#but can also destroy each other like no other can

[oo-li]

please follow the instructions !! it took me a total of 30 minutes to write my comment, it isn't hard to do. you can even look at other posted comments for ideas on what to include to support your own comment !

i'll include mine under the read more, but please do not copy and paste this as your own- make yours unique and include facts !

"I am writing to the Council on Environmental Quality regarding docket number CEQ-2025-0002. It is alarming to me as a citizen born in Colorado and raised in Pennsylvania that President Trump would rescind late former President Carter's Executive Order 11991. To start, I would like to highlight a few key moments in our country's history that first led to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) being drafted and signed into law before I further stress on the importance the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ); not just for the NEPA, but for every single person in the United States.

Going back to the 1960s- the very period my parents were born- there were rising concerns amongst the general public about the environment we all take for granted each day. The Sixties were vital in our country's growth and shaping our current day life for many reasons, from progress in eliminating social and racial inequalities to technological and medical advancements to the development of highways. In 1956, Interstate 70 (I-70) would begin construction across the country, first starting in Missouri with the Mark Twain Expressway. Kansas would also complete the first section of I-70 in November of that same year, allowing many to travel along the two-lane section of U.S. 40. This expansion in connecting surburban neighborhoods and cities across the nation. Despite the economic gains as a result of the Interstate Highway System, its construction raised worries due to the destruction of many communities and ecosystems. That, in combination with public awareness from Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962), lead to public outcry and the highway revolts countrywide. As NEPA was being drafted in 1969, there was even more public outrage in response to the Santa Barbara oil spill that same year. Our citizens cared very deeply about the environment of our nation, the highway revolts mentioned earlier would continue to occur even into the next decade. When information and data became public, masses would listen and show up in protection for nature. NEPA was and still is a vital tool for the public to have access to information on environmental impacts before decisions are made.

Once NEPA was signed into law in 1970 by former President Nixon, the newly established Council on Environmental Quality would begin its duties as outlined. This marked the beginning of development projects not just being reviewed, it allowed for space and time to have improvements made to plans before they became set in stone. Often these reviews and studies are seen as lost profit and wasted time by investors and agencies, however without them projects like Florida's Everglades Parkway could have destroyed critical habitats to its state's ecosystem and threaten essential water supplies the entire state relies upon. As a result of engineers and planners accounting for the impact on wildlife, flow of freshwater through the Big Cyprus and Everglades wetlands, and limited access to the highway for landowners, the final design had: incorporated 24 wildlife underpasses and 40 miles of fencing along the route; eliminated frontage roads by buying purchasing local access rights, allowing for controlled growth of communities; added cable barriers where needed and scheduled construction to be done around the rain season of the area (avoiding delays, damage to in progress sites, and rain carrying debris from construction sites into wetlands). Instead of being a burden to the project, it had actually provided otherwise unknown vital information to lead the state of Florida towards building the most sustainable and best possible facility. This is just one instance where CEQ assisted developing projects in the country by enforcing NEPA and there have been countless more.

By allowing the CEQ to continue to uphold NEPA regulations, our nation will only continue to prosper. Making federal agencies use clear and concise language when turning in their reviews and studies in combination with publicly known set regulations give our country the best backbone for all future development projects and construction works. The CEQ is a vital branch of the Executive Office of the President (EOP) and by removing its ability to enforce NEPA regulations puts our nation at severe risk of putting not just nature in danger, but every person residing here too. I cannot stress enough how important it is to protect the CEQ's ability to do its job in accordance with NEPA. I urge you to reconsider this action."

We have 30 days until the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) laws are rescinded. This is the 50-year bedrock of American conservation. Normally, these actions take years but the administration has provided 30 days for public comment gutting clean water and clean air. Drop what you’re doing, before you make any more calls or read any more social media posts, please populate the Federal Register with dissent.

A. Go to https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/25/2025-03014/removal-of-national-environmental-policy-act-implementing-regulations

B. Click on the green rectangle in the upper right corner ("SUBMIT A PUBLIC COMMENT") .

C. Fill in your comment, and info at the bottom, and SUBMIT COMMENT.

[separatist-apologist]

This … Ferye and Lucien have one of the most realistic friendship and relationship in this books especially knowing their foundation. People are always like Ferye is a bad friend to Lucien or Lucien is a bad friend to Ferye but how about they both had moments where they were bad and good to each other, and that’s okay, sometimes friendships are like that but at the base of it you can tell there is no toxicity.

She ate with that friendship and I think she wants to pull it with Nesta and Azriel but I don’t know if it hits as good.

Also don’t quote me but worst friendship being the batboys😭😂 wouldn’t touch that with a ten foot pole. Also Tamlin and Lucien are pretty close seconds. I don’t think SJM knows how to write male friendships. Power dynamics are always off.

Anon you said the one thing I am always privately ranting about this to @the-lonelybarricade. Lucien saying, "you were always a better friend to me than blah blah blah" is not the author stating it as fact, it is a man riddled with self-loathing and his own failures saying that because he is DROWNING!!! IN!!!! HIS!!!!! GUILT!!!!!!! OVER!!!! THINGS!!!! OUTSIDE!!!! HIS!!!! CONTROL!!!!! what is not CLICKING???? In Acomaf we are LITERALLY in his head via Feyre and she EXPLICITLY tells us all this and then all character analysis flies out the window when it's time to use critical thinking.

He is blaming himself for what happened in Hybern and his inability to stop it!!! For not recognizing what, in retrospect, feels like an obvious trap!! SJM is very much all tell, no show, so I'm not sure why this is always gets pulled out of context to prove Lucien was the better friend.

You're exactly right- they both have intensely shitty moments to one another, coupled with FIERCE loyalty. "Lucien is also Feyre's abuser" SHUT UP. "Feyre was worse than anything Lucien did for making fun of the Boe" SHUT UP. Shes JEALOUS. He's also being ABUSED. Its all he KNOWS, his whole life is dodging and managing being abused.

When Lucien thinks Feyre is being held captive against her will, he TRACKS HER DOWN to try and save her. He BEGS her to come home. And when Lucien realizes Feyre is about to destroy spring, he could have done ANTYHING to stop her. Literally ANYTHING. Tamlin trusts him implicitly- Lucien could have warned him. He literally watches her orchestrate these moments and says nothing.

When he wants to go through Summer vs Autumn for good ass reason, and she explains its too dangerous for her in Summer, he takes her into Autumn despite the inherent risk to himself. Feyre delays her own leaving Spring, when she knows the faebane is about to render her ability to winnow inert, because she realizes Lucien isn't able to free himself from Ianthe and needs her help.

They are complex, their friendship fraught and complicated but they love each other deeply. He didn't leave Spring and Tamlin just for Elain- he left for Feyre, too. He doesn't have to do anything for Rhys's court in order to be near Elain, he chooses to because he also loves Feyre.

