#coming back to a character's introduction after knowing what they're up to for the next 5 thousand pages. exquisite!!!!

[seventeengoingunder]

i am a serial rereader at heart, there is truly nothing more fun than this

[semisolidmind]

About the cartoon episode dreams.

What if when the other Smiling Critters show up in them, they kinda... act/react out of character for a second. Before getting back into character and smiling again. Some are wistful, and glad that at least one of them survived. Others are kinda salty that Catnap, of all critters, is one of the ones that survived after all he did. (Nothing more than like a brief gasp, them just pausing to stare in horror at the Catnap innocently perching on Y/N's shoulder, or a sad sigh and somber expression before snapping back into place.)

Just something ever so slightly amiss about those Red Smoke induced dreams.

exactly what i was thinking

like, the very first "episode" that y/n experiences is their introduction into the critters' world. they're found, dazed and confused in the woods, by dogday, who of course wants to help them and introduce them to his friends. they wander the woods for a bit, y/n following dogday and listening to him talk about how neat all his friends are. there's something...sad about it, but y/n has no idea why.

after walking a ways, dogday stops suddenly. he's flung an arm out in front of y/n to stop them too, almost protectively. he stares wide-eyed and completely still at a tree to their left. his ever present grin turns down at the edges, and he goes quiet. y/n follows his line of sight to a branch higher up.

a purple cat snoozes in the tree, his long tail dangling in the open air. it flicks occasionally. he seems to sense the presence of our heroes, because he slowly opens his eyes, stretching before turning towards them. his smile grows at the sight of his friend, and he tilts his head curiously at the new arrival standing next to him.

y/n feels a chill down their spine at his stare. they don't know why, but...they feel like they need to run.

then dogday says a cheery hello, seemingly broken out of his trance, and ease returns to the scene. the cat, introduced as dogday's best buddy catnap, comes down from the tree. he silently stares at y/n as dogday introduces them, a big smile on his face. y/n greets him nicely, and after a beat, the cat takes hold of y/n's hand. they get the feeling he's saying that he's ready to go. dogday laughs at his friend's silly ways, grabs y/n's other hand, and leads the group on.

the trio continues through the woods, dogday and y/n laughing and carrying on while catnap remains silent. y/n can feel him intermittently squeezing their fingers or rubbing his thumb on the back of their palm, feeling the bones underneath. they wonder if he or his friends have ever seen a human before.

after a short while, the two critters and their new friend come upon a clearing with a cluster of adorably themed houses. y/n, amused, figures the scratching post and the dog house are the homes of their two new little buddies.

in a big circle in the clearing, a group of critters similar to their two companions are happily playing.

they see a rabbit and a bird playing soccer, an elephant and a unicorn scribbling on some paper and painting at an easel, and a bear and a pig seemingly setting up a picnic. it looks nice. it's a beautiful day for all of them, and they all look so content. y/n feels a pang in their chest.

they want to cry, and they're not sure why.

dogday notices, and gently squeezes their hand. he says nothing, but the sad, shaky smile he gives them speaks volumes.

it's quickly gone when the rabbit notices him and calls his name. the other critters look up as well, a myriad of hellos raising a joyous cadence in the air. they all look so happy to see dogday. their curiosity at y/n is apparent as well, asking who they are and where they come from. the critters all have questions about them, and y/n does their best to answer them.

then catnap steps out from behind y/n's back.

the group of critters all go silent.

they all stare at him; some horrified, some angry. not even a breath is taken in at the sight of the drowsy feline. if catnap is put off by his friend's reactions to him, he makes no indication. though his grip on y/n's hand tightens.

but then the critters snap back to attention. it's almost like they've all decided unanimously to ignore catnap altogether. he doesn't react, his gaze trained on y/n just like the others. his grin hasn't moved.

the critters introduce themselves. bubba, crafty, hoppy, kickin, picky, and bobby. y/n feels like they know them all already. after dogday informs them all that y/n is trying to find a way home, the critters agree that they'll do what they can to help.

the episode ends in static.

y/n wakes up.

———

–more thoughts; dogday, catnap, and y/n are the ones who feel the strangeness of the dreams the most. the other critters have their moments, but not as often. otherwise most of the dialogue is pretty standard for a kids cartoon.

– another sad thought is that in each dream, the other smiling critters start to dissapear, one by one, confusing dogday and y/n (catnap seems...unresponsive. he also tends to dissapear when the others do, but comes back). they try and try to find them, but they're nowhere to be found. eventually, dogday and catnap are the only ones left. dogday has been getting angrier and angrier at catnap, and he's not sure why. the cat remains as pleasantly lackadaisical as always, though at times his grin seems to freeze and pupils seem to shrink.

–each critter gets an episode where they try to help y/n and y/n helps them in some way. each one would have y/n giving advice on how to solve a problem, using the cutout dialogue from the game as inspiration for the problems the critters face. helping bubba remember something he forgot, helping kickin overcome a fear, helping crafty finish a painting she struggles with, find bobby when she gets lost, helping hoppy reach a goal, helping picky try something new.

after a critter has their own episode, they dissapear.

[artsymeeshee]

Hello! I just found your laundry list of art last week, and I have to say…I LOVE IT! Love the instinct comics, Ford being cool never ceases to make me giggle, and I loved the autumn drawing. I’ll admit, that one had me in tears…made be believe in the what-if’s of my own family. What they…could be like someday. Or what I wish they were. Thanks for the tears, they were much needed.

 Anyway! This is what I came to message you about! Although,…I am extremely sorry for the late message. I tend to check back into tumblr at…weird hours of the night. Heck, it’s almost the next day as I type this. I seriously need to sleep more. So! I had a few thoughts on Stan and Ford relationship, and I wanted to hear your thoughts on it. Just a disclaimer, I’m kinda basing this off my actual life as I find these characters mirror personal events very closely! I am also a writer and soon to be author! Might post some archive of our own content about these two soon. Also, and this is the most important, I have NOT read book of Bill yet. So plz…no spoilers. Anyway, long introduction aside, let’s begin!

In my personal head cannon of these two, which I don’t imagine is “too” different than how anyone else could see them, Stan and Ford have an extremely awkward and emotional conversation after Weirdmagedon. Why? B/c they’re both, to some degree, emotionally numb. In my opinion, why wouldn’t they? They haven’t spoken to each other in 40 years, properly, and they have repressed a ton of their emotions since then. It’s hard to bring that back up. (Speaking off of experience) I’d say even harder for Ford. Stan, thanks to the twins, has learned to loosen the locks on his heart while Ford kept running away from those emotions to defeat Bill. Just like his ambitions, that was the main priority, and everything else later. To me, this would explain why Ford never bothered to talk to Stan properly since coming back during the show. He wouldn’t know how to. If they were to talk, and this is where the writer in me comes out, I’d write Ford as the one that needs it most. He’s been traveling dimension for decades, running from the past that held him back…but he has no anchor now. Stan becomes that anchor, paralleling what he wasn’t when Ford was lost. And Ford…he just breaks. Like, completely breaks. And Stan is there with him, breaking like he is, but still there for him brother. Finally back after all those years apart. And as someone who has been on the side of neglect from one’s own brother…nothing would be me happier if we went to connect. Just like Stanley and Ford. And eventually, soon to be sailing on the seas to connect even more.

Phew…that was a lot. Sorry for the rambling. Told you I had some ideas! So, what do you think? Do you see Ford acting like this? If not…why? Genuinely, I’d like to know. Anyway, thanks for taking your time to read this. Again, sorry for the ramblings. Oh! One more thing, I know you aren’t taking art request right now, but would you be open to take them in the future? Say in 2 months time? Anyway, bye!

Well first off, thank you! I appreciate it! :D

And to answer your headcanon, I agree on it. Stan is definitely more open to talking, especially thanks to the kids. I mean there's still moments where it's hard and awkward for sure. And Ford would for sure have a harder time opening up, especially with the constant guilt and mistakes that replay over and over. And there's always that lingering feeling of "well, Stan has to hate me for what I've done" and it's always so surprising when Stan tells him differently and he never once hated Ford. Sure, was angry but never hated him. He had too much self-hatred to feel that way with Ford. And as many times as it needs to be said or repeated, it really makes all the difference when they tell each other how much they love and care for each other. As Alex said, "they're both so damaged, they desperately need each other."

As for the requests thing, most likely not. Only because I'm entering the busiest time of year for my work so it's gonna be a miracle if I even have enough energy or motivation for drawing if I'm not completely burnt out.

[anxresi]

Check out Chloe's 'new design'...

... According to a post on X by Thomas 'born liar' Asruc.

His idea of a joke, I guess... are all French people this funny?

Personally, I think it looks more like Zoe...

The same way Soquerline was the spitting image of Marinette.

Do these character designers have ANY imagination? AT ALL?

Seriously. I want to know. This is not a rhetorical question.

And allegedly, she has prosphetic legs! So of course, she's a track star. Normally, I'd applaud the oft-neglected representation...

But this is Miraculous Ladybug we're talking about here.

I guarantee it'll be badly-written, self-congratulatory pandering to those undemanding types for whom just SEEING a character with them is enough.

I have a simple statement to throw to these tragically easily-impressed individuals...

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, GET SOME STANDARDS!!

Remember when they made Zoe and Miss Bustier gay out of nowhere? (for no reason than to make these unpopular character likeable to certain communities) .

Remember when they made an entire episode about 'racism'? (where no-one faced any consequences at the end, and no-one could even say the word).

Remember when they finished the last season with an unbelievably clunky message about recycling? (like they recycle the worst parts from other formulaic superhero shows, I guess).

It's all about the optics, nothing else... and you don't have to be a born cynic to see it that way.

They could care less about the underlying issues, they just want to tick as many 'fashionable cause' boxes as they can in lieu of making a good show.

Don't believe me? Here's a few predictions for you.

Feel free to come back after it's aired to tell me how correct I was.

*After this girl's introduction, we will NEVER see her again.

*Her ENTIRE persona will be based around her 'disability', and her personality and popularity will put Zoe's to shame to 'compensate' for it.

*She'll get akumatised, and it'll stem from a lack of confidence due to you-know-what. Afterwards, she'll learn to accept herself more, and...

Look, does anyone else feel somewhat insulted, looking at the patronising tripe the writers look like they're going to be serving us up with in the future?

S5 was bad enough, but the next one looks like they're REALLY doubling down on giving us superficial 'life lessons' instead of a half decent story.

Believe it or not (and you wouldn't by watching this shallow load of condescending trash) there IS a way to squeeze a satisfying plot and well-drawn characters around a healthy message that DOESN'T bash you over the head with it's self-worthiness repeatedly in every painful scene.

In case you hadn't noticed, Miraculous Ladybug isn't that show (CHLOE BAD, anyone?).

And, if you think I'm a heartless bigot for pointing out the highly obvious agenda of the shameless charlatans behind Miraculous Ladybug, then you're an idiot.

And you really need to reread my post again, more carefully this time.

Here, I'll even start you off from the right spot. 'Check Out Chloe's New...'

[hyog-blog]

Fangs of Fortune (ep. 06 - ep. 07)

Uh, not Li Lun, out of all people, making everyone finally question why Zhu Yan actually killed Yichen's brother and all those people years ago. We know he lost control over his malicious energy, but why didn't anyone ask him why it happened? Come on, people, you seem to be so smart))

Well, Wen Xiao seems to be accepting enough to not care about what our gorgeous Demon Lord has done in the past, which is quite refreshing. Ambiguous, morally grey characters need more unconditional love (especially when they're, uh, 34,000 years old? XD). But he doesn't even seem to be so 'grey' at this point - he's doing too many good things right now.

The whole thing with being a 'vessel for malicious energy' is quite intriguing. Was he born like that? Can he actually stop 'the cycle of rebirth'? Why did he 'lose control' after so many years of cultivation? I'm also trying to figure out the timeline - the killings must have happened after he dropped Wen Xiao off at what seemed to be the gates to the demon-hunting bureau. But she wasn't staying there when that stuff happened? Did his demonic self come back there just to wreak havoc or for some other reason? Was Li Lun involved? Mmmm, the plot is deliciously mysterious, I will have to wait to get those answers.

Also, I can't even be angry with Li Lun at this point, although he's playing the bad guy now - the poor baby was so visibly hurt when Zhu Yan called him a scumbag. And that painful look he had when our Demon Lord thought something along the lines 'screw you, I know how to wake this boy up from his nightmare' and pierced himself with Yichen's sword (which, uh, seems to be quite a recurring motif and the symbolism of it isn't escaping me, nope XD). In the world of jianghu, the next best thing you can do to show you CARE apart from cutting sleeves is to stab (or get stabbed by) the person you care about. Or get stabbed FOR the person you care about.

I also love how effortlessly Yichen is third-wheeling without creating a feeling that he's actually third-wheeling XD Wen Xiao is obviously biased towards Zhu Yan, now even more so that she knows he IS that Great Demon who accompanied her and the Bai Ze Goddess all those years ago. I would totally trust him, too, if I were her. I also love the messed-up dynamic of a former caretaker/child who's grown up because now Zhu Yan definitely doesn't give us those parental vibes, he's oozing sensuality wherever he goes (and him pretending to be all hurt so she stays with him, ahah, that whole sequence was cute and hilarious). And Zhu Yan saying something along the lines that they now get to 'meet all over again' - was it to build a new relationship with her from scratch? M-hmm, yummy, utterly delicious :D

And you can see how Yichen kinda sorta admits defeat in the way Wen Xiao no longer needs his protection against the 'big bad demon' (the man is using his big bad demonic energy to push her swing, for Christ's sake XD), but still can't let the other man go so easily because of REASONS and that 'you'll have to pay for your sins either way' thing still going on between them. Zhu Yan does know what buttons to push when it comes to Yichen, but the feeling seems to be quite mutual (they're cute together and their interactions are so yummy 😍). That scene at the temple is EVERYTHING. And then at Zhu Yan's mansion with the swing. Is he swinging both ways? Ahah XD For a 34,000-year-old being I don't see how that could be an issue)))

Okay, cutting and piercing still seem to be the show's love language and I APPROVE (never had a kink like that, but there's a first thing for everything, I guess XD). The undertones just make it all so yum))

The introduction of the new character, Yinglei, was hilarious))) We also find out that the Wilderness is crumbling down, which makes the whole Bai Ze token thing even more important.

