#edit: immediately after posting this i got another one lmao

[emyn-arnens]

I've had an influx of empty blogs following me the past couple weeks, so please, if you are a legit blog (and I think some are) and don't want to be blocked and reported as a bot, add an icon/header/blog title/reblog some posts. It's very hard to tell empty but legit blogs from bots, especially because this wave of bots seems to be upping their game by using fandom urls.

[crystalkitty1220]

Man I wonder where the leader of the fear realm could've gone, it's alMOST LIKE NEVIN HAS AN

[meraki-yao]

RWRB: The Awardist Podcast Interview Thoughts

Alright after listening to the podcast giddily while aggressively stomping on the cross-ramp machine to work out my extreme happiness and excitement to the point that I burnt through twice as many calories than usual and soaked through my shirt, I'm here with thoughts

Pippin @pippin-katz, who sent me a voice message at 3 am my time to tell me to brace myself and be prepared for what's happening and what I'm going to wake up it, did their own version of a summary+thoughts with timestamps here, go check that one out

So my list of thoughts is gonna be a little more all over the place

Immediately burst out laughing with the "mouthful" joke, even more so when the boys both caught it lmao

"I am not happy to see Taylor's face" and "I have a Post-it I'll stick it over your face now" that is peak bestie behaviour

Nick honey I love you but I... do not believe you don't look through online stuff lmao we literally caught you likely fan content and edits you posted two Henry edits and referenced another one

I love how unintentionally in sync they are??? For the first question they started talking at the same time, and for the second they both started nodding and stayed silent forgetting this was an audio interview

"mate, mate, mate, MATE" and the last one being said in sync oh my god this is so much fun

The whole comment on the signing wars: what Pippin said, we were literally calling Taylor "that little fucker" yesterday when he started taunting us with more BTS (EVERYONE KEEP VOTING PLEASE)

"What possessed you? What have you got against me?", the same energy as "Why do you dislike me?"

Taylor's explanation of signing on Nick's face and how it started made me laugh and scoff a little because I translated that fucking moment: the first time it happened, Taylor was in China, it was the firstprince PR photo not the GQ magazine, he was on a boat, and he was the one to ask for the photos to sign lmao

Again, need to see them sign stuff in the same time and space: FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!! :D

"Take it Nick" Nick's little snicker in response

A little heavy and personal but I wish I could talk to them and tell them how much the book, the movie, the characters and the boys mean to me and how it kept me somewhat afloat last October when I was drowning every single day, and how this story made me want to change myself and break out of my status quo

I know I've been saying Taylor knows Casey's pronouns and he gets them wrong when he's nervous, and I stand by that, but God the sigh of relief I let out when he used they/them

"Right Nick?" is so oddly comforting?

Oh my fucking God the "Top to Bottom" joke was a low-hanging fruit but it made me laugh

Also even the order was right! "Top to Bottom", "Taylor and I" (jkjk lmao) 😜

I really fucking hope that the "that's what I'm known for now, doing intimacy work on screen" is an offhand joke and that people don't genuinely label Nick as that

"Why don't you speak for this, Taylor" again, unexplainably comforting

"Seeing my mate at all these awards shows" made me remember a Chinese phrase "頂峰相見·", literally "meeting again at the peak", meaning "I'll see you when we're both at our best"

Nick's burst of laughter at the "who's a better kisser" comment

Taylor I swear to God 🤣 he combined the "is nick a good kisser" and the "who has your heart joey or Nick" questions together and said "I don't know, I don't know how to answer that question, I have no idea" DUDE YOU LITERALLY ANSWERED THE GOOD KISSER QUESTION WITH "YOU KNOW WHAT HE IS A GOOD KISSER WE HAD TO PRACTICE A LOT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT" WITH ZERO HESITATION (that answer, on that day, was first thing in the morning for me, and I lost my sanity for the next two hours)

I'm so fucking happy and Matthew comes from a theatre too, speaking as a theatre person and someone who has been dissecting this film since its release

I really think there's gotta be more improvised scenes? Or at the very least stuff like the morning after V&A that was a last-minute decision to add in and wasn't in the script, or maybe scenes where there wasn't specific lines written and they just reacted and spoke based on the scenario? Or even little moments, the shoulder kiss or something?

"Tay" OH MY HEART

Ok I can make an argument on both how Nick is like and not like Henry, but Taylor is so ACD that he basically fell out of the book? How does he not see that? (personally think Taylor's very similar to Alex with a bit of Marco?)

Oh my god the whole segment of the DNC/getting caught scene and Taylor's ass

"I will take this one" "yeah"

"I love working with her, we both love working with her" That's sweet- hang on Nick you just have this one scene with her

I have so many more questions about this scene: Was Nick actually in the closet for that one shot? How many takes did it take?

Taylor referencing a detail in Bottoms from like a 30-second scene in the movie!!! Yes!!! We love seeing friends being supportive of each other (suddenly want to hear Taylor's opinions on M&G lmfao)

"And I'm not even going to get into M&G"

The text question is kind of the only question that made me think "Why would you ask that?" because that was definitely more of a directing/editing thing

Nick really freaking loves the cake scene, he mentioned that as his favourite scene three times at this point, all times on audio, twice on video

Aw Taylor's story about Jack... 🥺

But somehow everyone knowing it lmao, and Taylor's fucking awful British accent

And at this point Nick starts swearing lmao

Awww Nick's compliment to Taylor

Tangent: what the fuck is a fuel museum?

Oh I just love hearing them finishing each other's sentences when one of them forgets the word

Lmao imagine just recovering from Covid and then needing to make out for two hours

"Next to a witchcraft shop" What the fuck lmao

Tangent again but I could write a sociology essay on what Taylor said about architecture and history

I swear to God, Nick's "go on Taylor" somehow being softer, you can fucking hear that that little shit is smirking

Taylor saying that he wants a second book from Casey and me immediately going "BOTH OF YOU QUIT YOUR FUCKING JOBS" (I have complicated feelings about the bonus chapter)

"What-if world" exactly!

Taylor pulling out the stats about the queer population: did he fucking calculate that on the spot or he just casually have that information in his head?

the little wrap-up by the hosts was so sweet but somehow talking about Taylor's ass again oh my god (his body hair being digitally edited, it was minx right?)

"it's so sweet and nice and we need more of this in our lives right now" YES WE DO, WE FUCKING DO

"he's gonna be second-guessing his booty" is not a sentence I thought I'd ever hear but here we are

Culture shock moment: the number to call the podcast/American phone numbers is 3-3-4 which caught me off guard for a second cuz here it's 4-4

And that's it for now! God, I need so much more of this, like, if this is what we get out of a half-an-hour podcast interview what would press and promo be like?

Now that we're back for awards I really freaking hope these new RWRB content will be coming back, maybe like once a week or something

WE'RE BACK WE'RE FUCKING BACK WE'RE FUCKING WINNING

EVERYONE GO VOTE GO VOTE GO VOTE

[madrone33]

THE WISDOM SAGA IS OUT AHHHH

It was SO much better than I anticipated. Like, I knew it'd be amazing to listen to - 'cause practically all of Jorge's stuff is - but I was less attached to Telemachus as a character than Ody, so while I was settled in for a fun time I wasn't as invested as I had been for the previous sagas.

Little. Did. I. Know.

HOW DO THE SAGAS JUST KEEP BEING SO GOOD LIKE WHAT JORGE DO YOU SLEEP

Anyway, now that it's officially out for everyone, here's 1000+ words worth of excited screeching/rambling/word vomit from my immediate reaction to the audio, when it released at midnight for me! (I'm australian, so I got it 15 hours ahead of the americans lol, but also means I hadn't seen the animatics from the Live at this point)

Also, heads up there's a lot of swearing and I wasn't very coherent, 'cause my brain-to-type filter was non-existent at midnight while in the middle of a HYPE adrenaline rush lol

I feel so awake rn, even though it's midnight lol.

Started smiling as soon as I heard him. He sounds so GOOD!! MICO you're knocking it out of the park!

"Come and give me a sign!" Ayyy the Athena motif!!

Ooh they merged MICO's audition way of saying "if you're dead... or just tooo far"!

"Can I do whatever I takes to keep my mum safe?" aww don't worry bebe Athena's coming!

"Where is the man who'll have to wife?" ooh they really did use the Man of the House lines!

And they dropped that it's been 20 years! That's good, a proper timeline needed to be established at this point or newcomers might get confused.

ohhh shit! That growled "Boy!"

(Also, edit from after I watched the Livestream: HE DID NOT JUST THROW A BOWL AT MY BOY OH HELL NO-)

"Why don't you open her room so we can" oh FUCK OFF ANTINOUS!

oh the LINE! The CHAMP line!

"If I fight this monster" THS MONSTER! It changed from those monsters to this monster, because while he might be having fun thinking of conquering distant monsters out in the world, the real monster is living in his home and he needs his father's strength more than ever and AHHH

(Another edit from post Live: he decided to fight for his mum's honour and thought he'd get a beatdown or DIE in the attempt and STILL put his fists up oh my goddd!! And also, HIM STEPPING INTO THE SPIRIT OF HIS FATHER AHHH)

Ok I hate Antinous already. Like, I really love his voice, it's perfect, Ayron did amazing, but Antinous? What the FUCK! FUCK HIM! And I decided I love Telemachus. He sounds so helpless in that last line 🥺 ATHENA STEP IN!

Listening to Little Wolf now! Oh god I'm scared for Tele

(Edit post Live: YOOO IT'S FULL ON STREET FIGHTER STYLE!)

"Wanna entertain me?" oh EW Antinous!

I just have a permanent stink face on rn lol

"Wanna entertain me?" Still ew, but also aww he didn't do the growl like in the demo

Clock sound effect! ATHENA!!!

she's giving TE/MO type vocal vibes, more than Act 1 Athena lol

"What's going on here??" lmao he's confused about Quick-Thought, like ody wasn't

"Uppercut him. Now." AYYYY FIGHT ADVICE

she's doing the verse melody but for him!

wait what'd she say? "I've no respect for bullies! Those who [something something] will!"