[nocompromise-noregrets]

Oh, they dress themselves identically. :D It is a conscious and deliberate choice from their earliest days.

(I headcanon them as one soul in two bodies, more or less, which adds to the identicalness somewhat)

Only their parents and Arwen can tell them apart by looking at them. A few people who know them really well can tell which is which by mannerisms and listening to them speak (Elladan is slightly more brusque and sharp and impulsive, Elrohir is slightly more calm and gentle and considered). A very very few people have worked out that they stand in alphabetical order as you look at them (Elladan on the left, Elrohir on the right), much like Ant and Dec. Everyone else has no earthly clue. Which they heartily encourage, partly for insular us-against-the-world reasons and partly because they think it's really funny. :D

Ioreth thinks she can tell them apart, but she can't.

(extract from that fic under the cut because it still makes me laugh)

After everything was over, the Ring was destroyed and the Enemy defeated, the twins’ long quest to avenge their mother over at last, Arwen was amused and somewhat bewildered to see her brothers parading through the streets of Minas Tirith one on each arm of a small, elderly woman who never quite seemed to stop talking and who had opinions on absolutely everything that had happened over the last weeks. They were smiling, laughing even, tolerating the woman telling them what to do, fetching and carrying for her, treating her like a queen, and much as Arwen rejoiced to see hints of their old carefree selves, she could not quite understand how such a transformation could have been wrought so swiftly.

“What is going on, meleth-nín?” she asked Aragorn, quietly, as they and Legolas visited the Houses of Healing to speak with those who were still recovering from their injuries, watching the old woman confidently address Elladan by Elrohir’s name and Elrohir by Elladan’s. “Who is that woman and what on Arda has she done to my brothers?”

Aragorn chuckled softly. “That, meleth, is Ioreth. She is a skilled healer, to be certain, but also a very skilled gossip, and a purveyor of the most outlandish old wives’ tales. And she seems to have adopted the twins.”

“And she thinks she can tell them apart,” said Legolas, his soft voice full of amusement. “No matter who tells her that only those closest to them know with any certainty which of them is which, she is quite confident.”

“She almost never gets it right, and when she does it is purely by luck,” said Aragorn. “I think they are going along with it, pretending to be each other. It seems to amuse them.”

“Well, Varda knows they have been in need of amusement for a long time,” said Arwen, “but they have not pretended to be each other since we were barely more than Elflings.”

“We’re not certain,” said Legolas, “since you and your father are the only ones who can truly tell them apart, but it is most disconcerting to think one has worked out which is which from how they speak and behave, as the rest of us must do, and then have that completely upended.”

“I suppose so,” said Arwen, for she knew that others must rely on their knowledge of the twins’ personalities, Elladan slightly more abrasive and inclined to swearing, Elrohir softer-spoken and inclined to smoothing the feathers his brother had ruffled. “But -” and she broke off, staring, as across the room the twins, bringing more supplies to the old woman, were met with a long and rather complicated demand for something else that they had not brought.

“Manwë’s balls, woman!” barked Elrohir - Elrohir, Arwen’s lovely, soft-spoken brother who hardly swore and never snapped. “You couldn’t have told us that the first time?”

“Before we went to the stillroom?” added Elladan, much more gently, almost pleadingly, and Arwen could only gape as the old woman giggled - giggled, coquettishly, and batted her eyelashes at them.

“Well, perhaps I just like to make you work,” she said. “Now, hop to it, there’s good lads.”

And the twins just - went. They glanced at Arwen as they passed, and Elladan - Arwen was sure it was Elladan, though they were even standing in the wrong order - waggled his eyebrows, flashing her a grin.

Arwen pressed her hand to her heart, feeling distinctly off-balance. “Is this what being mortal feels like, meleth-nín?” she asked, rather faintly. “I feel as though I need to sit down.”

do you guys think that elrond is the kind of dad to dress the twins identically

[melanchoire]

Uhh hiii I've been reading all of your fics for a while now and all I can say is they're all so goooddd. It's my first time sending a request can I request kiof belle x sub reader where the reader is innocent and a ball of sunshine but little they know belle has already been fantasizing of fuckinv them and shoving their pretty face in the bed

first kiof request 💕 i love these girls SO MUCH since september 2023 and i'm happy that they're getting so much love and support 😭 anyway here are a couple of belle crumbs my dear kissy anon

cw: cunnilingus, degradation, fingering.

your cute bandmate and main vocalist of the group who helps you practice when it comes to the vocal parts of the group 💕 julie with rap parts, natty and haneul having more vocal parts and you and belle also having vocal parts but being more adlibs and high notes as opposed to simple verses. but what if what started out as a night of recording songs for the band’s next album ends with belle fucking you in the studio to “help” you relax your voice because you were having difficulty reaching your notes?

she noticed the frustration on your face when trying to reach a specific note, your voice sounded tense or you were out of tune in the middle of the verse, feeling bad because she noticed all the effort you were putting into this but it was still in vain because it wasn’t enough :(

“(y/n)nie, how about we do something to relax your voice a little?” and you thought she meant a little vocal warm–up, but when her hands massaged your hips and her always innocent eyes now had a suggestive shine, you knew that your unnie wasn’t referring to a little vocal practice…

your voice breaking and gasping for air every time you tried to hit a high note or a certain pitch on a note because of the way belle was teasingly flicking her tongue against your clit and and her fingers buried up to the knuckles in your pussy 😵‍💫 giving you a look from under her eyelashes and smiling against your pussy when she sees you cover your mouth or cover the microphone to keep from moaning against it

you never thought she would be like this! she was always so protective and loving towards you, defending you when you when julie and natty were starting to get really fruity with each other and worked on including you in their plans, pushing them away from you when they tried to get a little handsy and pulling you against her body, pretending to hug you affectionately and give you some friendly playful pats on the lower back when in reality it was just an excuse to discreetly touch your ass 😇 always being so sweet and loving to you, but deeply longing for the day when she can finally destroy you…

and here you are! being eaten by your bandmate while trying to record a couple of notes 🥰

cumming in her mouth with a sweet, squeaky moan that belle wishes to use for a song the day her group can finally use a sexier concept with explicit lyrics 🫠 they had already done a more sensual concept in ‘nobody knows’ and sometimes their choreographies were somewhat “explicit” according to the public, but she would like to use moans as adlibs and camouflage them with the instrumental

“if you record this part without any complications or problems, we can finish recording today and continue tomorrow with the rest of the girls. and if you’re good enough, maybe i will take you to my room after the recordings and fuck you like you deserve.” and you came untouched on her fingers after the dirty words left belle’s lips 😵‍💫

[raincoatpng]

nobody asked but here is my take on Yona because I need to get it out somehow.

