play TFS again for the first time again, that was a fun time.

[crossdressingdeath]

[A collection of letters between two correspondents, but all written in an unfamiliar code or cipher. At the end of the scrapbook is a sheet titled 'Plaintext Deciphered by G'.] Chosen of Bhaal - Your proposal is intriguing. Tell me more about the Crown of Karsus. Chosen of Bane - It was created to enhance and broadcast the dominance of its creator, but during the Folly it was inverted, turned inward. Now, instead of the wearer dominating others, others can dominate the wearer. Chosen of Bhaal - Useful. I like it. How do you exert this dominance? Chosen of Bane - The crown has three begemmed finials. They are the foci. And... they are detachable. Chosen of Bhaal - Three? So that's why our masters want Myrkul added to the cabal. With the Crown on the right cranium, we would rule from the shadows. But how do we get it? Chosen of Bane - We steal it from Mephistopheles himself. And I know who can get us there - a diabolist named Helsik.

Look at these two, scheming. Honestly all of these are so short it feels almost like they were passing notes during a meeting rather than writing letters to each other but I guess they did both have the influence to have things like this delivered directly without having to wait for whatever mail service Baldur's Gate has... I'm just imagining some poor messenger having to run back and forth across the city because these two refuse to have an actual meeting instead of writing to each other and no one on either side is brave enough to suggest that maybe talking in person would be more efficient. Not entirely sure how Gortash got his own letters when presumably Durge would've had them originally (unless he kept copies?), but it's very fun. Although there's something sad in Durge not recognizing the code that they and Gortash used to communicate; I know that it's just the same text that everyone gets, but there's a sort of tragedy in how this is something they used to communicate with someone important to them, they might even have come up with it with Gortash just so the two of them could write to each other privately, and now they can't even read it.

Also I'm still very curious about the timeline of events here. This seems to be the first time Gortash suggested they use the Crown of Karsus, but clearly they were at least able to get into contact prior to this point; did they decide to team up just in general before they had any sort of plan? Were they acquainted somehow before the alliance came up as an idea? Were they just aware of each other's presence in the city and one of them wrote to the other when the idea of working together occurred to them? And I am also once again wondering when exactly Myrkul joined the alliance. Obviously they haven't at this point since Bane and Bhaal want Myrkul added, and I get the sense that Ketheric joined at some point post-heist (in his journal he makes it clear that he thinks the Netherstones were used to convince him and the Bhaalists to join the alliance, when these letters show that Durge and Gortash were allies before the Netherstones and the Crown were brought up as an option; either Durge and Gortash lied to him about how the alliance first started or the Netherstones had been acquired and Durge had one before Ketheric was on the scene and he made an assumption), but beyond that it's hard to tell what happened when.

Also, Gortash? It's cute that you're keeping all the notes you exchanged with your ally, but a code isn't very helpful if you keep the plaintext right with it. ...Unless (if we want to make it angsty) that code was exclusively used between him and Durge and once they vanished he cared less about keeping it a secret because it was now useless...

[scarlet--wiccan]

That's why I kind of think it would be better if Billy and Tommy HAD just had their memories erased, and then got separated and adopted by different families? Maybe false ones were even given to them, the Kaplans, and the Shepherds? The discussion and discourse wouldn't be necessary.

And it would've also explained why they were both listed on the Young Avengers Initiative in the first place, given that the qualifications for potential members were that they were both superpowered AND directly related to an Avenger. We still don't actually know how it registered them as being relatives of Wanda and Pietro.

For the last time, are no "false" versions of these characters, aside from the kids who appear in House of M. And I really don't think there's any need to erase their memories-- they were barely even toddlers when they died. They're sometimes made to seem a bit older in flashbacks, but in Avengers West Coast, they were really still babies.

The reincarnation storyline is difficult to describe succinctly, but it's pretty easy to wrap your mind around if you actually read the book. And while it was a slightly awkward maneuver, it served a purpose-- besides aging the twins up to teenagers, it was meant to resolve the original dilemma of their existence, which is that Wanda cannot create and sustain life from nothing. But if the twins are reincarnated via "normal" conception, they're able to exist as normal human beings. A lot of readers miss that fact-- whatever else they might be, and no matter what doubts or anxieties they (mostly Billy) experience, Billy and Tommy are human, they are free from Mephisto, and they're not magical constructs.

Yes, it would have been just as easy to say that Wanda, using the Life Force-- an even higher power than Mephisto-- could have just resurrected the twins wholesale and, for whatever reason, sent them back in time to be adopted. It's completely believable by comic book standards. But I appreciate that Heinberg actually meets the material where it’s at and attempts to provide a workable solution, instead of simply handwaving the details as many writers would have done. It's the same reason I like the Life Force retcon so much in general-- it reframes HoM in a way that actually makes sense within the established parameters of Wanda's powers, instead of throwing them out the window.

