#don’t even get me started on the potential power dynamic angst between them

[horatiompreg]

sometimes i think about how eager hamlet was to have horatio call him by name, but even as hamlet is dying horatio still calls him ‘prince’

[reverseblackholeofwords]

Hi, just wanted to remind you that I still love all the ego stuff you wrote. I was a big lurker during the time you actively wrote it but dude it was so fucking good.

When I think about the egos, I mostly think about your stuff bc it made the characters come to life. It was so good. I can’t say it enough.

The stuff I’m pulling from memory rn is Anti’s time in The Forgotten. Like my bro, my dude, my homie. That shit pulled at my heart. The fact that he was only gone for like a day or smt in our dimension but he had actually been gone for like 10 years in that dimension experiencing horrors unknown. AND NOBEDY KNEW???? Good shit.

The relationship between the Host and dr. Iplier. Still one of my fav bromances. Like the trust between them and how it was made through hardships. It came to a point where Host even trusted Doc with his name??? Which gave him power over Host, something he was so afraid of. Doc made him a better man. Stopped him from being too cruel. But than he had to forget it bc he went insane. BUT BECAUSE HOST IS AN ASS, HE MADE DOC AND ANTI FORGET EVERYTHING. My guy, that’s your platonic husband and adopted son. Yes I was screaming about that. That still gets me going.

There is so much other stuff too though. Like Anti and Doc becoming family. The egos all getting closer. Phantom being an absolute menace every time he appeared. The Googles becoming more and more human over time.

You introduced me to Wiggles. Didn’t know anything about PJ before I started reading your works.

What it all boils down to, is me wanting to thank you. I don’t know how you look back on those ego stories but it got me through some dark times. You updating it always made my day better. I still carry a piece of it with me everywhere I go and has also inspired me a lot. So thank you!

Oh man, thank you so much for taking time to send this! It's honestly insanely encouraging to hear those stories stuck with you. I still love them a lot myself, cringe or no, because they're such a fun time capsule of that period in my life, and this blog and all the people who followed it (lurkers and all) also helped me get through college in one piece.

Gosh I did put Anti through so much, but in my defense, it was for character development! He and Ollie were always one of my favorite dynamics to write, personally. I mean, the computer glitch demon and the sentient android with a heart of gold? I still haven't made up something that good since. Also the Mare and Phantom dynamic, which they were always managing to screw up somehow. Unhealthy sibling dynamics are the best.

It's also insane that so much of the Host stuck with you because he was always my favorite to write and the one that felt the most like mine at the end of the day. The fact that Mark announced he'd retired him as a character and we all collectively agreed to kidnap him and give him a story is still one of this fandom's shining moments in my mind. In fact, I've kinda snagged Host for different original stories I'm writing now just because I miss writing him so much. I've also kept The Forgotten as a concept, which is definitely getting used in a setting I'm working on now because the angst potential is indeed too good to deny.

Also, while we're strolling down memory lane, what one writer gets to wipe their entire canon midway through and start over again in an alternate timeline whilst using references to the previous timeline to terrorize their readers? Ending one timeline of the blog to begin another was a wild but fascinating experiment on my part to see how I could use it to play with foreshadowing and all that jazz. Plus nothing will ever quite beat letting the audience reach into the narrative and start making their own waves from time to time.

But even though I do mostly original stories now, I'm still loving writing found families and platonic soulmates and maybe the redeeming of one or two villains, so I appreciate all the practice and the feedback I got from these stories! I'll probably keep sneaking Ego references into my stories forever. I'd also be curious to know which story arcs stuck with other people??

[agerefandom]

A Good Omens S2 Review

Hello everyone! I lied and watched the new season of Good Omens and because I have thoughts on it, I thought I'd write a little review. This is from the perspective of someone who was a book fan for over a decade before the show came out, so it is quite critical of the show, so please keep that in mind! I expect that it's much more enjoyable for folks who didn't spend so long invested in a different version of the characters.

Short/Spoiler-Free: Season two was a fun time with excellent new characters, but the finale sets them up for a disastrous third season, and making Crowley and Aziraphale the main characters really does dilute the original message of the novel.

The rest of the review contains spoilers and is over 1,300 words because I was an English major in Uni. Carry on for those curious!

Let’s start off with the things that I liked about the show!

1.The actors for Crowley and Aziraphale are continuing to kill it with their performances: the physicality they bring to their characters is a delight, their timing in the comedy sections is impeccable, and I enjoy watching them do their thing.

2. Gabriel as a comedy relief character was amazing for me. I usually don’t enjoy comedy (and didn’t enjoy a single joke in the flashback scenes, but that’s entirely my fault probably for not liking humorous TV) but Gabriel really did tickle me.

3. Loved the terrifying Jane Austen ball where Aziraphale just messed around with everyone’s brains! Very chilling show of angelic power, potentially wasn’t played as horrific as it could have been, but still very nice! I like when Aziraphale is scary.

4. Muriel is my child and I love them with my entire heart. They were a delight of a character. Really brought new life to the show, and a new person to learn the message of the book (humanity as divinity). (Although the second season didn't really... carry that lesson for Muriel or for anyone else, so never mind that.)

5. The new human characters were also enjoyable and very sweet. Their dynamic was believable and real and that was good to see.

6. The writers really did just decide to make every side character gay and half of them use they/them pronouns. I have mixed opinions on it, but ultimately I did think it was a lovely little detail, especially with the angels/demons who are more separate from human genders.

Okay, now let’s get into the rest of things.

I think my overall conclusion from this season is that Crowley and Aziraphale were not, at all, made to be main characters. Even in the first season, I felt that they overemphasized them. In the book, the focus is split between them and the larger plot, with lots of little side vignettes to make sure the reader is kept grounded on Earth, with the humans, who are the emotional centre of the book. Aziraphale and Crowley play as foils to human nature in Adam and they are not the main characters, though they are, of course, the main marketing force.

Making them the main characters, especially in Season Two, meant dropping a lot of their character progress and giving them a lot more angst than they had in the novel. Both of them feel very young, where in the book they definitely seem more like they’ve been around for several millennia. I also feel that they aren’t totally allowed to be as fucked up as they were in the book? (Maybe that’s just a personal vendetta: I am furious that Season One took out the scene where Aziraphale kills his magician’s dove out of carelessness.)

Okay, two small things and then I’ll get to the finale.

First of all, interesting to get confirmation that Crowley was in the war on Heaven and actually took up arms? Feels contradictory to his ‘demon who sauntered vaguely downward’ description and also odd to his character that he would have fought directly against Heaven but I imagine that’s building to some other twist involving Crowley’s Fall in Season Three, so I’ll let it go for now. (I still think it makes show!Crowley very different from book!Crowley though)

Gabriel and Beelzebub were a very nice thing, although underdeveloped. It made me sad to see that they, as newly appointed side characters, can have a simple relationship, while Aziraphale and Crowley are now main characters and therefore need a more tumultuous and dynamic relationship that they didn’t have in the book, where they were actually relatively solid.

Now let’s go for finale time.

Ultimately, I absolutely hated two key things about the finale.

First of all, the kiss. I’m not sure if it was a direct response to the harassment about S1 being queerbaiting or if it was always the plan to have an explicitly physical relationship between the two, but I’m so mad about it either way. It just accepts the narrative that a physical relationship is the only stable one (ie. if Aziraphale had kissed Crowley back, it would have fixed everything and they could have been together). I also don’t really want my Good Omens show to be a religiously charged commentary on queer love, which it immediately became, especially with Aziraphale’s immediate response being “I forgive you,” which highlighted everything I didn’t want Good Omens to become.

Framing the kiss immediately as a sin is such a bad move, I don’t know what the writers were thinking??? Emphasizing that Aziraphale is an angel and however much he can want Crowley by his side, he can’t kiss him because he’s an angel and kissing is… something that needs to be forgiven?

However the line was supposed to be read, it really seemed like a religious condemnation and it hurt more than I care to admit. Aziraphale in the books is so comfortable with his perceived queerness, and his recoiling from it here with Crowley at the point where it becomes explicit… I didn’t care for it.

And secondly, the promotion.

That was so stupid on so many levels. My partner said that it wasn’t in character, since Aziraphale is not an ambitious angel and seems like someone who would turn tail and run from a promotion. I can’t say I remember his relationship with ambition in the books, but I respect and trust my partner’s opinion on that.

More importantly to me, it entirely muddies the message of the story and it reflects very darkly on what season three will involve.

Good Omens was never about ‘fixing’ Heaven or Hell. It was about honouring humanity as the truly divine mix of both, about not allowing them to end the Earth, and about finding a small place for yourself to live: a bookshop, a garden, a cottage, a town.

Aziraphale choosing to go and reform Heaven totally turns that on its head: now there is no ending for the show without either abandoning or fixing Heaven, and how is that going to work?? You can’t turn angels into an anarchy because it’s very clear they have no real natural inclination to ‘goodness’ but neither can you truly save Heaven, because what are you going to do? Declare that there’s no more cancer for young children? No more evil in the world? God has designed the world with evil in it, and there’s no rewriting that. Suddenly Good Omens has to grapple with what was once ineffable and almost unimportant to the lives of the characters: the true purpose of Heaven and Hell.

I have absolutely no faith in almost any TV show to tackle that question (The Good Place gets a minor pass), and no interest in watching the story be told through Aziraphale and Crowley, who have always been more grounded characters in a world of too much divine bureaucracy.

On the note of divine bureaucracy, I felt like it was lacking from the flashback scenes. While I enjoyed them overall and really appreciated some of my favourite book moments finally being adapted on-screen, they didn’t really address the paperwork they were covering for each other: seemed more like the two of them running around having almost random adventures, whereas in the novel they were often doing each other’s temptations and salvations in a much more ‘oh, check that off the list and write a progress report to the supervisor’ kind of way.

Again, this is because Aziraphale and Crowley have been made into Main Characters and their place as subordinates is now unimportant. They are making Big Decisions and causing changes in the world, and I truly don’t believe that’s what Aziraphale and Crowley were made to be. They were just an angel and a demon who tried to solve the apocalypse and didn’t end up doing anything because the anti-christ was a little too human for the whole plan to work in the first place.

And I miss them.

[hayleysayshay]

How would you say you feel about certain tlovm ships? I find myself mostly apathetic to them and more interested in the found family aspects though Perc'ahlia seems solid naratively in both show and campaign.

So I’ll say with TLOVM I see a few ships mentioned constantly.

I’ll say I’m never really been a massive shipper and skew more platonic and found family in general and tend to stick to canon ships because I am boringggg (unless it ends open ended and I find the ship interesting).

However because I love the show, I’ve found fanfic an easy way to explore the world and characters. It’s an ‘in’. So yes, I have read all of these. Mostly Perc’ahlia.

Perc’ahlia: look I keep reblogging this. I just really love it. Gives me girl boss and male wif vibes. I also love the general slow burn of it. Yes I’m referring more to the campaign than the show. But she can get through to him and I think he would be this dependable and steadying influence to her (when we see more of Vex’s character). I’m surprised about how much I enjoy it considering how little I usually care. The ‘take off the mask’ so she can see him at his worst moment is like fucking poetry to me. Also they’re sexy.

Vaxleth: I really don’t have much opinion. Vax likes her, it’s implied she might like him back but rejects him because of the timing and doesn’t feel exactly the same way. Like? They just show them liking each other and there’s no real build up to it. Vax thinks she amazing at the start and still thinks that at the end. However I think there’s strong potential to show that relationship dynamic change so I’m interested, just not enamoured.

Vexleth: this honestly feels like a first crush Keyleth has on Vex but I have a feeling it won’t lead anywhere. Like the thing that’s interesting me about the ship is maybe Keyleth having a crush on the idea of Vex but not really knowing Vex herself. I’m finding the most angsty angle.

Percildan: The alternative Percy ship. Like the show has given me very little for this other than hate sex so I guess if that’s your thing I can see it. I think this has more basis in the campaign where their relationship is close then gets dramaful in it etc etc (also I believe Percy has had a kiss from both twins maybe?)

Pikelan: I didn’t like Scanlan in the first two episodes (I didn’t like them much in general but I adore the Briarwood arc and the characters in that arc) but looks beloved sex maniac x power gnome is cute (especially since I know we get Scanlan angst later on in the series as well).

I think that’s all the ships? Apart from Polymachina. Which I’m always down with.

I think I wish we had a bit more platonic besties moment in the show. Supposedly Keyleth and Percy have a good friendship in the campaign but we only really had one scene between them. The rest of their scenes are like anything else.

I think an issue I had, and I have mentioned it briefly, is that I couldn’t understand why they were still travelling together and looking for work if they didn’t like each other that much. Like why was Percy with them. He’s an arsehole. Why would Scanlan be travelling with them? Why are Vex and Vax with them and not going it alone? I just couldn’t figure out if they were meant to have just met as a work group and still getting to know their dynamic or if they were meant to be close friends. Like I was genuinley confused by this during the first episodes. This was my introduction and I didn’t get the characters at all. I’m glad episode three was so intriguing.

Like I fully believe that they sprung Percy from a jail cell in the cartoon like a month before the first two episodes because that’s the only way that makes sense to me.

Basically I want more found family moments in the show and I want them to clarify the relationships between each other. Hopefully season 2 doesn’t have many romantic moments, it’s just building up the later romances and current friendships.

So yeah, love the found family aspect! Especially with all their pasts, even those not shown in the show. They all have pain and could find life together. Like, You mean this gnome family adopted Grog? This big goliath in this tiny gnome house? That’s adorable. I love that. I want to see that, and them all loving each other.