This is a pro-Yona rant from a sidlink fan, addressed to people who enjoy media analysis. Because I don't think it's necessary to pretend a whole character doesn't exist in order to enjoy a ship, if you can learn to look deeper. I am not claiming to know the universal truth, this is just my opinion and my read on things.

I don't want to spend too much time on this first point, but a lot of people seem to be of the opinion that Yona's existence in Tears of the Kingdom was a ploy from Nintendo to bury sidlink. I personally don't think that's the case, firstly because I think it's overestimating the reach of sidlink to assume that Big Nintendo would care to go out of their way to sink the ship, and secondly, a lot of things just do not make sense if that indeed was their intention.

Now, I can't claim to know what every writer and game dev involved in TOTK was thinking, but from a purely logical standpoint, why would they include so many gay ass scenes if their intention was to destroy the ship? I'm thinking first and foremost about the scene where Sidon gets on one knee and gives Link a ring as "proof of his vow." There's just no way that not a single person in the writers room saw the implication there, let's be honest. Why on earth would they put this scene in there if they cared at all about killing off sidlink? It's like using oil to put out a fire. Like I said, it simply makes no sense.

Onto the topic of Yona herself, and the reason I'm posting this in the first place, I don't think I'm the only one who noticed the lack of chemistry between her and Sidon. We know the TOTK writers were capable of writing good chemistry because they did it with Rauru and Sonia, and through just a couple cutscenes at that. So I don't think it's a coincidence that Sidon and Yona don't have that between them.

If you've not read the new zora stone tablets written by Sidon scattered around Lanayru, there is one where Sidon describes how he had once seen Yona as a sister and how he admired her just as he did Mipha. Yes, granted, it is written in the past tense, but why on earth would they include this in the first place? why not say they were merely childhood friends, why precise that they viewed each other as siblings (or that Sidon did at least)? As for the part where he says his feelings have grown harder to describe with time, that is such a vague line it could literally be interpreted any way you like. I have no clue if this is unique to the english translation, so if anybody reads japanese and has read the tablets, please let me know if this was originally intended.

Regardless, Sidon also mentions that Dorephan informed him that Yona would be his bride, implying in no uncertain terms that this was an arranged marriage. The lack of agency in this relationship doesn't exactly scream romance, now, does it?

LASTLY!! the most significant on screen interaction between Sidon and Yona by far is the scene where Yona scolds him (rather sisterly behaviour I might add) for refusing to go to the Water Temple with Link and let her help with the sludge. She accuses him of projecting his grief over losing Mipha onto her and letting himself be paralysed with the fear of losing a loved one again. Similarly, the most significant interaction Yona has with Link is when she fixes his Zora armour up for him – the very armour that Mipha had made for him. I'm gonna say this straight up, it is odd how much the game directs our attention to the parallel between Sidon's supposed love interest and his sister. That is, unless, there is in fact no romance between him and Yona.

So. Rather than writing off Yona entirely as many people are quick to do, I invite you to think deeper on her role in the game. Yes she's very underdeveloped as Sidon's love interest, but ask yourself if that even is the most interesting way to view her. I know a lot of people don't care to think about sibling relationships, even less so chosen family, but for those of you who do, I'm asking you to try to revisit Yona and Sidon's relationship in that light.

Consider the tragedy of losing one sister to war and another to politics, of growing apart from someone you considered family and be robbed of the opportunity to rekindle that bond because you are now betrothed to them. Imagine suddenly being nobody's brother, nobody's sister.

Even if that interpretation isn't as compelling to you as it is to me, at the very least, I'm tired of seeing unwarranted hate for a character that is nothing but helpful and kind. You are perfectly allowed to like or dislike any character, you are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to misogyny. If your only reason for hating a female character is that she "gets in the way" of a ship, you are being sexist. Full stop.

[maybeimavillain-byleif]

You know what I was thinking about the episode? I was reading what someone wrote about the episode and said that Devon didn't know any of this and never checked what was written on Amanda's CV but just trusted all of it. You know, I remember what Ysa said (or was her mom? Don't remember exactly but it was on the 1st episode) it's true that Devon's way of hiring someone is a bit weird since he just go "yeah you're alright, I trust you, you're hired!" without checking anything written on the CV. Why would you not check anything? Thomas did well by doing some researches on us so it makes sense he did researches on Amanda too but he was kind enough to not say anything about it. You know who is also smart enough to make some researches? Jason. Jason has probably done the same thing Thomas did with all of us who work for Devon and that's what Devon should have done too, maybe not on Elenda and Roy since they know each other since they were kids, Brune honestly, I think she has nothing to hide, I feel like she's pretty honest with all of us. But Devon should have made some researches on the person he wanted to hire, how can you trust someone immediately? I mean, he hired Ysa on the phone and because she's the daughter of a very known architect that her mother is and she helped her to get the job so of course, he didn't have a reason to doubt Ysa. But with people you don't know? You can't trust them at 100%. That's why I think Thomas did well by making researches on us and Amanda (and probably on everyone) and for Jason, he also did well to do it since Devon is his rival, he needs to know everything on the people who work for him if he wants to destroy Devon and his company. Still, he was an asshole for telling the truth to the client but he's ready to do everything in order to destroy us (and I already said it). So, all of this to say that in this situation I find Jason more competent as a boss than Devon, because he also did some researches on us and I think he did the same with all the people he hired at Goldreamz, making them hold an interview and just after he decided who to hire and who not to. You know, even in real life some people might lie on the CV and still get the job, so doing some researches is not a bad idea, even though we're talking about the school one attended here, but still, I think it's a good think to check everything before hiring someone. Well, I hope that in the future, if Devon wants to hire someone new, he checks everything before hiring them, he could even ask Thomas to do it for him, he knows what and where to search😬

[trek-tracks]

Something that I think is interesting about McCoy and Spock's dynamic with each other is that neither of them verbalize their affection, instead preferring to show it via action. The fact that they are simultaneously extremely different and extremely similar, I think, is both the cause of much friction and why that friction is so compelling. It's not just that they're philosophical opposites, it's that, practically, they're often alike with a different veneer or mask. (They probably wouldn't get to each other so much if they didn't recognize this to at least some extent.) Neither of them are much with words that acknowledge their importance to each other; it's Kirk who says, "I need you. Badly!" or "I need him."

In the James Blish novelization of Bread and Circuses, McCoy thinks, "I am very fond of this man," but he says, "I know. I'm worried about Jim too." In The Immunity Syndrome, he can't say "Good luck, Spock" until Spock is out of earshot. Even when he's talking to Kirk, he expresses affection obliquely with lines like "Don't destroy the one named Kirk," and when he's on the verge of death, he expresses his affection to Spock by telling Spock, "You've got a good bedside manner," a nod to McCoy's own caring profession that serves as his highest honour.