The "initiative" you're referring to is called the "Avengers Failsafe Program," and it was created by the Vision. The program is designed to identify potential new Avengers, but Iron Lad doesn't seem to know exactly how it works, save that each of the candidates apparently have some connection to prior Avengers-- not that they're all "directly related." My assumption is that the program runs a search off of public data and records, and just identifies potential matches. We learn, later on, that the Wanda's babies were still included in Vision's memory files, which would explain why the twins were flagged as a match-- or maybe they just came up as a potential match for Wanda and Pietro themselves, since they have such a strong family resemblance.

[writeblrgarden]

PLANT GROWERS - MEET THE WINNERS - ETLU

Meet Etlu, who got second place in our grow a plant event in november! Etlu goes by she/they, and you can find them at @etlu-yume. She has been writing for about 20 years, primarily fantasy or urban fantasy, and lately has been dipping their toes into slice-of-life.

Tell us something interesting about yourself!

"Interesting" is a tricky thing because it's so subjective! Like some people would say being able to speak/read/write another language is interesting, and others would just expect it, right? I guess in some ways I could be considered a quadruple threat - in addition to writing, I also am an artist, study languages, and played and performed with music groups on local and international stages.

Tell us about the WIP you'd like to talk about today.

Fangs with Benefits (not what I did for NaNo - but that's self indulgent and stays between me and the dust on my hard drive). Fangs with Benefits follows the story of a set of siblings, Sherry and Gael. After the pair are banned from donating blood, they are forced to move to the big smoke in order to chase medical treatment for a family illness. After a chance meeting, the pair discover the secret supernatural underground of their new home. Full of supernatural creatures, Sherry decides that there's a solution to their frustration with red tape at the hospital; Vampires. After all. It would be of mutual benefit to both parties. And so chaos ensues.

Describe your writing process. Do you like to plan everything or are you more spontaneous?

I'm a bit all over the place. I tend to do best when I have a game plan, something to refer back to (more often than not somehow it takes scenic routes between written points; go figure). However sometimes, particularly when later scenes will not leave me alone, I will just go ahead and write them out in a separate document. Once they're out of my head and down on paper, it usually becomes much easier to go back to where I had left off and keep going. That said, it's a work in progress and always changing. What worked last year may not work for me this year, and so on and so forth. I'm just hoping I can try and establish a better year-round writing habit in 2024 <3

What have you found to be the most challenging and/or rewarding about writing?

If you'd asked me this question prior to last November, I would have struggled. Maybe I would've said "a blank page/new chapter" is the most challenging thing (and, really, it still is). But. I think the most rewarding thing about writing comes in two parts; 1.) One is when you're writing for others or an audience. I can't really speak too much on this, since I've been super shy with my work and haven't posted much if any online for general consumption. But to the few people I do share with, seeing their reactions to the story progressing, screaming about characters or events. I know there's been times where those reactions have been the difference between opening up the document and writing a few more words that day, or giving it a miss. 2.) Two is when you're writing for yourself, using your writing to help process things that have happened or that you're struggling with. It may not make things 100% better, it may not change the situation at all. But somehow there's also a weird healing power to it, too.

Below the read more is more of our conversation with Etlu

What inspires you to write?

This is a hard question! I'm actually trying to work this out myself. I started to fall out of love with writing a while ago, and I'm still looking for my way back. I'm sure I'll get there, I just don't know how long it will take, or what form it will take. But I'll get there. <3

Share some advice for other writers.

Hmm. One of the classics is "you can edit a bad page, but you can't edit a blank one", which is very true. But I'm not sure that's the kind of advice I'd want to give other writers - or myself for that matter. Bad days happen - be kind to yourself. If you're working towards a goal, keep believing in yourself. Don't give up. You can achieve amazing things! (Said from 2018's cloud of cough medicine zombie fog and pulling like 30K out of nowhere in the last 2 days of November.) Also it sounds weird but don't start from a fresh document. Even if you're finishing a chapter off, just start the next one. I'm super bad at taking this advice myself, but it's easier to re-read a few lines and make tweaks before moving forwards than it is to sit there face to face with a blank page at the start of a session.

What do consider your writing strength?

I'm probably best at workshopping or bouncing ideas, and then never writing them. Does that count? haha. On a serious note I think perhaps my strengths with writing is my structural pacing. (Not plot pacing. I've already picked up some rushed chapters in the last 3 months)

What has been the nicest compliment you've received or what has been the toughest criticism you've received?