If the show had the budget for two more episodes, I’d have two episodes between the dragon episodes and the Briarwood arc. Maybe a Scanlan and Pike and Grog centric emotional arc. That would flash back very briefly to how the group all met each other. Please I just needed some clarification.

[writcraft]

Hello! How would compare and contrast Snarry vs Drarry? Since you have (beautifully!) written both, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the dynamics of these two ships. Thank you!

Hello Anon, thank you for this lovely message and what a topic!

I have set out below the cut why I think the dynamics differ but also some of the similarities and it got very, very long. Yikes.

DRACO

Draco is privileged, from a wealthy, pureblood, old wizarding family and immersed in magic from childhood. He's the kind of popular where he has his crew and doesn't really care if the Gryffindors don't like him, he is athletic and bright and he is described in a way that suggests he is attractive. Up until the point things really start to go wrong for Draco, he leads a relatively charmed life. He is a product of his upbringing, of his upper class status, he experiences a childhood where he is spoiled, loved and doted on, albeit he appears to be subject to high expectations of academic excellence and sporting prowess. With his friends he appears to be something of the ringleader and generally liked. He gravitates towards Voldemort because it's really all he's known, he's born into it. At first it seems Draco's views are driven by his desire to protect the things he values (wealth, status, power) and the privilege he has become accustomed to and, in the end, he sticks around primarily out of fear and self preservation. Draco exhibits moments of cowardice.

SEVERUS

Severus has an entirely different upbringing. He is working class, has a tense relationship with his parents, he is disliked and bullied at school which leaves him isolated, he gravitates towards solitary intellectual pursuits and he is described in a way that suggests he is supposed to be unattractive (although this reader would argue he has a certain magnetic charge). Lily aside, his relationships as a child seem to be shaped by a fascination with the power that comes with wealth and elitism, something he has never experienced. Sirius describes him as Lucius Malfoy's 'lap dog' and it is telling that Lucius is much older, a Prefect when Severus starts Hogwarts. He is radicalised in a way and gravitates towards Voldemort through a greedy hunger for power, a desire for revenge and a desperate desire to change his lot in life. He stays because, well, we all know why he stays. Severus is brave but grudgingly, acerbically so. The deepest insult he confronts is being called a coward by Harry.

FIRST ENCOUNTERS

Aside from the differences in their characters, the way Harry encounters Severus and Draco is completely different. When we meet Severus in canon, he is bitter, angry, jealous, grieving and indebted to Dumbledore. He is also in a position of power as Harry's professor. When we meet Draco, he is Harry's peer but he is also full of himself, an arrogant little shit who thinks the world is his for the taking and he thinks very little of Dumbledore, because father says...

This shapes Harry's encounters with them both. Severus approaches Harry with animosity, venom and a legacy of hurt that Harry doesn't yet understand. Severus places no weight on Harry's celebrity, he actively resents and despises it. Draco, by contrast, values Harry's celebrity initially. He wants to be friends with the wizarding world's brightest star and the animosity that follows between them flows directly from the sting of Harry's initial rejection.

ONGOING RELATIONSHIP

Severus wilfully misunderstands Harry. He draws connections between Harry and James based solely on their striking physical similarities and (incorrectly) ascribes the characteristics of James to Harry. He is tasked with protecting Harry but he does so always through gritted teeth. The curse of Severus Snape is to spend his life protecting someone who represents everything he despised as a child and yet the only person who can give a dying man that last connection to his one true friend.

Draco sees Harry more clearly but his perspective is shaped by jealousy and the sting of that first encounter, which leads him to make fun of Harry's circumstances and the people he associates himself with. He doesn't misunderstand Harry in the way Severus does, but he also doesn't know him fully.

MAGICAL CONNECTIONS

The magic that connects Harry, Draco and Severus is fascinating. Harry famously uses Sectumsempra on Draco without knowing what impact it will have. He then intentionally uses the same spell on Severus (unsuccessfully) knowing exactly the damage it will do. Not only does the use of the spell in both instances show us a darker side to Harry, but the spell was also created by Severus and he is the one that helps Draco after the spell has been cast. I could write an essay on the links this spell creates between those three characters.

Expelliarmus is another one. Severus teaches Harry this spell and in doing so, equips him with his most powerful tool in the fight against Voldemort. Harry disarms Draco of his wand and the implications of that in terms of the final battle are intrinsically connected to the 'signature move' of Harry's in battle, which is all about gaining possession of the wand of the attacker as opposed to trying to target the attacker themselves.

Avada Kedavra is also something that binds the three of them. Harry witnesses Draco failing to cast the Killing Curse, and simultaneously witnesses Severus easily casting it. This also is part of the broader relationship Harry, Draco and Severus have to Dumbledore. Harry and Severus are willing pawns in the master plan but neither are fully equipped with all the information they need. Draco ends up unwittingly being part of the plan but he is never a soldier of Dumbledore's Army in the way Harry explicitly is and Severus, with a gnashing of his teeth, also is.

Finally, one of the important similarities between Severus and Draco is they are both skilled Occlumens, something Harry is notoriously rubbish at. This skill suggests both are better able to bury and compartmentalise their emotions whereas Harry is unable to do so with any success and this plays into the fact that in both ships, Harry is likely to be the more demonstrative, wearing his heart on his sleeve in a way both Draco and Severus can better disguise/suppress.

DIFFERENT DYNAMICS

With all of the above the dynamics between Drarry and Snarry will always have a different slant, even if Harry himself is essentially the same. By way of sweeping overstatement, Snarry tends to skew darker and heavier because there is much more to overcome, but by contrast Severus has also spent his 'canon' years protecting Harry which creates this bitter 'Guardian Angel' type dynamic that, if you ship it, can be intensely romantic when they encounter one another again as adults.

The age difference lends itself to different dynamics too. Harry and Draco have that potential for young, dumb and in love, working things out, exploring, eighth year and spin the bottle sort of stuff that Snarry doesn't really have in the same way. It feels more natural that Harry and Draco would encounter one another as peers from the same year group, so part of the battle with Snarry is working out how Harry and Severus end up in the same spaces together in adulthood (Snape's canon death being a pesky inconvenience). The age difference raises another important difference in dynamic too, when it comes to the experience of Severus and Draco as gay or bisexual men, if you apply Muggle attitudes to same-sex relationships that have shifted over time.

The age difference is also relevant because there is a capacity for Draco to change his ways as he grows up, but Severus has already long changed his political beliefs and we know Severus as an adult in canon. That's not to say adults can't change their beliefs of course, but because his adult character exhibits moments of real cruelty you have a challenge around how this irascible, often mean, sharp-tongued character can give Harry what he yearns for when it comes to affection, love, family, security and so on.

There are hurdles to overcome with both ships and although the core 'enemies to lovers' starting point may create a similar overarching dynamic, the roots of those hurdles, the scale of them and the ways and ease with which they get resolved will differ because ultimately Draco and Severus are very different characters with quite polarised life experiences. They have some similarities, Occlumency aside, such as fostering beliefs during childhood they reject around the same time in their lives, albeit for very different reasons. Both are Slytherins who, their magical skills would suggest, are capable of pushing their emotions down in a way Harry can't, when everything for him is raw, on the surface, now, even though they both also unleash their emotions at various points. They are both prone to dramatics, to anger, to pettiness, to humour and in many respects, Harry is prone to those things too. In general though, I believe Draco and Severus would approach a relationship with Harry quite differently.

I don't think there's any one easy way to pinpoint the different dynamics in general because there is a huge variety of ways these three can be presented in fanfic, with its own plot, worldbuilding, external factors and so on. There are so many different directions you could go in with Snarry and Drarry so I'm only speaking from some of the things that strike me not only about the Severus/Harry and Draco/Harry connections/potential hurdles but also about the links between the three of them. Ultimately I think there is opportunity for deep connection, discovery, levity, passion and of course, delicious angst and UST with both ships, but they tend to manifest a little differently for all the reasons outlines about.

There's so much more I can say, but I'll leave it there. Thank you, Anon!

[jonkentdeservesbetter]

Reposting a comment I made on Reddit:

Also I wanna say, since this came up (repeatedly) in the comments on this post, what my opinion is on a few things regarding the Jon & Clark relationship.

I very much want them to make up, of course. But, for me, I don’t want their history to be glossed over in S3. I feel that Jon really needs to have Clark earn his trust, as well as Clark really needing Jon to earn his. Having their relationship suddenly be okay would, again for me personally, be really upsetting. Maybe frustrating.

Clark wasn’t intending to, but he let Jon down in such ways that Jon obviously doesn’t trust him - not in the way he should. Clark says the Fortress will be for all of them, and Jon immediately doubts this, makes a joke about how Clark’s probably just not considered the ones who can’t fly; like Clark just forgot him before.

Jon, likewise, has obviously shattered Clark’s trust. I don’t think I even need to elaborate on this, right?

They all love each other, but love alone isn’t trust.

(And as Clark had previously established with his Broken Trust speech, it’s something that takes time to rebuild if it’s broken. Their family needs time.)

So, I don’t want things being smoothed out over the between-seasons time-skip. I want to see it happen.

I wrote previously on the sub that I am in the camp of Clark trying to reach out to Jon and Jon being wary and/or distant. I don’t mean this as a punishment for Clark’s character, but as character development for them both. Clark needs to realize the chasm he’s (accidentally) built with Jon, in order to repair it. Jon needs to process his hurt in order to move past it. He always pushes things aside, and then explodes or self-destructs, and it isn’t healthy. They both need to grow, and they both need to slowly come together.

BUT, that said, I don’t want a season-long rebuilding. I want a middle ground. Fluff, angst and hurt+comfort. Maybe have it be one of the first half of the season’s arcs, but concluded by then.

I have also previously stated I wanted Jon to hide his powers from at least Clark, and by extension likely Lois, while he bonds with Nat and Jor over it all. I don’t think this is likely to happen, but I do want it. How in the show? I don’t think it would need more than an episode or two. Three at most, honestly. I think it’s got great story potential, but ultimately - I want to be clear - I want the Lane-Kents happy and healed and united. I just know shoving family issues under the bed and pretending the mess doesn’t exist so you can laugh in the “clean” space is not healthy, so I will, myself, be very unsatisfied with that.

Also, Jordan has always tried with Jon - Jon pushes people away. Granted, I have my own ideas for why that is, but factually, Jordan has tried reaching out since like, 1x02. He does have the character flaw (which he realized after getting yelled at by Lana) of leaning towards self-centered thoughts, but he has tried with Jon. Jon has also, after starting his XK punishments, started to try with Jordan. They aren’t in a perfect place as brothers, however, and frankly they never were (the pilot fighting illustrates this). I have wanted them to also grow and bond together since the first episode, as with Clark & Jon, but they need to actually get there. Skipping past it is, to be blunt, pretty cheap and hollow writing (sorry…). No thanks.

Edit: actually I feel like I should mention Jon did try earlier to reach out to Jordan, before Jordan did the performance with Sarah.

Onto Lois, since I’m apparently rambling about the whole family related to Jon, now. She has made some mistakes, admittedly some OOC, but some not, and I also want her to have a proper rebuilding with Jon. In 2x09 (30 Days, iirc), her actions were out of character but no less harmful; she didn’t intervene at all, and Jon clearly never expected her to. That’s not a good dynamic, not for a loving mother-son relationship. It isn’t the only instance, however. Bizzaro-Lois made it narratively clear that Lois has made mistakes, though. The same can be said of Bizarro in general and Jon-El, however, so really I have little hope of this being handled, anymore than I do with Clark & Jon, which is very, very, very small, and why I still have yet to decide on watching S3 and if so, how (as I talked about under a previous poll, wrt watching S3 at all or not). But I digress, the point is, it’s just as true that Lois has a need to realize her mistakes with Jon and grow, as it is with Clark needing to realize his mistakes with Jon and grow. Jordan of course has done his realizing, for the most part, back in S1 (right before the “if no-one else is gonna help you, I will.” exchange). He has been working on being a better brother for Jon, but Jon still doesn’t know how to rely on others, not truly, and he shuts Jor out whenever his twin starts to get too close (like when Jordan tries to reassure him after the XK fire).

Jordan made the comment “maybe (this family) isn’t all that close to begin with,” and in a way, he was entirely spot-on. They have vast love for one another, but being truly close? They are still lacking this, and that is what I want to watch change, because it has been established and it would be so good to see.

To be clearer: I really just want proper foundations for their fluff, so it feels thoroughly believable and right.

Edit: the paint scene felt right despite this foundation still needing to be built because it was, seemingly, being built; Clark promised to do better, the whole family was set on changing things between them, so this moment of happiness was a continuation of the process already in motion. But things are different now, the rifts are bigger now, so sudden fluff is, in my humble opinion, not going to truly repair anything.

Obviously, we probably won’t get that, and I’m sure I don’t need to explain why to this sub, but I just wanted to say my piece since it came up here.

One of these days, I’m gonna write an analysis on Jon’s character to get his traits/personality and relationships down. Not for anyone else really, but because I kind of need to.

Anyway. This was not directed at anyone, and I am interested in any replies, but I don’t do fighting b/c I am severely traumatized and it messes me up. So.

Apologies for the length and any incomprehensibility.

[wagner-fell]

“I mean hypothetically I get it,” said Maria, in between her fourth and fifth Mars bar, “but come on, she’s a cartoon character!”

Kit didn’t have a clear view of her face from his spot on the floor but he could only assume it was absolutely covered in chocolate. She may have had enough control over her limbs to land her a spot as team captain of their high-school lacrosse team but that particular ability disappeared the second it came to putting food in her mouth.

