#cause most of it doesn't matter for this series LOL

[im-no-jedi]

out of all the OCs I’ve created for MLWTBB, why tf do I have the most info written out for New Son™ ROFL

[atrophiedemotion]

escapism vs reality in alien stage

in this post (elaborated greatly by geo's tags as well) i mentioned a big sua/till parallel i noticed (but didn't go into much detail because i didn't want to derail the post lol), and i wanted to go into more detail on that and the overall reality vs fantasy theme alnst has going.

sua & till both use their love for mizi as a form of escapism. sua's love for mizi and the weight of her knowledge of their universe causes her to create a safe (fake) bubble for her and mizi to exist in & makes it as perfect as it can be before they're out of time. till uses his love & admiration for mizi as a beacon of hope, as motivation to go on despite how horribly he's treated in day to day life. mizi is the brightness in both of their dull lives.

this view of mizi as a hopeful, optimistic sort-of deity sheds light onto an entire theme of alien stage, escapism vs reality. it also shows that mizi & ivan, in this specific instance, are antitheses of each other.

mizi, as a character, symbolizes hope and escapism. she is the only character out of the main four that didn't understand the exact conditions of their world due to how she was raised. she does not fully grasp how horrifying the alnst universe is until she watches sua die, which is the inciting incident for the entire series. escapism isn't possible anymore, but hope is still there when she gets rescued by hyuna and joins the rebellion.

ivan, on the other hand, literally symbolizes truth and the reality of their world. since he was born he understood the cruelty the segyein are capable of and knows exactly where he stands in the world. he is seen to be fatalistic and even nihilistic. his death, which he sees as an inevitability, is the second inciting incident (the one where everything goes to shit chaos afterward). it is a brutal reminder of the truth of alien stage to both the characters and the audience.

sua & till actively seek out mizi as solace in their pain, and they both actively avoid ivan (in their own ways) and the connections he has to reality.

sua avoids ivan because, well, he's mean to her, but mostly because he's not even trying to be mean, he's just objectively right and she doesn't want to hear it. he is a reminder not only of the cruel world they live in but her own 'twistedness'. he reminds her that she is not solely the fantasy she's created with mizi, but someone with unavoidable knowledge of the inevitable (as well as someone who is willfully keeping this information from an unknowing mizi).

till avoids confronting his feelings for ivan and confronting ivan in general because ivan confuses him. his feelings for ivan aren't cut and dry in the way his feelings for mizi are, because ivan is and always will be tied to pain and suffering for till (their first meeting in the auction shop, their miscommunication/strange relationship, the fact that ivan is the only one who sees him at his most vulnerable, etc). ivan's death forces him to confront these feelings (for ivan & about their world in general) but even then he's repressing them until he physically can't anymore.

mizi is escapism & hope, literally realized because she escapes. ivan is reality & a representation of the fate of alnst contestants, literally realized through his death.

it doesn't end there, though. sua & till are escapists running from reality (with diverging paths that are both narratively important in their own ways), while mizi represents escapism & ivan represents reality. along similar lines, but going a step further, hyuna & luka showcase these exact themes.

hyuna is the legitimate showcase of hope, of freedom. she is a free human (as free as you can get in the alnst universe) and the leader of a human rebellion focused on uprising as a race against the segyein.

luka is the perfect example of compliance within reality. he is now a two time alien stage champion and the definition of a pet, no matter how he actually feels.

hyuna & luka are similar to, but a step beyond, mizi & ivan. mizi symbolizes escapism, but she is faced with reality and must grapple it, while hyuna is freedom personified (albeit with demons of her own). ivan symbolizes reality, but he still yearns for something he thinks he'll never have, while luka completely shuts off those emotions because he knows they will only jeopardize his chances of survival.

the characters of alien stage perfectly embody one of the core themes of alien stage, the discrepancy between fantasy and truth, and the way those can coincide in a world.

[cevansbrat0007]

Hello 🤗 I am back to cause chaos lol I have had this thought for days. What about the reaction of Andy and or Ari if there girl goes and gets waxed down there and they usually go to a woman but this time it was a man ?

Summary: Ari doesn't approve of your latest trip to the spa.

Warnings: Mature Themes, Ari Being A Menace, Jealous/Possessive Ari Levinson, Arguments, Smut, Discussions of Personal Grooming Habits, Manhandling, Oral Sex (fem rec), Ass Slapping, Cursing, Minors DNI.

A/N: Part of my Sweet Renegades Series. Semi-proofread, not beta'd. All mistakes are my own. Likes, comments, and reblogs are always appreciated. Thanks for reading!

You and Ari are in the middle of a conversation one evening, with both of you taking turns catching the other up on the events of your day. 

“Anyway, I can’t wait to try their new, revamped line of body butters they’ve got coming out next month.” You pause for a moment to shut the dishwasher before dutifully pressing start. “I remember the first time I used their hibiscus and papaya scrub – wait. Or was it the oil?”

You cast a glance over your shoulder at your handsome Bounty Hunter who’s been busy holding up a wall in your kitchen ever since he walked in the door less than fifteen minutes ago. You’re not the least bit surprised when you see him shrug, the poor man looking so lost it was almost comical.    

“Eh, I can’t quite remember.” Your fingers come up to tap your chin. “But whatever it was, it seriously had me smelling so good practically all flippin’ day.” 

Satisfied, you return your attention back to tidying up your kitchen. Since Ari had texted saying he’d already eaten and you hadn’t wanted to leave the clean-up to the last minute, you’d decided to tackle it before you got too tired and didn’t feel like doing it anymore.

“Now, Beast, if you find yourself hungry in the middle of the night you just go on and help yourself. And don’t forget about the biscuits.” You tell him as you move to wash your hands. “They are literally the backbone of the entire dish.”

A beat goes by before your rugged companion responds. And when he finally does, it’s with something you least expect.  

“So, I take it there weren’t any, uh, other lady waxers workin’ at that fancy spa place of yours today?” Ari coughs, appearing more than a little uncomfortable with the subject matter at hand. 

“Huh?” Confused, you lean back against the countertops before bracing yourself on your elbows. “That’s all you managed to get out of the last ten minutes?”

His sheepish response of “well, yeah” has you shaking your head in exasperation. 

“Of course there were. The staff at Ostara is almost all exclusively female.”   

“Oh. It’s just that…” He gazes up at the ceiling, almost like he’s waiting for the right words to come tumbling down out of the sky. “When I asked how your day was a little bit ago, you mentioned that someone named Michèle handled your waxing appointment. I just assumed it was a woman...” 

“Nope.” You reply, crossing your arms over your chest. “Michèle is most definitely a guy.”  

“Okay.” Ari blows out an uncertain breath the same time as one of his big hands comes to rub at the back of his neck. “Not too sure how I feel about that.”

“About what?”

He gives a lame shrug before jamming his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “‘I guess I’m just not too keen on the idea of another man seeing you…like that. In fact I know I’m not.”

His words have your mouth falling open. “Beast!” You exclaim, slapping an incredulous hand to your forehead. “I promise that we kept everything strictly professional.”

“Never said it wasn’t.” He mumbles, even as he continues glowering at you from across the room.   

“Welp, now that we cleared that up I think I’m ready for bed.” You push away from the counter, intending to put an end to the discussion by heading upstairs. Although a part of you should’ve known that it couldn’t possibly be that easy. “If you decide you wanna join me, you might wanna try getting over yourself first.” 

“Now hold on.” He goes to reach for you as you pass by, but because you see it coming, you manage to dance out of the way. “Bird, wait!”

You simply didn’t have the energy to argue with him about something as trivial as this tonight. He could get over it, or he could go home.

“Slow down a second, woman!”

To your credit, you manage to make it all the way to the top of the stairs and into your bedroom without looking back once. Not that you needed to anyway since you could feel that your Bounty Hunter was hot on your heels. 

“Hey!” Ari growls, snagging a fistful of your oversized sleepshirt and hauling you flush against his hard chest. “You know I hate it when you walk away in the middle of a conversation. Drives me fuckin’ nuts every single time.”

Now that you knew to be true. It was part of the reason you always kept that move in your back pocket. Because it always bought you time while pissing him off. 

“You were being ridiculous.” You tell him, reaching behind you to twine your arms around his neck. “But if you’re finished, I suppose I could be convinced to let you take me to bed.” 

All is quiet for a moment as your eyes flutter closed, your body content to relax as you listen to the sound of his heartbeat. A hint of a smile tugs at your mouth when you feel two large, warm hands settle on your hips, followed by a whisper of lips tracing along the shell of your ear. 

“How ‘bout you finish telling me about why you let another man see what’s mine?” While Ari manages to keep his tone low and even, there’s no mistaking the fact that he’s pissed.