Actually today I had a message from a friend, just a simple spotify link to a song. They followed it up with comments that they had been ruminating about events of the last couple of chapters when it started playing, and it made everything hurt even more. It's been a week since they read it - to hear that my silly little story is something that they're still thinking about this long after reading it, that combined with music it brings out more emotion. It's the little things like that, that remind me what it's all about.

What do you love the most about writing?

I'm still trying to work this out. But it falls somewhere between research, the friendly banter with other writers while everyone procrastinates, and the way that your words and the way you write will be so very different to the next writer, that everyone has their own style.

[des2dream]

Winx Club Hot Take 6!

What ever happened to these girls?! With how well they're designed compared to other background characters, you'd think they would be somewhat crucial to the story. Meet Alice (the curly red-head in blue & pink), Emma (the red pigtail girl in red pants), Trista (orange dress & purple braided hair), Vicky ( short purple hair in blue), Marzia (a girl with blue hair, yellow head scarf, & red shirt) and Clarice (the one in the middle with the most detail & blonde pigtails). I've seen Clarice, Marzia and Trista make appearances in Season 3 while Emma may have appeared in the film, The Secret of the Lost Kingdom so I assume they were freshman at the time. By the beginning of Season 4, I would assume they're now sophomores with Alice and Vicky being freshman. Season 4, Episode 1 was the ONLY time these girls stepped into the spotlight beyond being background characters....well, mainly just Alice and Clarice. This episode had established that The Winx are now assisted teachers at Alfea having graduated so that means they can't live in their iconic student dormitory anymore.

The Winx find that out when they are met with the background girls I mentioned prior now residing in their old dorm rooms. The Winx were a bit upset by this, but the new residents (especially Alice) were thrilled at the idea of staying in a dorm previously home to the Alfea graduates who earned their Enchantix and defeated previous villains during their school years. Clarice however, isn't impressed. Throughout the first half of the episode, Clarice was more annoyed with The Winx if anything thinking that "because they're Enchantix fairies they think they're all that" since all of Alfea idolizes them. She was so bothered by them that she sabotages The Winx's exercise course as a way to humiliate them, but it unfortunately results in putting Flora in the infirmary. Even worse, Alice was accused of causing this and is going to be sent away. When The Wizards of the Black Circle arrive to attack Bloom, Alice rushes in to get help and participates in the battle. By the end of the episode, Clarice admits she sabotaged the course and apologizes so she and Alice can stay at Alfea.

That's all they contributed to the series. After that, they go back to background characters. They don't even stay in The Winx's dorm for very long because Season 5 decided to write our main fairies back into students again! These girls were such a missed opportunity! Roxy becomes a new student at Alfea so why couldn't she move in with them?! Bloom, Flora, Stella, Aisha, Techna, and Musa are Alfea graduates who now run a magic pet store on Earth while also being Guardian Fairies. They're done with school so I feel like the series would've made for an interesting new arc of Roxy, Alice, Clarice, Emma, Vicky, Trista, and Marzia becoming the next generation of The Winx Club instead of having our existing main six being 16 over and over again from Seasons 5 through 8. It would've been nice to see episodes of Roxy learning how to be a fairy in a magic school similar to Bloom's arc in Season 1. We got a glimpse of seeing who Alice and Clarice are but we never got to see the personalities of the other girls. I feel like maybe the comic issues did this a bit better, but it still would've been fun to see it onscreen.

[kitkatopinions]

Watched the rwby season 9 finale and I gotta say

Rwby criticism and spoilers beneath the keep reading as well as discussions of attempted suicide

First let's talk about Ruby's 'ascension.' We see Ruby see a memory of Summer sneaking off on her last mission with Raven, a mission that she lied to Tai about saying it was just a run of the mill Ozpin mission. Ruby is distraught by this, taking issue with her lying and sneaking around with Raven, and expresses anger and then when the blacksmith is like "maybe she had a lot of weight on her shoulders" Ruby is like "so does that mean I should just give up" and then she remembers the words of the mom she seems to barely remember saying "I love you just the way you are" And that drives her to pick herself and she comes back as herself, with her memories somehow completely intact and taking on no physical change at all. Is it explained why she's the only person who ascends who doesn't lose her memories or take on a physical change? No, not really. When she appears as herself again, Jaune says "she knew what she needed to be all along" which isn't true because she actually just spent an entire wanting to not be her, which just makes it seem like Jaune is ignoring all of the problems Ruby had in favor of pretending she's perfect. Then the Cat calls Ruby incomplete, broken, weak, and confused, and Weiss is like "You're wrong," but doesn't elaborate so it feels kind of empty tbh, then Yang says "she's never been any of those things," and I've just gotta say that after Ruby spent the entire volume in a depressed spiral being confused it feels really hero-worshippy putting Ruby on a pedestal of unhealthy standards and not noticing her feelings or turmoil or struggles for Yang to just be just be like 'my sister has never experienced confusion a day in her life.' And Blake says that Ruby's lack of weakness, confusion, brokenness, and incompleteness is the reason why they follow her, and call me crazy but that also seems to put crazy high expectations of perfection on Ruby that her team refuses to believe she's ever weak or confused and therefore rely on her as a leader when she just went off about not wanting to be a leader and not being able to meet their expectations.