SHE CALLED HIM A DOG HA! What's a dog to a wolf hey antinous >:)

"One young wolf has a larger heart than all these men combined!" awww Athena <3

YES!! SHE'S SINGING THE CHORUS BUT IN HIS FAVOUR!!

the HARMONIES!!

"Oooh, maybe I pushed you a bit too hard..." lol she's too used to ody who is used to her

oh FUCK OFF antinous!

"Tell me, Athena, why you came to my aid..." wait WAIT HE SUNG THE "what keeps you up so late at night myyy friend?" MELODY??? HOLY SHIT!!

Ok that was awesome. We'll Be Fine time!

SHE CALLED ODY HER FRIEND!!

OMG SHE'S DOING THE "MIIIND" RIFF!!

awww she regrets <3

NO THE "SLEEP AT NIGHT" CALLING BACK TO ALL THOSE TIME ODY COULDN'T SLEEP FROM REGRET

omg but her HIGH notes

ooh? 👀 The line changed from "sailed to an island" to "and I didn't die?? What does this mean for HTD's "I heard he's on a diplomatic mission" line?

oh now HIS high notes!!

THEIR HARMONIES!!

awww their motifs mixing! <3 <3

(Edit post Live: lmao him trying to lean on her shoulder and accidentally falling through her instead XD)

Well that was nice! Time for LIP... What am I in for bro

AHA I was RIGHT! The music from the cover art reveal IS here at the start of this song!

OH HOLY HSIT NOT HIS "REMEMBER ME" OMG WAIT GO BACK

The "ohhhh" motif from Remember Them!

TIME DIVE! WITH LYRICS!

oh yo! THESE scenes! We called the Sirens, Scylla, and Thunder Bringer on the discord, but the lines that are being used are INTERESTING

(Edit post Live: the animatics are going CRAZY this saga!)

calypso time...

Ooh calypso's voice is much gentler than the snippets! (I'm determined to not let my bias against her character in the Odyssey colour how I feel about her performance, because Wangui is a lovely person, and her voice is beautiful.)

lmao the awkwardly long pause and then "... ANWAYS!" is always funny XD

the electronic elements when she reveals what she is!

"Time can take a heavy toll." uh oh what's that mean

Damn not the "all I hear are screams"-

...

... holy fuck. Um. My jaw literally dropped what. What. Ok first, her "ody" fuck that. Second, the LEDGE?? Um. UM. I need to rewind please

Oh shit

Oh my goddd JUST LET HIM GO

NOT THE OPEN ARMS NO WHAT THE FUCK NOT POLITES OMG EURYLOCHUS OH FUCK ANTICLEA TOO OH SHIT

no him calling for athena! 😭

the slow clock omgggg

YES GO HELP HIM HE NEEDS HELP

... wait I need to rewind wait shit I'm shaking

ok. Pause. That was.

I guess I called correctly, but it turned out to be a BIT of an understatement when I said there'd be an UNEXPRECTED EMOTIONAL MOMENT! What the FUCK. Oh god that was incredible and I teared up and ah fuck wtf fuck who gave him the RIGHT

TIme for God Games. Shit. Am I ready for Beast Mode Zeus??? No. But I'm doing it anyway! :D

ok that was beautiful. Also her calling him "father" was unexpected but welcome

"... Odysseus." commander motif!!

god I love his voice but I hate him

ok I love how he says "AphroDITE!" I'm smiling, I'm getting into this

also, wait why does he say "or" instead of "and" like the snippets did?

The voice teasers! Ah shit I can't believe I'm going to HEAR THEIR VERSES IN A FEW SECONDS WHAT. Also Hera's voice is VERY interesting!

Apollo? YO?? Wait wait I have to go back and actually listen to the words lmao his voice is cool!

oh the sirens??

Huh. I... don't really get that logic? Athena just said "yeah but they had it coming and now they'll know better" and he replied "understandable have a nice day"?

wow what is that accent? Lemme go back and understand lol

damn those went by quick. Also, not what I'd thought their issues would be. Tho I think someone called the sirens one!

ooh wait I've always loved aphrodite's, this is BEAUTIFUL. I need to go back to the start of the song so I can get her full impact after pausing so much.

ohhh she's the first one to reject athena!

Ares!!

"HOLD YOUR TONGUE NOW! HIS SON'S MY FRIEND!"oop you done fucked up ares

oh I LIKE hera's voice! It's kinda airy but still hella powerful!

damn my jaw hurts from smiling

I hear cheering 👀

ohhh THAT'S what he meant by "or"! Athena was supposed to face either the five gods or Zeus?

"You DARE to defy me!" DAMN Zeus! That growl!

THUNDER BRINGER CHORUS!

lightning bolt to the face lmao

oh? The Wotm motif?

wait. Is the. Is this the "anime character on brink of death thinks of their friends and powers up" moment???

(Edit post Live: shit, zeus. Someone call CPS)

"Let him go..." oh wait that's IT?? NO WHAT SHIT

... lemme hear that end bit again.

WAIT reading through the comments and JORGE'S DAD VOICES HEPHAESTUS?? HOLY SHIT THAT'S EPIC! Now we just need his sister lol.

Oh that's right, I can see the cast now! Brandon McInnis as Apollo, POSEY as Hera, and Mike Rivera as Hephaestus. Nice.

It's 1 am now. Holy shit that was a wild ride. Damn. Hats off to Jorge and all the cast and editors and EVERYONE, that was absolutely incredible!! 💙🙌🏼🎉

... but also JORGE! WHEN I CATCH YOU JORGE-

[baskeigh-ball]

Ignoring the fact that ibis had the ai paint feature a couple years before this whole ai fiasco, after seeing your post, I decided to try it out to see if it really held up. I already knew what you said made no sense, as even stuff like ai painting requires heavy human input that isn't just someone typing a prompt in a thing and looking through thousands of images and somehow still calling it 'art'. Really, it's just some weird advanced bucket.

The ibis ai paint... really sucks. I'm pretty sure it hasn't even been touched since it was added. No matter what I did, I got random colours and whatever colours I had put there looked like it were from a filter, not to mention how my lineart bled everywhere like it was blurred out.

Ibis isn't problematic for adding that feature as not only was it added ages ago, but it was also just a gimmick only added because a few more popular paid programs added them, like Clip Studio Paint. I highly doubt even the company took it seriously considering how poorly built it is. This is actually the one time I'm glad some feature in an app sucks so much.

Another reason why ibis isn't problematic by the mere feature alone is that, when you look at the artists making content during the time of that update, it was received with humour. It was something fun to try, but ultimately dismissed for actual artwork, as nobody would use it to fully paint their works. Nowadays we see something slapped with the words 'ai' and think that it's instantly bad due to the latest issues with it and big corperations/ certain production companies but it isn't. It's just a lot of people abusing what was previously some fun gimmick, which it can still be, and for certain apps, still is. Nobody throws pitchforks at character ai, after all.

You can tell just by the size of this that I'm procrastinating on something. Ima go and let this rot away in your askbox now lol

You really thought this would fade away in my ask box, mwahahaha /j

I wanna start off by saying thank you for holding me accountable, I will admit that I got buzzworded pretty hard in this situation lmao

This information came as a surprise to me-- I was seeing posts pop up within the past week complaining about the ai feature on ibis, so I assumed it was recent. As it turns out, after reading your ask, I discovered that I got a few wires crossed! Because yes, the auto paint feature I referred to in my post has been around for years now, and was never taken seriously anyways

So that was my bad (and yea ur right it's completely unusable, lmao)

But as it turns out, the feature that people have been complaining about DID come out recently. It was called the AI Example feature, I think the idea was that you make a simple drawing and the AI adds 99% of the detail and color, which I've seen a bunch of other programs do.

...and then it was immediately removed due to some pretty major backlash, which, duh

^ This is the only evidence I can find of the 11.2.0 update that included the AI feature on the actual site; their update history stops at 11.1.0. But there's also the news page about the removal of the update, so it's not like they're trying to pretend it never happened.

So tl;dr, I jumped on the hate train a little too quickly and never did enough research to figure out what the actual update was, and that it's been removed by now anyway (which I couldn't have known until today, ofc, but i did kinda post that thing about ibis today so it's still a pretty major oopsie)

I think I can say with confidence now that I agree, ibis paint isn't problematic to use-- they made a mistake with this update, but they actually listened to their users and removed it LITERALLY the next day. So, thanks for letting me know! I'll also edit my last post to prevent any misinformation, just in case people make the same mistake I did :]

[5-pp-man]

another tierlist because ppl actually liked that first one;

the crème de la crop;

the first 2 eps i thought it was fine, but it didnt really captivate me as much as id hoped. but then ep 3 changed everything for me. i started to think "how could living armour work logically? everything so far has been edible, so this must be too, right?" i actually managed to think of the exact thing that this series did. that really made me realise the worldbuilding in this was something unique, and it only got better and better with each episode. its really managed to captivate me and i look forward to "delicious donderdag" every week :)

ANIME ORIGINAL LETS GOOOO absolutely bonkers show that almost slipped by me because it initially tried to fool its audience into thinking it was a regular dramatic military show. it still is but theres also a giant robot who plays by saturday morning cartoon giant robot rules. if that sounds like tonal whiplash to you, trust me, it is. and its amazing. have i mentioned how homoerotic this one is as well? yeah. originally a tier below this one, but immediately after finishing this post i watched the newest ep. i had to make an exception and edit the list because ep 9 changes everything. i havent been gobsmacked by a show this hard in a while.