And just like that, the spell is broken. Immediately, you pull away – surprised when he lets you go. 

“Seriously?” You snap, almost tripping over your own two feet. “I already told you, the girl who usually does it called in sick. What else did you expect me to do, Ari? Skip it?”

“Well, maybe.” Ari grunts, his sensual lips curving into a frown. “Not sure why you even felt the need to subject yourself to that shit in the first place. I had no idea when I left you this morning that you were planning to abuse my pussy like that.” You watch as he runs an agitated hand through his chestnut locks. 

“Just so we’re clear, this is my body we’re talking about, okay? Which means I'm in control of what happens to it.” You perch on the edge of the bed, your entire body bristling with annoyance. It was a shame that your man refused to let this one ride.

“Bullshit.” He hisses before grabbing the bottom of his faded gray t-shirt and dragging it over his head. “I’m not talking about your body, I’m talking about my pussy. The same greedy cunt I find myself feedin’ damn near everyday.”

“Oh, don’t be crass.” Your tone is rife with indignation, even as you feel your cheeks heat. 

“Who the hell’s bein’ crass, Duchess? All I’m doing is telling the truth.” Next he goes to work on his jeans, unfastening the button and zipper before dragging them down his legs and kicking them into a random corner of the room, leaving him clad in only a pair of black boxer briefs. “I tell you all the time about how fucking greedy she is, don’t I?”

Okay, fine. But that didn’t mean he had to be so loud about it. So what if you hadn’t been the type to enjoy sex all that much before Ari came along? Now you couldn’t get enough. Where was the crime, officer?  

“I’m not that greedy.” You pout, doing your best to ignore the wetness coating your thighs.

“Baby.” Ari murmurs, bridging the distance so that he can bend down to take your lips in a brief kiss. “How many times have you been done – I’m talking absolutely spent – and she hasn’t wanted to let me go?” He briefly distracts himself by twisting one of your curls around his finger. “So I’ve gotta take you again. Fuck you even longer and harder so she’ll finally let us both get some rest.” 

“I–I’m not even sure I know what you’re talking about.” Except you absolutely did know what he was talking about. And it was absolutely true. Well, most of it anyway. 

“Is that so?” Ari murmurs as his voice dips, his tone pitched to arouse. “Then perhaps you need me to help jog your memory.” His leans in trail a line of soft, sensual kisses along the curve of your throat. 

“Maybe.” You rasp, tilting your chin up so as to grant him easier access. 

“I’ll do whatever you want so long as today is the last day I ever have to hear about you letting another man see what’s mine.”

“That is IT!” You snap, shooting off the bed so fast you barely miss smacking heads. “Fuck you, Ari Levinson! If you’re so hellbent on making something out of nothing then you can just see yourself out already.”

“I can’t help it if what I’m feeling actually feels like something instead of nothing.” You can’t help but notice the way his heated gaze tracks your every movement. 

“For the last time, I went to a salon and spa to see a licensed esthetician for a professional waxing appointment like I have done for ages. Today it just so happened to be with a guy.” This time when he tries to touch you’re quick to slap his hand away. “Nothing happened other than me enduring having hot wax poured onto, and then subsequently ripped off of, my nether regions. That is it.” You huff, poking him in the chest with your finger. 

“And I’m trying to tell you that you didn’t need to put yourself through all that.” You jump when he nips at the offending finger, gently catching it between his teeth. “Not for me. I don’t mind a little hair. Doesn’t bother me any.”

Well, you would be sure to file that one away for future reference.

“But I didn’t do it for you, you goof!” You yank your hand away, attempting to put some distance between yourself and the annoying, half-naked Bounty Hunter standing in front of you. “I did it for me. It’s part of my…my self-care, or whatever.” Your pulse speeds up when you watch him reach inside his boxers to adjust his rapidly hardening cock. “Okay? But I won’t use Michèle again if it bothers you that much.”

“Appreciate that.” Ari nods once, his perfect teeth sinking into his bottom lip as he slowly backs you into a corner. “But I wanna put it on record that I’m the type of man who’s gonna enjoy his meal however you’re fixin’ to serve it, sweet Bird.”

Holy shit. Why the fuck did that make your pussy gush the way it just did?

“M–meaning?” You gasp when you collide with a nearby wall. Grinning, Ari slips a wandering hand between your bodies, pleased when he finds you naked and wet for him. He cups your bare pussy, reveling in the way your sticky honey eagerly coats his palm.  

“I just don’t want you thinkin’ about depriving me because you’re in between appointments, or 'cuz your regular gal has to reschedule.” You let out a whimper when Ari grinds the heel of his palm against your swollen clit. “I’m afraid that’s not going to work for me. Or, I suspect, for her.” 

“You’re so bossy.” You whine, rising on your toes as he continues to tease you. “You really gotta work on that.”

“You think so, beautiful Bird?” He gazes down at you through lidded eyes, his easy grin bordering on indulgent. And then he applies more pressure, not missing the way your toes curl into the plush carpet as pleasure begins to overwhelm you.        

“Uh huh.” Your hands go to grip his forearm, perhaps hoping to better increase the friction. 

“Then I reckon I just might owe you an apology.” And truth be told, he recognized that he probably did. It was entirely possible that he let the whole Michèle thing bother him more than it ought to. Perhaps he’d sleep on it and see how he felt about it all tomorrow. Or not.

But for now, there was something else he could do to help mend things – provided he was willing to get a little filthy. 

Ari surprises you by removing his hand. But just when you’re about to pitch a fit, he drops to his knees in front of you. “Let me make it up to you, sweetheart.” He begins as his fingers trail their way along the soft skin of your calf. “Let me apologize for giving into some of my baser instincts, like the neanderthal you’ll probably wanna claim that I am.”

“Beast–” You open your mouth to respond, only to let out a surprised squeal when he picks up your leg and drapes it over one of his broad shoulders. “Jesus!”

“Hush.” He then leans in to bestow a hot, open mouthed kiss to your exposed pussy. He groans against your most intimate flesh, savoring the sweet, earthy taste of you. “Need to make sure she’s okay before I start apologizing too much.” Is all he says before he goes back to burying his face between your thighs, nuzzling at your glistening folds with the tip of his nose. 

“Are you sensitive anywhere?” Ari growls, his voice coming out slightly muffled as he circles your throbbing bundle of nerves with his skilled tongue. “Sore?”

“No.” You breathe, lightly running your fingers through his dark brown strands. “In fact, I feel ah-may-zing.” You finish with a tiny giggle.

“Good.” 

That’s your only warning before your world suddenly shifts as Ari tosses your other leg over his shoulder. Next thing you know, he’s back to standing at his full height. And you’re now touching the ceiling with your thighs locked around his head.     

“Omigosh!” You cry, the sound of your nervous laughter filling the room. “You’re gonna hurt yourself if you don’t – ooh…oh God yes…yesyesyes!” You smack your open palm against the ceiling as your Bounty Hunter begins to eat you like a man starved. 

“Oh don’t stop, Beast, please!” You sob, grinding your dripping pussy against Ari’s face, soaking his beard just the way he likes.  

Words, rough and unintelligible, rumble out from somewhere deep in his chest. And while you may not be able to understand him, you know exactly what he’s trying to tell you. His hands gripping your ass to hold you in place are enough to drive the message home. 

You were to take everything he gave you like a good girl. His good girl. So you do. You practically scream yourself hoarse as Ari takes his time tormenting you with every sensual flick, every tortuous swirl of his wide, flat tongue.

He gets off on the way he's making your legs shake, the sound of you unbridled cries and soft whimpers leaving him painfully hard. But still he doesn’t stop. He continues taking his time, worshiping you the best way he knows how.

“I’m sorry, baby.” Ari grunts when he finally comes up for air, his breaths coming in sharp pants. “But I’m still gonna need a little more time to work on my apology.” One of his hands delivers a swift blow to your ass, making you yip. “Really need to reconsider my behavior today while I put a fresh spitshine on my pussy.” He winks at you then, letting you know that he means every word.

“I’m sure she won’t mind.” He quips with a grin, his chin still shiny with your juices. “And neither will you.”