Like, did they learn absolutely nothing? Also everyone and their brother was talking about how Ruby was going to shed the markers of Summer Rose and come into her own, but actually, no, if the close up on Ruby's emblem is any indication, they're just leaning into her having seemingly built herself on the example of Summer. Which... I feel like it's bad, I feel like if this arc was supposed to be about Ruby's growth and we're meant to think that she took a lot of inspiration from Summer in her life, that she should've grown more into her own person. Also I'm just gonna say that I think it was such a big mistake to make 'Ascension' so reliant on themes of death and suicide. I get that they were trying to do a heart-warming message about how you should choose yourself because you're enough, but first off, the messaging is so messed up when you consider how it frames 'trying to destroy yourself' as something that is either a generally good thing in the end or not permanent and something that you can come back from. Either the writers should have gone out of their way to make the purpose of Ascension clear prior to seeing anyone we know ascend and have it be something Ruby (and Little, Neo, etc) choose on their own fully aware of what it means and not through means outside of things like getting murdered, being manipulated into drinking poison, or jumping off a high thing Javert style.... Or they should've had it be something that nobody really knew about and still have Ruby and Neo not essentially try to kill themselves to get there. I literally do not care that we're 'meant to see the tree/tea like therapy uwu' because it was so badly done that the actual result is that if I'd seen this when I was fourteen or fifteen it would've hurt me pretty badly.

Next complaint! Ohhh my girl Neo. I am so so sorry. In case anyone's playing catch-up, Neo has existed since volume 2 and ever since, people have been clamoring for more from her and have wanted to see some focus put on her, especially after her return in volume 6 where fans (like me) were disappointed to see her playing sidekick to Cinder (especially since the only reason she wasn't targeting Cinder anymore was because the writers were making her act stupid for their plot) and kept talking about how much the writers could do with her. She kept playing second fiddle to Cinder with no focus from her return to all through V8, but then she was dropped into the ninth season which was supposedly character-growth focused! Although dropping anyone away from the main plot was a bad idea imo, I was still excited because I was sure it meant that Neo would get focus and be the main threat for the volume and we could see her come into her own and get fleshed out outside of 'wanting revenge' and 'Roman.' Aaaaaaand what did MKEK do??? They benched her for the better part of the season, had her the central focus of one scene that was written to highlight other characters being dead - proven by the fact that the characters said things Neo could have no idea about which meant the writers weren't focused on Neo and were instead focused on what would get emotional responses from Ruby/the audience. And then they had her get taken over by the Cat! And the Cat became the main antagonist for the season! Using Neo's body and speaking through her mouth (Neo is one of many disabled villains and the only mute character,) but leaving Neo completely absent again! And then Neo basically Javerts herself into tree-land with a vague idea that possibly she could eventually come back (if the authors were desperate for views) but is essentially dead to the plot now. As a fan of Neo, that's literally the dumbest most useless bad thing they could've done!

As for the Cat, the existence of it was gone into in the last second lore dump, and bro. They kind of imply that the Cat had no choice but to be evil, after Alyx's betrayal, and that it was not only good before then, but had spent like ages lovingly taking care of everyone in the Ever After, and so..... Am I supposed to feel happy that the Cat died? Am I supposed to dislike the Cat? Frankly, that's yet another life that just got fucked up by the Brother gods, and still no one in the cast of main rwby characters has talked about how horrible they are, and even the show itself seems to not fully acknowledge that they're responsible for so many problems. Anyway, despite their desire to make the Cat the big villain of the volume, I just wound up being upset that it got killed off just like that and nobody even questioned the morality of the situation.

Also just as a side note, who the fuck decided that what Rwby really needed was a backstory for the backstory for Remnant's existence? Who wanted that? What are they gonna do now, find out that the Tree was actually created by an even older god who came from an even weirder place?

Also about Jaune, I hate it. What was the point of making Jaune an old man? What was done that couldn't have been done through other better means that didn't put him in central focus? He's just back to how he was, just with Extra Special angst and as an Extra Special person who now has more experience than the rest of Team RWBY somehow and got to experience Weiss lusting after him. He is such an author's pet, I honestly wish he was dead. I'm gonna have to see him for several more volumes, aren't I?