“But,” exclaimed Astrid, “she’s freakin’ Catra! How can you not be attracted to her?” She brandished the remote control like a weapon in Maria’s general direction. Though her grip was all wrong if that was her intention.

“Okay fair paint. However, she's still a war criminal.”

Astrid nearly broke a bone attempting to furiously remove herself from her sleeping bag. She pointed a menacing finger at Maria. Her unicorn onesie made her look very intimidating. “It is called a redemption arc, you uncultured slut,” she roared.

“Hey, can you quiet down,” Kit asked, cringing at himself.

It was usually Blessica’s solemn duty as Official Mom Friend ™ to say that sort of thing but she was busy checking Instagram and it was one o’clock so Mina really shouldn’t be awake. God, he sounded like Jem. Or worse Julian.

Julian.

Nope. Nope nopity nope. Not today Satan. He snatched Kevin’s fresh beer bottle straight from his hand and drained it in one gulp, ignoring his cries of protest.

Kit was in his bedroom in Devon with three amazing friends who loved him and an incredible girlfriend who supported him through all his shit. His adorable little sister was, hopefully, sound asleep in the next room over. His parents, who he wasn’t quite ready to call ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ to their faces yet, were downstairs watching Pride and Prejudice. Again.

Tonight was definitely not the night to have a mental breakdown about the Blackthorns. And if Kit had to enlist the help of alcohol to ensure that, so be it.

Astrid nodded. “It is called a redemption arc, you uncultured slut,” she whisper-yelled. Maria cackled and threw one of Kit’s pillows at her head.

The moment she’d arrived earlier that day, Maria Santana-Reeves had sprawled her muscular body across her boyfriend’s bed and hadn’t moved since. Unless you counted The Merry Hoes raid to the nearest convenience store a few hours ago.

That’s what they called themselves. The Merry Hoes. It started as a joke after Tessa made a vague comment about their dynamic being similar to a group titled The Merry Thieves. But Kevin and Astrid had taken to the name so much it just kinda stuck.

Especially after Blessica embroidered them all jackets with The Merry Hoes in bold, purple lettering. There was no going back once Blessica whipped out her needle and thread.

Astrid stood on a stood Kit kept in his room for the express purpose of putting things Mina could potentially choke on onto a higher shelf. She continued her rant about the unexplainable hotness of Catra from She-Ra and the Princess of Power. Soberly, he may add.

Blessica and Kevin sat closer than necessary for platonic mates next to Kit on the floor. They were both on their phones and did a truly horrendous job of sneaking glances at each other. As entertaining as this was, the glittering white stripe on the trans flag covering most of Blessica’s case kept distracting him from the real show. The real show being Astrid talk about Catra, obviously.

Kit got up, numb limbs screaming in protest, and joined Maria on the bed. She groaned in protest before rolling over to give him more room. She did something with her hands as she went but Kit didn’t realize what it was until his cheek was pressed against sticky wrappers.

“I hate you,” reported KIt, with no real heat to his voice.

“You are literally wearing my jersey.”

“It was freezing cold in calc!”

“It’s always freezing in calc. Aren’t Shadowhunter’s supposed to have thick skin?”

“Aren’t werewolves supposed to be monstrous?”

“Ha,” said Kevin. “No monstrous my arse.”

“And what’s that mean?,” Maria asked, propping herself up with her elbow.

“It means,” he said, turning around to face her, “have you ever seen yourself eat a chicken leg?” Maria took off her sock, bawled it up and threw it at him. Kevin collapsed onto the floor as if he’d been fatally shot. Only then did Astrid stop talking and climb down, grinning widely like an idiot. Not that Kit had much say. He probably wore the same expression.

“Blessica,” he called out, waving his arm blindly.

Giggling madly, she knelt at his fallen side. “Yes?”

“Tell the headmistress,” he gasped out, “she’s a bitch. And get a middle finger fountain dedicated in my memory.”

“It’s what he would have wanted,” said Astrid, wiping a fake tear from her face. Kevin flipped her off. “He would have loved it,” she repeated, voice cracking with fake sorrow.

“No,” said Blessica, still laughing. “You can’t die on me!”

“I’m afraid I don’t have much of a choice, my love.” They both realized what he said at the same moment. Kevin sat abruptly and Blessica scooted back away from him. “I mean, er.” He scratched his head. “Acting, am I right?”

Astrid, Maria and Kit burst into hysterics at the same time. They were blushing furiously but the cries of joy emitting from their friends made even Blessica, who’s brown skin was as dark as the wood of his floor, red in the face.

Maria nudged him. “I’m glad we were never that hopeless.”

Kit snorted. “Trust me when I say I was only confident in my ability to date a girl way out of my league on the outside. If you could read minds, all you would’ve heard was internal screaming.”

Maria smiled and took his hand in hers. She laced her dark fingers in with his pale ones.

Kit Herondale was happy.

It was so hard to not include angst but I just wanted this to be a fic where I introduced my headcanons for Kit’s friends. Feel free to use my characters if you want. I’m going to be writing a lot more with them so lmk if you want to be added or removed to the tag list

@littlx-songbxrd @foxglove-airmid @ti-bae-rius

[disco-tea]

In the dinner scene where five left, it seemed to me that Reginald and five had argued like this previously before. Not necessarily over time travel, maybe something else; five arguing with his father about missions or other, generally getting under his skin and being rebellious. So it makes me wonder, since Reginald was so abusive and manipulative, did it not affect five the way it affected the others? Did Reginald not have a hold on five like the others? Did five just refuse??

We don’t have a lot of flashbacks of young Five at the academy besides this one so I don’t think we really have a lot of reference for how he was as a kid and how he fit into the whole dynamic. I think...Five was probably a fairly rebellious. At least when he got older anyway. He was 13, a lot of 13-year-olds have a rebellious streak. And I think sooner or later, all the siblings developed one. (I mean in the comics, at least, Reginald describes Diego as an insolent brat). I think it’s possible Five was the first to get rebellious. Even at 13, he was already very smart and seemingly capable so I can see him questioning Reginald and his methods. (It’s also possible that he was angry. He was getting to that age where one starts to realize that certain treatments aren’t okay. So he might have started disliking Reginald because of his behavior.) It did seem like maybe something like it had happened before, if Vanya’s headshake and the argument between Luther and Five on the recording room tapes are anything to go by. (Plus Five did say he gave Reginald a hard time as a kid.)

I do think Five was still affected by Reginald’s abuse and manipulation, I just think it manifested itself in a different way. I think his desire to time travel and push his limits came from having so much value placed on their abilities and it’s possible that at that point in their lives, the children’s sense of worth came from what they could do, and Five didn’t like being told he couldn’t do something.

At the end of the day, I think what it all really boils down to is Five’s tenacity, and his rebellion was just an early offshoot of that. Five doesn’t quit. He has a way of adapting, a way of bouncing back, and a way of never really forgetting who he is despite all the bad things that happen to him. His snark and sense of humor survived 45 years of being alone, which is honestly amazing if you really think about it. In all that time, he never lost sight of what he was fighting for. It’s who he is at his core, and in my head, I think he was like that to a degree as a child. I think there were consequences for what he would do, but he would still do them anyway. It’s a bit of a headcanon of mine that Five got punished a lot as a kid. For acting out. For being too smart or snarky. For already being too much at such a young age.

And there’s a part of me that’s very curious about how Reginald punished the children (because I’m an angst monster and also I want more reasons to hate trash man Reggie). I imagine it would’ve been something specific to each of them. Something designed to make them feel uncomfortable and powerless. And it kinda horrifies me to think what that would’ve meant for Five. Because when Vanya got too powerful, Reginald locked her up. When Klaus wasn’t using his full potential, Reginald locked him in a mausoleum.

But the thing is...by nature, Five can’t be locked up. He can’t be put in a room or a cell (if his powers are still working). Which makes me wonder if Five’s punishments were extra nasty and creative because of that.

[parvuls]

* adapted from @librajiminn on twitter

a fun game to celebrate 2020 ending! the rules are simple: recommend your favorite omgcp fics so everyone can enjoy them, while trying to fill in enough slots to get a bingo! i ordered my recs starting from top left; my filled bingo card is at the end ✨

most recent fic you bookmarked don't tell your mother by seeingrightly [rating: unrated, probably t | words: 1k] essentially: jack is in madison, and things aren’t easy but at least they’re together. i have an unhealthy obsession with madison/4th of july fics, and every new one i discover brings me joy. i liked this one in particular because of the lovely, clean flow of the writing, and for its attention to the problematic environment: the (assumed) homophobic nature of georgia, and bitty's tension when he’s home as a result.

a fic that made you cry Your heart hurts, mine does too by the_p_in_raspberry (@thepinraspberry) [rating: t | words: 19k] essentially: this fic fills the prompt ‘what if bitty hadn’t come out to shitty?’ the fic deals with exactly the subject material implied, and is inherently painful. this what if version of bitty’s journey with his sexuality was so, so raw, but it was the good kind of pain. i’ll say that while this fic is jack/bitty at its core, i really think its real strength is the team dynamics. they are so there for each other, and it was a beautiful read.

a fic you’ve re-read multiple times Prove To Me You Got Some Coordination by amalnahurriyeh [rating: explicit | words: 17k; the series is 24.5k] “In which Jack Zimmermann has a favorite stripper, some very strong feelings about labour relations, and a good heart.“ when i prepared myself for reading a stripper au, this is not what i expected. this fic is one of my all-time favorites. i adored the politics angle, jack's awkward Helpless Good Guy gestures, and bitty being a complete badass. their soft flirting, the realistic (but positive!) take on sex work, and the careful handling of a potential unequal power dynamic. i don’t think i can count on one hand the amount of times i read this fic.

a fic from your to-read list Never Will You Ever by thefiveboxingwizards (@thefiveboxingwizards) [rating: explicit | words: ~25k (WIP)] essentially: during fall semester of Y2 the team plays never have i ever, which results in jack coming out to bitty. bitty decides to move on, just as jack starts to realize his own feelings. this is the first time i’m reccing a fic i haven’t actually read. i have a strict rule against reading wips for my own mental health (although i have great appreciation for all writers who decide to post them; kudos to you). the premise of this fic sounds so alluring, however, that i couldn’t help but marking it for later and then checking if it’s updated every few days. can’t wait to read it when it’s finished!

FREE SLOT and now what words do I have? by MyCupOfTea (@marchingatmidnight) [rating: m | words: 10k] essentially: jack and bitty love each other. bitty moves to france. jack and bitty continue to love each other, even when it’s hard. this fic could’ve fit several of my slots, but eventually i decided to just rec it on its own. it’s one of my absolute favorites in this fandom. i love it for the writing, the pacing, the decision to tackle a real obstacle in a relationship without unnecessary dramatization. i love the softness the pining trope is painted with; how the distance is awful but they deal with it so well, so healthily. i love when angst is used to build and show the strengths of a relationship, not just to hurt.

a pwp With New Eyes by luckie_dee (@luckiedee) [rating: m | words: 3.5k] essentially: mirror sex with a flavor of intercrural. this fic is set during bitty’s first visit to providence, which shifts the entire tone of the fic accordingly. everything is so tentative and new, and i just really liked how gentle jack and bitty are with each other, how they savor new things. the setting and bitty's thoughts and the whole thing was perfect, and so in character.

a fic that is pure fluff Over Heels by anonymous [rating: gen | words: 2.5k] essentially: jack and bitty and marriage. this is such a soft portrayal that it made my chest ache. it isn’t Y4-compliant, but it is so goddamn cute it doesn’t matter. i especially loved the communication between them, the choice of rings (plus the subtle mentions of jack stimming), and this sort of low key, understated proposal. the last scene with jack kissing the ring clinched it for me: i could picture it so clearly my heart flipped.

a fic with your favorite trope How to Blow a Fuck Ton of Meal Points in 1.5 Semesters. by YourPalYourBuddy (@ivecarvedawoodenheart) [rating: t | words: 5k] essentially: jack finds himself with more meal points than he could ever need, and proceeds to spend them on his team (read: bitty) - which leads to some realizations. the trope this fits is ‘year 2 canon-divergence getting together’, and it’s one trope i will never tire of. i absolutely loved the set up of this because it's so college. i loved jack's characterization, and also their conversations, how well bitty's feelings are translated through jack's eyes even when jack's not completely aware of them, and the ending.

a fic with a trope you don’t usually read Tipping the Scales by akaparalian (@floralegia) [rating: t | words : 7.5k] “Prince Eric, training for a tournament to prove his worth as a knight, goes for a ride in the woods. He accidentally finds a dragon, who accidentally became a dragon because he pissed off the wrong witch.” i’m not normally a fan of fantasy or royalty AUs, but something drew me to this fic anyway. i was not disappointed. i laughed out loud several times during this fic. i adored the translations of their personalities into a knight and a dragon (for example, jack's reaction to training - dying, dead, oh my god).

a drabble that made you want more Picture Us Together by RabbitRunnah (@doggernaut) [rating: t | words: 800] essentially: bitty sets a picture of his boyfriend as his lock screen during the madison visit, and jack finds out. it seems only fitting that i put more than one rec taking place during 4th of july on this list. the prompt was so simple, but the execution was so lovely i wished it would go on and on. things between them at this time were so new and fragile and sweet that i just never want it to end.

a fic with domestic fluff I'll settle in and dream by Stultiloquentia [rating: t | words: 9k] essentially: a future fic with emphasis on jack’s and bitty’s adult life. the realistic domesticity in this killed me dead. it is so, so lovely and soft. i enjoyed every detail, from the dog to the scenery descriptions to jack's hockey arc. every setting was so easy to imagine, and i really enjoyed the journey this fic takes the reader on.