(return of the) show(s) that execute their own premise very well;

i havent read the manga for yubisaki to renren so i cant compare, but the quality of this adaptation has been very consistent. you need a little sweet romance every once in a while :) this is one of those series where the characters really grew on me the longer it went on. im always a fan of mixing realistic struggles with romance and this one has been doing it well so far

adaptations that are ok (i read the manga for both of these);

i've been a mashle fan since before s1 aired. and the anime has some good changes and additions here and there! but its not very consistent in terms of quality, it does that shonen thing where the animation quality suddenly spikes for certain action sequences, but it also frequently had a lot of scenes where they recycle shots a lot and nothing interesting happens on the screen for a considerable amount of time. still! its a fine adaptation. and yeah the op for this. blew tf up lmao? very strange to see happen in real time

i actually rlly like the manga for this one. i read the whole thing up until vol.6 before the season started (all that was available back then) and it made me cry multiple times throughout. i was sort of missing that connection with the show, though some of the later episodes still hit. its mostly to do with the animation quality, which isnt that great unfortunately. the voice actors are knocking it out of the park though

wghere am i;

is this show good? i. uh. will you hate me if i say yes...? objectively, i know its not that good. especially in the animation department. but if you like other Umatani shows, you'll like this one. it's got the same brand of goofy reactionary humour mixed with gimmicky tacky characters and crazy stupid plot twists. ive been faithfully watching this one each week and I'm afraid i've become very invested. overscientific indeed

bro you fell off...;

i was so beyond excited for this one. i replayed the op a million times, watched each preview, rewatched multiple episodes. and then. ep 5 happened. and i started to realise. oh this show kind of sucks doesnt it? the pacing of the first ep was great, but the rest? way too fast. it became clear with ep 6 that theyre trying to do a double cour show with half the length, which is why they started hauling ass plot-wise. now. i was an arajin apologist for the longest time. but at that point i honestly started to loathe him. even when he stepped up, his praise still felt sort of unearned. and to top it all off, shindou's motivation sucked so he felt like a lousy antagonist. ep6 was better than 5, but it really made me lose my enthusiasm and hope for the series. and right as we were talking about them probably not having time for a filler ep, ep7 happened. feels like a waste of time to do an ep like that when you've still got a whole 2nd arc to go through. but who am i

it started off pretty good honestly. but then chris went to the hospital and it kind of just dwindled from there. this season does so much with characters that have not even been properly introduced like how am i supposed to care about these people if i barely know who they are. the stuff with finn and leo respectively was good though. but the lore dump? lord help me. also vijay just kind of. exists to be there in the background huh? i would not call him a main character they never give him any attention. wendy had another ep again and he didnt get shit. again. also i think finn was stupid as fuck for not listening to lala but again. who am i. i know we cant destroy high card because we need a show but. cmon man.

i am severely behind on these;

reason why im behind is because most of the eps are a bit heavy so i kept. not watching them. its starting to get rlly interesting though so i'm def gonna catch up this is one of those robo-racism shows so i have to really watch out to see where its going. dont want another marginal service situation...

sorry this is just. a little too boring for me. its charming, sure. but i think this wouldve worked better as something with an 11 min timeslot instead of 23 min. theres just a bit too mu- or well, too little for me to rlly get into this. i think reading it would be more fun for me personally

[cosmereplay]

This excellent post speculating about the future Rlainarin romance got me thinking about some of the great fics that have been exploring potential possibilities for them! I'll list by rating and put the spicier ones under the cut.

Will it be a slowburn? Check out Hidden Gems by Truthwatcher_Vez, part one of Chasms Between. Rated Teen, 9000 words. Great development and lots of RoW feelings.

Whirlwind trainwreck crab romance, Raboniel/Navani style? Check out Another Secret by aluminumoxynitride. Rated General, 5500 words, RoW and Mistborn spoilers. Fast-paced scholarly adventure!

Bridge four shenanigans? Comedy of Errors by Priscellie has it! Rated Teen, 21,000 words, vaguely RoW, Shakadolin is in the mix. Renarin asks Adolin for relationship help, setting off a chain of misunderstandings for Renarin and Kaladin.

How will their families react? Son of Thorns by Truthwatcher_Vez. Rated Teen, 35,000 words covering the time immediately after Rhythm of War so big spoilers!

Any discussions of marriage before sex or vice versa? I cannot remember any fic that has that lmao

This doesn't even start to cover the plethora of gorgeous fluff fics of them realizing their feelings, learning Rhythms, just having soft moments together.

Bonus: Soft Bridge Four? The Warmth of a Blanket (chapter 2) by Wandering_Channeler. Rated General, <1000 words. Rlain gets Renarin a blanket as they sit around the cookfire.

Bonus: Modern AU Jewish Rlainarin? Their Own Sweet Light by if_one_of_us_falls. Rated General, 1000 words. They celebrate their first Hanukkah together.

Spicy Crab Edition!

Whirlwind trainwreck crab romance, Raboniel/Navani style? Check out Sexy Sociology by cosmere_play. Rated Mature, 9000 words. Modern Roshar AU where Rlain is an exchange student, he and Renarin are in the same class, and they do some informal sociological learning ;)

Bridge four shenanigans? The Final Ten Days by aluminumoxynitride has that and much more! Rated Mature, 35,000 words (currently), big RoW spoilers. Deep examination of the relationship and its meaning for Renarin and Rlain on top of major plot.

Rlain, the Most Eligible Bachelor in Narak? How about The Rhythm of Tension by gemheart. Rated Mature, 3000 words. Rlain, Thude, and Bila have some business when Rlain and Renarin visit Narak.

Marriage of political convenience? Read two tunes are playing by am_fae. Rated Mature, 5000 words in which Renarin is chosen for a marriage that will end the War of Reckoning! WoR era.

Bonus: Practicing Regrowth for sexy purposes? Time Well Spent by gemheart, Rated Explicit, 2300 words. RoW.

Bonus: Adolin dies and Shallan and Renarin have to marry, despite both of them having other relationships? Making it Work by FleetOfAdmiralLynx. Rated Mature, 55,000 words, RoW. Amazing exploration of grief and hope, and yes Rlain is a big part of the story!

Thanks for inviting me to infodump a selection of my favourite Rlainarin fics @theworldtravellingteenager! hee hee

[inkyvendingmachine]

Dawn Season 3, Episodes 16

💀 Call of Cthulhu: Haunted Hijinx Masterpost 💀 🎶 Call of Cthulhu Season Three Masterpost 🎶

Warning: This campaign is an edited version of Call of Cthulhu: Song and Dance scenario from the Tales of the Crescent City book. While a lot has been changed, there IS spoilers for it throughout these posts.

ANOTHER BIG THANKYOU TO @inkdemonapologist FOR HELPING ME WRAP UP THE LAST SUMMARY OF SEASON 3!!! THAT'S RIGHT! WE'VE MADE IT AT LAST!!! which means we can now start posting the 18384927 post game RP logs we've been doing meanwhile lmao.

ART CHANGES THIS SEASON!! @inkdemonapologist and I are collabing on all the art for these summery posts!! Shazz does lines, and I compose and colour the pieces.

Almost done, just one last muse to free.

But first, the Angel left a bit of a mess. While Jack is using all his willpower to NOT give into the urge to “fix” everyone by shoving ink into them, Joey pleads with Prophet to do the final ritual with Susie, so that there won’t be any weirdness between Susie and Allison. Prophet’s flattered, but he… would need more time to study this one. Why not let her do it? Joey concedes, but he wants to be the one to lead it. Jack helps Leon patch Allison up so she can be ready for round 3, while Joey and Prophet go to reset all the candles that got knocked over in the fight.

Susie wants to talk to Allison, while they wait. What were her intentions at the Studio? Allison assures her she didn’t even want the part (which offends Susie more, honestly) – she just wanted to keep her eye on this Studio, after everything they’ve been up to!! ... What… have they been up to, exactly, Susie asks?

… and Allison admits, well, maybe they were just… protecting their home. It sounded ridiculous at the time, but… maybe that’s really all it was. Someone told her recently to be careful of making monsters out of others, and maybe that’s what she did here. (Thanks for putting in a good word for us, Tom!!!)

Joey, of course, has been busy getting everything in order and has heard none of this, but Susie and Allison seem to be on okay terms, so let’s hurry up and do this ritual – without the creative power from the muses of storytelling or dance keeping him going, Joey is running on pure determination and adrenaline. Tasty.

And together, they’re able to do it. The golden glow drifts out of Susie, but this time, they all hear a faint “thank you” before the spirit disappears.

Susie collapses.

Allison tries to catch her, but it wrenches her bad arm and she falls to the floor as well.

Joey passes out, too, with his one goal done – and now Jack’s feeling the sudden drop in energy as the muse of music returns to normal; he loses consciousness as well.

But

Prophet’s too thrilled to give in!!! announcing “We’ve done it, my Lord!” before swapping back to regular Sammy – whhoooo ALSO immediately passes out without the extra creative energy keeping him going, leaving Henry and Norman and Timothee with a bunch of unconscious people. Henry and Norman are maybe not the ideal folks to handle the inevitable police visit after all those gunshots, but Timothee is also a child of Lady Orchid and can pull some of his influence before taking Nichole home.

Henry and Norman just get people into beds. Bendy, uh, helps??? Which means Joey’s body is wandering around, but Joey himself is practically unwakeable right now and Jack is bleary enough that driving home seems unwise. Better to just spend the night for now and sort it in the morning.

7 AM greets them with Henry waking Joey up with a panicked, “What are we doing here, what’s going on?! …I don’t think I remember last night.”

The colour drains from Joey’s face, and he tries to calm Henry, find out what the last thing he remembers is – Henry knows he remembers the contest. When asked if he remembers that scythe spell, Henry groans and admits that he does, but he’s still shaking and does not seem all right, so Joey runs off to dig through Jack’s bag and find something to draw with – oh, hey, at some point Henry’s sketchbook ended up in here, and there’s the rest of Joey’s ink, and also one of Joey’s nice pens? Anyway, that’s enough for him to bring Henry something to draw on, hoping that will calm him down. HE’S NOT GOOD AT COMFORTING and his brain is running at full capacity trying to figure out what to do…

Henry immediately starts drawing one of the monsters from last night. He remembers some things… he remembers attacking Sammy, though Sammy has no recollection of what Prophet did and can’t verify this, and Joey is sure that the two of them were working together by the end of the night and seemed fine – but, uh, Henry wasn’t quite himself and Joey had been afraid he’d lost him, LET’S NOT… USE THAT SPELL AGAIN,,,,,

in the meantime, Joey finally admits to himself his few and far between weaknesses, that maybe he still isn’t, at the end of the day, the one who can comfort Henry, and asks his best friend if… he’d like Joey to call Linda for him. Henry’s taken aback, and agrees, so Joey swipes Jack’s hat to cover his horns and heads outside to use a payphone.