My last complaint for this post (I have more to say, I just know this post is getting long so I'm saving two big complaints for later,) is that Little (now known as Somewhat or something) is someone I did not care about AT ALL and in fact I hated them, so the very forced Ascended Little running in and talking to Ruby and now being a giant rat that calls Ruby a Huntress for some reason (because she needs her position as a badge-carrying law enforcement officer to be affirmed and who better than the thing that has no clue what the fuck they're talking about)... It just served to make me annoyed. The entire volume would be improved by Little not being there at all.

Anyway, that volume was a fantastic waste of my time and the only good things that came out of it were ruined. We've now left the Land of the Hand of the Author and forced 'growth' that doesn't actually get the characters anywhere, and we've now entered the Hiatus heading to the next volume in a potential time skip.

[i-mybrunettelady]

1, 4 and 8 for El 😁

arsonson <3

4. Someone my muse likes, who doesn’t like them back quite as much

logan thackeray, in a way. el is still very much pro-trahearne marshal agenda, but he doesn't mind logan at all - it's not a terribly close relationship, to be sure, but it's a working one, esp because logan became marshal when el isn't as explosive as he'd been during the personal story. he also thinks logan is hot and likes looking at him.

on his end, though, logan doesn't like him quite as much. again, it's a working relationship, and logan respects el's expertise and knowledge and status, but he just doesn't really jive with him as a person even though el does remind him of nyra, who is a former protegée of his. but it's general knowledge that nyra is more likeable than el so

q1. Someone my muse met only briefly, but who impacted their life

aurene. el is a known elder dragon hater, and i think i may have written about their first meeting years ago, but prior to meeting her, el really felt like all the dragons were like mordremoth. so he approached her as such, and they had maybe one or two conversations total because he was never really comfortable around her. she did, however, change the way he views them - not as creatures that ought to be destroyed at all costs, but maybe as individuals on a wildly different timespan and with a wildly different worldview than him.

does he still dislike them? yes. does he still dislike aurene? no. but she did change the way he perceives them, and that's enough.

8. Someone my muse never met, but would have loved to

riannoc. see, el is a secondborn, but he awoke on the tail end of that year, and is one of the baby secondborn; as such, he was born after riannoc died, and heard all the stories about him, especially from trahearne (who was his necromancy mentor, after el's necromantic wyld hunt was revealed.)

now, this is where i explain my hcs as to hearne and riannoc's relationship. they were brothers, sure, in a sylvari way. but trahearne was also a little in love with riannoc, though i hesitate to say they were a couple - intense love, coupled with a certain level of being charmed by heroism and chivalry (which drew him initially to nyra, btw) were a potent mix he really didn't have the maturity to discern at such a young age. so the way trahearne would've spoken about riannoc did awaken a deep desire in el to meet him, though that never came to pass. only time he was ever able to see riannoc was in caladbolg visions.

(it also bears reminding that trahearne and el were in a romantic relationship themselves for a time. what that says about trahearne, i leave up to you.)

(it's also very interesting to me that el awoke with the notion of death from the get-go, but that he never really experienced the full effects of being left behind after someone's gone until trahearne dies. food for thought, el lore edition)

[dearweirdme]

That crazy jikooker anon is doing too much honestly.

"you don't know if they spend time together off cam" well, we kinda do know that Jikook haven't seen each other a lot since JK had no idea about Jimin's schedules, promotions etc. I'd say a boyfriend who sees him on the regular would know.

Jikookers excuse in that case is "Jimin was busy, he didn't have time, he was preparing his album for almost a year". Nor Jimin's neither even busier at the time Hobi's schedule stood in the way of them going to a football match a year ago. I remember fandom went crazy "omg they know each other" style cause it was first interaction since ch2 started. Jimin had no problem flying early to the US to watch Hobipalooza, he had no problem going to Yoongi's show in the US despite his busy schedule there.

Also, apparently Jungkook was also very busy preparing for his album, he just didn't talk about it. So the "busy" excuse kinda doesn't work here.

On Fallon show Jimmy asked Jimin if he talks to other members Jimin's answer "We keep in touch", then Jimmy asked with who in particular and Jimin's immediate answer with no hesitation was "With J-hope", then he added "with Suga" and only then as if he decided to correct the answer he added "everyone". Now I'm sure they all talk to each other but this clearly shows who he actually kept in contact with the most. And it's quite visible.

White day this, white day that. Just like JK wasn't alone with Tae, he wasn't alone with Jimin. They went with four other people there once (despite all the fanfiction stories jikookers create). If they wanted a romantic day they would've spend it alone together not with four other people in the random restaurant where they could be (and were) easily spotted by other people.

All of the Jimin mentions in JK's live were either due to him reading something about Jimin in the comments or because Jimin was actively promoting and there was content.