[bloodstainsontengensfloor]

... is this just one big appreciation post for the women of Jujutsu Kaisen? Yes. It is. I go looking for some JJK content and I need more love for my powerful ladies! ⚠️SPOILERS FOR VOLUME 0 AND FOR MANGA!!! ⚠️

Kugisaki Nobara:

The girl of steel.

Her most iconic moment is the “I AM NOBARA KUGISAKI!” She is someone who has a strong sense of self and I’m honestly jealous. She knows who she is, and she’s confident in that. Nobara is funny and full of life and character. She’s comedic and in her introduction, despite being unsure on what to do with the child hostage, handled the situation in a way I didn’t expect based on what was presented by her so far.

She was introduced as confident, blunt, judgemental, and conceited. When the child was taken hostage, she, unaware that Itadori would come in throwing punches, set her stuff down. She was the one who took down the curse, it was her test after all, and I honestly love the little head pat she gives the kid after. It’s such a small gesture but it’s so sweet.

No Character is a good one without flaws and Nobara has her fair share of them. Like stated before, she’s conceited and her bluntness is sometimes just rude. She saw herself as above most people in her old town because she couldn’t understand how they could be so small minded and live simple lives when she in fact is a little small minded and naive. The first curse she faced wasn’t one she was totally ready for, but in the end conquered. She views Maki and Mai as a bad twin/good twin situation. She never met Sukuna so can only judge Itadori based on who she knows, Itadori. She understands the gender norms of the Jujutsu world and believes that she can change them as long as she just is her. She knows she’s pretty and she knows she strong so what could go wrong? (Loosing an eye).

Something I do love about her though is that she had friends and people she cared for before she came to Tokoyo. Before she uhm... gets injured, she thinks about an old friend and how she doesn’t think she will get to met up with her like she promised. Nobara is a great friend with a lot of love to give. She’s truthful but not perfect.

Random fact I love: her hair is dyed.

Zenin Maki:

The woman who will prove everyone wrong. She’s ambitious, powerful, and hardworking. She began at the very bottom of the world she lived in, and is still restricted by these boundaries even after she proved herself over and over again. But never once did she let that bring her down.

She can’t see curses without her glasses, (as someone who wears glasses most of the time, it’s hard to always keep them on your face), and has very limited cursed energy that she must rely on cursed infused objects for battle. But that isn’t the bad kind of relying on because of the fact it makes her extremely skilled and resourceful. She uses a bunch of different weapons and is ‘incredibly strong’.

She is blunt and straightforward, but can also be someone who teaches others. Personally, I’d hate to have her as a teacher because she would push me to every limit I want to avoid but should reach. Maki is the leader of the Tokoyo kids, I can’t take no argument. She will put the protagonist in his place. You don’t get to come back from the dead and act like you are in charge smh.

She admires strength. Her ‘type’ is someone who is strong, but it can be debated what kind of ‘strength’ she means. The Jujutsu world’s restricted view on strength is something that limited her for years and was still limiting her up to the current manga arc. Does she admire someone who’s strength is in their physical, mental, or emotional manifestation? She’s a great character and it gets more expanded in Volume 0. I need to re read that, and omg Maki like lost a crap ton of limbs and now she is like... roasted??

Praying she lives and that her father dies so she can work on becoming the head of the clan, like she wants. Fushigiro has the power but he cut ties with the fam and Mai has no desire. So... Maki as head of the Zenin Clan 2021... well I guess 2018?

Random fact I love: maki’s name has the kanji for “genuine” and “hope��.

Zenin Mai:

I have exhausted this topic. But I’m in love. (I wrote this whole thing and my thing glitched and deleted all my work rip)

Mai is confident and crude. She’s introduced as rude, inconsiderate and just all around your basic mean girl. She’s pretty, she’s confident and she doesn’t care if what she says hurt you.

However, one thing that seperates her from every other character in the story, is that she has no desire nor ambition to be a Jujutsu Sorcerer. As a child, she was scared of curses and it’s implied that she may still be scared of them as a teen. She was content living as a servant in her home because at least she would have a normal life. But, had she stayed in that life she would be living in a toxic household where she got no love and was viewed as lesser than. Despite not wanting to be a jujutus sorcerer, her sister’s ambitions of being one forced her to do the same and try to stay on par with her. At Kyoto, Mai develops... great friendships. She’s given kindness and love. This much can be seen in the conversation with her and Nishimya and the softness in her face when she simply says “I know” over the phone.

Personally, I don’t believe the Kyoto students are aware of Mai’s desires, due to the fact that Nishimya talked about the barriers placed against Mai/Maki as something distasteful for Mai.

Mai is someoen who puts on an act. She plays the part of your basic mean girl because what else is she supposed to do? She’s unhappy, and the only thing she knows how to do is lash out. She only knows and maybe even wants people to feel as bad as she did and does. She’s dependent and has abandonment issues due to her sister’s act of letting go of her hand.

However, what Nobara says is right. Misfortune doesn’t allow one to do what they want or to justify when they do bad things. Mai, like a lot of the Kyoto students, don’t know how to cope and deal with the bundles of emotions and conflict within them. They only know to lash out. In the story, Mai is still a minor character, but she has potential for growth, and I really hope it’s given to her.

Fun fact I love: Her first name contains the Kanji for “Geunine” and “rely on”. I love this because Mai might not even know who her genuine self is and in the recent manga chapters she’s relied on as back up from a distance.

Kasumi Miwa:

She’s the anchor of the Kyoto gang. Unlike the others, she doesn’t have major emotional baggage. She led a simple life and has a simple goal. Miwa wants to be a Jujutus Sorcerer to get enough money to help provide for her poor family.

Her story has a rag-to-riches type beat. She met a Jujutsu mentor who she trained under and learned how to wield a Katana so she wouldn’t have to burden her mother. She’s selfless, kind, and down to earth. Miwa has a fangirl heart and admires big name people like Gojo. She had major self confidence issues, despite all this. She had to work for this and has a goal in mind, but that doesn’t mean she’ll always feel useful.

Her relationship with Mechamaru is bitter sweet. She wants to know him better. Despite it being a prank, she does try to give him little gifts and make him feel included in everything they do. He protects her when his actions as the mole potentially put her endanger. It hurt watching the part of Miwa talking to his empty robot self while he did what he needed to.

And his last messages to her through the little ear pieces 😭😭.Even after knowing what he does, she’s still there to listen and is still there for them to rely on.

Miwa is just a breathe of fresh air in this story, but that doesn’t exclude her from the angst and trauma that comes with a story as dark as this.

Fun fact I love: it’s not a fact, but she wears a full on suit. I love it. I love it so much.

Momo Nishimya:

She’s a little witch 🥺. Momo Nishimya is introduced as somewhat reserved. She expressed nervousness over the abilities of the Tokoyo kids. In her fight with Nobara, she acknowledges her as strong and severely underestimated her. However, like Nobara, she’s willing to defend her friends at any chance she has.

The minute Nobara expresses distaste toward Mai, Nishimya immediate begins to defend her and starts lecturing Nobara on how women are treated unfairly in the jujutsu world. She introduced this idea that a woman must be pretty and strong, and I really hope this idea comes into play more and more later (and I think it will). Despite having a female teacher who is strong yet scarred, she expresses the idea that a scar is setback for a woman.

Her and Mai get along very well. The two of them are somewhat the troublemakers that Miwa constantly has to wrangle in (The dynamic between those three I love). Her character is pretty minor but in the reccent chapters, I loved how she got her mini moment. Itadori and her were the only two who were able to avoid Uraume’s ice and talks to Itadori passively and tries to even work with him. It’s a big step from how she begins with telling Nobara that she is a fool for being unable to distinguish a curse from a friend.

Fun fact I love about her: she’s Japanese American with an American father. Same, but I wasn’t raised Japanese whatsoever 🥲.

I’m going to do a part two with our adult ladies but that’s all for now folks!

Fun facts from the JJK Wiki page!

[baebeyza]

Ideas/concept in each Transformers series that you liked that are either written terribly, wasted potential and needed to be written in depth?

Okay, say GO! note: I love most of these shows and most of what I nitpick here isn't to say that I hate what we got + doesnt include RB and RBA

G1: I love Galvatron's and Cyclonus' dynamic and loved how the show was self-aware about the fact that Galvatron was crazy, and I would love to see this written with more depth and getting further into Cyclonus' motivation for staying at Galvs' side Headmasters: It's always about Sixshot- I love him so much but always gotta say that his development only really started in the last four episodes - would have loved it if we had gotten some inclination about his more gentle character before that!

Super-God Masterforce: I am of the opinion that Masterforce is a great show with great writing and great characters and don't have much to talk about here. Anyway, I absolutely adored Godbomber and the entire concept behind him - he's a drone who gets controlled through Ginrai's chokon-power (human energy) and acts whatever Ginrai wants him to do. What I found so nice about him is that he emotes! :D And he does react to other people, even if his reactions are all based on Ginrai's will. He doesn't have a voice, so he has to get his point across in other ways and seeing him do that is a delight ~ It made him feel like a character instead of just a drone with no personality and it would have been so awesome if more detail was put into that. Minerva treated Godbomber like a person and I'd have loved to see more of that!

Victory: There is a lot I loved about this show that just didn't really come into fruition - this post should explain it! Beast Wars: I fucking love Megatron cloning his ex Dinobot to get himself a new henchman, anddüde - wouldn't it have been nice to see it be acknowledged how creepy that is? Maybe get more into the reason why he has this need to clone Dinobot? Megatron obviously wanting his ex back, but his ex wont come back, so he creats a version of his ex that is just what he wants to him to be...weird housewife creepy romance novel style??? Beast Wars 2: Hm, tbh the stuff I liked about this show was well done! Can't think of anything here

Beast Wars Neo: Same as BWII, I just cant think of anything here that I loved that was done badly. The shows are simple! One thing I would have loved to see more of is Big Convoy's past as a lone wolf. We got bits and pieces but a little bit more couldn't hurt!

Beast Machines: I loved almost every idea in this show and somehow none if it was done in a way I truly enjoyed x'D 1. The premise nature vs techno 2. Blackarachnia trying to save Silverbolt 3. The whole concept of using existing sparks for new bodies, creating new people 4. Megatron splitting himself in half 5. Plantformers Apart from the Plantformers, all these were great ideas but the way the show executed them was depressing and weird.

RiD01: You know me people, I fucking love Ultra Magnus and Optimus being brothers in this and I would have given everything for more depth between them! Just a flashback to how they were before Ultra Magnus went JerkMode would have been gold QuQ

Armada: I loved the conclusions at the end, absolutely hated everything before the conclusion tho Energon: Love Shockfleet/Mirage being in fucking love with Galvatron, wish Galvatron had acknowledged it once qvq

Cybertron: Almost the same as Energon - I loved Chromia/Thunderblast having a crush on Megatron and wished they had done something with it. They could have gone full Decepticon Queen with her with evil romance, but Megatron has the same amount of communication and social skill as a brickwall.

TFA: I loved the 2 minutes of Cyclonus and hated that he never showed up again-

Cyber Mission: So, there is this episode in which Bee and Ironhide are sparring and Ironhide saves a flower from being squished under them and is like "we must protect life". Bee says that the flower aint sentient tho, but Ironhide says "this one is."

WHAT THE FUCK DO MEAN A SENTIENT FLOWER EXISTS ON EARTH??? Why to they drop this thing and then never do anything with the concept-!

TFP: I feel like Ultra Magnus is kinda missed potential and wished they'd have done more with him, he could have had great dynamics with the rest, but was just used for Wheeljack angst.

GO!: Man they got this Predaking character (I love Predaking) and he's just so generic...and they didn't even make him bishie and pretty like the original characters for this show qnq

RiD15: I loved Steeljaw but they did him dirty by just never allowing him to be the show's threat! He mostly just got pushed aside and used by other people. (still sexy tho, his german voice be like WOOOOO-)

Prime Wars: I loved the plot of this, loved what they did with Megatron and it was such missed potential to not make him Prime at the end! QnQ It would have fit so much! Nothing against my monkuh Primal, but come on! Megatron was right there-!

Cyberverse: Loved Roddy as leader and was kinda disappointed when he was done after Prime showed up again. My boy deserved at least an award or something.

WFC: You know me, I loved the stuff between Megatron and Magnus, but it is a shame that we just never got to see how they were pre-war. And not just those two, them, Optimus and Elita as well. I like the plot, just wish we got backstory.

[katutsukushii]

I’ll admit, I’m a little on the fence about dabibaku— do you mind talking about why you like the ship so much? You’ve got me intrigued

Uh, two hot characters who happen to be my comfort characters - I’m kinda bound to like them together.

But before I say anything it’s totally fine if you dislike them, it’s definitely not for everyone, I get that - especially with the age gap, even though I, personally, age Dabi down. 

Anyways, at first I got into them through a smut fic that I read and I got intrigued by the pairing and decided to check out the tag cause I didn’t really see much of the ship before that, they’re not exactly popular. I didn’t really read much of the pairing, didn’t particularly care that much for them cause, honestly, at the time I was a heavy BkDk/TdBk shipper and refused to read anything but those two ships, but then I started reading You’re A Blast and I got really into them, that fic is kind of what got me started thinking about the ship and how they’d work together, how they’d interact, things like that. But even before I really got into that fic I was genuinely interested and was trying to figure out how the ship would work.

I think that, for me, it’s just the dynamic between them, y’know? I imagine Dabi as this cocky, sarcastic little shit who loves fucking with people and he hates everyone but he’s just kind of snarky about it, just likes to tease and push and push until the person snaps. Whereas Katsuki genuinely just hates everyone and is generally mad and has no issue showing that, they’re both the same level of ‘little shit’ just on the opposite sides of the spectrum, they portray it differently. And I find the thought of Dabi just relentlessly teasing him and Katsuki pushing back and fighting back, so unlike anyone that Dabi’s ever met, really interesting and fun.