/and I've finally reached the picture limit in one tumblr post, ahah XD/

[peapodbond]

that was us

abby tears her rotator cuff and doesn't get her range of motion back after the surgery and rehab. she quits swimming.

one of her friends is going through med school and they go out together sometimes, and there's a rotating group of first responders who come out with the residents because they've gotten to know each other at the hospital.

she's not really in a partying mood, and sometimes she can drift to the back of the group and talk with the tall firefighter who looks as awkward as she feels. they spend an entire evening dissecting love actually and debating if die hard can be seen as the sequel where alan rickman's character finally gets what he deserves.

she tries training other swimmers. but some of them are the people she competed with, the rest are babies, and other than "you really shouldn't exceed the coach's orders on practice time" and "maybe don't go to a roller rink when you're not great on rollerskates", she doesn't have much to teach them. they've already got their forms down, and while she can hold their arms in the proper positions, she can't show it to them in the pool without aching for the rest of practice. the doctors warn her that if she keeps trying she might end up with more damage.

she gets a receptionist position. it's fine. it's boring. she learns how to balance a company's books and how to direct visitors to the correct office.

she and the firefighter (tommy) spend two months at the bar debating the 1995 bbc pride and prejudice.

she quits her job. abby says she wants to do something that means something. a friend of her friend looks at abby and suggests she tries dispatch. what the hell. it's three months of training. it's not like she's getting roped into eight years of med school.

the first time she's able to help someone at dispatch it feels like winning a race.

she asks tommy if he wants to grab a coffee.

it's really easy to talk to tommy. they recommend books to each other, go to the movies a lot. they date casually. abby's not sure she wants something serious right now. they spend weeks hitting up every small hole in the wall they can find.

abby offers to bring tommy lunch at the fire house. his face does something complicated and he admits that his captain isn't a great guy. tommy would rather keep abby away from him.

she tells him if it gets worse he should try and switch houses.

tommy finishes his probationary year and takes abby out to the fanciest restaurant she's ever been to. they both hate it and end up grabbing a burger on the way home.

they're not living together but they are spending almost every night together. abby gets a lead on a gorgeous apartment fifteen minutes away from dispatch. tommy and his friend sal help her move all her furniture in. tommy's lease was renewed before she found out about the apartment, but he's over so much it barely matters.

the family introduction goes well. he charms her mother and her brother thinks he's pretty great, choices in sports teams aside. three months after she moves into her new place, tommy makes her dinner and proposes.

(it's so much better than the fancy restaurant.)

she catches him looking at houses. it's just a thought he has, finding a place that needs to be fixed up. maybe he keeps it, maybe he sells it later, but there are so many places around town that just need a little love to be good again.

the housing market crashes in the recession and tommy finds a small two-storey place that's closer to the harbor station, which is when abby finds out that tommy wants to fly again, he's just waiting for a spot to open.

she thinks that's much safer than running into burning buildings, but she doesn't say that out loud.

he signs for the house the next day, and abby starts looking at paint chips. she's not much for do it yourself, but she knows how to paint a mean wall. it's an older house and she does research about what colours were common when they were built, knows that tommy wants to preserve the original house as much as possible.

she's priming the newly drywalled living room when there's a loud curse from down the hall and the sledgehammer tommy is using to tear down the kitchen crashes into the wall.

his captain tanked tommy's transfer to harbor.

tommy's miserable. she doesn't know what to say to make it better, because there is no way to make that better.

abby knows what's coming when he sits her down a few weeks later. (if he hadn't, she was going to.) she leaves the ring on the kitchen island. it's the only thing that survived the sledgehammer. part of her wants to ask for updates on the house. the rest of her knows a clean break is better.

"i really hope you get what you need."

and that's that.

part two

[serenedash]

Let's talk khux gameplay and plot,

imo I think part of khux's story telling and the impact of the story gets lost now that the game is defunct. I always thought people didn't appreciate how the gameplay and the mechanics actually had an impact on the story and while that impact become virtually nonexistent later on, I always thought it made the story far more engaging when the game was just chi/unchained chi and also the English translation didn't do it too well ngl

Anyway what I'm specifically talking about is the medal system. Also I feel like the whole bangle thing wasn't explained well in game but really it just comes down to leveling up medals specifically. If you never played khux, you equip medals to your keyblades and they doa specific attack and to level them up you combine multiple of the same medal and you could see how leveled up a medal is by the amount of yellow dots next to it and, in JP at least, this was called "guilt" and like wow that name fucking slaps. And when nightmare chirithy reveals the player has been collecting darkness this whole time thru the medal system, you have literal guilt on your conscious. You are guilty of collecting darkness and negative emotions like guilt to use for your own power. And in Back Cover when the foretellers are made aware of this, there's no stopping it and ofc the player can't stop either, they HAVE to get stronger, you literally have to keep playing the game,

Another part of the game that I appreciated is the way the name changes factored into the game; chi was the original "world line" that the dandelions existed in and at first unchained chi had come off as just a remake but really what we're playing is the continuation, where the player and the dandelions are now in this unchained state/new world line and they're reliving their time as wielders but now without the war/"dark" memories and finally when they relive everything and get back to the "present," they continue on after into "union cross" which I feel like. wasn't explained well in game that much tbh but if you didn't understand what that meant in game, it was just to say that unions didn't matter anymore and they were all dandelions so the unions. when the unions are crossed.

and tbh the experience of playing this game in real time also added to the experience a lot and the impact of the story especially with a player insert character. I think the most effective use of this game being played in real time was Strelitzia. Now in the english version, everything with Strelitzia was all one update and the english ver was behind so honestly they had to do catch up they couldn't really afford to lag behind. But in JP, which most khux fans kept up with using fan translations, Strelitzia's introduction and her death happened about a month apart so it gave the players time to actualyl grow attached to her and THEN we get crushed. You can easily pin point the exact time certain khux fan art was drawn bc in a group drawing of the dandelions Strelitzia is there instead of Lauriam since he was only introduced after her death

and another thing! It only became apparent by the end of the game but khux actually takes place over the course of about 4 years. which is fucking insane. because the dandelions were stuck in the data for 4 years and didn't know it until the glitches started. and the game ran for roughly the same amount of time and we weren't even aware of that either until the glitches! ("why 4 years" there are cutscenes that literally say "4 years ago" so yeah girl what the fuck haha)

Anyway yeah this was just me rambling I think about this so much all the time can you tell. I hope missing link does something like this too tbh it makes it more fun and makes it feel that your actions as the player actually have impact on the story

[lulublack90]

Prompt 10 - Introduction

@jegulus-microfic August 10, Word count 937

Previous part First Wolfstar part

Potter Manor was not what he expected. It looked more like an overgrown cottage except it was four storeys high. The iron gate at the front twisted and flowed into flower heads and the gardens beyond were full of colour. 

The gates opened fluidly when they approached and a sweet-looking little house elf appeared at the front door to let them in. 

“This is Flitsy, she’s been in the family for years,” James introduced her. “Flitsy, do you know who this is?” James pointed at Regulus. She squinted at him and moved closer, peering up at him from her low height. 

“He be looking like Master Sirius but more pointy,” She said seriously. Regulus was shocked at the way she spoke. His family’s house elves would never have described a guest as pointy. “Too skinny as well. But he be having pretty eyes, Master James. If Flitsy had to be guessing, Flitsy would say the new master is master Regulus Black, Sir,” She finished stepping back to her position beside James. 

“Excellent guessing, Flitsy. Now,” James bent down so he was level with the elf. “I need you to promise me that you won’t tell a soul that you’ve seen him, especially here and especially with me. Regulus is in hiding, and we'll put him in danger if anyone knows he's alive. Do you understand?” The elf rolled her eyes. Regulus had never seen an elf do that before. 

“Yes, Master James, Flitsy is not being an idiot. Flitsy be knowing what a secret is and how to be keeping one,” Flitsy walked back into the house shaking her head at them. She called over her shoulder just before she disappeared. “Flitsy will be putting some tea on for the masters,” 

James stood back up and smiled fondly in the direction Flitsy had gone. 

“She’s er, quite the character,” Regulus said, still a bit stunned at the elf’s behaviour. 

“She’s amazing, isn’t she,” James chuckled. “Right, anyway, library.” He strode into the manor and out of sight. Regulus quickly hurried in after him, straightening his clothes as best he could, expecting an introduction to James’s parents at some point while they were there and not wanting to look any more like his scruffy brother. 

The manor was easy enough to transverse, and soon he’d caught up with James, who was throwing open a double set of oak doors. The library itself wasn’t far off the size of the one in Grimmauld Place, but the stark difference between the two setups was like night and day. Like literal night and day. Where the Blacks library was dark and shadowy, the Potters was light and airy. Huge windows lit the room and soft light wood floors made it feel even more open. He began to walk up and down the shelves of books, tracing a few spines and plucking a couple from their spots to search through. 

“When are your parents getting home? Should I hide myself? I don’t want them to be in danger if someone thinks they know where I am,” Regulus asked as he scanned the next row of books. 

“Oh, they're in no danger,” James said absentmindedly as he looked at the book Regulus had just levitated onto the nearest desk, but Regulus detected an odd note in James’s voice. “Mainly because they died of Dragon Pox just under six months ago, not long before Sirius and Remus were captured.” Regulus dropped the book he was holding and spun to face James. The little he knew of James Potter was that, apart from Quidditch and his friends, his parents were the most important things to him in his life. He looked closer at James and saw the tension around his eyes that he hadn’t spotted before, the tiredness in the way he held his body and just how vulnerable he looked. “This house is too quiet without them,” He said sadly. “Flitsy has been telling me off for not coming home, but I just can’t,” James’s voice was thick, he turned away from Regulus to look out of the window. 

Regulus warred with himself. One side wanted to ignore the man and do what he came here to do and the other wanted to go over to him and wrap him in his arms and tell him he’d be alright. In the end, when James tilted his head up to try and force the tears back into his eyes, Regulus chose to do the latter. Before he could think any harder than he already had done, he was standing in front of James Potter and was wrapping his arms around him, holding him close, showing just a hint of his softer side. James latched on and hugged him tighter, letting his head drop onto Regulus’s shoulder and breathing deeply. 

Regulus let him have a few minutes of comfort before he awkwardly patted him on the back and said. 

“We need to start our research. I’m sorry, but it can not wait,” James heaved a great sigh and gave him one last squeeze before letting him go.

“Where do you need me?” He asked, whipping the back of his hand across his face to rid it of the tears that had trailed down to his chin.

“Start looking through the books I’ve put on the desk, see if you can find any mention of Horcruxes or eternal life,” James went and sat behind the desk, pulling a heavy book towards him and flipping it open as Regulus continued to browse the shelves. There just had to be answers here. They needed there to be answers here. 

Next part

[smallandalmosthonest]

i think part of why last night’s ep felt so weird is because it, to me at least, felt like it came way too late in the season.

excluding the breakup storyline*, and the pregnancy reveal**, these just felt like earlier beats:

athena, flash rob, and the probie(s) had this happened in like, the fourth episode, it would make a lot of sense that athena was injured (as she was JUST in a plane crash), and the seeds of 'flash rob' as a villain could have been planted early, giving athena an adversary. she could have spent half the season showing up in the aftermath of these mass robberies, frustrated that she's being outpaced by some twitch streaming jackass kid! this could have been compounded by the introduction of sparky, who athena's gut says not to trust but who, on paper, is a good kid. imagine if we had weeks of time to see athena "lose" to flash rob while building some degree of trust/warring with her instincts about sparky. think of how satisfying the sting would have been if we'd been waiting for athena to finally be one step ahead of flashy robert! think of how much more impactful sparky shooting an innocent woman in front of her child would be if we'd spent weeks with that character, and had seen athena trying to trust him! this also makes athena's decision to take on more probies a lot weightier: if athena was essentially training/mentoring this kid for months, how does she feel that he nearly killed someone because he lost his temper? then after the hiatus we could explore tonal shifts with athena having a string of new probies, or whatever. but do you see what i mean about the introduction of these things coming the ep before the 8a finale being... a bit late?

brad and gerrard show of hands, does anyone still give a fuck about these two? having gerrard take the hotshots job tied things up in a neat little bow and allowed us to solidly move on from these characters. this felt like a bizarre time to bring them back. we just found out maddie and chimney are accidentally pregnant again! bucktommy just broke up! eddie just shaved his moustache! hen's son nearly died and she only recently got her daughter back! why are we talking about these unlikable old white guys?! anyway. i think they should not have been revisited at all, except maybe to come back lola and norman style, way down the line, so the audience looks back like "oh yeah, those two... i'd almost forgotten about them!" BUT we live in an unjust world. so in that case, i think the issue with brad and gerrard is that they're too tonally different from the rest of the show. gerrard made sense in the begins episodes, when he was a pigheaded bigot representative of the old boys club institution and a foil to the new 118 that we know and love, and brad made sense in the three-part opening because he was a silly one-off character meant to add levity -- except we had levity because gerrard was written and played as a cartoon evil boss instead of a realistically awful person. so now 911 has two old white dudes who are at best good for a chuckle and at worst actively evil. and now gerrard is crying bc he loves his tv land job so much and brad is using start power and money to talk the brass into sanctioning his stalking of bobby nash. and we haven't seen these characters in ages and frankly, we don't care about them. my opinion is that we either need Way Less (end it with that shot of gerrard sipping his latte with his feet up or w/e) or, tragically, Way More. having them be a consistent problem that plagues the 118 would at least allow time for these characters to settle into a tone that sits well within the rest of the show.

it'll be interesting to see how this all pans out, pacing-wise, when we can look at this season in its totality next summer, and when rewatching in one fell swoop without a week between each episode. but at this moment, i don't think i'm alone in thinking that episode was just... skippable? isolated from the events that immediately preceded it? imo 8x07 added indelibly to the current state of s8 episodes feeling siloed within themselves with quick storylines that are introduced and then wrapped up within forty-some minutes.