END

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[genericpuff]

So I watched ChattyMia's Lore Olympus video which was great and everyone should watch it. It seems most people who do series reviews of the Lore Olympus don't like the comic for obvious reasons. Then I was reminded by the end that the comic is expecting a TV series which is in development hell. It made me think that Rachel might be better off not having a Lore Olympus TV show. Most praise for the series died awhile ago as the story became an utter mess. If it did get a TV show, people will see the early red flags like the age gap, the treatment of Minthe, trying to excuse cheating, Hades horrible behavior to workers, nymphs being discriminated with no pushback, etc. If some of them read the comic for spoilers they would later see the other big red flags of the series. Excusing slave labor, Persephone threatening the lower class, Hera getting with Echo a 'trash nypmh' as she once called Minthe, Apollo gets community service, the continued mistreatment of Demeter etc. Which I feel will cause everyone to go 'wtf is this series? 50 Shades of Grey mixed with Keeping Up with the Kardashians?'. Then you have to wonder if some of them will do a deep dive and find the stuff about Rachel's tie to Lolita. It would be especially bad if a bigger content creator talked about it. And we already know Rachel doesn't handle criticism the best (i.e. the struggle street tweet, the Minthe cosplay situation or even the merch). So I could only imagine how much worse it would be for her if Lore Olympus got a TV show and more eyes got drawn to it and her. It would no longer be just confided to the web comics fanbase but the much larger TV one. Unless Rachel seriously considered rewriting the TV script (or rekindling it lol) I don't see how a TV adaptation of her show would be good press for her.

Yess I've seen that video, it's great! She did a great job summarizing a lot of the biggest core issues with LO's story and art without getting too lost in the sauce (though god knows the rabbithole of LO's issues runs INCREDIBLY deep in an equally fascinating and "oh god what the fuck did I just read' kind of way), her video editing was very entertaining and her Persephone cosplay was a great touch 😎

That said, regarding the thought of "most people who do series reviews of LO don't like the comic", there is an amount of bias we have to acknowledge there - there's often a lot more to say in the negative rather than the positive. By extension, people who simply enjoy LO and don't participate much in the online discussion surrounding it or the discourse concerning it are less likely to make 2 hour videos analyzing it. So while the popular opinion of LO has shifted more towards a negative point of view, that doesn't mean that fans of the comic don't exist - it's just that most of those fans are blissfully enjoying the comic and can only sum it up as "it's very pretty and the plot is great", whereas many people who didn't enjoy it are more likely to voice their opinions as to why in far more explicit detail (though on the flipside of that, it also goes to show that there's a lot more to analyze in LO's flaws than its strengths - it's ironic that the fans often don't have much to say beyond "it's cute" or "I relate to Persephone" and anything further than that is relegated to pure headcanon pieced together by assumption and best guesses to make up for Rachel's lack of writing).

All that aside though, regarding the TV adaption, at this point it's less a matter of reception and more a matter of relevancy. The perfect time to release or at least show us proof of the LO TV show was years ago, when the comic was at its peak between 2020-2021. The second best time was at last year's NYCC when Rachel was a headlining guest. The fact they still had nothing to show for it at this year's NYCC, with Rachel nowhere to be seen and instead focusing more on the Freaking Romance adaption with Snailords filling the role as their featured guest (an equally if not even more problematic creator), is astounding, but unsurprising.

To me, LO feels like a real life case of "Tortoise and the Hare". Back at the start of it all, in 2017-2018, it was doing what no other comic on the platform was doing, presenting us a retelling of the Hades and Persephone story - which was very popular on Tumblr at the time - through a modern setting and with art that was incredibly unique for the platform. That, paired with WT's aggressive marketing, propelled it far ahead every other comic on the platform, creating a gap so massive that even the comics in second place on the trending tabs still weren't even close to LO's lead in terms of stats and money.

But then it got complacent. Quality of the comic's writing and art dropped, it was becoming increasingly obvious that LO had become no more than a marketing grift akin to the likes of Harry Potter - easily turned into books, t-shirts, socks, coloring books, figures, etc. - and that gave way to an increase of criticism towards it, criticism that had always somewhat existed even as far back as its days on Tumblr, but was now amplified by the existing ongoing proof that LO was never all it was cracked up to be.

Now, at best they shill $200+ figurine pre-orders, but the show is nowhere to be seen and, with the comic now finished and locked behind Daily Pass, its relevancy is dying out. "Rachel Smythe Presents" still has nothing to show for itself, Rachel's IG and Twitter seem to be purely for merch-pushing by the Inklore team, and Rachel has, at best, two new series that she suddenly announced but, in her words, don't even have anything written or planned for them yet beyond the taglines that were thrown together for her socials.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Greek myth retelling industry is in a renaissance. Hades is still a massively popular game, with its sequel now in early access; Epic: The Musical has been making waves on Spotify and TikTok far exceeding that of LO's in terms of audience reach, and even has more to show for itself in the way of official animations than LO ever has; and now Kaos has recently launched its first season after being in production since 2018 - yes, you read that right, it got commissioned around the exact same time LO became an Originals series which suggests the idea for it was already floating around and being pitched prior to LO - and, frankly, has beaten LO at its own game by achieving everything LO set out to do - weaving a Greek epic-style story in a modern setting, balancing romance with prophecies and world-ending stakes. It took a while, but Kaos made it past the finishing line, while LO has been dragging itself behind it, still making empty promises that a TV show is "still in the works" and "coming soon", with not a single thing to show for itself.

LO may have gotten a head start in being the "sleek, modern, sexy Greek myth retelling" by the virtue of being a weekly webtoon, but slow and steady wins the race - the productions that have taken their time cooking in the oven are now coming out as beautiful and delicious as we, the guests at the table, were told would be, while LO is simply the short-term gratification junk food that bombards us with gimmicks but sits like a rock in our stomachs and leaves us unfulfilled and wishing for a better meal.

Those better meals are here now and they were absolutely worth the wait.

[ddollfface]

Hi, can you please do headcanons for kaiou retsu? If you want to...

𝐀 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐚

𝙆𝙖𝙞𝙤𝙝 𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙨𝙪 𝙔𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙣𝙨

Warnings; bad writing, really ooc, not proofread stalking, me rambling, manipulation, pretty short, I'm 90% sure that this isn't really yandere, but whatever. If I missed anything, then please let me know ♡ Pssh, what kind of question is that? Of course, I want to write for Retsu! I'm just really happy that someone requested something from baki... Anyway, I hope you enjoy! If you have any questions/suggestions, then feel free to ask!!

I find Retsu to be a very, very intriguing character, seeing as he's had so much development throughout the series. Not only that but when you look just at his past, you'll find that he's adapted and changed so much from his younger years. Restu has multiple different layers to his character, as most Baki men do, but I find that there are a lot of contradictions in his personality, which I'll get into why I think that is. But let's start from what we know because we have to establish what kind of man Restu is before we decide what kind of yandere he is (I also just like to talk lol).

We don't know too much about Restu's past, but we do know that he grew up in the temple, with no mention of any parents. I like to think that his mama (or both parents) just left him at the temple for whatever reason, the possibilities are truly endless. It doesn't matter too much, as Retsu's never shown to care too much for discussing his unknown parents, seeing as he holds his sensei/s in high regard.

I like to think that Retsu considers the martial arts his family; what comforts him when he's distraught or doesn't know what to do. Not having a family, someone to rely on, can cause a person's mental health to be warped. And that's why we always substitute it for something else, whether it be a father/mother figure, a sport, a job, or a lover. Whatever it is, we use it as a substitution for the emotional stability parents are supposed to give us (not saying that they always do).

And this is why I hypothesize that the martial arts is Retsu's substitution. He was conditioned to rely on it, to think of it as a way of life. Therefore, he doesn't rely on other people for emotional support, instead, turning to martial arts to lead the way, y'know?

Martial arts have consumed his life, taking control of his mind, and everyday activities. There's never a moment in the day where he isn't either actively practicing or thinking of it. There's nothing else he can think about, seeing as he was raised to; it's ingrained in his psyche.

This leads to a dead social life. Unless they're fellow fighters or some type of service worker, Retsu doesn't go out often and doesn't enjoy the company of others. This is partially because I think he's more of an introvert or never at places where he can make many friends. Don't get me wrong, he has allies, (After all, we can't forget when Shibukawa punched Musashi for Retsu), but do they do "friend things," y'know? I don't think they just hang out together or things of that nature.

And don't even get me started on Retsu with women, god. You can't convince me that he'd be a flustered mess if a woman ever took interest in him. It's not like he's some shy babygirl-type character, hell no, he's a badass, but he doesn't interact with women, growing up in a temple surely didn't help.

There likely weren't any women at the temple, unless they were there to clean or something (don't @ me, I have no clue), meaning there's no experience there. He's a fighter. Let's be honest, not many women are actively interacting with the fighters. Sure, they'll attend the fights and crap, but I don't think that it's often the fighters are being approached unless they're in a club or bar. Which I don't think Retsu is doing.

Now going back to the original point, Retsu is unbearable with women (if they're flirting). I don't think Retsu can't speak to them. He just can't flirt. He doesn't know how to handle romantic interest from a woman. If you were to hold his hand, kiss his cheek, or touch him in any way. His face would flush, and his eyes would widen. If you were to compliment him, I'd imagine him bowing or trying to maintain respect for you.