I feel like they’re that perfect combination of ‘angry feral’ and ‘playful/cocky feral’ and I love that - I love the dynamic between them. Like, I just know Dabi would be amused by Katsuki’s behaviour rather than put-off or anything like that. I’m writing a fic with them right now and all their interactions are just *Bakugou insults him* *Dabi is absolutely thrilled about it and makes innuendos and teases him until Bakugou has no choice but to run away cause he’s blushing so hard*

Along with that, there’s so much potential for nuance and angst and things like that. Like the entire topic of the kidnapping, the opposite sides they’re working on, the fact that Dabi is the brother of one of Katsuki’s closest friends - there’s just a lot of details there that you can use to create something very interesting, there’s a lot to play around with. 

And I think they both can bond over the issues with their quirks and just have interesting conversations since they both, clearly, think quirks are important, the only difference is that Dabi’s quirk betrayed him even though he has a very powerful one and he was neglected because of it, while Katsuki got the praise and the worship because of his quirk.

I don’t know, it’s hard to explain my affection for the ship - they’re just one of those pairings that I have a lot of ideas for, I can think of potential storylines and I just know their interactions will be interesting cause they can bounce off of each other really really well. They make me happy, they are pretty much my muse. 

Most of all... They’re hot.

I’m just that Marge Simpson meme that’s like ‘I just think they’re neat.’

Anyways, yeah, it’s not for everyone but if you’re interested in the ship I’d definitely recommend reading the fic I linked up above, it’s really good and it will kind of portray what kind of dynamic I imagine between the two of them.

I do have a lot more to say about them but I think I summed up my basic thoughts here - it’s all about that interesting dynamic and the way they’re interact, I just find it entertaining, I think they’d just sit in the back and talk shit about everyone, Bakugou genuinely insulting them while Dabi cackles and makes jokes.

[moonwaif]

So I've been thinking about some CQL crossover ships for Xie Wang, and one of them is XieWang/Lan Xichen. Long post with headcanons under the cut.

Also, like. I guess all of these take place within a xianxia/cultivation universe? More high fantasy than the universe of SHL. And none of this is based on novel universe for either fandom--both are strictly SHL and CQL universes.

Xie Wang/Lan Xichen (aka Zewu-jun can have a murder boyfriend, as a treat.)

The Dynamic.

First off . . . there’s no age gap. Both of them are adults. I’m not sure how old either of them are exactly in their respective canons, but. I just want to make that clear.

Both have been deceived/manipulated by people they care about. Interpret it how you want to interpret it, but they gravely misunderstood one of the most important people in their lives and paid the price for it.

The, "No matter what you've done, I can't kill you" one is dating the "But I can!" one.

Also, like? Pipa and xiao jam sessions? Matching outfits? Sign me tf up.

The early stages.

I’m not sure how they would meet. Perhaps Xie Wang is on an undercover mission in Gusu. Meanwhile, Lan Xichen has finally left seclusion so that his brother can go on a honeymoon with the Yiling Laozu.

When Lan Xichen and Xie Wang meet, I think it would be nice for there to be instant attraction. This can be on a physical level, but also on an intellectual level. They both have silver tongues, are intuitive, and are excellent communicators. I think these two kings would recognize that in one another just after one interaction.

However, they don’t trust each other. Xie Wang is probably operating under some kind of alias. Lan Xichen is more guarded now. I’m sure he still wants to believe the best of people, but life has scarred him. He feels like Xie Wang may be hiding something. Xie Wang, meanwhile, thinks Lan Xichen is just “too good to be true.” Someone with such a peerless reputation must be corrupt on the inside. I mean, just look at the Venerated Triad and how they ended up. Could the only surviving sworn brother really be THAT good?

But as time goes on, they see more sides of each other. It gets harder and harder to believe the worst about the other person. Xie Wang probably falls first, and falls hard. He likes Lan Xichen’s balanced outlook on life, his willingness to overlook rumor and reputation and make his own judgments on a person’s character. In an unguarded moment, Lan Xichen might imply that this has been one of his flaws or weaknesses in the past. Xie Wang just smiles at him and says it’s a strength. (Lan Xichen’s heart flutters, but so what? He doesn’t feel like he can trust his heart yet.)

Anyway, back to Xie Wang. He is impressed by Lan Xichen’s acceptance of Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian--particularly considering Wei Wuxian’s less than pristine background. I think there is a lot of good material here for some intimate conversations in which Xie Wang asks Lan Xichen about his opinion of Wei Wuxian, but he’s not actually talking abou Wei Wuxian--he’s really asking about himself.

The ordeal of being Known.

Nevertheless, Xie Wang doesn’t completely trust Lan Xichen yet, and he’s terrified of what will happen when Lan Xichen finds out who he is, but . . . Xie Wang still cares about him. He enjoys Lan Xichen’s company. He craves Lan Xichen’s praise and attention, and resents anyone who tries to steal it away. He wants their time together to last as long as possible. And inevitably, he wants to do whatever he can to help Lan Xichen succeed in his goals. Which, to Xie Wang’s surprise, have less to do with personal gain and more to do with making a positive impact on the cultivation world. As more time passes, it gets harder and harder for Xie Wang to play it cool and hold his cards to his chest.

Lan Xichen is touched by Xie Wang’s earnesty, enthusiasm and loyalty. It softens his heart. He finds himself growing fond of Xie Wang’s company, looking forward to his visits, indulging in conversations about music and art and calligraphy and politics. At the same time, he witnesses instances of violence and cruelty from Xie Wang that disturb him. It reminds him of Jin Guanyao--the red flags that in the past Lan Xichen either rationalized or ignored. It puts Lan Xichen in this awkward position of growing closer to Xie Wang, opening up to him, only to pull back suddenly. Rinse, wash, repeat.

Xie Wang, of course, doesn’t really know what’s going on in Lan Xichen’s head. Fortunately, he’s perceptive. As he does more digging into Lan Xichen’s past, he probably puts two and two together and realizes that Lan Xichen is trying to protect his own heart. However, he’ll also wonder if Lan Xichen knows more than he’s letting on--if he is perhaps aware of Xie Wang’s true identity, and that’s why he won’t open up to him. Or perhaps it’s just Xie Wang’s personal flaws. He’s always been too impulsive, too selfish, too distracting. Someone of Lan Xichen’s calibre may find these characteristics distasteful.

I actually think Lan Xichen may put the pieces together and begin to suspect Xie Wang’s true identity. If Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are around, they would probably do the same and accelerate this realization. However, I am not sure that Lan Xichen would act immediately on it. He may instead try to give Xie Wang opportunities to come forward with the truth on his own.

Xie Wang will dodge all of these opportunities like “lol nope.”

Cat’s out of the bag.

Anyway, after lots of like. Cute moments, and moments of camaraderie, and moments of yearning and angst, things finally come to a head. Perhaps Lan Xichen finds himself caught up in a scheme that involves the Scorpion and a rival group. Xie Wang ends up having to take Lan Xichen captive in order to protect him. In this moment, Lan Xichen is able to see another side of Xie Wang--one that he’s only caught glimpses of before. Xie Wang is cold, domineering, calculating, and cruel. It’s sexy but also terrifying. Lan Xichen hardens his own expression and is quite distant to Xie Wang, which of course just breaks Xie Wang’s heart. But Xie Wang can’t show it just yet, not while they are still surrounded by onlookers. It wouldn’t be wise to reveal any weaknesses to those who are constantly at the ready to take advantage of any vulnerable bits.

As soon as Xie Wang can find a moment to be alone with Lan Xichen (truly alone, with no spies or eavesdroppers), he would sit down and speak honestly with him. He tells Lan Xichen that he harbors no ill intentions towards him or the Lan sect (or perhaps he does, at least with concern to the latter--it’s up to how complicated you imagine this kind of AU). And against his better judgment, the more Lan Xichen hears . . . the more he finds himself believing Xie Wang. In fact, he’s relieved that they can finally reach this point of honesty with each other.

Lan Xichen is terrified he’s making a mistake, but . . . he wants to believe Xie Wang. He wants to believe him so, so badly. After some difficult conversations and lots of promises exchanged between them, Lan Xichen relents.

Xie Wang is just absolutely delighted to the point of tears. All of his softness and sweetness comes back.

From this point on, I think we can see a power couple at work. Both of them are intuitive, intelligent and nuanced. They can work together to solve whatever scheme is happening. Collaborating brings them closer, honestly.

Xie Wang is reluctant to let Lan Xichen go, but does so. (He’s mostly worried about Lan Xichen’s safety.)

(If you want to make things really painful, you could have Lan Xichen temporarily reject Xie Wang. This would probably be motivated by Lan Xichen’s past experiences, when he continued to support and defend Jin Guangyao despite all evidence to the contrary. Terrified of making the same mistake--of letting people he cares about become hurt because of a temporary lack of judgment--might actually lead him to betray Xie Wang and reveal his true identity to the Lan clan. This would lead to a temporary and very angsty “break up” arc. The irony could be that Lan Xichen actually regrets NOT trusting Xie Wang or supporting him down the road. I would like to see something like this culminate in Xie Wang being injured/narrowly escaping a dangerous confrontation with an enemy, and Lan Xichen rescuing him, holding him close, and whispering, “I’m sorry.” GOD Xie Wang would just fall apart. The hurt/comfort potential. My word.)

Hurt/comfort potential.

At some point, Xie Wang might be injured or suffer some kind of loss. Perhaps he went after someone who was a threat to Lan Xichen in some way, and got himself in a pickle. He makes it out, but is the worse for wear. Lan Xichen, who is normally so polite and intentional with his words, finds himself losing his temper. How could Xie Wang make such a rash decision? Isn’t he supposed to be the Scorpion King for a reason?

These words push Xie Wang over the edge. He snaps back that yes, he knows he’s reckless--that he’s too impulsive--too demanding--that he’s always letting his emotions get the best of him, again and again. But he was scared for Lan Xichen. What was he supposed to do, just sit back and bear it?

Lan Xichen’s anger dissipates. He consoles Xie Wang, tells him that he’s not any of those things. Xie Wang is shocked speechless. He’s even more shocked when Lan Xichen admits he was wrong for speaking harshly and asks for Xie Wang’s forgiveness. “It was only that seeing you in this state unnerved me. I would not want any harm to come to you on my account. I’m sorry.”

Xie Wang melts.

Xie Wang drinks vinegar.

Being together means that Xie Wang and Lan Xichen are more intimate. They are moving physically closer, becoming more familiar with one another’s spaces. Xie Wang is very greedy for this closeness, and probably starts to become a little possessive about the things in Lan Xichen’s room. Keeping things tidy, adding decorations, sorting through things, etc.

Anyway, one day he comes across Jin Guangya’s hat by accident.

“Gege :+) who’s hat is this? :+)”

He begins to engage in a recurring fantasy where he slices the hat to pieces.

It’s just that, well. Xie Wang is intensely jealous of Jin Guangyao’s hat. He is intensely jealous of Jin Guangyao’s memory. Just hearing his name is enough to make Xie Wang lose it a little on the inside, like, “Not this b**** again.” But on the outside he is very calm.

Most of the time.

Look. It’s already hard enough knowing that someone like Xie Wang, the leader of a shady group of assassins, will probably never be accepted as a suitable partner for Lan Xichen. And this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. He’s been used before by Zhao Jing, the person who was supposed to be his yifu, the person who kept Xie Wang in the dark and only brought him into the light when it was useful. So Xie Wang can’t help but feel nervous that Lan Xichen will just want to keep him in the dark, too. Like logically, he knows Lan Xichen wouldn’t do that. Lan Xichen is a better person than that, he wouldn’t take advantage of anyone in that way, especially not Xie Wang! Lan Xichen cares about Xie Wang! But Xie Wang also knows he’s miscalculated in the past. He can’t help the nugget of uncertainty that weasels its way in.

You can play this up as angsty if you want, or you can play it for comedy. Maybe Lan Xichen receives a gift from a potential suitor. Xie Wang sees it and asks who it’s from. On his best day, he smiles calmly and says something like, “How elegant and thoughtful. I know just the place to put this.” (That place is the trash.) On his worst day, he wines and says, “How tacky! Gege, why do you continue to even meet with that old cow?”

Lan Xichen is exceptionally understanding and patient, although he does need to set some firm boundaries from time to time.

Jin Guangyao causes drama from beyond the grave.

Eventually Xie Wang is going to have a very off-day. And on this off-day, he talks about a topic that he should definitely have avoided, which is Jin Guangyao.

Basically, Xie Wang is not going to understand why Lan Xichen feels guilty for what happened to Jin Guangyao. Or rather, he does not believe that Lan Xichen SHOULD feel guilty. And he tells Lan Xichen this, very insistently. Lan Xichen, who has been coping through the good ole Lan technique of Repress And Don’t Express, becomes frustrated. His frustration builds when Xie Wang basically says that no matter what Jin Guangyao may have suffered, he shouldn’t have betrayed Lan Xichen--that Jin Guangyao even deserves what happened to him (and perhaps Xie Wang believes this last part, or perhaps he’s just being petty--it’s up to you). Lan Xichen almost loses his temper--almost. But then he just. Shuts down, completely. Like very coldly and calmly says something to the effect of, “I expected you of all people to understand me. I see I was mistaken. Excuse me.” And just. Leaves.