While McCoy is driven by emotion, he also relies on it as a mask, just like Spock relies on logic as a mask and excuse for any action he decides to take. We see McCoy take action for Spock again and again at the risk of his own life. He rescues him in The Galileo Seven after fighting with him half the time they're stranded on the planet. He volunteers to die in Immunity Syndrome, and he convinces Kirk to save Spock later at great risk. He risks his own mind and life to save Spock in Spock's Brain. He injects himself with an untested vaccine in Miri for many reasons, one of which being to let Spock get back to the ship. He risks his life to snap Spock back to himself in All Our Yesterdays. He defies thousands of years of Vulcan tradition so Spock won't become a murderer. He holds Spock in By Any Other Name.

He agrees to stay on a doomed spaceship/planet so that Spock won't be executed. He tries to stay with the Platonians because Spock is being humiliated (in fact, many of his nice words about Spock are defending Spock to other people--in The Menagerie to Kirk, in Plato's Stepchildren to the Platonians, in The Omega Glory to the villagers...calling him "the best first officer in the Fleet" when he thinks Spock can't hear (or does he? It would be a great excuse).

And then, of course, there's The Empath, where he allows himself to be tortured to death to prevent Spock from being tortured to insanity--not death, but probably worse than for a Vulcan. Much as Bones says he doesn't understand Vulcan dignity in S2, I think he has a clearer idea in S3, considering how much he risks himself for Spock's mind. I'm not even getting into the movies, but Spock clearly trusts McCoy with his soul, and McCoy clearly proves worthy of that trust--and yet, in the same film, we get the "Jim, be careful" "WE will" exchange, with Spock still withholding the words. It becomes almost a game of tacitly acknowledged chicken by the end of the films, with neither willing to break.

The funny thing is that, while both Spock and McCoy show their regard for each other through actions and not words (and both can be genuinely cruel in words that completely belie their actions), many viewers can see Spock's bluff, but not McCoy's, taking everything the latter says at face value. Perhaps that's because they expect McCoy, being emotional, to mean everything he says and say everything he means. That's pretty obviously not true. (Similarly, a lot of people tend to take Spock's self-aggrandizement and McCoy's self-deprecation at face value, but that's another discussion. There's also the theory that McCoy is reinforcing Spock's preferred Vulcanness by allowing him to push back against his statements.)

McCoy challenges Spock to verbalize his feelings instead of the logic he uses as a mask, and Spock in return challenges McCoy to verbalize the actual feelings he feels, not the ones he's expressing as a mask. But it would be so much less interesting if they both clearly said what they meant, instead of going to increasingly ridiculous lengths to save each other's lives.

This scene is so interesting to me.

We all know Bones accuses Spock multiple times that he isn’t able to love (while knowing it’s not true). Bones and some others around him even accuse him being heartless or unemphatic.

Spock IMMEDIATELY started holding Bones’ hands when he found him when Bones was unconscious. He looks worried and upset. He didn’t know if Bones will die, but even when Kirk came, which was after some time, Spock was still holding Bones’ hands and wasn’t going to let go anytime soon. He doesn’t try to wake him up. Just holds his hands.

It looks like he wanted to make sure that if Bones is dying, he won’t be alone. That he will probably feel that Spock is there.

This gesture is touching, and shows how human Spock is, how much he cares for Bones, didn’t want to leave him alone, didn’t go to search for Kirk. It is very touching.

This scene adds a layer to the scene in Bread & Circuses when Bones accuses Spock of being incapable to have a decent warm feeling, to Spock’s reaction “Really, doctor?”. Because he doesn’t want Bones to die not only because it is logical. Probably Spock hoped that Bones knows it, realizes it.

I wonder if Bones felt at this moment Spock’s grip.

It is interesting how Spock often shows signs of affection to Bones, but Bones still doesn’t acknowledge it. Why does Bones want for Spock to acknowledge his affections verbally? Why his actions are not enough for him?

[ilikekidsshows]

My current problem with the fandom stems from the sheer hypocrisy, especially surrounding their treatment of Marinette vs Adrien regarding salt and salt fics. With the former, despite her taking the side of her boyfriend's ab*ser and a literal terror*st while seeing her boyfriend as a literal object, she still gets excused for this constantly by the fandom, and people lament about all the difficulties she's taken on to 'protect' Adrien.

Meanwhile, Adrien, who just wanted Marinette to stop going mad over exposing Lila, is painted as a doormat and manipulator who doesn't care about Marinette even though he did try to talk to Lila about her actions and came to Marinette's defense when she was about to be expelled before working to get back into school.

It's just frustrating the blatant double standard, how people will bend over backward to excuse or make light of every one of Marinette's worst moments, but Adrien (and their class) get their lives destroyed in salt fics and treated worse than Marinette ever was in those stories. Meanwhile, Marinette is this poor, innocent angel without a wicked bone in her body when that's not really the case in-universe. She will sabotage other girls, has control issues, especially with regard to Adrien, and has used her friends for her own benefit occasionally, but none of these flaws are ever addressed by anyone. No, they're downplayed or nonexistent in favor of Saint Ladybug given everything she ever wanted handed to her on a silver platter while everyone else has to burn for joining Lila.

Honestly, I wish there was a story that had both Marinette and Adrien realizing they're just not right for each other and just going their separate ways to find themselves, without salting on anyone else.

---

Hard same. Like, it's so crazy that this show somehow manages to pit the fans of the different halves of its main couple against each other. It’s also clear it’s happening because they've managed to frame the relationship in a way where the other gaining something requires something to be taken away from the other. Their needs directly contradict each other because they don’t truly have any shared goals. It's so unhealthy.

Like, Marinette gets a boyfriend who caters to her every whim without her having to give anything back and only ever sets boundaries that benefit her, while Adrien loses the chance to grow out of his abuse reponses. Marinette gets the boy of her dreams she can only say she likes for being pretty and who she can’t talk to, while Adrien loses the chance to date a person who actually makes him feel loved. Marinette gets to be with the target of her obsession, while Adrien loses the chance to even choose a girl other than Marinette. Marinette gets to choose how everything in their relationship progresses, while Adrien loses the right to determine anything that happens in the relationship.

Any attempt at giving Adrien any of the healing, agency and boundaries any person should rightfully have in a relationship, requires us to strip away the benefits Marinette gets from this relationship. Adrien's gain would be Marinette's loss. That's why the “these two would both be better off if they just broke up” take is considered salt, in addition to the fact that Adrien is one of the two things Marinette wants the most. So, any suggestion of even a temporary breakup is met with: “You want to punish Marinette (by taking her prize away)! You just hate Marinette!”