*this had to happen a) after bucktommy had been together for a respectable amount of time onscreen and b) immediately after the breakup to prevent buck from looking like a crazy person, so i think this was perfectly place in the timeline

**had no material impact on the story thus far, we didn’t even see buck or chim struggling to keep it a secret. we didn’t even see chimney around the firefam, is that his strategy so he doesn’t spill the beans?? to just hide in the bunk room or something??? rip chimney han you would have loved playing keep away with buck’s phone and watching tmz videos of Bobby threatening to beat up a guy

[call-me-copycat]

Escaping The Night (Part 8)

➤ Welcome - Introduction and Request Rules (Requests are open + Some info about me)

▶ Characters: Shinso x Fem! Reader + Father/Mentor Aizawa (platonic)

▶ Genre: Angst to Fluff + Slowburn

▶ Summary: Aizawa takes you to register your quirk, and after you get to meet Eri. Following that, Aizawa tells you that school is starting for you tomorrow.

▶ Word Count: 5047

▶ Warnings:

- A little bit of derealization during the meeting with Eri

- Little bit of PTSD experienced by the reader

➜ [Part 1]

➜ [Part 2]

➜ [Part 3]

➜ [Part 4]

➜ [Part 5]

➜ [Part 6]

➜ [Part 7]

{This is Part 8}

➜ [Part 9] Coming Soon!

And soon enough, he was sure you'd be living a happy and fulfilling life. He just had to keep going, for the greater good.

The drive was quiet after that, the only sounds being the quiet sounds of the radio and the rushing of warm air that was let into the car. You sat as you usually did, knees facing away from Eraserhead and your attention directed to the world outside the window. Although the calm atmosphere gave off an outer mask of safety, you loathed how in tune your behavior was beginning to become in response to Eraserhead's actions.

The drive was unusually long, and as time wore on you began to become more antsy due to the lack of knowledge of what was next. Eventually larger city buildings began to fill your window, and it soon made sense to you that city hall would naturally be located out in the city rather than the little suburbs or town.

The car came to a halt in a small parking lot, and as you stepped out you were immediately greeted with the chilled air blowing in your face. Shivering a bit, you studied your surroundings, unfamiliar since this was Honei.

*I downloaded this game and the city is stunning (　･`ω･´)✨ I'm going to use it lots more to map out places better since I struggle to see what authors describe in writing. The building in the story is the yellow one right there.*

On the other side of the building you parked by was a large mall, a staircase leading up to an outer balcony and paths built over the road to help citizens safely walk throughout the city. It was a busy day, with people being seen pretty much as far as the eye could see. Looking up at the building just led to nothing new being found out, the slight yellow color not doing much to make up for its overall mundaneness.

Aizawa made his way over to your side of the car, signaling to you with a simple wave of the hand to follow. You complied, no matter how much spite was filling your heart, your mind always knew better.

You turned a corner from where you two came from and followed the short path to the entrance of the building, although looking at the end of the little area you saw what you believed was a police officer and some caution tape. Sensing your curiosity, Aizawa filled you in on what you were missing.

"They're just cleaning up some rubble from an old villain attack. Nothing out to the ordinary"

You don't know what compelled you to rebut back.

"And how much of that damage was caused by the hero?"

The lack of response didn't grant you the slightest amount of satisfaction, but it was already said. For a moment, whether you wanted to acknowledge it or not, regret peeked it's eyes over at you. Dark and beady.

"Who knows. Let's get this done with."

He didn't give much of a response before opening the door and silently commanding you in while also cutting off any more spiteful responses.

And that's how you found yourself sitting in a small windowless room like many others around you, an empty paper*¹ in front of you waiting for you to fill in its blanks. Eraserhead sat in a cushioned chair off to another corner of the room, his arms crossed as he waited for you to finish. It was something perceived as so seemingly simple; after all, who knows their quirk better than the owner itself?

You did the best you could, filling in the basics first. However, as you skimmed the whole document, your fingers began to twitch. It was rather... Lengthy. Questions after questions filled your vision, most of which you realized you didn't know how to fill in (addresses, dates, serial numbers, etc). And since this was a formal document, you couldn't just try your best. No... You'd need to get help.

Looking over at Eraserhead through the corner of your eye, you clenched the pen in your hand tighter. Heaving a breath, you decided to do what you could. You'd run into the problem later.

The basics were filled out. Your name, quirk, and updates on your quirk answered the best you could. However, the pen froze just as the fingers holding it did. It was daunting, seeing how much more information was needed compared to the last time you filled it out. Physically being able to look at the blanks brought about a new awareness, it finally clicking in your mind just how little you knew about your situation.

The scraping of a chair across the carpet drew you out of your thoughts, and looking to your side you realized that Eraserhead had brought himself to sit right next to you. You both silently shared a look, the silence filled with tension coming from your side. It quickly faded to understanding as you let him take a look at the paper, then going to jot down everything he explained right after.

At long last, once you finished filling out what you could, the bright rays of the afternoon sunshine greeted your eyes, helping to warm up your frosty body after being inside the cold building for so long. Stepping out, you stood in place for a second, taking in your surroundings once more.

You noticed an increase in people since it was midday, although this group mainly consisted of a younger age group compared to the older people that visited in the morning. There must've been a building cooking something nearby, because the savory smell of either pork or chicken was wafting throughout the air.

It was nice in a way, seeing a new area you hadn't before. All the new sights and people were a bit overwhelming, but it held such an acute feeling of comfort, one that you couldn't pinpoint. As you saw Eraserhead in the corner of your eye, your remembered what he had promised you earlier and began to walk back to where his parked car was sitting.

A sudden hand to your shoulder caused you to freeze.

"Looks like I completely forgot about food. Let's get something in your stomach, okay?" Aizawa looked up and around, and you realized he most likely was not familiar with this area any more than you were.

"There's a few restaurants around here, you can pick any you'd like to - my treat." Upon receiving a blank look, he knew he'd have to learn to be more stubborn with you in retaliation, even if his heart wasn't in it. "I'm not one to offer this very often, either you pick something or I will."

"I'd rather not eat here"

Your response was forced. Everywhere, all around you, were people. You had never eaten at a restaurant before, but you had seen too many damaged and taken over by villains to feel comfortable casually going to one to eat.

"So we'll just go home to eat then, that's what you're saying?"

Home.

You didn't like that at all. Him saying it as if you lived there (which you technically did). As if it was permanent. As if you had always been there. As if you will always be there.

Aizawa was about ready to pull out his hair. He tried being nice and giving offers, yet nothing could make you budge. It was odd for him, forcing himself to be so kind for so long. But he knew he had to keep going. It was all for your sake, after all.

No response was expected, and so he simply took the initiative to head back to his place. He wasn't exactly one that liked to stay home when he could've been productive, but he decided that he couldn't complain. You were still new, and you still had a shell to break out of. If you ever would in the end.

The drive was long, the rest of the day even longer. Once home, you ou simply sat looking out the windows in silence, ignoring every offer of books or drawing paper given to you by an antsy Aizawa.

Truth be told, you felt like you could burst away at any second. Without having anybody to fight or protect, you constantly felt as if you had to be on guard. There was nowhere for your energy to go, and you couldn't bear to sit around and not do anything.

Looking at the darkening sky, you made a silent promise to yourself that things would get better. That you'd be okay in the end... That everything you went through wouldn't go to waste.

-

The next morning, you caught Aizawa off guard by being up before he was, pacing around the living room as silent as a cat. At 4 in the morning.

"You're up early."

You stopped pacing with a swift halt, and Aizawa could see the tension from where you stood with your back to him. He could tell you were starting to feel the withdrawal. The feelings of loneliness and confusion that normally accompanied having something dear taken away.

"Where are we heading now?"

Your voice was quiet, but still enough to catch him off guard.

Looking around the dark room, Aizawa make a split second decision.

"You're starting school tomorrow."

A beat of silence passed through the room, moving slowly as if it was going through molasses. You didn't say a word, yet you looked up from the floor to the roof, your back still to Aizawa. There was little that surprised you at this point, and you had long ago accepted the fact that these were the consequences that came from your actions. It still hurt.

"For now..."

You could hear him grabbing his keys, indicating another event or activity.

"We're going to see someone special. Someone I'd like you to meet."

-

The cold air once again nipped at you once you exited the warm apartment, but you hardly flinched. It was something you were used to. Something you had to get used to. It certainly didn't go unnoticed by Aizawa, ever so observant.

The drive was shorter, and this time it led to a quaint two story house, an older one that was quite large in size. The paint was peeling, but it was overall in rather good condition, the colors providing a very rustic atmosphere.

You followed Aizawa up the pathway, watching as he rang the buzzer to the gate and spoke into some connected speaker, before following him through the gate once it opened.

The door almost immediately swung open to reveal an aging lady, her hair tired up in a bun and wrinkles decorating her face, with a much younger lady in the background who had her hair up in a ponytail, and was wearing an apron and boots.

"Shota, you were just here! It feels like you never left," the older lady spoke, ushering him in, to which you followed.

The house smelled clean, and it had a very homey feeling, one of comfort and familiarity. It smelled of honey and lemon, along with some kind of pastry that must've been baking. It reminded you of a grandmother's house. The surfaces were polished, and lining the bookshelves were numerous pictures of many different children, all at various ages. Each were smiling and doing something different in every photo.

The lady in the background hummed while mopping what you supposed was the kitchen floor, before looking over directly at you.

"Oh? You're new, aren't you?"

Aizawa looked up, nodding before gesturing to you.

"She's new, yes. I decided it would be in both of our best interests if I brought her with me today."

Listening closely, you could hear the squeals of children laughing upstairs and outside. Was this place some kind of daycare, you guessed? It felt like some sort of extra reality, it was starkly quiet on the inside of the house, yet you could almost feel the comfort of the many little lives that would've normally been bustling around. It brought back old memories you wanted held down, the familiarity swallowing you and your mind in it's tar-like stickiness. It was suffocating. You couldn't breath. You wanted to leave. To get out.

Looking all around, you trembled, feeling trapped just as you did on that fateful night. Heaving a soft breath, you calmed your racing heart, looking at the ground for the time being to prevent any future panic.

The older lady was gone by the time you looked up, and Aizawa waved for you to follow him down a new hallway. As you did, you noticed the wallpaper becoming more colorful, with various cartoon bees and cats littering a blue sky and green grass background. It was getting harder to breath. You didn't know why it was so difficult. Why it was so intimidating to be somewhere so innocent. But it wrung out a reaction from you that you had never seen nor expected before.

Reaching a door at the end, you waited with baited breath as Aizawa knocked, once, twice. The hallways had little lights on the floor and soft yellow lamps along the top of the walls, coating the dark area on an old yellow glow. Time seemed to pause as you stood there, wondering who was behind the door. Faintly, you could hear some shuffling before a muffled, "coming!"

The door opened to reveal a younger girl about 7 years old, dressed in a flowery sweater and stripped leggings. She had gray hair and striking red eyes, along with a little horn that sat on her right side of her forehead. Your eyes widened, not having expected to meet with a child that day.

Her face of confusion upon seeing you almost immediately vanished as she smiled at the sight of Eraser, opening her arms at him.

"Mr. Aizawa! I didn't think you'd come today!"

He smiled, patting her head a bit before stepping back, "Just felt like visiting today, you could say."

"I'm so glad! I made a new drawing, come see!", she exclaimed as he followed her into the room. You stood on the outside, curiously peering in to keep an eye on Aizawa in case he called you to do something.

It was isolating, seeing them converse with such familiarity while you stood and awkwardly watched. Why did he say he wanted you there? So he could show how much he liked to see other kids, so he could show off how close he was to others while he held you at arms length?

Your eyes slanted into slits. Why were you feeling this way? What lowered your self-esteem so low to the point of being jealous over a little girl? Why did your heart pang everytime you saw how kindly she was treated? Why did it hurt seeing her have such a happy life when you struggled throughout your entire childhood?

It wasn't fair, but you had learned to suck it up from a young age. A deceased mother and a callous father meant you didn't live such an easy life. You stopped looking at everyone else's good lives, learned to eventually ignore the pangs of jealousy until you forgot they existed.

Your moment of bitterness was cut short when you felt a soft tug at your shirt, only to look down and see her staring directly at you. Before you could do or say anything (not that you would've), she beat you to it.

"Aren't you cold outside?"

You realized she was pointing at your plain sweater, and Aizawa internally beat himself for not buying you better winter gear. Your heart beat harder. She was worried about you. She didn't know you, and yet she still worried. You had never met a child like that before.

"Not particularly."

She thumbed the fabric, and you didn't know why, but you let her. She didn't feel like a threat, and you didn't feel she was as dangerous as someone like Aizawa. Her actions were soft and caring, slow and gentle. Most kids you met were the exact opposite. It was nice, seeing somebody your own pace.

"What's your name?"

She was a child, you reminded yourself, it was only natural to be curious. Yet, it had been a long time since you interacted with children. You didn't know their mannerisms, and how to make sure they wouldn't cry.

"[Name]"

She looked up into your eyes once more and smiled. You looked back, and saw a heaviness in them, masked behind her current happy mood. Something that was held in her eyes told you that she saw something she should never have for someone her age. It held a secret fear, a worry that was otherwise hidden from the rest of her facial features. But there's a reason why they say the eyes never lie.

"Well, [Name], I'm glad I got to meet you! Are you friends with Mr. Aizawa?"

"No."

You knew your response was a bit too quick, but there was no going back once it was said. You saw her frown a bit before relaxing again, resuming her smile.