Xie Wang is a MESS. Honestly he would have preferred being yelled at. This calm reaction is disconcerting and makes him worry that he’s lost Lan Xichen for good. He’s also shocked at himself for being so purposefully wilful and obstinate. He was trying to be good!!

Making up.

Instead of pulling away, Xie Wang waits an appropriate amount of time for things to settle (lmao like 12 hours), then shows right back up acting like nothing ever happened. He’s very talkative and sweet, chatting peacefully about unrelated topics. He probably flits about the room, straightening this and that, then perches beside Lan Xichen. His heart sinks when he sees Lan Xichen’s expression.

Xie Wangs cautiously begins speaking. “About yesterday . . . I shouldn’t have contradicted you. I was being difficult and impetuous. Gege, please forgive me.”

And like, what is Lan Xichen supposed to do with that? Say “no”? Lmao.

Fortunately, Lan Xichen has taken some time to self-reflect. He’s a bit dismayed that he continues to act out of character with Xie Wang. Normally, he is so good at maintaining his composure. With Xie Wang, however, he continues to get caught up in his own feelings until he fumbles.

Anyway, Lan Xichen actually takes this opportunity to reflect and open up to Xie Wang about his friendship with Jin Guangyao. He tells him about what happened between him and his sworn brothers, where he believes he made mistakes, how he wishes things would have worked out differently. He also says that he sees it as a weakness of his own that even now, he isn’t able to completely blame Jin Guangyao. It’s not like this is Xie Wang’s first time hearing about any of this, but it IS his first time hearing the information directly from Lan Xichen.

Xie Wang takes his hand and says that kind of loyalty and kindness is what makes Lan Xichen dear to him, and is its own type of wisdom. Lan Xichen doesn’t completely agree with this assessment, but he doesn’t argue against it, either. He merely asks Xie Wang if there is anything else he’d like to know.

Xie Wang is a bit hesitant. Without meeting Lan Xichen’s gaze, he observes that Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen were very close. He wants to know what place Jin Guangyao still occupies in Lan Xichen’s heart.

To be continued . . .

(Lol I ran out of steam for a minute)

[bloodsuckingprince-anthony]

I have to say, I really enjoying Laws of Attraction. I really do. This book makes it up for PB to give up on heavy potential books like Distant Shores and Foreign Affairs. (The tragedy they did to those books even tho I still like them. Side Note: Slow Burn is a great book too) It feels like whoever the team is behind this book actually took their time to stay on course with the plot, characters have well placed personalities...it's just outstanding so far. This is a prime example of how Open Heart should had been. (Not to talk about that messy book.)

I even love all the characters.

The MC: There have been some incompetent MC's that makes me want to choke them, but this one I like.

Gabe Ricci: Sorry but not actually sorry Ethan and Sam stans but Gabe to me is a perfect written boss. He is much more chill. He recognizes MC's work ethnics unlike Ethan who belittles the MC, keep their relationship a secret, and doesn't appreciate the MC until the third book when the MC had to save his ass from a huge lawsuit. And Sam who would risk everything and destroy his/her home for the nanny. Like, I love the slow burn with him and MC. Like he knows he want MC but he want to focus on the case and I can respect that. Especially, if he's your route, It looks like MC is the one who perusing Gabe and when Gabe is fighting to not cross that taboo line, MC goes to have these random hookups. The angst and drama is keeping me interested. And I know it is working because I see people in the fandom PISSED that Gabe isn't dicking them down yet. Lol. I love it.

Ashlinn: What a sweet angel. She is perfect wifey material. I love how she started as a quiet nervous person and by each chapter, she grows into a much more confident woman. That chapter with the actors and she placed Beau in his lane, I lived. If she was my type, I would romanced her with my MC. Maybe in my next run of the book.

Beau: Ok I knew Beau would be that fuckboy character just because he has family ties to the firm. Typical frat boy. I knew we would hate him, especially after he took credit from MC's hard work, but again the character development of him to be more serious just make me like him. He earned extra points for taking the heat for MC and the rest of the team in today's chapter. I would loved if he was an LI option.

Martin: I know he supposed to be the villain and be this "I'm better than you" jackass but I can't be mad at him. Again the character development. He's trying to stay snarky but he's slowly warming up to the team. It's cute that he thinks he's MC's rival, but we all know. But real tip, the man needs to be laid. MC would help.

Gigi: Sis! Queen! Ride or die! I. LOVE. THIS. WOMAN! Just her everything is just god tier. I know she mentioned a girlfriend in the beginning of the book, but what would it been if our wlw sisters get to romance her? The dynamic between them would be powerful. (I wish my MC could romance her. I'll put a ring on that finger fast.)

Sadie: Boss ass bitch. I like her. I seen people upset that she yelled at the team in the chapter, even tho it is the team's fault to give Marcus information before them. Honestly, they could had waited to tell Marcus after they notify Gabe and Sadie. I've even seen folks on here saying "She does nothing for the case but judge" that's the point. She literally put trust in the case in Gabe and the team's hands and Gabe keep her up to date about it. So she has all the right. Plus, she the type to like it when people go for what they want. I saw comments about when Mac requested a room by the lake at her home. Sadie expressed the expression "Closed mouths don't get feed" and I kinda respect her for that.

Marcus: Yeah I dig this character because I can relate to him. As a black man myself, I get why he don't be too comfortable with lawyers. In RL, it is so hard for black people to trust the justice system. There would be so much evidence that proves that you're innocent but the police would do the bare minimum or none at all policing because they made up their minds that you did it. Then there would be slimy lawyers that tells you to plea guilty because you can't win. So I can understand why Marcus acting this way. Yes, he should believe in this team more, but I understand where he is coming from. (Sorry that I put real issues in this lol) Now to the juicy topic. I knew Marcus wanted MC since that walk they did in a couple of chapters before. And yes it is so unprofessional and unethical for a lawyer to sleep with their clients. But, did I spend the night with him regardless? Yes. Yes I did. To be fair, Marcus asked MC for comfort and relief. MC never showed any interest in Marcus or perused him. He ASKED out of trust. So to me this part got me actually thinking. Should my MC give in to him so he can keep the trust in MC or MC turn him down and he would change his perspective of MC later down the road. Either or I feel like consequences is going to happen and as I am an angst trash, I went and gave Marcus the night of his life. If it's not your cup of tea (Again shout out to the wonderful wlw ladies out there) totally understandable. But I like Marcus. If he becomes a potential LI which it looks like then Gabe has some serious competition because I might switch up.

The Hookups: I enjoy them. I like Lisa (The Robin sprite I think is her name in this book. I can't remember. How awkward it is to be playing The Nanny Affair while playing this book because of Robin/Lisa) And Tyler. Yes my MC did do that mlm threesome with Tyler and the PI (who name I also forgot). Yes MC gave the PI that good dick while Tyler watched. I feel robbed slightly that my MC didn't dick down Teddy after we made out with him in the club but the threesome made up for it. These hookups wouldn't happen if Gabe and Ashlinn isn't giving us this wonderful slow burn romance. But I enjoyed it.

Overall, I really like this book. I say this book is A tier. It has it moments like the group trust trip..that was weird but still. A tier. Close but not S tier like Blades. (That book is *chef kiss* Closer we are to the what will be insanity that is Blades 2 and I can not wait!) I hope this is the same team that is doing Crimes of Passion. (The acronym of Crimes of Passion is CoP...I see what they did there.) That book screams LoA's spin off. But still I'm really enjoying LOA. I just hope this not going to be a standalone book. It said it is a series at the beginning of the book, but PB been shady about that lately. Let it stay as a series. Hopefully it is a series.

[kitaychan]

Hungary and USUKUS? ^^

Ask game

Hungary

How I feel about this character: 

It's complicated, I like her but I feel like there's a wasted potential there, though that potential is found in the fandom works.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: 

Prussia, Ukraine and Belgium

My non-romantic OTP for this character: 

AusHun and PolHun

My unpopular opinion about this character: 

I'd like to see her with short hair. I don't know why.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

For her to appear more, her character is interesting but there's so little of her in the series.

My OTP: with Ukraine!

My OT3: I haven't thought of one for her, AusPruHun is interesting though.

USUKUS

when or if I started shipping it.

I don't really know when, I wasn't that interested on it when I first saw the series but there is so much variety of content involving them that I started to look into it. The point where I kinda said: "Ok, I ship it" was when I got into reading cardverse fics.

my thoughts:

Alfred and Arthur have personalities that complement each other, their interactions on the series show how close and comfortable they are with each other and also the potential for angst and dramatic stories is high (which is a positive thing if you're a sucker for drama like me) All in all, I think they truly care for one another and that's lovely.

What makes me happy about them:

How they are able to push their boundaries in order to make the other happy. I don't know if it sounds weird, but as an example how Alfred takes care of the unicorn Arthur gave him even though he can't see it. Acts like that always get me!

What makes me sad about them:

I feel like they have a lot of unsaid things between them.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me:

Hmm well it's not that usual anymore but I don't like when Arthur gets like too softened to depend on Alfred, uhh it's hard to say, like Arthur gets enclosed in a overly frail role to underline Alfred manliness.

Things I look for in fanfic:

With these two it depends on the setting, for human Au- Fluffiness, for nationverse I like the angst, and in cardverse I looove the display of power dynamics between them.

My kinks: oh boy, I don't know how to answer this one.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: 

Well I don't really mind other pairings, FrUk is entertaining, PortEng, SpUk, IggyChu or RusEng too. For Alfred my range is a bit wider lol

My happily ever after for them:

I don't know why but I imagine them in a big city, celebrating a New year's or something and embracing the idea of a future together.

Thank you for the ask!

[botwstoriesandsuch]

Whoopsie King Rhoam’s a dick but I gotta flesh him out so

Read Part 1 here!

Part 2

If you’re on mobile, and tumblr hates this post, follow along on this google doc!

Rules/overview this rewrite in the beginning of Part 1

‘sup ya beautiful bastards it’s time to gush about the process of storytelling and writing as we fix up the fix it fic so let’s just jump into it

- - - - - - - - - - 

A quick recap of Part 2, and I swear this recap is faster than the recap last time: Chapter 3 of Age of Calamity opens with a more substantial scene the beginning points of Revali’s character, and contrasting the old position that Link and eggbot have, so that their later changes in this chapter (well, at least for Link in this chapter) are more pronounced. We edited a bit of the dialogue to make Revali’s intentions make a bit more sense, while also putting some little foreshadowing points with some camera tricks for the Hollow Champions. The Hollow Champions can now speak, which means their potential for being used to bring out the flaws or bitter aspects of each character is more readily available further into the story. And of course, we’ve introduced the main antagonist of Astor, and coupling his presence and dynamic with Zelda’s insecurities. While his intentions of needing Zelda for something is clear, his motivations and backstory remain a mystery as of yet, the only true clue we have so far being some sort of connection to eggbot. 

I didn’t get any big asks or comments about Part 2 so I’m going to assume that it was mostly well received (although I will note that I promise I’m going to flesh out Revali to be more than he has been presented as of yet, this is just the very very start of this development don’t you worry your feather loving butts) that being said, you should totally critique me or give me your opinions or comments. I’d love to hear them! Although, keep in mind that I am restraining my rewrite to the guidelines already said, so don’t get mad at me for not killing off all the Champions or something. Thaaat’s a rewrite for another time. So yeah if you reblog you get a little kiss from me because believe it or not I spent a lot of time trying to rewrite an entire storyline while keeping it’s tone and integrity intact. So thanks much <3

Okie dokie then chaps! Let us finally delve into Urbosa lesbian vibes, a zest of Zelink angst, rants about pacing, and a couple tablespoons of Astor backstory, all starting in the latest stage of Chapter 3: The Road Home, Besieged 

So right of the bat, big problem here. This Chapter follows directly after the events of Korok Forest, so you assume that maybe “The Road Home” refers to the team, going home, back to the castle, to tell King Rhoam what’s up. But...that’s apparently not the case. 

So this entire stage, firstly, it brushes over any scenes where Zelda, Link or the other Champions might talk to King Rhoam about the Master Sword, or the Deku Tree, or...hmm what else happened last stage that might be interesting to see—oh yEAH HOW ABOUT that mysterious magic guy that tried to kill Zelda and was going off about the future and stuff?? That guy that wielded a bunch of dark magic and malice looking stuff and, uh yeah, you’d think it might be important and interesting to see the King’s take on was is essentially a wanted traitor to the crown who may or may not be leading the entire movement for the Calamity’s uprising. But nope, no one asks questions, no one says anything or has interesting conversations that reveal stuff about the plot. It's just….just all about Zelda and ooooOOooo she can’t awaken her powers oh no what’s a gal to do!

And I do mean that quite literally, this entire stage is all centered around two scenes with Zelda. The first, an admittedly narratively important scene of Zelda having a quick flashback about eggbot after he sings her a song, but it lasts for five seconds. And the second, being a pep talk with Urbosa as Link eats rocks in the background. For the majority of this stage, it’s all focused on Zelda, and pacing wise, it does virtually nothing to progress the narrative/plot forward.

And on paper, there’s nothing wrong with that! Hell, people read entire fanfictions dedicated to character development and relationships that have absolutely no external plot. Having a scene dedicated to just character development is completely fine, it’s something that’s pretty common and even encouraged to an extent. The problem arises when you remember that this is a story being told through the medium of a video game. 

Now, I am going to try and  breeze by this because, similar to Age of Calamity, I have to also construct this post with pacing that keeps my audience engaged, while progressing with my core narrative and story. But I highly encourage you to watch through this video by hello future me (On Writing: How to Master Pacing) because a lot of what I know about this I’ve picked up from his videos, and if you’re a writer or just someone who thinks storytelling is cool, it’s a great guide to the art of pacing.