I can't really imagine too many ways you'd meet Restu, but it'd probably be with him swooping into your rescue (figuratively or literally). It could be that you were getting harassed, and he escorted you out of the situation, or you could've been struggling with picking something up (like groceries, a box, or something similar). I can even see that you're his new neighbor, and you bring him some food to introduce yourself (I like this idea the most, so we're going to roll with this one).

Assuming you meet Retsu through being his neighbor, you'll be able to grow a more organic relationship, seeing as you two see each other every day. I like to imagine that you'd bring him some sweets or something to introduce yourself, and Retsu will quickly rebut it by inviting you over for dinner, as a way to show his gratitude for the gift.

From there, you're relationship will subtly grow more and more, advancing from neighbors to close friends. You'll begin to notice that you're feeling eyes on you like someone is watching you. It's as if Retsu's always there now, somehow knowing where you are. He'll begin to show up at your local grocery store, but you'll brush it off. After all, you're neighbors, of course, you'll both attend the same stores! But then you'll see him at your work, subtly passing by right as your shift ends, stopping you to chat and walk you home. It's a little odd, you think, but Retsu's so considerate! He just wants to ensure your safety! There's nothing to worry about.

I think that Retsu will quickly realize that he's growing an attachment to you, as I think that he's the most emotionally aware man in the series. He knows that he became a little too attached, a little too paranoid over your being. But Retsu would rationalize it by telling himself that he's taking care of you, watching out for you, you, you.

He'll always be there for you. Whatever you need is did and done. You need someone to walk you home 'cause you're too scared to go alone, don't worry Retsu can do that for you, no problem. You're sick and need someone to take care of you? Pssh, not even a question. Retsu doesn't mind; he'll even bring over some herbal tea from his motherland. Oh, and don't even think about opening a door for yourself, nope. Don't worry, Retsu's there. He's such a gentleman, always there for you, conveniently knowing where you are at all times.

You have to understand that there are a lot of people who are out for Retsu, and by proxy, you. Retsu has to make sure you're safe and sound. No one can lay a finger on you, so just stay where he can see you, yeah? He'd never do anything to hurt you. He's always had your best interest in mind, making sure you're well-fed, properly clean, and having the attention you need, so just trust him, okay?

Don't mind him cutting all of your friends out of your life. They were just too toxic, leaving you out of everything, talking behind your back, so you should just let them go. And for your family? Well, they've been manipulating you into thinking that they want what's good for you, but you just don't realize how harmful they've been to you, don't you? It's okay, Retsu will help you. He can see how horrible they are.

Little do you know, this whole time Retsu has been threatening, cutting off, and hoarding you all for himself. He can't trust anyone with your safety. For all he knows, they could harm you, could take you away from him. He can't let them do that; he cares for you too much. You understand, surely, he's just looking out for you, so just turn the other way and do as he says.

Don't worry, he's going to handle everything.

[terukotime]

thinking about Ace and Eden again and how i really don't want either of them to be the culprit lol. i just feel like either one being the blackened would be a waste of their potential. i know in Danganronpa that's bound to happen with some characters, but Ace and Eden both have traits and arcs that could run through the whole series, or at the very least, to the next chapter. while a big part of any killing game story is losing characters quickly and having their arcs and growth cut short (we've already seen as much with Arei, rest in peace queen), Eden and Ace have a lot of prominence in the Trust vs. Distrust theme of drdt, on either side respectively. and they both have a lot of potential for their views to change. i can totally see Eden's optimism finally starting to crack, and she begins to lose hope in trusting others and thinking they're good-intentioned, especially since she was put in virtually the same place that Teruko was in in the last trial, with everyone distrusting her and thinking she's the culprit. though Ace hasn't had much of a catalyst to alter his beliefs yet, there's still hope for his views to change. he's a lot like how Teruko began to behave after the first trial, thinking he can't trust or rely on anybody and pushing everyone away as much as possible.

[giant-ass analysis under the cut. i didn't expect myself to go on such a huge rant, but i realized i have quite a lot of thoughts on the matter lmao. there are probably a lot of hot takes in here and i know there will be people who won't agree with me, so take this all with a grain of salt, pls & thx]

while Ace's role in the trials is mostly confined to causing conflict and being a comedic relief, he's expressed being committed to investigating the scene of Arei's death. while sure, if Ace is the culprit, his desire to investigate could very well be a ruse. but for the sake of his potential, it'd be far more interesting if him being innocent results in him going on to investigate more thoroughly and contribute substantially to the trials. Arei did have potential for a full redemption arc, but her death doesn't feel narratively unfulfilled. its tragedy not only allows the audience to further sympathize with Arei and see just how nuanced she was, but it's also meaningful to the members of the cast, and will serve as a point of motivation for them, whether that be to maintain hope in escaping or giving into despair.

at least, that's how it's set up to be. i feel that if either Eden or Ace are the culprit, Arei's death loses a good deal of its weight and meaning. especially if the culprit is Eden; even if she had "well-intentioned" motivations for killing her (as well-intentioned as murder motivations can be, anyway), Arei's breakdown, desire to change, and tragically short path to redemption is rendered pointless. her want to be a good person will have affected virtually no one. her death will have only held significance to David, as most of the cast didn't care for Arei or hated her, much like Ace.

while Culprit Ace won't render Arei's death *as* meaningless as Culprit Eden, it sure would make Ace's own death feel pretty meaningless. he'd be dying in a trial where he fully believes everyone is cruel, everyone hates him, and no one cares about him at all. his shift in his belief can't really be considered much of an arc or even a regression; he just descends further into his hatred and paranoia until he dies doing exactly what the killing game expects of him. Ace, a character who has prioritized his self-preservation all throughout the series, will have thrown that away for...what? revenge against Nico? would he really place his hatred for them over his fear and will to live? Ace is impulsive and narrow-minded, but he's not without *some* sense. if Ace were to be the culprit of this chapter, what would he have contributed to the story? what would his existence have meant? what would he have provided that the story can't progress without? he'd have zero growth, zero stakes, and zero relevance to the ongoing plot, aside from unrevealed backstory (most of which will likely go unsaid in the main story if he were to die now). do i think Ace is going to play a significant role in the overarching story? no. not as much as characters like Xander and David, anyway. but he still has so much to offer as either a survivor or later victim/culprit, as we'll have spent more time with him, gotten a better understanding of him, and possibly be able to sympathize with him, like we do with Arei.

and here's another thing i've been thinking about, too: all the deceased so far have a point of significance to the story. Xander has a connection to the larger-scale mystery surrounding the killing game and a complex relationship with David. he continues to be relevant in the story even after his death and will likely always be.

Min is not only a cautionary tale to the rest of the cast, but her story follows a very cohesive path:

she's a girl committed to her academics and has been led to believe it's the only thing about her that matters ->

while not a social butterfly, she still enjoys spending time with others and making the most of the situation she's in ->

she forms a bond with Teruko, someone who has shown to value both her intelligence and her personality ->

she finds Teruko being murdered by Xander, and instead of being a bystander, she takes action to save her friend ->

she realizes that what she did has jeopardized her own life, a life that she does not center around herself. her family depends on her having a successful future, a future she has been groomed to achieve since she was little and has made several sacrifices for ->

though Teruko is her friend, Min prioritizes her self-preservation. there are too many things that are objectively more important to her than the life of a girl she's known for a couple days ->

still, she cannot shake her guilt and chooses to remain at Teruko's side throughout the investigation ->

she's desperate to maintain her lie, even if it means framing the friend she tried to save and getting everyone else killed. she fights and fights until she can no longer ->

she loses everything. her life, her future, the trust of her friends, the trust and bond she had with Teruko. Min always had good intentions. but even good-intentioned people can do terrible things.

Min's story throughout Chapter 1 alone is very digestible and easy to follow. even without knowing the greater contexts of her life, like her family's financial situation or her groomed future of being a Hope's Peak student, her motives and actions make complete sense. you don't come away from it feeling like she acted out of character or that her death was hasty or sloppily written. her death has a lot of meaning and impact on the other characters.

and that alone makes Culprit Eden or Culprit Ace unsatisfying. Culprit Eden would not only undermine Arei's death and potentially lead her into character derailment, it'd also just be Min's story regurgitated in a much less compelling manner. Teruko has already had her trust broken, and while it seems like she's slowly starting to see the value in relying on others again in the Chapter 2 trial, what good would Eden's death do for her? even if it causes Teruko to regress, what will change? wouldn't Teruko go back to being the way she was acting at the start of the chapter, undoing whatever growth was already beginning to happen? will she be unaffected by Eden's death, or at least act like it? will it somehow strengthen her desire to trust and rely on others again? (it won't.) Eden's role as the chapter 2 culprit really won't do much good for the story, regardless of what her reasons are. everything we've learned about Eden and Arei, both together and individually, will be irrelevant. the significance of Arei wanting to be Eden's friend unconditionally, something that we learn is so significant for her because of her secret, will turn out to actually be pointless because Eden will have killed the one person who expressed they'd be her friend her regardless of who she is.