Tae only had Jinnys kitchen. No music whatsoever since 2021. And there are so many reasons why JK would not react to it or watch it live. First, JK's physical 100 welive happened before Jinnys even aired. So by the time first episode came out he probably knew that it gonna be copyright striked and was probably warned not to do that again. Second, to us fans it's a rare opportunity to watch Tae in a show, to see him somewhere in general, but it's obviously not like that for JK, he sees him all the time and probably knew what was happening there anyway. Third, it may just not be the format he enjoys. Like, would I watch it without Tae in it? No, I'm not really a fan of shows like this. And finally, who says he didn't watch it? We don't know. Just like anon says "they could have went out and just didn't tell us". JK could've watched the show and not say a thing. We do know however that prior to welive he didn't watch that episode of Lee Mujins Service with Jimin.

Hi anon!

Not liking the "crazy" mention much, but I do agree with your general point of view. I do think we've more reason to think Tae and Jk meet on a regular base than Jimin and Jk. I also see the lack of personal knowledge and in footage of Jk and Jimin together (Hobi's enlistment bomb and Jk visiting Jimin's practice) I got the sense they hadn't seen each other much. That doesn't mean they're not close, they're just not closer than Tae and Jk.

Aside from the Taennie stuff, Taekookers have had a better few months. Jikookers haven't had as much to go on, and the footage they did get wasn't satisfactory. Many are actually concerned (maybe not the correct wording) that Jk and Jimin have had issues. So tat's probably why by they are so elated about the Taennie stuff and Jk watching Jimin content. But the thing is... they're making it some kind of competition. Like their ship is real because ours isn't. And that is just so weird to me. Even if Taennie were real (yeah no) I still wouldn't think Jk and Jimin are a couple. I'm so sure about that.

Days like White day and valentines day mean very little to me personally. In my society it's really more something teenagers or newly in love people do. Maybe it's more a thing In SK, but if that is the case then them going out with friends is definitely not a romantic thing to do. It's grasping, because it isn't logical. Their reasoning only makes sense if you think Jk and Jimin want to hint to fandom about them being together, but that then goes against Jimin wanting to be private. So yeah no.

[bisluthq]

Also I was curious about John since I know you've said in the past that you don't think it was very good for her, and while I agree that them having sex was bad, I don't think that means the sex itself was bad.

I mainly think that because there seems to have been a mutual obsession prior to them going out. She had obviously admired him/had a crush on him for years at that point, which I would imagine would make her pretty into it, even if he didn't have the skills to back it up.

On his end, I think back to Jessica's book and how she describes their relationship, and a lot of it matches with how Taylor describes theirs in Dear John. In her book she says that he would like watch her TV ads and get obsessed, and then call her, fuck with her emotionally, and then dump her, rinse repeat. She also says that he was obsessed with her sexually:

"The connection was so strong that he made me feel seductive, and he spoke about sex and my body in a way that made me feel powerful, at least physically. Where I felt insecure in the beginning was that I always felt I was falling short of the potential he was in me. I constantly worried that I wasn’t smart enough for him.”

So his vibe when he's obsessed generally seems to be "your body is a Wonderland" (but like actually). And unfortunately, based on the way he talked about her as if she was a fictional character, and based on the fact that he asked everyone he came into contact with if she actually wrote her songs prior to meeting her, and the fact that he met her before she had fully blown up (post the success of debut, prior to the fearless takeover which REALLY "put her on the map") and stated that he'd "enjoy watching her career blossom" it very much seems like the whole "I saw you on TV and now I want to fuck you" thing happened with Taylor too (even though that moment likely occurred when she wasn't 18... 🤢).

Also Katy said he was really good, and I know you said Taylor probably wouldn't have been into the weird shit he likely wanted to do, but honestly, the way she describes all his other red flags makes me think she would've kind of looked past it.

Also, like I said, she seemed VERY into him, so if the weird shit is true (the only thing I've definitely heard was the piss kink thing, which if I'm not mistaken was mainly spearheaded by DM who generally isn't very reliable, and Lainey but like .. as a joke and without any real evidence outside of vibes) and like... I cannot over emphasize the obsessive factor. Girlie admitted she acted like a stalker when they met. I Can See You low-key has kind of a stalkery vibe.

But I also think that he would've been a real asshole had she not wanted to sleep with him/go all the way. Like truly. But I'm not convinced that's what happened. Anyway, I'm going to stop talking about whether she enjoyed his white supremacist dick now. The fact that they likely did sleep together grosses me out, and I think in retrospect, probably grosses her out, just not at the time.