Anyhow. There are two levels of pacing within a story. There is the small type of pacing, like for the structure of a singular scene. And there is the pacing of the overall core narrative, how the larger beats of the entire story is revealed. Good pacing for your core narrative is about whether the reader feels like they are getting closer to the big thing, the big climax or answer or promise of satisfaction. The smaller type of pacing, for your singular scenes, focuses on that timing between how close you get to achieving new information, this refers to  your slow and fast pacing, tension versus rapid action.  

So, overall the rule of thumb is: the amount of time you invest into your smaller scenes, even put together, that must correlate with a big enough payoff in the core narrative. That’s what good pacing is. (And that’s why people make stuff like the Three Act Structure to help visualize this pacing process but obviously other forms of pacing guidelines exist like the Five and Seven Act Structures but that’s too complicated for this Nintendo Game anyhow that’s just some educational flavour for ya to impress your highschool English Teacher I guess) 

So knowing that, the question now is: Does The Road Home, Besieged contribute good pacing to the story? This is going to be my excuse for changing up other later scenes in the game, so when I mention pacing and narrative again, remember this. The time spent playing for thirty minutes, minimum, in the game, to only be paid off by two lines of character development isn’t good pacing. So the answer is “no.” 

Delving as long an amount of time as thirty minutes, means that pretty much everytime a stage is complete, you must introduce new substantial progress to your story. A game like this just doesn’t have time to waste it’s valuable cutscenes on character development alone. There’s an even further wrench in the issue when you consider you also need to account for sidequests, so you could really be forcing your player to go through hours of gametime before you introduce new details in the story. 

Obviously it’s not always gonna be cut and dry like that—sometimes you have to account for how enjoyable the gameplay is, and sometimes the amount of character development offsets any lack of narrative development—but for the majority of stages I’m gonna change, they all suffer this pacing problem. In a game that's entire story hinges on these cutscenes, bad pacing is just something it doesn’t have time for.

Anyhow anyhow anyhow, I got to get my dose of serotonin by talking about pacing writing structure and stuff and blah blah, so now I shall grace you with the changes that address these problems that would theoretically lead to vast improvement. I gave you this reasoning and backstory to writing because I am making hella changes, to hopefully make the experience more “poggers,” which is something the cool kids say these days if you didn’t know. 

Firstly, timeline wise this stage is gonna take place directly after the Korok Forest battle. The gang is returning home from the battle, with Link, the new wielder of the Master Sword, along with this new information regarding a certain Astor character. 

We open the same way it does in game, focusing on Zelda’s face, before the frame is suddenly blocked by the pommel of the Master Sword. A wordless way to express how the sudden revelation of Link being the hero has forced its way into Zelda’s mind, great use of camera Koei Tecmo 10 outta 10

Now I don’t want to immediately jump into Zelda’s “oh poor me I can’t awaken my powers” dialogue because—and this is something even Breath of the Wild is guilty of—This game seems to forget that there are other characters besides Zelda. It’s marketed towards kids, sure, but I assure you that kids playing this game have a longer attention span than 2 minutes. You don’t need to keep reminding the audience every single scene about how Zelda is anxious about her powers. It gets redundant, you waste the audience’s time, and therefore you waste your own time, because you could have been using that precious screen time to develop some other thing further.  So anyhow, goes a bit like this. 

Zelda’s walking, the Master Sword comes into frame. Zelda looks down at the ground but keeps walking, but you can tell from her expression that she’s troubled. Don’t need to waste time on dialogue for her here, show don’t tell, we need to make the most of the scene here. Camera is still on Zelda, but the focus blurs shifts from Zelda to the Champions behind her. We can start with Mipha, I don’t have my heart set heavily on any specific dialogue, but I want her to say something along the lines of “how proud she is of Link” and what an honor it will be to fight by the side of not just her dear friend, but also someone selected by the goddess to be the hero. Subtextually, I want her to say this in a tone that suggests that she doubts the need for her to be here at all. She’ll say something like “He’s grown so…” glances up at Link who's just walking ahead, “...so much stronger than I could ever imagine. [Something Something] His power has grown so much over the course of a few days, more than I have achieved in a lifetime.” She looks down, but she still has a sweet smile. 

Now I’m doing this because I want to develop further this plot line of “getting stronger” that Age of Calamity sets up but never does anything with. Remember how in Chapter 2, Mipha asks Daruk to train with her to get stronger? I really like the possibilities of this arc with Mipha as it can not only parallel with her feelings for Link, but also make her character better as an individual. Mipha wants to get stronger so that she can protect Link, but now she thinks that Link’s already growing stronger to an extent that she might not be needed. She’s not jealous of Link, nor does she wish him to be weaker, she simply wants to be more than she already is. This is literally echoing her words that she left her father, about how leaving the Domain and experiencing new challenges would be “good for her.” So I wanna run with it. The dialogue here establishes Mipha’s motivation to grow stronger, almost equivalent to a rivalry of sorts. 

So after Mipha says this, Revali scoffs and butts in. Again, I’m not too set on any particular dialogue here, just something like “Hmph! Well, I don’t know about that. Seems to me all that’s happened is some magic sword gave the knight an ego boost. Blade’s only as strong as the little Hylian who wields it, and—based on my own extended experience and professional observations of course—I’ve yet to see this ‘stronger’ boy that you speak of.” Another camera pan to Link a ways in front of them. “If you ask me, hero or no, that knight is still exactly the same as I first met him.”

Revali places a wing on his chest dramatically. “Perhaps if you’re truly keen on seeing growth in skill and strength, Mipha, you’d do well to—”

“Flattering of an offer as that may be, Revali,” Urbosa interjects, “But I think Mipha might find it difficult to observe growth from one of the shortest Rito in Hyrule.”

Cue laughter from others or snickering or something. We just need some banter to add a bit more flavour to the characters. Revali can do a little huff and cross his wings or flip his scarf or something. But then Urbosa continues. 

“Although...he is right about one thing.” Urbosa looks straight ahead. “A sword does not alter a hand, just as strength does not alter character.” She puts a hand on Mipha’s shoulder. “Grow as he might, there is no doubt in my mind that he is the same boy as he’s always been.” Urbosa looks up in the direction of Zelda. “Whether you realize it or not.”

Ok so, scene’s not done yet, BUT quick gush on the dialogue flow here. I’m trying to establish parallels in these character perspectives based on the flow of conversation. We started with Mipha who, like I said, wished to grow stronger along with Link. This flows into Revali who also has a similar parallel as he wishes to grow above Link’s shadow. But the distinction between Mipha and Revali is that Mipha think’s Link’s strength is earned, and Revali thinks he cheated, gaining authority through a magic sword, and not through merit and skill. Thus, leading to Revali’s perspective of Link being exactly the same as he’s always been, he believes the sword doesn’t change anything. Urbosa then speaks, because she thinks exactly the same thing. However, her distinction is that Link is the same as he’s always been: a determined young boy earned his place and cares for his friends. Then she looks to Zelda who, as we know, will develop a perspective that contradicts this. So you get it? This scene is like 20 seconds long but it already mirrors nearly all the character parallels and perspective, that’s why the flow of dialogue is important. And I know half of you probably think these kinds of details are a stretch but I promise you it’s not, just look at any movie or show ever and I guarantee you can find similar stuff there too. Ok moving on moving on— 

Urbosa looks up at Zelda, comments her, “He’s the same boy, whether you realize it or not” piece of dialogue. Camera shifts back to Zelda and Link, who, idk if I mentioned this, but in the scene there’s enough distance between the Champions and Zelda and Link that the Champions can speak without the other two listening. So they didn’t hear any of this. 

So the camera is back on Zelda, and now we can get her “How can I…..If I am unable to awaken my inner power….” line. Eggbot senses her sadness, does his little cheer up dance, Zelda gets a flashback.

One small change I wanna make to this flashback: Instead of just a baby Zelda going “nighty-night” I want there to ALSO be a figure in the background behind eggbot wearing a silk royal blue dress. And said woman has blonde hair and she’s by the table back there. We don’t have to show her face or anything because Nintendo hates that. Just place the woman somewhere in the back somewhere

Also possibly you could add the shadow of another figure by the doorway, maybe? It would serve good continuity purposes for the plot points that I’m telling, but that part is not as necessary. I just need at least the woman there. 

Then Zelda is like “I remember you” to eggbot and all that and blah blah… Now, instead of Impa offscreen just yelling “enemy ahead!” I just want it to be a full on ambush. Not like a major one, but just enough where the group is surprised a bit. Maybe on the cliffs above, a lizalfo throws a boomerang, or a bokoblin shoots and arrow, or even just throws a rock. I don’t really care. I just need this to happen because…

As soon as this danger is presented, Link turns around to grab Zelda’s hand and they start running again. And he can like use his body to try and shield her a bit, I need it to parallel how he acted during Chapter 1 on the road to the Royal Tech Lab. However, this parallel has one important distinction because…

Zelda rips he grip from Link’s after a moment. “You don’t need to coddle me!” She says, or something along those lines. “Y-You...You’re the hero aren’t you! I’m perfectly fine, you don’t need to spend your precious time playing babysitter to me.” In the distance, a horde of monsters is beginning to form. Zelda looks between the monsters and Link’s Master Sword, her expression unreadable. “Well? Just...just go do what you need to do.” Link hesitates, looking between her, and the approaching monsters. Zelda speaks more sternly now, “Go!” So Link, not one to disregard an order from the Princess, gives one last look to Zelda before setting off towards the monsters. Maybe Zelda can take a deep breath to steady herself after he leaves, but as soon as Link unsheathes his sword, the metal glistening in the setting sunlight, it cuts immediately to gameplay. Start battle. 

For essays’ purposes this is the part where I explain why this is better than the original. So here’s my reasoning:

Uhhh, it just is. :3

Ok but seriously, I’ve already talked a tone about why the pacing and dialogue flow is better than the original. But also this scene doesn’t just say “Ooo Zelda is sad about her powers,” because that’s not interesting. Like I said, it’s redundant information. What is interesting is see how characters deal with that internal conflict and how it affects their relationships. AKA Zelda’s relationship with Link, who now basically embodies the success that she’s been working so hard towards but never achieved, is deteriorating a bit. I wanted to get that sense of the Zelda that we see in Breath of the Wild because all things considered, they should be roughly the same character.

So that’s that, you fight the battle, the Hollows show up a bit, so insert “dark evil Champion” dialogue because if you’re gonna use the evil clone trope might as well use it to the fullest. Then you fight the Talus and hurray horrah the day is saved. 

Then we have that iconic Urbosa motherly pep talk to Zelda as Link eats rocks in the background. Now honestly, I’m not that big a fan of the first half of the dialogue, so I wanna change it into something more interesting. But the rest of the beats and camera work go roughly the same. 

Zelda: “Link is...so much stronger now”

Urbosa: “‘And yet I have not.’ I presume that’s what you’re thinking, hmm?”

Zelda: “Well it’s true, isn’t it? More and more, monsters have been appearing around Hyrule. It is a sign that the Calamity draws near. So...there isn’t much time. And still, no sign of my power awakening.”

Urbosa: *sighs* “Little bird…”

Zelda cuts her off, in an attempt to change topics: “Why do you call me that?”

Urbosa: “Hmm?”

Zelda: “Little bird...I feel like I’ve heard it before. Why do you call me that?”

Urbosa, after a beat looks off in the distance or something: “A long time ago, my dear friend would call me to the palace, or perhaps invite herself over to mine, [she chuckles] ...and she would talk with me all day, and ask me to gaze upon her little bird with her. Her dearest daughter...a princess”

Zelda: “You mean my…”

Urbosa just smiles with a soft nod: “Back then, times were a bit different. The destiny that you have was still upon the Queen, who worked day and night to refine her powers and fulfill her destiny. In just a few short years, I went from being friends with a Queen, to friends with the destined sealer of the Calamity.”

Another pause, before Urbosa speaks again: “But...she was still the same woman I had grown with. Still the same loving mother who spoke about her little bird with joy. She had not changed one bit.”

Urbosa: “Even when your mother passed, her loving smile was there until the very end. She always loved you—believed in you, Zelda. She had great hope, great faith that her daughter would grow into the beacon of light Hyrule needed. That even with her gone, you would spread your wings and fly, because you were just that amazing to her.” *Urbosa puts her hands on Zelda’s shoulders.*

Urbosa: “Destiny did not change your mother’s love, just as it does not change Link’s courage, or your value.” *the camera can pan to Link eating rocks now*

Urbosa looks directly at Zelda now: “Look how hard we’ve all worked to get this far, how hard you have worked to get here. While we may grow in strength, in that regard, we’re all one in the same.”

Zelda: “...I….well…”

Urbosa: “What did the Great Deku Tree say? There is no need to fret princess.”

Urbosa: “Our faith, Link’s, your mother’s, it’s all as strong as ever. And everyday, with every moment that you travel towards your destiny, it just grows. It is always with us. So believe in that, have hope, yet, little bird.” *Eggbot can scurry up and make cute noises here next to Zelda*

Urbosa: “I know, you are where you need to be. You must accept that too.”

Zelda: “...”

Zelda gives a solemn nod: “Thank you, Urbosa.”

So that’s that scene! Don’t let the length fool you, it’s technically even shorter than the original scene in Age of Calamity. So why is it, in my opinion, better? Because for one, we actually get an insight into Zelda’s mom and Urbosa’s relationship, something that was PROMISED To us but never given and I’m still a bit salty about it. Anyhow, in addition to just getting some lore details, that relationship between the Queen and Urbosa is important for this scene because, just like Urbosa spells out, it’s in direct parallel with Link and Zelda. 