Ace simply hasn't done enough in the story to establish his deeper character. with Xander, Min, and Arei, we already got glimpses into their core beliefs, their true selves, their moral standings. if those aspects of a character are only revealed after they're confirmed to be the culprit, then honestly...that's just bad writing. i don't like saying that, but i firmly believe it. not only do we hardly know anything about Ace's backstory, we just don't know a whole lot about him other than surface-level things the show outright tells us: he's fearful and paranoid, he doesn't like being a jockey, he's hotheaded and unsociable, he developed an eating disorder due to the strict requirements of his talent, he's hardly ever had any friends, he doesn't think anyone cares about him. and while a lot of inferences can be made from that information, it's still very speculative, and even a bonus episode after his execution wouldn't be able to cover enough of his backstory and personal life for it to feel justified narratively. you simply can't kill him off without letting us see another side of his character and have it better the story.

if either of them do, unfortunately, turn out to be the true culprit of the case...i will be very disappointed. i won't drop drdt or criticize drdtdev for their decisions, but i will still personally believe it to be a bad choice. nevertheless, it's not my story, and i will continue to support and enjoy the show regardless. i have a lot of faith in drdtdev's skills as a storyteller, but no story can be completely perfect. Ace or Eden being the true culprit won't destroy the show as a whole, and i'm not trying to imply that it's a fundamentally bad choice, i just think it'd be very difficult to pull off and have it feel natural, organic, and satisfying for the ongoing story. i will neither be optimistic nor pessimistic about what happens in the next coming episodes, i will simply wait and see. i just wanted to get all my thoughts out here, and hopefully i didn’t come across as aggressive or snobbish or anything. this is a free to watch series, after all, and i enjoy and appreciate all the hard work that has gone into it and made it possible.

[sweetpupii]

i don't mean to say this in a "omg I'm so her lol XDD I'm so crazyyy" way, I hate that, I mean it in a "holy shit that's accurate" way. ( it also won't make sense bc I'm having trouble remembering some things about the series )

I genuinely love how jinx is written in arcane because they made aspects of her mental illness so real.

and I'm not talking just from her deep, deep depression in season 2 act 3 ( I think ); I'm talking about how she was clearly very unstable since she was a child. hitting herself while crying and destroying the stuff she was proud of after realizing that it wasn't enough for others. the hurt of being told by the person she trust the most that she's not ready yet, the way it confirmed what mylo said about her being a jinx and messing everything up.

she, in her own innocence and want of proving herself, willingly climbed up the building she knew vander and the others were at.

then, after all that happened, one might thing she's used to hallucinations—by the way she talks to them like they're actually there, but no. you can't fully get used to it. you can see it by the way she has to stop and try her best to push it aside and not be affected by the stuff she hears and sees because it makes her unable to think on her own.

sometimes it gets so hard to understand they're not real. I mean, you know that it's in your head but why does it feel so real? why am I hearing their voice like they're sitting right next to me? why does it make me feel like this?

I also like that they make the hallucinations sound like actual hallucinations. in my case it also sounds like memories sometimes and not just the aggressive, hateful whispers most movies represent them as. it's not always a voice telling you to kill yourself !!

you can see them progressively get more and more overwhelming as her life gets worse while finding out stuff that brings back painful stuff from the past. mylo who was simply a voice now is also fully visual. hunting her down on every thought.

and don't get me started on the psychotic episodes.

season two was just WOAH.

the way you can feel the emptiness just by looking at her eyes is amazing. you can see and feel how numb she is and how she stops trying.

her life seemed to start getting better. she had vander, vi, isha and even sevika had a better relationship with her but like everything in her life it all went to shit.

doesn't matter how but she's always finding a way to give up. even at the cell she's starving herself to death, scratching on her skin and then attempting on her life like she has probably done countless times.

I wanna clarify that self harm is not only about physically damaging yourself, is also about putting yourself through triggering stuff on purpose or staying in a place you know hurts you. forcing something with someone who only makes you miserable might also count.

I felt it so deep in my heart when she tells vi that she can stop worrying now, that she shouldn't feel guilty and be happy. her expression alone shows you how she's also carrying the blame for many things, if not all that happened.

seeing suicide as the only way to stop being a burden and keep causing trouble is such a real thing to have in my mind and it made me bawl my eyes out.

at the end when she finally understands that she's the only one than can break the cycle, just like silco ( or well, her mind ) told her, you can see peace on her face that you can't see in any other moment. after all she went through she was able to know that maybe it's not that they don't want her near or she's burden, maybe she's the one who wants to cut ties and live another life away from the past and all the things that hunt her down constantly.

a new beginning that she saw impossible.

[olderthannetfic]

https://olderthannetfic.tumblr.com/post/758964492351799296/ httpsolderthannetfictumblrcompost75863697332#notes

preface, I'm not arguing about the current ongoing war situation. I only mentioned war so that people who filter out the word have their filters catch it. I'm also only commenting on XJZs behavior on the basis of using that kinda language. One bigger incident I've seen of XJZhao getting a massive wave of criticism was using "blood libel" against a Jewish follower, when they said they wouldn't buy their next book. XJZhao: "I don't want your blood money." Once again, think what you may of the current situation, or if you're on either the person's or XJZhaos side.

All that said, using a stereotype or a racist slur against someone because you feel they (as an individual) are an appropriate target is not ok. You don't get to replicate racist, discriminating, hateful and damaging words, phrases or stereotypes which attack an entire group, just because you're mad at one specific person, and then pretend it doesn't affect an entire group of people. No not even if you're POC, you don't need to be a armband wearing moron or a white hood cross burning swine to be sit at that particular kinda table.

If you're angry at a black person and use the N-word. If you're angry at a single queer person and use the F-word. You catch my drift, that's unacceptable, and would immediately get you labelled, and rightfully so, a racist, or queerphobe. Before anyone pulls that maybe they didn't know card, if someone unknowingly says something racist or queerphobic, do we just give them as pass, or do we call these people out? We still criticise people who use racist stereotypes, even if they didn't know, because this stuff should be called out regardless. Apparently that caused quite a stir, especially completely unrelated Jewish followers. Even those that are neutral/non-political or even on XJZhao's side. 👁👁

And obviously their ongoing beef with random people who criticize their online presence. XJZhao's main tool has been making tiktoks, and insta posts where they take screenshots and post the full online name and clearly invite their followers to harass them, or even tell them to blacklist and find people related to the target. Even sending their followers after someone who basically repeated exactly what XJZhao said themselves, that they missed deadlines and started fighting with their publisher. Just that they also pointed out how much leeway XJZhao was given compared to what's normal, and was still complaining. 🐧

Some of their tiktoks against the criticisms have also been just been very petulant. This one I relate to a bit lol 🤔 Such as the tiktok/yt short where they tell everyone who criticised or commented on the very blatant Darling in the Franxx story beats that "Akshually, the makers of DitF said I was all good." Yeah, that's fine, most people don't care about that though, they're commenting on how obvious the story elements were copied. It isn't always bad, many reviewers were neutral, some critical on how blatant it was. It doesn't matter if you got the green-light, it's still going to be something that might irk people because anyone who copies another story's story beats in such an identifiable way is gonna be called out at some point. That literally happened to every Hunger games, Twilight and HP clone. 🤷‍♀️

--

My dim memory is that XJZ literally said the initial plotbunny was a response to Darling in the Franxx in a youtube video long before the book came out. I think they should calm down and take some time away from toxic social media for their own good. (And yes, I do think they're acting antisemitic and getting a pass because online lefties often give people a pass for that when they wouldn't for other bigotry.) But I don't think it was any kind of secret that it's a blatant response to that series.

I haven't read the actual book. Does it come across as just a repeat? My impression was that it was supposed to be more of a critique/reaction.

[mikuni14]

Wandee Goodday - Ep 1

The long awaited first episode of Wandee Goodday is finally here, I'm sure I wasn't the only one who had been chanting "save me Wandee Goodday, Wandee Goodday save me" for the past few months lol

What I liked:

lots of humor, especially in the 4/4 part I laughed non-stop, although I must admit that a lot of the laughter was from second-hand embarrassment 🙈

Great and Inn are just beautiful (it's good that Great has loose clothes now, I was always worried about the buttons on his super tight uniform in MoD, fighting for their lives)

Thor and Fluke are also lovely, I really like the fact that their characters are already a couple and are completely in love with each other (and horny for each other 🔥) and so open about it

side characters add a lot to scenes, even if they appear for a moment, like a salesman offering technical advice on sex, or a doctor who sprays water on naughty subordinates, also nurses!