Sammy goes to check on Jack, then on Susie, who looks a little worse for wear – she thanks him for coming after her, and admits that she remembers it all, but it feels like a dream. She… wants to talk about all this later, if they could, but for now, even as worn out as she is, she’s eager to get back and finally record a good take of that new Alice Angel song. She can’t believe they didn’t stop by the studio all week, when that was the whole reason she agreed! But Nichole had so many other things she wanted to do with them, that they just never got the chance…

Joey gets back, asks Henry how he’s doing. Henry says he’s doing okay (but he’s definitely not doing okay). So Joey gently pulls him towards the door, where… Linda is waiting for him. Joey actually called her over. Henry is overwhelmed, hugs his wife, and gives Joey a grateful look – he knows how much this means for Joey to do. Joey just tells him not to worry about the cartoon and to get some rest.

And then it’s time to clean up and get going!

Joey uses Bendy’s help to just make a giant cartoon squeegee, as you do, to smoosh all the candles and ink and paint and chalk together, so hopefully it won’t be useful to any future cultists, and throw this weird ball of gunk in the garbage. Allison tries to… sort of apologise? – or at least explain why she had thought mind-controlling Sammy was justified – but the boys are not interested and Joey simply tells her they’ll talk later.

THE PREMIER IS TOMORROW WE HAVE A CARTOON TO FINISH.

Well, first back to Jack’s house to get a shower since we’re all sort of gross from getting dunked in the lake but

THEN, WE HAVE A CARTOON TO FINISH.

The music department is sluggish, everyone there feeling the after-effects of the muses’ presence, but Sammy is as demanding as ever, refusing to let a musical cataclysm stop his department from creating excellent work. Lyrics are done, but Jack’s nonetheless here to… balance Sammy out a little. Henry shows up halfway through the day anyway, and Joey decides that if Linda let him come then he probably needs something to work on. Joey is feeling PRETTY DEAD today and mostly works out of his office, though he does clear off a spare desk in there for Henry to work beside him, away from the stress clamor of the rest of the studio, and also perhaps just to enjoy each other’s quiet companionship.

It’s been a long time since they both just sat and worked on animating together.

There’s a few messages for the boys throughout the day – one from Peter checking in with Joey on how he should describe their group to the reporter they rescued (Joey settles on “someone else who got tangled up with that cult and wanted to set things right”), another from Peter to Jack letting him know that his cat Beans had been fed the night before and DO NOT BELIEVE HER when she inevitably tries to convince him that she’s never been fed in her life, and finally, a simple letter to Joey that just says, “We should talk sometime,” with the address of a local cafe, a date and a time, and the signature of “Y.”

Joey………… decides the other boys maybe possibly do not need to know about this last letter right now.

Susie shows up – with that chocolate cake she promised last week, at last!! – to do a take on the new version. Joey stops by the department to cheer on his Alice Angel, which she appreciates; after everything, her first take chokes, but her second is beautiful. She loves the song and she loves the new changes to it. Sammy’s pleased with her performance, though he mutters that it might be the best thing he’ll ever write. But he’s soon cheered up by the prospect of a cake untouched by roaming janitors, even sharing a piece with Jack and Susie. Joey, who had figured out some magical control over ink at some point, will handle updating the lipsyncing so nobody has to redraw entire cells.

AND SOMEHOW, THE CARTOON IS FINISHED????

ON TIME????

A… feature length cartoon, in 1934??????

D…DID JDS JUST BEAT DISNEY TO A FEATURE???????

( joey b like: >:3c )

Well, Joey DOES have the break room magic that helps everyone in the studio gel with each other a little more to work faster, and stay awake just a little easier, and in this timeline JDS does still have Henry. It’s not in colour, and probably not as complex as Disney’s first feature will be, (joey voice hUSH) but still, the first feature length animated movie will be a Bendy cartoon put out by Joey Drew Studios! GOSH!!

That evening Joey reaches out to Nichole Savoy, the daughter of Lady Orchid, to let her know about the premier tomorrow – he did promise her and her friends a stage, after all, and he’s not one to go back on his word, if they’d like to perform for the premier? Or if not, he’ll just give them all tickets, but if they so choose, he trusts they’ll put on a magnificent show. Nichole is taken aback and tells him that he’s very strange, but gratefully accepts.

And now, the most important task before the premiere: Joey decides it’s time to drag all his boys out for fancy new outfits (It’s for the premier!!! It’s part of the premier budget!!! Don’t worry about it!!) personally tailored and picked out by yours truly. Perhaps it is also… a little treat for himself, getting to see all his boys dressed up nice… y’know, for finishing the cartoon. That is going to premiere. Only that reason, nothing more.

And the premier itself goes great. Susie sings the new song live with Colette as a dancer (and Sammy on the piano), Nichole doesn’t perform but seems really happy to see her friends get this spotlight and night out with her. The cartoon itself is pretty darn close to what they hoped it would be. Afterwards Jack keeps everyone charmed and out of range to socialise with Sammy while Sammy glares and looks unapproachable; Henry is a little tired for socialising but DOES want someone to ask about the animation on the scenes he’s proudest of, while his kids try to pick which scenes are his; and the head of the local paper catches Joey Drew to ask about an interview about this unprecedented accomplishment, and Joey’s all too happy to set up a time for a tour.

The head of the paper is also curious if Joey’s met Peter Sunstram? They seemed to know each other, and the man had been looking for a job at his paper, and he wonders how well Mr. Sunstram takes direction? There’s a glint in Joey’s eye as he realises his chance to talk Peter Sunstram up as only Joey Drew can. Jack surely won’t leave if his OTHER boyfriend is ALSO in New York!

And that one investor who started all of this is here, too; oblivious to the magical shenanigans he inadvertently kicked off, but thrilled with the finished film he’s just seen! Somewhere, Grant can breathe a sigh of relief, and hopefully soon, so can the boys.

Joey Drew Studios has managed the impossible, one more time.

💀 Call of Cthulhu: Haunted Hijinx Masterpost 💀

[Previous Episode]

[sugakoni]

sunflower. (keiji shinogi x fem!oc)

being forced to go to a flower shop by his therapist wasn't something keiji thought would happen, but he would be damned if he didn't say that it was the best thing to ever happen to him. meeting the personified equivalent of sunshine and sweetness, he regrets not trying to find her sooner.

-------

warnings for this chapter: halucinations, agoraphobia, therapy session oops because keiji is traumatized, small mentions of the death game but wont really delve in till later in the series. also, no one died. i cant handle that shi.

wc: 3408 | archive of our own

(a/n) hey yall.. so i am writing again, woot woot! i am really digging your turn to die and hazbin hotel right now, but as of lately yttd has been consuming every single bit of my writing brain TuT. This is an oc fic, sorry about that yall but Yuzu is my baby and I hope you all grow to like her as much as Keiji does in this fic lmao. This is chapter one, and as more chapters go out, there will be edits on this post. as always, thank you for your support for the last 3 years and im glad to be back <3

(chapter under the cut!)

It wasn't like Keiji to leave his apartment much. Sure, he would go out if the others begged him to. He would go to his therapy appointments, but soon go home to try to find his own form of solace while his thoughts slowly but surely consumed him. He wasn't alone by any means most of the time, a red, painstakingly familiar man would always appear in the corner of his eyes. It got better though, medication, therapy… but that sense of self loathing for what he had done, what he could've done differently, always loomed over him like an unwanted cloud on a day you really want the sun to shine.

But, alas, today was not one of those days. Keiji Shinogi, at his therapy appointment that day, had mentioned that there was a new flower shop that had opened near his apartment that offered painting lessons. He was intrigued by it, to say the least, that a flower shop would be offering something like that. His therapist just chuckled, saying that maybe it was his subconscious telling him to go out and try something new. 

And now…

He was standing outside of this tiny flower shop, his anxiety clawing at him as if he was doing something either incredibly stupid or incredibly wrong. He sighed, moving to rub the back of his neck before he opened the door to the shop. It was empty… well, except for the vibrant colors of flowers displayed on multiple tables in the front room. Sunflowers seemed to be the main display for the day, and the sunlight captured them beautifully.

“... Helloooo?” Keiji hummed out quietly, hoping he didn't just intrude if the flower shop wasn't opened at all and he was making it up in his head. After a few seconds of his mind trying to pry him away, a short woman who looked awfully familiar to someone he was close to stepped out from the back.

His eyes lingered on her for a moment, heart racing a bit as he took her in for a second. Why was he feeling like this? Why were his ears feeling hot? Hands clammy? Keiji wanted to leave, but he stayed glued to his spot. And that is when she smiled and his own brain lit up.

“Oh, hello! Welcome to Kirigami’s, your local… uh… flower shop?” she said kind of confusingly, moving to play with a strand of her wavy hair. “S-sorry… you're the first customer of the day…”

Keiji blinked, hands going to his hips for a moment as he stood in thought. “Uh, thank you?”

The girl's face immediately went into a pout, biting at her lip and that face looked so familiar. Keiji was near losing his mind. 

“My name is Yuzu! Don't be a stranger, you can move from your spot you know!” Yuzu teased quietly, beckoning him to actually take another wide step into the shop and he happily obliged. Sweet. Too sweet. Why was he over analyzing a girl who ran a flower shop?

“What brings a man like you into a place like this?” She then added, her hands going to grab a pair of scissors while she tidied up some dead leaves on some of her plants. Keiji pursed his lips together.

“Jus’ wanted to see what ya had, I guess,” Keiji explained, a small smile creeping up on his face. God, she was cute.

Yuzu hummed to herself, smiling wide again as she turned to look at Keiji. “Trying to look for some flowers for the miss’s? Any kind in particular?” She asked, her smile faltering a bit as she said the word miss’s. Keiji noticed the change in her demeanor but didn't press it.

“Ah, unfortunately no miss’s for me… just have a certain liking towards… uncharacteristic things?” Keiji spoke and Yuzu gave another giggle, placing her scissors down and moving to take the apron she had off. Keiji watched as she moved to straighten her headband, his arms now crossing in front of him.

“No miss’s? You look like quite the catch! And, ‘uncharacteristic’... pfft,” she joked, her chest now slightly puffed up as she felt the need to be more professional. Sometimes Keiji wished he didn't join the police force so he could see people just as normal people.