"Oh, well I hope you two become friends one day, I know Mr. Aizawa can seem scary, but he's actually really nice! He'll show you!" She turned to look at the man in question, "Right, Mr. Aizawa?"

He smiled softly in response before nodding. You had never seen him look this way before. So relaxed and... Happy. It was like a whole other person. Seeing him put on another face so easily should've startled you, worried you about what it was hiding. Yet, for some reason you didn't think of that at the moment.

"Here!"

The girl grabbed your hands, and you bent lower in response to her tugging. She gently wrapped a scarf around your neck. "I don't need this one anymore since Mirio got me a new one, but you can have this one so you're not cold!"

Looking down, you saw the scarf was entirely red, the same shade as her eyes. You rubbed the soft fabric between your fingers, before offering her a bow of gratitude.

"I'll take care of it. Thank you "

She laughed in response, "You're welcome! You're very funny!" She chuckled.

You failed to find what was so funny about your actions, but Aizawa was already telling her goodbye.

"We'll be heading out now, thank you for the scarf. She appreciates it... just a little differently than others would "

The girl hugged her backpack that was once sitting on the floor to her stomach, "Don't worry! I'm different too! Now she's not alone!"

Aizawa chuckled before waving and closing the door. As you walked back outside, you replayed the entire visit through your mind once more. More layers were unraveling, and you were beginning to lose track of what it was you were searching for.

Before you went into another spiral, the door to the building opened, and out rushed that little girl, who ran up to the now closed gate. She was followed by the young lady from before, frantic about trying to get the girl out of the snow.

"Eri! My name's Eri by the way!" She smiled and waved goodbye as you stood by the open car door, before the girl was picked up by the lady.

"It was nice meeting you, [Name]!"

As she smiled and waved, so happy despite such a minimal interaction, you stood and watched until she wasn't able to be seen anymore, brought back inside the warm house. Slowly, you raised your hand and waved to the empty air, a small smile stroking your face before it all fell back into the same monotonous glare.

-

The car was warm. It was always warm.

You couldn't pinpoint the feeling that was building up inside of you... But it was new, and... Odd.

One side of you hurt for some unknown reason, perhaps the feelings of isolation were finally getting to you? Maybe because you had been opened up to a new perspective once you saw you weren't there only one Aizawa knew? Who knows...

The other side felt warm. Warm and... Soft. Happy in a way that you were cared for by someone so new to you. It rarely happened on the streets. Sometimes someone would bring you some food or a blanket every now and then, but for the most part it was you taking care of everyone else. You couldn't bear the feeling of being a burden. It was dishonorable. Disrespectful.

Once back at the apartment, Aizawa stopped you before you made your way up the steps to his floor.

"Let's take a little walk. The sun's out and I've been cooping you up inside for too long."

There wasn't much to say except for a nod, which you then turned to follow him down the sidewalk. As you kept with his pace, you noticed that he walked a bit more freely than his usual walk, with his hands in his pockets and a slight jaunt to his step.

It was quiet between the two of you, but the sounds of the town surrounded you both. It was the weekend, so families were out and about, with the sidewalks littered with people of all sorts.

You didn't think Aizawa had anywhere to go in mind, but you were kindly surprised when you both eventually made your way to the harbor, passing the docks where the boats were sitting in the water.

Looking around, you saw fishermen unloading nets of fish into large containers and others preparing for fishing trips of their own. Some were already setting out, but the larger boats were parked.

The sun was out just as Aizawa had said, and it made for a pleasant afternoon. As you followed in his steps and sat down next to him on a bench facing the boats, you realized you hadn't had a day to yourself to do... Nothing, not in a long, long while.

You watched as a boat blared its horn as it slowly backed out, remembering the sound as you had heard it plenty passing by at night.

Next to you, Aizawa pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket before lighting one, just having it as an afterthought as he set it in his mouth before crossing his arms.

A beat of silence passed between you two once more before Aizawa spoke up suddenly.

"My father was a fisherman... He'd always be gone in the early mornings and late at night. Sometimes he'd bring some of his catch home with him," leisurely looking up at a passing kite a child was running with, he paused before continuing.

"He had a little tugboat that he always rode when it wasn't time to catch anything. Sometimes I got to ride it with him as long as I got up with him early in the morning..."

You didn't respond, but Aizawa knew you were listening. He softly smiled at the memories as he looked over the boats, feeling at home with the sights and smells that surrounded the area.

Why was he telling you this, you wondered? You knew it was most likely to get you used to him, to see him more as a person than an event or cause of force. But... You didn't resent it. It was odd, but you didn't mind the stories, as they were harmless after all.

-

You both sat there until the sun began to set, and you knew it was time to go when you began shivering once more.

That night, it was just you and Aizawa. No Present Mic or any other visitors. It seemed it was always quiet between you two.

While Aizawa cooked in the kitchen, you looked around for something to do. Finding a blank piece of paper sitting idly on the coffee table, you set to work folding it.

As Aizawa made his way to the living room to watch TV while the food cooked, he noticed you folding a paper into some origami creation.

"Hmm... Dog?"

You paused your folding to glace at him in confusion before continuing.

So it was not a dog, he now knew.

As you folded, he couldn't help but be impressed at the craftsmanship and delicate way you were folding the edges. It reminded him of his mother...

"A cat then?"

Still no response from you but you did give him a glance. He didn't know if he was getting closer or further.

As you finished, you gently set the paper down, looking at it for a second. Wringing your fingers, you felt empty now that you didn't have anything to do.

"I see ears... A tail... It looks like some kind of canine?"

"Canidae."

He perked up at your response, glad to get something for once.

"It's... A fox."

"I see."

Aizawa took a sip of his drink as he saw you idly flipping and folding the remnants of the leftover paper, before offering to you, "There's some books in my room. The shelf next to my work desk to the right of my bed," He shrugged, "I don't know if any will be to your suiting though, they're a little old."

As the timer for the kitchen went off, he saw you stand and walk off as he made his way into the kitchen.

Aizawa's room was about as empty as the rest of the house. A single bed that was hardly used, dark red blanket and black sheets. A work desk to the right of it, that extended so it fit in the corner, like an L.

Flipping through the few books he had on the shelf, you pulled out one with a light blue color you thought you recognized. It was an older book, but it was the autobiography of someone who lived through the first generation. They spoke of the horrors that they had to go through as the world was plunged into chaos and despair at the emergence of quirks. You were the 5th generation, with Aizawa being somewhere in between 4 and 5.

You frowned a bit as you saw it was bent, so someone had clearly folded the pages back around as they read (only one person it could be...).

*As much as I love him, I hate the way he reads*

Ignoring it, you clutched the book to your chest as it was something familiar. Something you were able to recognize. It felt nice during all the new things being forced onto you.

You walked out back to the living room, not wanting Aizawa on your case about being in his room for too long. Although the logical part of your mind told you he genuinely didn't care about it, the emotional side held onto the fear that was born from each visit to your father's room in the past. It never seemed to diminish, no matter how much sensibility you threw at it.

Sitting down again, you opened the book to read as you did once in the past. It was clearly older than the version you had, the cover worn with creases and tears, the pages yellowing. On the inside of the cover was a small note scribbled in pen, but you just passed by it, eager to get to the story you knew of.

"Ah, now that's a classic."

You paused your search in order to look over at Aizawa, who was plating the food he had made. Noticing your attention was on him, he nudged his head in the direction of the book you held.

"I read that plenty when I was your age... Sometimes I'd have it on me to read when I took a break during missions."

Of all the books he had, you had to pick that one. The one his mother was always reading. The one gift from her he had actually kept after leaving. The one reminder he had of his youth...

It made him slightly uneasy... You reminded him of his mother in ways more than one. It was a childish way of thinking for a grown man, but it was the truth.

-

Aizawa didn't let you go to bed that night without a brief lecture as to what your school-life would be like. He wanted to make sure you knew as much as you could, so you wouldn't be left in the dark anywhere. The last thing he needed was you getting overwhelmed and running off somewhere again.

"Using the measurements received from the tailor at the mall, I put in for your uniform a few days ago. I'll go get it for you in a second."

You nodded.

"I already got you everything you need. Your bag's hanging on the hook next to mine by the door. It has everything you need in it; writing supplies, notebooks, the textbooks for classes, all of it."

Glancing over at the wall by the door, you nodded. You couldn't see it, but you knew it was there. When you turned back, you saw Aizawa sliding a piece of paper over to you on the coffee table.

"Your schedule. It's a little different for everyone, but either way you'll have me as your homeroom teacher like everyone else. You met Hizashi not too long ago, he's the English teacher. As much as he jokes, you've still got to treat him with respect."

So much was being thrown your way all at once. You normally had no trouble holding onto large amounts of information, so you tried not to let it get to you.

"During my homeroom class we normally train by going over different scenarios and things like that. It's where your mind and body will be trained in order to learn to think and react like a hero-"

"I'd rather not..."

Aizawa sighed. He had a slight understanding at this point of your thought process. It was blurry, but it was a forming image.

"You don't have to be a hero if you don't want to. Nobody's going to force you. But with all you know, plus all your experience, it'd be beneficial for you to learn to hone your quirk better."

Your expression furrowed a bit, but you left it at that. There was a mutual understanding that arguing wouldn't get anywhere.

"Now as for your classmates..." Aizawa heaved a breath, not knowing where to even start. "They're a bit... They can be a little rambunctious at times. Don't let that discourage you though, they're quite smart and can hold themselves up pretty well." He smiled to himself slightly, thinking about it.

"Don't worry too much, you'll be in good hands."

Aizawa knew they'd love you.

A/N:

And we're back once more! I wish everyone a successful New Year! Think of this as a little New Year's Gift (　ﾟᵕﾟ)

That being said, I do apologize for being slow at writing! Between work and school, I'm pretty much kept busy 24/7, so I've been struggling to get some free time ꒰ ᐢ ◞‸◟ᐢ꒱

I'm working on Chapter 9 along with the other many requests I've gotten! I'm trying to get as much done as I can! ✌('∀-)-☆

I do have something to say to those still with me though:

Thank you for staying with me.

Wishing you all a lovely New Year, start safe and healthy for me please! 🌸(♡´ ꒳ `*♡)人(♡*´ ꒳ `♡)🌸

Tag List:

♡ @bingewatchintilldawn

♡ @talia-the-gemini

♡ @cactilli

♡ @breadglasses

♡ If you wish to be tagged/taken off the list, please let me know! Feel free to do this either by messages or by giving me an ask :⁠-⁠)

Notes:

*1 - I made out a whole quirk registration form online. Why? I have no clue. I think I'll post it when it's fully finished.

年2023/ 月12/ 日31

[do-you-know-this-adhd-character]

Do you know this (noncanon) ADHD character?

Evidence below the cut!

He regularly forgets things and is late. Comes across as extremely scattered, stereotypically childish and hyperactive to begin with, like all speedsters is extremely intelligent and lives on a frequency much faster than other people so paying attention or waiting or doing one thing at a time is extremely difficult. His first solo comic opened with the introduction "Bart Allen, poster child for the judgement impaired" and went on to back that up repeatedly. It includes such jems as him not being able to pay attention long enough in class so he tunes out, a teacher asking what she was talking about and him taking it literally and listing the topics she covered. She calls him a smarty-pants (it's very 90's) and when he starts to say he "That wasn't what you wanted? I wasn’t trying to-" she responds that he's very trying. This is his first day in public school. Idk personally that hit hard. Later it talks about how his cousin named his behaviour pattern the "single synapse theory" because Bart goes from one action to the next, no pause between to consider if there will be consequences. And like. DC. That is literally how ADHD works my dudes plz just admit it at this point its been decades. Hes not allowed in Gotham anymore bc he genuinely upsets the rouges there with how much he talks and just manages to annoy them into giving up (not on purpose either, they're just mean to my boy) he's actually done that to the Joker twice.

In his callback intro in the og Young Justice comics he full on forgets he can vibrate through solid material and is stuck in tar for ages till he's talking about it, so we get "ow it hurts" "okay, you're heating the tar. It'll burn. Stop." "ow" "stop" "ow" "stop" "ow" "stop! So who named you impulse?" he's so smart but so dumb and btw his response is that Batman gave him the name and he doesn't know why, then after a second asks if he was being funny. Never stopped to consider if there was a reason behind the name. There are so many more but at that point I might as well hand over the Impulse and Young Justice comic runs and any time a flash writer remembered he exists, his name is literally IMPULSE because the goddamn Batman took one look and could already tell. Plz love my dude he's so worth it I promise

[warsamongthestars]

... How did the TBBshow fail at the starting line?

I did get sucked into TBB S1, because I was prompted by the idea of "Oh, my favorites! They're getting a show!" after the clone wars show.

And after Ep1, I was lured by the possibility of payoff.

... there was no payoff. And this set up of luring to no paypoff, starts with Episode 1.

Its like when you do a job or do a task, and how one's attitude can set one's self up for failure? or how certain small things can build up to big disasters?

Its less watching a car crash, and more like, second hand embarrassment. You know that someone is doing things that can be easily fixed, and that you know they know they can do it, but they still perform the worst possible choices and inevitably, the outcome is bad.

( @laughhardrunfastbekindsblog ; because I said I'd get your attention. Just note, I'm not particularly forgiving about the TBBshow and prep for swearing )

Let's start.