I really like Dee as a doctor, as an employee who doesn't let himself be treated like shit by clients and as a friend. He is nice, strong, confident, reliable and capable. Which is in stark contrast to how hopeless and lame he is in his love and sex life 🙈

I like how Yak and Dee felt an immediate physical attraction to each other, which is fighting against an equally immediate strong dislike lol The natural flow they have in their relationship: from physical attraction, through fights caused by negative circumstances, to the night spent together shows that this kind of relationship can be done, without humiliation bordering on bullying, as it's between Phum and Peem in We Are

I really like Yak who can just… stop when he has any suspicion that his partner is not fully in the moment, not fully sure. It was so cool, no forcing Dee to continue by putting pressure on him, making him feel "guilty", no awkwardness, complete chill. I like it when sex is treated so casually that even if nothing happens, the partners just sit and talk and there is no sense of pressure, everything is just so... normal and chill. I loved it.

Kao as a friend, a sidekick, a "token lgbt friend of the main character" 😄, who has his own life and although he is very funny, he is not a serial clown and comic relief, as is often the case. And he is asexual with credible dating problems. So interesting! Also: Drake 💖

I feel kind of vindictive happy that my most hated trope, wiping food from the mouth of the "love interest", is shown here as messing with Dee and giving him false hope for a relationship (?) The day this trope dies will be the day I win. I plan to get drunk when this happen hehe (vain hopes, of course, this disgusting trope will never die)

What I have a few, teeny-tiny reservations about:

at this point I don't really understand Ter's motivation: was he deliberately seducing Dee, or was he just too chummy with him, which he misinterpreted? Not that it matters tho...

8 years of all this? oh Dee… 🙈 (I love how Kao described this pathetic situation in just a few words)

I also don't really like making Dee a silly kid and a 🤡 when it comes to love and sex, especially since he's shown in other scenes where he's a full adult. He's a grown man with a serious profession, so it felt weird watching him as if he were a 15-year-old kid in a slapstick comedy. I get that there's a comedic element to it and it was funny and I was laughing, but the amount of cringe and second-hand embarrassment was downright overwhelming at some point. What is fine as convention in MSP or Only Boo no longer looks so good in series about adults

the comedy of the sex scene completely stripped away the hotness of these scenes, ngl

the above comments are not complaints, they are just loose observations. It was only the first episode after all 😉

Overall, the series started well, I had a great time watching it, I laughed a lot, the characters are cool and very attractive, Great has the body of a young god 🔥 I can't wait for their first kiss and a truly hot night - with fun, but no comedy. What a wasted opportunity for them not to watch MANNER OF DEATH and the uniform buttons! hanging for dear life! Like seriously, it was right there 😤

The series is very pretty, just look at those aesthetic shots in a public toilet:

Omg, this guy:

Me:

Me 🤝 Dee about coffee:

(I shouldn't pick on Dee, if someone brought me coffee just the way I like it, I'd be as stupid as him 😑)

One of my 457,869 screen shots of this man, gosh, he's so fine:

[mellohiizz]

To me, parrot is so 'free bird that doesn't want to be chained down' coded

If you think abt it, every option that he had that any form of 'safe' restrained him from living his life

-the obsidian box that Leo gave him, when he was first chased down by clown

-the jungle house that he had, refraining himself from indirectly hurting other people and also to keep himself safe

-proton prison, where he was somewhat safe (according to ken) but a place where he couldn't do anything

-maybe end civ, if you really think abt it, a place of supposed safety, millions block away from society (kinda similar to jaron's now that I think abt it and we all know how that went lol)

-and wifies, who was willing to do anything to keep parrot safe, even if it meant restraining him from doing his righteous shit, a partial chain from him being a free bird

Side note :

I love parrot's allay, iirc he said that the allay was a symbol of hope and friendship, maybe he meant it in a sense that he thinks, that no matter how much they separated, no matter how much they lost each other, they will always come back

Also side note :P :

If you think abt it, that allay is the only thing that has that he can keep for himself, wifies and dean are their own people, the emerald and the book were and always will be Luigi's, parrot has lost so much in his episodes

Wifies, his safety, the end civ, maybe partially his savior thing when he lost Luigi

Maybe the reason that he had when he tried to save his allay, was bcs he didn't have anything else, that the allay was the only meaningful thing that he could have for himself, that could maybe keep safe

Idk if this is a good take or not, I just has this I my head for a while :P

ohhhh, actually, a really good take, i completely agree with everything. parrot is a very free bird, pun intended.

he always refused to let people put him into restrictions and openly defied every possible rule that kept him from doing something he wanted to do. even if it put him in danger, he always stood his own ground, especially in the latest videos.

he doesn't let anything hold him back, seemingly even when it comes to someone like wifies, who's the closest person to him. that seems to be both his biggest strength and his fatal flaw.

because yes, it helps him get out of the situations a lot, but it also causes him to put himself and others into said situations in the first place, and it also causes him to tunnel vision on things and overlook anything else that's important. like how he tunnel visioned on avenging luigi's death, or whatever his driving point right now is, and completely ignore what was in the background. (dean and wifies conflict, dean's reasoning for what he did, wifies' concern over him)

also. the allay. GOD that stupid little thing. i've seen a few takes on what the allay might represent and honestly, i most agree with either the allay being a representation of hope—as stated earlier in the series, the only thing that they always had, that parrot always had. or it could be a representation of luigi's lingering spirit, because that also seemed to be a theme the whole episode. i, personally, like to think that it's a mix of both.

[cosmicjoke]

Why does this fandom demonize Levi for his one debatable moment of selfishness by letting Erwin die, and further using this to say he is the most selfish character? Yet these same people call Eren, the guy that murdered 80% of humanity, selfless because they think he did that all for his friends. Good god this fandom and its mischaracterization of characters.

It's ridiculous. Further, I wouldn't even characterize Levi letting Erwin die as "selfish". He literally let one of his best friend's in the world die to spare him further suffering, leaving himself with heavy grief and loss. That's the opposite of selfish. That's incredibly selfless. I've written whole posts on this, so I won't go into it here, but needless to say, people that shit on Levi for the choice he made have completely failed, imo, to understand the themes of AoT and what the story is actually about. In that one decision, Levi truly exemplified what it is about humanity that's worth fighting for, just like his compassion and kindness throughout the series really exemplifies it. Kindness and compassion toward other, living beings. Without that, it doesn't matter how supposedly altruistic an ideology is, or if you're attempting to create some form of utopia. Without human compassion, there can be no utopia anyway. That's the entire point of Levi's decision. He shows why we can't and shouldn't lose our humanity in the name of any cause. Levi wasn't selfish for letting Erwin die, he was displaying instead his extraordinary empathy toward his fellow man. Again, there can be no paradise without compassion. That's why Levi's the truest hero in AoT.

Also, yeah, Eren is literally the most selfish character in the entire series, lol. Again, it shows the absolute dearth of reading comprehension in this fandom, that there are people who think Levi was selfish and Eren was selfless, lol. Eren murdered 80% of the human population because the world didn't look like how he thought it should. It was never about his friends, and it was never about Paradis. It was because he was a complete, immature child who put his own, selfish desires over the well being of everyone else. He'd been doing that since he was a little boy. It was always in Eren's nature to be a piece of shit.

[fukutomichi]

It's RAMBLE TIIIME!!! Okay, I think I can talk about it now, probably most have seen the episodes. It's a bit longish! Here we go!

That first episode is so far my favorite, because above all else, I'm a GIGANTIC fan of visual storytelling and show-don'tell, and that first episode had me FEASTING. You can probably tell by my gifsets that I love when actors emote and act without dialog using only emotions and facial expressions to get the message out. Episode 1 gave us so much of it. And dare I say bordering a bit on horror/gore a bit, those first few minutes with Sauron in his "desk job era" had me surprised by how brutal it got quickly.

If people are wondering if they're gonna do the Celebrimbor thing, and if THAT is gonna be too brutal to show, this might confirm that they may not shy away from it at all.

I love the fact that they took the criticism that was mentioned for the first two-three episodes in Season 1, when I was actually kinda worried that the pace was going a bit TOO slow and it took three weeks, when the story moves to Númenor , for the series to fully kick in gear. This time they were like, lets get the set-up out of the way, all at once, and then release week after week. Lets see if this decision pays of in the next weeks ahead.