“Anyway, I told ya my name, what's yours?”

Keiji’s eyes widened a bit, feeling bad now that he didn't even introduce himself to her when she did to him. “Sorry about that. My name is Keiji Shinogi… Local forensic specialist,” Keiji hummed out and Yuzu gave another smile. Was she always this cheery?

“Last name, huh? Guess it's only fair I tell ya mine. Tazuna, Yuzu Tazuna. If that means we are on a full name basis,”-Keiji desperately wanted to be on a first name, even a nickname basis- “Sorta professional for a flower shop, huh?”

Keiji snapped out of his thoughts for a moment when she said Tazuna. Now that is why she is familiar. Possibly an older sibling to Joe, who… he unfortunately met in the death games that still lingered in his mind. He wondered how Joe was doing now, especially since it had been about two years since he had seen most of the people from the game, minus Reko, Nao, and Gin.

“Hello? Earth to Keiji Shinogi?” Yuzu asked with a giggle and a hand wave, and Keiji let his eyes shift into focus and look at her. Yellow suited her.

“Sorry, just got lost in thought… ya have the same last name as someone I know, wasn't expecting that to be completely honest…”

“Ohh! You probably know Joe, I'm assuming?” Yuzu asked, her smile faltering a bit. “Or my dad? Did you even work with my dad? Surely not, you look very young! Oh, sorry, I'm rambling.”

Keiji’s heart tensed a bit, letting out a sigh afterwards as his eyes went back to the sunflower that was beside her. Yuzu hummed to herself.

“No, it's Joe that rang a bell… haven't seen him in years… hopefully he is doing well?”

“He's doing great! He got into a good college, and he has the sweetest boyfriend!” Yuzu chirped and Keiji gave a nod. Boyfriend, huh? Joe never pegged him as the type…

Keiji watched silently as Yuzu began to move around her shop, just idly looking here and there at spots on her flowers. He bit at the inside of his cheek, seeing the looming figure again that he desperately didn't want to see. It was standing right beside her though, and he couldn't help it.

“What brings you here though, Keij? Just pokin’ around?” Yuzu broke the silence, and he snapped out of the hallucination just like that. Her voice was calming, like she genuinely cared. And that was enough to break that bit of fear he had.

“Yep, ya caught me. I live right down the street, saw ya all working on getting this set up. Just wanted to see what was up,” Keiji lied, not really wanting to admit that his therapist put this shop as one of his to-do lists for his bit of agoraphobia he had after everything he had been through.

And God, he was thankful they did.

“Well! I sure do love the company!” She gleamed. Keiji gulped, he sincerely felt out of place like this. But a thought soon came to his mind.

The people who were in the death game were all planning on some sort of meet up that night. Mostly, that was one reason why his therapist wanted him to step out of his comfort zone before the meet up, so his agoraphobia didn't act up so much while he was supposed to be having a relaxing time with people who all knew and had dealt with the trauma he had just the same. Since Yuzu and Joe were siblings, surely it would be fine to ask her if she would like to come over-

“Since you and Joe are related, I’m assuming that you wouldn't mind if I asked ya to hang out with us and our friends?” Keiji blurted out, immediately facepalming mentally afterwards. Yuzu blushed, playing with her fingers for a moment as she considered.

“I'd love that… typically strangers don't ask me to go do things immediately, but, if Joe knows you he must trust you, right?” Yuzu asked, Keiji giving a small nod in agreement. “Well, alright! Here,” she moved to write down her number on a sticky note from the front counter. “Just text me the details, and I'll head over there after I get done here!”

Keiji moved to grab the sticky note offered, and his fingers brushed slightly against her’s. His facade was almost breaking, and he chuckled at the bright flash of red that overtook the sweet girl in front of him’s face.

“Okie-dokie. I'll text ya the info once I get back to my apartment… hope to see you there, Tazuna~” He cooed lightly and Yuzu rolled her eyes playfully. 

“Wouldn't miss it for the world, Shinogi.”

—------

Yuzu was excited, truly, to be going out and meeting new people. Especially Joe’s friends, and she trusted the people Joe had connections with. They always seemed to be down to earth, and Yuzu enjoyed that about them. After meeting Shin, albeit she met her brother’s boyfriend at a… stupidly inconvenient time, she enjoyed his company and was glad to have him in her life as well.

She tided up what she needed to at the shop, always having an extra change of clothes just in case dirt, water, or paint had gotten onto her during the day, and changed into them. Contrary to what she normally wore, it was a pair of jeans and a nice shirt, still wearing her sneakers that she had on during the work day.

Her phone was now in her hand, rereading the text that Keiji had sent her about an hour prior to her shop closing. She blushed, rolling her eyes again as she read it.

‘Here’s the address. Hope to see you there, sunshine.’

Yuzu couldn't help but admit that Keiji was an attractive man. He was alluring, and his personality seemed a bit closed off. She wondered what was under that exterior… she wondered how his hands felt, how soft his hair was. She had only met him today! She had no idea why these thoughts loomed.

You like someone again, huh, Tazuna? 

That annoying voice was ringing in her head again, and she felt her heart start to race. She glanced up from her phone, being met with the blood stained silhouette of her best friend. 

I wonder what he would think if he knew what you did to me.

You don't deserve happiness.

You got me killed, remember?

Do you think someone like you deserves that?

“Please… Himadi… leave,” Yuzu gasped out, squeezing her eyes shut and moving to run a hand through her hair. When she opened her eyes again, tears fell but her surroundings were normal. No Himadi in sight.

“Anyway…” she muttered to herself, sending Keiji a text that she was on her way and moving to leave and lock up her shop. Yuzu began her walk towards the apartment number that Keiji had sent her, hoping that it was his apartment number, since it was so close.

After a ten minute walk, she finally stood at the door to the apartment she was sent the address to. A few cars were parked on the curb in front, assuming that everyone was already there. Yuzu knocked gently on the door, her little body shaking as she felt her anxiety creep up.

A few seconds went by and the door was opened, but she was met with no one. She then glanced down, being met with a boy who was donning a cat like outfit. Her heart swelled.

“Myaaa, Joe’s sister?!” The kid exclaimed, his eyes widening a bit. Yuzu raised an eyebrow. “Gin, what?!” The familiar voice of Joe rang, and soon she was met with her brother standing at the door.

“Yuzu! Holy moly, what are you doing here?”

“I invited her,” Keiji’s voice rang from behind them. Joe snapped his head back momentarily, before looking back at Yuzu with a soft face. 

“Can I come in…? It's kinda chilly out here, ya know…” 

“Oh! Yeah, sorry sis,” Joe spoke and moved Gin out of the way, opening the door more for Yuzu. 

She thanked him quietly, moving to walk into the threshold of the apartment and being met with a few familiar faces, and a few unfamiliar. Yuzu bit at her lip.

“For those of you who don't know, this is my sister Yuzu. Yuzu, meet Reko, Nao, Qtaro, Kai, Gin, Kanna, and Mishima,” Joe rambled, pointing at everyone respectively as he introduced them. Gin was looking up at Yuzu, his eyebrows crinkled in confusion.

“Joe-Joe, your sister is very short, meow! Must be a family thing, woof!”

Yuzu giggled while Joe moved to nuzzle Gin’s head, causing the kid to groan in distaste as his hair was messed up. She continued to giggle quietly, her hand gripping at the strap of her purse. She still felt out of place, even with the calm atmosphere that surrounded her. 

“C’mon,” Keiji hummed out, patting a spot beside him on the couch. Yuzu blinked, glancing over at him and feeling her face begin to heat up. She obliged, however, moving to sit down beside Keiji and placing her purse down at her feet. The group talked amongst each other, which Yuzu began to drone out as she looked at a small, obviously fake plant on the coffee table in front of her. Gin began to inch closer to the girl, sitting in front of her criss crossed and his green eyes looking up. 

“Meow, are you Keiji’s girlfriend?” He asked, Yuzu’s eyes widening. Keiji coughed harshly, choking a bit on the water he had in his mouth as Gin’s eyebrow perked up.

“No, no! I mean, haha.. Uh… I met him today actually, at my flower shop…” Yuzu replied, and Gin’s eyebrow was still raised in suspicion. Yuzu’s back felt rigid, sitting up straight as she adverted her gaze from the small boy in front of her. “Why is your face red then, woof?”

Yuzu chuckled hesitantly, moving to fiddle with her fingers as she felt a hand placed on the small of her back. She kept her face from making any expression, but the heat lingered. She glanced, realizing Keiji had put his hand there, and her mind started to go a million miles an hour.

Why are his hands so big? Why is he so big? How is he this nice? Is he trying to comfort me? Kids ask stupid shit all the time! Shouldn’t be a big deal, right? 

“Calm down,” Keiji whispered, Gin’s attention span already receding as he moved to go towards Joe and Sara, sitting down in the red haired girl’s lap and practically stretching out like a cat. Yuzu moved to look at Keiji, who had a smug grin on his face, causing her to slap his shoulder.

“You thought that was funny, huh? Jerk,” she mumbled, his fingers now moving gently against her back.

“You’re just so darn cute.”

Yuzu rolled her eyes, moving her hands to her cheeks to cover up the obvious blush that had made its way to her skin. Keiji chuckled, leaning back into the couch once more and his hand leaving the small of her back. Was it weird that she wanted it to stay? She was a mess, for a man she had just met, and it was not something she was used to. Feelings weren’t something she was used to.

Keiji admired how he could make Yuzu feel, validating his own feelings in the process. This girl was someone that he wanted to make his, no doubt about it. There was no anxiety in the thought either, just the want for the woman that sat so close to him on the couch. Watching as her delicate hands played with each other, how her face scrunched up in a laugh as she listened to jokes from others in the group. It made his heart swell in a way he hadn’t felt in a while, and if he didn’t believe in love at first sight, he would be damned to ignore the obvious signs that this was.

Q-Taro was currently ranting about something that happened in a baseball match of his, his southern accent booming in the tiny space of Keiji’s apartment while everyone laughed and snickered at his theatrics. Keiji watched as Yuzu began to feel comfortable, glancing as she leaned back on the couch and scooted closer to Keiji involuntarily. His hand went to cover the lower half of his face, elbow on the arm rest of the couch as his gaze adverted. So small. So cute. 