No Communication The Bad Batch, as a team of unique characters with unique abilities and quirks, with contrasts and parallels with each other, with implied history, and shown examples... Are written and introduced to be a tight knit group. That's how they're handled in Clone Wars, that's their introduction. There is no argument about how tight these boys are going into TBBshow. Obviously, if something was wrong, they would talk about it with each other. Obviously, if you want an interesting character driven story, which this unique set of characters are set up to do, you want to see that conversation because it makes the story or scene interesting--it produces Character Development and forwards the Plot. But. And with Example. The moment something goes wrong in the TBBshow's TBB Team... they ignore it entirely. The Example. Crosshair, who we the audience knows has fallen under the chip, repeatedly and aggressively berates his brothers (and especially Hunter) about following Orders. His whole set up to being under the chip involves shooting at a Child, Former Commander or not. Yes, there were bouts of callout about his behavior... But it wasn't really a callout was it? It wasn't a, "take this character aside and confront them about what's going on". It was a shout of surprise... and then forget about it next scene. A tight knit group, like the Bad Batch, who back each other up, form plans that instinctual trusts each other, would immediately be set off if one of their number isn't acting right and they would, absolutely, move in for confrontation--because bad attitude on the battlefield or up against the scary monster, is how you get each other Killed. This is a lesson repeatedly brought up in the Clone War Show, of which TBBshow is an explicit sequel of. And yet, they let Crosshair fester. And the moment, the exact moment, they finally confront him--Hunter gets immediately distracted by thoughts of a kid they Just Met, whom is Hundreds to Thousands of Lightyears away. When his brother is right in front of him. This shows that the show, even when its trying to tease conversation, will not dedicate time to allow the characters to talk to each other--even when its at its most Serious. This same situation has repeated time and time again, througout S1-S2. The Finale of S1, where Crosshair makes a bunch of oneliners, and Hunter just kinda stands there dramatically. S2, where another of their closest, Tech, outright Died, and nothing was done--which was, I should point out, exchanged for more focus on Omega. That brings up the next point

Omega's Overimportance. Sidekick characters have always gotten mixed results. How you solve that, is often by context. You practically have to choose your suspsense of disbelief, inspite of known flaws, when it comes to certain circumstances. ( Such as Batman and Robin. Robin is a kid in costume, fighting people who will kill him. But if you still want Robin with Batman, because they're the dynamic duo, you still have to write that situation repeatedly, even though a super hero's baseline is usually to rescue kids from that very situation. Sometimes you gotta pick the losing option to maintain your story. ) The problem with my explanation above, to prove the point about choosing the losing option... is that Omega is Not a Sidekick character. She is the Main Character of the show that is, by set up and promotion and promise, meant to be about the Bad Batch. To use a comparison I've used before, its like setting up a team of friends to go on adventures... only to focus on the "main" character's little brother instead. (Such as watching MLP, but by episode 3, Spike the Dragon is now the main character ) Omega is set up to be too special. Both by using the lore (she's a clone with force abilities and naturally ages and the only-just-now introduced assistant of the great and terrible Nala Se), and by character. As pointed above--instead of confronting Crosshair and maybe, finding out what's going on, Hunter instead goes "Squirrel" and decides retrieving Omega from a planet lightyears away, was the better option. And as the seasons go on, Omega becomes more and more important, until she's making the adult decisions and suddenly is playing therapist to PTSD sufferers with no consequences, because she went from naive cadet to fucking clone messiah.

There is nothing about her, beyond being a cute kid, that would put her in this position of taking the show, that wouldn't involve a writer deciding their Donut Steel (my name for Mary / Gary Sue) was more important than anything else. And that leads into...

Destruction of Character Dynamics Again, the Bad Batch are set up and written to be a tight knit group. To take from TCWshow introductions... ... Tech and Wrecker immediately set up to backup Crosshair, when he confronts Rex about Cody calling them in. When Jesse gets into his face, Wrecker doesn't hesitate to pick Jesse up and keep him away from Crosshair. ... And in turn, Crosshair will stop Kix from interfering with Wrecker. ... While Wrecker might tease Tech's caution (and break down the door), when Rex asks about Tech, Wrecker immediately echo's (haha) Tech's words of "This is a delicate operation". Wrecker can rush his brother, but nobody else, is allowed to. ... Everyone (save Tech, but that's because he's a semi-polite, semi-feral formal boi), uses the term Reg. ... When Rex loses his cool and starts to yell at Hunter, in regards to Echo's condition when on their way to the Skako Minor City that holds him, Crosshair immediately steps up to take attention from Hunter. (Saying some pretty cruel things in the process,a nd getting decked) ... Hunter will tease Wrecker about heights at one point, but then try to assure him later on. ... Crosshair uses Tech's shoulder as a rifle mount ... Hunter will unashamably compliment and promote Crosshair's skills. All that? Is just in 4 episodes in TCWs, and shows off a tight group of brothers in arms and friends, whom might tease each other, but have a lot of positive things to say about one another, will step up to back each other up no matter what's going on, and its Them Against the Galaxy And when Echo comes along, its Crosshair who actually shows the first positive action with him from the Batch, by his patting / resting a hand on his shoulder. ( Crosshair... who is one sassy fuck. ) So what does TBBshow do? Immediately has Crosshair fall under the chip, forgoes any positive interactions for snarking, refuses confrontation of whom is meant to be their very close brother in exchange for a strange child on another planet.

By removing his element from the Bad Batch, it immediately destroys the dynamics set up by The Clone Wars. Suddenly, they're missing a very important piece of character, and that defeats the whole purpose of having a Bad Batch centric show.

They do this at Episode 1. No set up, no episodes to establish character before they destroy the dynamic--its just Gone out the Gate. And there's no show or set up that Crosshair's absence did anything to the Batch, there's no discussion of him (or of the home they lost, or of the people they knew) and when it was time to show the tragedies... they opted for getting attacked by droids. Most of S1, experienced by myself and others, was spent wondering when Crosshair was going to return. Because its not the Bad Batch without all the Bad Batch. When was the Bad Batch going to discuss rescuing Crosshair? Or even, discuss Crosshair at all, without some dramatic looks int he distance? When was the show actually going to treat the characters as if they were important to each other, like they did back in the Clone Wars? But instead, the show takes steps to replace him with Omega, a child we were not here to see. She takes his comm, takes his place as the long ranged sniper, and because she becomes the main character, even takes the Show. And come S2, they did the same to Echo, who left without preamble. Without discussion, with maybe vague hints, and not even with a sliver of an idea that the Batch was better or worse without him. In fact, most of his S1 episodes regulated him to either droid man or perpetuatal Bitcher. Nothing he said solved anything or was listened to, beyond a snarky quip.

( yes, there was the explosive-chemical episode. However, there was nothing in that episode that wasn't already shown in S1. Echo left for nothing, and trying to imply him being there regulated the Batch, did nothing because all he did in S1 was Bitch about Everything and do Nothing--which is already against Echo's TCWshow characterization but that's a discussion for another time and post. )

That leaves Omega to replace not only Crosshair but Echo.

Then Tech dies. They gave him enough development to get attached, and then killed him without preamble, for a situation they could've have performed in S1.. but then didn't. Leaving S3, to have Omega replace just Tech, and Echo, once Crosshair returned.

We ended the show as we began--with non existent character dynamics, that if they show the slightest hint of connection beyond aesthetic, gets interrupted by an outside character (Omega) or destroyed by an outside force (the entire fucking plot). There are no character dynamics, because over the course of all 3 seasons, they showed that each character can come and go as they please, be replaced by the slightest inclination at random, and it will have no impact on any other character, or gets immediatly consumed by the donut steel.

Character dynamics have to be Shown and then given and weight. You have to slow down for a character to act and react to situations.

And that goes into...

Rapid Fire Plot.

The show never slows down. It keeps going and going. They had order 66 performed in Five Minutes, and then were immediately moving on to Kamino for five minutes, oop combat in the cafeteria, which immediately moves on to a training op, and then a mission for five minutes, and oops donut steel across the galaxy gotta go, opps arrestted, oops hunted down, oops friend betray, oops GONE

Constantly building tension and action for No Pay Off...

... And no Reason.

There's no conversations about anything important, because the show refuses to slow down. Its not a "fault of the world". A writer can write whatever scene and story they want, they can slow things down because time is only as meaningful as its written.

But TBBshow keeps wanting to add and add and add, to keep the tension so fucking High, so that when ti finally does slow down, it feel less like a relief, and more like exhaustion.

The moments that should have been slowed, are conversations (communication) between characters about each other (Character Dynamics) without interruption from other relationships (remove the overimportance of Omega), stating either plainly or with character style and goofiness, about situations they're going through.

That means, slowing the hell down. That means, acknowledging that one of your brothers is acting off and is probably being mindcontrolled or something in the empire (because even if he's salty, he can't be that bad, and we know something is up because everyone is acting off--and remember those geonosis brain worms?), or that one of your brothers wants to go out into the galaxy to help his other brothers (and why not? we'd be in a familiar place with familiar people, and it beats doing jobs for a lizard bitch).

Or that someone very close, died. (or might not have. Because its Star Wars, and falling off cliffs didn't even kill the guy cut in half. )

But slowing down means making the main characters important, and if you make them important, you can't introduced someone else...

Which goes into...

Guest Characters.

Episode One immediately has Tarkin, Saw Guerrea, Nala Se, Kanan, Kanan's Master...

None of these people, except Nala Se, can be considered important to the Bad Batch characters.

Imagine, if you will, we get a new show of Superman. Like, we're here for the Boy Scout, its Superman's show... and then his entire first episode involves Batman, and the Flash, and Wonderwoman, and Superman only gets a few scenes here and there for superpowers, but then the show insists on listening to conversations of Batman and Wonderwoman about Superman...

Guest characters are fine in moderation, whcih means, in low amounts. But it seems that most of the episodes in TBBshow, insists on "bringing back" characters from everywhere else.

Rex? He's fine, because he connects to Echo and he's important to a post-Republic era.

But the twin mechanics? Fennec Sha? Cad Bane? Jabba the Hutt's Fucking Rancor? ASAJJ VENTRESS!?

( A llama? SHE'S SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD )

They're not, important, to the Bad Batch. They're don't add anything to the Lore. Anyone can walk in and fill their shoes.

All the hype about them, takes attention away from the Bad Batch as characters and from the story. You pay more attention to familiar figures, than to the very figures that this story is about.

There is no argument beyond "fan fare" and "fan hype" to keep these characters in the story. They contribute Nothing.

Meanwhile, they kill off Tech, turn Crosshair evil for no reason they bothered keeping, and removed Echo, the only real main character from TCWshow proper, for no discussion and no impact and no story interest.

Like the point above, it only serves to have Tension with no Payoff.

CONCLUSION

All this? Starts with Episode 1. Yes, there are episodes where guests aren't around, where Omega isn't the focus, where the Bad Batch have some impact on each other.

But its not enough to change the story, its not enough to change the result, there's no character conversation that can be named, no impact on characters or plot that can be pointed out to that isn't already started by the contrivance, and the team was destroyed by the begining, and stayed destroyed in new ways, by the end.

Its all about Tension, Hype, and Attention. If you argue they could've had more time...

A Star Wars team backed by billion-dollar Disney can do 3 seasons in 3 years, for a subscription online service without having to fight for airing times.

Habro's MLP did it under restriction. Cartoon Network's Over the Garden Wall did in 7 episodes.

They didn't need Time. They needed Focus. They had all the tools, and still opted to use a Sledge Hammer for Screws.

They had preset characters perfect for an entire show, and then still made a super special OC, and destroyed the very team they had.

They had a preset plot, post republic rise of Empire, and still opted to do every mission that wasn't involved with the Empire.

They had a PRESET CONFLICT, with the chips, and then opted to say that the chips don't matter midway through S1.

THEY HAD A PRESET WORLD BUILD. CLONE TROOPER CULTURE, and still opted to introduce every Star Wars character from here to gods damn Wild Space instead.

I have never seen such a disaster where everything was possibly laid out before them that could be easily made, with the time and resources they had (because everyone else who had less time and less resources, such as Hasbro, Cartoon Network--hell, Nickelodeon)--and then they decided that no, they were instead going to do their own thing.

And it turned to Shit.

And it all started, with Episode 1.

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.

The Magnus Archives/ What We Do In the Shadows (Crossover)

gaslight gatekeep girlboss by thepolysyndetonaddictsupportgroup

"Look, believe it or not, I had no intention of killing the Vampiric Council when I came here,” declares Nadja, sitting alone on the couch. “But Guillermo and I arrived at the first council meeting and did the whole, you know, the whole thing, the first day thing. Introductions and all that, yes hello wonderful to meet you, yes this is my bodyguard, yes he has slaughtered a tremendous number of our kind”--she flaps her hand absently--“normal first day things, you know? It was fine.” She pauses. “It got really fucking weird on the second day."

Or: Nadja and Guillermo seize control of vampiric politics, puppeteer world powers, and have the hottest of hot girl summers.

Unfortunately, they also really miss the stupid assholes they're in love with. With no way left to find them, they have no choice but to consult an Archivist.

DC/Danny Phantom Crossover

Teenage Hero Burnout #56: Interview With A Ghost. by STOVE

Red Robin, (aka Tim Drake) decides to host a YouTube series called "Teenage Hero Burnout'' after he makes a video by the same name talking about his own experiences. He interviews current and past heroes who started their careers as teens and discuss how it shaped their outlook on heroing & life in general.

(This fic is a one-shot. Teenage Hero Burnout is a hypothetical series that I will not be writing, but others are welcome to write their own episodes.)

All For the Game

One More Time (With Feeling) by elesary

Andrew Minyard went to sleep next to Neil Josten in their bed in Denver six years after graduation. He woke up on plane to Tucson between Wymack and Kevin, on their way to recruit Neil Josten, striker sub.

boyfriend privileges by mostly_maudlin

Andrew knows he treats Neil different. So why is it so bothersome that everyone else seems to know it, too?

Five times Neil gets boyfriend privileges, and one time it doesn't piss Andrew off.

SVSSS

The Peace Between Divine Pec- ah-hm sorry - uh…Peaks by AceOfDivineChlorophyll

Well, being kidnapped and tied up had to be the worst part of Shen Qingqiu's day right? Surely it couldn't get worse even if he was being presented to some new and upcoming demonic warlord as tribute after all it would all be mote when Luo Binghe escaped the Endless Abyss right? Well... unless the demonic warlord in question WAS Luo Binghe.