The weird thing is that Marinette stans have been opposed to Adrien from almost the start. It could be they bought into Marinette's entitlement and resented Adrien for not just instantly giving Marinette the prize she deserved. Or it could be that, before he was beaten down into blind obedience, Adricat was one of Maribug's primary foils and would be the one to push back against her when she was doing something ill advised and Marinette stans grew to resent him for “bad advice” that just wasn't what they or Marinette wanted to hear. Adrien is hated for his roles in the story, the unattainable love interest and the person who questions the lead, so it's not something that could easily be changed and it seemed more unforgivable.

In contrast, the biggest problem with Maribug was always her refusal to see Adricat as a human being. Any way she treats them wrong can be traced back to this attitude. Adrien was a prize to be won, and Cat Noir was a fae creature emotional support dispenser. And yet, despite this far bigger problem, I never hated Marinette with the vitriol Marinette stans have always hated Adrien with, probably because Marinette's problems were small character details, they were things she could easily grow out of with some character development.

Ironically, Adrien's role in the story has now been changed, into doting boyfriend and team hype man, while Marinette dehumanizing Adrien has only gotten worse.

[a-driftamongopenstars]

oh arcane brainrot is so real right now. i just can't stop thinking about it.

like, stories about grandeur, about going too far, about stepping over the proverbial line are so good. but also i love how small they can be, how intimate. i'm looking at jayce and viktor here and losing my fucking mind.

no matter the events, there is this thread that connects them. the way jayce is always calling him "my partner", it's such a grounding word. it reminds viktor (and jayce!) about how they began, who they are at the end of the day. two people so interconnected by fate of their own creation, but who also stayed up late in the lab to finish a project, who laughed at each other's dumb jokes. yes, one is a cosmic horror now and the other has vowed to destroy all they've built to fix it, but some years ago they were just two guys with sleep deprivation and endless affection for each other, and it's still there.

they're still there.

[grayscale-sparks]

I got hit with inspiration after @flying-fangirls made this post and compared Noel to Ophelia

Okay! Buckle up because this post is going to be extremely targeted towards One Person and that person is Me (maybe two if Cherry is into this)

tw for suicide (by drowning) and death including that of a child. Spoilers for all of Hamlet, Malevolent, and The Man in the Mirror

also this is under a cut so yall can ignore me easy <3

Okay!

Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a young girl who has lost everything. When she was young, she lost her mother, although the source material never says to what. During the play, Ophelia loses her father, her love, and her mind. Ophelia is one of the strongest symbols for lack of agency in literature, and has long since inspired many works of art and pieces of media. Including Malevolent.

Malevolent is well known for its lack of women, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t exist prior to the show. Our most obvious examples would be the Lester women. Just like Ophelia, they are plagued from the very beginning with lack of agency. Bella Saltzman, just like her Shakespearean counterpart, lost her mother very young, and lost her infatuation with Arthur just as Ophelia did with Hamlet. Arthur and Hamlet also narratively mirror each other with goals and pride so strong that it destroys everything and everyone he comes across. Bella also loses her father to Arthur, just as Ophelia did. While Arthur did not kill Daniel, it stands to reason that metaphorically he did. He took Bella and their child away from Daniel, leaving him in the dark away from his family. Daniel and Polonius are morally dubious characters, but you can argue that past their manipulation they did care about their daughters.

Now comes in the symbol of drowning. Drowning and water itself is a strong recurring symbol in Malevolent the same way it is in Hamlet. Just like Ophelia, Faroe drowns due to Arthur’s inaction. But the same case can be made for Bella. Bella dies giving birth to Faroe, but the theme of drowning is still present. On the most literal level, the “waters of the womb” is what killed her. However, there is the more metaphorical “drowning” as a symbol for being buried under burden. Faroe herself was a burden that Bella did not want to carry, especially for a man she didn’t love. She was, to make the symbol clear, drowning in responsibility.

now, as the original post describes, there is the matter of Charlie Dowd. While Charlie isn’t as clear of a parallel to the symbol of Ophelia, he is still plagued with lack of agency his entire life. The most notable example was when the King in Yellow took Charlie to the Dreamlands. The King, like the men in Ophelia and Bella’s lives, is a symbol for the one that strips Charlie of his agency and humanity. The King’s manipulation is more literal than that of Hamlet and Arthur, but it is very much present for the entirety of Charlie’s life. In The Man in the Mirror, Charlie has been in the Dreamlands for two years before he attempts to end his life. Charlie attempts to so by drowning himself in a bathtub. Although the attempt is unsuccessful, the intent is still there. The King drove Charlie to madness by taking away everyone he loves and his sense of control. Another example is in canon, Part 40 The Order, where Yellow manipulates Noel. To Noel, he is once again in the Dreamlands. Yellow has shown he can manipulate people into killing themselves in gruesome ways, but he makes Noel jump and fall. We are so transfixed on Ophelia’s drowning that we forget that she fell from the branch into the water. The balcony in the Order represents that branch. Again, this attempt at suicide is not successful, but they are clear parallels to Ophelia’s death.

Ophelia is a recurring theme many stories, and it is especially prevalent in Malevolent in the form of Bella, Faroe, and Charlie. She represents everything that was taken away, and the hopelessness that all three characters felt their entire lives.

…thank you for reading

[haich-slash-cee]

The exception (for me) is if the character is coming back to life. That's pretty whumpy.

And specifically, I think the best audience experience is when (during the initial read/watch) we can tell that the character may die but is very probably coming back to life. (I mean maybe a re-read/watch with new info could net some new whumperflies, but idk.)

Anyway, if I am reading or watching a story and I have to assume a character death is an actual character death... :( Well this is just sad, cancel the whumperflies (as people have said in the notes).

Examples:

Actual death is appropriate for the genre, tone, setting: the story has a realistic setting where dead characters stay dead; or the story is just very grim; or it is one of those horror stories where everyone really could just die including the main character.

Or the story is a one-shot, limited narrative - a standalone movie or book or story or even a short story. (You don't know what those short stories are going to pull. True wildcards. Maybe the story ends with the main narrator about to be eaten by giant snails.)

Or, the character dying is a side character: I could assume that's permanent in the narrative. (Again, wildcard, who knows what fates await side characters, sorry red shirts (tangental fun link)).

I should say, separately - while an actual character death may not be so fun and whumpy anymore (for me), it may have turned into Pathos and Catharsis instead. And I enjoy a good cry. We're on an adjacent narrative payoff, I can still appreciate it. It's like ordering fish soup and ending up with roast shrimp and I enjoy eating roast shrimp too.

But - what if the narrative, genre, format, etc makes it probable that this is a case of the character coming back to life?

Examples:

Format/meta: This is a TV show, it's mid-season, and the main character appears to die. No, we can't actually have the main character dead here - this character is coming back to life at some point.