Yuzu’s hands were now on her lap, not picking at her skin as she usually did when she was in an unfamiliar environment. Her shoes were kicked off, knees pulled up to her chest as another giggle left her at Q-Taro getting told off by Kai for being too egotistical about a game of baseball. She felt content, even with not having known anyone, she felt at home. At ease, more or less.

The night soon drew to a close, Joe and Shin calling it a night before anyone else did due to the fact Kanna ended up passing out with her head on Kai’s lap. Gin let out a big yawn, which signalled Sara that it was about time for them to leave as well. Yuzu’s eyes felt a bit droopy, and she moved to get up about 15 minutes after the other 5 had left.

“Thank you for inviting me over, Keiji, truly. I enjoyed meeting your friends, and seeing Joe,” she hummed, tiredness lingering in her voice. Keiji glanced up at her, a small smile on his face as he watched Yuzu rub her sleepy eyes. “No worries, Yuzu. They seemed to like you a lot, sunshine.”

Yuzu’s face grew a bit red at the throw of the nickname again, and Keiji wondered if that was how she reacted to the text message. She yawned herself, saying goodbye to the other two who were now sitting on the floor across from the couch, Q-Taro and Kai already out the door. Reko and Nao said their goodbyes, telling her not to be a stranger, and with that, Yuzu made her way home.

“Keeeeeijiiiii,” Nao’s voice rang teasingly, and Keiji’s eyes went to the girl with pink fluffy hair. 

“What’s up?”

“You liiiike her,” she teased again, and Keiji rolled his eyes. There it was. That anxious feeling that he knew would come and bite him in the ass. He felt his ears become hot, eyes now adverting the gaze of the two who were being relentless about his crush on the girl who walked in. His own personal sunflower.

“Keij, ya gotta let yourself loosen up a little. It was nice to see you that open with someone new again,” Reko patted his knee respectfully, moving to get up and helping Nao up right afterwards. Keiji sighed out.

“It’s just… I am not the type of person she should have to deal with,” Keiji groaned, moving to run a hand through his hair. Reko let out a ‘pfft’, Nao’s face in a pout as she watched her friend start to talk down to himself.

“You’re a great guy, Keiji! We all have our own traumas, genuinely, but don’t be afraid of that! As your therapist said, you have to do things out of your comfort zone. And even then, she seems to make you feel comfortable,” Nao rambled.

“And she is really fuckin’ cute,” Reko piped up. Keiji’s eyes widened at that, and Nao let out a giggle. “Just don’t let those demons stop you from being happy, Keij. You deserve it more than anyone.” 

And with that, they were both making their way out of the house. Keiji started to recede back more into the couch, letting out a sigh as his fingers went to unbutton the top two buttons of his shirt. Hand running through his hair again, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and clicked on Yuzu’s contact.

‘You, me… dinner on Saturday, Sunshine?’ 

[daz4i]

thank you! and yes ofc, any input is welcome! okay, so i've seen some people talk about how many fics get chuuya and dazais dynamic wrong, but i've not actually seen any specific critiques, so i was wondering if you have any tips to avoid, for lack of better term, to write one of the "bad ones"?

also, i don't have money for the light novels, is it generally frowned upon to write skk without having knowledge of how they are in the light novels? i don't if they're that different, but i've seen comments like "if you just read stormbringer, you'd understand" so just wondering if i'm missing out on A Lot.

and for fic posting, this is not that important, but is there some popular fic boosting tags if i wanted to promote it on tumblr?

oh these are great questions!! lemme try to answer it in an organized way (edit from myself after typing the answer up: i am so sorry for this monster of a post askjdfgh hope it's not too overwhelming 😭🙏)

skk dynamic:

one thing i think is important to keep in mind is that it has layers, and that they're not quite honest in their interactions. a good example for what i mean is like when they're rescuing q and chuuya talks about how he can't stand dazai, but then later when dazai is attacked by lovecraft chuuya is immediately concerned and runs after him to make sure he's okay, being shocked and worried when he sees his arm missing, etc. (dazai is even worse in that regard lmao)

i can speak on my own personal pet peeve with skk fics is where their personalities are flattened, and thus their relationship is as a result as well (for example, reducing chuuya to a tsundere, or making him stupid, while making dazai some dark edgelord etc) this can lead to missing one key thing in their relationship: they're equals

soukoku even just as a fighting duo isn't just "dazai thinks up strategies and chuuya fights", the whole reason they're considered unbeatable to their enemies is because they're both strong - they can both fight, and they're both smart and good at thinking quickly on their feet. it's just that chuuya is better at fighting, and dazai's strategies are more airtight. this way they're enhancing each other's abilities. so, translating that into their general dynamic is also important

another way in which they're equal that i think shows this last part^ even better, and smth that i think ppl tend to miss, is that dazai never really manipulates chuuya or forces him into situations he doesn't want to take part in - he always asks for chuuya's final word on the matter. chuuya follows his plans because he too knows they're likely the best option. this is how they maintain their trust in each other

(honestly the only time i think you can argue dazai tries to manipulate chuuya is in their reunion in the dungeon, but really it's more for shits and giggles on his end, no real malice, and chuuya probably knows that too, i think)

light novels:

first off!! even if you can't afford them, bsd-bibliophile has them right here!!! i really recommend checking it out :)

i don't think you HAVE to read them but like. it's good to know what happens in them at least generally, and it can definitely help the nuance of their dynamic. the sb comment is kind of right bc it helps figuring out one of those layers i mentioned in the beginning

i actually haven't finished strombringer myself hehe but one thing i got from it so far and from reading analysis of it (which can also help if you don't mind getting spoiled!) that i think is important, esp if you're writing about their mafia days, is that chuuya does hate dazai in the early stages of their relationship, but like. because he sees himself in him. and he sees despair he doesn't want to give in to. at least back then, dazai kind of embodies his negative thoughts about himself, even if not literally and just in his mind.

also on a more basic level both of them (tho esp fifteen) offer some shenanigans of them being silly teenagers. also dazai cringe compilation. actually this is an important part of it i think dazai should always be at least a little bit pathetic when chuuya's around (but that might also be just my own personal take :P)

tldr for the light novels thing, i think it really depends on what sort of fic you're planning to write. canonverse, and esp mafia days, i'd say it's fairly important. aus, not so much, but it can help. relationship explorations, probably. silly fluff or pwp, not really. yknow :?

posting:

hmmmmm i don't know any particular tags (except like, basic stuff, fandom / ship / main characters / "fanfiction" / maybe key tropes you're using? tho it's def not a must) but some general tumblr hacks:

posting at the right hours and days helps; around the afternoon or early evening in american timezones, on the weekends, is probably the best time to gain most traffic

use ao3's automatic sharing or post the fic as the link post format, rather than a text post or picture with a link inserted into the text. idk if it still exists, but it used to be that posts with links in the text would be hidden from search results, especially if you're a new blog (i think it was mostly removed but the new blog thing might still be relevant)

don't use swears and esp not "fuck" and its variations in the tags. hides posts from search results (i think "shit" and such is okay?? but i'm not entirely sure so. to be on the safe side, better to avoid) also don't use "nsfw" or any other possibly nsfw tags even if it's needed

speaking of. while it's probably responsible to use community labels. i'm p sure tumblr hides mature posts from search results 😭 i saw artists complaining abt their posts getting flagged and even getting shadowbanned over it iirc so. unfortunately it's probably better to avoid 😔 save the warnings for the fic itself

this might be a bug only i have lol but after making a post with quite a few tags, wait a few seconds before refreshing the tab or moving to another page. i noticed that otherwise it can hide the post from everywhere except your own blog (it might also be only relevant to image posts? but again, to be on the safe side, it won't hurt to do it)

okay i think that's all. i will say that everything i said abt skk might be just my own personal interpretation hehe so don't take my word as gospel!!! i'm sure there are many other fans and writers who view them in an entirely different light, and at the end of the day, it's up to you to choose your own version to write

and with that, i'm also turning this post to my followers, if you want to add anything, or if you have links to good analysis posts that could answer one of these questions, please go ahead! :D

as for you anon, i wish you good luck with writing, and mostly i hope you have fun with it!!! :3 just bc you see some of us complaining abt fics sometimes doesn't mean you should walk into it scared, actually please don't!!! you can do whatever you want really, and i'm sure there will be an audience for your work no matter what you create! <3

[sga-owns-my-soul]

✨💘💫🌈💌 for the writer asks!!!!

writer asks

thanks bestie 🥰🥰

✨What's a fic you've posted you wish you could breathe life into again and have people talking about it? (or simply a fic you wish got more credit)

The Calm After The Storm, it's a fic i wrote focusing on elizabeth and her reaction to the events of the storm/the eye and her being worried about rodney and honestly i think it's such an adorable elizabeth and rodney friendship fic (bc u know i love them as besties) and idk it's my least read fic and i feel like it deserves more love

💘Is there any posted fic you want to rework/re-edit/re-write?

not really? although i do sometimes think about reworking Not Dating, but More Than Friends to make it explicitly an aroace!john fic where him and rodney are in a qpr. that was the general idea of the fic when i wrote it but i think i could make it more specifically queer

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

i've said before that any time of comment makes me smile, but specifically comments or feedbacks from my friends. nothing makes me smile more than posting a fic i know a mutual was excited for and then getting excited texts from them while they read it 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

🌈is there a fic that you worked *really fucking hard on* that no one would ever know? maybe a scene/theme you struggled with?

lmao all of them? basically anything that includes Actual Plot i will struggle with, i'm a lot better at coming up with emotionally charged one shots 😅

💌share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

oh my god there's so many uhhhhhhhhh okay i'm gonna go with one i'm struggling to find motivation to finish so if you're interested feel free to tell me to finish it 😂 basically the concept is an au john comes to atlantis and immediately realizes that rodney is into him and just takes advantage of rodney and canon john has..... issues with it 😅

"You're not going to shoot. Not when you risk hitting your precious McKay," Sheppard sneered, a cocky grin on his face. John's eyes narrowed.