Thankfully... it might not end up going at all how he, or the demons, thought it was going to.

invasive blindfold removal surgery by postcardorigami

Part 1 of side effects may include indefinite photosensitivity

Oh, he thought absently, dizzily. Oh. I love him. I really, really love him.

That wasn’t a new thought—Shen Qingqiu had always known that he loved Luo Binghe. Thinking otherwise wasn’t a concept that had occurred to him. He’d loved him as a fictional character, as a sticky and eager-to-please disciple, as a troubled young man. He loved Luo Binghe the same way he loved the world around him: easily, wordlessly, endlessly, and in full acceptance of all faults and flaws.

But this- this felt like-

I think, Shen Qingqiu thought, for the first time in this life or the one he’d left, I think I’m in love with him.

And- and then-

I want to tell him where I come from.

or Shen Qingqiu, in order: hits the ground, pulls himself back up, and comes out. About several things.

Dreaming of Gardens in the Desert Sand by TGP

Huan Hua Palace master Luo Binghe never thought there'd be any reason to worry about the master that threw him away all those years ago. Surely, he was safe and cared for by the martial siblings he'd so thoroughly enamored.

Luo Binghe was wrong.

(Or, the one where the Jinlan City event doesn't happen and Luo Binghe's plan to slowly show he can be a righteous cultivator actually goes as he expected, with consequences he did not)

starry-eyed by shoutowo

"Shi-Shizun,” Luo Binghe says, going cross-eyed in an effort to see what Shen Qingqiu just placed on his forehead. “What is this?”

“A star,” Shen Qingqiu explains, while not explaining at all.

or, Shen Qingqiu has a sticker sheet.

Clone Wars

(you were) meant to save them by cjwritesfanficnow

The building was only five stories. With the gravity on Melida/Daan, it should’ve been over in seconds... but he—

just—

kept—

falling—

And then there was nothing around him, but he was still falling, down down down, infinitely, through space, stretched thin, twisted and pulled and the Force curled so tightly around him that he couldn’t tell where he ended and it began, and then—

And then he was falling straight out of a clear sky and down down down—

Onto another battlefield.

-

In which Obi-Wan is abruptly transported from the civil war on Melida/Daan to the Clone Wars.

(Alternately, in which I noticed how few clones there are in all my other fics, and this wouldn't leave me alone.)

Tactical Engagements by elwenyere

Even before he managed to open his eyes, Obi-Wan felt the tug against the base of his neck, the snarled thread of energy that only ever meant one thing: something had gone very, very wrong.

-----

Or, Cody, Obi-Wan, and the 212th are sent to Ringo Vinda with Anakin and the 501st, and it changes the field of engagement.

[butterflydm]

looking towards s3

I'm going to be doing a bit of wild speculation for s3, here, after going through the various book narratives and moments to check off what the show has already covered (including some speculation about certain plotlines having been subbed in for other ones) and so what's likely next for them in s3. Contains book spoilers through Knife of Dreams and casting and location spoilers for s3.

(for a more thorough "what's already been done", @sixth-light has one here: what's in and what's out: characters; worldbuilding)

The Eye of the World:

I think we can probably all agree that the one big thing from EotW that hasn't been covered yet is the introduction of the Caemlyn-related characters, other than Elayne -- namely Elaida, Gawyn, Galad, and likely Morgase. We know that this will happen in s3, at least to a certain extent.

They came in clutch at the last minute with giving us Elayne taking care of her 'bird with a broken wing' aka her meet-cute with Rand.

The Great Hunt:

Pretty much everything narratively important about TGH was covered this season. Some of it was remixed (Rand's 'Fal Dara' encounter with Siuan and the Aes Sedai happening in 2x7 in Cairhien instead of at the start of the arc) but pretty much everything important has been done.

And Siuan being much harsher with Rand in the show than in the books makes it understandable why Rand is not willing to trust Aes Sedai (with a handful of exceptions). imo the change in Siuan's plotline was done for three reasons: a. to set-up Rand's increasing wariness around the White Tower and Aes Sedai; b. to have a narrative reason why none of our main characters are going back to the White Tower next season; c. to set up a character arc for Siuan in s3+. Obviously, time will tell on whether or not I'm right, but those were the reasons that came to mind immediately after 2x7 and I still think they're likely reasons.

re: 'flicker-flicker' - the most important thing coming out of flicker-flicker is that Mat is determined never to 'betray' Rand, like it's implied that he did in some of the flicker worlds, and Mat has absolutely made that emotional commitment due to the events of this season.

The only important minor character from bk2 specifically that we don't get introduced to is Egeanin, I think, and again, that's a case of "if we have her, we want to introduce her when she's more narratively relevant", which would be either s3 or s4 in this case, for Nynaeve and Elayne's storyline. We also still have Egwene's introduction to Gawyn being held in reserve for when he enters the story.

The Dragon Reborn:

Elements pulled from TDR into s2:

Perrin (and thus viewers) getting introduced to Aiel culture (though through Aviendha rather than Gaul, combining two separate elements of bk3 into one introduction).

Mat being trapped in the White Tower and then released back out into the world.

Our introduction to Moiraine's spy network.

I think that Elyas being more human-apathetic plus Ishamael telling Perrin that "the more wolf you are, the more you're mine" may have subbed in for Noam and his loss of connection to humanity, driving Perrin to be wary of the wolf-connection.

Moiraine threatening Lan with a forced bond-change because she's trying to push him away.

Rand being hounded in his dreams and being lured to a site of prophecy by one of the Forsaken in an attempt to rescue Egwene.

Rand's moment of killing people and them kneeling to him (in the books, he actually sets them up to kneel; I liked the show's approach much better)

We also witnessed Mat having an actual reason for his Old Tongue memories and his fighting prowess and the show also may tie his luck into him blowing the Horn, given that he said his battle-cry, so I feel like the "archetype" he has in the Heroes is the Gambler (which I think the 'finn call him?). I really loved that all of Mat's random stuff has kinda been consolidated (and the Horn scene might be my favorite scene of the whole series thus far).

Rand being recognized as the Car'a'carn by Aiel searchers.

Elements that were not used but will happen next season: Perrin meeting Faile. I also think it's likely that Perrin will start going into TAR next season (which could give us either Birgitte or Uno | Gaidal Cain in a re-occurring role). Elayne and Nynaeve becoming Black Ajah Hunters (I'm unsure if Egwene will or if she's going to go straight to her bk 4 plotline; I suspect that she's going with Rand), which is also their bk4 plot. I do think we'll get both Perrin (via Hopper) and Egwene (via the Wise Ones) learning TAR.

Things I'm not sure we'll get:

I'm doubtful that we'll get Egwene & Elayne's Accepted tests at all:

Egwene may come across as an even better patsy/figurehead to Salidar if she's a novice

2x7 really makes me feel doubtful that The Dragon Reborn's friends will be able to waltz into Tar Valon and then waltz back out again (unless they are returning specifically to spy out the mood in TV re: the Dragon and Moiraine?)

Egwene choosing over and over to abandon Rand in the Tests feels like it would directly contradict her character arc in s2, where her motivation for working so hard in the Tower was to give herself the strength to protect the ones she loves.

@sixth-light suggested the idea that Egwene might get her "what is to come" vision in Rhuidean and I like that idea a lot -- if she goes with Aviendha to the silver rings and catches glimpses of her potential futures!

I feel like Aludra might not get introduced until very soon before we need to take the Stone of Tear (or potentially not until after Ebou Dar, when she's needed to create the dragons).

I also suspect that we'll skip Thom's storyline from this book just like we skipped his storyline from bk2 and go straight into his post-Tear bk4 storyline, since Rand is going to be doing Aiel politics and not Westlands politics next season. So my current suspicion is that Thom is going to be part of Elayne & Nynaeve's storyline (and then once Elayne and Nynaeve come back into Rand's storyline, that could be when Thom helps Rand).

This is also the book when balefire first appears (Rand uses it on Darkhounds; Nynaeve uses it for the first (and only?) time; and Moiraine uses it twice). Not sure when the show will introduce it, because I feel like it's going to be The One Way to actually kill Forsaken, so it may be held back closer to when one of them dies. I suspect we'll see Lanfear get doorway'd in s3, but I don't think any of the Forsaken will get killed off until s4 (Rahvin, if he exists) at the earliest. If Rand kills Rahvin with balefire in s4, that gives the rest of the Forsaken a reason to back off and keep their distance (especially if Moridin shows up in s5 to take the reins back over on prioritizing corrupting Rand over killing him).

What might happen in s3 but might be reserved for s4: the convergence on Tear and the various roads people take there. I feel like Tear is likely to come after the Waste and maybe even after Cairhien (Tear may be where Sammael is instead of Illian, but then Rand fails to kill him there and he flees to Illian?).

Also, as I keep noting in my reread posts (which is where I'm getting this info from) Mat is much less anti-Rand than fandom agreement had led me to believe/remember was happening in the books at this time. He dislikes The Dragon Reborn (TM) but his thoughts about Rand as a person tend to be more regretful or frustrated than fearful. So the show is doing fine there, since they've dealt with the The Dragon Reborn (TM) issue by having the whole "who is the Dragon plotline?" in s1.

The Fires of Heaven-A Crown of Swords:

I think we already covered "oh no someone else may get Lan's bond" and he'll go directly from Moiraine to Nynaeve, because Alanna has a more important forced bond to take (probably in s4). I am wondering if we'll see Nynaeve bonding Lan much earlier than in canon, maybe even at the end of s3 if Moiraine goes through the doorway and Nynaeve ends up in the same city as Rand & co.

Crossroads of Twilight-Knife of Dreams:

Guess who just got murdered! So... no Renna and no Seta. And maybe no more Suroth. The show has been ruthless with the Seanchan (not a complaint). The show is also leaning much more heavily on the friendship of the Two Rivers Five (plus now Elayne), so Mat doing any of the bullshit that he does in CoT & KoD feels less likely because this Mat doesn't have the excuse of dagger-sickness to forget what happened to Egwene in Falme. After the show made such a (beautiful! spectacular!) show of Mat being a good person at heart, even being a Hero of the Horn, which he wasn't in the books... yeah, they are not doing the book version of Mat & Tuon (thank fucking goodness). They may do a version of Mat & Tuon, but I think it will be very different from the books, if it happens.

One of the new interesting changes that the show appears to have done (from what Egwene said in 2x8) is make sul'dam extremely weak channelers instead of being learners. I think this has some fascinating implications re: Tuon because it means that a collar would 100% work on her. In the books, the sul'dam get tested along with all the other women to see if they are damane and if any of them have sparked, they end up caught.

It's only over long years of use that they develop their 'affinity' with their damane and this is when the collar would work on them. So, per book canon, it's entirely possible that putting a collar on Tuon during any of the books would fail to do anything, because she's still quite young and also is not 'complete' as often as many other sul'dam because of her high status. But in show canon? That collar will work 100%, because they use the Searchers to find marath'damane instead of testing every woman in the Empire every year (until they turn 25, I think it was). If the show is working backwards to decide on these changes, then it's entirely possible that this change in the way finding marath'damane is done was 100% specifically for Tuon's potential storyline down the road.

Also, I love that it means that Tuon is a weak-ass channeler, because that was always my head-canon for her anyway.

The Shadow Rising:

Elements already pulled from TSR+ into s2: Rand knows that Selene is Lanfear and Lanfear is offering to protect him from the other Forsaken and wants to work with him. And Rand also knows that "the Dark One" is actually Ishamael and the rest of the Forsaken are now out in the world. We've also learned about ji'e'toh already. TSR is also when Moghedien was introduced.

What likely won't happen in s3: I think Tear itself will be held back until after the arc in the Waste. They've already done some of the related character-work from the start of bk4 in s2 already, with Lanfear and Rand, and most of the other stuff (the 'finn doorway) could be moved to Falme if need be. Or, since we have the all characters going east, maybe it'll be in Caemlyn when the characters split up to their various plotlines (which would give us Elaida's Foretelling for Rand and Egwene meeting Gawyn) and then they wouldn't have needed to have Falme as a location shoot for s3 at all.

I do suspect that the Rand & Elayne relationship is being pushed to a later season and we'll likely get the beginnings of Rand & Aviendha instead (which makes me suspect that Elayne's storylines would get adjusted in a later season to actually give her time with Rand).

What likely WILL happen in s3: the Tower coup and Elaida taking over as Amyrlin; Rand & co going to the Waste and Rand becoming Car'a'carn while Mat gets his medallion and Egwene gets Wise One training; Elayne and Nynaeve (and Thom?) going Black Ajah hunting (or specifically after Liandrin?). Potentially we will see Rand and Aviendha catch feelings for each other as Rand and Egwene fall apart (and Lanfear stalks Rand from the sidelines, since she's not supposed to be interacting with him). And Perrin defending the Two Rivers, of course.

I don't think that we'll get Tuon this early, though we may get the prophecy (and the dread from the audience that Mat is destined to marry one of these horrible slaver people, because the Court of the Nine Moons has already been mentioned).

In addition to being a big book for Rand & Lanfear developments, TSR is wonderful for Rand & Mat as well. There are so many amazing moments for them in this book. If the show hits even a handful of these beats, s3 will be great for the Cauthor side of fandom. Especially with how Josha and Dónal are playing Rand & Mat as very handsy friends who are comfortable with physical touch.

So, what are some potential ways they could go with s3?

(I promise that any and all speculation with be at least 85% inaccurate and may be as much as 100%; does contain some casting and location spoilers for what we know about s3 so far)

Starting place in 3x1:

Option One: Falme subbed for Tear

We do Tear-stuff in Falme (doorway; maybe bubbles of evil) and then the characters split up for separate journeys.

Pros: making the most out of our current location! the characters are already there!

Cons: Have to pay a location fee for an additional season when they could instead use a s3 location.

Option Two: Caemlyn subbed for Tear

We know that Caemlyn is going to be in s3 and they might want to get the most out of their new location.