So lets get this out of the way. I had a hunch with Nazanin Boniadi missing from promos and interviews that they are gonna off her character right away. Turns out that there was even an announcement before that I've completely missed and I was gutted when I found out, but in the end of the day, a job is still a job, and if it affects you in anyway, it's probably best to leave it. I have had a first hand experience in this and no matter how high the pay was, my health was much more important than anything and had to quit. I'm gonna miss her and wish her the best!

Arondir and Theo's relationship gets back to square one, so I'm interested to see in what way or IF it gets mended cause man, I dunno how they can pull it off this time. BUT I do LOVE that they've paired Theo alongside Isildur which is a character he can empathize with so I wanna see where that leads. My friends immidiatelly groaned when they heard "Gawddd the ARROW really?? =___="...and then remembered about a tiny movie called The Hobbit and what happened to Kili. We had to go to Hobbit logic to explain it away and move on lol.

The new character Estrid, was IMMEDIATELY suss as HELL to me. Even after she burned her sigil on her back so she can hide it. I've been listening to her soundtrack theme, and almost like as if its made from two layers, feels almost TOO magical for her even. But this is just my hunch. Isildur is still too wide-eyed and naive so maybe she will serve some purpose in him getting a bit jaded later on.

ORC BABIES!! HELLO!! I love that we're getting deeper into the orcish origins and probably everyone's favorite topic, are they redeemable?? Can they be??? I also love that we got to have two Adars. Season 1 we had Joseph Mawle with an almost vulnerable portrayal and what seemed like a suicide mission for him. Now for Season 2 we get Sam Hazledine, with his goal complete AND him still alive, a more driven and focused character...but is he gonna survive THIS season?? 😭

We know Adar also mentions how he meets Sauron for the first time...but that doesn't stop me from AGAIN, thinking that he IS MAGLOR. Come one maaaan, the hand!!! "In the eldest of the Elder days" you don't just drop a line like that causally. DROP THAT REVEAL!!!

WE NEED MORE OF THE HARFOOTS!!! WE NEED MORE WIZARDS!!! These 3 eps were not enough for me lol. I'm just beyond excited for Tom Bombadil!! Please have Goldberry, please have Goldberry!!

Disa and Durin are still relationship goals. UGHHH!! They will have me stressed!

I ain't gonna lie. When that giant eagle landed before Pharazôn, there were a few seconds where I was buttclenching thinking he was gonna pull his sword and swing it on the bird...but then Manwë would probably descend and obliterate Númenor in seconds and the series would be over lol. Númenor will have me stresseeeed. The Petty Lord and his Queen WILL RUIN MEEEH!! 😭 😭 😭

Ben Daniels as Cirdan is an A+++ casting choice. Kinda bummed that he hasn't talked properly with Gil-Galad tho. Make different characters interact more with each other damn iiiiit!!! Let us see them establish connections!!

That being said, my favorite part so far, and are probably gonna be the central focus of this season, are the elves. Their strive for perfection, thinking themselves SO infallible, beyond prideful, are gonna be the very things that bite them in the ass...again lol.

And it's important for us to see that, cause THAT is the extent of Sauron's evil, we need to witness just how much he can mess you up and how much he enjoys playing the game, in the same time thinking himself savior and deserving of love. How much PURE good you have to be to resist him. Elrond so far has proven able to resist, given his past.

Galadriel is on the brink. If listening to "The Last Temptation" tells me something...Galadriel so far hasn't learned her lesson and thinking herself able to resist.

I believe there's a gut-punch coming up in the finale and I'm not gonna be ready for it. And yet, as much as I don't like it, WE NEED TO SEE IT! We need to see how evil can be tempting and irresistible, that even an infallible being can fail.

After all, it's all downhill from here.

[purpleheartskies]

s6 part 1 will be out in a week. I wanted to share some thoughts about what we've gotten so far. S6 SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Trailers, character promos, interviews, etc... they're all marketing. They're usually not gonna give away major or important plot/character spoilers. They can also include misdirects. Regardless, their main purpose is to build hype about the show.

Trailers are out-of-context dialogue and scenes edited together.

Although written from the characters' povs, some of the promos so far had some major mistakes. Jon said the promos aren't canon. In their podcast posted this week, Xolo and Jacob said that the Netflix marketing team wrote these promos. They made it sound like the actors all (at least the younger cast) didn't like/agree with their characters' promo scripts.

Interviews are interesting too. Sometimes they're intriguing, sometimes they're misleading, and sometimes they're just fluff. Regardless, the actors and writers won't purposely give away or talk about spoilers, until after the release. So far, I've been intrigued by some things that Hayden, Jon, Billy, and Xolo have said. Tanner has interestingly been contradicting himself, and sometimes Xolo even looks at him like he doesn't agree with him.

I think I'm most intrigued by Billy's admission in this interview (at 11:30). He has wanted Johnny to evolve and has felt every season he has left something unresolved. It's pretty obvious to those fans who pay attention to the actual canon and details that Johnny, the deadbeat abusive alcoholic father, indeed has something left unresolved: ROBBY. In another interview, Hayden said that Johnny will go through the most growth this season. Obviously, this was expected because they had to wrap up Johnny's story eventually.

Now, this doesn't change my mind about Johnny. I still want to throw him away, lol. To me, he is too far gone. They made decisions for him that I eventually wanted to see Robby walk away from. That could have been a possible storyline too, and a healthy one in situations like this. I used to root for a Johnny-Robby relationship, but I stopped after s5. It's really gotten to the point that the message is "It's okay if you give your kid trauma after trauma after trauma... you can magically grow eventually and they'll forgive you, no matter." That's a bad message to send imo. Seems like most of the stories that tackle generational trauma take this approach. Don't get why they don't show the parent making amends and healing the relationship as the journey. Why not send the message: "Don't let things get so bad in the first place. Work on yourself, and help your kids recover from the trauma that your behavior has already caused." That can also still make for good comedy and/or drama. Billy and Tanner would have elevated such a story too.

Does this mean that I think Johnny can't be redeemed? The perspectives on redemption are subjective. For me, Johnny's a lost cause character. But from a storytelling standpoint, I'm curious what is to come. Johnny already foreshadowed in s5e10 that he'll lose everything. That's usually what happens in stories. That big loss late in the story that shakes up the character's world and gets them to stop believing in their "lie" and accept their "truth". In Johnny's case, he's been running from the past, using other kids as second chances, and not making amends with Robby. In this interview (and in another), Billy commented that things fall out from under Johnny. Good! Karma's a bitch! I hope this bitch doesn't leave Johnny alone next season.

I still believe, and will always believe, that the baby plotline wasn't written to last for Johnny and Robby. Neither were Johnny's relationships with the Diazs. The story just isnt organically built out that way. Johnny and Robby seem meant to end the series as just father and son and being friends with the LaRussos, but no Diazs. (Given the baby plot is continuing, it's very possible the baby isn't Johnny's. He was impotent or turning down sex for most of the season that Carmen got pregnant. This would be an organic way to handle a lot of the setups so far. Carmen is also absolutely a flawed character, like all the other characters. Fan choose to deny it, though.) This is of course based off of the notion that the characterizations will be explored and have proper considerations as the story resolves, as would be the case in storytelling. There are too many layers coming together in a way that indicates this. Josh said in an s6 interview, "all the tie ups should be satisfying, from a storytelling perspective, whether they're happy, sad or murky."

Anyway, I'm also curious how they'll handle Robby getting back into school. Robby seems to cut his hair at one point in part 1. He has the shorter haircut in that one shot of him in school. Robby's hair seems to have a journey as part of Robby's character journey. Maybe he cuts his hair after he gets back into school, as an indication of a new beginning. Based on the Hero's Journey, s6 part 1 should be The Road Back to the ordinary world. Him being back in school can fit this stage, as his future/educational prospects are being restored. Though, I hope he gets some better resolutions for how the school fight was handled. My main wishes for Robby returning back to school are that Robby is validated for what he has experienced and that these adults who claim to "care" about him finally step up and stop failing/scapegoating him for that fight. After all, this is the last Act of the story.

I liked the Barnes clip. The focus on Robby's reactions was interesting. Hopefully, Mike can be a mentor to Robby and focus some 1:1 time on him. Oh, and a random thought I had yesterday after Sean Kanan posted the bts pic of him and Tanner. If Mike's wife really has left him, is it wrong to ship Mike Barnes and Shannon? lol One main issue is the implied drug use by Barnes in the s5 finale. But if this issue didn't exist, I like this ship. And, Mike would probably/hopefully be a good stepdad to Robby. Anyway, it's just a fun thought. Regardless, I hope Mike becomes a good mentor to Robby. I of course hope Johnny, Robby, and Shannon finally have at least one scene together and that Shannon has more scenes in general in s6. Wouldn't mind a scene of her and Mike interacting, so I can see if they have chemistry. lol

Anyway, just a waiting game till the 18th. Wonder what news and leaks come out between now and then. The s5 leaks were so bad... both because they were major spoilers and because... that plot and how things went for Robby.