Yeah I think John was just a creep tbh. I actually could buy they never had PIV sex which is why he might say they never fucked and where the “it’s PR!!” rumor stems from but idk if your 18/19 year old fan girl gives you a blowjob she’s allowed to be upset about how it’s all developing especially when you’re sending super mixed signals. I think John was gross for what he did and said and his overall vibe and yeah I think she thinks so too at this point. Like I think she realizes how messed up it was. But yeah obviously in real time she didn’t.

[glamaphonic]

I read your answer on why Ed wanted to meet Stede. And wondering why Izzy was so unimaginative compared to Ed.

I think Izzy is half of Blackbeard, even if he would deny it. He's the murderer, since Ed doesn't. And he keeps the ship running while Ed enjoys his pipe and wallow in his boredom.

He also seems to have some kind of divine image of Ed, like he's more than just a man. Another reason why he doesn't like Stede, since Ed becomes more human, it ruins his idea of what Ed is/was.

I do love Izzy, he's an enigma compared to the other crew members. What do you think?

Why is Izzy unimaginative? lol idk why. He just demonstrably is. Ed asks him a standard ass question about what he thinks some clouds look like and this absolute fucking brick wall goes, "They look like clouds," lolololol and then Ed literally tells him he doesn't have any imagination and indicates that this is an ongoing problem!

As for the rest... 

Okay. So. DEEP BREATH.

A of all, I think Izzy being half of Blackbeard or somehow integral to the construct of Blackbeard is a fanon concept and one that I don't particularly agree with at all. A huge part of Ed's boredom is that even Ed himself is no longer necessary to the construct of Blackbeard ("I don't even have to be on the boat.") and if he's not, Izzy certainly isn't. 

Furthermore, Izzy himself talks about how he put up with a job he was miserable in entirely because he was so honored to be The Legendary Blackbeard's second-in-command. There's a clear implication that Izzy didn't even know Ed before Ed was Blackbeard* much less have anything to do with him being Blackbeard. Izzy always frames his objections to what Ed’s “becoming” in terms of Ed destroying Blackbeard/himself. Do you really think that if someone as obsessive and possessive as Izzy is about Blackbeard could feasibly claim any ownership over the legend he’d refrain from doing so? Especially when he’s furious about Ed “destroying” that legend.

*This is hitting on another bit of common fanon I don't agree with btw. (i.e. that Ed and Izzy have an extremely longstanding relationship spanning a massive portion of their respective lives.) Izzy also references Ed giving him a loyalty speech when he made him first mate, which if they'd been BFFs for decades or whatever (if we, you know, ignore the fact that Ed explicitly doesn't even consider him a friend) prior to Ed being his captain why would he need to give his Loyal Companion Since Youth a loyalty speech? Furthermore, even Izzy, who is demonstrably far more invested in the relationship than Ed is, unerringly frames them exclusively as colleagues. Stede did something to his boss's brain. His narcing on them was an act of loyalty to his captain. And obviously Izzy Hands is going to be resistant to admit to, like, emotions, but I feel like if a more significant or personal connection between them ever existed, he would've appealed to it one of the multiple times he's literally pleading with Ed to take his side. The general tone of his relationship with Ed is even in stark contrast to the level of (ultimately shallow) camaraderie that exists between Ed and Jack, whom we know factually came up with Ed from their start in piracy. And even if you attribute some of that to Jack also being Ed's former sexual partner, Ed is also way more friendly and open with the entire crew of the Revenge in a way that starkly contrasts with the professional distance he keeps from his own crew, including Izzy, to the extent that Ivan and Fang comment on it! I’m pretty sure Izzy and Ed never have a single conversation, even a private one, about anything but work. What Ed's breakdown in the bathtub demonstrates, among other things, is that a huge part of his depression is the loneliness of being Blackbeard, the lack of genuine personal connections, not just because he doesn’t think he’s worthy of them (though he doesn’t) but because he's never just a man to anyone he meets or interacts with. That just doesn't mesh, imo, with the idea that he has a deep personal connection, even a highly dysfunctional one, with Izzy.

And, yeah presumably Izzy has killed at Ed's command. So has...Ed's whole crew. We literally see Ed command Fang onscreen to skin a man with a snail fork and then drown him, but fandom doesn't have a boner for Fang so no one big ups that shit into Fang being The Other Half of Blackbeard. I’d believe that Izzy is maybe way hornier about killing on Ed’s orders than anyone else (can’t say for sure, since, crucially, we’ve never even seen it UNLIKE WITH FANG; sorry pet peeve of mine), but that’s Izzy’s business.

Secondly, there's no evidence that Izzy does anything above and beyond to "keep the ship running" while Ed Does Nothing except for Izzy, a wildly unreliable narrator, implying that's the case. In fact, almost everything that Izzy says when he's having his little tantrum about his job sucking is undermined or outright contradicted by what we actually witness on the show. 