Pros: Might get Elaida's Foretelling of Rand. Egwene meets Gawyn without needing to go to the White Tower. Mat could do his 1v2 quarterstaff battle against Elayne's brothers. Means that everyone has already traveled significantly to the east during the break between seasons but they're all still together as a group, meaning we won't need as big a timeskip after this. And Elaida's Foretelling could even be the trigger for Rand & co needing to flee the city.

Cons: can't think of any but I'm sure they exist; this genuinely seems like such a good option to me that I am 100% marking it down to potentially write as a fic, if I ever get the time (I continue to collect plot bunnies at an alarming rate in this fandom!)

Option Three: Hurrying through BK3's ending (aka Tear is Tear)

This seems more expensive than it's worth, but maybe they got more money for s3!

Pros: bk3 Tear will be done, I guess?

Cons: expensive set piece and location that is then promptly abandoned so that everyone can go somewhere else

So, we've done our set-up episode and now we've moving on to: everyone goes somewhere else!

Where do they go?

Stop, Wait... Option Four: There Isn't A Set-Up Episode

This is the option for not having any set-up at all and just jumping into everyone's individual journeys.

Pros: Faster to get into the main story

Cons: No bonding time for the group as a whole; fewer character interactions; would probably make me sad

Well, we've either done our set-up or we haven't, so where is everyone going?

Perrin -> The Two Rivers

I mean, we all know it. Perrin is kinda the reason that I think we won't start with everyone already at their destinations, because I don't think Perrin's storyline in the Two Rivers is meaty enough to be stretched out over eight entire episodes.

Wondergirls -> ???

A White Tower stop-over seems fairly unlikely to me after 2x7, though there's a chance. I think it's more likely that we'll get them splitting up to go into their bk4 plotlines.

(If the Wondergirls do go to the White Tower, what is Rand doing during this time? How does Egwene reunite with Rand for her bk4 plotline?)

Verin burned her bridges with Siuan & Leane, potentially (she COULD probably talk herself out of being viewed as Black Ajah... maybe... but it's hard to see how she could talk herself out of being viewed as breaking Tower law) which implies to me that SHE isn't going to return to the Tower, and she is the one who introduces Dreaming to Egwene in the books. Which makes me lean towards the idea of Doing Tear (and the White Tower plots) in Caemlyn.

They could take some of the characters back to Tar Valon in s3 but... but that bridge between Moiraine and Siuan is so scorched right now that it's difficult to see Siuan being willing to let any of them leave the White Tower if they go there again.

Mat -> Rhuidean

Mat didn't touch the dagger, so he has no need to go back to the White Tower literally ever, especially since one of his Hero friends put the Horn away into an interdimensional pocket for later.

Rafe has implied that we will see Mat's quarterstaff battle at some point (unless he just meant that we would see Mat wielding a quarterstaff against two opponents at once, which definitely happened in 2x8), which leads me further to think about s3 starting in Caemlyn, because after that, Gawyn and Galad go off into separate plotlines.

If we assume that Caemlyn takes the place of both Tear and the White Tower for book 3 & early book 4 events, then everyone would go to their book 4 plotlines from here -- Perrin would go west to the Two Rivers; Rand & co would go to the Waste; Elayne & Nynaeve would go to do some Liandrin-hunting. We would only need five main locations for the season, at least two of which are pre-existing -- Caemlyn, the Two Rivers, Tar Valon, the Aiel Waste/Rhuidean, and whichever city Elayne & Nynaeve go to in order to hunt Liandrin (and if it's Cairhien, then they already have the location/set).

Events that I'm Pretty Sure we'll get in s3:

Rhuidean. Rand's walk through Aiel history and Mat's encounter with the foxes. Rand saving Mat's life. <3

Asmodean becomes Rand's teacher.

I do think we'll likely get Couladin proclaiming himself as the Car'a'carn and the chaos of Alcair Dal, because Mat killing Couladin is really what creates the BotRH and cements him as the leader.

The White Tower coup.

Nynaeve faces off against Moghedien... or maybe this season she will still be focused on Liandrin?

The Battle of the Two Rivers.

I think we will start to get Rand & Aviendha in this season, but slow-burn. But if they plan to do the Moiraine & Lanfear show-off at the end of the season, then you'd want the Rand & Aviendha relationship to begin to flower. And then Lanfear is out of the picture (as far as Rand knows), which would let him worry less about her killing any woman that he's attracted to.

Things that we Might Get in s3 (depending on pacing):

We might get either Cairhien or Tear at the end of the season. That really depends on pacing and I don't know how fast they plan to move through the arc in the Waste. There are really only two big Events in the Waste in bk4 -- Rhuidean and Alcair Dal; though there's also visiting Cold Rocks Hold and the attack there.

Moiraine and Lanfear's encounter with the doorway. The reason that I'm thinking this might happen in s3 is because someone (was it Rafe?) teased about a "big cast change" at then end of s3 that book readers would be familiar with. Losing Moiraine right as he gets a Forsaken as a teacher would be very intriguing.

If we are going to do the polycule (*crosses fingers hard*), then there needs to be a decent stretch of time where Elayne is actually allowed by the plot to spend time with Rand. We got our meet-cute and it was beautiful, so I have high hopes. There is also a new tor.com interview where Rafe says that Elayne and Rand have a 'huge arc' together.

For now, I think the time period after her book 4 plotline and before she gets involved in Ebou Dar seems like the best time (as opposed to just wandering the countryside for weeks because Nynaeve can't remember the word 'Salidar'). So after Rand has returned to the wetlands. I am going to speculate that s3 ends with the Battle of Cairhien while, at the same time, Elayne and Nynaeve go to Cairhien for their own story reasons. Because they've already done their book 4 plotline, and maybe part of their book 5 plotline, there's no need for them to hurry off right away. And Elayne spends most of s4 with Rand (and Aviendha) (and Mat). Elayne can help Rand navigate politics in Cairhien, and they can fall in love while being big ol' workaholics. We also could have Dumai's Wells happen here so that Rand can get rescued not only by Perrin but also by Mat, Egwene, Elayne, Nynaeve, & Aviendha. Which would just be nice.

I do think, based on the Power of Friendship vibe that we had in the s2 finale, that the show is going to be bringing our characters back together a lot more often than the books did (and I'm happy about that).

So, based on that idea... a tentative outline for s3 (I am not expecting this to end up being at all accurate, lol, just feeling some things out about a potential way things could go based on what we've see so far in terms of how quickly the plot moves and how the show seems like it's more willing to reunite all the characters, so I am going to try to get everyone to Cairhien by ep8 so that they can reunite again; we also might be doing Tear instead at the end of the season):

ep1: The opening of the season is supposed to start with a 'bang'. Would they do the Tower coup this early in the season? Siuan ended s2 in a terrible political position, having the Dragon in her possession and then losing him. And if anyone finds out that she was conspiring with Moiraine for twenty years... otoh, would they want to show us Elaida in Caemlyn first, before taking her to the Tower for that plotline?

I'm not sure how much of a time-jump we'll get, though probably a bit of one, but I'm hoping we'll get to see all the characters together in the same location, as happened in Tear in the books. This may take place either in Falme or in Caemlyn, but our characters will have a chance to regroup and mingle. We may get some of our action from the start of book 4 here -- the bubble of evil, getting rumors of trouble in the Two Rivers. If the opening episode is in Caemlyn and not Falme, it may also feature: Mat vs Gawyn & Galad; Egwene and Rand (at least) meeting Gawyn and Galad. Rand meeting Elaida and getting a version of the Foretelling. This might also have our characters meeting up with Verin and Alanna in Caemlyn, and we may get our Verin & Egwene scenes and a certain gift of a twisted stone ring.

perhaps spurred by Elaida's Foretelling, our group scatters to their future destinations. Since they are much closer to the Two Rivers than they were in the books at this time, it might be that Loial leads Rand's group through the Ways to Rhuidean, rather than leading Perrin to the Two Rivers. Egwene meets the Wise Ones in TAR and decides she also needs to go to Rhuidean with Rand.

ep2: Perrin arrives in the Two Rivers and we get a look into that situation; Elayne and Nynaeve get interrogated by a woman who is definitely not secretly Moghedien. Rand and Mat ask permission to go to Rhuidean. In order to make it so that all the characters are heading in to the same place, maybe Elayne and Nynaeve went to Cairhien to investigate Liandrin's disappearance? Since all the 'known' Seanchan were killed off in the Battle of Falme, the show may have the Seanchan take s3 (and s4?) off as they regroup before their next offensive.

ep3: They've put a pretty heavy-hitter in as ep3 in s2 and it seems likely they would try to do the same in s3 because of the way that Prime drops shows, so let's call ep3 the Rhuidean episode, where we learn about the Aiel's past and Mat finds a doorway. Moiraine goes through the silver rings, learning about what will happen to her in the future, and writes some letters (alt: Moiraine goes through the doorway in Rhuidean as well and learns it there?).

ep4: Rand & co travel towards Alcair Dal (skipping Cold Rocks Hold); If the White Tower Schism didn't happen in ep1, maybe it happens here. I'm going to tentatively put the Coup here. Rahvin arrives in Caemlyn, if he exists?

ep5: Alcair Dal & Rand trapping Asmodean as a teacher (with Lanfear's help). Couladin announces that he's the Car'a'carn and decides to march on Cairhien, and Rand already feels guilty about getting Lanfear to help him escape in 2x7 and her torching the city, so he's extra motivated to stop him.

ep6: Battle of the Two Rivers, so that Perrin will be able to start his cross-country road trip to meet back up with everyone else by the end of the season? Maybe including the 'trap' for Faile that happened in TDR and it makes Perrin realize that he has feelings for her, which he feels guilty about. Asmodean begins teaching Rand.

ep7: Nynaeve and Moghedien have a confrontation in Cairhien and Nynaeve manages to defeat Moghedien, causing her to flee (or maybe this is Nynaeve defeating Liandrin? We might want to keep Moggy scary for the moment). At the end of the episode, the Shaido Aiel have arrived to lay siege to the city.

ep8: Battle of Cairhien - Mat kills Couladin and forms the Band of the Red Hand; Lanfear finds out that Rand and Aviendha have... slept together? kissed? have feelings for each other? And Moiraine and Lanfear have their appointment at the docks when Lanfear loses it as she realizes that after all her work, Lews Therin/Rand is never going to love her the way that she wants him to.

Then, in the name of 'letting the characters spend more time together', Rand's friends maybe actually get to hang out with him in s4 before people split up again, giving us a situation where the whole group gets to reassemble to save Rand at Dumai's Wells? Hard to guess without knowing how much will get covered in s3. They've done a great job pulling in plot lines from various books so far.

s2 did an amazing job of having a handful of themes that they explored through multiple characters and storylines, so I expect that s3 will also have some themes that they will be using. Not sure what it might be yet though once we get our s3 trailer (in, like, a year or a year and a half, lol) we'll probably have a better idea, because Halsey's "Control" being used for the s2 trailer was INCREDIBLY accurate for some of s2's themes -- "who is in control?" and the idea of fear and control and trying to own someone's power were very much at play in s2.

So what character arcs might we see in s3?

I think we're going to see Moiraine & Lan firmly established as mentors to Rand throughout the season, doing their best to prepare him for the future. And then Rand is potentially going to lose both of them at the end of the season (since I think that the show might bring all the characters together at the end of the season again, we might even see Nynaeve "bonding Lan to save his life" at the end of s3).

In general, there's just... honestly gonna be so much Rand stuff that I will be absolutely overwhelmed (in a good way). TDR-TSR-TFoH are my favorite run of the books and there are just so parts of TSR that are SO good (and a lot of them are Rand).

Theory for Mat's arc in s3: I wonder if we're going to start with him choosing to take a bodyguard-type role for Rand (because of his guilt over the stabbening) and transition to taking a general/captain-role at the end of the season (which would involve more independence in the future when he needs to leave Rand's plotline) as the Maidens take over as Rand's bodyguards. TSR is such a good book for both Rand and Mat in general, so I'm really looking forward to what the show does because the show has invested so much in their relationship already.

I am so so curious about what dynamic will be established for Rand & Asmodean and how many of the other characters might know the truth about him. In the books, Moiraine reveals in her letter to Rand that she knew who he really was but agreed with Rand that perhaps there was no choice but to work with him, because she agrees that Rand needs the training.

I do think we'll see some vibes between Rand and Elayne in the first episode, but that they won't act on them. But Rand was clearly struck by Elayne tenderly healing him with the sunlight in her hair and I do think we'll get some follow-up on that moment in ep1.

We'll also be getting Rand and Egwene pulling away from each other as romance partners (but perhaps settling into being trusted friends?). And I agree with @markantonys that it makes the most sense to have Rand & Aviendha as Rand's first established romance post-Egwene, because of the way the plotlines are set-up (Aviendha is actually going to be around Rand all season) and because she comes from a culture that leaves space for adding additional partners, so you don't need to use the misunderstanding loophole for Elayne and then Min to be added to the relationship in the future.

Perrin is going to come face-to-face with his guilt and grief over his wife's death when he goes back to the Two Rivers. Especially when he begins to catch feelings for Faile. We'll also see him training in TAR with Hopper. We'll see the continuation of his struggle with Dain. I do wonder if Dain might die at the end of s3, for similar reasons to why Renna, Seta, & Suroth died at the end of s2, leaving room for Galad to become the main Young Whitecloak figure in the future. Because the Whitecloaks spend several books not really being relevant in the middle part of the series.

Given how Nynaeve struggled with her block this season and it's been a real obstacle for her, one that she can't handwave away by doing the Bruce Banner "I'm always angry" thing like she kinda does in the books, I think that her main struggle this upcoming season is going to be trying to break her block and that they might even have her succeed at the end of the season against Moghedien -- much like s2 featured Egwene, Mat, & Moiraine coming into their powers (or back into their powers for Moiraine), s3 may see Nynaeve, Rand, & Perrin doing that.