At least, there will be new Robby content and more story to pick apart. I hope s6 part 1 will be better for Robby than s5. That he starts to be validated, his experiences start to be explored, and the adults stop failing him.

[ominous-feychild]

What is the big question of your wip?

Like what is the glaring plot hole you have yet to fill?

Or the storyline you don't yet know how to end?

Sum that hole up in a one sentence question.

Depends on the WIP!

Tho I'll begin with: as far as I know, none of my WIPs have plot holes! Any time I notice one, I do my absolute best to find a way to fill it and have it actually make sense!

Although... I have a lot of things that look like plot holes, but are actually signs that Something's Off™ and subtle foreshadowing toward Plot Twists... 👀

RISING FROM THE ASHES

If there's any sort of “big questions” in RFtA, they'd have to be...

“What do people do against seemingly impossible odds? How far will they go for others, even at their own detriment? What could drive them to do that?”

Tho these are more of themes than plots, lol. The “plot questions” are pretty apparent. “Who caused the disaster; how and why?” “What's with all of the disappearances?” “What's Carmin's deal?” “What's Sammy's real backstory, and why is he hiding it? Who is he really?” “Why is Caron so evasive about certain questions? What is he hiding?”

Storyline-wise, I haven't decided the ultimate fates of each of the tertiary (and below) characters. I usually plan a LOT of my stories before I officially “start” them, and I almost always decide the direction I'm going to take a character's arcs before I get too deep into it.

The MCs and secondary characters (who I personally think are very important, lol) all have their arcs pretty planned out, but those beyond that? Not so much lol.

WAVES OF MISFORTUNE

If there's any sort of “big questions” in Waves, they'd have to be...

“What happens if you keep running away from your past? How long can you run away before it catches up to you... emotionally or literally? And is it worth it?”

Tho these are more of themes than plots, haha. The “plot questions” are pretty easy to recognize. “Why's Flavie amnesiac, what's her connection to the disaster, who was she before, and what's with her incredible power?” and “What's Benji hiding? Who is he really?” are the most obvious ones lol.

Most of all of their storylines are still up in the air, it's part of why it's less of a focus than RFtA, lol. Though I have a lot of the first book's plot planned out, and it ties in with both RFtA and SaS!

Guess that's what happens when you're a bunch of sailors, and you're connected with major characters of both stories!

(Caron and Soren)

THE ARCANE RIFTS

*looks at the fact that I have the first 3 books pretty much planned out* *looks back @ the camera*

I wonder! 😳😉

But! If there's any sort of “big questions” in TPC, they'd have to be...

“What gives someone value? Is anyone allowed to answer that question? And, if someone doesn't have value, does that mean they don't deserve help or to live? What is more meaningful: someone's actions or the results? What is strength really, and which kinds matter?”

There's way too many plot questions to even begin to list them here lmao. Most everyone's backstories are slowly revealed and lowkey (if not actually major) plot twists, or explain a LOT of their motives and actions previously taken. Gene himself, the MC, is especially a mystery!

And one of my favorite characters altogether! 👀😂

I'm not sure about a lot of things past book 4 of TPC (the series tAR—the first book—is in), but uh... I'm sure I don't have to explain why I'm not really focusing on them any time soon, haha.

SUN AND SHADOW

If there's any sort of “big questions” in SaS, they'd have to be...

“Are good intentions enough to justify bad actions? Are positive results enough to justify wrongdoings? Who's worthy of forgiveness, and why? Is it wrong to take revenge against those who hurt you? How far can you go in revenge, and how many bystanders can you hurt—or how much can you hurt them—before you become the villain?”

SaS is literally a detective mystery... though RFtA is technically one, too, and tAR has a secondary plotline of one, lol. Point is: there's a LOT of questions in SaS, haha, and I don't think you want me to get started!

I'm uncertain the ultimate paths of all of the characters besides Valyarus!

Val's ultimate fate is sealed. 👀

Besides that, I have all of their paths in Book 1, Sun and Shadow itself, planned, haha.

... aaaaand a lot of how they'll unfold further in Book 2.

I might plan too much.

Hope you enjoyed this, and sorry it took so long!

Taglist: @honeybewrites @the-golden-comet @illarian-rambling @ashirisu @urnumber1star

@the-letterbox-archives @48lexr @aalinaaaaaa @thecomfywriter @an-indecisive-nerd

@seastarblue

Dividers by @saradika @lacism @pommecita

[rainbowsandwhumperflies]

The Winged Servant Masterlist

Synopsis: Onyx, a 23 year old angel, has served Her Majesty Queen Lucia for as long as he can remember. It takes an overthrow attempt gone wrong to realize that what she’s been doing to him isn’t the usual treatment for servants.

General tropes in the series: royalty whump, non-human whumpee (wings), multiple caretakers, most of the story will probably be recovery, first person perspective (from whumpee's pov) (this means it'll say "I/me/my" instead of "he/him/his")

I usually update each Sunday, but my life does occasionally get busy so I am not the most reliable about this lol. Whenever I do post, I post a poll within the next half hour or so where you can tell me which chapter you want to see next, so you can watch out for those if you want! ^^

Also I made a pie chart to that everyone knows what to expect from this series!

[image description: a pie chart that is labeled with about 15% plot, 35% whump, and 50% fucked up character dynamics /end id]

Chapters:

(x) Chapter 1: an introduction to the story and Onyx

(x) Chapter 2: Onyx delivers breakfast to the queen

(x) Chapter 3: Onyx tries to clean for the princes. The key word here is "tries"

(x) Chapter 4: Ryan interrupts Onyx when Onyx is supposed to be doing dishes

(x) Chapter 5: Onyx gets corrected on how to be the best servant he can!

(x) Chapter 6: dinner and plot set up

(x) Chapter 7: Onyx is lucky enough to leave the house for once :)

(x) Chapter 8: The twins cause problems, as per usual.

(x) Chapter 9: The twins cause even more problems!

(x) Chapter 10: What's this? A person that meets Onyx and doesn't immediately decide he's deserving of every bad thing??

(x) Chapter 11: awww medical care :)

(x) Chapter 12: An interrogation! With a lot of lore.

(x) Chapter 13: Breakfast time!!

(x) Chapter 14: Onyx is Really Normal about eating a crepe.

(x) Chapter 15: Onyx takes a nap!

Other writing:

(x) Whumptober 2024: Ember processing grief in a Very Normal way

(x) Whumptober 2024: Onyx sunburn drabbles

(x) Ryan drabble during the overthrow

(x) Onyx's 19th birthday (during his time as a servant)

(x) Whumptober 2023: Onyx has a fever (post-servantry) (theoretically a chapter but very far in the future)

(x) Servant Training: Why isn't Onyx allowed to clean for Ryan?

(x) That one time Onyx got sick during his time as a servant

Other:

(x) Official Timeline of the years leading up to chapter one

(x) Onyx official drawing and picrew!

More Onyx doodles: 1

(x) Picrews and drawings of the Raos!

(x) Onyx fanart by the lovely toyybox :)

(x) Ryan fanart by the lovely ihavetapeworms :)

Ryan asks: 1 | 2

Onyx asks: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Kieran asks: 1

asks for multiple characters: 1 | 2 | 3

anything tagged "ask game" is still something i will still happily accept asks from, no matter how old :)

Taglist: (lmk if you'd like to be added/taken off!)

@kaleidoscope-of-thoughts @toyybox @rainydaywhump @risk606 @jay--o

@fuckcapitalismasshole @cepheusgalaxy

Please let me know if you notice any broken links :)

[nikethestatue]

Because if Bryce’s marriage doesn’t matter and is ‘fake’ then why not Feyre’s?

Because a lot of people hate the Hunt/Bryce pairing cause it's toxic with no chemistry or real love (which I understand since SJM fucked up with the CC series bigtime) so they don't see her marriage as a problem and think Azriel is somehow her real mate not Hunt. Just a whole lot of delusional and being dumb lol.

I actually very very very much disagree that it's a toxic relationship. I'd go so far as to say that Quinlar have the healthiest, most realistic, most supportive relationship of all SJM's couples. My fave SJM couple is Elorcan, and I'd say from the standpoint of non-toxicity, Quinlar is next.

SJM messed up the characters, especially in HOFAS, but I don't think that people understand the relationship very well. But it's actually a very good relationship. He is not punching her in the face, he is not sending her on suicide missions, he is not taunting and yelling at her, he doesn't lie to her, he doesn't throw insults at her.

I mean, I know that Bryceriels are being dumb, but it's sad that they don't actually see that Quinlar are the one couple that certainly ought to stay together!