Speculative Fiction: Listen, people sometimes come back to life in scifi or fantasy or horror. It just happens. This is one reason why spec-fic is fun. (*note: the side character death wildcard rule could still apply.)

Cape comics (Marvel, DC, superhero comics) where a franchise character has died: HAHAHA just wait a few floppies. (Unless it's one of those one-shot limited series which are a bit grim. In which case, this character may actually be dead, sorry.)

A book that is not only speculative fiction, but really going out of its way in the narrative to show that the character will probably be coming back to life: ie, we (the audience) are being actively told by that the space astronauts are racing to deliver the Dragon's Heart Crystal (which brings even the dead to life) to the main warlock character, who is dying, because this character sacrificed themselves to stop a wicked undead-plantation-owner-ghost from destroying Savanna, GA and all the residents in the city.

Also there are two more books in that series and the main warlock character's name is in each title.

With those frameworks above... Time for me to sit back and see what kind of not-death the narrative is going to pull off. Primed and ready. Read for some whump or hurt/comfort, even. Maybe the death and revival are going to be especially wretched and painful for my favorite main character >;) Perhaps other character will be very worried and there will be feelings and emotions >:D And characters will take care of each other and things will be vulnerable hohoho >:)

Don’t know if this is an unpopular opinion or whatever but if the whump leads to death then it isn’t whump anymore

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Do you think the Hogwarts houses are stereotyped quite a bit in fanfiction?

I know the obvious answer would be: yes, duh. I mean Exhibit A would definitely count the Hufflepuffs – and with good reason, as they are flanderized the most often and often reduced to meaningless fluff with bits of stuffing like a Christmas Turkey – and then you’d get the Ravenclaws, and it’s safe to say that almost all houses face this problem.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about it – apologies, if you already have – but I would like to talk about Gryffindor and Slytherin, particular with how they’re characterized with respect to each other.

Now, I know the books have treated Slytherins horribly. They’ve all been painted with the same brush and it is outright stated that not a single person in Slytherin is decent. (The book does try to showcase that people of other houses can and are terrible people – see Peter Pettigrew and Gilderoy Lockhart – but does nothing to counter the statement that all Slytherins are bad.)

So, it was wonderful to see people write Slytherins as people. People who are human and made mistakes while also pointing to Gryffindors shortcomings — however, I do think that in the spirit of the occasion, they’ve become the very thing they sought to destroy.

I feel as though ‘mean, bullies, blood-purist, dark-magic hating, stupid, quidditch obsessed, calling everyone a death-eater’ Gryffindors have become the norm nowadays. In contrast to this, all Slytherins are just absolute angels who are snarky and witty and dripping in intelligence and elegance and grace and wrinkle their noses daintily and delicately at such uncouth behavior, ‘tis the lord and the ladies of houses we’re talking about!

I feel like that came off a bit bitter, sorry, I really have no problem with someone characterizing them this way. It’s fanfiction, it’s supposed to be fun. But what does get on my nerves is when people start believing that it is that way. That everyone does hate Gryffindors. That there’s not a single good quality about it. That everyone in Gryffindor is under Dumbledore’s control and spits out pure, light-magic loving propaganda.

(There is proof, of course, that the Gryffindors are biased and quite ruthless in their rivalry with Slytherin – which seems to be mutual – as with the comment of “why don’t they throw all the Slytherins out?” in Chamber of Secrets and the sheer, electricity crackling tension with Gryffindor vs. Slytherin matches. But I think it’s quite shallow to strip them of their complexity.)

And I think somewhere along the way, people have come to see Gryffindor not with bold, courageous or brave hearted. But instead, people who are foolish, reckless and brimming with stupidity. The same way people view Slytherin as politically charged, fancy tea parties and gothic style dark academia vibes – which I can admit makes fabulous Pinterest Boards, I mean, have you seen them? – instead of people who are cunning, ambitious and resourceful.

Then, of course, you have the sheer disrespectful way they treat Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, but this has already gotten too long—I’m so sorry—so, I’ll cut that tangent before it can spiral. Sorry for this long spiel! 😭😅

No worries about the long spiel, I get it. I talked before about how houses seem to be treated in-universe here, which is honestly not too different than how the fandom treats them (stereotypes galore, although the stereotypes are a little different).

I mean, McGonagall literally throws all the Slytherins out of the castle in DH, assuming none of them would want to stay and fight against their families (even though that's precisely what Sirius did). The fact that everyone believed Sirius was a traitor so easily because "his family was dark and Slytherin, it was in his blood".

How stressed Ron was about not being worthy of Gryffindor and wanting to be there so badly so his parents would be proud. Neville fearing he isn't worthy of Gryffindor's reputation. Draco saying he'd just leave if he was sorted into Hufflepuff, James saying the same about Slytherin, etc.

But the books show us that the house traits aren't everything when it comes to sorting. I talked before about a bunch of the NPC Hufflepuffs and how a lot of them aren't really the epitome of what Hufflepuff stands for. Draco isn't all that cunning in my opinion either. So, sorting is more complex than just what traits you have

The fandom is stereotyping the houses for sure (if way way less than back in the day, I think the fandom is chiller about it now) but so do all the characters in the books. These ideas about the houses didn't come out of nowhere.

Though I have to disagree on the no good Slytherins bit, I mean, the books didn't handle Slytherin well, but it's not as bad as some make it out to be. Snape, Slughorn, and even Draco (to a degree) are actually pretty good examples of Slytherins portrayed as people. Regulus is a non-entity character, but he's also in the books to push the idea that Hagrid, who said: "There’s not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn’t in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one," he was wrong. Regulus is literally a star in the Leo (lion) constellation, the symbolism is ridiculously on the nose.

Lockhart, Quirrell, and Peter are all there as examples that Hagrid was and is wrong.

Sirius says: "Yes, but the world isn’t split into good people and Death Eaters" and he's the one the narrative treats as in the right in this regard.

Becouse not every mean person is a Death Eater and not everyone who isn't a Death Eater is good. Sirius grew up around Slytherins, and if we look at his first talk with James, while he doesn't like his family, he doesn't see Slytherin as the source of all evil the way Hagrid and James do.

Even the Snatcher in DH says that being in Slytherin and knowing where the Common Room is isn't enough for him to think Harry is with the DE — because he knows not all Slytherins are the same (Unlike McGonagall, just saying).

So, while it could've been done better, I don't think the books are that bad when it comes down to it. The wizarding world is too obsessed with houses, don't get me wrong. The characters in-universe treat houses like they're way too important (including Harry for most of the series), but the narrative itself goes out of its way to show the characters who tell all Slytherins are inherently evil are wrong.