Before the Queen suddenly got sick and died, she was destined to seal the Calamity. But she didn’t let that destiny change her, she was still the same loving mother to the end. Now that is something that Zelda needs to realize about Link, as his newly acquired destiny doesn’t change who he was before, the knight who cares for her and wishes to protect her. Zelda needs to realize he’s the same and that she can still trust and confide in him. Hence, that’s why this mom backstory is in this scene and not somewhere else, because it serves to the narrative but also more impactfully to the character development. 

The dialogue could probably be polished a bit more but come on, not half bad for an improvement yeah? So that concludes Chapter—

SIKE we’re not done yet. We still have to move into the entire point of this stage, the road home, to the castle. 

So, badabing badaboom, I’m adding an entirely new scene from scratch right here at the end, because it is VITAL that I set up something new about the story, as a sort of clincher. So anyhow 

Zelda is alone with her father, let’s set it in the royal library (Intact, not ruined, of course) because we don’t see enough of that location and it’s really cool. So Zelda is briefing her dad about the events in Korok Forest and on the journey back home. I know I always gush about cinematography but it can’t be fully appreciated since I’m….writing,,, this, BUT I think it might be fun if the side shots of Zelda have her background be some bookcases of the library, maybe half bookcases and the other half the ornate walls. Then the background for the King’s shots is the full symmetry of the elegant staircases.

[And if you needed the specific reasoning for that, because it makes camera shots more fun. Like when Zelda says something that aids in her scholarly side, the camera angle can change slightly where the bookcases take up more of the frame, and then when the King’s will takes more power, then the book cases can be angled a bit more out of frame. And then the symmetry of the King by the staircase is a way to show his higher power dynamic to her, and contrasts well with Zelda’s shots since the bookcases are dark and the stone is lighter, so on a meta level is also makes it easier for the audience to understand where they are. Shot composition is fun ok, and that’s not even getting into color theory (Thinks about Baby Driver and LaLaLand....even videogames like Undertale and Hollow Knight have such wonderful shot composition and use of color theory hhhhh love it)]

Ok so Zelda’s briefing the King in the library, she’s standing while he’s sitting at a desk. There’s maybe two or four Royal Guards on the staircase entrances, but for the most part, they’re alone. You can tell that this meeting between them has been going on for a bit now, as from Zelda’s dialogue, she’s retelling events midway through the story. 

The King is flipping through some paperwork, not really looking Zelda in the eyes. She continues speaking. 

“And so...with the malice cleared and the monsters being dealt with, Link and I made our way into the heart of Korok Forest.”

The King hums a response, flipping through another page. “And this is when Link pulled out the Sword that Seals the Darkness then, I presume.”

Zelda paused, as of thinking of how to phrase her next words. “Not exactly. I...we both encountered someone beforehand. A man, with a pale face, and dark hair and robes, and he had the power to control malice, using a strange object in one of his hands.” 

Rhoam stops writing in his journal or whatever. He doesn’t look up, but the sudden stop he makes is obvious. Zelda notices, but continues. 

“He talked about...the Calamity, and my birthday...destiny, and the future….I’m not quite sure I can remember his intentions word for word. But he did introduce himself as—“

“Astor…” Zelda and the King say simultaneously. The King has fully perked up now, looking at Zelda. She’s pleased to see a reaction from him. The King rises from his chair, and starts pacing a bit, stroking his beard thoughtfully like the asshole he is. 

“So you know him then? This Astor man? Who is he, father? What does he—“

“Were you alright? Did he hurt you, or mention anything else?”

Zelda pauses for a moment before shaking her head, as if the concern he was expressing was uncharacteristic. “N-No. No, I’m fine, and Link was there. During the battle, as Link fought him off, that was when the sword was pulled. Then Astor fled, or...” Zelda pauses for a beat, “retreated...he expressed his wish to speak with me again.”

Another beat of silence, as Rhoam gets up, hands clasped behind his back. “He used to work at this very palace.” The shot is now directly on Rhoams back, as he faces a bookcase, although it’s clear that he’s just deep in thought, and not just staring at books. Rhoam is in third column of the shot (he’s to the right, not in the center) 

“A trusted advisor. Someone gifted with foresight, who many years ago, had first predicted the coming Calamity.” Cut to shot of Rhoams face, the camera being by the bookcase, so that we see Rhoam’s expression and Zelda’s.

“In truth, I thought him dead. For the last time I saw him alive—truly, truly alive—was ten long years ago...” The shot goes back to the original establishing shot, of Rhoam facing away from the camera, towards the bookcase, he’s standing to the right, hands still clasped behind his back.

“...when your mother still graced this earth.”

From left frame, a younger Astor walks up and stands beside Rhoam. He runs his fingers along the books. Rhoam looks to his left, as if he is seeing Astor. Camera cuts to Astor’s right, as if looking at him from Rhoam’s perspective. He continues brushing his fingers against the spines of the books, before he finds the one he’s looking for. Pulling it out, he opens the book, flipping through its pages, before giving a genuine smile. Cut back to wide angle behind them. With the book, Astor starts walking back out left frame, but this time the camera follows him. Filter fade to a memory tint as the camera pans right to left

[when the camera fades fully into the Astor memory, the figures can have that silhouetted effect like you see in botw. Cause I know Nintendo hates making new character models for some reason.] 

So if it wasn’t clear already, even though the memory filter doesn’t come immediately, Astor isn’t actually there, but it’s just a flashback. I’m a sucker for merges, which is something this game and botw NEVER do which bugs me because there are so many creative ways you could introduce flashbacks without just doing “ooOooOoo fade to sepia filter and then oooOOooOOO we fade back to reality and no time has passed.” I apologize if my explanation of the camera doesn’t make sense as it’s hard without much visual aid, but hopefully it makes sense so far. Anyhow! Let’s continue.

We’re now fully immersed in this memory, but King Rhoam’s voice still narrates overhead. 

Astor brings the book to one of the desks in the library, where a woman sits writing something onto paper. News flash, it’s the queen. Astor hands her the book and starts speaking about something, although you can tell the tone of their conversation is light, almost akin to Zelda rambling about Sheikah Technology. The Queen laughs about something unheard, as Astor continues ranting about something, his hands moving to like a professor giving a lecture. 

Rhoam Narration: “When he had first predicted the Calamity, things were much more hopefully for our kingdom. As although his foresight granted him only glimpses and fragments of a future, he was almost certain that with the Guardians, and the strength of your mother’s power, our victory would be absolute.”

Scene changes to the Queen walking down a corridor, Astor is leaning against the wall by a window. 

Rhoam Narration: “He and your mother would often work together tirelessly to study the ancient arts, to make the most of the powers given by the goddess.”

The Queen has walked up to Astor now. She crouches down and gestures to her left, the side not yet seen by the camera.

Rhoam Narration: “In fact…”

The camera changes to focus to where the Queen was looking towards—a young Zelda, crouched behind her mother’s dress, stares up at Astor. 

Rhoam Narration: “I would not be surprised if you found within yourself, a memory of such.”

I would prefer if you could see the expressions of Astor (giving Zelda not a smile, but not really a frown or anything rude either) and young Zelda. But I guess it can also just be silhouettes too cause again, Nintendo hates giving us younger character models outside of first person POV stuff. Anyhow. 

The scene fades, the light from the window dimming as everything darkens.

Rhoam Narration: “I often times wish we could go back to such a time, when victory and pride swam in every corner of this castle.  But of course…”

The scene brightens again, although not as bright as before. It’s the exact same corridor with the large window, but now it’s raining. A young Zelda stands alone in front of it, looking outside.

Rhoam Narration: “Such a time did end…”

We now cut to a new scene, King Rhoam is walking down a hall, the camera’s perspective is of a bird’s eye view, like we’re peering in from outside a window. We can see the shadow of Astor chasing after him, as he starts speaking frantically about something, not quite, but almost to the point of shouts. 

Rhoam Narration: “After your mother died, the visions of the future shifted drastically. No longer was there glimpses of rolling fields and shimmering skies, but instead, of rubble, red earth, and death.”

You can now more clearly hear the words coming out of Astor’s mouth. He is telling something about failure, and souls, and the Calamity to the King’s ear. He’s still walking forward.

Rhoam Narration: “He was adamant that our demise was now coming faster than ever, and that without your mother, we were doomed. That even you, should you take up your mother’s mantle, could not save everyone.”

Astor: “I’m telling you Your Majesty, if you go down this path, there is no going back.”

King Rhoam: “There is no other choice, we are moving forward.”

Astor: “I don’t think you quite understand the true gravity of the fate you’re choosing for yourself. It is a guarantee that you, me, and countless others shall die.”

King Rhoam: “I don’t want to hear it.”

Astor: “And of course, there are a multitude of possibilities, but the end result is the same.”

Astor: “Do you have a preference, perhaps? Crushed by rubble? Suffocation under ash?”

Rhoam’s tone is deadly: “Stop.”

Astor: “I’ve seen fire too. I’m not yet quite sure the exact circumstances that lead to flame appearing and spreading so quickly, but rest assured that if you—”

King Rhoam: “Stop.” 

Astor: “If you saddle someone else with this duty I am absolutely certain that you and I will—” 

King Rhoam, voice not shouting, but still with a booming intensity: “Just like you were so certain of our victory 10 years ago?”

Astor’s face darkens. He’s silent for a moment, collecting his words before practically spitting the first articulation: “...That, future, was the one that would come to be if Her Majesty was alive. If you’re so unsatisfied with my departed wisdom you can go ahead and flail around with destiny alone. You think I choose for these events to happen? You think I lie when I saw I want what’s best for this kingdom—”

King Rhoam: “What’s best for you.”

An ugly pause.

King Rhoam: “It is decided, Seer. It’s time you accept this. My wife is dead. That is the truth. Thus the role of sealing the Calamity shall pass to my daughter. She will work to awaken her own ability. It will be her duty to save us.”

Astor half laughs: “A child?! Surely you don’t need the supernatural to see how foolish that is.”

King Rhoam’s voice is even more stern: “You are living proof that the future is not absolute. Therefore I...must place all belief in her ability.”

The King walks away, leaving Astor alone. Weirdly, he smiles. Perhaps to mask some other emotion.  

After another moment, Astor yells to the King: “I’ll fix this! Alone if I must!” He’s chuckling as he shakes his head. “Your useless faith may cost many lives, but even so mark my words, I will fix this.”

The King looks back, but says nothing, his expression unreadable. He continues forward, leaving Astor alone chuckling, or perhaps something in between chuckling and crying to himself.  

Rhoam Narration: “We haven’t spoken since that day. I simply left him to his devices. If he was so determined to find another way to stop the Calamity, then who was I to stop him. I doubt my word could have swayed his mind regardless.

We’re now looking at a room, the camera is just by the doorway, looking at an office, circular and domed. It’s stone brick walls are covered in parchment and ripped books, covered in symbols and frantic writing. An old Sheikah tapestry hangs crudely on the left wall, and the window on the right seems to tint grey, or even a deepest crimson. Centerframe, is the back of Astor, robe hanging just above the paper ridden floor. He is flipping through something on his desk. 

Rhoam Narration: “Fixated as he was on the perfect future that you mother might have led, I still had hope that with time, he might still assist you with your destiny one day.”

The camera slowly comes closer to Astor. We can see more clearly the type of stuff that sprawls the papers and books and diagrams across his office. Some depict stars and constellations, and even a few notes on Ancient Technology, although in a noticeably cleaner font. However, as the camera moves close and closer to Astor, the papers and books depict only one clear topic: the aura of death that comes only with necromancy. 

Rhoam Narration: “It seems…”

Astor finally reacts to whatever he was doing on his desk. You don’t see his eyes, but as he fully turns around to face the camera, you see his smile, along with him holding a dark orb of unknown energy. It hovers in his hand. 

Rhoam Narration: “...I was mistaken.” 

The camera cuts to a wide angle, looking at Astor from behind a stack of books on his desk. The stack of books on Astor’s desk brighten in color (from the memory dull filter), until the scene fully fades back into the Royal Library. The camera is now focused on a similar stack of books on the desk behind Zelda, where Rhoam was working before. 

Zelda is still looking at her father, who is still turned away. Now, he turns back around to face her.

“He had disappeared completely one day, so it was my understanding that whatever he was working on killed him. However, if he is truly back as you say…”

Rhoam walks closer to Zelda, close enough that he might have put a hand on her shoulder, but his arms stay behind his back.

“It is in your utmost interest to prove him wrong. I know not what he plans on doing, but it would be wise to stop him before he does.”

Rhoam turns away now, pacing back to the otherside of the desk. “But, your more important priority is unlocking your powers, understand? Now more than ever, is not the time to get distracted.”

Zelda, taking this all in, takes a deep breath. She then nods at him. “I understand...Father.”

After a moment, the King makes a motion as if to dismiss her. She starts to walk away, her thoughts churning in her head, heart thumping to the same beat as her echoing footsteps. Suddenly, Rhoam calls, 

“Zelda.” It’s not a question, but the tone is asked like one.

She turns back, looking at him, expectantly. Rhoam only stares at her, an uncharacteristic moment of uncertainty for him. The words he wants to form seem stuck in his throat, until finally, he lets out a quiet breathe through his nose, before simply saying:

“You must.”

Zelda can only frown, her shoulder’s slumping slightly, as she ducks her head and leaves.

- - - - - - 

And that’s that! That’s the complete end of Chapter 3. So tune in next time for Chapter 4, including a new slight but important story changes, Yiga husbands, and shocking turns of events.

Edit: I forgot that posts with link’s dont show up in tag results so a rb is appreciated :p