He massages the crew when they doubt Ed's judgment, yet when we see him actually interact with Fang and Ivan about Ed, he's just dismissing Ed's orders as inexplicable and calling him half-insane. 

He follows his every command, but also whines about them constantly and also deliberately sabotages ones he doesn't like or is just stone cold outright insubordinate. 

He manages Ed's erratic moods, yet even while Ed's depressed and semi-suicidal, I wouldn't call anything about his moods erratic. Izzy doesn't understand what Ed's about, but Ed is perfectly in command of himself. And unless complaining, yelling, insulting, or whinging counts as "managing" said (dubious) moods, I don't really see what Izzy ever does on that score. 

And I'm not even going to get into how bad he is at like general management of the crew aka his actual job, but suffice to say he doesn't do much but yell at them ineffectually and bully them largely purposelessly because he likes to wield the authority he gets from proximity to Blackbeard like a cudgel. Furthermore, regarding Ed Just Sits In His Room While Izzy Runs The Ship, Fang specifically says that one time Ed left Izzy in charge. Putting the lie to the idea that Ed Doesn't Do Anything since why would he need to leave Izzy In Charge if Izzy was already running everything anyway?

III, I do actually 100% agree that Izzy sees Ed as something other than just a man and part of Izzy's hatred of Stede is that Ed doesn't try hide or obfuscate his humanity in favor of being Legendary and Mythic around Stede. I'd even argue that the part of their relationship with the most narrative importance is that aspect of hero worship/idolatry. I mean, I get why fandom focuses almost exclusively on the layer of subtext that is Izzy as a self-hating gay homophobe who is obsessively in dysfunctional love with Blackbeard and is internally crying Stede Stede Please Don’t Take My Man. And I’m not saying that said subtext isn’t present. Obviously it is. (Though I also think that fandom takes it way too literally because I am of the opinion that Izzy has never so much as admitted to himself that he has feelings for Ed, and I think a lot would have to happen with his character before he ever would.) But I also don’t think it’s actually of most primacy to the story being told. OFMD is a romcom but it’s also a workplace comedy and I think that the most significant part of Izzy’s whole deal is the ways in which he pushes Ed with regard to Ed’s job, which he’s come to hate and feel trapped by, because Izzy values The Work and Blackbeard’s prestige and authority in that sphere more than anything (not least because Izzy’s own authority is dependent on it).

Finally, I find Frenchie an enigma. A ball of contradictions! The capable conman who's great at reading people but is also an 18th century conspiracy theorist. Who seems very gentle and empathetic but also displays no discomfort at all with the realities of piracy. A carefree fatalist who sings about how they're all going to die, but no biggie! I am obsessed with him. I think Oluwande is a bit of an enigma given that we know absolutely nothing about his backstory prior to one year before canon and all we know about that is that he met Jim at some point and later somehow helped Jim get a job at Spanish Jackie's. But...how does he know Spanish Jackie?! He seems like a legitimate insider with her and Geraldo! What's the deal there?! Buttons whole...everything...is the very definition of an enigma. (I STG HE'S A GODDAMN WITCH.) 

Izzy, however, I do not find to be mysterious at all. He's extremely straightforward, as a matter of fact. He largely just outright says (or yells or otherwise very obviously telegraphs) everything that's going on with him at all times. It's all pretty much right out there in the open. Now, he is a weird little emotionally dysfunctional freak ass, but that's not the same thing as being somehow enigmatic or hard to understand.

As I’ve said before, I don’t really care about Izzy. I very much enjoy his role in the narrative and the things he represents about Ed's world, the cool things season one did with him as a foil to Lucius (one hindering the romance and one enabling; Ed's shoulder angel and devil), his largely one-sided rivalry with Stede! I also find him deeply, deeply hilarious. Every single time I watch 106 and he pops out from behind that curtain in Stede’s cabin I mcfuckin lose it. He’s such a creep and it’s so fucking funny.

But I am not emotionally invested in him! Asking me to emotionally invest in white men in a piece of fiction is a task with significant diminishing returns and I used up absolutely all of my OFMD quota (and probably the quota for the next like 3 things I consume) on Stede and Lucius. And even if I hadn’t, he is just not My Type of character, and frankly, I find about 85% of the way that OFMD fandom engages with him extremely tiresome.

I’m sure that people who are super into Izzy find many and varied complexities and fascinations in him and enjoy thinking about him and every possibly facet that they can extrapolate or infer or invent from every detail of every frame he’s in and every microexpression Con makes, but I…don’t!

So keep that in mind as (general) you process this long ass answer, throw it out entirely if you want, and please maybe refrain from asking me questions that are super focused on him in the future because this has definitely used up all the energy I am willing to invest in articulating thoughts about him!