The fact that Siuan disagreed so strongly with Moiraine in 2x7 makes me feel that it's more likely that she will survive the coup, because now she has tons of space for a character growth arc once she's struggling with actually dealing with her own stubborn Two Rivers person in the form of Egwene.

This will be Elayne's first season as an established member of the group -- one of the reasons that I think we'll get a set-up episode at the start of the season is that it makes sense to establish what her place is within the group. And then if Thom is in her storyline, we'll be able to explore a lot of her feelings about being the Daughter-Heir and her relationship with her mother, even if Morgase isn't shown on-screen.

Given that we killed off* all the 'known' Seanchan, I wonder if that means that we'll be taking a break from them in seasons 3&4, and then have them return at the end of s5(?), after Mat, Nynaeve, Elayne, and Lan have all gone to Ebou Dar (maybe Egeanin's plotline is shifted to Ebou Dar and we see that being explored at the start of s5 before the bulk of the Seanchan attack at the end?).

(* well, Suroth might not be dead, since we didn't actually see her die and she might have gotten rescued from the water, so she might be existing in a quantum state -- dead if they can't get the actress back later on but alive if they can)

We had a LOT of plotlines in s2 -- five major plotlines (Rand, Mat, and Perrin each got their own, while Egwene & Nynaeve and Moiraine & Lan did some sharing) plus we had the villain plotlines.

I’m guessing that we’ll only have three main plotlines in s3, which will give them all a bit more breathing room — we’ll have Rand & co in the Waste; Perrin & co in the Two Rivers; and Nynaeve & co doing a version of Tanchico. I think that the White Tower coup is likely to be a plotline for one-three episodes rather than something that spans the entire season.

And now, just for fun, a WoT s2 speculation scorecard! How well did I do?

I'll go backwards in time, so starting with my most recent speculation (that I did based on the 2x8 trailer that aired post 2x7).

That shot of Rand asking "who are you?" would be to that lovely shot of Elayne with sunlight in her hair: Correct!

Lanfear and Ishamael will fall apart while the Two Rivers kids stick together: Correct!

Elayne and Nynaeve will have to separate due to only have one sul'dam outfit: Wrong!

Hopper is going to die; Perrin will kill Daddy Bornhald in retaliation: Correct!

I had, like, three different guesses for the Horn situation so I'm not giving myself any credit there, lol

Turok will die by channeling, not by sword: Correct!

Moiraine and Lan will free damane as their plotline for this episode: Wrong!

Speculation for 2x7 made after trailer that came out after 2x6:

I do a lot of vague spec, the first firm thing I say without as much waffling is that Rand will be put under 'house arrest' by Siuan: Correct!

Mat saw Rand get taken by Lan & co: Wrong!

Lanfear and/or Ishamael arranges the fire in Foregate to free Rand from his 'house arrest' by the Aes Sedai: Correct!

Egwene gets to socialize with other damane: Wrong!

Speculation for 2x6-2x8 based on imdb listings for the last three episodes:

again, I do a lot of waffling and 'maybe this, maybe that', my first solid spec is that Liandrin's son would die in 2x6: Correct!

I did think we would get the royal wedding, so I will mark that: Wrong!

Natti Cauthon would appear as part of Ishy messing with Mat: Correct!

I thought the White Tower would be a location in these last three episodes: Wrong!

Yacissa will get killed by the Black Ajah: Wrong! (very happy to be wrong; I LOVE her)

Lanfear will help Rand out as his presence creates a wedge between Lanfear and Ishmael: ...kinda? I mean, she was Team Rand the second she learned Rand existed, lol.

Rand will leave Cairhien via Waygate: Correct!

Maigan will be Pura: Wrong! (no one is Pura, at least not now, and Maigan is very dead)

Loial will get to visit Egwene in the 'kennels': Wrong!

Egwene won't be freed until 2x8: Correct!

The 2x8 cold open will focus on LTT & Ishamael: Correct!

Ishamael will experience a painful reversal of expectations in 2x8 as his plans fall to pieces: Correct!

I also speculated here that Perrin would kill Bornhald in this version but I already counted that one above.

Uno will reappear as one of the Heroes of the Horn: Correct!

Speculation for 2x4 based on the first three episodes:

Moiraine doesn't already know Rand is in Cairhien: Wrong!

Lan will show the Lanfear poem to Alanna & co: Wrong!

Liandrin will tell Nynaeve that Perrin & co were captured by the Seanchan: Correct!

Logain was deliberately placed in Cairhien to lure Rand there: Correct!

Before we got the episode titles but after the trailer came out:

Siuan's trip to Cairhien occurs in episode 6: Correct!

Rand will still be wandering around the countryside when he meets Selene: Wrong!

Moiraine and Lan will be researching at Verin's in 2x1: Correct!

Rand and Selene's main episode will be ep2: Wrong!

The shot of Lan on Mandarb in the woods will be in Nynaeve's Accepted Test: Correct!

Nynaeve's Accepted Test will happen in ep3: Correct!

Moiraine and Rand reunite in ep4: Correct! (wrong about how/why though)

Perrin meets the Seanchan in ep5: Wrong!

Perrin meets Aviendha in ep5: Correct!

Rand meets Logain in ep6: Wrong!

"We get the New Spring flashback scene, see Moiraine & Siuan happy and young, then hear Gitara's Foretelling": Close! (I guessed it for ep6)

Verin will be in Perrin's plotline: Wrong!

Liandrin will be confirmed as a darkfriend in ep6: Close! (it was ep5)

Egwene, Nynaeve, & Elayne will spend the first 5 episodes in the White Tower and the last 3 in Falme: Close! (it's more 4 in WT; 1 traveling; 3 Falme)

I did a huge post of How Does Mat Get To Falme, which ended up being hilariously incorrect as "Lanfear has him bonked over the head and then Travels him there" was not on my radar, lol. But my favored method included him reuniting with Rand in Cairhien, so I'm glad that part still happened.

Anyway, I didn't do so awful in my predictions, I think.

(In terms of 'accidental predictions', I did write a fic involving Rand being tied to a bed in Cairhien by his lover literally months before we had any clue it would be happening in the show, - and while I'm talking about randomly accidentally being a Prophet in my fics: in Voice, I had Lanfear (who we had not yet met in the show) giving solid relationship advice - "That's fear talking, not fact" & I had this line for Mat: "Maybe Mat was destined to be a failure and a disappointment, like his father. But he wouldn't just lie down and let it happen." which is essentially what it feels like we just got from him in 2x8.)

[dorriostareyes]

I HEAR YOU'RE WORKING ON AN SMG4 AU 👀

*cracks knuckles* Let's do this.

Word of warning: I have not watched a good chunk of SMG4 so there may be characters and settings I'm missing. I'm caught up from the Genesis to Puzzle Park arc and haven't seen anything that came before the Genesis arc. I'm watching out of order.

So like, I suppose you can call it an AU? It's an AU in the sense that it's a continuation of canon that won't be "canon" when more SMG4 episodes come out.

Also as a reminder this AU is VERY much in the first draft stage. I have ideas and for it and some scenes that would Look CoolTM, but it's not all set in stone.

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The Main Overview

The idea is that someone/thing hacks into Mr. Puzzles head to use him against the SMG4 crew. They mess with and manipulate Mr. Puzzles so the SMG4 crew will think it's all a rage & madness fueled scheme by Mr. Puzzles and not look any deeper into what's really going on.

Then the SMG4 crew, working both inside and outside of Puzzles' head, have to figure out what's up with Puzzles and y'know, stop him.

The idea is that this is an introduction into a theoretical next villain and sets up the scenario where Mr. Puzzles works with the crew to stop this villain. Y'know, the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" sort of thing. Could lead to a redmeption arc for our favorite TV head, could not. Who knows.

Basically, I had the idea of- "okay, so as Puzzles implied, "My head, my rules" that TV is LITERALLY his brain. So what if someone messed with that and targeted his memories? I mean, Puzzles is all wires and TV so would it really be that hard?"

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Timeline

• SMG4 crew fucks around in the prison Mr. Puzzles is being held in and unintentionally make a way for him to escape

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• SMG4 adventures!

• a couple episodes of Mr. Puzzles doing his own shit; the audience sees how he's coping. These episodes would be between some of the SMG4 adventures

• in the Mr. Puzzles episodes we would also get to see how things are slowly becoming worse. Something seems off, and it may not just be Mr. Puzzles internal issues this time.

• perhaps a part of this is a decay of his relationship with Leggy?

• red would be used a lot in to show these moments

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• SMG4 crew find out about the escaped prisoners, ends with them learning Puzzles is no longer locked up

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• find Puzzles the next episode? Or a brief break THEN get to the Mr. Puzzles confrontation?

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• Puzzles RETURNS!

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Excerpt for more of the Puzzles RETURNS! confrontation...

They go searching for Mr. Puzzles to get his ass back in solitary IMMEDIATELY. Someone, maybe Meggy? brings up how things ended at Puzzle Park and suggests that MAYBE he won't be an issue anymore. After all, he hasn't shown his face to them and it's been MONTHS since he escaped. So maybe he's finally leaving them alone...?

Yeah no one really believes that.

Mr. Puzzles finds them first and he is pissed, like furious; his face is red, his screen is glitching out, even his voice is stuttering. I'm unsure of the exact details of this; of time or location, or the precise circumstances. Need to work on the details. But they confront him, demand to know what he wants, what he's up to, etc. The conversation doesn't last long, Mr. Puzzles is furious and ranting about how they ruined his life, so much worse than he'd originally thought, but he REMEMBERS it now. He remembers it all!

Naturally, NO ONE knows what he's on about and the conversation soon escalates into a fight. It doesn't last long before they are getting sucked into his screen.

Meggy notes before that something seems off. The constant glitching of his face and screen, how he doesn't seem to be quite processing what they're saying, how straightforward this is? No manipulations, or grandiose gestures? but she brushes it off; after everything that's happened, why should she care? He's here to do god knows what to her and her friends. Clearly, he hasn't learned anything after Puzzle Park.

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ENTER THE SCREEN

They get sucked in, ready for a fight and find that things are seriously off. The normal blues are replaced with alarming reds, the various screens are cracked and leaking. The vibes are, as they say, RANCID.

And there is Mr. Puzzles, still furious; he's STEAMING, literally, there seems to be smoke or something coming from the sides of his head.

Mr. Puzzles: YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD GET RID OF ME. THOUGHT I WOULDN'T NOTICE YOUR LITTLE TRICK? WELL, TOO BAD!

SMG4: Wha- what trick?! What are you talking about??

Mr. Puzzles: OH, DON'T PLAY DUMB WITH ME SMG4. YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN.

They are now starting to have questions. The anger is starting to be replaced with frustrated confusion from the SMG4 crew.

SMG3: What are you talking about? Why would we waste our time doing what, exactly?

Cue unhinged laughter.

Mr. Puzzles: DON'T TRY TO LIE ABOUT IT! I KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE. Mr. Puzzles gestures to the various broken screens. AND YOU CAN EITHER OWN UP TO IT OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES!"

Meggy: This has nothing to do with us! Just let us out of here!

Obviously, this will connect back to the idea of someone/thing messing with Mr. Puzzles memories. And let's just say that Mr. Puzzles is refering to what is in these corrupted memories and not the fact they are corrupted. After all, how would you know if your memories are false or not?

The fight continues!

Mr. Puzzles is adamant that they did something to him. As they keep going static begins to build up in the background, rising in volume as they fight. It gets to a crescendo as the group makes their way to the exit, Mr. Puzzles reaches for them-

- and snags Meggy, Mario & SMG4 before they can get out. The others are blasted out of the screen, with it shuddering and going dark briefly before lighting back up.

"OFF THE AIR" it reads.

Annnddd... that's it! For now. Like I said, broader strokes. I have a more general idea of the story then the specific details. This is just what a confrontation with Mr. Puzzles could look like with the situation I've set up. I have some potential scene ideas I want to draw out. Though whether they stay as a part of the AU is up in the air.

Hope you enjoyed~ ;)

[kyouka-supremacy]

Ughhhh if we have a sequel to BEAST, I want to see sm how Beast Aku and Atsushi are doing 😩😩😩😩

Do you have any HCs on how the BEAST characters are doing after the LN's ending?

(it can be sskk or anything! 💕💕

Very funny because I had, in my drafts, a post I wrote back in August that is exactly a collection of thoughts over what I think Beast sskk would be like post-canon. I prematurely took it out for you, please enjoy!! Other sskk-unrelated Beast post canon firm plot points (also coming from posts I have yet to publish) that I have are:

Higuchi is the next Port Mafia boss. Duh. She's fairly more confident in this universe (never met Akutagawa), and took it upon herself to reorganize the pm after Dazai died. The Beast ending, where she's going to ambush the main character in an alley, is meant to serve as introduction for her character as the new mafia boss (when you think about it, Mori too was revealed to be the pm boss in an alley setting, after a seemingly friendly first meeting... ), and as introduction of the Beast equivalent of the main universe Port Mafia arc. I'm a radical Beast movie ending negationist lmao

In the mess that was the Beast aftermath, Gin ran away off city, and so did Kyouka. They end up in the same rural town– but they don't know who the other is. I'm not kidding when I say it's not unlikely that even though both worked for the pm at the same time, there's a good chance they wouldn't have known each other: it's canon that Dazai always kept Gin near him¹, and only his closest assistants would have had the chance to meet her. Finding each other in similar conditions (and possibly even similar lies to cover their own identities), they end up bonding, maybe even open a shop together? Basically, Spy × Family minus the romance where Gin and Kyouka end up living together out of convenience and both of them are completely oblivious to the other's assassin abilities because that's just what they're used to.

Other than that, reaffirming my points about how Atsushi doesn't join the ada, but is an ada ally à la Lucy or Poe; and that Atsushi is the one to die for Akutagawa in their fight against Fukuchi.

¹ “she’s the boss’s personal secretary and spends every waking moment with him”, BSD Beast novel, page 81