"I'm not aiming at him," John said calmly before pulling the trigger. The shot rang out, and John supposed he should have felt worse about killing himself; another version of himself at least. But all he could feel was relief as he grabbed Rodney and pulled him towards him.

"Are you okay? Did he- did he touch you? Hurt you?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine John, I- you-" Rodney had blood splattered on his face and was just staring down at the other Sheppard; a perfect hole in the centre of his forehead. Rodney looked back at John. "You killed him."

"I had to."

"But he's, he's *you*."

"No," John said desperately, shaking his head and squeezing Rodney's arms. "I would never use you. I wouldn't ever hurt you. You do- you know that right? I wouldn't- not on purpose. *Never* on purpose."

[firesofdainix]

now i ask you 😈

2, 4, 5, 8, 22 (im curious, i always use song titles bc i cannot think of good titles otherwise LOL), 27, 28, 30, 56, 74, and 75 :DDDD

Original Ask Post

2. Where do you get your fic ideas?

It depends on what I'm currently consuming, with the exception of already-written fanfic. BUT most of the time those concepts need to be fleshed out, and most of the time I hear a good, REALLY good song lyric that can deepen the concept, or think about it WAY TOO LONG in the shower or when I'm sleeping. its... a hit or miss of ideas basically 😭

4. How do you choose which fics to write?

oh boy okay so. this is a bit embarrassing but because I have so many WIPS I have to use spin the wheel to see choose, especially since idk what to write. but if I'm lowkey inspired with one of my fics, then i'd choose that fic immediately! if I get tired, I'll move on to another one!

5. How many wips do you have? what fandoms/pairings are they for?

i have 4 current wips im actively writing right now. two are for demon slayer with no pairings involved, and two is for solarballs: one is the Jupiter x Uranus fic, and the other is my Jupiter & Sun fic that I'm still going over because IT'S A PAIN TO WRITE. then there's a new brainworm in my head, basically Uranus x Planet X and their relationship, and a Vercury one-shot where the pair have the worst sexual tension ever

8. post an out-of-context spoiler for a wip

it's posted!

22. Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with titles?

preferably during the process. fun fact, take on me is named "toxic earth and mars yaoi yippee" in my gdocs and its the funniest shit ever. some fics that are based off song lyrics are already prepared, while some I have to create titles out my ass for (e.g: ganymede's one shot, earth going evil)

27. What area of writing do you feel strongest in?

uh. probably descriptions? or figurative speech. i haven't done purple prose in a while but I also think I am good at writing that :P

28. What area of writing do you want to improve in?

FIGHT SCENES!!! also, writing unreliable narrators and showing different points of views, along with ambiguous characters!!! and dialogue because god most of it sounds like I try way too hard

30. How much do you edit your fics? Do you edit as you write or wait until you finish the first draft?

if it's a one-shot, i go over it once, decided it's good enough, and post it. if it's like, a multi-chapter/ or beyond 10k words that's where I genuinely try and look for mistakes. because I might contradict myself two pages in 😭

56. Are there any fics that you would change or rewrite if given the chance?

not really haha! im in denial in thinking that most of them are okay LOL

74. Do you have a fic you wish got a bit more love?

AFTERMATH NEEDS MORE COMMENTS!!! and Take On Me (I love u regular commenter Axtumn 💞)

75. Is there a particular fic that readers gravitated towards that you didn’t expect?

SO MANY. I didn't expect to get so popular since my au was just for me to indulge and post for!!! after the battle, ganymede, saturn's moons hanging by a thread, and galileo figaro were the ones I didn't expect to blow up. i expected tsunami to blow up since I purposefully made the summary like that LMAO

[eldritchmochi]

since shit continues to be wild, as evidenced by the oingo boingo voice WEIRD CANCER posts, heres.....

mochi, what the fuck is up with that?? (guts edition) 3.0

1.0 ; 2.0

i apparently have not seen enough specialists so i have an oncologist now. gotta catch 'em all and shit

tl;dr mystery mass did turn out to be technically cancerous. i do not remember the specific type off the top of my head yet but its a weird rare one, because of course it is. luckily its a kind that stays very localized, so it's not gonna pop up anywhere else in my body, and my surgeons did manage to remove all of it with good margins. i am now down the 3rd and 4th part of my duodenum and my gallbladder (which, fun fact, did have signs of chronic gallbladder disease, so i guess i didn't escape that family trend lmao). like all cancers, theres a chance it'll grow back, but if it does, it should be in roughly the same place and is unlikely to be fatal, just annoying

i've got a fuck off big scar building down the centerline of my abdomen, from sternum to groin. it is gnarly as fuck and i am excited to see how it heals. i already have some ideas on how to incorporate it into my tattoos. you can see pictures of it here if you're a morbid freak like me. be sure to look at my reblogs for updates, there will probably be several contained there down the line, for posterity :>

the first like 18hrs post surgery were uh. not fun since it took A WHILE to find some sort of non oral pain management that would actually work for me, so thats great, but sans ng tube, i'm getting by pretty okay with ibuprofen and tylenol with the occasional non-standard opioid. i've been home since tuesday, oct 10th; had a check in with a gp yesterday, oct 13th, and i'm healing well. staples will be removed on the 18th and theoretically i'll be able to keep them >:3c

i'm back to eating semi-normally. still on bowel rest, but it's not as strict as it was before and it's mostly because i am paranoid vs anything required by my doctors. i haven't been nauseous since i went under on oct 4th which is absolutely wild, and i've been experiencing hunger at normal, regular intervals including being able to eat breakfast shortly after i wake up, which i haven't been able to do without a high chance of barfing it back up immediately since i was a teenager

first oncology appt is on oct 23rd. sounds like itll be mostly setting up a plan and schedule for things like regular scans to watch for regrowth and possibly referrals for genetic testing

my pfml back pay came innnnn god only last week holy shit, and my wife got their big chunk of school loans for living expenses so we are mostly fine there. i am arranging with a local queer to come a couple times a week to help with regular chores and stuff at 40 bucks a pop. if anyone would like to sponsor one of those visits or some take out for us, i'm @/sumomomochi on both pp and vnm0

at this point the sort of stuff that would serve us best is GEEFTS. not like, physical things you pay money for necessarily, though if you're a custom dice maker and wanna send us clacky math rocks, i would not say no. things like comments on our fics (mochi's ao3 ; cherry's ao3) or fanart for em, should you be so inclined, would be incredible. cherry is very low key on the internet but i'm chronically online, so other stuff like asks about worldbuilding or fic process or fashion opinions or whatever would be fantastic for me. i am...... incredibly bored after sitting in the same spot for four months now, and i've got another 4-5 weeks of it (:

but! i have a good support system, personally, professionally, and medically, so i'll be alright in the end, just hmm. sure has been a fucking year jesus christ

[findafight]

I am deeply intrigued by all the listed AUs, but especially 'Lavender’s blue, lavender’s green, lavender’s everything we’ll be' and 'Never again we two'. If you already have asks that mention these, it's dealer's choice on what you want to elaborate on.

Ooooo nice. Never Again We Two (title from my love my life by ABBA) is a oneshot from steve's mom's pov post s4 in which she finaly comes back to hawkinsto see her son when he's hospitalized, again, and sees the room filled with people she doesn't know or only knows vaguely.

When the nurse comes in, saying Steve's momis here, steve, groggy and on pain meds, tries to sit up, saying "ma?" only to see Mrs. Harrington and immediately correct himself to "mom", because, as I headcanon it, Mrs. Henderson took one look at steve after Dustin talking her ear off about is new cool older friend and immediately adopted him. He calls her ma because she asked him to, and Dustin (her literal child) does so it's not weird what are you talking about Robin.

But anyways his mother hears the "ma? -- Mom" switch and realizes that she's missed out on so much of her son's life that he literaly calls another woman Ma and thinks of her instead when told his mother is there. It's a lot of introspection and outsider pov of the party and her mourning the loss of the relationship she could have had with Steve, and coming to terms with wanting/needing to build a new one.

I answered about LBLGLEWB (god why do I love long ass titles so much...) in a different ask but I actually love that mess of a fic so much that I will give you another taste ;)

Steve's first role is just a background part, they literally just needed bodies to fill the space and he was a contract worker already so why not shove him on the soundstage for an afternoon? but his second is as a goon for a mobster flick that, of course, weilds a baseball bat as intimidation. It is 1937 and the world is introduced to the first Buckley Twirl on film. It wasn't even his choice of prop, they just handed it to him and his brain went "I know how to use THIS!" His performance of unaffected and cool is well liked by the director, so he asked to join another picture as another gangster, this time with lines.

His fourth time on screen, he's actually helping the props department, (he still is contracted as whatever the studio needs him to do.) but the director is having what seems like and angry melt down, yelling "Do ANY of you know how to fucking dance? Show of hands!" to which Steve, son of a coal barronand and raised to know all the proper ettiquite, raises his hand. The dirctor points at him. "We need a nice transition shot and i want a wipe following dancers in front of the camera and APPARENTLY none of my extras can do that." Steve isn't sure what that means but he is capable of spinning someone directly infront of a camera, so thats fine. "Shit Now you just need a partner. GodDAMN IT."

And Steve says "My wife works here?" because that's true and Robin knows how to waltz.

Which is how they both end up in innacurate period costumes, Robin giggling because she's set to help edit this film, and being told to dance together and their cue to spin infront of the camera to block it.

The only slight hiccup, which somehow only Steve and Robin are aware of, is that Steve taught robin how to Waltz and he only taught her how to lead because she didn't want to follow. No one actually notices Robin lead steve until years later, when it's released on television and later on video, to be wondered at how they got away with it, they weren't subtle, Robin definitley chose the take where she dipped Steve in the background.

It is the first, but certainly not the last, of the little queer moments they slip into their films.

Of course, twenty years later, when Robin directs Baseball, Baby! (literaly the only film i have named in this fic lmao) There's homage to the scene, someone leading Steve's character in a dance, and of course the return of the Buckley Twirl in a less menacing fashion.

[luckyashes-art]

Do you have any OCs other than your Splatoon ones? I'd love to learn about them!

WAAA ‼️‼️ I do actually !! Though I have . quite a lot of them 💀💀

Other than Splatoon OCs I got uhh-- primarily D&D OCs/Characters, Homestuck OCs, and a few actual original characters JDHSFSD some of which I've doodled and posted about before !