(There were some easy things that could've been done to improve this point. Mention Quirrell and Lockhart were Ravenclaws in the books and not just on Pottermore, or have one Hufflepuff Death Eater. I always headcanoned Barty Jr as a Ravenclaw, so making that canon, would also serve this idea. Similarly, explicitly stating either Kingsley or Moody were in Slytherin to show some Slytherins on the good guys' side that aren't complicated like Snape and Slughorn)

I think JKR meant to make it more obvious than how it turned out and it might have been in a prior draft, but I still think the elements are there. (The epilogue was also meant to drive this point home with the "slytherin isn't all bad" talk. It was just clunky and came off really awkward and forced, in my opinion)

As for the fandom misconceptions of Gryffindor and Slytherin specifically, like, I'm not a fan, but it could be worse. Like, I think Houses are treated too much like aesthetics in parts of the fandom, but I've also seen plenty of people who have more interesting things to say about houses — it's a big fandom.

I would personally say the jock stupid Gryffindor annoys me way more than the Slytherins who can do no wrong (because of the effect it has on characters like Harry, Sirius, and Ron). I mean, jock is such an American concept that I wouldn't really call any of them jocks really, it just isn't the right vibe. And while there were definitely bullies in Gryffindor, there were bullies in Slytherin, Hufflepuff (the Hufflepuffs made Harry's life hell in 4th year, it wasn't just Slytherin!) and Ravenclaw (Luna's housemates are the ones that bully her). And Gryffindor has so many good traits. Courage, determination, and chivalry are good traits. All houses stand for traits that can be good under the right circumstances. It's part of the fun.

I generally dislike the shallow approach to houses as very surface level aesthetics when in the books it's anything but — plenty of characters don't really portray their own houses' values. Draco isn't subtle, Remus is a coward, Severus is constantly putting his life at risk, Zachariah Smith isn't kind, Ernie Macmillan cares more for the appearance of fairness than actually being fair, Crabbe & Goyle aren't cunning, Lockhart doesn't care to learn about anything basically, etc. And characters that show traits of other houses — Harry is cunning (it's a whole plot point that he was almost in Slytherin), Ron is ambitious, Hermione loves learning, etc. There are so many examples of characters not fitting their houses' various stereotypes, I just listed a few that came to mind.

But, then again, more simplistic aesthetics are easier ideas to work with and they are pretty — so I can see why it happened. It's a process of simplification of concepts that many characters have gone through as well. It's fandom, it happens. (I also think it's a movement that comes from a place of being edgy — liking Slytherin and hating Gryffindor is not what you're supposed to do, so there's the edgy, rebellious component to that opinion that people like)

I will say the house stereotypes in the fandom changed throughout the years, I remember back when the sorting quiz on Pottermore became a thing, people got really upset about getting a Slytherin. So, yeah, it's fandom, and things like this happen. Can't say it isn't annoying, but I don't really engage with it 🤷‍♀️

[daandism]

helloooooo :D

whats your BIGGEST HOTTEST takes on funger in general? your takes on the characters (playable or not *wink* *wink*), lore and overall stuff. :3

SO ☝️

there's A LOT to talk about but today, here, my main focus is gonna be the old gods! i love how influential they are for the game (the first and the second) specially Sylvian and Gro-goroth! obviously Alll-mer is essential as well and i'll talk about him a little too but not here! the God of the Depths is really interesting too, so he'll shine eventually

we all know Gro-goroth and Sylvian are kinda "consorts" (Vinushka exists because of them!) but there's a detail i like to point out everytime because idk it's so cool! you see, Gro-goroth is primely destruction, chaos, death energy, his followers do blood sacrifices, sacrifices in general (but i bet it's mainly human sacrifices) and cannibalism (they're known as wolfmasks!) and if we go back in time, that accompanied the human race pretty much all the time! many ancient civilizations partaken in sacrificial stuff for gods, to placate their thirst, rage or simply to satisfy their gods needs. I'm not talking about it in a negative way, never. it's a REALLY interesting topic and tell us a lot about human relationships with the divine! it's cultural, it's HISTORY!! and I'm very passionate about it too!

i absolutely adore how Gro-goroth sums that chaotic, deadly energy that surrounded humanity since ancient times and i love how his design shows it well, on the other hand, there's Sylvian, goddess of lust, creation, fertility, life energy, she embodies the human carnal desires that, well, we all have, it's a primal human desire. lots of old civilizations (that persists until our days, like Hellenism! my friend @getagirlie is an Aphrodite and Hera devotee, i learn a lot with him!) had ways of worship that required sexual acts, like masturbation

sex can be a powerful way to connect with gods and this is fascinating! Sylvian design show us that even if she is a feminine goddess, she has both masculine and feminine symbols like voluptuous breasts and fallic stuff

and it's SO COOL that their "child", Vinushka is a nature goddess. because nature destroys, but also birth life. it's chaotic and harmonic at the same time. it's fertility and death. and these 3 gods are perfect to summarise human "needs" and "desires", the deepest and primal human emotions and relationships with the nature (humanity is nature too!)

i ADORE how Miro wrote the gods and the different takes each character has with them, their visions, opinions (or lack of opinion), fears, etc. they add A LOT to the game and i wished ppl talked more about them; the way these fictional gods are so similar to irl gods and religions makes me so happy... love talking about it...

anyway i think i rambled a lot and idk if it makes sense but!!! thanks for asking 💜

[jayvikstolemyheart]

Weird thought: DC AU where Viktor is the Kryptonian Superman… but he’s still disabled. He’s super strong but he needs a cane and he keeps breaking them cuz of said super strength.

The idea came from looking at Superbat stuff and then thinking “Personality-wise Jayce would make a good Superman and Viktor would make a good Batman… but how do you handle the matter of Viktor’s disability?”

So I decided Viktor needs superpowers

Viktor was the first natural-born baby on Krypton in centuries, but because of that he was born with a disability. His parents loved him, but it did not help the situation. Not that that lasted long since Krypton was quickly destroyed and Viktor was sent off in a baby spaceship.

He was found and adopted by Czech-immigrant farmers who always wanted a baby but weren’t in the financial position to do so until it was too late.

It was clear that Viktor had difficulties moving but they were limited in what they could do for him since 1. A doctor/hospital could quickly figure out that Viktor isn’t human, & 2. Viktor is invulnerable so surgeries and needles weren’t an option anyway. The parents researched what they could to make canes and help Viktor, but yeah.

Viktor had a hard time growing up, being a disabled kid with nerdy interests who was the adopted child of immigrants. He was often frustrated by his parents’ orders to avoid using his powers. But it also grew an affinity with the other kids who were lower in the social caste. And the disabled people he met who didn’t have the satisfying knowledge that they were secretly all powerful like Viktor.

Childhood was far from perfect, but it instilled Viktor with the dream of helping people like himself. To bring a positive change to the world. That partnered with his intelligence caused his parents to put all they had into getting Viktor to the ‘big city’ to a good Uni so Viktor could work to his goals despite the risks.

He’s in a new place where he can hear lots of people in danger. Viktor knows it will take years to achieve systemic changes. He could help people now with his powers. Plus, he’s an adult now, in a big city where it would be hard to narrow down the identity of a mysterious new superhero.

Viktor’s version of Superman would always fly/hover over the ground so as not to put pressure on his bad leg. He keeps all his mobility aids at home. Partly for identity reasons, but also probably internalised ableism with wanting the hero to be an “ideal”. He targets low income areas and disabled people as those he protects the most, but he’ll still help most of the city.

(Maybe a news article calls him “The Herald of Justice” and people shorten that to the ‘the herald’ and it sticks) (but then the Superman aesthetic might be diminished so I’m not sold on it)

As for Jayce, he’s probably not Bruce Wayne rich but wealthy/techy enough that he can create his Batman-esque suit with utility belt and all the gadgets. His family used to be higher class but have fallen down about so he still gets invited to socialite events but mostly out of obligation. He’s gotten a bit more popularity thanks to his good looks but he’s mostly seen as a pretty face that whose family will be caste out of high society within the next generation unless he gets some success.

Because of this, his secret identity is hidden by the fact that he’s considered pretty face from a no-name family, not special enough to be something like Gotham’s knight, the (Batman-equivalent I’m worried I changed too much.)

Jayce stays quiet with the costume on, to avoid anyone recognising his voice. The result of this is that everyone thinks he’s this grimdark serious hero and is able to strike fear into criminals’ hearts. All the mysterious gadgets and booby traps help as well.

I think the two would greatly admired each other’s hero identities. And when they inevitably meet would be very surprised by the other’s true personality. They basically have the opposite attitude that their superhero alter ego presents.

It kind of goes from ‘from-hero worship/admiration-to-disappointment-to-reluctant work partners-to-newfound respect (after realising the true heroic qualities in the other)-to-friends-to-pining/yearning/lovers????

I’m not entirely sure about their civilian identities yet so I’m not sure how those versions would interact but I think Viktor would be scared to reveal his identity cuz it means revealing his disability which would go against the hero identity he’s created (at least in Viktor’s eyes)

Jayce would never think less of Viktor! But he might wonder if Viktor isn’t that serious about Jayce since the other man won’t reveal his identity. Or maybe Jayce worries that he’d disappoint Viktor with his “upper-class, dumb puppy” reputation.

So angst, miscommunication, secret identity stuff, yearning, admiration, etc. ensues!

[dreanner95]

I am so tired of people analysing every little thing if their little blorbo said something but when they talk about stuff they don't like, suddenly there is no subtext anymore. Because no, EXU Divergence doesn't show that Bells Hells were wrong all along. Some people see one god give one of them a belt (while completly ignoring that this group of people could be helped in more ways) and another god be a loving sister (while completly ignoring the Moonweaver CHOSE to become mortal with the expressed purpose to create a sisterly bond with someone to basically prove a theory) and completly forget what happened before that (or even at the beginning of Divergence as a show): The gods went to war with each other with only little carew for the mortal casulties. The Primes never even tried to do anything other than banish the Betrayers while this war wiped out 2/3 of Exandria's population. And they were ready to do it again to stop Predathos.

The Primes are not evil incarnate but they are not perfect either. And with how much power they posess, they should be judged for their faults much more harshley because if their power goes unchecked, things like the Calamity happen. I get that their role in modern Exandria is much more contensious. Their presence behind the Divine Gate brought both good and ill. But the threat of Predathos was always going to let them react without thinking. That would have happened regardlesss of if Predathos was freed now or in hundered years. As for destroying it: Please remember that what Matt revealed is not something anyone in Exandria knew. The Luxon is something even the Primes don't know anything about. It would have taken a lot to find out anything about this option. And also, destroying Predathos would have been the most boring option. After we found out so much of the Primes faults, to have everything go back to normal would have been unsatisfying. Now the Primes still live and can actually change and grow. And if they fuck up again, it will not be impossible to actually stand up to them.

[fraybury]

Kisaku for my bi-monthly ship art quota. I wanted to draw another piece to be posted together but I've been physically burnt out lately so I made a no Kidou goggles file instead. Heh

This doubles as a character analysis art so I will write down my thought process under a read more. It's very christian so if you're not comfortable it's okay to not read it

I had been having the idea of making a Kisaku art with christian imaginery since early January, but I only managed to sketch a good composition for it last week.

This art is based on a post-Shin Teikoku arc scene that's also one that's very memorable for me. Like, it's just a very tender and profound one, especially when one can see Kidou's hand holding Sakuma's tighter after Sakuma told him he can't shake his hand. I also referenced the scene when Sakuma faints right before the match end whistle.

Another thought that inspired this was the christian concept of being saved from sin and its consenquences by Jesus' death and resurrection (salvation); which is pretty much what happened to Sakuma in this arc. Sakuma fell to the temptation of the aliea meteorite (sin), but it's Kidou's love that saved him from destroying himself physically and mentally (salvation).

An interesting part from Shin Teikoku arc was that while it ends with Sakuma and Genda being saved, Kidou came out becoming even more traumatized especially after seeing what happened to his friends and hearing Kageyama's words. And that's without mentioning that he also witnesses Someoka's sacrifice.

Kidou and Sakuma are two people who feel deeply yet tenderly for each other so I wanted it to show in the colors and rendering. I used colors that could remind someone of the dawn. I wanted to color in low contrast but the initial palette hurt my eyes (physically) so I ended up opting with shading with only highlight, with the soft light peeking through behind the pair. Subtlety was all I was aiming, so I tried to draw Kidou's expression that could express it too.

The text on the background is,

What is Salvation? Salvation is... to be saved from sin, and its consenquences from death, and eternal separation by your cross.

The text was thought and written by stream of consciousness, unlike the drawing where I worked on it precisely unlike my usual drawing style. Initially I wrote it by hand to see where should I type the text but I found that handwriting conveys the emotions in a rawer form so I went with it.

I also free style-ed the text's content because NGL, scrolling through christian articles and wikipedia pages gave me religious trauma based anxiety so I let my instinct and write whatever came to mind.

I was torn between "crucifix" and "cross" as I wanted a word to replace "love and suffering". I went with "cross" because crucifix is used to specifically refer to the cross Jesus was crucified on and the portrayal of it. For people, the word used is "cross" (referring to the christian concept of carrying one's cross). Kidou is very much associated with pedestalism, even Kageyama saw him in an idealized manner of a perfect creation to bring him back to his childhood. But despite everything Kidou is only human, and he's as sinful everyone else.

I had so much fun working with this piece, and I think I'm more satisified than I was with my previous character analysis art. I hope I could do more of this type of works in future.