I'll stick a few of em down in the read more so the post isn't immediately unbearably long 🗣️‼️

Hmm let's start off with some original characters

Evix (they/them) is one that I've actually been working a lot more on lately !! They're kinda like an undead creature and live on essentially a post-apocalyptic Earth centuries later (might make a whole separate post on all that eventually because they're a part of an original species I wanna make)

Uhh then some original humans (w/ powers ofc) would include Anthony (he/him, one of my oldest OCs creation wise, in short a traumatized young adult with horrible anxiety and is struggling to get thru life 🗣️), Raymond and his niece Raven ( he/him & she/her, victims of loss of a brother and father (respectively), and they live in a world where ppl have elemental-based abilities !), and uhh Kacey (they/she/he, specifically with a c-- they're a cyborg (lost an arm) with no recollection of who they were (calls themself Kacey because of initials "K.C" branded on their robo arm (it stands for their actual name, Katya Cameron)))💥

[unfortunately not gonna doodle any of my other OCs so Evix can have special treatment LMAO]

Next up we got uhh some D&D characters !! [Who actually I have Hero Forge figures of so I'll add those]

Starting off with the first legit D&D character I've made, Glow of the Sun (aka "Sun" - she/her) 😼 Tabaxi Druid (Circle of the Shepard)!! After escaping the massacre of her tribe in the forest, Sun was taken in and mentored by a human druid named Sage (they/them)

Another one I got would be Gale (he/they), who's more-so inspired by my first attempt at a D&D character (who then got scrapped). But basically he's an Air Genasi Warlock (Pact of the Tome) that was raised only by his father until he managed to contact his mother (who was a djinn (an air genie) !! so yea, his patron's his mom LMAO [His Hero Forge is outdated so please keep that in mind ☹️ ]

Lets see ermm I also got !! A Dragonborn Artificer (Battle Smith) named Kai (real name Kazys) Tempest (she/her). Paralyzed from the waist down upon . hatching? She was left to be raised by her mother, which left the little dragonborn spiteful to show that she isn't useless. So she learned and became someone who creates things like prosthetics and kinds of aids to help others who may need it :D

I'll then drop off a last D&D character for now (cuz I rlly do have a lot), but this one's a personal favorite !! Meet Bone (she/he/they/it [does not care]), my funny lil Goblin Barbarian (Path of the Beast) !! Abandoned by her tribe and miraculously raised by a pack of wolves, this feral lil goblin spends her days living a free and wild life while causing problems for adventurers and the like who cross her path :3

Anddd onto the final stretch, we got some Homestuck OCs !! [Which btw I have models made by Xamag's Fantroll Creator (which I also edited a lil) so ermm]

Starting off with my personal fav, here's Arvenii Traket (she/her, Sign: Gemun, Derse + Breath). Goldblood with telekinetic psiionics, this smart(-ish) lil gamer is a hot-headed, anti-social introvert that enjoys things like cosplaying and programming 💥💥

Obviously then gotta follow up with her moirail, Teikai Dregut (he/him, Sign: Lenius, Prospit + Hope) !? A very idiotic yet excitable Oliveblood that loves to run, talk, play tricks, and hang out with his bestie (they tend to take care of each other otherwise they'd constantly not do things like eat or shower 💀)

What else uuuhhhh . How 'bout I drop Raiiko Ekneer (she/her, Sign: Scoriborn, Derse + Rage) !? A laidback, prideful brute of a Ceruleanbloodthat enjoys FLARPing and taking people's treasure/valuables 💥💥 Fun fact tho !! She used to FLARP with Teikai back in the day (he doesn't play anymore). Anyway she doesn't really have many braincells yet she managed to score a kismesis and moirail LMAO

And then I think I'll drop off her kismesis cuz ngl I rlly wanted to show them together 😩but meet Valeri Krovet (she/her, Sign: Sagigo, Prospit + Space) !! This Indigoblood is yet another blue business woman who specializes and takes pride in creating custom weapons of high quality. Can be a little snappy, mainly due to agitation of being on high alert 24/7 (had a gnarly, violent experience when she was younger), but yea :3

What if I was also silly tho and dropped the rest of my main HS OCs' lil models (i would talk abt all of them in more detail but thats A LOT of text ,) 🥴🥴

I do also wanna mention that I have. Ancestors and Dancestors for these guys as well . AS WELL AS OCS THAT ARENT APART OF THE MAIN 12-- Thats a whole other thing tho

BUT YEAH THAT'S JUST. SOME OF WHAT I GOT-- TY ANON FOR THE ASK-

This took so long to type LMAO but I enjoyed it !!

[ylojgtr]

ive just been thinking about it so here are my initial thoughts

fucking marrok man. like wtf. i was legitimately excited for this guy, even though he kinda seemed like a one-note character, i was so excited to see what being an inquisitor was like after the empire was defeated, like it's almost a reversal of order 66 and now the hunters become the hunted. and if filoni has proven one thing, it's that making one-note characters more complex is kind of his specialty. but i GUESS NOT

the ahsoka-baylan duel...it was just not enjoyable for me. my interpretation is that they were trying for something similar to what obi-wan and maul did on tatooine in rebels, where they used lightsaber stances as non-verbal communication. in rebels it was obi-wan assuming his prequels/cw pose, then his original trilogy pose, then the pose that qui-gon used when maul killed him. maul thought he could use the same attack he did when he killed qui-gon, and his immediate defeat shows how obi-wan has thought about that day for years and years, and how he's always learning from his past, whereas maul only thinks about his past as a source of anger and motivation for revenge. in ahsoka they might have been using the stances to sort of gauge each other's knowledge of the jedi traditions, and i appreciate the different uses of this heavy reliance on star wars lore, but the payoff doesn't seem so satisfying. ahsoka dismisses talking about her past (and tbf, why wouldnt she, like this guy is trying to start another galaxy wide war) so we don't really get anything out of it all *SO FAR* i really hope the relationship between her and baylan evolves and this lightsaber thing becomes more important, but on the surface right now it just felt like another sorta boring lightsaber fight. but i would absolutely love to hear other people's thoughts on this and ill probably edit this once more people have seen it and posted about it

also where's zeb. we saw him in the mandalorian, we know he's there. where are you hiding him. we know he knows paul sun-hyung lee (i forgot his characters name). he would absolutely have come with hera. also morai

im usually a pretty conservative shipper, like i don't really care about ships (as long as they're ethical lmao) i just don't really engage with that part of fandom. i could get behind luke and ezra being together, there's some cool sun and moon imagery there and they sort of have contrasting stories, as @hashtagloveloses said once. zeb and kallus i don't mind either. but barrissoka is my everything. it is the one ship that i want to see SOOO BADLY FUCCCKK PLEASE DAVE YOU SAID YOU HAVE PLANS FOR BARRISS LIKE TEN YEARS AGO PLEASEE

but yeah shin and sabine would be pretty cool too, there's definitely a lot of tension there and even though we don't know much about her (i really want to learn more) it would be cool to see shin have someone truly care about her, not be her boss or anything, and have sabine learn to lean more into honesty expressing her affection, since she's always been really stoic and i think shin would need that sincerity in a relationship

and i already mentioned anakin in another post but fuck im so happy to see hayden chritsensen again man. even if his story is lackluster (which oh my god i hope it's not) im so happy to see him again ❤️

i also really hope anakin brings up some character development/exploration for ahsoka cause like. what has she been doing. this is probably the biggest problem i have with this show so far, or at least second biggest lmao. i like that they're taking time to explore different characters and relationships in the universe, but i really want to see ahsoka get more time to shine. when put in a leadership position, she's always been a little more serious (character development from that one time she led a while squad to their deaths cause she was careless), like when she was with the younglings when they got their kyber crystals, but that doesn't mean she's invincible/unfeeling. she has lots of feelings about anakin and obi-wan and ezra and sabine, and i really want to see them!! when she said it's better to destroy the map and lose ezra than let thrawn return and start a war, i want to see her struggle with that like sabine does because she misses ezra too! i get that she didn't want to talk about anakin with baylan but let her talk about him with someone else! hopefully her world between worlds experience will help with that. some of the most solid development we've seen with her so far is being upset by how much she's let people down, ie anakin, sabine. and baylan tries to play into that to make her feel bad. i feel like that certainly will be explored more but fuck. it's about time.

i also want to see her relationship with the jedi more fully explored. i had always assumed that, while she was deeply affected by order 66, she didn't regret her decision to leave the jedi order. i thought that barriss had shown her some of the problems with it, and that her supporting the siege of mandalore showed that she was able to pursue what she thought was important, not the jedi order who were being heavily controlled by the senate and the politics of the time. but she seems to feel guilty about the fact that she's not a jedi? that she somehow let them down by not confirming to a system she no longer believed in? idk if i just made that up in my head cause i like to think of it that way and that my hradcanon is interfering with my enjoyment of this show lmao, someone please tell me if it is

another big problem i have with the show so far is how much it relies on the audience being invested in these stories to supply dramatic weight. and i don't mean in the way that it doesn't explain who sabine, ahsoka, hera, jacen, etc. are, this is obviously a show specifically for cw and rebels fans and im all the way here for it. i mean theres very little substance here, it feels like mostly biding time until ezra and thrawn show up. like we're 4 episodes in and we've seen some relationship development for ahsoka and sabine, a bit of hinting at a backstory for baylan, and...a lot of good guy v bad guy race for the special map, which just isn't very enthralling cause we know someone's gonna get to thrawn and ezra, we all saw lars mikkelson in the trailer. what i really want to see developed is his response to him being seen as a sort of messiah that will bring the empire back. or why baylan is so certain thrawn will start another war, or still be loyal to the empire at all with their power, and therefore political value to the chiss, as well as palpatine, who was sort of keeping him in line, gone. i want something substantial out of these stories were invested in, not just fodder for "ooh who are we gonna see next?"

also how much you wanna bet that ahsoka uses the world between worlds to get to thrawn. like its lines and shit appear in the credits so it's probably important

but yeah that's about all im thinking about right now hopefully next episode is crazy, cause it sure is shaping up to be a doozy